Friday, March 19, 2021

Video Report - CNN's Amara Walker gets emotional after Biden speech

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Music Video - #nowruz #norooz #PersianNewYear - بهار و نوروز با ترانه های شاد و خاطره انگیز

Persian Music Video - Sameera Nasiry - "Rokhsar e Ziba"

Persian Music - گوگوش - من آمدم

#nowruz #norooz #persiannewyear Nowruz. Spring is here. Bahar Amade Ast "بهار آمده است. نوروز‎"

Mahdieh Mohammadkhani - "Nowruz Khosh Amad" - نوروز خوش آمد | مهديه محمدخانى

ہماری یونیورسٹیاں جہاں محبت کرنا منع ہے

تحریم عظیم 

وہ معاشرہ جہاں انسانوں کی پیدائش کا مقصد بس شادی کرنا اور بچے پیدا کرنا ہے وہاں ایک جوڑے کا شادی کی طرف اٹھایا


جانے والا پہلا قدم معاشرتی اصولوں کے خلاف قرار پایا۔

کہتے ہیں یونیورسٹی میں انسان جو اسباق سیکھتا ہے وہ کسی دوسری جگہ سے نہیں سیکھ سکتا۔ سکول اور کالج کا ماحول الگ ہوتا ہے اور یونیورسٹی کا الگ۔ سکولوں اور کالجوں میں سختی زیادہ ہوتی ہے جبکہ یونیورسٹیوں میں قدرے آزاد ماحول ہوتا ہے۔

ہمارے ہاں تو خیر لفظ آزادی کا مطلب بھی غلط لیا جاتا ہے۔ اسی لیے آگے بڑھنے سے پہلے واضح کرتے چلیں کہ یہاں آزادی سے ہماری مراد سوچنے، سمجھنے، پرکھنے اور فیصلہ کرنے کی آزادی ہے۔ ایسی آزادی ہمیں ملے بھی تو ہم اسے واپس کر دیتے ہیں کہ یہ ہمارے کس کام کی، تب ہی ہمارے ہاں یونیورسٹیوں کو وہ درجہ حاصل نہیں جو باقی دنیا میں انہیں حاصل ہے۔
ان یونیورسٹیوں میں طلبہ کو سوچنے کی اور سوال کرنے کی آزادی دی جاتی ہے۔ پروفیسر ہٹلر نہیں بلکہ ان کے دوست یا کولیگ بن کر انہیں پڑھاتے ہیں۔ طلبہ تعلیم کے علاوہ دیگر سرگرمیوں میں بھی پوری شرکت کرتے ہیں۔ انہیں آپس میں بات چیت کرنے اور اپنی مرضی سے میل جول بڑھانے کی بھی آزادی دی جاتی ہے۔ یونیورسٹیوں میں پڑھنے والے طلبہ بالغ ہوتے ہیں، اپنا اچھا برا جانتے ہیں، نہیں بھی جانتے تو غلطیاں کر کے اور ان سے سبق سیکھ کر جان جاتے ہیں۔
ایسا ہماری یونیورسٹیوں کے علاوہ دنیا کی ہر یونیورسٹی میں ہوتا ہے۔ ہماری یونیورسٹیوں کے اپنے ہی اصول ہیں۔ یہ یونیورسٹیاں بنائی تو درس و تدریس کے لیے گئی ہیں پر وہاں اس کے علاوہ باقی ہر کام ہوتا ہے۔ ملک کی تمام بڑی جامعات میں بظاہر امن کا درس دیتی جماعتیں موجود ہیں جن کا واحد مقصد ادارے میں طلبہ کو ہراساں کرنا اور اس کے نتیجے میں پیدا ہونے والی صورتحال سے لطف اٹھانا ہوتا ہے۔

ہمارا دل پاکستان کی یونیورسٹیوں سے بیچلر ڈگری کے دوران ہی اٹھ گیا تھا۔ صبح جلدی اٹھو، گھر کے کام نبٹاؤ، تیار ہو، یونیورسٹی پہنچو بس یہ جاننے کے لیے کہ طلبہ کی دو انتہا پسند تنظیمیں آپس میں  بھڑ چکی ہیں اس لیے کوئی کلاس نہیں ہو گی۔ جس دن تنظیموں کا امن قائم ہوتا اس دن پروفیسر کو کوئی ضروری کام پڑ جاتا اور بس یونہی سمسٹر گزر جاتا۔
رہی سہی کسر مشال خان کے قتل نے نکال دی۔ اس بھیانک قتل کی ویڈیوز آج بھی انٹرنیٹ پر موجود ہیں۔ اس کے بے جان جسم پر جس طرح تشدد کیا جا رہا تھا اسے دیکھنے کے بعد کون جیتا جاگتا انسان جس کے دل میں ابھی بھی انسانیت باقی ہو، اس یونیورسٹی میں قدم بھی رکھ سکتا ہے؟

ایسے میں جب خبر آئی کہ لاہور کی ایک جامعہ میں ایک لڑکی نے گھٹنے کے بل جھک کر اپنے محبوب کو پرپوز کیا ہے تو ہم حیران ہوئے بغیر نہ رہ سکے۔ اس کی زندگی کا اتنا خاص لمحہ اور اس نے اس کے لیے اپنی جامعہ کا انتخاب کیا؟ کیوں؟


اس جوڑے کی ہمت اور اپنی جامعہ کو اتنا خاص سمجھنے پر اسے سلام۔ پر اب دیکھ لیں اس جامعہ نے اس کے ساتھ کیا سلوک کیا۔ جامعہ کے منتظمین کو لگا کہ جوڑے نے اپنے اس قدم سے جامعہ کے اصولوں کی خلاف ورزی کی ہے، اس لیے انہوں نے جوڑے کو یونیورسٹی سے نکال دیا اور اس کے وہاں اور اس کی دیگر شاخوں میں آنے پر پابندی عائد کر دی۔
یعنی وہ معاشرہ جہاں انسانوں کی پیدائش کا مقصد بس شادی کرنا اور بچے پیدا کرنا ہے وہاں ایک جوڑے کا شادی کی طرف اٹھایا جانے والا پہلا قدم معاشرتی اصولوں کے خلاف قرار پایا۔ واہ!
ہماری محبت کرنے والوں سے کہنا چاہتے ہیں کہ یہ معاشرہ آپ کی محبت کا دشمن ہے۔ اپنی محبت کے واسطے اسے اور اس سے حاصل ہونے والے لمحات کو اپنے اور اپنے پیاروں کی حد تک رکھیں، جس معاشرے میں رہتے ہوئے آپ نے محبت کی ہے، وہاں محبت کرنا منع ہے۔ یہاں محبت کو حلال اور حرام کے پیرائے میں دیکھا جاتا ہے۔ جس محبت کو آپ اپنے لیے جائز سمجھ رہے ہیں، وہ اس معاشرے کے نزدیک ناجائز ہے۔ جو محبت آپ ناجائز سمجھتے ہیں وہ ان کے لیے جائز ہے۔
آپ کا وہ لمحہ جو کسی پرائیویٹ جگہ پر آپ کی رہتی عمر کے لیے ایک یادگار بن سکتا تھا، اب اس معاشرے کی انتہا پسندی اور منافقت کی بھینٹ چڑھ چکا ہے۔
اس معاشرے میں محبت سے زیادہ نفرت کو بڑھاوا دیا جاتا ہے۔ اول تو یہاں کسی مخلص انسان کا ملنا ہی اپنے آپ میں ایک معجزہ ہے، پھر اس کو پا لینا اور اس کے ساتھ ویسی ہی زندگی بسر کر پانا جیسی اس کے ملنے سے پہلے سوچی ہو، اس سے بڑا معجزہ ہوتا ہے۔
ہمیں محبت کے ان لمحوں کے جانے کا افسوس ہے۔ یونیورسٹی انتظامیہ نے جو فیصلہ لیا وہ تو متوقع تھا۔  ہمارے ہاں نہ لوگوں کے دل اتنے بڑے ہیں، نہ عہدوں میں اتنی جرات ہے کہ معاشرے کے عائد ان نام نہاد اصولوں کو توڑ سکیں۔ یہاں زور زبردستی کا قانون چلتا ہے اور اسی کی عزت کی جاتی ہے۔
کچھ لوگوں کا کہنا ہے کہ جوڑے کے اس قدم سے معاشرے میں موجود انتہا پسندی کو ایک ضرب لگی ہے۔ ہماری ادنیٰ سی رائے میں اس سے کہیں کاری ضرب ان کی محبت اور زندگی کو پڑی ہے۔ جو لمحے ان کی زندگی کے یادگار ہونے چاہیے تھے، اب وہ پریشانی میں گزر رہے ہیں۔ لوگوں کا کیا جاتا ہے، ان کے ہاتھوں میں ان کے سمارٹ فون ہیں جس پر وہ کسی کو بھی کچھ بھی کہہ سکتے ہیں، یہ سوچے بغیر کہ اس کا اس انسان پر کیا اثر پڑے گا۔
ہو سکتا ہے کچھ سالوں بعد یہ جوڑا اس مشکل کو یاد کر کے ہنس رہا ہو۔ ایسا بھی ہو سکتا ہے کہ اس صورت حال سے پیدا ہونے والا ٹراما پوری زندگی ان کے ساتھ رہے۔ ہونے کو تو کچھ بھی ہو سکتا ہے تو بہتر نہیں تھا کہ اپنی محبت دوسروں کے ساتھ بانٹنے کی بجائے خود تک رکھی جاتی اور خود کو اس مصیبت میں پڑنے سے بچایا جاتا؟

تبدیلی ایک سست رفتار عمل ہے۔ یہ ایک دن یا ایک مہینے یا ایک سال میں نہیں آتی۔ ہاں اس دوران مسلسل چوٹ ضرور پڑتی رہنی چاہئیے تاکہ تبدیلی آتی محسوس ہوتی رہے، ہاں یہ یاد رکھیں کہ وہ چوٹ اتنی کاری نہ ہو کہ الٹا خود کو ہی نقصان ہو جائے۔ باقی امید پر دنیا قائم ہے۔ ہم نہیں تو ہمارے بعد یا ان کے بعد آنے والے اس ملک میں محبت کا جشن منائیں گے۔ ہماری زندگی میں ایسا ہونا پردے کے پیچھے ہی ممکن ہے۔

https://www.independenturdu.com/ 

India and Pakistan suffer resurgence of COVID-19 cases


By Rajendra Jadhav, Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam

 India and Pakistan reported a big jump in new coronavirus infections on Thursday, driven by a resurgence in cases in their richest states. 

 In efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, Punjab state in India extended a night curfew across nine districts and the New Delhi city government announced an increase of vaccinations to 125,000 doses per day from around 40,000 at present, officials said. Local authorities in the Indian state of Odisha sought additional vaccine doses and in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, authorities ordered schools and colleges to be shut across eight administrative divisions until April 10. Officials in India have blamed the surge in infections mainly on crowding and a reluctance to wear masks.
 
Pakistan says the coronavirus variant first found in Britain may also be a factor. Maharashtra state, home to India’s commercial capital Mumbai, reported 23,179 of the country’s 35,871 new cases in the past 24 hours, and the rapid spread in industrial areas raised risks of companies’ production being disrupted. India’s total cases stood at 11.47 million, the highest after the United States and Brazil. Deaths rose by 172 to 159,216, according to health ministry data on Thursday.

 In Pakistan, 3,495 people tested positive in the past 24 hours, the most daily infections since early December. Total cases passed 615,000. Deaths rose by 61 to 13,717. Most of the new cases came from Pakistan’s largest and richest province, Punjab. Pakistani minister Asad Umar said hospital beds were filling fast, and warned of stricter curbs if rules were not followed. “The new strain (first found in Britain) spreads faster and is more deadly,” he said on Twitter. India’s first wave peaked in September at nearly 100,000 cases a day, with daily infections dropping to just over 9,000 early last month. India and Pakistan have a combined population of 1.57 billion, a fifth of humanity. 

 CURBS RETURN 

The surge in infections in India has been led by Maharashtra as businesses reopened and millions used crowded suburban trains again. The state of 112 million people ordered a new lockdown in some districts and put curbs on cinemas, hotels and restaurants until the end of the month after infections hit a multi-month high this week. New cases have more than doubled in the past two weeks in Maharashtra’s industrial towns such as Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik and Nagpur, home to car, pharmaceutical and textile factories. “We have asked industries there to operate with minimum manpower as much possible,” said a senior Maharashtra government official. Hospital beds and special COVID-19 facilities were filling up fast, especially in Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune, said another state official. Cases have also risen this month in several other states including Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

 In Odisha, authorities sought an additional 2.5 million doses of Covishield, the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, to ensure a smooth inoculation campaign in the next two weeks. Since mid-January, India has administered more than 37 million vaccine doses, mostly reliant on Covishield, and Modi has asked state leaders to increase testing and vaccinations.
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-india-cases-idUSKBN2BA0TQ

President Biden Must Press Pakistan to End Persecution of Religious Minorities

By Qasim Rashid Last year the U.S. State Department labeled Pakistan a country of particular concern over its increasing persecution of religious minorities.
This label is the State Department’s strongest condemnation under the International Religious Freedom Act, and normally mandates sanctions for the designated country. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo intervened, however, with a presidential waiver to avoid such punishment.
The alliance between the two nations has sent $70 billion in economic and military aid to Pakistan since Pakistan’s founding. If not for the sake of sheer justice, then at least for the sake of protecting American interests, President Joe Biden must hold U.S. ally Pakistan accountable to repeal its discriminatory anti-Ahmadi legislation and actions. While the legislation particularly targets Ahmadi Muslims, it tragically also enables societal discrimination and violence against Pakistan’s Christian, Sikh, Hindu, and Shia communities.
Most recently, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has intensified the government’s decades-long violent persecution of religious minorities — particularly that of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. For the first time, the PTA has filed a lawsuit against two American citizens who belong to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, seeking to shut down a U.S. based website, trueislam.com. The PTA argues that because Ahmadis built the U.S.-based website, it violates Pakistan’s anti-Ahmadi laws. The PTA applied the same convoluted logic to order Google to remove any app built by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community from the tech giant’s Play store.
Google has, sadly, capitulated to the draconian demands. Sam Brownback, the former U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, has compared Pakistan’s persecution of Ahmadi Muslims to the Chinese dictatorship, exclaiming, “[This is] Pakistan following in the China model.”
A Brief History of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was founded in 1889 by a man named Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be the awaited Messiah to reform Muslims, peacefully revive Islam, and reject all forms of religious violence. Despite suffering decades of violent religious persecution, it is well documented that Ahmadi Muslims have maintained their position against all forms of religious violence. Pakistan’s persecution of Ahmadis escalated in 1974, when, in an unprecedented vote, the General Assembly amended the country’s Constitution to formally declare the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community ‘outside the fold of Islam.’
Imagine, for a moment, if the United States passed a constitutional amendment declaring Catholics outside the fold of Christianity? Notwithstanding this absurd amendment, in 1984 Pakistan added Ordinance XX to its penal code, criminalizing any Ahmadi Muslim who proclaims to be a Muslim with arrest and fine. By 1986, Pakistan added Section 295-C, mandating up to and including the death penalty for Ahmadi Muslims.
These draconian laws have predictably left Ahmadi Muslims to languish in apartheid conditions. All books, literature, events, speech, and websites belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan are criminalized. Pakistan denies Ahmadis free and fair voting and forces Ahmadi Muslims to declare their faith on their passports as a means to prevent them from performing the Hajj pilgrimage. To perform Hajj, a Pakistani citizen must have “Muslim” on their passport for religious affiliation. To obtain a passport with “Muslim” as the religious affiliation, Pakistan requires applicants to complete a form declaring Ahmadi Muslims as “non-Muslim.” Since Ahmadis refuse to declare themselves non-Muslim, they are identified as “Ahmadis,” and thus denied the ability to perform Hajj. In other words, Pakistan’s government has created special ID cards to single out Ahmadis.
These apartheid conditions have led to systemic persecution of Ahmadi Muslims, including mass murder, grave desecration, expulsion of school children for their faith, and a complete lockdown of all religious practice. Pakistan has faced repeated condemnation from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for its incessant violation of religious freedom, yet the discriminatory laws remain.
The U.S. Must Demand Justice for Ahmadi Muslims
When President Biden repealed the ‘Muslim Ban’ his first day in office, he condemned the ban as “contravening our values, undermin[ing] our national security, jeopardiz[ing] our global network of alliances and partnerships and a moral blight that has dulled the power of our example the world over.” Indeed, we cannot ignore the connection between persecution of religious minorities and collapse of national and economic security. Look no further than the last four years in the United States. The United States has seen historic highs in hate crimes targeting American Muslims, Jews, and Black, Indigenous, and persons of color (BIPOC) individuals — all of which has undermined American national security.
Pakistan’s government has traversed this dangerous road for several decades, suffocating its own national security, and becoming “a safe haven for certain regionally focused terrorist groups,” according to the State Department. Pakistan’s economy also suffers as a consequence. For example, in the 1960s—prior to enacting discriminatory legislation—Pakistan’s economy grew at a rate of 6% per year, double neighboring India’s growth. By the 1990s, as Pakistan was in full swing of enforcing discriminatory legislation and implicitly legitimizing extremist groups, India surpassed Pakistan’s growth, and has never looked back. Major U.S.-based companies have already threatened to leave Pakistan due to its censorship laws.
The persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan is increasing, with yet another innocent Ahmadi gunned down last month in a spate of targeted murders. The U.S.-Pakistan alliance should continue. However, it should not be indiscriminate. If we do not emphatically demand justice of Pakistan’s government to its own citizens, we give a greenlight to not only continue that violent persecution, but also escalate in targeting American citizens. Advancing the U.S.-Pakistan alliance on the principles of justice and protecting religious minorities is imperative for a just, prosperous, and secure future.
https://www.justsecurity.org/75383/biden-must-press-pakistan-to-end-persecution-of-religious-minorities/

Bajwa’s change of heart on India isn’t enough. All of Pakistani military must be on board

HUSAIN HAQQANI
Could the complex India-Pakistan relationship be settled during army chief Qamar Bajwa's tenure even if everyone trusted each other and there were no spoilers?

 The call by Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on India and Pakistan to “bury the past and move forward” is music to the ears of his country’s citizens who have often been described as ‘traitors’ by the establishment for saying similar things.

That General Bajwa tied normalisation of India-Pakistan relations to “the resolution of Kashmir dispute through peaceful means” and made no mention of jihadi terrorism, makes it easy for Indian officials and commentators to shrug their shoulders and say, “What else is new?” After all, negotiations must always be preceded by trust between the parties and that is in short supply between India and Pakistan.

The overall tone of General Bajwa’s speech at the first-ever Islamabad Security Dialogue represented a subtle change of priorities in Rawalpindi. The army chief made no mention of Pakistan’s ideology, recognised the role of “politically motivated bellicosity” in derailing rapprochement between India and Pakistan, and acknowledged the primacy of “demography, economy, and technology.”

By refusing to identify India as a permanent enemy or an ideological rival, General Bajwa is trying to signal that he is the all-powerful military leader some in New Delhi have been looking for, who could settle matters with India’s elected leadership without fear of backtracking.
India’s past experience with Pakistan’s military leaders has made the leadership in Delhi particularly sensitive to intransigence in General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi. Most Indian experts on Pakistan list past attempts to cut deals with Pakistani generals, as well as civilians, to suggest that it might be a futile exercise.
General Bajwa is definitely different from his predecessors but that alone might not convince sceptical Indians, given the history of the two countries’ relationship. He is not an Islamist ideologue like Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, nor does he have Pervez Musharraf’s arrogance or risk-taking instinct. The current army chief is more in the mould of Field Marshal Ayub Khan, a military man who feels that he must do something for his country, which is unlucky in terms of the quality of its political leaders. But General Bajwa seems aware of Pakistan’s limitations in a way Ayub Khan was not.
Ayub and Zia, the lost years
The Cold War had given Ayub Khan overconfidence in Pakistan’s potential. He thought that the United States and Britain were behind him, that he knew how to assemble a team of Pakistan’s ablest, that he alone could unite the nation, and that he had the formula to put Pakistan on the right track.Ayub Khan became army chief within four years of Pakistan’s creation. He influenced governments from behind the scene between 1951 and 1958, and wielded dictatorial powers from 1958 to 1969.
Ayub Khan was invited to India’s Republic Day in January 1965. He sent his agriculture minister instead because he was busy preparing for the war, which broke out a few months later. His successor General Yahya Khan was in power at the time of the 1971 war over Bangladesh.
After the Simla Accord of 1972, there was some respite in India-Pakistan tensions during the civilian rule of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. But once Bhutto was overthrown, his successor, General Zia-ul-Haq insisted that the Simla Accord had been signed under duress. Zia regularly entertained Indian journalists and Bollywood stars, speaking of his desire for durable peace. But he planned and initiated the jihad in Kashmir after receiving US support for anti-Soviet Afghan Mujahideen.During the decade of quasi-civilian rule after Zia, several rounds of talks yielded no settlement. Pakistani politicians took turns in blaming each other for ‘being soft on India’ and for not trying to secure Kashmir. Jihad in Kashmir intensified.
General Pervez Musharraf undermined Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s understanding with Atal Bihari Vajpayee through his 1999 misadventure in Kargil. Once he assumed total power, Musharraf pursued a two-pronged policy. He retained the jihadi groups while engaging in back-channel diplomacy. Indian Ambassador Satinder K. Lambah, who conducted the back-channel talks, believes that he had almost concluded a comprehensive India-Pakistan peace agreement with Musharraf’s negotiator, Tariq Aziz.
Musharraf’s removal from office made that agreement void well before it could be signed or made public. But the episode only added to Indian scepticism about back-channel negotiations.
Bajwa’s desires
For his part, General Bajwa joined the army several years after Ayub Khan had gone but seems to have fond memories of that era from his childhood. Pakistan functioned relatively efficiently then, at least for its elites. Foreign leaders and tourists could be seen visiting and respecting the country. International media did not always mention Pakistan negatively. The country did not need to borrow to pay off debts.Much has changed in Pakistan since General Bajwa’s childhood. The country lost half its territory in 1971 but has quadrupled in population since then. Jihadi extremism and Pakistan’s approach to securing advantage in Afghanistan and against India, coupled with political uncertainty and economic mismanagement, has made the country poorer and weaker.General Bajwa’s latest public comments only reaffirm what he has been saying in private, including to Pakistan’s opposition leaders. He says he wants Pakistan to become a normal country and understands that it would involve changing many things. But he needs the cooperation and support of several internal and external actors to succeed, which may not always be easy to get.The army chief has privately conveyed the desire for talks with India about “non-interference in each other’s affairs and revival of bilateral dialogue.” His proposal envisages a step-by-step process. The first step, a ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, has already been taken.
If India restores statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan could declare it a confidence-building measure and discuss a 20-year or so moratorium. That would give Pakistan time to become normal and for India to continue to grow economically.
In General Bajwa’s narrative, he supported PM Sharif’s engagement with PM Narendra Modi and the opening of Kartarpur Corridor, and can be trusted to negotiate with the Modi government in good faith. He would like India and the world to look for alternative explanations for the terrorist attack in Pulwama while giving him credit for not escalating matters after India’s air strike at Balakot. But sceptics would still ask how he might succeed in ending pervasive hostility, built through decades of propaganda, where his predecessors failed.
After all, there are only 19 months remaining in General Bajwa’s extended tenure. He could always ask for another extension, which the law now allows as long as he does not reach the age of 64. That could see him in office until November 2024. Alternatively, he could ensure that his successor shares his views.
A cautious hope
Could the complex India-Pakistan relationship be settled in that timeframe even if everyone trusted each other and there were no spoilers? In the past, Pakistani leaders (including those who combined the positions of president and army chief) found themselves out of office before their relatively late overtures to India could reach fruition.
Moreover, only a handful of Indian commentators buy the argument that better India-Pakistan relations might wean Islamabad away from deeper alliance with China or that India should re-engage with Pakistan just to test waters because nuclear neighbours cannot afford to ignore each other.
From India’s perspective, Pakistan has not dismantled its jihadi infrastructure and has not punished groups and individuals responsible for terrorist attacks targeting India. At a time when Pakistan’s economy is a mess and the country is under international pressure on more than one count, there might be a temptation to let Pakistan’s weaknesses run their course. Many Pakistani civilians, including this columnist, have written and spoken of the need for normalisation of ties with India and ending support to jihadism as the pre-requisites for Pakistan’s political stability and economic progress.
We have paid a price for our stance and past military leaders have rushed to call us names and accuse us of being foreign agents for deeply held convictions. It is, therefore, encouraging to see that the army chief is articulating views similar to ours for a change.
Outsiders looking for signs of whether there will be a real change in the stance of the Pakistan military, as an institution, should see if there is any diminution in the tendency to look with suspicion upon advocates of fundamental change in the country, especially normalisation of India-Pakistan relations.
https://theprint.in/opinion/bajwas-change-of-heart-on-india-isnt-enough-all-of-pakistani-military-must-be-on-board/624578/

#PPPP Central Information Secretary Shazia Atta Marri condemns federal govt for taking over control of three hospitals of Sindh Province

Shazia Marri condemns federal govt for taking over control of three hospitals of Sindh Province.
Free medical treatment facilities are being snatched away by privatizing hospitals : Shazia Marri
Every sector is being affected due to the incompetence of the federal government: Shazia Marri.
Central Information Secretary Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and MNA Shazia Atta Marri has strongly condemned the taking over of three key hospitals of Sindh province by the federal government. She said in her statement that Sindh government is running Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and the National Health of Child Health (NICH) in the best possible way and also providing best health facilities to the masses in the province.
She added that people from every corner of the country and even from abroad come to Karachi hospitals for the provision of best health facilities.”These hospitals are being providing free of cost and quality medical treatment to the poor and middle class people. She further said that free and quality medical treatment is being snatched away by privatizing these hospitals. She said that the prices of almost everything was raised firstly and now incompetent federal government has been planing to make treatment more expensive for poors.
She maintained that every sector of the country is being affected due to the incompetence of the federal government. Shazia Marri said that taking over these main health facilities by unconstitutional ordinance without waiting for the final verdict of the Supreme Court filled by sindh government is highly condemnedable.
She also questioned the federal government that what sort of solution has been generated yet for PIMS and Polyclinic Islamabad by federal government? and questioned that how many standard hospitals have been set up in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the PTI-led government in eight years?
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/24490/