The racist and lunatic crusade to prove that US President Barack Obama, a native-born American, is not eligible to hold office has now been going for over five years. This crusade has involved faking documents, claiming that real documents are fake and spurious claims of conspiracy.
These "birthers" as they have become known, make up a substantial portion of the Republican voting base, with 64 percent of Republicans claiming to believe that the president is hiding some information about his past that may relate to his eligibility for the presidency. The core of this is the desperation to find some way to deny the legitimacy of a black president.
However, far from being a danger to Obama, birther mania has actually helped his political agenda and has, more often than not, left the Republican Party on the political defensive.
It is important to note that the legal question of Obama's eligibility for the presidency has been settled beyond any possible doubt. Every attempt that has been made to cast legal questions on the president's legitimacy has been refused by the courts.
Continuing birther legal attacks on Obama have become the objects of mockery among the public, as well as providing fodder for comedians.
The first advantage the birther movement has provided Obama is that it has worked to divide and discredit the Republican Party, commonly known as the GOP, for "grand old party." The GOP's leadership understands how damaging this movement is to the GOP's public image among independents and minorities alike, both of whom are well aware of its thinly disguised racist origins.
Because of this, the party cannot adopt the birther platform, and yet must also step carefully in order to avoid antagonizing the significant percentage of the GOP who fervently believe in this theory.
Even more damagingly, some prominent birthers make it impossible for the GOP to simply ignore the movement. The property tycoon Donald Trump, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and other nationally known figures have all made birther claims, and yet none of them have been able to show any evidence for their claims.
This is especially true in the case of Arpaio, whose birther claims appear to be in response to the ongoing civil rights investigation targeting his department, leading many to believe that in addition to being irrational, his attacks are motivated by a selfish desire to distract the public from his own misdeeds. Arpaio's decision to send a "posse" to Hawaii added a ridiculous air to the entire situation.
Worst of all for the GOP is the fact that it finds itself in the position of being unable to simply denounce the movement on a party-wide base, for fear of antagonizing birther supporters. Even attempts by such former party luminaries as Karl Rove and Colin Powell have had little success in creating the party-wide action that is needed to fully distance the GOP from the birthers' toxic beliefs.
While this will not harm some Republicans, particularly those seeking election in conservative districts, Republicans facing seriously contested elections may find the birther phenomena costing them the general election.
Additionally, since the birther movement is a fundamentally racist phenomenon, this has harmed the GOP's standing among minorities at the very moment the party is attempting to court them.
But even more damagingly for the GOP, birtherism makes it hard to take the Republican Party itself seriously. The image of self-identified Republicans ranting on about secret conspiracies and faked birth certificates will continue to have an impact even after Obama has left office, and will work to harm the GOP's image as a serious national party in the eyes of moderates and independents alike.
Fundamentally, the birthers have done worse than make the GOP an object of anger. They have made it an object of ridicule.
Every Republican who is or who can be branded a birther loses credibility in the public eye. No matter the subject these individuals are discussing, it will be filtered through the perception of their irrationality.
In the long run, the end of Obama's time as president may help reduce the damage the birther movement has done to the GOP, but it will not eliminate it.
From crazed court submissions to desperate pleas to the electoral college, the birther movement has helped brand the GOP as the home of irrational conspiracy theorists, all without any effort on the part of Obama or the Democrats.
Ultimately, birthers may once again prove that it is far worse for a political movement to be laughed at than it is for it to be hated.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
‘Birther’ lunacy leaves all Republicans painted as racist crackpots
The racist and lunatic crusade to prove that US President Barack Obama, a native-born American, is not eligible to hold office has now been going for over five years. This crusade has involved faking documents, claiming that real documents are fake and spurious claims of conspiracy.
These "birthers" as they have become known, make up a substantial portion of the Republican voting base, with 64 percent of Republicans claiming to believe that the president is hiding some information about his past that may relate to his eligibility for the presidency. The core of this is the desperation to find some way to deny the legitimacy of a black president.
However, far from being a danger to Obama, birther mania has actually helped his political agenda and has, more often than not, left the Republican Party on the political defensive.
It is important to note that the legal question of Obama's eligibility for the presidency has been settled beyond any possible doubt. Every attempt that has been made to cast legal questions on the president's legitimacy has been refused by the courts.
Continuing birther legal attacks on Obama have become the objects of mockery among the public, as well as providing fodder for comedians.
The first advantage the birther movement has provided Obama is that it has worked to divide and discredit the Republican Party, commonly known as the GOP, for "grand old party." The GOP's leadership understands how damaging this movement is to the GOP's public image among independents and minorities alike, both of whom are well aware of its thinly disguised racist origins.
Because of this, the party cannot adopt the birther platform, and yet must also step carefully in order to avoid antagonizing the significant percentage of the GOP who fervently believe in this theory.
Even more damagingly, some prominent birthers make it impossible for the GOP to simply ignore the movement. The property tycoon Donald Trump, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and other nationally known figures have all made birther claims, and yet none of them have been able to show any evidence for their claims.
This is especially true in the case of Arpaio, whose birther claims appear to be in response to the ongoing civil rights investigation targeting his department, leading many to believe that in addition to being irrational, his attacks are motivated by a selfish desire to distract the public from his own misdeeds. Arpaio's decision to send a "posse" to Hawaii added a ridiculous air to the entire situation.
Worst of all for the GOP is the fact that it finds itself in the position of being unable to simply denounce the movement on a party-wide base, for fear of antagonizing birther supporters. Even attempts by such former party luminaries as Karl Rove and Colin Powell have had little success in creating the party-wide action that is needed to fully distance the GOP from the birthers' toxic beliefs.
While this will not harm some Republicans, particularly those seeking election in conservative districts, Republicans facing seriously contested elections may find the birther phenomena costing them the general election.
Additionally, since the birther movement is a fundamentally racist phenomenon, this has harmed the GOP's standing among minorities at the very moment the party is attempting to court them.
But even more damagingly for the GOP, birtherism makes it hard to take the Republican Party itself seriously. The image of self-identified Republicans ranting on about secret conspiracies and faked birth certificates will continue to have an impact even after Obama has left office, and will work to harm the GOP's image as a serious national party in the eyes of moderates and independents alike.
Fundamentally, the birthers have done worse than make the GOP an object of anger. They have made it an object of ridicule.
Every Republican who is or who can be branded a birther loses credibility in the public eye. No matter the subject these individuals are discussing, it will be filtered through the perception of their irrationality.
In the long run, the end of Obama's time as president may help reduce the damage the birther movement has done to the GOP, but it will not eliminate it.
From crazed court submissions to desperate pleas to the electoral college, the birther movement has helped brand the GOP as the home of irrational conspiracy theorists, all without any effort on the part of Obama or the Democrats.
Ultimately, birthers may once again prove that it is far worse for a political movement to be laughed at than it is for it to be hated.
Erdoğan shooting himself in the foot
For the last two years Labor Day celebrations have no longer been a source of political tension in Turkey as in the past. It was Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) government which declared May Day a National holiday for labor, opening Istanbul’s Taksim Square back up to demonstrations. Taksim Square was the scene of tragedy back in 1977 when 34 people were killed, mostly crushed in the crowd when still unidentified people opened fire on hundreds and thousands of workers and demonstrators gathered there.
It is true that there has been massive construction work going on around Taksim which might be a safety risk for masses to gather there. It is true that some trade unions were insisting perhaps too much on having the rally in Taksim, as an apex of symbolism. But the government could have taken precautions in the months leading up to May 1st in cooperation with the unions to have a safe rally there.
Instead, Erdoğan was determined not to let the masses gather in the heart of Istanbul; possibly due to worries that the Labor Day rally could turn into a rally against the government by opposition groups.
Some 27,000 policemen were mobilized in order to stop demonstrators from rallying to Taksim. Public transportation, including metro, city buses and ferries and boats commuting between the European and Asian banks of the Bosphorus were suspended.
Police used water cannons, tear gas and baton charge in order to disperse the crowds. In Beşiktaş district, where Erdoğan’s Istanbul office is, the police intervened to the rally group of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in one of the worst cases on May Day. Gürsel Tekin, a deputy chairman for the party told reporters that the police sprayed gas in his face despite the fact that he declared his identity as a member of Parliament; later on he was hospitalized.
At the end of the day, the picture is not a bright one for Erdoğan who is actually taking promising steps for domestic peace by initiating a dialogue process to bring an end to Turkey’s chronic Kurdish problem.
Freedom of expression and demonstration for all groups in a society are important for domestic peace, too.
Turkish police fire teargas in May Day protests
REUTERSTrains and ferries were canceled and hospital staff walked off the job in Greece on Wednesday as workers marked May Day with a strike against harsh austerity required by the country's foreign lenders. Elsewhere, Turkish riot police fired water cannon and tear gas to disperse crowds gathering in central Istanbul for a rally on what has become a traditional labor holiday. Greece's 24-hour walkout was called by its two major public and private sector unions. It is the latest in a long line of strikes and protests in the debt-laden country ravaged by its sixth year of recession and popular fury over wage and spending cuts. "Our message today is very clear: Enough with these policies which hurt people and make the poor poorer," Ilias Iliopoulos, general secretary of public sector union ADEDY, told Reuters. "The government must take back the austerity measures, people can't take it anymore." About 1,000 policemen were deployed in central Athens to handle any violence during the rallies, though participation is expected to be well below the levels of major protests last year when as many as 100,000 Greeks marched to the central Syntagma square chanting slogans. Demonstrators began to slowly gather in central squares in Athens to rally before marching to parliament, the site of frequent clashes between police and protesters in recent years. Unions expected turnout to be low with the traditional May 1 holiday falling just a few days before Greek Orthodox Easter, which meant public schools were shut and many workers had already left for vacation. Public transport in Athens was disrupted with buses and subways halted, while ships and ferries stayed docked at ports after seamen also walked off the job. Bank and hospital workers also joined the one-day strike. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has sought to maintain a hard line against striking workers in a bid to show European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders - as well as the public - that he is determined to push through unpopular reforms. The lenders' decision to disburse long-delayed aid last year has eased fears that Greece could go bankrupt and be forced to leave the euro zone, but the country still faces deep challenges from a volatile social climate and domestic opposition to a reform program that includes firing civil servants. In Istanbul, thousands of police were stationed across the city center to block access to the main Taksim square as crowds of protesters converged in different parts of the city early in the morning attempting to storm police barricades.
Pakistan: May Day in a deceptive election scenario
BY LAL KHAN
The political elite and superstructure that dominates this society in the current period have shown utter disdain towards the working classe.
This year the May Day falls during the electoral campaign in Pakistan when the main contesting parties have nothing to offer the toiling masses of this country. All parties have a similar economic programme of neo-liberal market capitalism under the overarching political hegemony of the ruling elite. The main economic mantra is the notorious Direct Foreign Investment (DFI) to kick start the growth rate and to shore up the crumbling economy. There is nothing in their programme or in their rhetoric for the working masses apart from a vague allusion of creating an Islamic welfare state under various charity programmes to support the poorest sections of the society.
The reality is that this policy of wooing foreign and local investment means an appeasement that will be catastrophic for the interests of the workers. Mainstream politicians actually represent the interests of the ruling classes and are advocating policies that will create favourable conditions for the investors to maximise their profits. This in other words means the imposition of more deregulation, liberalisation, restructuring, privatisation and downsizing. For workers this translates in to an end to job security, systemic elimination of pensions and bonuses, replacement of permanent employment with contract labour, end to health, education and other benefits including large scale redundancies.
Investment in the manufacturing sector has nosedived on a world scale during the post-global capitalist crash of 2008, but whatever investment is taking place is capital intensive as oppose to labour intensive. This is the utilisation of more and more technology and robots in modern manufacturing investment that cuts labour costs and boosts up the rate of profits. That is why the corporate capitalists have tremendously become rich and accumulated obscene amounts of wealth even during recessionary periods. Workers internationally including in the advanced capitalist countries have not only lost jobs, benefits but have had their wages reduced and have to do multiple jobs to make ends meet.
In Pakistan the industrial production and heavy manufacturing has been suffocating long before the world slump, the rest of the anaemic formal economy has also been going through a debilitating crisis but the 2008 crash further aggravated the economic catastrophe. The country has accumulated record debt, budget, fiscal, trade, and current account deficits. In the last fiscal year Pakistan had its lowest ever foreign and domestic investment. Forex reserves have depleted to a new low. What is keeping the country afloat is the informal sector or the black economy. This is more than two thirds of the country’s total economy. Its growth rate is nine percent as compared to the growth rate of about two percent of the formal economy. This informal sector provides 72.8 percent of employment and the black capital actually expedites and runs Pakistan’s economic cycle and the banking system.
The astronomical price rises particularly in food and energy has had a devastating impact on society with poverty and misery stalking the land, as never before. The defeat of the movement in autumn and winter of 2007 followed by a democratic counter-revolution brought further agony and despair for the oppressed classes in society. This was accentuated by the severe economic attacks on the masses. The number of workers organised in the unions has declined to about two percent and even this is mainly in the public sector as the subsequent regimes prevented the formation of the unions in the private sector through brutal state repression and the attacks of the goons of the capitalist bosses. The official minimum wage hardly applied anywhere in private enterprises. Conditions of work have been despicable and long working hours were savagely applied to squeeze the workers to the full. Even in the state sector the workers were forced to retreat and concede hard won rights and conditions mainly due to betrayals by the reformist and compromising leaders of many trade unions.
The PPP-led coalition government imposed the Thatcherite policy of public-private partnership and golden handshakes, causing disarray in the workers’ unity and a wedge in the class struggle. In spite of these setbacks there were several struggles of the proletariat. The most notable successes were the victories in the PIA and the KESC. But the main reason of the setbacks was a difficult objective situation and the absence of a revolutionary leadership. But this situation is not going to last for long. It is true the old left and intellectuals had written of the working class as a lost force and perceive the class struggle as an obsolete phenomena, the reality is that there is a seething revolt simmering in the working classes who have been subjected to such callous indifference and oppression by the ruling classes and treachery and betrayals by their compromised leaders.
The May Day is commemorated every year in the memory of the Chicago workers who fought and laid their lives for the workers’ rights and the class struggle on the 1st of May, 1886. The founding conference of the second Marxist international decided to commemorate this day every year in the memory of the Chicago martyrs and to reiterate the necessity and victory of the class struggle through a socialist revolution for the emancipation of the human race. The May Day is the only commemoration that is celebrated across the world cutting across national frontiers, ethnic, racial, creed, caste, colour divisions and religious prejudices to uphold the unity of the class struggle. The Pakistani proletariat has glorious traditions of revolutionary class struggle. The relative inertia in this movement at the present period is a lull before the storm.
The political elite and superstructure that dominates this society in the current period have shown utter disdain towards the working classes and are waging a political war against the toiling classes. They have an illusion that the working classes will not rise in revolt and is perhaps permanently tamed. Hence with a cynical indifference they treat the poor and the oppressed with contempt and denunciation. Sooner rather than later they would be in for a shock of their lives. Their social, economic and political edifice is plagued by the disastrous crisis that is raging in this historically redundant capitalist system. History is not on their side. They represent the past, the youth and workers are the music of the future. By shedding the prejudices of the past, once they reject the individualism imposed by the ethics and the hypocritical morality of this system they can unite and rise in a collective class struggle that will not only transform society but change the course of history.
The political elite and superstructure that dominates this society in the current period have shown utter disdain towards the working classe.
This year the May Day falls during the electoral campaign in Pakistan when the main contesting parties have nothing to offer the toiling masses of this country. All parties have a similar economic programme of neo-liberal market capitalism under the overarching political hegemony of the ruling elite. The main economic mantra is the notorious Direct Foreign Investment (DFI) to kick start the growth rate and to shore up the crumbling economy. There is nothing in their programme or in their rhetoric for the working masses apart from a vague allusion of creating an Islamic welfare state under various charity programmes to support the poorest sections of the society.
The reality is that this policy of wooing foreign and local investment means an appeasement that will be catastrophic for the interests of the workers. Mainstream politicians actually represent the interests of the ruling classes and are advocating policies that will create favourable conditions for the investors to maximise their profits. This in other words means the imposition of more deregulation, liberalisation, restructuring, privatisation and downsizing. For workers this translates in to an end to job security, systemic elimination of pensions and bonuses, replacement of permanent employment with contract labour, end to health, education and other benefits including large scale redundancies.
Investment in the manufacturing sector has nosedived on a world scale during the post-global capitalist crash of 2008, but whatever investment is taking place is capital intensive as oppose to labour intensive. This is the utilisation of more and more technology and robots in modern manufacturing investment that cuts labour costs and boosts up the rate of profits. That is why the corporate capitalists have tremendously become rich and accumulated obscene amounts of wealth even during recessionary periods. Workers internationally including in the advanced capitalist countries have not only lost jobs, benefits but have had their wages reduced and have to do multiple jobs to make ends meet.
In Pakistan the industrial production and heavy manufacturing has been suffocating long before the world slump, the rest of the anaemic formal economy has also been going through a debilitating crisis but the 2008 crash further aggravated the economic catastrophe. The country has accumulated record debt, budget, fiscal, trade, and current account deficits. In the last fiscal year Pakistan had its lowest ever foreign and domestic investment. Forex reserves have depleted to a new low. What is keeping the country afloat is the informal sector or the black economy. This is more than two thirds of the country’s total economy. Its growth rate is nine percent as compared to the growth rate of about two percent of the formal economy. This informal sector provides 72.8 percent of employment and the black capital actually expedites and runs Pakistan’s economic cycle and the banking system.
The astronomical price rises particularly in food and energy has had a devastating impact on society with poverty and misery stalking the land, as never before. The defeat of the movement in autumn and winter of 2007 followed by a democratic counter-revolution brought further agony and despair for the oppressed classes in society. This was accentuated by the severe economic attacks on the masses. The number of workers organised in the unions has declined to about two percent and even this is mainly in the public sector as the subsequent regimes prevented the formation of the unions in the private sector through brutal state repression and the attacks of the goons of the capitalist bosses. The official minimum wage hardly applied anywhere in private enterprises. Conditions of work have been despicable and long working hours were savagely applied to squeeze the workers to the full. Even in the state sector the workers were forced to retreat and concede hard won rights and conditions mainly due to betrayals by the reformist and compromising leaders of many trade unions.
The PPP-led coalition government imposed the Thatcherite policy of public-private partnership and golden handshakes, causing disarray in the workers’ unity and a wedge in the class struggle. In spite of these setbacks there were several struggles of the proletariat. The most notable successes were the victories in the PIA and the KESC. But the main reason of the setbacks was a difficult objective situation and the absence of a revolutionary leadership. But this situation is not going to last for long. It is true the old left and intellectuals had written of the working class as a lost force and perceive the class struggle as an obsolete phenomena, the reality is that there is a seething revolt simmering in the working classes who have been subjected to such callous indifference and oppression by the ruling classes and treachery and betrayals by their compromised leaders.
The May Day is commemorated every year in the memory of the Chicago workers who fought and laid their lives for the workers’ rights and the class struggle on the 1st of May, 1886. The founding conference of the second Marxist international decided to commemorate this day every year in the memory of the Chicago martyrs and to reiterate the necessity and victory of the class struggle through a socialist revolution for the emancipation of the human race. The May Day is the only commemoration that is celebrated across the world cutting across national frontiers, ethnic, racial, creed, caste, colour divisions and religious prejudices to uphold the unity of the class struggle. The Pakistani proletariat has glorious traditions of revolutionary class struggle. The relative inertia in this movement at the present period is a lull before the storm.
The political elite and superstructure that dominates this society in the current period have shown utter disdain towards the working classes and are waging a political war against the toiling classes. They have an illusion that the working classes will not rise in revolt and is perhaps permanently tamed. Hence with a cynical indifference they treat the poor and the oppressed with contempt and denunciation. Sooner rather than later they would be in for a shock of their lives. Their social, economic and political edifice is plagued by the disastrous crisis that is raging in this historically redundant capitalist system. History is not on their side. They represent the past, the youth and workers are the music of the future. By shedding the prejudices of the past, once they reject the individualism imposed by the ethics and the hypocritical morality of this system they can unite and rise in a collective class struggle that will not only transform society but change the course of history.
30 Pakistani Christian struggling for UNHRC protection in Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, last Saturday on the April 27th over five hundred torture claimants and asylum seekers joined a protest against the “zero percent acceptance” . This protest was organized under non-profit, independent and a private organization called “Vision First”. These torture claimants told the interviewers, that many of them are living here for more than 10 years but the government wants them to go back to their countries where they can be persecuted. There are over 4000 who are hanging in the space for their future and waiting to put their first step on the land of freedom. Among these 4000 plus, there are 30 Pakistani Christians who were able to escape persecution and many were severely persecuted, falsely accused and threaten by the government and Muslim religious parties of Pakistan. They are very much under pressure, stressed and worried what will happen to them if they will be removed back to Pakistan. What Christians are facing in Pakistan has been noticed and seen by the international media and United Nations but failed to stop injustice, false accusations of blasphemy, killing, kidnapping, gang raping, property snatching, threat calls, church attacks etc. Once if someone is target by Muslim groups it's almost impossible for a person to escape. They can't go to police because police does not help them but always give favor to the Muslims. Because the entire Muslim community thinks that Christians are second class citizens and infidels therefor they have not equal rights with them which causing Christians to seek protection in different parts of the country but it seems there is no such place which you can say it's safe now.
The 30 Pakistani Christians here in Hong Kong appeals to the government of Hong Kong for not to remove them back, but to protect them. Pakistani Christians are peaceful, loyal and good citizens. This is also an appeal to the international community to write to the government of Hong Kong the injustice what Christians are facing in Pakistan.
Pakistan military angered by treatment of Musharraf: reports
Pakistan's powerful army chief has suggested the military is unhappy with how authorities have treated former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf since his return from exile.
A Pakistani court on Tuesday imposed a lifetime ban on Musharraf from contesting elections, undermining his efforts to regain influence by winning a seat in parliament.
The former army chief returned in March after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest a May 11 general election, but election officers disqualified him because of court cases pending against him.
In what newspapers described as a veiled reference to Musharraf's legal troubles, Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani said: "In my opinion, it is not merely retribution, but awareness and participation of the masses that can truly end this game of hide and seek between democracy and dictatorship."
Kayani, arguably the most powerful figure in Pakistan, was delivering a Martyrs' Day speech at army headquarters. Newspapers carried his comments on front pages.
The military has ruled Pakistan for than half of its 66-year-history, through coups or from behind the scenes. It sets security and foreign policy, even when civilian governments are in power.
Current commanders have meddled less in politics, letting civilian governments take the heat for policy failures.
But Kayani has had an uneasy relationship with civilian leaders, as well as an increasingly interventionist Supreme Court, which has questioned the military's human rights record.
The chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, was embroiled in a confrontation with Musharraf, who removed him from office in 2007 after he opposed plans to extend the general's stay in power. Chaudhry was later reinstated.
Musharraf's has been embroiled in legal issues since his return.
He became the first former army chief to be arrested in Pakistan when police took him into custody at their headquarters last Friday, breaking an unwritten rule that the top ranks of the military are untouchable, even after they have retired.
On April 20, a court remanded the former president in custody for two weeks, a term set to expire on May 4, as judges pushed ahead with plans to put Musharraf on trial for a crackdown on the judiciary during his time in office.
On Tuesday, an anti-terrorism court in the garrison city of Rawalpindi put Musharraf on 14-day judicial remand for charges of failing to provide adequate security for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto before her 2007 assassination.
Musharraf ousted then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a coup in 1999. Sharif is seen as the front-runner in the election.
Breaking barriers: In Lakki Marwat, women in vanguard of ANP campaign
The Express TribuneKa da zilmo na pora nash wa Garana watana jenakai ba da gatina (If the youth fails, Dear motherland, the girls will guard you)
This old Pashtho Tapa (form of poetry) pays tribute both to the Pakhtuns’ love for their homeland, and also to their indomitable spirit. In essence it means that defeat is unacceptable to the Pakhtuns. The Awami National Party, it seems, has taken this maxim to heart, remaining adamant not only in the face of competition from other parties but also in the face of constant militant attacks and threats.
And in keeping with the couplet, it is the women of the ANP that are leading the charge, at least as far as Lakki Marwat is concerned.
In Lakki Marwat, a southern district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, women are stepping forward to campaign for the ANP – going door-to-door and holding corner meetings to convince people to vote for the party.
“Our campaigners focus on the women of the households who then go on to convince the men in their family,” Yasmeen Zai, a former MPA from K-P, told The Express Tribune. Her husband, Advocate Sadrauddin is contesting on PK-74 on an ANP ticket.
These legions of female campaigners cover entire neighbourhoods armed only with red pamphlets which include a message from the ANP, along with a list of the party’s achievements. It’s a strategy forced on them by necessity, as the ANP is not able to campaign like other parties in the face of terrorist attacks.
Their opponents are under no such constraints. The chief of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl recently held a public gathering in Lakki Marwat, while the party’s workers are campaigning freely day and night. On the other hand, the ANP cannot hold large public meetings, and even corner meetings are often cancelled since the police have restricted their movement due to the security threats.
Aftab Munawar, a female ANP leader and worker told The Express Tribune that this is the time for the ANP’s rank and file to stand up and be counted. “I know that some people will say that it is not right for women to take an active part in politics … but it is not a sin to campaign for my party,” she said.
Advocate Sadrauddin told The Express Tribune that he running against JUI-F’s Anwar Hayath and PPP’s Anwar Saifullah, both of whom are able to campaign openly – something that he cannot do.
And even if he were to be able to move about freely, he says it’s a fact that the ANP’s influence in Lakki Marwat is not as strong as that of the JUI-F’s, which is why he is banking on the ANP’s female campigners to met his message to the people.
They say that behind every successful man is a woman. In Lakki Marwat, if the ANP is successful despite the odds, behind them would be not one but a whole group of extremely motivated women.
Pakistan tops worst list for religious freedom
http://www.washingtontimes.com/Religious freedom is under attack in Pakistan and the situation next door in Afghanistan is not that much better, despite an improvement since the country was ruled by the Taliban, a U.S. government advisory commission said in a report released Tuesday. “Pakistan represents the worst situation in the world for religious freedom for countries not currently designated as ‘countries of particular concern’ by the U.S. government,” the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its annual report. “The government of Pakistan continues to engage in and tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief.” The report found that violations reached unprecedented levels because of growing incidents of sectarian violence against Shiite Muslims. The government also failed to protect Christians, Ahmadis and Hindus, it said. Knox Thames, the commission’s director of policy and research, said the situation in Pakistan is “reaching crisis proportions.” The commission repeated a recommendation it has made since 2002 that Pakistan be designated a “country of particular concern.” “The U.S. naming Pakistan as a country of particular concern would bring these challenges to the forefront of the U.S.-Pakistani bilateral relationship and hopefully move Pakistan to make concrete improvements,” Mr. Thames said. Because the commission’s role is advisory, the State Department is under no obligation to enforce its recommendations. The report says Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy law is often used to intimidate religious minorities. Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S., Sherry Rehman, is the subject of an anti-blasphemy lawsuit. The law, which came into effect during the dictatorship of Gen. Zia ul Haq in the 1980s, prescribes the death penalty for those perceived to have insulted Islam or Prophet Muhammad. While the government has not carried out any death sentences, extremists often take it upon themselves to execute those accused in blasphemy cases. In 2011, two prominent Pakistanis — Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic and Cabinet minister for minorities, and Salmaan Taseer, governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province — were assassinated for their criticism of the blasphemy law. A Pakistani Embassy spokesman in Washington did not comment on the report. On Afghanistan, the commission noted that compared with the brutal rule of the Taliban from 1996 to 2001, conditions for religious freedom have improved markedly. “However, comparisons to the abusive actions of the Taliban provide an incomplete and misleading picture,” the report says. “Dissenting members of the majority faith and minority religious communities continue to face significant restrictions on the free practice of religion. Governmental and non-state actors have taken action against individuals for activity deemed to be ‘un-Islamic.’” “In addition, the Afghan government remains unable to protect citizens against violence and intimidation by the Taliban and other armed groups,” it adds. Moreover, the report says, Afghan President Hamid Karzai undercut the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission when he dismissed three of its nine commissioners in December 2011. Janan Mosazai, a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Kabul, said the Afghan government is “fully committed to ensuring religious freedom for followers of all religions in Afghanistan, something our constitution is very clear about.” “We also need to compare conditions in Afghanistan today with the suffering and brutality that people of all faiths were subjected throughout the 1990s — first during the civil war and then under the Taliban regime,” Mr. Mosazai said in an email. In light of the withdrawal of most coalition combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, the commission recommended that the U.S. government increase and strengthen diplomatic, development and military engagement to promote human rights, especially religious freedom in the country. Afghanistan is at a critical junction, Mr. Thames said. “President Karzai’s recent call to crack down on ‘un-Islamic’ television programming demonstrates the tenuous nature of freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” he said. “To ensure the government does not adopt a Talibanesque system repressing independent thought, the United States should increase its promotion of human rights, especially religious freedom.” The report recommends that the secretary of State redesignate Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan as countries of particular concern. In addition to Pakistan, six other countries — Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam — should be designated as countries of particular concern, it says.
Pakistan: The key issue
In most elections, the issues that determine winners and losers involve economic policies, matters such as welfare of the people and sometimes broader international concerns. All of these hold at least partially true for the polls in Pakistan on May 11. But there is another daunting concern that hangs over this process: that of security and how the coming elections can be kept free of (more) violence. Too much blood has been shed already, with at least 48 killed and over 200 injured since April 21. We have as yet seen no indication that there will be an end to this violence any time soon, with reports of more deaths, more attacks and more fear pouring in on a daily basis. In an effort to ensure balloting in a peaceful atmosphere, as peaceful as possible, the army high command has met to determine its plan, as per discussions with the Election Commission of Pakistan. Following a meeting of the corps commanders, it has been decided by the military top brass that 50,000 troops – including the Frontier Corps – will be posted throughout the country. ‘Sensitive’ polling stations have been identified in KP, Sindh and Balochistan where violence has run high and the death toll has been devastating, and an emergency force will also be kept at hand to deal with any unexpected situation that may arise. All this goes to show just how precarious things are. Despite the wishes of some parties, army personnel will not be present inside polling stations and the ISPR has made it quite clear that the ECP advice in this respect will be adhered too. And this is exactly how things should be.
But it is still far too early to say we have warded off trouble. We still do not know what will happen next. This is perhaps most true of the troubled province of Balochistan, where nationalist forces have also been involved in violence. On Monday, at the request of provincial authorities, the deployment of 15,000 military and paramilitary forces was begun in Balochistan. Nine districts are being covered first. Others are to follow. But there are also other problems authorities need to tackle in this province. Associations of teachers and lecturers have said they will not be performing polling duties due to the security situation. The overall scenario, then, is not a happy one at all. The tensions are palpable and, given where things stand, we can only hope the military security plan will work, enabling the conduct of peaceful elections during which people will feel safe in going to polling stations and voting. Whether we will succeed in doing this has become the most pressing issue of all as polling day draws nearer.
Pakistan: Need to speak up: Condemning election violence
THE joint statement on Monday from the PPP, MQM and ANP in Karachi saying that the parties would contest the elections despite the terrorist violence they have been confronted with is a bold move. It reflects political maturity as these very parties have in the past fought it out between themselves on the streets of Karachi. In fact, the statement in Karachi should be echoed by the parties’ top leaders at a national level. Obviously there has been a realisation that there is a bigger common enemy (religious extremists, mainly the TTP) to contend with and there is more at stake (the democratic transition) here than petty political gains.
After all, these three parties have been most affected by the violence: the ANP has relentlessly been targeted in KP and the MQM’s election offices in Karachi have been bombed while one of its candidates was killed in Hyderabad. The PPP has not even begun its campaign due to the security situation. It is also important that the parties have called for the elections to be held on time. A delay will only serve as a victory for the militants. That is why it is essential that the state vastly improves its security measures.
All parties must send out a strong message of having polls on time and not bowing to the extremists’ tactics on the national stage. In particular, those parties need to speak up who have escaped the militants’ wrath so far. After much debate Imran Khan has spoken out against the targeting of political parties, even if this has come in the form of making an appeal to the militants to cease their campaign of destruction. At least he has spoken up. On the other hand, major political forces such as Nawaz Sharif and the religious parties have either remained silent or been ambiguous in their condemnation of pre-poll violence. JI chief Munawar Hassan has called for an “all-party conference” to discuss the national situation. But with such a small window left between now and election day this may not be a feasible option, considering that many leading candidates are out on the campaign trail.
Instead, the JI and all other political stakeholders need to condemn the violence in unequivocal terms and express solidarity with the parties that have been targeted and are under threat. If silence is maintained, it will only add to the feeling that certain parties are indirectly gain-ing from the militants’ campaign against liberal and left-of-centre political forces.
President Zardari for legislative, administrative mechanism for protection of rights of workers
President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed hope that the provinces, keeping in view their responsibilities after the 18th amendment, will put in place appropriate legislative and administrative mechanism to ensure protection of rights of the workers.
In a message on the Labour Day, the President said "May 1 should serve to remind us of our commitment to the workers' right to dignity, decent wages and protection from arbitrary termination."
The President while paying homage to the Chicago Martyrs for their fight against oppression a century ago said; "we also renew our pledges made to the workers, peasants and wage-earners that we will not abandon them in their struggle for a rightful place in society."
The President said a contended and satisfied labour force was central to the production cycle and national development and was the driving force behind any industrial and agricultural progress.
"All claims of development will remain meaningless until the vulnerable working class is emancipated, empowered and rehabilitated," the President said.
President Zardari said emancipation and welfare of labour has been central to the struggle of leaders like Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
He pointed that during the past few years a number of practical steps have been taken for improving the condition of the workers.
These included reinstatement of sacked employees, regularization of contract and daily wage earners, empowering the workers to seek legal remedies against any unlawful dismissals, restoration of trade union activities, promulgation of Industrial Relations Act 2012 and making workers and employees share-holders in the state-run entities.
However, the President pointed that the struggle for workers' rights was far from over.
"We still have to go a long way in addressing issues relating to exploitation of the workers, child and forced labour and no representation in legislative assemblies etc."
He said following the 18th Constitutional Amendment the subject of labour has been devolved to the provinces.
"I am confident that the provinces are aware of their responsibilities for putting in place appropriate legislative and administrative mechanisms to ensure protection of workers' rights."
The President while greeting the labour and workers also called upon them to continue working hard for the progress, prosperity and socio-economic development of Pakistan.
Pakistan: The slaughter of the lambs
EDITORIAL : Daily TimesSaying that the national and international establishment are keeping the moderate and liberal parties away from the elections purposefully sounds more like an attempt to shift the burden. Terrorism, as it has come to invade every part of our lives, and now the elections, was left to grow and fester in the absence of any concerted, integrated and responsive counter-terrorism strategy by the government. Had there been serious effort to control this menace, the elections, being the most important event of Pakistan’s history, would not have become an issue of life and death. Rehman Malik, the former interior minister of Pakistan, in spite of knowing that the elections would open a floodgate of terrorism could not do anything to prevent the development. Whether it was lack of political will or sheer negligence of the government, we are now reaping the results. Obviously the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) tactically is attacking the liberal and moderate parties. That sounds very much like the militants’ programme. It was the responsibility of the parties, now the target of the TTP, the PPP, the MQM and the ANP, who were part of the government both in the provinces and in the centre for five years, to build deterrent policies against the impending crisis. The emerging solidarity among the parties under attack now would do little except perhaps encourage their voters to frustrate the dirty game of the militants by going to the polls on election day. On the other hand the right-wing parties, having a free hand to campaign, should know that they too can be exposed to hard times. The TTP has its own agenda to follow. Their challenge to the state would not go away once the party they are going soft on is in power. In fact those they are now implicitly ‘helping’ to campaign in the elections fearlessly, would be under pressure to toe their line. For now the division between liberal/secular versus conservative reflects an ideological schism that could eventually tear Pakistan apart. Punjab, for the terrorists’ tactical reasons, since nearly 70 candidates of banned religious organisations are contesting from here, is left untouched. The rest of Pakistan has become a pool of blood. Two independent candidates have so far been killed. An election in Mirpurkhas has been postponed. PPP has done not a single large rally fearing a TTP backlash. MQM and ANP have already lost several party workers in a matter of one week. This will eventually deepen the resentment of other provinces that they always had for Punjab. Exclusivity somehow has always been Punjab’s prerogative. Now with militancy too favouring Punjab, division of hearts and minds between Punjab and other provinces could be easily imagined, especially in the post-election period. Now that the attacks by the TTP on only three parties in three provinces is already being seen as pre-poll rigging, the results of elections will also be considered skewed in favour of the centre-right parties. How will this affect the atmosphere of the post-election period is again disturbing. The new government will already enter office with lots of baggage. The TTP is a monster newly energised during the elections. Neither the PTI nor the PML-N has uttered a single word against the atrocity that is killing people like flies. Their silence is intolerable for many. It is not a free lunch that they believe they will savour forever. Eventually they might be slaughtered as well.
Pakistan: Call to close student hostels
In a letter to media, leader of banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Hakimullah Mehsud says his group is focused on jeopardizing democracy by hindering elections in the country. He urged TTP militants to target senior politicians and party leaders and continue the battle against the security forces. In attacks on the election rallies so far, the TTP has claimed lives of nearly 60 individuals. Amidst mounting fears of terrorist attacks, most leaders are shying away from holding public gatherings. With the political parties' subdued, the TTP rhetoric comprising threats and vows from undisclosed locations have become more frequent, making the overall election environment dreadful and frightening, indeed. In Multan, a young TTP activists and student Bahauddin Zakariyah University, has been found flashing posters and banners scripted with inflammatory messages to encourage people to refrain from going to polls pleading that democracy was 'un-Islamic and Haraam-a term often used for religiously illegal activity.' Good news is that the police have caught the TTP activists and are looking for his two accomplices. More details will follow in due course of police investigation. The incident, however, has given a big lead to the law enforcing agencies. Earlier, similar activity has been witnessed in other parts of the country too. Across the board, scanning of students at this point is a difficult task; yet, the best course that the administration can undertake is to shutdown all student hostels and residences affiliated with the government and private schools, colleges, universities and religious institutions immediately till elections are held. The closing down the educational institutions for a couple of weeks or so to save the country's system and the lives of the innocent people is not a big deal. The move will disrupt rather uproot the network of the TPP activists at once, bringing some respite--may be for time being. The caretakers governments in the Centre and the provinces must not live under the illusion regarding the extent of penetration of the TPP men across Pakistan.
Coupled with the Army vigilance, the volunteers of all the political parties should also guard each and every polling station across the country. Despite terrorist threats, the people are pouring out large in numbers to attend public meetings notcaring for their lives. The political leaders should not take refuge inside armoured vehicles escorted by armed security men or behind the bulletproof glass screens; rather, they should come out in the public to lead the nation from the front-the Awami National Party despite loosing a number of activists and leaders-- is a classic example to follow, and its fortitude deserves appreciation. The support to the ANP will deny encouragement to the terrorists that they can disrupt the system of the country. The security is clearly a major preoccupation-it is just too dangerous, yet the fate of life and death lies in the hands of God only. No amount of security can save a life if it is not blessed by Allah Almighty. A handful terrorists cannot contest might of the nation if the people stand firmly stands behind political leaders. There are several countries, including Iran and Sri Lanka where the leaders weathered even-worst terrorist storm to form their governments in the best interest of the countries. Deriving courage, conviction and determination from faith, many believe in, the three main parties in the outgoing government. The PPP, the MQM and the ANP have curtailed public gatherings in the face of direct Taliban threats; however, this must not leave their followers disappointed in this critical phase of the Pakistan's history. It is a good omen that All Party Conference held in Karachi has united the politicalforces at one platform. Notwithstanding the measures the All Party Conference suggested and adopted, the moot would send a strong signal to that finally the political will of the people does not allow for any self-styled doctrine under any pretext, and that popular will, will prevail, All political leaders must show some spine to lead the country and the nation from the front. The salvation of the country is hidden in an upfront political response of the masses to the terrorist threats.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Pakistan: Conspiracy to bring pro-Taliban PM
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Farooq Sattar has said that attempts were being made to hijack May 11 elections, Geo News reported.
Addressing a press conference along with Awami National Party (ANP) leader Shahi Syed and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Rehman Malik, Farooq Sattar said Pakistani and international establishment was part of the conspiracy to hijack polls.
MQM leader said Pakistan was being led to impartial elections. He demanded equal opportunities for all political parties to contest polls.
He demanded of the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) and the caretaker government to ensure free, fair and transparent elections, adding Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the interim government should fulfill their responsibilities.
ANP leader Shahi Syed said Taliban were hitting only three political parties. He said they would render any sacrifice for Pakistan.
Former interior minister Rehman Malik said terrorists want to disintegrate the country. He said MQM chief Altaf Hussain had warned about Talibanization a year ago.
Malik said President Zardari, Altaf Hussain and Asfandyar Wali had vowed to fight terrorism. PPP, ANP and MQM will have to chalk out joint strategy to fight this menace, he added.
He warned that conspiracy was being hatched to bring pro-Taliban prime minister in Pakistan.
Musharraf banned from politics for 'life'
A Pakistani court has imposed a lifetime ban on former president Pervez Musharraf from contesting elections, the latest blow since he returned from exile to make a political comeback.
The Peshawar High Court handed down the lifetime ban Tuesday after hearing an appeal by Musharraf's lawyer to allow him to run in the upcoming election.
"The former dictator [Musharraf] had ordered senior judges and their families be put under house arrest and twice abrogated the country's constitution," Court Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan said when reading out the order.
Musharraf returned to Pakistan in March, planning to stand in May 11 vote after four years in self-imposed exile. But, judges barred him from running and put him under house arrest in connection with a pair of court cases against him.
One involves his decision to fire senior judges, including the chief justice of the Supreme Court, while in power. The other relates to the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007. Government prosecutors have accused Musharraf of being involved - allegations he has denied.
Musharraf seized power in a coup in 1999 when he was serving as army chief and ruled for nearly a decade. He stepped down in 2008 because of growing discontent with his rule.
Appeal expected
One of Musharraf's lawyers, Saad Shibli, said he would go to the Supreme Court to challenge Tuesday's ruling, claiming the former leader should not be singled out for punishment for his actions while in power since others were involved.
"About 500 officials at different levels and institutions were part of Musharraf's actions, and if those actions come under scrutiny, all those people should be involved in this matter,'' Shibli said.
It was the first time a court in Pakistan had declared a citizen ineligible from running for public office for life.
On April 20, a court remanded the former president in custody for two weeks, a deadline set to expire on May 4, as judges pushed ahead with plans to put Musharraf on trial for a crackdown on the judiciary during his time in office.
On Tuesday, an anti-terrorism court in the garrison city of Rawalpindi put Musharraf on a 14-day judicial remand for charges of failing to provide adequate security for Bhutto before her assassination.
The new deadline of May 14 means Musharraf will be in detention on election day.
The elections are seen as a key moment in Pakistan's attempts to shake off a legacy of decades of military rule as they represent the first time a democratically elected civilian government has completed a term in office.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the man Musharraf ousted in a coup in 1999, is seen as the front runner.
President Zardari for talks to resolve Syrian crisis
President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday reiterated that Pakistan supported all efforts to facilitate a peaceful Syrian-led and inclusive solution meeting the democratic aspirations of the Syrian people through a comprehensive political dialogue involving both the government and opposition.
The president said this while speaking to Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, who called on him at the Bilawal House. The meeting was attended among others by Ghassan Dallah, Dr Ali Muhra, Senator Farhatullah Babar and Jalil Abbas Jilani.
He said Pakistan believed that Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty must be respected and that any outside interference would only complicate a complex situation and would have serious consequences for the neighboring countries.
The drive for peace in Syria must be led and owned by the Syrian people, he said and offered Pakistan’s readiness to play its role in finding a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis.
Senator Babar said the president while expressing concerns at the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Syria appreciated the efforts being made by Lakhdar Brahimi, joint representative of the UN and the League of Arab States, and expressed the hope that he would convince the protagonists to resolve their differences through negotiations.
The president said Pakistan enjoyed friendly and fraternal relations with Syria.
The Syrian deputy foreign minister said Syria valued its friendly relations with Pakistan and was keen to further strengthen its bilateral ties in various fields.
The president hosted lunch for the Syrian delegation.
Ill-Considered Advice on Syria
To hear Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina tell it, the way forward on Syria is clear. The United States should be doing more — directly arming the rebels seeking overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, establishing a no-fly zone. This is not a new line for these two legislators and others in Congress who share their views. But it has gathered force since the Obama administration disclosed last week that it believes Mr. Assad’s forces have used sarin gas against Syrians.
For all their exhortations, what the senators and like-minded critics have not offered is a coherent argument for how a more muscular approach might be accomplished without dragging the United States into another extended and costly war and how it might yield the kind of influence and good will for this country that the interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan have not.
Mr. Graham and Mr. McCain to the contrary, the administration has not adopted a hands-off approach to Syria. Early on, it collaborated with the Europeans on a political solution, which failed. It is the largest donor of humanitarian aid to Syrians ($400 million), and it just doubled its nonlethal aid to the opposition to $250 million. With mixed success, Washington has also worked to organize fractious rebel groups into a more cohesive and effective whole, while delegitimizing Mr. Assad.
Unlike Mr. McCain and Mr. Graham, who have also faulted President Obama for withdrawing troops from Iraq and tried to goad him into a more militaristic position on Iran, the president has been trying to disentangle the United States from overseas conflicts and, as a result, has been very cautious about military involvement in Syria.
That may have to change now that Mr. Assad’s forces are accused of using chemical weapons. Mr. Obama backed himself into a corner when he warned the Syrian leader that using chemical weapons would constitute a “red line” and be a “game changer,” suggesting strongly and perhaps unwisely that crossing that line would trigger some kind of American action.
The failure to act now could be misread by Mr. Assad as well as leaders in Iran and North Korea, whose nuclear programs are on America’s radar. But Mr. Obama should only act if he has compelling documentation that the sarin gas was used in an attack by Syrian forces and was not the result of an accident or fertilizer. The Financial Times reported the evidence is based on two separate samples taken from victims of the attacks.
With the civil war in Syria now in its third year and the death toll at more than 70,000, the situation has deteriorated. Mr. Assad remains in power, sectarian divisions have intensified and fleeing refugees are destabilizing neighboring countries. Most worrisome, jihadis linked to Al Qaeda have become the dominant fighting force and, as Ben Hubbard reported in The Times, there are few rebel groups that both share the political vision of the United States and have the military might to push it forward.
There have never been easy options for the United States in Syria; they have not improved with time. And Russia and Iran, both enablers of Mr. Assad, deserve particular condemnation. Without their support, Mr. Assad would not have lasted this long. Still, the country is important to regional stability. Mr. Obama must soon provide a clearer picture of how he plans to use American influence in dealing with the jihadi threat and the endgame in Syria.
Afghanistan: young woman shot dead by her father in front of 300 people for 'dishonouring' family
The killing of a young Afghan woman by her father in front of a large crowd last week - on the grounds that she had “dishonoured” the family - is further proof that the authorities are failing to tackle shocking levels of gender-based violence in the country, Amnesty International said today.
The woman, who has two children, was shot dead last Monday (22 April) by her father in front of a crowd of about 300 people in the village of Kookchaheel, in the Aabkamari district of Badghis province in north-western Afghanistan.
The woman, named Halima, who was believed to be between 18 and 20 years old, was accused of running away with a male cousin while her husband was in Iran. Her cousin returned Halima to her relatives ten days after running away with her. His whereabouts are unknown.
The killing came after three of the village’s religious leaders, allegedly linked to the Taliban, issued a fatwa (religious edict) that Halima should be killed publicly, after her father sought their advice about his daughter’s elopement. Halima’s father and the three religious council members who issued the fatwa have reportedly gone into hiding. The local police say they are investigating the case, but no one has yet been arrested in connection with the killing.
Amnesty International’s Afghanistan researcher Horia Mosadiq said:
“The deeply shocking practice of women being subjected to violent ‘punishments’, including killing, publicly or privately, must end.
“The authorities across Afghanistan must ensure that perpetrators of violence against women are brought to justice.
“Violence against women continues to be endemic in Afghanistan and those responsible very rarely face justice.
“Not only do women face violence at the hands of family members for reasons of preserving so-called ‘honour’, but frequently women face human rights abuses resulting from verdicts issued by traditional, informal justice systems. These systems must be reformed and the police must prevent such verdicts being carried out.”
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) documented more than 4,000 cases of violence against women in a six-month period last year (21 March-21 October 2012) - a rise of 28% compared with the same period in the previous year. The AIHRC has also criticised the Afghan police in Baghdis for recruiting suspected perpetrators of such violence, including a Taliban commander and his 20 men implicated in the stoning to death of 45-year-old widow Bibi Sanuber for alleged adultery in 2010.
In August 2009, Afghanistan passed the Elimination of Violence against Women Law, which criminalises forced marriage, rape, beatings and other acts of violence against women.
“Afghanistan’s law for the elimination of violence against women is a very positive step, but it will not be useful unless it is properly enforced - something we haven’t seen so far,” said Horia Mosadiq.
Bangladesh defends rejection of foreign aid for collapse
Bangladesh has defended its decision to turn down foreign help following Wednesday's collapse of a building near Dhaka that killed at least 382 people.
Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir told the BBC authorities were confident they could deal with the crisis and emergency services did "a good job".
Hundreds are thought to be trapped but hope of finding more alive is fading.
Most victims are thought to be garment factory workers. The building's owner has been arrested.
Mohammed Sohel Rana is one of eight people detained, along with at least two garment factory owners.They face allegations of negligence, illegal construction and persuading workers to enter the building in Savar - a day after visible cracks appeared.
Separately two companies whose suppliers were based in the building, Britain's Primark and Canada's Loblaw, said on Monday they would pay compensation and offer emergency food aid to victims who worked for their suppliers.
'Proud'
Mr Alamgir said that the Bangladeshi authorities "were confident we could manage it ourselves" in the rescue operation and had "enough people" involved in the rescue operation.
He pointed out that nearly 2,430 of at least 3,000 people who had been in the building survived.
The minister said this figure was "better than the average international effort in such cases".
"We did a good job and I am proud of my people - the firemen, the military, the police, the local volunteers who all came in to help."
Mr Alamgir added that foreign countries had not provided a list of specialist equipment Bangladesh had asked for.
Both the UK government and the United Nations have said they had teams of experts ready to head out to Bangladesh, but their offer of help was turned down.
'No-one seen alive'
Anger at the building's collapse has triggered days of violent protests in Dhaka demanding those responsible be punished and for an improvement in factory conditions.
Garment industry workers across the country were given the weekend off, in the hope that the anger would fade.
But on Monday, thousands of workers walked out of factories in the Ashulia and Gazipur industrial districts shortly after they opened, and staged a protest march, reportedly setting fire to an ambulance.
Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing cheap clothing for major Western retailers that benefit from its widespread low-cost labour.
But the industry has been widely criticised for its low pay and limited rights given to workers and for the often dangerous working conditions in garment factories.
Reign of terror - Day 4: Nine killed in Peshawar blast
The Express TribuneAt least nine people were killed and more than 60 injured in a bomb blast on Peshawar’s crowded Arbab Road Monday morning. Two Afghan consulate officials were among those killed in the blast, the Afghan consul general told The Express Tribune. The bomb was attached to a motorcycle that had been parked on a service lane near a bus stop, about 10 feet away from where a police mobile was parked. As a result of the blast, five people were killed on the spot, while dozens, including four policemen, were injured. Two buses packed with passengers were badly damaged in the explosion, while the police mobile was also damaged slightly. The injured victims were shifted to the nearby hospitals, where four of them succumbed to their injuries, pushing the death toll to nine. Five of them are stated to be in critical condition. SP Cantt Faisal Kamran told The Express Tribune that four policemen, who were sitting in the mobile vehicle, were also injured but since the mobile was shielded by the buses it was spared the brunt of the explosion. He did however warn that they were expecting more such attacks in the coming days. Initially, the blast was mistaken to be a suicide attack. However, by evening the BDS team had gathered enough evidence that suggested the bomb was planted on a motorcycle. AIG Special Branch and head of Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) Shafqat Malik said the mistake was made because they had recovered body pieces from the site of the blast, which they initially assumed belonged to a suicide bomber. “The ill-fated person whose body was found in pieces could have been a passerby, but he wasn’t a suicide bomber,” he explained. Afghan consulate officials killed Two of the victims, Idrees Khan and Hilal Ahmad, were employees of the Afghan Commercial Office and Afghan Refugees Office, which is run by the Afghan government and is located on Arbab Road. A spokesperson of the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad, Zardasht Shamus, told The Express Tribune: “Idrees was an employee of the refugee office while Hilal was working for the commercial office. Both were employees of the Afghan government”. He added that Hilal was the son of Qazi Muhammad Amin Waqad, a member of the Afghan High Peace Council, an outfit tasked with peace negotiations with Taliban in the war torn country. Afghan Counsul General Syed Muhammad Ibrahim Khel said the two officials had been working in the Afghan consulate in Peshawar and did not have diplomatic status. Khel said that Hilal and Idrees were headed to their office in the University Town area when the blast occurred. Afghan embassy spokesperson Shams Zadasht says that Afghan authorities have requested the Pakistani police to share details of their investigations into the attack. Zardasht told The Express Tribune that he was not sure if the two Afghan consulate employees were the target. ANP targeted in Charsadda, Mardan At least one person was killed while 15 others, including Awami National Party workers, were wounded in a blast targeting a convoy of ANP candidate in Charsadda district Monday evening. DSP Salim Riaz told The Express Tribune said that ANP’s Muhammad Ahmad Khan was leaving his election office when a remote-controlled bomb planted in the middle of the crowded Sardheri Bazaar went off near his vehicle. Meanwhile, a bomb planted by unidentified militants near the hujra of ANP local leader Haji Khan Daraz, detonated in the Katlang area of Mardan early Monday morning. While the hujra was partially damaged, no human loss was reported. Meanwhile, an Awami National Party candidate’s security guard was gunned down by unidentified attackers in the Hakeemabad area of Nowshera district Monday afternoon. Johar Ali, a private security guard for ANP’s Shahid Khattak, was on duty at the candidate’s home when two masked men on a motorcycle opened fire on him, killing him instantly, police said. Meanwhile, two candidates in Karak’s NA-15 and PK-14 constituencies – Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) candidate Moulana Shah Abdul Aziz and Malik Qasim Khan – came under attack in separate incidents on Monday. Both escaped unharmed.
Pakistan: Battle for democracy
Going by the set of candidates, their manipulative electioneering campaigns and the party leaders' largely empty, if not indecorous, rhetoric at the rallies are any indicators the outcome of the May 11 election is not expected to be very different from before. Of course, there are quite a few new entrants - some only for inclusion in the 'also-ran' list - but most of the front-runners are chips off the old block. If they are not close blood relations of the party leaders then they are time-tested cronies or safe bets on their family seats. Even the latest players in the power game have preferred 'electables' over their committed workers.
Yet in the fullness of time the outcome of the May 11 election would be recorded as different, very different, from ever before - for the reason that this is taking place despite the stiffest and most prohibiting challenges. Given a high incidence of violence in many parts of the country particularly in provincial capitals of Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar, the forces opposed to this democratic exercise seem to be calling the shots, at least as of now. Three major political parties - PPP, ANP and MQM - have been literally confined to have at best corner meetings instead of public rallies, a situation that is a crass contradiction of the much-hallowed characteristic of impartial and transparent election. No wonder the leaders of the three parties are crying foul, complaining inaccessibility to a level playing field and pre-poll rigging. With only 10 days left for the polls the election wagon is running the endgame lap. The anti-democracy forces will spare no device in order to derail the wagon of democracy; we may have more violence at more places. But whatever cost the democratic forces they cannot afford to abandon the race and thus yield to anti-democratic forces. For all practical purposes for democracy in Pakistan it is 'to be or not to be' question. By derailing the electoral process now under way the anti-democratic forces will have won and the future Pakistan an anachronistic fiefdom runs by extremists. And if some parties now in the field feel safe and un-rattled by violence they are sadly mistaken. Read what the spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman says; he says "we are against the secular and democratic system which is against the ideology of Islam ...and we are not expecting any good from other parties either, who are supportive of the same system". Why they are not being targeted, the spokesman says, that's "our own prerogative".
No doubt in the situation that tends to obtain during the next week or so the prospects of an election that would be peaceful, largely participated and rightly reflective of the national will are slim if not dismal. But some of the steps of late taken by the authorities will certainly help restore the balance between the threat posed by the TTP and its genre and the polity's mood to exercise its democratic right to choose its rulers. The most crucial step is the government's decision to deploy forces including troops in all the districts of Balochistan. Some 18,461 teachers had refused to perform polling duties in 11 sensitive districts fearing violence. Not only on the day of election but all along since May 1 the troops and paramilitary forces would be deployed hoping it would give boost to presently nearly stalled electioneering activity. In fact, the threat to timely election in Balochistan is double-edged. Both the TTP and the nationalists are working hand in glove to sabotage the polls, the former out to assert that election is anti-Islam and the latter to establish that the province is beyond the writ of the government of Pakistan. At the same time the political parties have to forge unity in defence of election on time not only by condemning violence but also by desisting use of abusive language against each other, which tends to cast them more as power-hungry gamblers than as national leaders. That they have yet to sit together and think out a united stand against terrorist attacks is indeed disappointing. Perhaps they don't realise the consequences of a failed election. Not only the outcome of the polls held in the absence of level playing field would be controversial it may trigger a replay of 1977 failed election facilitating General Ziaul Haq to take-over. It's heartening that the caretaker government would brook no delay in holding election on May 11. But it's not the government and the candidates that have to secure timely election; the voters too owe a responsibility in that they should turn up at the polling booths in large numbers. A poor turnout is also a negative development that can help the anti-democratic forces claim that the people are also opposed to having a democratic system in Pakistan. We are in the midst of a gigantic battle for the survival of democracy in Pakistan, and it can be won only by putting aside party affiliations and personal reservations.
Pakistan: ''' The silence of the lambs ''
EDITORIAL :Daily JangIt is the worst of times for the secular parties participating in the elections. They are being targeted for not being in the good books of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The centrist and right wing parties on the orher hand are conducting their election campaigns without any constraints. Of the four provinces in Pakistan, three are awash in blood. Punjab has not been touched as the TTP is tactically concentrating on the other three provinces so as not to disturb their bases in Punjab. This tactical tilt by the TTP has already been dubbed as an attempt to skew the election results. The plan seems very much in place to bring parties of the TTP’s choice into power. The recent statement by PTI chief Imran Khan, requesting the TTP to renounce violence during the elections and allow a new Pakistan to emerge through the ballot, is absurd to say the least. The TTP would rather have their own version of Pakistan, something for which they have split so much blood over the years. And if Imran believes that after coming to power he could turn the extremists around from their so-called desire to build an Islamic emirate in Pakistan to creating an Islamic welfare state, he may be living in a fool’s paradise. The same is true of the PML-N. If they think that having been left to bask freely in the election campaign the TTP would be easy to rein in once PML-N is in power, the party may be better served by giving a second thought to their approach to the TTP. At least 50 people have died since April in election-related attacks. More attacks are in the offing, as declared by the TTP. People are already speculating over the possibility of the elections not taking place. Just as every attack has emboldened the militants’ resistance to the polls, so has it diminished the confidence of the public in the elections. The fear of May 11 being bloodier has been reflected by thousands of teachers in Balochisran who have refused to do polling duty on the day. The caretaker Minister of Law has indicated the possibility of requesting the army to take over security so that the elections can be conducted without hindrance. Any means that guarantee people getting a chance to reach the polling booths in all the provinces should be adopted by the caretaker government to resist the undemocratic forces from establishing their grip on the polity. The TTP are killing, shooting and maiming even the innocent to disrupt the polls. None of the threatened parties — the PPP, the MQM or the ANP has shown cowardice in the face of danger. All these parties have shown solidarity and resolved not to back off from the elections, which are essential for Pakistan. The silence in Punjab over the miscreants’ acts is becoming intolerable. People are questioning the PML-N’s and PTI’s silence over the killings and shootings. Again if the notion is that all will be well once the elections are over, perhaps it would eventually be the centre-right parties bearing the brunt of the TTP’s nefarious designs. Everybody in Pakistan is trying to make a new Pakistan, the TTP, the PTI, and now even the PML-N has joined the chorus. Would it not be a better idea to save Pakistan from the hands of the militants and let it be what it should be, a democratic state?
Pakistan: Bomb-hit political parties see conspiracy against ‘moderates’
Daily TimesThree ‘moderate’ political parties of the country, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Awami National Party (ANP) see conspiracy of ‘national and international establishments’ behind continued terrorist attacks against them. The establishments are going to repeat the Afghan Jihad policy of 80s in view of the scheduled withdrawal of NATO forces in 2014. The ‘enlightened’ parties of the country joined hands on Monday after facing a series of terrorist attacks on their election offices and public gatherings in Karachi and other parts of the country during the month of April. Speaking at their first-ever joint press conference at the Karachi Press Club, the leaders of the three parties said that terrorists have targeted only the progressive parties during their electioneering. On other hand, they added, the right wing parties have been provided open ground to run their election campaign. “A clear ideological line has been drawn,” said senior PPP leader Taj Haider while addressing the joint press conference. He said that progressive parties are at one side, which strive for the elimination of extremism and terrorism and hence are being attacked and restrained from their election campaign. On other side, he added, some parties, whom the terrorists believe to be their warrantors, have continued electioneering. “The Afghanistan and Pakistan region had been burning for the last 30 years. Do Western powers want to hand it over to fundamental forces again, when they leave?” he asked. He stated that terrorists attacking progressive parties are militant wings of right-wing political parties. “It appears that an international, national and local conspiracy is behind this ideological division,” remarked MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi. He opined that the international forces support this division as the NATO forces have to pass via this route on their withdrawal from Afghanistan. “Do not repeat the mistake again. You had taken the same decision in haste during the previous withdrawal from Afghanistan. The area will go in the hands of religious extremists,” the MQM leader said. He warned that such a policy would cause reoccurrence of incidents like 9/11. The national and international establishments will again be caught due to repetition of their policies, Rizvi said, adding, “They should choose their friends carefully.” ANP leader Bashir Jan said that the three parties are being punished for the bold policies they followed during their last five-year rule.
Pakistan: Fears of election delay mount
Having mandated to hold general election on May 11, the caretaker government too has failed to prioritize the issues confronting the country. After assuming the power, like outgoing government of the Pakistan People’s Party, the caretakers mostly relied on press statements, making vows and pledges about holding the election—the quickest of all actions was elevation of the caretaker Prime Minister’s son and things like that, knowingly ignoring the core issue of terrorism. Bodies kept tumbling here and there amidst the bloodshed unleashed by the extremists, nationalists and terrorists. Thus today the fears loom laerge over the much-hyped vows of holding the election especially in Kyber Pakhtunkhawa, Balochitan and Karachi. Despite all-out support of the Pakistan’s armed forces and the superior judiciary, the Interior Ministry never came up with anti-terrorism measures, leaving the electioneering process exposed to terrorists. Army, Rangers, police and intelligence agencies seam either non-existent or are proving too vulnerable to the planning of terrorist-outfits. Frequency with which the terrorists are striking is a testimony to this effect. Deny it if you can. Consequently, first the Teachers Association in Balochistan, fearing risks associated with their election duty, refused to conduct the elections in the restive Balochistan and subsequently, the provincial lecturers on Monday joined the teachers’ boycott. They are not wrong either. So far, after the negotiation with the Balochistan government, the teachers have agreed to perform election duties in only Lasbella and Chagai out of 12 sensitive districts of the province. Realizing the sensitive the development taking place in the country, a meeting of Corp commanders in Army’s General Head Quarters in Rawalpindi has approved the deployment of troops for the security during the upcoming elections throughout the country. Thereafter, the Army and FC began troops’ deployment in the sensitive districts of Balochistan, and the first contingent of the Pakistan Army has departed from Quetta to Mastung. Under the contingency plan, around 50,000 Balochistan Constabulary, Police and Levies along with 22000 military and Para-military troops will be deployed in 30 districts of the province.
As a last resort, a similar troops’ deployment is on the cards for the KPK and Sindh. But the details of the plan are being awaited. Considering the risks involved in the election process, the troops deployment should have done a little earlier. Yet the late is better than never. Finally, the Election Commission of Pakistan too has taken notice of frequent incidents violence in various parts of the country and directed the provincial governments to provide protection to candidates and political leaders, taking ‘earnest measures to ensure a highly guarded atmosphere for the elections. Much delayed condemnation of recent killings, firing and bomb blasts on the part of the Election Commission of Pakistan has further eroded the credibility of the Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim and the other members of the ECP. Unfortunately, the Election Commission of Pakistan is seen more worried about ransacking of the vehicle of a lady candidate in Lahore instead of the unabated bloodbath being executed in the FATA, the KPK, Quetta and Karachi. The Election Commission must redirect its energies and efforts to conduct the general elections peacefully in all parts of the country rather than guarding the personal images of a few. The people of Pakistan want safety to the human life and property. Political rhetoric in the election run-up does not matter. The Interior Ministry and the Election Commission, leaving aside the rhetoric making headlines, should do some thing serious to take the people into confidence, who are supposed to go to the field to face the consequences thus it should take measures to ensure safety of the election staff.
Watching the apathy of the Election Commission and other security staff, today teachers and lecturers of Balochistan have refused to join election duty what if the election staff in other restive areas of the country also says ‘no’ to the election duty. The situation in Peshawar and its adjoining tribal areas is far more dangerous even on Monday morning a bomb blast rocked the University Road resulting in more killings and injuries. Performing election duty under imminent risk and threat to life is a big ask and if some says ‘no’ to it hardly it is a matter of surprise. To win back confidence of the election staff and voters to come out in the greater interest of the country, the security forces must take over the administrative control over the infrastructure, plugging in all the lapses from where the terrorists can sneak in otherwise the mounting fears of delay in the election will turn into a reality.
Pakistan’s late Bhutto still leads her party in campaign
The most popular politician in Pakistan’s largest party won’t be staging any rallies or participating in debates as May’s historic national election nears.
The reason: She’s dead.
Yet Benazir Bhutto, assassinated more than five years ago, is still the standard bearer of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). In its TV commercials and banners, she has been pushed to the forefront of the party’s uphill campaign to return to power in Parliament after a widely criticized five-year term.
Hers is the face of the party on its official manifesto. She looms over smaller photos of her widower, President Asif Ali Zardari, and their son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who lead the party but are rarely seen in public.
The PPP’s campaign in the runup to the May 11 vote has been proscribed by security concerns. The Pakistani Taliban, which asserted responsibility for Bhutto’s murder, has warned the secular party that its candidates and rallies will be attacked. In recent weeks the militants have killed several leaders and workers in the parties that formed the PPP government’s ruling coalition.
That may be part of the reason that Bhutto, who served twice as prime minister and was Pakistan’s only woman premier, has become a constant presence in the race.
But her embattled party really has no other option but to stress its lineage, analysts say. The newly ended government was marred by an economic meltdown and persistent corruption cases against top officials.
Even though the party and its coalition partners made history as the first civilian government in Pakistan’s 65-year history to complete a full term — thereby shepherding a democratic transition of power — that accomplishment has not lowered the price of wheat or gasoline, given people jobs or diminished poverty.
Zardari polls miserably. The former prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, was drummed from office by Pakistan’s Supreme Court last year for refusing to submit to its orders to reopen a money laundering case against Zardari. And the public blames Gilani’s successor, Raja Pervez Ashraf, a former energy minister, for crippling electrical and natural gas shortages.
Bhutto Zardari, 24, is too young to run for a seat in the May 11 election — the minimum age in Pakistan is 25.
In a video released Tuesday, the party heir reassured voters that he “wanted to launch the election campaign in the streets of my country alongside my workers,” but he said it was too dangerous.
“Once again the enemies of peace and prosperity are standing in front of us,” Bhutto Zardari said.
So the party is left with only ghosts to burnish its image.
In campaign ads and on placards, Benazir Bhutto is always clad in a fashionable headscarf — in some photos merely casting a serene gaze, in others raising an arm forcefully, as if at an eternal rally. The latter image has been paired with one of her son giving a victory sign.
In placards hung around the capital, Islamabad, touting one of the party’s National Assembly candidates, Bhutto takes the top position — usually reserved for living prime minister candidates in other parties’ signs.
The PPP’s signage and literature also rarely fail to invoke the memory of her father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who founded the party and later served as Pakistan’s prime minister and president.
Both of them are bestowed the title “shaheed,” or martyr, whenever mentioned in party speeches and materials.
“She has got a cult status, and the Bhutto name has got a cult status,” said Usman Khalid, a former Pakistani Army brigadier general. “Martyrdom and martyrs matter.”
As the old PPP slogan goes: “Bhutto is still alive today and Bhutto will still be alive tomorrow.”
Will pre-election violence impact Pakistan's elections?
At least eight people were killed and 40 more injured in a suicide bombing this morning in northwest Pakistan. The country has seen scores killed in pre-election violence.
At least eight people were killed and 40 more injured in a suicide bombing on a busy road in the Pakistani city of Peshawar Monday morning. The attack capped off a weekend of election-related violence as the country prepares to go to the polls May 11.The bomber missed his ostensible target, a local commissioner, instead crashing his motorcycle into a passenger bus, Pakistan’s News International reports. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the Pakistani Taliban have carried out a range of similar attacks against secular political parties over the past several weeks.
Indeed, the explosion came just a day after two Taliban attacks targeting political candidates in northwestern Pakistan killed at least eight and injured dozens more. The Taliban and other groups have been responsible for at least 77 deaths in 44 election-related attacks since the beginning of April, Human Rights Watch told The New York Times."We are not in favor of democracy. Democracy is for Jews and Christians," Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud said in a recent propaganda video, according to CNN. He implored Pakistanis not to participate in the upcoming elections.
"We want the implementation of Sharia [law], and for that jihad is necessary,” he said.
The May elections will be the first in the country’s checkered political history when one democratically elected government will make way for another, and the uptick in militant violence leading to the historic vote has rattled both domestic and international observers.
But they remain divided on whether or not the spate of attacks will have a significant affect on the election’s outcome at the national level, particularly since neither of the two parties leading in polling over the past three months are among those targeted by the attacks.
As one analyst writing in the Pakistani daily Dawn argues, the violence, though significant, is too sporadic and narrowly targeted to create the kind of chaos necessarily to significantly sway the election’s results.
As for violence making elections impossible, the quantum would have to jump multifold and that too in key urban towns to spread the kind of fear that would result in elections being postponed. The ‘threshold rule’ applies here: the state has virtually no capacity to prevent targeted violence up to a certain threshold; beyond this, the militants have little chance of carrying out a coordinated campaign of major attacks in city centres in a short time. There is little reason to believe this will be upended over the coming fortnight.
Two of the frontrunners in the national campaign are the center-right Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and the centrist party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Taliban attacks, on the other hand, have largely targeted left-leaning parties, including the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), and the Awami National Party (ANP).
Local candidates for these parties complain that the violence has forced them to dramatically scale back their campaigning activities, leaving the field open for Islamist candidates to win over voters.
"If you tie my hands, and you want me to fight, I can’t,” Mian Iftikhar Hussain, a local candidate for the ANP in the city of Peshawar, told Dawn.
Overall, however, there is halting optimism in many quarters for Pakistan’s fragile democratic institutions. As the Monitor reported in March, the Pakistani National Assembly recently completed a five-year term for the first time in the country’s history, a signal that the country is finding new and non-militaristic ways to respond to its political grievances.
“These five years we saw many instances of corruption, confrontations with the judiciary, and absence of law and order,” says Rasul Bakhsh Raees, a professor of political science in Lahore, pointing to Karachi and Balochistan. “But the military decided not to intervene, which shows even their attitude is changing.” …
“Every phase of democracy in Pakistan has been a battle, but the trend shows it’s [heading] toward improving the overall institutional balance,” [he says].
Violence also cast a shadow over Pakistan’s last election, in 2008. On Dec. 27, 2007, Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister and the head of the PPP – then the leading opposition party – was assassinated after a campaign rally. Two months later, however, her party and the PLM-N emerged victorious from the campaign and formed a coalition government. That August, former military leader Pervez Musharraf stepped down as president and went into exile, formally ending his nine-year military rule.
Pakistan's campaign trail politicians use stealth to outwit Taliban threats
In a country where politicians strive to hold vast political rallies with huge crowds of supporters, it is hard to imagine a campaign event more low key than the one held recently in an almost pitch-black backstreet in Dera Ismail Khan.
Illuminated only by the headlights of a nearby car, the candidate standing for a seat in Pakistan's parliament made a brief speech to the hundred or so supporters mustered at short notice, before being ushered back to his armoured car by a team of bodyguards wearing white bulletproof vests over their white cotton shalwar kameez.
Ever since the Pakistani Taliban declared war on politicians from the country's three mainstream secular parties last month, such "corner meetings" have become the new normal for politicians such as Waqar Ahmed Khan, a sitting senator from the Pakistan People's party (PPP).
"He knows he has to be careful," said Mansoor Akbar Kundi, the vice-chancellor of the city's university and a friend of Khan. "The Taliban threat makes activists and candidates like Waqar less active than they would otherwise be. They just can't penetrate among the masses like they could in the past."
Khan plays down the threat, saying the shabby city is not as badly hit as other areas in the predominantly Pashtun lands bordering Afghanistan, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
But just a few hours earlier, an activist from another party had been killed when his car was fired at. The incident barely registered in the national media of a country growing used to a relentless campaign of violence against politicians. So far more than 50 people have been killed, including one candidate, and 200 injured. The Pakistani Taliban are determined to use fear and violence to rig historic elections due to be held on 11 May in favour of rightwing religious parties that sympathise with the militants – and many analysts think they are succeeding.
Politicians can's say they weren't warned. Last month, the Taliban released a video telling the public to stay away from rallies held by the PPP, the Awami National party (ANP) and Muttahida Qaumio Movement (MQM). All three are secular, have shared power during the last tumultuous five years and backed military campaigns against militants.
The ANP has been the worst hit so far, with several party workers killed. On 17 April, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a party meeting in Peshawar, killing 16 people. The Taliban said they were targeting Haroon Ahmad Bilour, a party leader whose father was killed by a suicide bombing in December. Party leaders even fear they will be denied a sympathy vote – although it is a secret ballot, polling stations known to be ANP strongholds could be targeted.
The onslaught has had a dramatic impact on a campaign that can often feel lacklustre, even in a large town such as Dera Ismail Khan.
Secular politicians increasingly have to make do with social media in a country where illiteracy is still rife, while rightwing and Islamist parties have been holding traditional rallies with few security concerns. Instead of rallies and public gatherings, politicians increasingly have to make do with social media in a country where illiteracy is still rife. The ANP has announced it will only hold small, closed-door party gatherings.
The ANP, traditionally a secular liberal party that has long taken a tough line against the Taliban, could be wiped out by the blizzard of violence. The attacks have forced it to close dozens of election offices in recent weeks. The party was already thought likely to suffer at the polls after a being widely criticised during its five years heading the provincial government in KPK.
"We will never know whether the ANP has lost or gained support because their supporters will be too frightened to vote," said Ijaz Khan, a professor of international relations at Peshawar University. "The elections cannot now be free and fair, and that means the result in KPK and FATA will forever be suspect."
Some candidates from parties targeted by the Taliban have opted to contest seats as independents, or have jumped ship to religious parties (although even in normal circumstances Pakistan's ultra-pragmatic politicians often move between parties).
Although senior ANP leaders have been issued police protection, the party said not enough had been done to protect its activists and candidates. "Police are a help, but we have seen that suicide bombers are able to cross through all checkpoints and get extremely close to where our candidates are," said Bushra Gohar, a vice-president of the ANP. "It shows there are real weaknesses in their security plan."
The Taliban have justified their war saying the secular parties had "committed genocide of our tribal people and Muslims while remaining in power for five years". Analysts say the Taliban are not just seeking revenge, however, but also trying to ensure that the next parliament is as sympathetic as possible to their cause.
"If there is a more right-of-centre government it will decrease further the level of co-operation Pakistani will extend to the US in Afghanistan in the fight against the Taliban," said Khan.
Rightwing and religious parties that have called for peace talks with the Taliban have been left largely untouched by suicide bombers.
"When you live in the jungle you have to live by the rules of the jungle," smirked Mehmood Bettani, a candidate for a provincial assembly seat with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazal, a leading religious party. He moves freely around Dera Ismail Khan with none of the elaborate security of his secular opponents. "Privately we might talk about the problems of the Taliban, but you can't say it publicly or you risk being attacked."
The MQM, the dominant force in Karachi, has also suffered. Several party activists and one candidate have been killed from the party, which last year organised a "referendum" inviting the public to denounce the Taliban.
And the Taliban threat is a big headache for the PPP, which is widely expected to be punished at the ballot box after five years leading a coalition government that has presided over a faltering economy, electricity crises and persistent Taliban violence.
The PPP cancelled a mass gathering planned for the beginning of April that had been intended to kick off their campaign.
One of the PPP's few weapons is the star power of the Bhuttos, who established the party in 1967.
But after two-time prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed by the Taliban on the campaign trail in 2007, the heir to the name of party founder, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, is his inexperienced grandson Bilawal.
Officials for the party, which saw one of its provincial assembly candidates, Adnan Aslam, killed in April, have made clear that the 24-year-old Oxford graduate will not be hitting the campaign trail or appearing at events where the Taliban could get close to him.
The PPP recently issued a video message from Bilawal, who complained he could not campaign publicly because his mother's murderers were trying to kill him too.
"I wanted to contest polls living among you; I wanted to launch the election campaign in the streets of my country alongside my workers … but we are at war against a mindset," he said.
Not enough politicians from the right have condemned the violence, critics say. Their rhetoric often appears designed to appeal to the Taliban, or at least to those Pakistanis who have some sympathy for militants and like the idea of pulling out of "America's war" in the region.
"They don't realise that although today they are targeting liberal parties tomorrow they will be next," said Gohar, the ANP leader. "The Taliban are attacking the entire democratic process."
On Sunday Imran Khan told a huge rally in Dera Ismail Khan, which gathered without incident, that he would withdraw all troops fighting the Taliban in FATA if his party was elected to power.
"They don't realise that although today they are targeting liberal parties tomorrow they will be next," said Gohar. "The Taliban are attacking the entire democratic process."
Under attack
24 April Peshawar – bomb outside PPP leader's home kills four; Dera Ismail Khan – bomb hits convoy of independent candidate; Karachi – bomb kills five MQM party activists
18 April Charsadda – ANP leader injured by remote controlled bomb
16 April Peshawar – suicide bomb attack on ANP leaders kills 17, wounds 60
14 April Swat – ANP candidate killed by bomb; Charsadda – ANP candidate wounded by bomb
11 April Hyderabad – MQM candidate gunned down
31 March Bannu – bomb attack kills two, injures six including ANP candidate
30 March Karachi – bomb kills district ANP leader
22 December Peshawar: Bashir Ahmad Bilour, an ANP senior leader, among eight killed and 17 wounded by suicide bomber
Pakistan’s dangerous polls
While analysts are speculating that the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Pakistan will be a game changer, there are forces at work trying to coerce people into staying at home on the day of the polls.
The electioneering efforts of major political parties — the Pakistan People’s Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Awami National Party—have been targeted by terrorism in recent weeks. Every day, the Taleban, determined to derail upcoming elections, are bombing offices and conventions of political parties and attacking politicians in Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar.
Their assault has been brazen and consistent, and have brought life in the country’s busy commercial hub, Karachi, to a near standstill. At the turn of a major historic event in Pakistan’s history — the unprecedented completion of tenure by a democratic government — the attacks on representatives of democracy show the tightening grip of extremism in the country. Persistant attacks by militants during election period is a new phenomenon in Pakistan and bears a disturbing similarity to elections in Afghanistan, where forthcoming presidential elections are bound to face a formidable challenge by the ever-burgeoning militancy.
But perhaps even more disturbing than this offensive of bombs and bullets, is the fact that political parties are not making a concerted effort to condemn this assault on democratic politics. For once, Pakistan’s political parties should momentarily forget their myriad ideological difference, and collectively condemn the militants. At this critical point in time, Pakistan’s political forces should be united in declaring Taleban pariahs, who have no place in the country’s future. The religious parties and influential religious leaders must participate in this endeavour, especially since hundreds of clerics have declared a fatwa making voting a religious obligation.
If these attacks by militants are not vociferously condemned, it will only adversely affect voter turnout on polling day. Pakistanis, especially the young lot, are desperate to cast their votes and make a change. And it would be most unfortunate if these dastardly attacks result in a low voter turnout.
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