Thirteen years ago among the whirring looms of a garment factory in an eastern Pakistani city, a Muslim woman fell in love with a Christian co-worker.
Now married with three children, Kalsoom Bibi and her husband Yousuf Bhatti have been shunned by their communities, endured death threats and an abduction.
Marriage out of choice remains a taboo in Pakistan, particularly when it involves a partner outside one s own clan or faith group.
While marriages between different members of Abrahamic faiths -- including Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- is permitted by law, a Muslim woman may not marry a non-Muslim man.
People who chose to convert out from Islam can be charged with blasphemy and face life in prison.
Kalsoom s first encounter with a member of another religion came at school, where the only Christian student was mercilessly bullied.
When she met Yousuf, she decided to question him about his faith to find out more. Long hours of discussion brought the two close together, and she eventually decided to convert.
It is a fact she hides to this day from her family.
"My mother died requesting me to leave my Christian husband," Kalsoom, a short woman in her twenties with deep brown eyes said, sitting on her bed in a modest two-room house with her husband and children.
Such unions aren t officially recorded but rights activists believe there are thousands of such cases every year.
The couple say they now live among a more understanding community that provides them support and respect their choices -- but it wasn t always this way.
"The life after marriage was terrible. We went into hiding because the family and community threatened to kill us.
"We lived in hiding in Islamabad for several months and my son was born during that time," she said.
Yousuf said the most harrowing incident early on in their marriage when he was abducted by four Muslim militants and driven hours out of town to a deserted spot.
"They kept me there for several days and asked me why I married my wife.
"They wanted to kill me, but when I told them that I married my wife with her own will and because she also wanted to marry me -- and that I did not force her into this marriage -- they softened and released me after some days," he added.
Naveed Walter, President of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), said the case was symptomatic of a wider problem, which remains largely hidden from sight.
"In such cases (inter-faith marriages) people try to attack the whole community," he said.
Walter added his organisation had estimated 10,000 cases nationwide over the past four years.
- Honour killings -
Legally, there are no provisions in the criminal code against leaving Islam, though the country s blasphemy law -- which carries a life sentence -- has been invoked in recent cases against apostates.
But even when members from the minority community convert to Islam, they can still face a backlash.
Sana, a Christian teacher from the same eastern city met and fell in love with cameraman Salman Khawaja who had come to record a show about Christmas festivities in 2006.
Drawn to Islamic traditions and culture since her childhood, Sana decided to embrace Islam.
The couple s lives became "hellish" after marriage and they said they had to leave their city to avoid death.
"We were threatened from both Christian and Muslim communities. So we decided to leave the city to save our lives," Sana told AFP holding her two-year-old son.
Despite being a journalist with connections to local government officials, Salman found himself helpless to fight back.
"We decided to get married in another city to avoid any attacks by our families and communities," he said.
"Back at our homes, our families were planning to kill us for marrying across religion as they thought we had stolen their pride and honour.
"It was very difficult period for us, we remained in hiding for six months to avoid any attacks. I had no career over there," he said, adding that he drove a taxi to earn a living.
"When the situation got better, we returned ... but my family refused to accept us. Then we rented a house in a low category residential area and started a new life."
- Rising extremism -
For some, the trauma never goes away.
Nadia, a petite, light-skinned 19-year-old former Muslim fell in love with 24-year-old Christian man Shamaun Anwar, an embroiderer, who used to smile at her in the street as they went to work.
They planned to marry in secret until Nadia s parents found out about them and forced her to marry her cousin instead. When she refused to move in with him, they began beating her.
"They used to beat me whenever I told them that I won t live with my husband and will marry Shamaun," she said.
"They still threaten me, even after I divorced my cousin and married Shamaun. I am now more scared because I have converted to Christianity," she added tearfully.
Some campaigners including lawyer Akmal Bhatti advocate the creation of a civil marriage code as is the case in India so that it is possible to keep faith out of the wedding ceremony.
Others are less hopeful, citing the rising number of attacks against the country s beleaguered minorities as a sign of rising intolerance.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Pakistani interfaith couples brave threats for forbidden love
Thirteen years ago among the whirring looms of a garment factory in an eastern Pakistani city, a Muslim woman fell in love with a Christian co-worker.
Now married with three children, Kalsoom Bibi and her husband Yousuf Bhatti have been shunned by their communities, endured death threats and an abduction.
Marriage out of choice remains a taboo in Pakistan, particularly when it involves a partner outside one s own clan or faith group.
While marriages between different members of Abrahamic faiths -- including Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- is permitted by law, a Muslim woman may not marry a non-Muslim man.
People who chose to convert out from Islam can be charged with blasphemy and face life in prison.
Kalsoom s first encounter with a member of another religion came at school, where the only Christian student was mercilessly bullied.
When she met Yousuf, she decided to question him about his faith to find out more. Long hours of discussion brought the two close together, and she eventually decided to convert.
It is a fact she hides to this day from her family.
"My mother died requesting me to leave my Christian husband," Kalsoom, a short woman in her twenties with deep brown eyes said, sitting on her bed in a modest two-room house with her husband and children.
Such unions aren t officially recorded but rights activists believe there are thousands of such cases every year.
The couple say they now live among a more understanding community that provides them support and respect their choices -- but it wasn t always this way.
"The life after marriage was terrible. We went into hiding because the family and community threatened to kill us.
"We lived in hiding in Islamabad for several months and my son was born during that time," she said.
Yousuf said the most harrowing incident early on in their marriage when he was abducted by four Muslim militants and driven hours out of town to a deserted spot.
"They kept me there for several days and asked me why I married my wife.
"They wanted to kill me, but when I told them that I married my wife with her own will and because she also wanted to marry me -- and that I did not force her into this marriage -- they softened and released me after some days," he added.
Naveed Walter, President of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), said the case was symptomatic of a wider problem, which remains largely hidden from sight.
"In such cases (inter-faith marriages) people try to attack the whole community," he said.
Walter added his organisation had estimated 10,000 cases nationwide over the past four years.
- Honour killings -
Legally, there are no provisions in the criminal code against leaving Islam, though the country s blasphemy law -- which carries a life sentence -- has been invoked in recent cases against apostates.
But even when members from the minority community convert to Islam, they can still face a backlash.
Sana, a Christian teacher from the same eastern city met and fell in love with cameraman Salman Khawaja who had come to record a show about Christmas festivities in 2006.
Drawn to Islamic traditions and culture since her childhood, Sana decided to embrace Islam.
The couple s lives became "hellish" after marriage and they said they had to leave their city to avoid death.
"We were threatened from both Christian and Muslim communities. So we decided to leave the city to save our lives," Sana told AFP holding her two-year-old son.
Despite being a journalist with connections to local government officials, Salman found himself helpless to fight back.
"We decided to get married in another city to avoid any attacks by our families and communities," he said.
"Back at our homes, our families were planning to kill us for marrying across religion as they thought we had stolen their pride and honour.
"It was very difficult period for us, we remained in hiding for six months to avoid any attacks. I had no career over there," he said, adding that he drove a taxi to earn a living.
"When the situation got better, we returned ... but my family refused to accept us. Then we rented a house in a low category residential area and started a new life."
- Rising extremism -
For some, the trauma never goes away.
Nadia, a petite, light-skinned 19-year-old former Muslim fell in love with 24-year-old Christian man Shamaun Anwar, an embroiderer, who used to smile at her in the street as they went to work.
They planned to marry in secret until Nadia s parents found out about them and forced her to marry her cousin instead. When she refused to move in with him, they began beating her.
"They used to beat me whenever I told them that I won t live with my husband and will marry Shamaun," she said.
"They still threaten me, even after I divorced my cousin and married Shamaun. I am now more scared because I have converted to Christianity," she added tearfully.
Some campaigners including lawyer Akmal Bhatti advocate the creation of a civil marriage code as is the case in India so that it is possible to keep faith out of the wedding ceremony.
Others are less hopeful, citing the rising number of attacks against the country s beleaguered minorities as a sign of rising intolerance.
Pakistan: Pro-Taliban Ex-Law Minister Rana Sanaullah May Fly Abroad
Pro-Taliban takfiri former law minister of Punjab Province, Rana Sanaullah is reportedly leaving for London on Monday (Aug 18) after the sessions court has ordered registration of an FIR in Model Town incident in which 14 supporters of Dr Tahirul Qadri were killed.
A ticket of a foreign airline shows he is leaving for London via Dubai on Monday.
Rana Sanaullah said: “I am not going anywhere. There is no truth in any news in this regard. The propaganda and rumours spread by opponents are totally baseless. I am ready to face the situation.” Rana Sanaullah was removed from his office by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif following the Model Town incident. He has all along denied his involvement in the tragedy.
A ticket of a foreign airline shows he is leaving for London via Dubai on Monday.
Rana Sanaullah said: “I am not going anywhere. There is no truth in any news in this regard. The propaganda and rumours spread by opponents are totally baseless. I am ready to face the situation.” Rana Sanaullah was removed from his office by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif following the Model Town incident. He has all along denied his involvement in the tragedy.
Balochistan: BLA attacks Jinnah’s residency once again
http://balochwarna.com/
Baloch freedom fighters have carried out attack against Pakistani forces in different areas of Baloch to make 14 August as a Black Day. The attacks intensified hours before Pakistan Independence Day celebrations were about to start.
The spokesmen of Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) have claimed responsibility for attacks on flags shops and Pakistani security forces in Quetta, Ziarat, Harnai, Kahan, Kohlu, Kharan and Panjgur areas of Balochistan.
According to details at least two flags shops were attack in Prince Road and Satellite Town areas of Quetta city where scores of people have been wounded.
Meerak Baloch, BLA spokesperson, in a statement to media said the Baloch fighters have attacked the residency of Jinnah’s in Ziarat with rocket launchers and other automatic weapons.
Last year the Baloch Liberation Army had attacked and completely destroyed Jinnah’s residency but the government has announced to rebuild it.
He also accepted the responsibility for attacks on Pakistan forces in Harnai, Kohlu and Kahan and claimed that several Pakistani security personnel have been killed and wounded in these attacks.
He appealed the Baloch Nation and warned other nations to stay away from Pakistan’s Independence Day events, adding that: “Baloch are fighting for their independence and our struggle will continue until the establishment of free Balochistan.”
Separately unknown persons fired at least five rockets on Kalat city which landed in different area of Kalat. No casualties have been reported.
Windowpanes of nearby building were smashed due to the powerful explosions.
Meanwhile an FC convoy has been attacked in Hazar Ganji area of Quetta on Thursday (14 August) morning.
Local sources reported that at least one FC soldier was killed and several other have been wounded.
A vehicle of FC has been heavily damaged in the remote controlled attack.
Quetta based journalists reported that the explosive device was hidden in a garbage bin on a road side it was detonated when the FC patrolling team arrived.
Fighters of BLF and BRA are claimed responsibility of attack against Pakistani forces in different regions of Balochistan including Dera Bugti, Awaran, Gwadar and Turbat.
Pakistan opens fire on international border in J&K
Pakistan Rangers on Sunday resorted to unprovoked heavy firing at the Border Security Force (BSF) positions on the international border in Jammu district.
A senior police officer told IANS in winter capital Jammu, "Since midnight, Pakistan Rangers have started unprovoked heavy firing at Pittal and Tent border out posts of the BSF in RS Pura sector of Jammu district.
"Pakistan troops are using small arms and automatic weapons to target Indian positions. BSF troops are effectively responding to Pakistan firing.
"Firing exchanges are still going on in these areas. No casualty or damage has been so far reported from our side".
Pakistan: Sunday likely to be last day for Nawaz govt
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader, Imran Khan, early Sunday morning blazoned out that a decisive showdown with the ruling regime was set to blast off at 03:00 PM today, Abbtakk reported.
“You need to rest to save your energies for a likely final match against this government. August 17, 2014 could be the most decisive day in the history of Pakistan”, Khan told his tired rain-drenched workers before going to sleep in the wee hours of Sunday.
Khan who has led thousands to Islamabad to protest until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stepped down, said today (Sunday) his Serena Chowk sit-in would dwarf the famous Al-Tahrir Square protest, which resulted in the unceremonious ouster of the then Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak.
“The world will forget the mass protests in Cairo after looking at our crowd on Sunday”, Khan said confidently.
The cricketer-turned-politician is attempting to topple the Nawaz-led government, which he believes rigged its way into power.
He saluted the PTI youth for their unwavering support and dedication to the cause.
“I am proud of my workers especially the young ones. Their unparalleled passion is the driving forces behind this whole movement”, said he, rendering a testimonial to his unfaltering followers.
Pakistan: Exhausted PTI workers left in the lurch
Moving of Imran Khan to his Banni Gala residence caused great disappointment among the PTI workers and it seemed that they were left in lurch to face the torrential rain under open sky in the capital.It also seems that Imran could not honour the repeated promises he made to his workers and supporters that he would eat and live with them all through Azadi March. The helpless workers, who braced all traveling odds to reach Islamabad were simply shocked as they have never thought that their leader would desert them at the very outset of the Azadi March and leave them to face ordeals all alone. Imran had made promises repeatedly with his party workers that he would eat the same which they would, he would also be sleeping on the roads with them and would never leave them alone under any circumstances. In his comments on the development, leader of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Mushahidullah Khan criticised Imran for leaving the march and going at his Bani Gala residence after the speech.Meanwhile, current the marches by the PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) has resulted in a lot of hardships for the residents of the capital as well as halting of the transportation of goods for imports and exports and might cause loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer. Economic experts said the real impact would start appearing on economic horizon of the country if the political tension persists for the next one week. The disruption of economic activities of eight to 10 days might cause loss of Rs 70 to Rs 80 billion to the national exchequer, only on account of revenue collection. The export contracts might start witnessing cancellation in days ahead if this crisis prolongs.They said that in the wake of the rising political temperatures, the crash of the stock market has resulted in loss of Rs 300 billion in a single day ahead of this ongoing march from PTI and PAT. Now the prices of the essential items have started escalating in different parts of the country because of the disruption in supplies. The prices of vegetables and fruits also increased in different cities of the country because of the disruption in supply. When contacted, renowned economist Ashfaque Khan said that sooner the matter is resolved, the better it would be for the economy of the country.
Pakistan: Guarding the guardians
As Pakistan’s political crisis deepens, the Supreme Court (SC) decided to take a hand but its interim order has left more confusion than before. Saying in its ruling on Friday that any extra-constitutional step would be deemed a violation of the constitution and equivalent to high treason, the SC has raised the stakes of the confrontation without clarifying what it exactly means by ‘extra-constitutional’. The court was petitioned to restrain any institution or government body from acting in an unconstitutional manner, but the question remains of why it sought to hear a petition of this nature in the first place. The institutions of government and state are there precisely to prevent others from acting unconstitutionally. If they need to be restrained then who is going to do it? By issuing a pre-emptive judgment against institutions that may or may not seek to subvert the constitution, the court not only engages in a logical fallacy, it also presumes that such a sentiment exists when no facts substantiate the claim. The law, it should be remembered, deals in facts not perceptions. What happens when an institution so decried simply says it has no such plans? If it does, will it admit them and will it care if it plans to overturn the Constitution in the first place? The army, for example, is sworn to defend and uphold the Constitution, but that did not stop military dictators from taking power, or the courts from retroactively legitimising their takeovers. Without the executive authority to enforce such orders, the SC undermines its position as a neutral body dedicated to interpreting constitutional jurisprudence. Similar to the Lahore High Court’s (LHC’s) judgement earlier this week, the SC endeavoured to act as a political arm of the state, determining on its own what is good for the country. Whether it intends to or not, it will be seen as taking political sides, shaking the faith people have reinvested in it over the last few years. This judicial mindset is a hangover from the judicial activism of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry when the judiciary took it upon itself to interfere in political matters under the aegis of suo motu action, but it also reflects an unreasonable expectation on the part of politicians to assume the courts can solve all problems.
When petitioned to stop the marches, the LHC in its judgement noted it had no authority to restrain individuals from exercising their right to protest, or to order the government to negotiate, but it did tell the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) to not hold ‘unconstitutional marches’, by which it presumably meant the marches must stay peaceful, and marchers must not break the law by taking it into their own hands or creating loss of life and property. Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri duly promised they would ensure as much and proceeded with their plans, though in this case the judgement appeared to have a restraining effect on them. The LHC also stuck its neck out by saying that Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri’s demands were ‘unconstitutional’, but as Senator Aitzaz Ahsan has pointed out, demanding resignations is the substance of democratic politics; contrarily, it is Imran Khan’s method of achieving his goal that is extra-constitutional since the Constitution specifies a process to remove the government through parliament. Ordinary citizens can protest within the law but the government is under no obligation to listen. It is obligated when parliament votes against it. And while the PTI’s demands have varied from electoral reform to the prime minister’s resignation, Tahirul Qadri is arguably making threats, not demands, and their substance is overthrowing not just the government but parliament and the constitutional order, which potentially constitutes sedition. If the government decides to move against him it is the courts’ duty to decide the case, but not to term his statements unconstitutional before then. Instead of telling protestors to behave or moderate their demands in accordance with laws that already exist, the court should act with restraint and prepare for any legalities that may ensue if the government and protestors come to an accommodation. That is where its strength lies.
Pakistan: Sizeable crowd soothes Khan after Friday's flop show
Imran Khan looked calm and confident on Saturday while addressing his supporters for the second time but he seemed annoyed and disappointed on his first arrival to the thin crowd on Friday. During his Saturday's speech to participants of long march, Khan seemed a bit confident to see a relatively impressive gathering unlike Friday when the venue he had promised to be swamped by a million supporters was presenting a deserted look.
Visibly perturbed by the thin presence of supporters during his first address to the long march participants, Imran came up with more harsh demands seeking resignations of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
But on Saturday, when a sizeable number of supporters reached the venue, Khan looked calm and happy, besides making the crowd smile with his words. The scene of his arrival at the venue was worth watching when Khan found to his surprise a small number of supporters greeting him at a time when his PTI had threatened the government with the biggest long march of the history.
Occupying the front seat of white land cruiser that reached Aabpara Chowk late Friday night, Imran looked annoyed and disappointed after seeing a thin crowd welcoming him on Kashmir Highway.
Driven by Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the Lahore registered land cruiser was supposed to be parked at Aabpara Chowk where a space was reserved for the vehicle and guarded by loyalists as the entrance to PTI's rally was sealed in the evening for vehicles by installing walkthrough gates. According to organisers, PTI's chief Imran Khan and other leaders in the car including Sheikh Rashid had to park the car at the entry point of the rally and then would walk on foot to the stage as the road leading to the dais was occupied by participants.
A group of activists who stood near the walkthrough gates were tasked with showering rose petals on Imran who would be making his first appearance at the venue and would be escorted to the main stage on shoulders. But Khan was too late and participants who had been waiting for his arrival since Thursday had almost lost their energies to withstand the continuous rain that forced hundreds of activists to run for shelters. By the time Khan made it to the venue, he found a deserted road except a thin crowd near the stage triggering the organisers to direct Shah Mehmood Qureshi to hit the road straight towards Sports Complex as the venue was no more occupied by participants.
Clad in light blue shalwar qameez, Khan did not make a victory signal to supporters and instead was observed arguing with Qureshi as the car made its way through the thin crowd.
Suddenly the land cruiser stopped near the stage and Khan got off without waving hand to the supporters who had waited him for more than 40 hours. Instead, he posed an angry look when one of the participants, who were perched on roof of a container, extended his arm for a handshake.
Interestingly, Qureshi remained in the car and was observed sipping water from a bottle as Khan was being escorted by police and supporters to the main stage. Sheikh Rashid and Qureshi later joined the main speakers on dais.
Khan refused to take cover under an umbrella placed above him by a party colleague to shield him from the pouring rain. Seated in the midst of other party leadership on the top of stage, Khan looked at the crowd that seemed thinner while looking from the top of the container.
A close aide of Imran who had accompanied the long march from Lahore said that the PTI chief had anticipated a big crowd against the ground reality. "He is not impressed. I can read his face and gestures," he observed.
One senior PTI leader told The Nation that Khan had grilled organisers for failing to keep participants intact at Kashmir Highway, adding that Imran was not happy with the PTI's KP officer-bearers about the number of supporters from the province.
This is why PTI managed on Saturday to pull sizeable crowd ahead of Khan's second appearance at the venue as he had promised to spend the whole night with protesters.
Pakistan: As PTI ‘stormed’ the capital
The PTI may have converged in Islamabad to bring down the government but in doing has shown why it is not fit to rule either. As heavy rains lashed Peshawar, killing 12 people and injuring 80 others, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and his entire cabinet was resting comfortably in the KP House in Islamabad. Not only had the leaders abandoned the province in a time of great need, they also left the other marchers to suffer through the rain on the streets of the capital. This should be the Marie Antoinette moment that exposes the PTI as an elitist, out-of-touch party that is so occupied with its lust for power that it has forgotten to serve the people who elected it. The party wants fresh elections and believes it will be given a mandate to rule but the deaths in the rain exposed not only the complete lack of interest shown by the PTI towards the suffering of the province’s residents, it also shows that the party has achieved little in the one year it had to rule. Nothing has been done to build storm-water drains so that there is minimal flooding; crumbling buildings were collapsing and exposed electricity wires became a hazard to the population. These deaths were entirely preventable and the blame for them should be placed squarely on the province’s rulers.
It is the poorest sections of society who are the most prone to falling victim to rain and other calamities. Even nature does not offer equal opportunities. The strong, ornate homes of the rich do not tumble down in the face of winds and rain. This makes it all the more vital that government should work for those unable to help themselves. The party leadership in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa may claim that the rains could not have been predicted, but everyone knows that there are always storms in the summer months. The monsoon, after all, comes every year. Preventive measures to spare lives should have been put in place well in advance. For this, the government is required to take the lead by rallying together all concerned organisations and departments, with early warnings issued to people where required. It was highly irresponsible for the chief minister and his cabinet to leave the province when nearly a million IDPs are desperately seeking help. The PTI claimed to oppose the military operation in North Waziristan because of the civilian suffering it would cause and yet has chosen to indulge in a quixotic political drama rather than care for the IDPs. In fact, the party has ceased talking about the operation at all as it focuses exclusively on alleged rigging and bringing down the government. The PTI has shown itself to be no different to any other party. It wants power for its own sake and not to help the most vulnerable or needy in society. Come shine – or especially rain – the PTI is nowhere to be found. Perhaps the CM of the province should consider returning from the federal capital and the gathering there to examine the true needs of people in his own home province.
Pakistan: Model Town commission report being kept secret
The Punjab government is keeping the report of the judicial commission on the Model Town incident secret, but according to hearsay it pins the blame solely on police.
The commission had handed over its report to the provincial government on Aug 9. At least 11 activists of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek were killed and many others injured during a clash with police on June 17.
Sources in the Punjab government on Friday said the report was handed over to the home department that was studying it. The report was being considered a top secret document and not allowed to be seen by junior officials of the department.
The sources said it had not been sent to the chief minister for action, if any, as yet. But they said the assumption was the report blamed police for the incident. And this assumption had made the security force cautious about handling public gatherings, especially the march of Dr Tahirul Qadri, to avoid any mishandling.
Pakistan: 2,520 PTI, PAT activists in 27 Punjab jails
As many as 2,520 office-bearers and activists of Pakistan Awami Tehreek and Tehreek-i-Insaf detained under 3-MPO ahead of ‘Inqilab’ and ‘Azadi’ marches across Punjab, are still languishing in 27 jails of the province and will remain there till further government orders.
Official statistics available with Dawn show that Gujranwala Central Jail had the maximum number of such detainees and under-trial prisoners – 354, followed by Mianwali Central Jail 340, Sahiwal Central Jail 208, Sialkot District Jail 192, Sargodha District Jail 183, Gujrat District Jail 154, Rawalpindi Central Jail and Lahore District Jail 118 each, Faisalabad Central Jail 96, Jhang District Jail 94, Muzaffarhgarh District Jail 80, and Lahore Central Jail and Vehari District Jail 74 each.
Similarly, up to 73 activists were detained in Dera Ghazi Khan Central Jail, 67 in Shahpur, Khushab District Jail, 48 in Multan Central Jail, 46 in Attock District Jail, 40 in Rajanpur District Jail, 30 in Toba Tek Singh District Jail, 28 in Jhelum District Jail, 26 in Bahawalpur Central Jail, 20 in Bahawalnagar District Jail, 19 each in Rahim Yar Khan and Faisalabad district jails, 13 in Mandi Bahauddin District Jail and nine in Sheikhupura District Jail.
Statistics show as many as nine activists who were earlier detained by the Punjab police were later released from four jails. Four of them were released from Sahiwal Central Jail, three from Muzaffargarh District Jail and one each from Rawalpindi Central Jail and Vehari District Jail ahead of Aug 14.
According to a prisons department source, the release of political detainees was expected after the conclusion of long marches of both parties in Islamabad.
He said the provincial government would decide as to when the detainees would be released as under 3-MPO (which is originally an executive order of the government issued by the home department) the detainees could be kept in jails for up to seven, 15 and 30 days depending upon the government’s discretionary powers.
A district police officer said the detentions would continue till further orders of the government which could also extend the detention period.
Under the law a district coordination officer (DCO) has the power to detain a person he or she deems a threat to public order for a maximum period of 30 days and to extend it for another 30 days the officer needs home department’s permission.
Pakistan: PPP asks CM Punjab to step down
The Pakistan Peoples Party has asked Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to step down if an FIR of the Model Town killings is registered against him on a court order. “An FIR of the murder of 14 innocent people should have been registered soon after the incident, the aggrieved families want justice and to ensure a fair probe into the incident, the chief minister should immediately step down as long as he isn’t cleared by court,” said PPP Secretary General Latif Khan Khosa while talking to The News. “The chief minister, not the prime minister, is the chief executive of the province and he stands directly answerable for any incident in his domain,” said Khosa, also a law expert. Khosa said that it was really regretful that 14 persons were killed mercilessly at Model Town and no FIR of the carnage was registered. He said the major reason behind it was the influence of the PML-N leadership on Punjab police which had been used as a militant wing to victimise political rivals and safeguard members of the Sharif family. Khosa said under Article 5 of the Constitution, loyalty to State is mandatory on every citizen but police was forced to be loyal to the government. On the other hand, he said, 12,000 policemen are deployed at the residence of the prime minister at Jati Umera, Raiwind, whereas thousands of them were deployed at residences of the Sharif family members. He added the Model Town incident was enough to prove what role was assigned to police by the rulers and no concern was shown to address the grievances of people whose relatives were martyred. He said that Gullu Butt was a glaring example which showed how police was being treated by the Punjab government. “The entire world saw on TV screens how Gullu Butt, a PML-N worker, not a police personnel, participated in the operation at Model Town and the entire force was following him and he was even patted by an official of an SP rank for his actions,” he added. Later, he said when on public pressure, an FIR was registered against him, bail-able clauses were added to it to provide him relief and eventually he was granted bail by court. Similarly, he said that in Gujranwala where the PTI caravan was attacked, an FIR wasn’t registered against the main accused because he wasn’t only brother of a sitting MPA but also a relative of the Sharif family. Khosa said how could one expect justice from this government when it was influencing police? He said the CM should immediately resign and face charges against him until he was cleared by court. Shaukat Mehmood Basra, Secretary Information of PPP Southern Punjab, said that there wasn’t any justification for the CM, who was the chief executive of the province to remain in office until he is acquitted by court. He said that for the first time in the history of a government, a brutal incident of Model Town had taken place in which 14 people were eliminated with the help of police.http://www.ppp.org.pk/
Saturday, August 16, 2014
The Israel-Egypt-Saudi Arabia Axis: Come the Counter-Revolution
American policymakers have had a dream about the creation of a New Middle East. According to a foreign policy consensus that emerged following the September 11 attacks in 2001 -- that brought together Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives -- radical Islamism and terrorism were rooted, as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice put it, in "oppression and despair;" and so, the United States role was to advance democratic reform and support basic rights throughout the greater Middle East instead of pursuing policies aimed at maintaining the political status-quo under which military dictators and absolute monarchs ruled the Arab World. But now, American vision of reforming and democratizing the Middle East lies in tatters. The ousting of Iraq's Saddam Hussein, which was supposed to be the first step in the implementation of the Freedom Agenda of President George W. Bush -- who compared the struggles to forge a "democratic future" to the troubles the United States -- have unleashed a bloody sectarian and ethnic wars in Iraq and in neighboring Syria and Lebanon and led to the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) ruled by murderous and medieval thugs that make Saddam's brutal Baath regime look like an experiment in Jeffersonian democracy. And as the war between Hamas and Israel continues to rage, one should recall that it was the Bush Administration's dogmatic commitment to spreading democracy in the Middle East that helped the Palestinian Islamist movement win election for the first time in January 2006. When Palestinian and Israeli officials frantically lobbied in Washington for the postponement of the parliamentary elections in the West Bank and Gaza, noting that polls pointed to a possible victory by Hamas, America's top democracy cheerleader, Condoleezza Rice, was dismissive. "Holding free and fair Palestinian Legislative Council elections on January 25 represents a key step in the process of building a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state," Rice insisted. If the Middle East agenda promoted by President Bush and his neoconservative advisors was activist and transformative in nature, including through the use of military power, the approach adopted by President Barack Obama and his liberal internationalist aides was more reactive and accommodative in its response to the political earthquakes ignited by the Arab Spring, including the challenges to the pro-America autocrats in Egypt and Tunisia. Indeed, with both neoconservative and liberal pundits as well as the elite media welcoming the ousting of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak -- in the same way that they and the conservative media had once hailed the fall of Iraq's Saddam Hussein - as a democratic revolutions akin to those that had taken place in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism in 1989, President Obama and his aides seemed to suggest that America needed to take a ride on this wave of change - or be left behind. The United States needed to address the Arab Spring, "the forces that are driving it, and how we can respond in a way that advances our values and strengthens our security," Obama stressed. "The question before us is what role America will play as this story unfolds," beyond traditional American interests such as counterterrorism and counter-proliferation, he insisted. Unlike President Bush, President Obama's approach wasn't a product of a hard-core ideological doctrine and a coherent strategy. He has been muddling through most of the time, giving a green light to holding free elections in Tunisia but not in Bahrain, or using American military power to help oust Libya's Muhammar Kaddafi but reusing to do so when it came to the insurgents fighting the Syria's Bashar Assad. Yet Obama's decision to abandon the long-time American ally Hosni Mubarak and allow the Muslim Brotherhood to come to power through free election in Egypt amounted to a major reversal in American policy in the Middle East and reverberated across the region. It shook up the Israeli and the Saudi leaders who believed that the young and inexperienced president was operating in a foreign policy la la land in by assuming that Turkey's democratic Islamist model would eventually take hold in the New Middle East emerging out of the Arab Spring. Unlike Western intellectuals and political elites, the Saudis and the Israelis -- very much like most leaders in the Middle East -- have never bought into the notion that the region was about to enter into a new historical epoch under which it would embrace the principles of the Enlightenment Project. Instead, much of the swift changes that have been sweeping the region since 9/11, through the Iraq War, and until the Arab Spring -- with the direct and indirect help of the United States -- were seen by those who had a stake in maintaining the status-quo as a struggle for power between ethnic, religious, and tribal groups and the regional and global powers that support them. From that perspective, the Israelis and Saudis perceived the fall of friendly and accommodating ruler of the largest and most powerful Arab state and the ensuing election of the Muslim Brotherhood as a direct threat to their national interests while benefiting the interests of Turkey (Not to mention the absurd notion that replacing a leader committed to supporting the rights of women and religious minorities with a radical Islamist group was a step advancing liberty in the Middle East). Hence it was not surprising that based on pure Realpolitik considerations, the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood and the return of the military to power in Egypt were applauded in both Riyadh and Jerusalem. That the Israelis and the Saudis have also both apprehensive over the Obama Administration's effort to accommodate Iranian interests, and that the Egyptians and the Israelis -- with Saudi blessing and despite a certain American reservations -- cooperated in trying to decimate Hamas' military power in Gaza, may not be signs of a new strategic realignment in the Middle East but more of an emerging partnership that reflects some common interests; and in particular, the need to fill the strategic vacuum created by the inability of the United States to continue maintaining its role as a hegemonic power in the region. To put it in more simple terms, while the Obama Administration responded to this new reality by trying to accommodate some anti-status-quo players, the Saudis, Egypt and Israel are resisting the current American approach that seems to run contrary to their interests. And as their policies during the war in Gaza demonstrated, they are not expecting the Americans to do the job for them and are even willing to take steps that are not in line with Washington's positions. In a way, this evolving partnership recalls the one that Jerusalem maintained with Ankara as part of the common struggle against Arab radicalism during the Cold War. Indeed, even when it comes to such a contentious issue as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it's not inconceivable to envision a gradual process of reconciliation involving Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas based on the 2002 Arab League peace initiative. In fact, an effort to re-assert a more conservative order in the Middle East, along the lines of settlements that took place in Europe after the 1848 revolutions, doesn't preclude the possibility of co-opting Iran into the system in addition to providing for some forms of Palestinian and Kurdish independence. Americans should welcome the re-assertion of the old order in the region while continuing to encourage gradual political and economic reforms instead of operating as democratic missionaries in the region, now that the fantasy of a New Middle East has been buried in Irbil and Gaza.Leon T. Hadar
Song 2014: How many wars should Gaza survive?
Despite the massive Israeli war against Gaza civilians, people on the besieged Gaza try to express their pain in different ways. A new song has just been released by some Gazan artists to express their feelings as the War continues.
The song titled, “How many wars should Gaza survive?” speaks out on the siege and the silence of International community as well as calling fro freedom for the Palestinian people.
Israel,Jordan and ISIL are allies
Syria’s ambassador to the UN says Israel allows the free flow of weapons and ISIL militants into the occupied Golan Heights and then into the rest of Syria.
Bashar Ja’afari told Press TV on Friday that the ISIL Takfiri terrorists have an undeclared alliance with Israel and are engaged in a secret agreement with the regime.
The Israelis help the Takfiris infiltrate into the separation line on the Golan Heights from Jordan, where their training camps are located, the Syrian diplomat said.
The remarks came after the UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the ISIL terrorist activities in Syria and Iraq.
The Syrian ambassador to the UN also stated that “everybody knows that Jordan is hosting secret training camps.”
Amman has not commented on this yet.
The UN resolution is aimed at cutting off funding and the flow of foreign militants to the ISIL. The 15-member Security Council called for action against the terrorists, who, it said must “disarm and disband with immediate effect.”
ISIL militants now control large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria. They also have several oil fields under control.
Iraq, which has the world’s fifth-biggest crude reserves, came under a massive blitz by the ISIL Takfiri militants in early June.
Ja’afari reminded the UN Security Council that Damascus had repeatedly warned of the Takfiri threat for three years.
He went on to say that if the UN had not ignored the terrorist activities in Syria, ISIL militants would not be able to create chaos in Iraq today.
Ja’afari also said the Syrian government plays a major role in the campaign against terrorism.
ISIL Takfiris kill 700 in eastern Syria: Observatory
ISIL Takfiri terrorists have executed 700 people from a tribe in eastern Syria, a monitoring group says./blockquote>The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which opposes the Syrian government, said on Saturday that many of the victims from the al-Sheitaat tribe were beheaded in the Deir al-Zor province. Clashes between ISIL and the tribe intensified after the militants captured an oilfield in July. Observatory director Rami Abdelrahman said, "Those who were executed are all al-Sheitaat," which has a population of 70,000 people. "Some were arrested, judged and killed," Abdelrahman added. The UK-based monitoring group said that "there are more than 1,800 members of the tribe, who are still missing." On Friday, the United Nations Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution against the ISIL militants in Syria and Iraq, calling on them to "disarm and disband with immediate effect." The ISIL terrorists currently control a swathe of eastern Syria and western Iraq. Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. More than 170,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the violence fueled by Western-backed militants. The Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and, Turkey -- are reportedly supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
Missouri governor imposes curfew in Ferguson, declares emergency
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Saturday declared a state of emergency and implemented a midnight to 5 a.m. curfew in Ferguson, where the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager sparked a week of protests and sporadic looting.
"I'm committed to making sure the forces of peace and justice prevail," Nixon said at a community meeting. "If we're going to achieve justice, we first must have and maintain peace."
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But the meeting at a local church at times was tumultuous.
People repeatedly interrupted Nixon, shouting, "You need to charge the police with murder!" and "We want justice!"
And some residents said law enforcement officers had instigated the violence with their military-like tactics.
State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, in charge of security for the town, praised local citizens who tried to stop the looting of several businesses early Saturday. He said law enforcement would not be heavy-handed in enforcing the curfew.
"We won't enforce it with trucks, we won't enforce it with tear gas," he said.
But at least one resident was skeptical about whether the curfew would work.
"It's an intimidation thing. And you're basically suppressing people who still have questions that need answers," said Carissa McGraw, who has joined protests throughout the week. "You have people who -- at this point -- do not care what authorities say right now."
Michael Brown killed a week ago
Ferguson, a town of about 22,000 people near St. Louis, entered the national consciousness on August 9 when a white police officer, identified as Darren Wilson, shot and killed and Michael Brown, 18, on a city street during the middle of the day.
Accounts of what happened vary widely. Police said Brown struggled with the officer and reached for his weapon. Several witnesses said Brown raised his hands and was not attacking the officer.
Since then, Ferguson has become a tinder box, with regular street protests, an influx of heavily armed law enforcement officers and intense media coverage.
A new development in the investigation popped up Saturday when a Brown family lawyer, Anthony Gray, said that Michael Baden will conduct a second autopsy on the the teenager's body. Baden is a high-profile pathologist who testified in the O.J. Simpson, Phil Spector and Drew Peterson trials.
Early Saturday morning, before sunrise, a fragile peace was shattered when looters again targeted neighborhood businesses while law enforcement in riot gear largely looked on without intervening.
Some protesters tried to stop the looting, at times standing in front of one convenience store and preventing others from doing more damage. Police, criticized days earlier for being too aggressive with protesters, now drew the ire of merchants who told CNN they weren't doing enough.
"You still have a job to do now, and now you're not doing your job," Tanya Littleton said of police after thieves broke into her beauty supply shop in the St. Louis suburb and made off with bags of hair extensions worth hundreds of dollars.
At noon Saturday -- the hour that police say Wilson shot Brown a week earlier -- protesters outside the police station silently raised their arms into the air, mimicking Brown's purported actions right before he died.
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson joined loud but peaceful crowds that marched in the street carrying signs saying "Mike Brown is our son" and "The whole world is watching.
Looting earlier in the day
The looting began at the Ferguson Market and Liquor store, which has become part of the case. Minutes before Brown was shot, police say, a man fitting his description allegedly stole cigars and roughed up a store clerk as surveillance cameras recorded.
Ferguson police released surveillance video of that robbery on Friday, but then emphasized that Wilson stopped Brown not because of the theft, but because Brown and a friend were "walking down the middle of the street blocking traffic."
Release of the video on Friday angered some, who say police were using it to distract from Brown's killing and make him look bad.
As protesters took to the streets early Saturday, more than two dozen people blocked off the convenience store with cars. Police with riot gear, tactical rifles and armored vehicles were nearby, commanding them through loudspeakers to free it up.
Instead, bottles flew, mayhem erupted, and looters ransacked the store, which the owner had boarded up. It was the first of at least three stores raided.
Pakistan protesters vow no let-up until Nawaz Sharif resigns
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/More than 20,000 anti-government protesters flooded the center of Pakistan's capital on Saturday, vowing to stay in the streets until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigns. The numbers were far below what protest organizers expected, but the power of protesters to paralyse the central business district has presented the biggest challenge yet to the 15-month-old civilian government. The unrest has raised questions about Pakistan's stability, at a time when the nuclear-armed nation of 180 million is waging an offensive against Pakistani Taliban militants and when the influence of anti-Western and sectarian groups is growing. Riot police cordoned off two streets in downtown Islamabad with shipping containers and barbed wire for the protests. Protest organisers say they are peaceful but determined. "We want Pakistan to be a peaceful state through our democratic revolution," populist cleric Tahir ul-Qadri told his followers in a short speech. His supporters were adamant they would not leave until Qadri told them to. Most of the men carried stout sticks a few feet long. Brigades of men and women in fluorescent jackets had gas masks, swimming goggles and bottles of water. "We are here to disarm the gas shells," explained one. Qadri, a cleric and political activist who usually lives in Canada, controls a network of schools and Islamic charities. He wants the prime minister to resign and a new government of technocrats installed. He promises his supporters he will crack down on corruption, and generate enough funds to pay for homes, jobs, cheap energy and water. "Once corruption is eradicated, the country can move forward. It is the only thing holding us back," said 15-year-old Umme Habiba, a vivacious student with dimples and long black robes who said she came with her whole family. Former cricket star Imran Khan, who heads the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party, was also holding a smaller protest sit-in on an adjacent street. The crowds - mostly young men - danced to music blasting from speakers or swapped T-shirts with Khan's face on them. "Imran Khan is not a corrupt person. He's loyal to people and the country," said Aqsa Ijaz, a 25-year-old student sitting on top of a shipping container with her cousin, a banker. Khan also wants Sharif to step down, accusing him of rigging last year's elections. Sharif won by a landslide, taking 190 out of 342 seats. Khan also did well in the elections, coming from political obscurity to take 34 seats, the third largest bloc in the legislature. But he says he should have had many more. "I will not leave here until I have got real freedom for the country," Khan told thousands of supporters in the early hours of Saturday. Like Qadri, Khan also commands intense personal loyalty from his followers. Pakistanis remember he led them to victory in the 1992 World Cup. But on Friday a stone-throwing mob of ruling party loyalists attacked a convoy of Khan's supporters in the eastern city of Gujranwala. Khan was not injured, his spokeswoman said. Some members of Sharif's party have suggested the protests are secretly backed by elements in the military, which has had an uneasy relationship with Sharif. To what extent Khan and Qadri can destabilise the government is likely to depend on the stance taken by the armed forces, which has a long history of mounting coups. Few people fear a coup, but many officials think the threat of unrest will increase the military's hold over the government. The military has been frustrated with the government, in particular over the prosecution of former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf for treason. There has been disagreement, too, between the government and the army on how to handle the Taliban. The government insisted on peace talks but eventually the army launched an offensive. The government is also struggling to overcome power shortages, high unemployment and spiralling crime. "This government has failed the poor people," said farmer Razwan Baloch. "Everyone is here because life is so hard." Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/imran-khan-pakistan-protesters-vow-no-let-up-until-nawaz-sharif-resigns/1/377406.html
Sri Lanka court orders halt to deportation of Pakistani asylum seekers
Pakistan TodayA Sri Lankan court on Friday ordered authorities to stop deporting Pakistani asylum seekers, following a complaint they were being forcibly sent home without having their claims properly assessed. The United Nations refugee agency says 88 Pakistanis have been deported since August 1. The agency, UNHCR, says it has been denied access to another 75 people who are awaiting deportation. “The president of the Appeal Court granted interim relief for two weeks to suspend the deportation of all asylum seekers,” said Lakshan Dias, the lawyer of a 38-year-old Pakistani woman whose husband, brother and father are currently in detention. The woman brought the original complaint. The Sri Lankan government says the Pakistanis are part of an influx of economic immigrants in the past year who have become a burden on the country’s resources and potentially compromised state and regional security. But Sri Lanka’s Appeal Court said it wanted to look into the cases further and temporarily suspended deportations. A new hearing is scheduled for August 29. Most of the Pakistanis are from the Ahmadiyya sect. Last month, a Pakistani mob killed an Ahmadi woman and two of her granddaughters after another sect member was accused of posting blasphemous material on Facebook. It was not immediately clear if the Sri Lankan government would abide by the court ruling. Chulananda Perera, controller of the Immigration and Emigration Department, said he could not comment because he had not received the court order. The court order comes three days after the UNHCR accused Sri Lanka of breaching international law and called on it to halt the deportations and allow the agency to assess claims. According to UNHCR guidelines, members of religious minorities such as Ahmadiyyas may need protection and require particularly careful examination of their asylum claims. Authorities deny violating any international laws, saying Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. The number of refugees or asylum seekers rose by 700 percent in the year through June 2014 from the previous year, says the foreign ministry. That included 1,562 asylum seekers and 308 refugees.
Pakistan: PAT workers capture armed man during Qadri’s speech
Workers of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) claimed to have capture a man carrying a gun during the address of Dr. Tahir ul Qadri in Islamabad.
Dr. Qadri termed the captured man a 'Gullu Butt' and directed his workers not to beat him up.
He said that the man be brought on to the stage.
Later, Dr. Qadri hugged the man, saying he forgives him. -
The gunmen told Dr. Qadri that he was heading to his home when captured by the PAT's men.
Peshawar, death toll rises to 19 due to heavy rain
Death toll rises to 19 and more than 80 injured in rain-related incidents and hailstorms in various parts of Peshawar as roofs and walls of buildings collapsed due to heavy rain, whereas teams are working on to restore the communication system.
Earlier, Meteorological office in Peshawar, said that rain lasted for only one hour and 30 minutes but caused so much damage as 42mm of precipitation was recorded in the city.
Most areas of the city are without power since yesterday. Electricity polls, wires, telephone lines, gas supply is disconnected since the rain struck, while dozens injured were shifted to hospital. More than 80 got injured in rain incidents whereas emergency is declared in Peshawar Hospitals.
Don’t abandon Afghanistan yet
The killing of Maj. Gen. Harold J. Green by an Afghan soldier is a tragic reminder that all is not well in Afghanistan. Since the fall of the Taliban in November 2001, Afghanistan never had a chance to become a functioning state. The power of the warlords was never challenged. Institutions remained weak and ineffective. Elections were phony. The government was infested with corruption and nepotism. The agriculture—the country’s most important economic sector, where 80% of Afghans ekes out a subsistence living—has been neglected. It is bizarre for a country with an agricultural economy to have to import milk, cheese, eggs, and poultry. The country has no legal economy to speak off. The government can barely raise enough funds to pay 10% of its expenditures. The rest is paid by the U.S. and its allies. If foreign cash stops coming, Kabul and Kandahar, Afghanistan’s two largest cities, would plunge into darkness. Kandahar gets its electricity from a USAID-financed, diesel-operated power plant. USAID also pays for running it. Most of Kabul’s electricity is purchased from Tajikistan with the cost being covered by the U.S. and its allies. When subsidies end, the Afghan government will be unable to pay these expenses, The Kandahar plant would have to be shut down and Tajikistan would stop exporting electricity to Kabul. At this moment, Afghanistan is a nightmare in the making. The talk of turning that country into a state with established institutions and a functioning economy has long been abandoned. Today, the discussion is, albeit behind closed doors, about how well the U.S. can retreat and what it can do to delay a potential breakdown. Yet, the public is still assured that after 2014, when most foreign combat troops will have left, Afghanistan would be well on its way to attain stability. And should fighting continue, the Afghan security forces would be ready to defend their country. Afghanistan is still the failed state when U.S. forces invaded it in 2001. Without strong institutions and a functioning economy, it is mired in insecurity and wretched poverty. Afghanistan’s descent into civil war seems inevitable if the U.S. and its allies abandon the country. Leaving Afghanistan in its present condition is inviting disaster. Hopelessness and the black hole of misery will again become fertile grounds for criminals and international terrorists to establish themselves in and operate from that country. America’s enormous cost in blood and treasure would be wasted if the U.S. left Afghanistan on its own. President Karzai’s lawless conduct opened government institutions to corruption, causing partly the present dire situation. Despite the problems that the two presidential candidates have with one another, it is hoped that the emerging new leadership will prove itself to be more effectual and less prone to corruption. That would give the U.S. a better basis to complete its assignment less wastefully and more efficiently.By Nasir Shansab
The responsible thing would be to acknowledge that Afghanistan is neither economically nor militarily ready to fend for itself. Before the U.S. can safely leave Afghanistan, it must help that country to build its own indigenous economic and military abilities. All that will cost money. But if it’s done right, the cost will be a trickle of what was spent in the past 12 years. Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/14/shansab-dont-abandon-afghanistan-yet/#ixzz3AYQYTcIr Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
Education: the major problem in Pakistan
Education is the most essential ingredient for the development of a nation. It is a global fact that nations who have reached the heights of the development and prosperity have done it by using education and information as a tool to do it. Education is simply an investment to achieve both human and economic development. But unfortunately it is one of the biggest problems in Pakistan. The education system of Pakistan is rotten to the core. The literacy rate in Pakistan is recorded as about 55% in 2012-2013. At present, the education sector is facing crisis just like other major sectors of the country. Following are the major problems in education system of Pakistan: The educational system of the country is based on different mediums which divides the students in two segments. Mostly private schools are English medium while the Government schools are Urdu medium. Regional differences are also a major cause for a poor educational system in Pakistan. Gender discrimination is very common in Pakistan. People are very conservative and they don’t want their girls to go to school and get education. Due to this, the ratio of boys and girls in primary schools is 10:4. In Human Development Report Pakistan is placed at 136th position for having just 49.9% educated population. In addition to that, Pakistan is ranked at 113th out of 120 registered UN members according to the research conducted by UNESCO et al. Some of the very basic flaws of the education system in Pakistan contribute to the economic, ethnic and sociopolitical crisis within the country. Moreover, the quality of education in most of the public schools and colleges is well below par; the teachers in government schools are not well trained. People who do not get job in any other sector, they try their luck in educational system. They are not professionally trained teachers so they are unable to train a nation. Quality of teaching needs special attention in rural areas where the teachers lack in all departments. Poverty is another factor that prohibits the parents to send their children to private school where the quality of education is high. Poor people get their children admitted to Government schools. The teachers in Government schools are not professionally trained. They even don’t take lectures and waste the precious time of the students. The allocation of funds for education sector by the Government of Pakistan are very low; only 2% of the total GDP. Government should increase this rate to improve the quality of educational system. Education is very important for the development of every country. It is the only cure for the disability of a country because today’s students are tomorrow’s nation builder. Government of Pakistan should take steps to remove the above mentioned problems so as to improve the quality of educational system of the country.MEHROSE RIZWAN
Balochistan: Religiosity and radicalization escalate simultaneously
Borderlands of many post-colonial states most frequently pay the price for protecting the centre. They are prima facie kept intentionally for such purposes when required. Nonetheless factual raison d’être for this objective is based more paradoxically on constructing discursively the existence of state as a natural phenomenon. In nitty-gritty while fathoming historically this is not the case instead we are compelled to be propped up by constructivism. The same transpires with us in Pakistan where its existence is directly linked with natural happenings implying with enduring scrambles over the centuries ultimately emerged in the guise of Pakistan in 1947 and some specific provinces are on the vanguard for its existence not all en masse. However the former claim does not encompass historical and logical basis. As aforementioned, Balochistan’s areas contiguously linking with Afghanistan have gone through the same encounter since 1980s particularly and over several decades in general. Each time inhabitants of this chunk of land have fought periodically for Pakistan in the name of Jihad. Social structure changed, agriculture deteriorated excessively, and radicalization burgeoned exponentially due to their both active and passive support rendered to the country and its mercenaries. In the same realm states never miss an opportunity to exploit masses for existence at any cost. Different jargons are propounded enthusiastically, be they religion, nationalism, and patriotism. Interestingly in concerted areas religion was used candidly juxtaposing Pakistan, Islam, and their defense naturally obligatory. But with the passage of time this explanation exposed to people and ulterior reasons were other and they realized what and how they are exploited. Markedly, if certain sacrifices would be copious for a specific period of time, this would please us, rather still we are scapegoats for this to sustain. Whether we talk in terms of religiosity or radicalization they are soaring day by day unfavorably among the people. The nature of the conflict over border especially in Balochistan has changed entirely however the dynamics are similar what we experienced in 1980s and 1990s. Resultantly, though natives may know and they actually are much familiar with murky consequences of the drama, but again various orations entice their gustoes and make natural radical outlooks for sacrifices. Recently in Baloch part of the province, one of the militant organizations threatened women to relinquish modern education. They were of the view that such practices are identical to un-Islamic traditions and only spread denudation within society. Critically evaluating this tragedy such happenings are exclusively aimed at making society backward and subservient to radicalized notions. Definitely if education expands abundantly what actually does not differ sufficiently, society will increase its trend towards medieval norms. The emergence of these threats has dismal impacts among the dynamic people of Balochistan in all parts of the province. On the other hand Madrasshas are increasingly promoting radical messages amongst people provoking religiously motivated ideas. Financial and other types of contribution to militant organizations occur basically owing to addresses clerics make by proselytizing opinion accordingly. This hegemonic power of Mullahs compels public to accommodate militant elements. All those regions which are porous to Afghanistan have been continuously fighting for the safety of Pakistan at the expense of their property, social norms, and traditions. Alternatively in swap they have got nothing more than desperation and misnomers among intellectuals. Despite myriad sacrifices for Pakistan they have made, in return they only deserve to be called traditional, tribal, and backwards. However in actual terms many times fighting with Pakistan’s adversaries so called educated elite did not do much what the same traditional delivered. Even now celebrations for 14 August are embellished more eagerly in contrast with other province by some privileged strata of society identifying more with state tags rather than other identities. This divulges their patriotic behavior what is usually denied in national discourses. Misfortunately in return agriculture due to load shedding, education because of no educational institutions, and politics because of radical elements have destroyed social fabric completely as quid-pro-quo for patriotic fervor. As I mentioned before about Baluchistan which has probably not historically succumbed to radical ideologies with the exception since few decades in religious narrative what is being promulgated now with brute-cum-fear. The people in the province are supposed to refuse accommodation to all sorts of subversive activities taken on the name of religion. Contemporarily previous elections in 2013 showed people’s direction more vividly by electing nationalist parties vis-à-vis other religious outfits. It primarily shows clearly that masses in Balochistan do not buttress militancy and radicalization rather these projects are imposed over them through distinct strategies. Conversely, the state must recognize eloquently what public demands in Balochistan. It is necessarily incumbent on state not to impose whatever it considers essential for its security and inconsistent with citizens’ minds and traditions. And most indispensable for people is to forego support to militant organizations and abandon them actively and passively even though hegemonic forces try to do. They must not be accommodated in society so that configuration of dove and hawk remain clear. Both religiosity and radicalization are increasing at the same time with parallel ratio and it is the responsibility of masses to disown clerical manipulations.By Aziz Ullah Kakar
Pakistan: I need people not breakfast, Imran tells leaders
Angered by the poor turnout for the march designed to dislodge the PML-N government, Imran Khan started yelling at the party leaders no sooner than he reached Gujranwala on Friday and refused to move out of the city if not provided with extra manpower.
He even refused the breakfast. “I don’t need breakfast. I need people. Where are they? Tell me how many vehicles and bikes are there to accompany us from Gujranwala,” the PTI chief asked as he stopped in Gujranwala for the breakfast hosted by one of the party leaders, Ali Ashraf Mughal, at his business place.
Once he decided to resume the journey on the assurance that a huge crowd was out there yearning to see and join him, it turned out to be yet another disappointment as majority of them were from the PML-N who started chanting slogans against him.
Imran only came to know about this when somebody chanted: “Kon bachaai ga Pakistan (who will save Pakistan).” The response was: “Wazir-e-Azam Nawaz Sharif.” As the journey started, a clash erupted between the workers of PTI and PML-N. It was a chilling reminder for Imran Khan who in the past led a rally against power outages from Lahore to Gujranwala. Noticing the presence of a small number of people, he refused to address them in Gujranwala, a stronghold of the PML-N.
Similarly, Imran who was delivering speeches from Lahore onwards decided not to address the people in Gujranwala on Friday. The PTI Gujranwala chapter could contribute only 50 motorcyclists who were given Rs3,200 each for petrol and food for accompanying the march.
The Friday’s clash in the city unnerved the PTI chief as the caravan was greeted by angry crowds at three places: a couple of times in Gujranwala and later when it passed through Gakkhar Mandi. The caravan was moving at a snail pace to gather sufficient number of participants for the march but in vain.
As they reached Gujranwala, Imran was found leading a caravan of 5,430 people riding on 719 vehicles. Pajeros outnumbered buses. Some 70 Pajeros and 41 buses were accompanying him. Only 263 motorcyclists were in the caravan in contrast to Imran’s claim that 100,000 bikers would join him.
The PTI sources, however, claimed that lakhs of people accompanied Imran Khan on his way to Islamabad from Lahore. The government circles claimed that not more that 10,000 people had joined Imran Khan when the Azadi March took off from Lahore.
After failing to gather a large crowd in Gujranwala and the clashes that followed, Imran cancelled the speeches he was scheduled to make on his way to Islamabad. He shifted from the container to a bulletproof Pajero and sped to Islamabad.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tahirul Qadri’s caravan was larger in comparison. According to insiders, Imran had refused to accompany Dr Qadri despite the latter’s insistence. Dr. Qadri rang Imran a day before the march expressing his desire to join him from the Zaman Park (Lahore) but the latter refused.
Insiders say that Imran’s cronies misled him into believing that his march would be reminiscent of the one led by Nawaz Sharif in 2009 for restoring the judges. He was told that there would be a snowball effect as more and more people would join him from every city. The situation, however, turned out to be just the opposite as the caravan kept thinning out.
Pakistan: Rs13m scam at University of Peshawar being hushed up
The Rs13 million scam at the Institute of Chemical Sciences, University of Peshawar, was tactfully hushed up by holding one senior clerk responsible for the entire mess, who managed to get bail before arrest (BBA), while the high-ups of the institute were given a clean chit.
The financial embezzlement had been made about one year ago, when Prof Dr Imdadullah was the director of the institute. The matter hit the headlines in various newspapers about a month ago, prompting the university administration to conduct an inquiry into the matter and fix responsibilities.
Sources said the funds had been withdrawn from the account of the institute for the purchase of chemicals and other equipment in violation of the set procedure. All the cheques were properly signed by the former director Imdadullah. Also, no purchase was made and the fund – Rs13 million – was embezzled, said the sources.
“Actually two inquiries were ordered into the matter, i.e. one fact-finding and the other procedural inquiry. The fact-finding inquiry has submitted its report and given recommendations, while the procedural inquiry is still investigating the matter,” said an official at the university administration.
He said the matter had also been reported to the Anti-Corruption Establishment and National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which would conduct separate inquiries. The university administration also lodged an FIR against a clerk of the institute, Arif Ismail, who confessed to misappropriating the funds and deceiving the former director.
The fact-finding committee headed by Prof Dr Gulzar held the clerk responsible for the entire scam. The committee also charged the former director with negligence and suggested halting his pension, the slightest punishment that can be made in such cases.
According to the committee report, the director did not know the procedure of fund withdrawal and the clerk deceived him, which is why they recommended the minimum punishment for him.
The committee also recommended stern action against the clerk and recovery of all the funds. The committee also suggested to put his name on the exit control list. The anti-corruption and NAB authorities are yet to probe the matter and take action, sources told The News.
The sources said the university administration dealt with the matter very tactfully and saved the skin of the former director. They said the clerk should be punished for misappropriation of the funds, but the matter was not that simple that only one clerk was involved in embezzling such a large amount.
“Currently, the clerk has confessed to have withdrawn the entire amount alone. But he can take back his statement at any stage. All this seems to be properly planned,” an official of the institute told The News on the condition of anonymity.
The sources said that every chairman or director was authorised to withdraw only Rs25,000 for the purchase or other needs from the account of his department, institute or centre. “If the fund exceeds Rs25,000, the vice-chancellor will give approval and even the vice-chancellor can approve fund up to Rs75,000 only.”
Even after the approval by the vice-chancellor, the funds can be withdrawn after thoroughly checking all the receipts, which should be signed by all members of purchase committee of each department, the sources added. Any amount exceeding Rs75,000 for purchase or other work would be advertised in newspapers and quotations would be sought from at least three companies, they said.
“In the case of the Institute of Chemical Sciences, funds amounting to Rs1,300,000 have been withdrawn on the signature of the former director without following any procedure and the committee finds him innocent, it is ridiculous,” said an official.
Prof Imdadullah, who retired from the university recently, is currently serving at the National Testing Service (NTS) in Islamabad. He could not be reached on his phone for comments despite numerous attempts.
Pakistan- Misplaced priorities: $23 million Kerry-Lugar funds going to waste
Pakistan: The courts and politics
The Lahore High Court (LHC) issued an order that no “unconstitutional” march or sit-in could be held by Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri on the eve of Independence Day. That wording left room for Imran Khan and Qadri to argue that they would proceed with their respective marches while adhering to the constitution and remaining peaceful. The order also seemed to have a salutary effect on the government, persuading it to adopt a ‘softly, softly’ approach to the marchers. Unfortunately, the LHC forgot the well known jurisprudential principle that courts should not issue orders that cannot be implemented. The marches took off on August 14 regardless. Now some people are trying to hold Imran and Qadri in contempt of court, after the horse has bolted. The LHC also held that asking for the resignation of the Prime Minister (PM) was unconstitutional. With due respect, that does not hold water. Asking for resignations is the very stuff of democratic politics. Whether those asked to go comply or not is a separate matter. What is not constitutional however, is holding the country, government and the democratic system hostage through street power to force him to resign when the PM enjoys a clear majority in parliament. This development once again highlights the perils of the courts adjudicating political issues. This is the consequence of seeing the courts as the final arbiters of everything, a trend that set in after the judiciary was restored in 2009 as a result of Nawaz Sharif’s long march for the purpose. It was given further traction by the hyper activism of the Supreme Court under former Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. Unfortunately, the hangover of that mistaken belief in the power of the courts to fix everything under the sun still persists. In defence of the LHC’s order, what could at best be said was that it acted as a restraining influence on the government and the marchers.
The two marches set off peacefully, albeit at a snail’s pace, from Lahore on August 14. The relief that brought did not last. An unfortunate clash between PML-N and PTI workers in Gujranwala queered the pitch again. In the wake of the clash, Imran Khan abandoned his slow moving container and decided to dash ahead to Islamabad in a bulletproof car. Some analysts were inclined to ascribe this change of travelling mode to the alarm in PTI circles that Qadri and his contingent had dashed ahead and would arrive in Islamabad ahead of Imran Khan’s cavalcade. By now it is hardly a secret that the PTI is concerned its agenda may be overtaken or trumped by Qadri’s in Islamabad. What are these respective agendas? Going by their repeated statements, Imran Khan is insisting on the resignation of the PM, the setting up of a non-political interim government, and fresh elections, thereby ostensibly rejecting all the olive branches proffered by Nawaz Sharif in recent days. Qadri, on the other hand, has just issued a radical sounding 10-point agenda that he calls the foundations of his ‘revolution’. Theoretically, Imran Khan can still be seen as having stakes in the parliamentary democratic system despite his scathing criticisms of the present setup. Qadri, on the other hand, cannot be accused of any such consideration. He wants to upset the apple cart and bring in a government leaning towards theocracy and headed by himself, presumably through the back door as he does not have any presence in parliament. It is therefore in the interests of Qadri to escalate the confrontation to a point where the establishment intervenes in the name of saving the country and paves the way for Qadri’s hoped for success.
The intriguing question now is what the stance of the establishment is to the current crisis. The military has, according to reports and as expected, conveyed to the government that it will not physically intervene in the confrontation brewing in Islamabad. That understandable hands off approach to a purely political situation notwithstanding, Pakistan’s history of military intervention, overt and covert, has persuaded some conspiracy theorists that behind the scenes the establishment is preparing a new version of the ‘Kakar solution’. This refers to the manner in which General Kakar, the then COAS, intervened in the conflict between then PM Nawaz Sharif and then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1993 to send both packing. Were such a scenario to be played out, it would be terribly disappointing to those who saw the 2013 elections as a watershed moment for Pakistan in terms of a peaceful transition from one elected government to the next, thereby raising hope that democracy, fragile and uncertain as it may be, was on its way to consolidation in the country. If any extra-constitutional outcome follows the marches and sit-ins in Islamabad, it would be a grave setback to the forward march of democracy and a case of back to square one: establishment-driven imposed solutions on a country by now weary of such anti-democratic manipulation.
Pakistan: Imran Leaves Long March to Sleep in Bani Gala
http://www.pkhope.com/
Imran gone to Bani Gala Palace, CM KPK to Frontier House, and rest of PTI leader to Serena Hotel and Marriat Hotel. Another u-turn from Imran Khan. He had promised with his followers of PTI that he won’t be leaving the long march until his demands would met. He said that he would sleep on road with the workers. But after reaching Islamabad, the playboy-cum-politician bolted from the march to his palatial mansion of Bani Gala, leaving his workers suffer in stormy rain.Imran Khan left the long march by saying that he will come back at 3pm to rejoin the long march. Nobody even in PTI was expecting that. They thought that their leader will stay with them throughout. They are asking from each other as where should we go? Not everybody has palace in Bani Gala. All the demands of Imran Khan are unconstitutional and bizarre. Why Nawaz Sharif should resign? Even the opposition leader Khurshid Shah has said that they don’t support the resignation of the Imran Khan. Other parties including ANP, MQM, JUI-F, PML-F, NP, and various other parties in parliament are not with Imran. All the independent sources are saying that Imran has failed to gather 1 million people. People have rejected the Imran’s claims and his agitation which is without any cause. After disturbing Lahore, and all the cities on G.T. Road, now Imran is pricking the people of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. That is what Pindi and Islamabad get voting in for Imran. Or was it rigged too?
Pakistan: Quetta attacks
As the military operation in North Waziristan continues, it appears the much-dreaded blowback has made a beginning. Militants targeted two military facilities in Quetta late on Thursday — the PAF’s Samungli base as well as the Khalid base — in what appeared to be a coordinated operation.Luckily, security forces acted in time and a major disaster was averted; at least 10 assailants were killed and the destruction witnessed during similar past episodes was not repeated. On Friday, the Ghalib Mehsud faction of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the assault while the Balochistan home minister told the media that most of the assailants appeared to be Uzbek. Both of these developments — the TTP’s involvement and the use of Uzbek fighters — are cause for concern. They would signify that Islamist militants are making their presence felt in Balochistan and that the security forces have failed to prevent the flight of terrorists from North Waziristan. As it is, Balochistan faces militancy of different hues, including the Baloch separatist insurgency and the activities of sectarian terrorist outfits. It would only worsen matters if the TTP and Uzbek militants decided to focus on the province which has largely remained free of Taliban-related terrorism, although the TTP does wield some influence in Balochistan. The banned group has a presence in the province’s Pakhtun areas while Uzbek militants have reportedly been operating in Quetta’s outskirts and Mastung. The militants also have the support of local sectarian groups. The Quetta attacks show that while TTP fighters may now be scattered and much of their infrastructure in North Waziristan may be reduced to rubble, they are far from a spent force. Their operational capability to cause widespread havoc remains very much intact. If we add the Uzbek dimension, matters get even more complex as militants from this background have participated in some of the country’s most high-profile terrorist attacks — including the storming of the Karachi airport in June — and have a well-earned reputation for ferocity. The situation demands two major responses from the state: firstly, the military must ensure that the operation in the tribal belt is thorough and that militants are not able to escape, regroup and then re-launch themselves. Secondly, the intelligence agencies need to remain alert about more possible blowback attacks in the cities. The state — preoccupied as it is with political manoeuvring these days — must not forget about the threat terrorism continues to pose to Pakistan.
Bilawal Bhutto expresses sorrow over Peshawar rain incidents
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