# AsiaBibi - Support Builds for Ailing Pakistani Christian Mother Facing Death for Drinking from Muslim Water Cup

Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman facing death for drinking water out of the same vessel used by her Muslim co-workers and speaking out for Jesus, is in such poor health her supporters fear she won't make it to her date with the executioner.

This courageous mother-of-five was sentenced in 2010 to be hanged for apostasy. She has always denied the accusations, but Pakistani authorities have ignored an international outcry and calls for her release.

The grim verdict was handed down after her co-workers charged she had insulted Prophet Mohammed.

Her nightmare began rather innocently on June 19, 2009, when this uneducated Christian mother, was picking berries with a group of Muslim women in the area of her home village, and they asked her to go to a nearby well to bring them some water. She happily did this and, on the way back, she was so thirsty, so she took a drink of the water, and when they discovered this, they accused her of being an "infidel" and an intense discussion ensued between them.

Apparently, it quickly spiraled out of control, and the Muslim women became even more angered when, during a debate about their respective faiths, she responded by telling them that Jesus is alive, adding, "Our Christ sacrificed His life on the cross for our sins.... Our Christ is alive."

That so incensed them that they began viciously beating her and this eventually led to a blasphemy accusation. In November 2010, Bibi was convicted under the blasphemy penal code, and sentenced to death by hanging. An appeal has been filed with the Supreme Court, but there's no word on how soon the case will be heard.

FoxNews.com is reporting that Bibi, now 50, is suffering from numerous health problems, including intestinal bleeding, according to Global Dispatch, which cited Bibi's family in reporting the woman is "so weak she could hardly walk."

"She is an exemplar of a gross miscarriage of injustice rooted in Pakistan's extremely unfair blasphemy laws and of how this law can victimize someone who should not be inside the criminal justice system whatsoever," said Phelim Kine, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division.

FoxNews.com added, "Supporters of Bibi are calling on the U.S. to use the approximately $900 million in annual foreign aid it provides Pakistan as leverage to obtain justice for Bibi and others suffering under the Muslim nation's Draconian blasphemy laws. The Center for Research and Security Studies, which identified 247 blasphemy cases prosecuted in Pakistan since 1987 and found many were used to persecute religious minorities and settle personal scores."

Wilson Chowdhry of the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA), based in the UK, said, "Six years have passed and the travesty of justice continues. For some time now, we have been told that there has been a moratorium on the death penalty because of pressure from Western donors, but even before this vanished at the end of last year, it has become clear that her treatment was in effect a slow death sentence by neglect and worse, all for allegedly committing a crime that should not exist-blasphemy."

"Asia Bibi is by no means the only Christian on death row for blasphemy," Chowdhry added. "There are a number of others, and there are also other Christians who are in there for crimes they did not commit, and are in effect there because they are Christians. One man who had been imprisoned for over two decades from the age of 15 and who was well known to be innocent of the crime he was convicted of was executed two weeks ago."

Pakistan-born Chowdhry said he hoped the British and US Governments would do all they could to force Mrs. Bibi's release.

"I call on the UK government to remonstrate with the Pakistani government in the strongest possible terms over this deadly game of bait and switch, and to free Asia Bibi and let her and her family escape to safety," he said.

Nazir Bhatti, president of the Pakistan Christian Congress, told FoxNews.com it is difficult for the international media to pick up news on Bibi's plight because it generates so little coverage within the country.

"Pakistani media do not often write about her case and are too afraid because they are under pressure from the government to stay silent," Bhatti said.

FoxNews.com added that Pope Francis has called for clemency for Bibi, and last year, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul called for an end to U.S. aid to Pakistan, noting the persecution of young women and Christians in the nation, and citing Bibi in particular.

Last month, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom pressed the Obama administration to designate Pakistan a "country of particular concern."

Those who have spoken up for Bibi from within Pakistan have done so at their own peril and two of them paid for their comments about her with their own lives. They were Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab, and Shahbaz Bhatti, the minister of minority affairs, who were both assassinated after defending Bibi and speaking out against the blasphemy laws.

"The assassinations show how dangerous it is for politicians to challenge the blasphemy law. Militants will go to extreme measures for anyone who speaks for religious freedom or human rights," said Kine.

"We see what happens when someone tries to challenge the blasphemy laws," said Chowdhry. "It got two key politicians killed...In a country with such animosity against Christians, I don't believe a Supreme Court judge will be brave enough to exonerate her."

According to a recent Mission News Network article, there have been some recent internal attempts to overhaul the blasphemy laws due to international pressure. A March 2014 poll from the Pakistani English-language newspaper, The Nation, showed 68 percent of Pakistanis believe the blasphemy law should be repealed.

"It is not something that can happen overnight," said Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based UN Watch. "The government needs to educate their people on what are universal human rights, what is respecting religious minorities and so on. Right now, I don't see that happening."

Chowdhry, however, believes that reform of blasphemy laws are unlikely in a country he says has been "hijacked" by extremists.

The British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) has now launched a petition for Asia Bibi to be released, and you can sign it by going to: http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/justice4asia. 

http://www.crossmap.com/news/support-builds-for-ailing-pakistani-christian-mother-facing-death-for-drinking-from-muslim-water-cup-19399

#Pakistan - ISIL-linked suspected terrorists arrested in Peshawar

Police on Thursday arrested three suspected militants said to be linked with the self-styled ISIL takfiri terrorist group.
Acting on an intelligence tip-off, security forces raided a shop in the Shamshadu Bazaar area and arrested the three suspects.
According to police sources, laptops containing IS literature along with other documents were recovered from their possession. Also seized were documents against the Pakistan Army. No weapons or ammunition was seized in the raid.
Amongst those arrested were two Afghan nationals, Asmatullah and Abdur Rehman. The third suspect, Mohammad Ibrahim, belongs to Mohmand Agency.
A case under Section 11 Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and Section 124 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) was registered against the suspected militants.

http://en.shiapost.com/2015/07/02/isil-linked-suspected-terrorists-arrested-in-peshawar/

Pakistan's Shia Genocide - Three Shia Muslims shot martyred in Quetta

At least three Shia Muslims were shot martyred after takfiri terrorists of Ahle-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) aka Sipah-e-Sahaba and terrorists of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) attacked on a shop in Quetta’s Sirki Road on Wednesday, The Shia Post reports.

The martyrs were taken to the Civil Hospital Road Quetta, and identified as Nadir Hussain s/o Gulzar Hussain, Asad Ali s/o Zulfiqar Ali, Ali Waris s/o Liaquat Ali.

The martyrs were from Punjab province of Pakistan.

Two takfiri terrorists of ASWJ on a motorcycle opened fire on welder’s shop and killed three Shia Muslims and managed to escape.

http://en.shiapost.com/2015/07/01/three-shia-muslims-shot-martyred-in-quetta/

Pakistan - Missing Form 15s: Aitzaz Ahsan says 2013 polls can be declared unfair

Pakistan Peoples Party’s counsel Aitzaz Ahsan said on Wednesday that the 2013 parliamentary elections could be declared unfair on the basis of missing Form 15s from polling bags.

Arguing before a three-judge inquiry commission – headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk – Ahsan, who is also a PPP senator, said the 1990 elections were declared unfair by the Supreme Court in the Asghar Khan case following allegations that money was doled out to candidates in 32 constituencies.

Ahsan submitted that the 2013 election records have been tampered with and its evidence has been presented before the inquiry commission. “Form 15 is a very sacred document. Punjab pattern of electoral rigging had been used in the last general elections.”

According to the ordinance through which the commission was set up, all the executive authorities, including IB, MI, ISI and NADRA, were bound to assist the inquiry commission in investigating the allegations, he said, adding that initially the burden of proof was on the political parties, but the inquiry commission had assumed this role through various orders.

Aitzaz contended that though the commission had to complete the task preferably within 45 days but there is no time bar. To this, the chief justice said the outer limit is 120 days, as the life of the ordinance is 120 days.

The PPP counsel made it clear that he was not asking the commission to declare the election in individual constituencies void.

Earlier, the chief justice asked the PTI counsel that throughout the proceedings he held the ruling PML-N responsible for alleged manipulation of the 2013 elections. “I would like to know what links the PML-N with rigging in the general election.”

PTI counsel Abdul Hafeez Pirzada said that for all National Assembly seats 44.85 million votes were polled, of which the PML-N secured 14.87 million, PTI 7.56 million, PPP 6.82 million and independent candidates secured 5.77 million votes and won 32 seats. After the elections most of the independents joined the PML-N.

He further said that in the 2008 elections the same party had polled 6.8 million votes, therefore the votes secured by the party showed a 100% increase. “Najam Sethi, ex-caretaker chief minister of Punjab, was the buffer between the PPP’s outgoing government and PML-N,” he alleged.

The chief justice had asked the counsels of all the parties to conclude their arguments by Friday.

Plight of Pakistanis in Saudi jails

• Zeeba T Hashmi
  

The Pakistani embassy has sought information from Saudi authorities about the details of the sentences of detained Pakistanis but these requests have hardly been accepted.

The recent debacle of the ultra-nationalist Zaid Hamid ending up in a Saudi jail, sentenced to receive 1,000 lashes for speaking his mind against the government, has paradoxically backfired on all the jingoistic, undemocratic and bigoted rants by Zaid Hamid. Lashing him on the grounds of critiquing the Saudi government is tyrannical and the sentence would have carried more weight if he had been tried for hate mongering and inciting violence. He was not even tried for the alleged crime he committed. Since this has happened on the soil to which Saudi Arabia claims Pakistan is indebted, the Pakistani government needs to lodge its protest over the denial of its citizens’ right to a fair trial in the holy land of Saudi Arabia and not let it take Pakistani citizens for granted.

While Saudi Arabia mounted pressure on Pakistan to come to its aid in the war against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, Pakistan politely refused by upholding parliament’s decision not to ally with the Saudis. Pakistan had valid grounds to turn down the request but pro-Saudi groups have tried to change public opinion in favour of Saudi Arabia under the ‘protection of Harmain Sharifain (holy places)’ banner. Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat chief Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi ranted against parliament’s resolution and went so far as to say that his organisation would go to Saudi Arabia if the army did not, just like Fazlur Rehman Khalil went to Afghanistan. However, Pakistan withstood all that pressure, and rightly so. The reason for the refusal, however, should not only be based upon the economic and political viability of intervention but on a principled stand of dignity and justice. More needs to be done than just denying public opinion in favour of Saudi Arabia; the truth of how Pakistanis are treated in that land should be recognised by our government as well.

Until last year, there have been more than 4,000 Pakistanis languishing in the jails of Saudi Arabia, including women and children, who are kept there without any fair trials. If one were to include the actual figures, many Pakistanis have been framed under false charges at the behest of powerful Saudis, who exploit anti-labour laws and use these poor expatriates as shields to protect their organised crimes. Until 2012, before the visa change, there had been about 1,700 Pakistani prisoners, including women. Some of them have been kept there for more than a decade and are still awaiting their so-called trials. In this regard, the Pakistani embassy has sought information from Saudi authorities about the details of the sentences of detained Pakistanis but these requests have hardly been accepted. It is estimated that about 40 percent of the cases are related to drug trafficking and 25 percent to miscellaneous crimes like traffic incidents, bribery and brawls. Another 26 percent of the cases are related to fraud and theft and about seven percent are cases of rape or murder.

While answering the question of an MNA in the National Assembly, the former foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, said that a majority of 468 prisoners were being held in Al-Malaz Jail, Riyadh and 380 prisoners were being held in Bariman Jail, Jeddah. All 30 female Pakistani prisoners, along with 260 men, are being held in Makkah jails. As many as 201 men are in Al-Hair Jail in Riyadh, 120 in Dammam Jail, 119 in General Jail, Medina and 88 prisoners in Al-Ahsa Jail. The remaining 165 Pakistani prisoners languish in 16 different prisons across Saudi Arabia. These details were shared on the floor of the upper house but no action was taken by the government in defence of its citizens. Last year, Chief Justice (CJ) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani took suo motu notice of about 3,000 prisoners in Saudi detention centres after a concerned citizen filed a complaint with the human rights cell of the Supreme Court (SC). In the complaint, the deplorable conditions of the detention centres were described along with how the foreign ministry has failed to take up the matter with the Saudi government. The Pakistani embassy in Riyadh has never taken interest in the affairs of detained Pakistanis and, due to their sheer neglect amidst the inhumane and deplorable conditions of these jails, many detainees have perished.

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received reports of dozens of Pakistanis who face the death penalty over alleged drug trafficking, a crime punishable by death in Saudi Arabia. Mainly belonging to poor families, accused persons have been coerced into smuggling at the whims of powerful drug lords, who have a nexus with the Saudi authorities. The real culprits are never brought to justice, if there is such a thing as justice in Saudi Arabia. So far, up to 10 Pakistanis have been executed in Saudi Arabia since January of this year and many others are awaiting their fate. Pakistani authorities in Saudi Arabia remain silent over this issue, even though the families of the accused have approached them with the names of the culprits responsible for framing their loved ones in drug trafficking. The motive is clear in such cases: to hide the important names in drug rackets, including influential Saudis involved. Pakistan needs to stand up in support of its citizens. It is a national tragedy that a large number of Pakistani visitors and expats are maltreated and denied justice by the Saudi authorities. Instead of cowering to Saudi demands and feeling obliged to favour them, Pakistan needs to first demand the humane and dignified treatment of its citizens before extending any material or military support to Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan - 35 Punctures - Imran Niazi lied

For the better part of the last two years Najam Sethi was consistently demonised by the PTI. Imran Khan accused Sethi of colluding with the PML-N to rig the elections in their favour and the rest of the party ran with it, insulting, shaming and condemning Sethi for his dishonesty and betrayal of solemn duty. The colloquial term “35 punctures” became a byword of PML-N corruption and Sethi’s reputation took a tumble – albeit helped by his own erratic behaviour while in charge of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the manner of his appointment. The damage done, and Sethi’s position as a villain in PTI cannon assured; Imran Khan casually mentions that all the “35 punctures” remarks were just “political talk” in a televised interview.
What this means is that all those angry speeches and dire accusations were made only to generate political pressure. It means that the leader who promised to “never lie to the nation”, lied to its face consistently, and that too just to play politics. It makes us wonder how many other statements were based on the truth and home may were just ‘political statements’. Imran khan understands that the right words will excite the crowd and draw loud cheers, but he must understand that words have consequences.
This is not a case of Imran Khan clarifying a confused issue; everyone knew exactly what the “35 punctures” meant. It supposedly alluded to a specific recorded call in which Sethi assured Nawaz Sharif that 35 specific constituencies have been rigged – a call that was heard by the senior party members. But it turns out the origin of the story lies in an anecdote told to a friend who repeated it to another and so on, in short; based on unsubstantiated hearsay. In such circumstances an apology by Imran Khan to Najam Sethi is merited – after all he accused him of corruption and rigging without fact-checking – and some senior members of the party calling for it too. But in true PTI belligerent fashion, Jehangir Tareen has said that instead of 35 Najam Sethi made 71 punctures. What does that even mean? Does it mean he rigged 71 constituencies? Should this be taken as an accusation based on truth or as a “political statement”. Or is it just a roundabout way of saying that PTI stands by what it said – despite the fact that the leader admits otherwise. PTI needs to understand the consequences of baseless accusations, and the difference between true, false and political statement
When Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf emerged from the triumphant Lahore rally of 2011 its political credibility was spotless – free from taint of deceit or selfish motivations – and that drew people to it in droves. During the proceeding four year PTI has lost most of those qualities and is fast becoming the very evil it ostensibly sought to destroy. The final nail may have been hammered in by the Chairman, Imran Khan himself.

Bilawal Bhutto to visit every district, constituency to address grievances of party leaders

https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/

 A meeting of Pakistan Peoples Party, Punjab leaders was presided over by Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at Bilawal House today.
The meeting was attended by Former Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, PPP Punjab President Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, former Governor and President PPP South Punjab Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, Qamaruz Zaman Kaira, Senator Sherry Rehman, Firdous Ashiq Awan, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Tanveer Ashraf Kaira, Shaukat Basra and Jameel Soomro.

The meeting discussed overall political situation in the country and leaders from Punjab said that Nawaz government has not fulfilled the promises, which has disappointed the people. This is the time that people of Punjab are given hope, which is present in the shape of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, they pointed out.

The PPP leaders further said that people, especially from Punjab are looking towards the Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari pinning great expectations.

Speaking on the occasion, the PPP Chairman said that these kind of consultative meetings should be held at every level so that the Party can be strengthened. He stressed that Party leaders should establish direct contact with people for full preparations for local government elections.

On the occasion, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari condoled with Firdous Ashiq Awan on the demise of her brother.

On the other hand, Senior Minister of Azad Kashmir Chaudhry Yaseen also called on the Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and apprised him about the Party issues in AJK. 

Pakistan's ISI trapped several Indians through attractive lottery scam: Sources

Manoj Gupta 

In a shocking revelation, it has been found that Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI trapped several Indians through an attractive lottery scam and the money was used for purchasing ammunition and explosives, sources said.

According to the sources, hundreds of missed calls were made to India from Pakistan, and thousands of crores were channeled to the country through Hawala route.

The funds were used for smuggling contraband and fake Indian currency notes.

Earlier there were reports that ISI is helping pro-Khalistan Sikhs in India and abroad. Sources had said that ISI is actively helping Sikh radical organisations like Babbar Khalsa and other groups based in US, UK, Canada and Germany in its bid to revive the terror groups.

The Sikh groups were asked to contact Kashmiris and Pakistanis for anti-India protests.

The ISI has been supporting several anti-India groups and is involved in instigating terror organisations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Hilary e-mails show US struggling with Pakistan policy amid 'Ghandi' fiasco

The emails range from the mundane to the mysterious to the methodical. 

A large tranche of Hillary Clinton's emails released by the State Department on Tuesday in response to a Freedom Of Information Act lawsuit shows the inner workings of the U.S government -- from extended debates over policy to personal touches. There are several references to India and the subcontinent in the 3000 pages released so far - which is only a small part of the 55,000 pages that has to be released by the end of the year - and they don't always show the state department in a flattering light. 

For instance, soon after the UPA's government returning to power in the 2009 Lok Sabha election, Clinton aide Huma Abedin, also known as her constant shadow and ''body woman,'' alerts the then Secretary of State about the appointment of S.M.Krishna as India's External Affairs Minister. ''What do we know about him?'' Clinton asks in a reply email. ''Long time politico, was close to rajiv ghandi. III send his bio to oscar to print for you,'' Abedin responds. 

Abedin, who was born in Michigan to mixed Indian-Pakistani parents (father from India; mother from Pakistan), is unable to nail the Gandhi spelling notwithstanding her sub-continental heritage and a degree from George Washington University. She later flags for Hillary Clinton's attention possible calls to India following the election results. 

''On election calls, SCA is recommending calls to Congress Party head Sonia Ghandi, outgoing FM Mukherjee, and incoming FM Krishna. We also have a call sheet for Prime Minister Singh in case you want to call. Please let me know if u want to do these calls tomorrow,'' she writes. SCA stands for South Central Asia, the State Department bureau that deals with India. 

Pakistan too figures in some of the emails, coming across as a major worry for U.S planners on account of its chronic instability due to its support for terror groups. 

In fact, in one exchange, a long term strategy group that conducts simulations for U.S agencies on geo-political scenarios writes to Clinton outlining a possibility Pakistan breaking up. It proposed exploring ''The impact of a potential end of effective central government in Pakistan that leaves a Punjab state co-existing with a Baluch/Sindh state and an Afghanistan that expands to control the border regions now part of Pakistan.'' 

In a more elaborate note, former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger also writes to Clinton suggesting that the U.S target Pakistani military leaders who give support to Al Qaeda and its allies. No one even questions the premise that Pakistan is supporting terror groups. 

''Assuming we have adequate intelligence, we can go after bank accounts, travel and other reachable assets of individual Pakistani officers, raising the stakes for those supporting the militants without creating an inordinate backlash,'' Berger writes in an October 4, 2009 e-mail to Hillary Clinton. 

''Thanks, Sandy. This is very helpful,'' Clinton responds, without saying whether she intends to accept the suggestion. 

On a lighter note, the emails also show Hillary Clinton is clueless about operating a fax machine and has to be walked though how to receive a fax by her aide Huma Abedin.

Afghanistan Protests Clashes on Pakistan Border

Afghanistan has lodged an official complaint with Pakistan over a deadly border clash this week between security forces along their shared border. The incident could imperil a recent thaw in bilateral relations, although Islamabad has downplayed it and vowed to help sustain Kabul’s peace and reconciliation efforts.

Cross border clashes

The border clash occurred this past Tuesday in the remote Angoor Adda region, leaving one Afghan guard dead and another wounded. Pakistani officials have confirmed two of their soldiers were wounded.

Kabul alleges Pakistani forces were building new facilities close to the border in violation of mutual agreements, provoking Afghan forces to intervene and open fire.

On Thursday, the Afghan Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistan’s top diplomat in the country to protest the incident. An official statement quotes the Afghan deputy foreign minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai as saying the border violation by Pakistan goes against all international and diplomatic norms.

He warned that repeating such actions could “deeply damage” bilateral relations.

Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Qazi Khalilullah, dismissed allegations that the construction activity was unauthorized and said Pakistani forces only responded to the Afghan aggression.

“It is being constructed well within the Pakistani territory," Khalilullah noted. An RPG-7 rocket and few rounds of small arms were fired on Angoor Adda gate from Afghan side due to which two Pakistani security personnel were injured. Pakistani troops responded and targeted positions from where fire was coming.”

Afghan and Pakistani security forces have engaged in cross-border shelling in recent years but this week’s incident comes at a time of improved bilateral ties.
The spokesman reiterated that Islamabad is determined to further counterterrorism cooperation with Kabul and “both sides have agreed to take coordinated actions against terrorists” threatening their region.

Seeking peace and reconciliation 

He dismissed suggestions Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is increasingly unhappy about Pakistan’s alleged lack of cooperation to help end the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. He said Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has assured the Afghan leader of his full support.

“The two leaders also share a mutual conviction to overcome the past and build a forward-looking relationship based on trust and understanding and are constructively engaged to rebuild mutual trust and understanding for a cooperative relationship,” Khalilullah stated.

Fugitive Taliban commanders and fighters have allegedly used bases in Pakistan for years to direct the Afghan insurgency. Islamabad said its security forces have dismantled those sanctuaries.

Khalilullah reiterated that Pakistan is trying to persuade pro-peace Taliban groups to engage in talks with the Kabul government to help end the protracted Afghan conflict.

“Pakistan has been facilitating the Afghan peace and reconciliation process, the process, which is Afghan-led and Afghan-owned. China also has interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan and we have been discussing this with China but it is not possible for me to discuss in detail the developments that have been taking place in this regard,” said Khalilullah.

Pakistani officials say they had facilitated a secret meeting between Afghan peace negotiators and Taliban envoys in late May in China and another round is expected to take place very soon.

Video - U.S.-Cuba announcement expected Wednesday

President Obama Expands Overtime Pay to 5 Million Americans

BY MICHELE RICHINICK 

President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced a sweeping change to the country's overtime pay law by expanding the measure to almost 5 million workers as early as 2016.

Currently, employees who earn more than $23,660 per year ($455 per week) cannot claim overtime pay. Unless exempt, employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act must receive overtime pay for hours in a week that exceed 40.

But the long-awaited proposed rule will increase the threshold for guaranteed overtime for employees who make less than an estimated $50,440 next year, according to the White House. The salary threshold, only updated once since the 1970s, guarantees overtime for most salaried workers who fall below it, but it is destroyed by inflation every year.

Last March, Obama ordered the U.S. Department of Labor to streamline and simplify federal overtime rules, and draft a version of regulations that could expand the number of workers covered by overtime.

"If you go above and beyond to help your employer and your economy succeed, then you should share a little bit in that success," he said in a speechlast year.

The National Retail Federation opposes overtime expansion. The change "would drive up retailers’ payroll costs while limiting opportunities to move up into management. Most workers would be unlikely to see an increase in take-home pay, the use of part-time workers could increase, and retailers operating in rural states could see a disproportionate impact," according to a study outlined on the group's website.

For the formal announcement, Obama traveled to La Crosse, Wisconsin, a battleground state home to likely Republican presidential candidate Governor Scott Walker.

Video - President Obama and the President of Brazil Hold a Joint Press Conference

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Video - First Lady Michelle Obama Hosts the First-Ever White House Campout with Let's Move!

#Shame Shahbaz Lohar - Crumbling Daanish Schools

Within a year of its inauguration, the building of Daanish School in the Attock district has started crumbling, forcing management to close down sections. A report by the Chief Minister Inspection Team, which investigated the faults and causes at the Malala Yousafzai Daanish School, has raised serious concerns about the soil survey, building and structural design, material used in the buildings and non-supervision of the work, terming all these factors major causes of the start of collapse of the building that had cost the nation millions of rupees within a year. This school was inaugurated by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Feb 14, 2013, and the cracks in the building started appearing in February 2014.
One can question the management involved in these schools and the lack of checks and balances, but nobody is willing to take responsibility. The Daanish Schools have been criticised as being a ploy for greater nepotism and corruption in appropriating government funds, and this example just supports concerns voiced in the past. The blame has been put on a third party that was hired to construct the school. The three professionals, who were part of the investigation, have said that defects in the building are “a result of structural failure and non-vetting of design and structural designs by the third party”. However, the process of awarding contract did not follow the official guidelines, which led to no transparency regarding their work.
With the education budget of next year, once again taking a major hit, is it really sad to come to the conclusion that the making of these schools have might only have political motives behind them. Each Daanish School campus is estimated to cost around Rs 1 billion and needs an estimated Rs 21 million annual operating expenditure. Looking at the lack of sustainability of these projects, one can rightly point out that the provincial government could have used these funds to strengthen some good schools in all tehsils and create a positive ripple effect in the broader education sector which is facing a severe dearth of resources. Good teachers and better teach training would have gone a long way in helping fix the system. It seems more reasonable that they should have focused more on facilities to millions of children studying in existing public schools instead of going for an unjust distribution of available resources and spending billions of rupees on exorbitantly expensive schools.

Rising ISIS support in Pakistan's nuclear testing region sparks fears of 'dirty' bomb

By TOM BATCHELOR

FEARS are growing that depraved Islamic State (ISIS) militants could obtain a nuclear weapon from Pakistan.

The group is understood to be preparing a new push to seize territory in the province of Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

The area is widely-known to be the centre of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, with controversial underground testing of atomic explosive devices in the 1990s.

And Middle East terror experts are now warning that the extremist group could be close to obtaining a 'dirty' bomb.

Afzal Ashraf, a former senior officer in the RAF, said Pakistan was "the most likely place" for ISIS to obtain a nuclear explosive.

He argued that the organisation, which has declared a 'caliphate' in Iraq and Syria after gaining vast swathes of territory, was now enjoying "success in getting support" in a region at the heart of Pakistan's nuclear programme.

In 1998, Pakistan exploded five underground nuclear devices in mountains in the Balochistan region as part of an arms race with neighbouring India.

The country remains outside both the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Its growing nuclear arsenal raises the risk that the deadly weapons or the ingredients used to construct them - enriched uranium or plutonium - could fall into the hands of ISIS.

GOOGLE MAPS

The Balochistan region of Pakistan borders Iran and Afghanistan

Dr Ashraf, who worked as a counterterrorism strategist for the US army in Iraq, told the Express: "Balochistan is a province where the Pakistanis do their nuclear tests, and presumably have some of their nuclear facilities, and maybe even some of their nuclear weapons.

"It may be a coincidence but their expansion into that particular part of Pakistan is worrying."

It follows comments by the Australian foreign minister that ISIS has already obtained enough radioactive material to produce a dirty bomb.

Julie Bishop raised fears the savage group, which releases almost daily videos of public headings, could be working towards manufacturing a nuclear device.

ISIS is "prepared to use any and all means, any and all forms of violence they can think of, to advance their demented cause", she said.

Pakistan is known to have around 120 warheads, with a missile range of 2,750km (1,700miles), making it capable of striking targets in India, Russia and the Middle East.

In March, the country successfully tested new ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear bomb.

Were a bomb to obtained by ISIS, it could have the potential to reach the eastern edge of Europe, including Turkey.

However, Dr Natasha Underhill, an expert on terrorism in the Middle East at Nottingham Trent University, said the risk of ISIS obtaining nuclear weapons from the central Asian remained "low" for the time being.

Nuclear weapons require careful storage and Dr Underhill said the group would not be able to adequately house a bomb, nor know how to use it.

She told Express.co.uk: "Terrorism is about fear and the promotion of fear and for now the use of suicide bombers, beheadings and graphic public displays of brutality suit how the organisation wants to portray itself - as a leader of the new caliphate and one that has strict adherence to Islamic law."

Pakistan - Asia Bibi - “Please Don’t Abandon Me”

By ASHIQ MASIH

Note: Asia Bibi, a Christian Pakistani woman, was sentenced to death for blasphemy against Islam in 2010. The year before, while picking fruit with Muslim women, she took a sip of water from the local well. She was immediately accused of making the water impure by ​the other workers, ​who told her that they could no longer use the well. A​ccording to her husband, Ashiq Masih, and others, men and women started beating her and accusing her of making derogatory remarks against the Islamic prophet Muhammad, a charge she denies. Asia is currently in prison waiting to be hanged after losing an appeal ​on ​Oct. 16. She has told her story in a memoir, Blasphemy: A Memoir: Sentenced to Death over a Cup of Water, written with French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet.

Below is an open letter by Ashiq addressed to the world community. (Madam Mayor refers to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who has offered her support to Asia.)

Yesterday, I returned from the prison in Multan where my wife, Asia Bibi, was transferred eight months ago. Since Asia was sentenced to death in November 2010 for drinking a glass of water from our village well, my family has lived in constant fear and under death threats. I live in hiding with my five children as near as possible to Asia. She needs us very much to help keep her alive, to bring her medicine and good food when she is sick.

After my wife had spent four long years in prison in terrible conditions, we were hoping that the High Court of Lahore would free my wife. She did not commit blasphemy, never. Since the court confirmed the death sentence on the 16th of October, we do not understand why our country, our beloved Pakistan, is so against us. Our family has always lived here in peace, and we never had any disturbance. We are Christians but we respect Islam. Our neighbors are Muslims and we have always lived well with them in our little village. But for some years now the situation in Pakistan has changed because of just a few people, and we are afraid. Today many of our Muslim friends cannot understand why the Pakistani justice system is making our family suffer so much.

We are now trying our best to present the final case to the Supreme Court before the 4th of December. But we are convinced that Asia will only be saved from being hanged if the venerable President Mammon Hussain grants her a pardon. No one should be killed for drinking a glass of water.

My five children and I have only survived thanks to the protection of a few faithful friends who risk their lives daily to help us. We are the husband and family of Asia Bibi and many people want us to die. Thanks to our friend Anne-Isabelle Tollet, who has become our sister and helped us for four years now, we speak often about what is happening in Paris and the world to help save Asia. Hearing that people are supporting Asia from so far away is so important for us. It helps us to hold on. Every time I visit Asia in prison I tell her the news. Sometimes it gives her the courage to keep going.

Just before taking the ten-hour journey to visit Asia, I learned the wonderful news that Paris is offering to welcome Asia and our family to Paris if she is freed. This is a huge honor and we are very humbled. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to you, Madam Mayor of Paris, and to say that we are immensely grateful for your concern. I hope that one day we will visit you alive, and not dead.

When I visited Asia Bibi yesterday she asked me to give you this message:

“My prison cell has no windows and day and night are the same to me, but if I am still holding on today it is thanks to everyone who is trying to help me. When my husbnd showed me the photographs of people I have never met drinking a glass of water for me, my heart overflowed. Ashiq told me that the city of Paris is offering to welcome our family. I send my deepest thanks to you Madam Mayor, and to all the kind people of Paris and across the world. You are my only hope of staying alive in this dungeon, so please don’t abandon me. I did not commit blasphemy.”

Ashiq Masih Pakistan, 17th of November 2014

Christian woman sentenced to death for 'drinking from Muslim water cup' in Pakistan may not live to face execution

A Christian woman on death row in Pakistan for drinking from the same cup as Muslims is suffering from intestinal bleeding and is so weak she cannot walk.

There are fears Asia Bibi, now 50, may not even live to face execution after languishing in jail for five years after receiving her death sentence.

Bibi, a mother-of-five, has been on death row since November 2010 after she was convicted of insulting Mohammed during a row with Muslim co-workers over a bowl of water.

Following a visit from her family last week, it was discovered Bibi was vomiting blood, had difficulty eating and was suffering from constant chest pains, The Global Dispatch reported. 

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in majority Muslim Pakistan country, with even unproven allegations often prompting mob violence.

Although her legal team filed an appeal in the hopes of having the sentence reduced to a jail term, late last year a high court in Lahore confirmed the sentence.

It came despite Bibi making an impassioned plea to supporters in an open letter.

'You are my only hope of staying alive in this dungeon, so please don’t abandon me,' she said. 'I did not commit blasphemy.'

The allegations against Bibi date back to June 2009, when she was labouring in a field and a row broke out with some Muslim women she was working with.

She was asked to fetch water, but the Muslim women objected, saying that as a non-Muslim she was unfit to touch the water bowl.

A few days later the women went to a local cleric and put forward the blasphemy allegations. 

Her lawyers have alleged evidence was manipulated, and say there was a long delay between the time of the incident and its investigation by police.

Defence lawyer Saiful Malook said the blasphemy allegation was concocted by Bibi's enemies to target her and had no basis in fact.

It came in addition to a personal plea from Bibi's husband Ashiq Masih to Pakistan's President Mamnoon Hussain, asking for her to be pardoned and allowed to move to France.

'We are convinced that Asia will only be saved from being hanged if the venerable President (Mamnoon) Hussain grants her a pardon. No one should be killed for drinking a glass of water,' he wrote in the New York Times.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has said the couple are welcomed in the city, and Masih quoted his wife as saying she sent her 'deepest thanks to you Madame Mayor, and to all the kind people of Paris and across the world'. 

Bibi's message from jail read: 'My prison cell has no windows and day and night are the same to me, but if I am still holding on today it is thanks to everyone who is trying to help me. When my husband showed me the photographs of people I have never met drinking a glass of water for me, my heart overflowed.

'Ashiq told me that the city of Paris is offering to welcome our family. I send my deepest thanks to you Madam Mayor, and to all the kind people of Paris and across the world.

'You are my only hope of staying alive in this dungeon, so please don’t abandon me. I did not commit blasphemy.'

Mr Masih, 50, lives in hiding with two of his five children and has to keep his identity secret as he scrapes together a living as a daily labourer.

He visits his wife once a month, making a five-and-a-half hour journey to her jail in Multan in southern Punjab.

Amnesty International has raised 'serious concerns' about the fairness of her trial and has called for her release.

Anyone convicted, or even just accused, of insulting Islam in Pakistan, risks a violent and bloody death at the hands of vigilantes.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3144300/Christian-woman-sentenced-death-drinking-Muslim-water-cup-Pakistan-not-live-face-execution-five-years-imprisonment-left-intestinal-bleeding.html#ixzz3ebKg61Yz
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