Syria has expressed doubt about Turkey’s motives in fighting the ISIL terrorist group in Syria, amid Ankara’s ongoing airstrikes purportedly targeting the Takfiri terrorists in the Arab country.
In two identical letters sent to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and President of the UN Security Council Gerard van Bohemen, Damascus slammed Turkey for conspiring against Syria by “supporting terrorists that came from more than 100 countries through Turkey to join” militant groups such as the ISIL and al-Nusra Front, official SANA news agency reported on Wednesday.
The Syrian government further dismissed Ankara’s attempts “to depict itself as the victim and that it is defending itself while everyone is aware of what this regime has done in terms of providing all forms of support to terrorist organizations, violating relevant Security Council resolutions,” the letter added.
The ministry stated that ISIL steals goods and archaeological artifacts from Syria and sells them in Turkey with the full knowledge of the Turkish government in exchange for weapons, ammunition, and logistic support for its Takfiri elements operating in Syria.
Turkey trains and arms al-Qaeda-linked militants fighting in Syria, the letter said, holding Ankara “responsible for the shedding of Syrian blood and the humanitarian suffering of millions of Syrians inside and outside Syria” due to its backing for terrorism.
“Syria had often warned that terrorism knows no homeland or religion or borders, and warned its supporters that it will eventually backfire on them,” the letter read.
Referring to Turkey’s claims that it is hitting ISIL position in Syria, the ministry questioned Ankara’s intentions and said they might be “pretexts to attack Kurds in Syria and Iraq” or pursue “ulterior internal goals.”
This September 1, 2013, file photo shows a US Air Force plane taking off from the Incirlik Airbase, in southern Turkey. (AP photo)
Turkey launched the strikes in the wake of a terrorist bomb attack in the border town of Suruc, which claimed the lives of 32 people. Ankara blamed the Takfiri ISIL terrorist group for the blast.
The Turkish airstrikes allegedly targeted positions held by ISIL in Syria as well as those held by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Iraq. The Kurds have been engaged in a conflict in southeastern Turkey for years in a bid to gain self-rule.
However, Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the Kurdish fighters currently battling against ISIL in Syria, said on Monday that “instead of targeting IS (ISIL) terrorists' occupied positions, Turkish forces attack our defenders' positions. We urge [the] Turkish leadership to halt this aggression and to follow international guidelines.”
Ankara's formal green light to US
Meanwhile, Turkey on Wednesday gave formal approval for the United States to use the southern Incirlik air base for conducting purported attacks against ISIL in Syria.
The turn in Turkey’s stance towards ISIL extremists comes as the country has been regarded one of the main supporters of Takfiri militancy against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with reports showing that Ankara actively trains and arms the militants operating in Syria, and also facilitates the safe passage of would-be foreign terrorists into the country, which has been gripped by crisis since 2011.
Since September 2014, the US along with some of its regional allies has been conducting airstrikes against ISIL inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate. The airstrikes in Syria are an extension of the US-led aerial campaign against purported ISIL positions in Iraq, which started in August 2014.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2015/07/29/422441/Turkey-Syria-US-Incirlik-ISIL
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
WHY AFGHANISTAN IS A BIG WINNER IN THE U.S.–IRAN DEAL
In the days since the United States and Iran concluded their landmark nuclear accord, much has been said about the deal’s geopolitical implications.
Most U.S. media coverage has focused on ramifications for the Middle East: How will Iran’s nemeses Israel and Saudi Arabia respond? WillMideast sectarian tensions increase? Will the accord embolden Iran and cause it to intensify its dealings with the likes of Hezbollah, or will it lead Iran to moderate its destabilizing activities in the Middle East? Will the deal serve as a springboard for greater U.S.–Iran cooperation in combating the Islamic State terror group? And, above all, will the accord actually halt Iran’s march toward becoming a nuclear power?
Far less attention has been paid to South Asia — a neighboring region where the deal’s implications are similarly complex, albeit with stakes that are not as high. Energy-starved Pakistan will have a golden opportunity to conclude a long-discussed natural gas pipeline deal with Iran. Islamabad will need to weigh the energy security benefits of a gas accord with the geopolitical risks of angering Saudi Arabia — a key Pakistani ally and staunch opponent of the deal. Earlier this year, Pakistan’s parliament boldly rejected Riyadh’s request for the Pakistani military to help the Saudis fight the Houthi rebels in Yemen, whom the Saudis believe to be supported by Iran. This was a rare case of Pakistan snubbing its Saudi ally, and such refusals are not a new precedent that Islamabad wishes to set. At any rate, given that the nuclear deal may sharpen tensions between Tehran and Riyadh, Pakistan may find it increasingly difficult to resist getting dragged into a widening Saudi-Iranian proxy war.
India, meanwhile, will be in a position to increase its oil imports from Iran. Iran was a top oil supplier for New Delhi before the Indians scaled back in deference to the U.S. sanctions regime. Also in the cards is an undersea gas pipeline that could deliver more than 30 million cubic meters of gas per day — an achievement that would bring energy but also some environmental relief, given India’s heavy reliance on dirty coal. At the same time, however, as the Brookings Institution’s Tanvi Madan recently noted, India could suffer if the deal destabilizes the Middle East: More than 7 million Indian nationals are based in the Middle East (mainly in the Arab Gulf), sending back billions of dollars in remittances. Pakistanis also have a sizable presence there, with nearly three quarters of their remittancescoming from the region.
And then there is Afghanistan. Here, the U.S.–Iran deal’s implications are less complicated and largely positive. Afghanistan could be one of the deal’s biggest beneficiaries, and for two major reasons.
First and foremost, Afghanistan’s economy stands to benefit in a big way.
In the coming months, New Delhi will likely begin developing the Iranian port in Chabahar, located on Iran’s southern coast. India wants to develop this strategic warm-water port to establish access to markets in Afghanistan and Central Asia — access that it does not have via Pakistan, which refuses to grant transit rights to India. More broadly, Chabahar would provide an important trade link for products from the Middle East and Europe destined for Afghanistan and Central Asia. And it would serve as a gateway to the Middle East and Europe for exports coming from Afghanistan and Central Asia.
New Delhi has envisioned this project for years, but sanctions on Iran had put plans on hold. After Washington and Tehran signed a provisional nuclear accord in April, New Delhi and Tehran concluded an MOU laying out preliminary steps for the port — including an Indian pledge to commit about $85 million to construct container and multi-purpose terminals. Now that a formal U.S.–Iran deal is in place and the relevant sanctions will presumably be removed, India is poised to initiate Chabahar’s full-fledged development.
The benefits for Kabul are clear. The port — in addition to facilitating more commerce with key trade partner India — will help open up new markets for Afghanistan in the Middle East and Europe, and present opportunities to diversify its list of trade partners. Presently, Kabul’s import and export partners are largely restricted to countries in South and Central Asia. In effect, the Chabahar project represents a potential economic bonanza for an economically troubled nation. According to Afghan officials, a fully operational port could generate trade volumes for Afghanistan totaling billions of dollars. That is no small sum, given that Afghanistan’s total trade volume has been barely $9 billion annually in recent years.
The timing could not be better. According to the World Bank, economic growth in Afghanistan was just 2 percent in 2014 — down from an average of 9 percent between 2003 and 2012. This is no surprise. The withdrawal of international combat forces has led to a contraction of the war economy in Afghanistan. Additionally, donor fatigue — fueled by Afghanistan’s deep corruption and troubled aid delivery systems, among other things — portends cuts in foreign aid. As of several weeks ago, the UN had receivedless than a third of the $405 million it requested from the international community to address humanitarian challenges in Afghanistan. Making matters even worse is that Afghanistan has recently suffered a significant decline in the value of its currency.
The second reason why the nuclear deal could be a boon for Kabul is the possibility of stepped-up U.S.–Iran cooperation in Afghanistan.
Such an outcome is far from assured, given the poisoned relations between the two nations over the last few decades, and caution is certainly in order. And yet the potential rewards are high. Better bilateral relations overall could significantly reduce the likelihood that Tehran will once again try to undercut the United States in Afghanistan, as it has done in the past by providing arms to the Taliban on several occasions. Already, with the nuclear accord now in place, Iran has less reason to fear that the United States may one day use Afghanistan as a staging ground for attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, and therefore less reason to provide tactical support to the Taliban. This all bodes well for Afghanistan’s stability.
U.S. and Iranian interests in Afghanistan, which include combating the Taliban and promoting greater stability, are largely convergent. And it’s easy to understand why. Shia Iran has no desire for the Sunni Taliban to return to power — and it won’t soon forget the Taliban’s 1998 attack on Tehran’s consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif, which killed nine Iranian diplomatsand prompted Iran to mobilize 200,000 troops on its border with Afghanistan.
Tehran wants a more stable Afghanistan because instability intensifies narcotics production, which fuels Iran’s drug problems. Iran has one of the world’s highest drug use rates and is afflicted by a major heroin epidemic. Additionally, destabilization could increase already-heavy refugee inflows. Only Pakistan hosts more Afghan refugees than Iran. Furthermore, a deteriorating security environment, coupled with an increasingly fractured Afghan Taliban, could increase the influence of the Islamic State in Afghanistan. Even now, pro-Islamic State militants are battling — and defeating — Taliban fighters in Nangarhar province.
It’s important to recall that in the wake of 9/11, Tehran and Washington cooperated closely on Afghanistan. At the Bonn conference in 2001, it was Iran that broke a stalemate over the composition of Afghanistan’s first post-Taliban government. Several years later, according to journalist Barbara Slavin, Iran gave maps to Washington that revealed Taliban positions in Afghanistan and offered to train 20,000 Afghan troops as part of an American project to rebuild Afghanistan’s army. Of course, the two have competed in Afghanistan as well — and this goes beyond Iran’s past efforts to provide arms to the Taliban. In 2010, for example, Tehranreportedly sent bags of cash to President Hamid Karzai’s chief of staff as part of an effort to drive a wedge between Afghans and Americans. This should all be seen in the context of broader U.S.–Iran competition worldwide, which according to the Wall Street Journal has included Iran hiring Afghan Shias to fight in Syria on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.
We should not assume that the U.S.–Iran deal will magically lead to broader reconciliation; the relationship is burdened by too much lingering hostility and mistrust to expect such an outcome anytime soon. Still, it is possible that the two countries will now find ways to cooperate, or at least coordinate, in Afghanistan in areas that are mutually beneficial.
One possible area of cooperation is Afghanistan’s reconciliation process. Iran could join the United States in playing a behind-the-scenes role to encourage a fledgling peace process between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Another is some form of quiet coordination to address the Islamic State’s rising influence in Afghanistan. Two other possibilities, because they would involve working together more overtly, are admittedly less likely. Yet they shouldn’t be ruled out, given how consequential they could be for Afghanistan. One is counter-narcotics. In an era when opium harvests in Afghanistan have reached record-high levels, Iran and the United States could consider a new joint effort to slow down the drug trade. The other is coordinated development assistance projects. While Washington’s great largesse toward Kabul is well known, Tehran has quietly contributed as well — from $540 million pledged at a donor conference in 2002 to more recent funding of schools and media institutions.
Greater U.S.–Iran cooperation in Afghanistan will undoubtedly face obstacles that go beyond the troubled bilateral relationship. Some Afghansresent Iran’s presence in the country, regarding it as excessive meddling. Even some members of the Shia minority are wary of Iran, accusing Tehran of radicalizing their communities. Additionally, it is unclear if Tehran can establish the highly cordial relations with the present government that it enjoyed with the previous Hamid Karzai-led administration. Furthermore, the scaled-down U.S. presence in Afghanistan could constrain coordinated U.S.–Iran efforts in the country. Nonetheless, the U.S.–Iran deal opens up several potential new avenues for cooperation that could work in Afghanistan’s favor.
Even if the United States and Iran do increase their cooperation in Afghanistan, this won’t be a silver bullet for the conflict-ridden country. Many of Afghanistan’s core challenges — from corruption to insurgency — can only be solved with strong leadership and effective policies that must emanate from within. Additionally, some of the U.S.–Iran accord’s potentially deleterious consequences — particularly intensified Sunni–Shia tensions — could play out directly in Afghanistan, and to its detriment.
Overall, however, the deal could bring very tangible economic and diplomatic benefits to Afghanistan. This is refreshingly good news for a country going through some particularly difficult times of late.
Pakistan - Opposition leader demands resignation of ECP members
Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah said here on Tuesday that members of the Election Commission of Pakistan should resign after the election inquiry commission’s report pointed out serious lapses in the way the ECP conducted the 2013 general elections.
Mr Shah, who belongs to PPP, was speaking after presiding over a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee that he heads.
It may be mentioned that the demand was first made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan during his first formal reaction to the commission’s report.
Khurshid Shah cites serious lapses in conduct of 2013 elections pointed out by inquiry commission
“They should quit their job and go home gracefully,” he said. But, he added, “it may not be easy for them to leave such lucrative jobs,” because “each ECP member is drawing not less than Rs 800,000 per month”.
Answering a question about the future of Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Mr Shah criticised the government for leaving the MQM in isolation.
“The MQM leadership should be engaged in dialogue,” he said, adding that the party should not be excluded from the mainstream politics.
“They are not traitors, they are Pakistanis and patriotic people,” he said. Mr Shah said the MQM leaders might claim to represent ‘Mohajirs’, but in fact their forefathers had settled in Pakistan and were buried here. Therefore, they are not immigrants and have equal ownership of Pakistan like other citizens of the country.
In the past, he said, the establishment had labelled Jam Sadiq as an Indian agent but when he left PPP he was made chief minister of Sindh.
Answering a question about Kalabagh dam, Mr Shah said there were many other dams in the pipeline. “The question of Kalabagh dam could be raised after construction of all these dams.”
Women’s education in a shambles: Is Pakistan suffering from a case of 'under-implementation' of policies?
By Waqar Jappa
The condition of women’s education in Pakistan is miserable. The country has failed to provide good quality, equitable and sufficient education to half of its population. Both, the state and the society, are equally responsible for the sorry state of women’s education in the country. Lack of political will and vision, incompetent and insufficient faculty, poor infrastructure, social and cultural taboos attached with educated women, life threats to school going girls and frequent attacks on the women’s educational institutions in the tribal areas are some of the key factors behind the abysmal state of females education in Pakistan. If the current situation prevails, it will continue unleashing disastrous human, social, economic and political consequences on the state of Pakistan. However, determined efforts in the way of improving education for women can certainly bring positive results for the country. Political will, vision and commitment, competent and sufficient faculty, implementation of proposals to enhance women’s education as recommended in the National Education Policy 2009, peace in tribal areas and establishment of a state owned educational television network can go a long way in turning the current appalling state of women’s education into a robust education system in the country.
Lack of political will, vision and commitment towards the implementation of educational polices is a major factor behind the sorry state of women’s education in the country. None of the successive governments have realized the grave consequences of not educating half of the population of the country. During the past sixty seven years of its independent life, Pakistan has had nine national education policies, five five-year plans, one free and compulsory education act, a constitutional amendment ( 18th) and dozens of other schemes, seminars and conferences aimed at improving the women education in the country. But, unfortunately, the state of women education in the motherland remains in a shambles. The reason is obvious: “under-implementation” of education policies. One is justified to say that women education has really made a great progress in Pakistan but on papers only.
Also, the poor state of women education in Pakistan is marred by multiple faculty related issues. Lack of a sufficient, well educated, well trained and motivated faculty is marring women education badly. There is almost one teacher available for ninety students. Teaching is not considered a sought after career in our part of the world. The young graduates after trying their luck in almost every other public sector job take up teaching as a last resort. They are not teachers by choice but by a sheer stroke of bad luck. Resultantly, these unmotivated, disenchanted individuals who are quite indifferent to the needs of students fail to make a positive impact on the learning process of the young minds. Moreover, the weak structure of pre-service training facilities of the newly inducted teachers takes its toll on the quality of teaching. Eventually, the entire education system and especially the women education suffer.
Adding fuel to the fire, lack of infrastructure like buildings, libraries, play grounds and furniture is yet another critical factor behind the abysmal state of education of women in the country. Lack of basic facilities in schools such as electricity, clean drinking water and toilets are additional deterrents which make the already bad situation worse. According to Pakistan Education Statistics Report 2012-13, out of 63,914 public schools for girls, 15.3% are without building, 7.1% are kacha schools,61% lack electricity, 42.4% lack latrines, 44.3 % lack boundary walls, 3.8% are declared dangerous while another 16.1% are in need if major repairs. This situation indeed shows nothing but the sheer criminal negligence of the state towards women’s education who make half of the country’s population.
The state of Pakistan undoubtedly, has been unable to provide sufficient, let alone good quality education, to women alone due to many reasons, some of which have already been discussed in the above paras. The Pakistani society too, has contributed in one way or another towards the appalling condition of women’s education in the country. The proceeding paras point out some of the social factors which have deterred the growth of women’s education in the country.
The deep-rooted social and cultural taboos attached with an educated woman are yet another reason behind the perpetual awful condition of the sector in the country. In a chauvinistic society like ours, an educated woman is seen as a threat to the social norms and cultural values. For, with education comes freedom – freedom to choose one’s own life partner. Education enlightens the mind and an enlightened mind questions the very legitimacy of brutal practices such as Vani, Karo kari, honor killing and marriage with The Holy Quran which are quite prevalent in the rural areas of the country. An educated woman knows her rights so she demands her right to inheritance. This is not acceptable in a patriarchal society like Pakistan. Consequently, women are kept away from education.
Also, girls are not sent to schools because parents see no sense in educating their daughters when their primary job is deemed to keep the house clean and raise children. This is partly because of illiteracy among the parents which makes them underestimate the importance of education and partly because of the fear of losing the family honor. Yes, the honor of the family (ghar ki izaat) is associated with girls in the rural areas. The parents think that their daughter might interact with opposite sex while going out to school and thus may cause a great harm to family honor. So, they choose not to send the girls to school in order to save the family honor. This is how social and cultural norms restrict the growth of women’s education in the country.
Closely associated with social and cultural taboos are the very conservative if not wrong interpretations of religious scriptures regarding women’s education by the powerful Molvi Sahb in the rural peripheries. It is a serious deterrent in the growth of women’s education in the country. Unlike the West, where the powers of the Pope have been restricted, Molvi Sahb in our part of the world still enjoys a great influence on the unschooled people. The concept of “Chadar aur Chardewari” which was introduced during the reign of Amir ul Momineen, Hazrat Zia ul Haq, the self-proclaimed messiah of Islam, still prevails. It is yet considered the only criterion by the Molvi Sahb as far as the question of getting education for women is concerned. That means she cannot go out of the very four walls of the house. She can wear a uniform only that covers every single part of her body except eyes which is not a wise suggestion in this age and time. The prospects of getting higher education for her are equal to none. For, it has to be acquired alongside males and the intermingling of women with men is strictly forbidden in the Islam of a pseudo religious scholar. That means, precisely, no education for women at all! This is terrible.
The frequent attacks on girls’ schools, women universities and a recent surge in the killings of teachers by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in tribal areas has stunted the progress of women’s education in the country. There is a sense of fear and insecurity among the parents of female students. Resultantly, they have stopped sending their daughters to schools. According to the Pakistan Education Statistics Report 2012-13, 60% of the girls’ schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have been severely damaged by terrorist attacks. The situation is worse in seven tribal agencies where Taliban hold a considerable control. The blowing up of the public schools and warning the parents on radio by Taliban not to send their daughters to schools where “Haram” education is given by the “un-Islamic state” of Pakistan is a routine matter in tribal agencies.
The attack on Malala Yousufzai – a sixteen-year-old education activist by Taliban back in October 2012 exposed the sick mindset of the so-called holy warriors of Islam. She was shot right in the head for the crime of promoting education in the area. Though, she has recovered now and has emerged as one of the youngest leaders in the World. However, it is yet to be seen whether she lives up to her promise of promoting education in the tribal areas or not. Given the current state of war there, the chances of improvement in the access and delivery of women’s education are bleak.
The challenge faced by Pakistan is a daunting one. Imagine the future of a country with half of its population illiterate. It is a direct descent into chaos. Nothing more. Nothing less. The issue needs a serious thought by those at the helm of affairs. It has disastrous human, social, economic and political consequences for Pakistan. The economic cost of neglecting the education of the women is equal to a flood every year. The only difference is that it is a self inflicted one. Unemployment among women is rising with every passing day pushing more and more women into the poverty pool.
The growth in population is directly linked with illiteracy of the women. In a country like Pakistan where the population growth rate is already very high when compared with other regional countries, the little knowledge of the contraceptives and other population control measures leaves the women vulnerable to population growth. Moreover, an illiterate mother cannot play a constructive role in the upbringing of the children. Poor orientation of the children means perpetual backwardness of generations after generations!
The social evils like beggary and prostitution are the worst consequences of not promoting education among women. According to a Non Governmental Organization,(NGO) The Aurat Foundation, 90 percent of the women involved in the unethical business of prostitution are absolutely illiterate. It is also unfortunate that women with little literacy are more vulnerable to cruel customs and illegal practices of the society like Vani, Karo Kari, acid throwing, honor killing and denial in the inheritance than those equipped with good education.
Moreover, there is a zero percent chance of Pakistan meeting the United Nations millennium development goal on achieving 100 percent enrollment at primary level for women. On the other hand, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh are well on their way to achieve the same goal. India’s improvement ratio is ten times than that of Pakistan and Bangladesh is twice that of Pakistan.
But, despite the gloomy situation, determined efforts to improve the abysmal state of women education can certainly bring positive results for Pakistan. The way forward for Pakistan lies in turning the current sorry state of women education into a robust education system. Pragmatic steps like: Political will vision and commitment, implementation of proposals as recommended in the National Education Policy 2009 to improve the state of women education in the country, provision of infrastructure , competent and sufficient faculty, widening the network of educational institutions for women, removal of social and cultural taboos attached with women education, peace in the tribal areas, correct interpretations of religious scriptures by religious scholars, and establishment of separate public educational television network for the women will certainly go a long way in achieving a strong education system for women in the country.
To conclude, the sorry state of women education lies at the heart of multiple challenges faced by Pakistan. It is the result of decade’s misplaced priorities and criminal negligence towards underestimating the potential of half of the country’s population. Both the state and the society are equally guilty for providing an inhospitable soil for the growth of women education in the country. It has disastrous human, social, economic and political consequences for Pakistan. The time has come for the political leadership to leave their petty politics of non issues and concentrate on real issues. The time has come to realize that Pakistan’s transition into the global knowledge economy of the 21st century critically depends on improving the state of women’s education and not on incumbent government’s love affair with Red buses and Orange trains. One lives in hope that better sense will prevail among the “Shareefs” and concrete steps will be taken to improve the state of women’s education in the country.
Election Rigging in Balochistan
2013 General elections proved to be one of the most controversial elections in history of Pakistan. Election rigging saga that started right next day after elections has come to an ended after the release of report of Judicial Commission formed to prove election rigging. Judicial commission rejected the charges of PTI that elections were systematically rigged to benefit PML-N. The verdict has ended the debate on election rigging but it has left a lot of unanswered questions relating to Balochistan.
There is no doubt that Balochistan was the biggest victim of rigging in 2013 general elections. That Pashtunkhwa Milli Awmai Party (PKMAP) won from PB-4, PB-5 and NA-260 which was not possible without rigging. Similarly, no elections were held in Panjgur but still National Party (NP) candidates were declared victorious. These are just two examples of massive rigging that took place in Balochistan in last general elections. Ample proof was submitted to the judicial commission about rigging in Balochistan. However all that proof went in vain due to Terms of reference of judicial Commission which didn’t focus on rigging in individual constituencies.
This simply means that those responsible for rigging in Balochistan got away without accountability of any kind. Who was responsible for rigging in Balochistan? One can’t say with certainty due to absence of concrete proof. However there is concrete proof that establishes the fact that elections were engineered in Balochistan. Lack of accountability of those responsible in election rigging means that door of rigging is still open in future elections.
Government parties in Balochistan namely NP and PKMAP are making claims of their victory after the verdict of Judicial Commission. There claims are childish because they are either unaware of terms of references of judicial commission or just want to make fools out of common public. Judicial commission never investigated rigging claims in each and every Constituency of Balochistan it just focused on an organized effort to benefit PML-N. So the verdict of Judicial Commission is victory for no one but defeat for democracy in the province.
Due to lack of accountability for 2013 general elections, provincial government managed to rig local government elections 2013-15 in its favor. Election process was delayed for over 14 months just to ensure victory of NP and PKMAP in different districts. The way incumbent government conducted local government elections is a black chapter in the history of Pakistan. After electing Mayors and district Chairmen, provincial government is hesitant totransfer power to them which is causing problems for people of the province.
The need of the hour is to introduce meaningful electoral reforms to close the door of rigging forever. Electoral reforms committee set up in National Assembly should work on electoral reforms on war footings. Introduction of Electrical Voting Machines is the only practicable solution to eliminate practice of election rigging. If rigging in national elections is not controlled then the democratic process is rendered meaningless.
Human trafficking: Pakistan on the US tier 2 list for second year
Ineffective law enforcement, official complicity, penalisation of victims and the continued conflation of migrant smuggling and human trafficking by government officials have kept Pakistan on the Tier 2 Watch List of the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons report for a second consecutive year.
Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards are placed on Tier 2. Of these, countries where the numbers of victims are very significant or significantly increasing, and that have failed to make an effort to combat trafficking are placed on the Tier 2 Watch List, according to the 382-page report.
Pakistan shares the tier with countries like Djibouti, Cuba, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.
Bonded labour
Pakistan’s largest human trafficking problem is bonded labour, the report found, which was concentrated in Sindh and Punjab, and occurred mostly in agriculture and brick-making, but also, to a lesser extent, in fisheries, mining, and carpet-making industries.
The report reinforces the notion that brick kiln owners and feudal landlords at times were affiliated with political parties or hold government positions, and use their influence to protect their involvement in bonded labour.
The report also highlighted that Pakistan was a destination country for men, women, and children (particularly from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) who were subjected to forced labour, while women and girls from Afghanistan, China, Russia, Nepal, Iran, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan were reportedly subjected to sex trafficking in the country.
The report recommends Pakistan, which was a source, transit, and destination country for individuals subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour, to “vigorously investigate and prosecute, respecting due process, suspected trafficking offenders and officials complicit in trafficking; to pass anti-trafficking laws; ensure victims are not penalized for acts committed as a result of being subjected to trafficking.”
The report highlights the lack of understanding of law enforcement officials who conflate human trafficking and migrant smuggling figures.
The report does mention the FIA’s efforts in countering the evil of trafficking.
Pakistan - #SalmanTaseer - Vigil Attackers Punished
A vigil had been arranged on 4 January 2015 to remember Salman Taseer, five years after this death. Even that small gesture was marred by several men attacking the gathering. These men have been apprehended and tried by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC). Five of the accused have been found guilty and sent to jail for five years and two of them, for three years. The court also fined them Rs 40,000 each. The trial of the prime accused Mumtaz Sindhi has yet to be completed.
These attackers had torn banners, pictures and posters displayed at the venue besides thrashing the activists of the civil society. They represent a very dangerous mentality, one that finds its moral duty to hurt people and destroy private and public property. Putting aside the ambivalent sentiments that the general population may have towards the vigil or the Blasphemy laws, vandalism and mob violence in Pakistan is rampant and needs to be made punishable.
In Islamabad, the moral brigade is back in action, blackening the faces of women on billboards. It does not matter that these are paid for and put by hardworking Pakistanis and cost money and effort. Public property is for all and not for some. In the case of this vigil, the attackers showed a blatant disregard for a martyred man, who was a government official no less, as well as the sentiments of the people there. Strange, that the feelings of “devout” Muslims are so hurt by the freedom of speech and association, and their solution is to cause more hurt and pain.
The case also opens up important questions for the future of law. Will future hate crimes be charged under the folds of religious terrorism? Is the Supreme Court set to define the boundaries of religious terrorism and minority protection?
Eight hours before Salman Taseer’s assassination, he had tweeted an Urdu couplet by Shakeel Badayuni: “My resolve is so strong that I do not fear the flames from without, I fear only the radiance of the flowers, that it might burn my garden down.” If our courts and law enforcement agencies do not contain the fire of hate-speech, vandalism, and mob violence, our garden too will burn down.
Punjab govt must abandon Lahore Metro Train Project in favor of building Dams: Mian Manzoor Wattoo
https://ppppunjab.wordpress.com
Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, President PPP Punjab, had demanded of the Punjab Government to defer the Lahore Metro Train Project indefinitely and instead spend Rs. 165 billion on building dams’ network in Punjab to conserve rain waters so critical for the future of the agriculture in the province.
He wondered when this government would see sense in building Water Reservoirs in the province when Pakistan has been placed at no three the likely worst hit country by the findings of the international studies due to pitfalls of climate change, he added this in a statement issued from here today.
He further said that the PPP would launch movement to mobilize public opinion in favor of dams and against Lahore Metro Train project if the government did not abandon the project that characteristically was the height of the flawed development strategy of the Punjab Government led by Shahbaz Sharif reflecting erroneous priorities mired by urban-rural discriminatory development planning.
He said that the PML (N) government had been in power in Punjab for about two decades but it could not pay attention to build Water Reservoirs in the Province reflecting the shortsightedness of its leadership that could not see the looming dangers of drought in the country that was not too far away.
He recalled that floods seemingly had become the regular feature of Pakistan due to erratic weather pattern causing hundreds of billions of losses of life, property and crops throughout the province each year but the government led by Shahbaz Sharif was, regretfully, obsessed with the flashy and showy projects those have disproportionate relevance with the welfare of the large section of the populace.
He maintained that Pakistan was blessed in abundance with water precious resource that should be used to boost agricultural production and cheap electricity generation making our industry highly competitive in the international market. But, our incompetence to harness this potential to put the country on the trajectory of accelerated growth of the economy is unforgiving, he observed.
He argued that Pakistani would have been facing the worst type of starvation today if Tarbela Dam, inaugurated Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and Mangla Dam had not been built in Pakistan.
Terrorist Malik Ishaq, Pakistan Sunni militant chief killed
Pakistani police say they have shot dead Malik Ishaq, the leader of banned Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
Ishaq, who had been detained last week, was in a prison convoy in Punjab province when supporters opened fire in an attempt to free him, said police.
They said Ishaq was killed in a gun fight along with his two sons and 11 militants in Muzaffargarh district.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has been behind some of the most violent attacks on Shia Muslims in recent years.
Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada confirmed the news to AFP news agency, while a doctor at Muzaffargarh District Hospital said 14 bodies had been received there.
Six police officers were also reported injured but correspondents say the details are unclear, and they have not been seen by the media.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was banned in Pakistan in 2001 and designated a terrorist group by the US in 2003. It is accused of killing hundreds of Shia Muslims in Pakistan.
Pakistan police say kill leader of banned sectarian group
Pakistani police killed the leader of the sectarian militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, his two sons and 11 others on Wednesday during a shootout after gunmen attacked a police convoy and freed him as he was being moved, police said.
Malik Ishaq was on a U.S. list of global terrorists and the group he founded has claimed responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of civilians, mostly minority Shi'ite Muslims.
He has faced several murder trials but always been acquitted after witnesses refused to testify. He was arrested again on Saturday, under a Maintenance of Public Order act, along with his two sons.
On Tuesday, police took Ishaq and the sons to an area near the Punjab province town of Muzaffargarh where they had seized an arms cache to identify men they had detained on suspicion of being members of Ishaq's group.
As the police convoy returned in the early hours of Wednesday, a group of men on motorcycles ambushed them, freeing Ishaq and his two sons, police said.
"Twelve to 15 terrorists attacked the police party ... freed the accused and fled away on motorcycles," a police spokeswoman, Nabila Ghazanfar, quoted a policemen in the area as saying in a message.
Police further along the road attacked the gunmen as they were fleeing, killing Ishaq, his two sons, and 11 others, Ghazanfar cited the policemen as saying in his message.
Six police were wounded, he said.
"The accused, in custody, were under investigation for murder of dozens of people in target killings in South Punjab," the policeman said.
"The gang was also in league with the (Taliban) and al Qaeda groups operating in the area."
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Pakistan Must Release Asia Bibi to Demonstrate Protection for Its Religious Minorities
By Lisa Curtis and Olivia Enos
Pakistan’s Supreme Court took an encouraging step forward last week when it decided to reconsider blasphemy charges against Pakistani Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who is facing a death sentence. This decision provides an opportunity for Pakistan to acquit Bibi and show the world its commitment to protecting its religious minorities. The U.S. must prioritize the issue of religious freedom in its dialogue with Pakistan to discourage any further persecution of religious minorities and to undercut support for Islamist extremist ideologies that leads to targeted violence against these vulnerable communities.
Bibi, a mother of five and a farmworker, was arrested in 2009 after her Muslim co-workers alleged that she had committed blasphemy during an argument about sharing the same water bowl. In November 2010, she was sentenced to death by a Pakistani trial court, a decision that was upheld by the Lahore High Court in October 2014.
Growing Intolerance
Under Pakistani law, blasphemous acts include making derogatory remarks against the Muslim prophet Muhammed and defiling the Koran. Allegations of blasphemy are often fabricated and are commonly used to intimidate religious minorities or settle personal vendettas, including against fellow Muslims. Moreover, blasphemy charges do not require proof of intent or evidence, and there are no penalties for false allegations. Since the laws do not provide details on what constitutes a violation, accusers have broad leeway to define what they deem an offense. In 2013, 38 individuals were imprisoned in Pakistan on blasphemy charges.
Pakistanis who have sought changes to the blasphemy laws or who have defended those wrongly accused have often been killed, demonstrating the rise in religious intolerance and support for extremist ideologies there. In early 2011, Pakistan’s Governor of the Punjab Salman Taseer and Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti were assassinated by religious extremists because of their efforts to defend Bibi and roll back the controversial blasphemy laws. Human rights lawyer Rashid Rehman was assassinated in June 2014 for defending an English professor, Junaid Hafeez, who was accused of blasphemy. Rehman had received several death threats in the weeks prior to his assassination, but the Pakistani government failed to provide him with protection.
Former Pakistan People’s Party parliamentarian and Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S., Sherry Rehman, introduced a bill in parliament in late 2010 to amend the blasphemy laws, but she was later forced to withdraw it under political pressure. Ambassador Rehman continues to face threats from extremists due to her support for re-examining the legislation and removing the death penalty as punishment. In January 2013, the Supreme Court of Pakistan approved admission of a blasphemy case filed against Ambassador Rehman for remarks she made on a television program in November 2010. The growing influence of extremist ideologies are endangering Pakistan’s minority communities and jeopardizing the country’s democratic institutions and values, including freedom of religion and speech.
The miscarriage of justice against Bibi is just the latest example of declining religious freedom in Pakistan. The U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom’s 2015 Annual Report calls on the State Department to designate Pakistan as a country of particularly concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA)—something it has called for since 2002.[1] Ninety-five percent of Pakistan’s population is Muslim, including a 20 percent Shia minority, which increasingly faces brutal attacks by Sunni extremists. Ahmadis (about 2 percent of the Pakistani population), who consider themselves Muslim but are not recognized as such under Pakistani law, also face discriminatory legislation that prohibits them from calling themselves Muslims or their places of worship mosques, performing the Muslim call to prayer, using the traditional Islamic greeting in public, or publicly quoting from the Koran.
Bibi’s case is a particularly pernicious example of the negative effects of blasphemy laws. Bibi’s family has been forced to go into hiding, and Muslim clerics placed a $5,000 bounty on her head.[2] Bibi also faces extreme health challenges, including intestinal bleeding, that could be life-threatening.[3] If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Bibi, the court would overturn the decision by the Lahore High Court to sentence Bibi to death. If Bibi were released from jail, her life would still be in grave danger from vigilantes who could decide to take the law into their own hands. In April 2012, a Pakistani man accused of blasphemy was shot dead by religious zealots after he was acquitted and released from prison.
The U.S. Must Prioritize Religious Freedom in Pakistan
The growing pattern of religious intolerance and persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan is threatening the very fabric of Pakistani society and undermining democracy, not to mention putting the lives of millions of members of religious minorities in danger. The U.S. must make the protection of Pakistan’s religious minorities a central plank of its dialogue with the country. More specifically, the U.S. should:
- Publicly advocate for the release of Asia Bibi. While the Pakistani Supreme Court has taken a step in the right direction with its decision to review Bibi’s appeal, the U.S. must keep up the pressure for her immediate release from jail and help ensure that she receives proper medical care.
- Announce that unless Pakistan makes substantive changes to its blasphemy laws and how they are implemented, it will be designated a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The IRFA was passed in 1998 and requires the U.S. Secretary of State to designate annually “countries of particular concern” and to take specific action aimed at improving religious freedom in those countries. A CPC is defined as a country in which the government either engages in or tolerates severe violations of religious freedom.
- Urge Pakistan to review all blasphemy cases. In 2014, the Pakistani courts conducted a review of blasphemy cases but did not include in the review any cases against members of religious minority groups.[4]
- Encourage Pakistan to implement steps called for by the Pakistani Supreme Court in 2014, including creating a special police force to protect religious minorities and elevating the work of the religious minority commission. The U.S. should structure its aid programs to support these activities through technical assistance, training, and exchanges.
- Support increased civil society engagement between Americans and Pakistanis to help elevate the voices of moderation and tolerance in Pakistan. There are plenty of Pakistani citizens who are working hard and, indeed, risking their lives to reverse extremist trends and ensure the rights and freedoms of all Pakistanis. U.S.–Pakistan government-to-government interactions alone will not get the job done. There is a need for more and deeper civil society engagement between our two countries that can help mobilize grassroots support for preserving religious freedom.
Reviving Pakistan’s Founding Vision
Pakistan’s founding father, Muhammed Ali Jinnah, supported the idea of Islam serving as a unifying force and believed Pakistanis had a responsibility to uphold the principles of religious freedom and to protect the rights of religious minorities. Releasing Asia Bibi from jail would be a good first step in reviving the country’s founding ideals of religious tolerance.
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