PUKHTUNKHWA TIMES

M WAQAR..... "A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary.Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." --Albert Einstein !!! NEWS,ARTICLES,EDITORIALS,MUSIC... Ze chi pe mayeen yum da agha pukhtunistan de.....(Liberal,Progressive,Secular World.)''Secularism is not against religion; it is the message of humanity.'' تل ده وی پثتونستآن

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Missing black girls in DC spark outrage, prompt calls for federal help

By Laura Jarrett, Samantha Reyes and David Shortell

Two months ago, the Washington Metropolitan Police Department's new commander, Chanel Dickerson, made a pledge: Let's find our missing girls.

Now, as the department posts profiles of missing black and Latina girls in the nation's capital on its Twitter feed almost daily, members of the Congressional Black Caucus are calling for a federal investigation.

In a letter Tuesday, the lawmakers asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director James Comey to "devote the resources necessary to determine whether these developments are an anomaly, or whether they are indicative of an underlying trend that must be addressed."

"(W)hen children of color go missing, authorities often assume they are runaways rather than victims of abduction," they added.

Sessions was briefed on the issue Friday, Justice Department spokesperson Sarah Isgur Flores said.

"The Attorney General is aware of the reports and is looking into the issue," she said.

The FBI declined to comment on the matter.

Although Dickerson, who heads the department's Youth and Family Division, said Friday that the number of missing girls is decreasing, an outcry on social media has drawn increased attention to the issue this month and triggered the calls for federal law enforcement officials to investigate.

The Metropolitan Police Department recorded 501 cases of missing children so far in 2017, and said 22 cases were open as of Wednesday.

"We have received a lot of media attention and a lot of concern from the public because of the number of releases," Dickerson said at a news conference on Friday. "There have been concerns that young girls in the District of Columbia are victims of human trafficking or have been kidnapped, or that there's an increase in the number" who have gone missing.

"And I say this without minimizing the number of missing persons in DC -- because one missing person is one person too many -- but there's actually been a decrease," she added. "There is always a concern of human trafficking, but we have no evidence for this."

Annual statistics show cases of missing children have remained relatively steady in Washington over the past several years -- with 2,222 cases in 2014, 2,433 in 2015 and 2,242 in 2016.

CNN has requested a monthly breakdown of these figures to see how the 2017 numbers compare, but the Metropolitan Police Department did not immediately return requests for comment on those specific figures.

Still, numbers alone do not tell the entire story, DC City Councilmember Trayon White told HLN's Michaela Pereira in an interview Friday.

"What the community is alarmed about -- we had a 10-year-old girl missing the other day, but there was no amber alert," White said. "We just feel like, you know, if this was a white person or from another neighborhood, there would be more alarm about it."

"(A)ny time you have a 10-year-old missing for any amount of hours and no one knows where he or she is, that is rules for immediate attention, that's an alert that needs to be sent out," White added. "Because the more time that goes past, the less likely we are to find him or her."

Numbers and Amber Alerts aside, Robert Lowery, a vice president at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said he is grateful an important conversation about missing children is happening.

"I think the narrative is good," Lowery said. "The more the public becomes aware of this issue of missing children, the more lives that can be protected and potentially even saved."

While Lowery said the number of child abductions is down across the country, the level of runaway cases seen in DC and other major cities is particularly disturbing.

"Our frustration is, we deal with a very desensitized public," Lowery said. "The natural inclination (about a runaway) is the child's behavioral problem is why they've left. We also see significant numbers of runway children who are running away from a situation, whether it's abuse or neglect or sexual abuse in the home. These children face unique risks when they're gone so we applaud the conversation and we applaud the attention that this issue is being given."

Video Report - Missing black teens in DC spark outrage

Pashto Music Video - Nan Pah De Hujra Ke Khushali

Pakistan - Some stocktaking

Afrasiab Khattak

The main feature of Pakistan’s 70th National Day was the impressive and colourful military parade that remained the focus of media coverage on 23rd of March this year. The march past was supposed to represent the country’s determination for defeating terrorism, which is a noble and desirable goal. So far so good. But for the last many years the country has been moving in circles on this front and despite the rhetorical claims regarding breaking the back of extremist terror we find it as entrenched and potent as it was years ago. Even after getting out of the mode of denial of the terror problem and making a public commitment to defeat it, Pakistan’s performance has been less than impressive. National Action Plan (NAP) has for all practical purposes fizzled out. The biggest achievement of operation Zarb-e-Azb has been pushing most of the terrorists into Afghanistan and creating conducive conditions for Taliban to step up their war against the Afghan state and society. The new military leadership has deemed it fit to declare a new operation against terrorism called Radd al Fasad. How will be it be different from the previous operations we don’t know. Apart from some noble individual exceptions the parliamentarians as a whole seems to be resigned to their powerlessness and marginalisation. Hence there is no serious debate on this issue. So what is basically wrong with the country’s strategy and tactics in the war against terror? Unfortunately we Pakistanis aren’t used to stocktaking even on a national day best suited for such an exercise.

The weakest link in Pakistani strategy against terrorism is the civil military divide, the tall claims of being on one page from both sides not withstanding. This serious duality of thought and action is spread over from governance to national security and foreign policy and is an open secret by now. Internally the said split reveals itself in the struggle for controlling the commanding heights of the state system in terms of making and executing policies. The military’s policy of fighting a war of attrition in neighboring countries through “non state actors” for achieving regional domination directly collides with the political government’s policy of regional economic cooperation for turning the country into an economic tiger.

The timing of recent border closure with Afghanistan was rather embarrassing for the government of PM Nawaz Sharif when the country was hosting a regional summit for promoting regional connectivity. We heard about the decision of the Prime Minister to open borders with Afghanistan as a good will gesture but apparently he or the foreign ministry didn’t play any role in closing it. It is also quite obvious that CPEC could become a game changer only when Central Asian states will be able to link up with it through the shortest rout that’s Afghanistan.

The most serious stumbling block on the path of achieving this objective is project Taliban of the Pakistani security establishment. Pakistani government leaders have been repeatedly saying that they don’t want a Talibanised Afghanistan as that will turn our western neighboring country into a launching pad for Pakistani terrorists. That has already partially happened as TTP is launching terrorist attacks against Pakistan from the Taliban controlled areas. But despite that Pakistan based Taliban leadership is in the third year of their latest war in Afghanistan like so many previous ones. The present civilian government has its own limitations in fighting terror. It has been soft on a number of terror outfits on the basis of a misguided notion that such a policy can keep Punjab, its main political base, safe. Historical experience has proved it time and again that policy of appeasement towards extremism and terrorism is an unmitigated disaster. Even now the Punjab government is reluctant to go after some of the proscribed organisations.

The time, energy and resources that the civilian and military factions of the ruling elites use to ward of each other’s domination weakens the state and provides space to the activities of anti-state extremists. Intelligence agencies, both civilian and military are the eyes and ears of the state. Unless they pool together their professional capabilities to defeat the forces who are not only fighting against the state but also want to impose their so called ideology on the people of Pakistan, there can’t be hope for winning the war. NACTA was to be strengthened and made effective for achieving the aforementioned goal. But again this project hasn’t taken off. Unfortunately failure is not an option in this area and the country’s leadership, both civilian and military will have to accept this challenge.

Pakistan is at a crucial stage of socio-economic development where adhocracy won’t work anymore. The country has to make a strategic choice of focusing on geo-economic benefits. This would require a clear break from the policies rooted in the Cold War geo-strategy. It has to be a complete paradigm shift. It obviously can’t happen overnight but clarity in thinking through the policy shift is indispensable. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif can provide leadership by convening extraordinary meetings of security related state institutions to bridge the gap between de facto and de jure. He also needs to take all political forces in confidence. Partisan biases should be set-aside in working on this project. Parliament is the forum for discussion on national policy in a parliamentary system of government. In camera sessions can be held to discuss sensitive issues. Here the present government also needs a break with its past practice of sidelining the Parliament. Remaining passive and pushing this issue under the carpet can be disastrous for everyone.

Pakistan - Where is the voice of the working class?

Amir Hussain

“This is none of your business. It’s our money and we are the ones to call the shots here”. This was the condescending response by a senior representative of a well-known name in the hospitality industry upon my curiosity regarding the reasons behind the forced resignation of one of the workers.

Such resignations are not an exception; the corporate sector in Pakistan has been embroiled in controversial and coercive practices vis-à-vis compliance of labour laws. So the gentleman clearly spoke the mind of the corporate world. Barring a few, who have a history of investing in human welfare, in general the corporate sector in Pakistan exercises unrestrained power over its workers. The worker – whose surplus labour is the only means of corporate profit – becomes an alien in the process of production of goods and services. This disengaged, overworked man/woman has recourse to no one in a world made up of an exploitative nexus between profit, politics and probity.

The tragedy does not stop here, Barely five minutes after my conversation with the industry man, I got a couple of threatening calls from anonymous reporters. The calls pretty much implied that I should mend my ways and stay away from the business of writing against these business giants. These anonymous reporters, apparently on the payroll of this corporate giant, tried to impress upon me that they were well-connected and embedded in the world of opulence and affluence. They must have used similar gimmicks with their benefactors in this corporate entity by showing their connections in the media and their ability to quash news items and reports of corporate misdeeds.

All they wanted to do was to show their benefactors how efficient they were. Perhaps, they saw this to be an opportune moment to do this. To them, I was a novice in the field of journalism and, thus, could be tamed easily. But I am neither a novice nor an ordinary reporter who would heed their calls. All I was interested in doing was to highlight the issue of workplace exploitation and violation of labour rights in Pakistan.

I had wanted to write about this issue to highlight the plight of the workers of Pakistan. A column on this would be different from an ordinary news report which narrates an event as it unfolds at a certain moment. In my case, reference to this specific incidence, though provocative, is significant only because it provides some insight into the working of the corporate sector in this country. This is obviously not an isolated incident; there are a number of such incidents on a daily basis but they remain unnoticed, unreported, and even if they make it to a news story they are understated. They are not scintillating enough for our mass media which finds such stories too boring and too insipid for commercial viability.

A news item, debate or a report featuring labour rights is not fancy enough to help improve programme ranking so no one would dare venture into such live debates on our TV shows. Thus, the daily challenges faced by our poor workers will never make it to the mainstream discourse of politics and economy.

Today, Pakistan’s working class figures nowhere in our political calculus of democracy, freedom and enlightenment. Even worse is the fact that voices of the working class have gradually been vanished from our popular discourse. Just to recap, in the 1960s and 1970s Pakistan’s working class used to assert its presence through vibrant movements, complemented by a dynamic left-leaning intelligentsia and through a critical policy discourse on politics and the economy. These alternative critical discourses were also reflected in social policy formulation and practice, including attempts at nationalisation and land reforms. Today, our virtual world of seminars, webinars and workshops on economy, politics and culture or any other domain of public interest is punctuated by informed and sophisticated discussions. But such discussions hardly mention labour rights, working class priorities and downward accountability of the private and public sectors.

A clear majority of Pakistan’ population – 70 percent – constitutes the working class, whose only hope to progress and out of poverty is availability of decent working conditions governed by a universal framework of labour rights. The adoption and implementation of universal labour laws in both letter and spirit is the precondition to ameliorate the current exploitative nature of the worker-employer relationship. There is a growing informal sector in Pakistan which accommodates a sizeable number of the working population out of its 95 million of potential workers.

This informal sector is not documented in the national statistics of economic growth and planning but it indirectly complements the poor economy by creating employment and reducing dependence on the state to feed a growing population. However, this is the most exploitive form of work and, in case of domestic labour, remains unaccounted for. Women and children are the most adversely affected segment of the working class since they do not have access to political means nor do they have the wherewithal to make their voices heard at policymaking level. Even the formal sector, which provides employment to only 20 percent of workers, is not well developed and the condition of the working class there is not much better off than in the informal sector.

In the corporate sector alone, workers are laid off in violation of labour laws and there is no way of speedy justice for the poor worker to safeguard his/her rights against termination. There have been working class movements in this country but they did not get much media attention. This is so perhaps because our media is too obsessed with sensationalism and is in a cut-throat competition to attain high rankings to attract business.

Pakistan is a signatory to 38 International Labour Organization’s conventions. This means the state is obligated to undertake punitive actions against those who violate labour laws in their conduct of business. These rules, though, are not being enforced. At times, the problem lies in the lack of awareness of labour rights as enshrined in these conventions, as well as the lack of affordable infrastructure to dispense justice against the exploitative nexus of political power and the corporate sector.

Article 11 of the constitution prohibits all forms of slavery and forced labour while Article 37 (e) makes provisions for securing just and humane conditions of work. A clear majority of workers even in the formal sector are excluded from legal and social protection – in complete violation of labour laws and constitutional provisions.

On the one hand, the country’s existing labour rights framework –comprising well over a hundred ordinances, acts, rules, regulations and statutes – is fraught with several problems, incoherencies and incompatibilities with the fast-evolving economic and political realities of the country. On the other hand, the state has failed to develop a comprehensive social protection programme while the traditional systems of social protection are being dislodged with the transition from agri-based to service-based economic structures.

National legislation vis-à-vis labour rights must be harmonised with international labour laws, with a strict compliance system to ensure that workers’ rights are protected against exploitation, harassment and discrimination on the basis of colour, creed, class and religion.

Pakistan: More bloggers charged....

By KATHY GANNON

Three more bloggers were accused of blasphemy Friday in an Islamabad anti-terrorism court, while elsewhere in the city hundreds of security forces prevented a radical cleric from holding a protest to condemn another five bloggers, who were earlier charged with insulting Islam — an offense punishable by death in this Islamic country.

Police and government officials said the newest charges were laid against two bloggers from Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi and one from the federal capital. They were arrested earlier this week. One of the three used the alias, Allama Ayaz Nizami, and had over 12,000 followers on line, said a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give details of the cases against the three men.

All three were remanded into custody of Pakistan's anti-terrorism cell for seven days while their online activity is investigated, he said.

Meanwhile Pakistani police in full riot gear sealed off and surrounded Islamabad's Red Mosque, long seen as a refuge for Islamic militants in the Pakistani capital, and the home of a religious leader, Maulana Abdul Aziz, preventing his followers from staging their gathering to demand the death penalty for another five bloggers, who were charged earlier with blasphemy.

The Committee to Protect Journalists as well as Amnesty International has decried the use of Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law against the media in Pakistan. Critics say the blasphemy law is being used to silence Pakistan's media because even the allegation can be enough to incite hardliners to kill.

Previously, a provincial governor was shot and killed by his police guard who accused him of blasphemy after he criticized the law and defended a Christian woman sentenced to death under the law.

Meanwhile, the clerics vowed to try again next week. Their demonstration was directed at five bloggers, who were held for nearly three weeks in January.

The bloggers — who went missing but were later returned unhurt to their families — have accused Pakistan's intelligence agency of orchestrating their disappearance because of their criticism of the military and intelligence agencies.

Before their release, hard-liners raised accusations of blasphemy. Abdul Aziz' son-in-law and follower, Salman Shahid, went to court earlier to charge all five bloggers with blasphemy. The five have since fled the country after also receiving death threats.

Alongside the court cases, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government launched a campaign to rid social media of any content considered insulting to Islam — at least any posted by Pakistanis.

The government petitioned Facebook and Twitter to identify Pakistanis worldwide who are found posting material considered offensive to Islam so that Pakistani authorities can prosecute them or pursue their extradition on charges of blasphemy — tantamount to a death sentence.

Earlier, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Khan said a Facebook delegation was expected in Pakistan within weeks.

Meanwhile, the Center for Inquiry, a U.S.-based advocacy group, appealed to Facebook not to consider the censorship demands by Pakistani authorities.

As well as writing a letter to Facebook, Michael De Dora, of the advocacy group, said members of his organization are also taking their concerns about Pakistan's online crackdown to the United Nations and Washington.

"We have taken to the floor of the U.N. Human Rights Council to raise Pakistan's crackdowns on online expression, and communicated our concerns directly with the State Department and Facebook," De Dora said in an email exchange this week. "But it is difficult to tell if our efforts have achieved anything. "

Haroon Baloch, of the Islamabad-based think tank Bytes For All said social media is also widely used by those espousing harsh and exclusive interpretations of Islam. Platforms like Facebook are used to attack Shiite Muslims as well as adherents of minority religions in Pakistan such as Christians and Hindus.

While Pakistan has ordered shut more than 900 web addresses linked to banned religious groups, Baloch said many still maintain social media platforms like Facebook, where they spew hate and even raise funds

How Pakistan Is Planning to Fight a Nuclear War

Kyle Mizokami

Sandwiched between Iran, China, India and Afghanistan, Pakistan lives in a complicated neighborhood with a variety of security issues. One of the nine known states known to have nuclear weapons, Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and doctrine are continually evolving to match perceived threats. A nuclear power for decades, Pakistan is now attempting to construct a nuclear triad of its own, making its nuclear arsenal resilient and capable of devastating retaliatory strikes.

Pakistan’s nuclear program goes back to the 1950s, during the early days of its rivalry with India. President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto famously said in 1965, “If India builds the bomb, we will eat grass or leaves, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own.”

The program became a higher priority after the country’s 1971 defeat at the hands of India, which caused East Pakistan to break away and become Bangladesh. Experts believe the humiliating loss of territory, much more than reports that India was pursuing nuclear weapons, accelerated the Pakistani nuclear program. India tested its first bomb, codenamed “Smiling Buddha,” in May 1974, putting the subcontinent on the road to nuclearization.

Pakistan began the process of accumulating the necessary fuel for nuclear weapons, enriched uranium and plutonium. The country was particularly helped by one A. Q. Khan, a metallurgist working in the West who returned to his home country in 1975 with centrifuge designs and business contacts necessary to begin the enrichment process. Pakistan’s program was assisted by European countries and a clandestine equipment-acquisition program designed to do an end run on nonproliferation efforts. Outside countries eventually dropped out as the true purpose of the program became clear, but the clandestine effort continued.

Exactly when Pakistan had completed its first nuclear device is murky. Former president Benazir Bhutto, Zulfikar Bhutto’s daughter, claimed that her father told her the first device was ready by 1977. A member of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission said design of the bomb was completed in 1978 and the bomb was “cold tested”—stopping short of an actual explosion—in 1983.

Benazir Bhutto later claimed that Pakistan’s bombs were stored disassembled until 1998, when India tested six bombs in a span of three days. Nearly three weeks later, Pakistan conducted a similar rapid-fire testing schedule, setting off five bombs in a single day and a sixth bomb three days later. The first device, estimated at twenty-five to thirty kilotons, may have been a boosted uranium device. The second was estimated at twelve kilotons, and the next three as sub-kiloton devices.

The sixth and final device appears to have also been a twelve-kiloton bomb that was detonated at a different testing range; a U.S. Air Force “Constant Phoenix” nuclear-detection aircraft reportedly detected plutonium afterward. Since Pakistan had been working on a uranium bomb and North Korea—which shared or purchased research with Pakistan through the A. Q. Khan network—had been working on a uranium bomb, some outside observers concluded the sixth test was actually a North Korean test, detonated elsewhere to conceal North Korea’s involvement although. There is no consensus on this conclusion.

Experts believe Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile is steadily growing. In 1998, the stockpile was estimated at five to twenty-five devices, depending on how much enriched uranium each bomb required. Today Pakistan is estimated to have an arsenal of 110 to 130 nuclear bombs. In 2015 the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Stimson Center estimated Pakistan’s bomb-making capability at twenty devices annually, which on top of the existing stockpile meant Pakistan could quickly become the third-largest nuclear power in the world. Other observers, however, believe Pakistan can only develop another forty to fifty warheads in the near future.

Pakistani nuclear weapons are under control of the military’s Strategic Plans Division, and are primarily stored in Punjab Province, far from the northwest frontier and the Taliban. Ten thousand Pakistani troops and intelligence personnel from the SPD guard the weapons. Pakistan claims that the weapons are only armed by the appropriate code at the last moment, preventing a “rogue nuke” scenario.

Pakistani nuclear doctrine appears to be to deter what it considers an economically, politically and militarily stronger India. The nuclear standoff is exacerbated by the traditional animosity between the two countries, the several wars the two countries have fought, and events such as the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai, which were directed by Pakistan. Unlike neighboring India and China, Pakistan does not have a “no first use” doctrine, and reserves the right to use nuclear weapons, particularly low-yield tactical nuclear weapons, to offset India’s advantage in conventional forces.

Pakistan currently has a nuclear “triad” of nuclear delivery systems based on land, in the air and at sea. Islamabad is believed to have modified American-built F-16A fighters and possibly French-made Mirage fighters to deliver nuclear bombs by 1995. Since the fighters would have to penetrate India’s air defense network to deliver their payloads against cities and other targets, Pakistani aircraft would likely be deliver tactical nuclear weapons against battlefield targets.

Land-based delivery systems are in the form of missiles, with many designs based on or influenced by Chinese and North Korean designs. The Hatf series of mobile missiles includes the solid-fueled Hatf-III (180 miles), solid-fueled Hatf-IV (466 miles) and liquid-fueled Hatf V, (766 miles). The CSIS Missile Threat Initiative believes that as of 2014, Hatf VI (1242 miles) is likely in service. Pakistan is also developing a Shaheen III intermediate-range missile capable of striking targets out to 1708 miles, in order to strike the Nicobar and Andaman Islands.

The sea component of Pakistan’s nuclear force consists of the Babur class of cruise missiles. The latest version, Babur-2, looks like most modern cruise missiles, with a bullet-like shape, a cluster of four tiny tail wings and two stubby main wings, all powered by a turbofan or turbojet engine. The cruise missile has a range of 434 miles. Instead of GPS guidance, which could be disabled regionally by the U.S. government, Babur-2 uses older Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM) and Digital Scene Matching and Area Co-relation (DSMAC) navigation technology. Babur-2 is deployed on both land and at sea on ships, where they would be more difficult to neutralize. A submarine-launched version, Babur-3, was tested in January and would be the most survivable of all Pakistani nuclear delivery systems.

Pakistan is clearly developing a robust nuclear capability that can not only deter but fight a nuclear war. It is also dealing with internal security issues that could threaten the integrity of its nuclear arsenal. Pakistan and India are clearly in the midst of a nuclear arms race that could, in relative terms, lead to absurdly high nuclear stockpiles reminiscent of the Cold War. It is clear that an arms-control agreement for the subcontinent is desperately needed.

Friday, March 24, 2017

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Pakistan - ALL EXTREMISTS ARE MOLANA TARIQ JAMEEL’S STUDENTS: ZAID HAMID

Defense analyst Zaid Hamid has blamed Molana Tariq Jameel and other Mullahs of Deobandi school of thought to be responsible for promoting the extremist ideology and has criticized them for their silence on killing of 80 thousand Pakistanis including both Shias and Sunnis, prosecution of Ahmadi community.

Zaid Hamid’s opinion can be contested but the way he has been revealing terrorism going on in Pakistan under Saudi support is appreciable. Zaid Hamid views Molana Tariq Jameel’s silence as a crime and has thus raised voice against it.

http://www.shiitenews.org/index.php/pakistan/item/20859-all-extremists-are-molana-tariq-jameel-s-students-zaid-hamid/20859-all-extremists-are-molana-tariq-jameel-s-students-zaid-hamid#at_pco=smlwn-1.0&at_si=58d53f96826f1d9c&at_ab=per-2&at_pos=0&at_tot=1

Pakistan’s minorities: second class citizens

Zeeshan Salahuddin

This institutional racism has crept into every crevice, every pore, and every corner of the Pakistani society.

A newspaper advertisement in Bannu, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) recently called for applications for the khakroab position. This is the official term for a sweeper, a member of the janitorial staff. Historically, because of institutional racism and religious persecution, this role has been almost exclusively reserved for Hindus, and especially Christians. The advertisement, in the column labeled “religion”, listed Hindu, Balmiki (a sect of Hinduism), Christian and Shia.

The ensuing rage on Twitter and other social media platforms was immediate. The resulting apology was swift, and predictably spun to feign sincerity and innocence. But even then, they only apologised for using the word “Shia”. Congratulations Shias, you have been upgraded to first class citizens.

There are so many thing wrong with this picture, that it is difficult to determine a starting point.

First, how did this advertisement ever get past the approval process? Second, how did the newspaper itself not object to such open discrimination, not just against Hindus and Christians, but also the fact that it tacitly labels Shias as non-Muslims? Third, and perhaps most importantly, why was there even a need to drag religion into a job posting? The answer to all three is simple. We have come to accept that such positions will only be applied for (and subsequently granted to) Christians and Hindus, as it is beneath our collective, imagined station. And this was no accident; it was deliberate, because it is considered common practice.

This is the state of affairs in contemporary Pakistan. A provincial government that touts itself on inclusion and tolerance, and wants to set the new standard for both politics and governance in Pakistan, allows this to fly under its nose. Even when the apology is issued, it completely ignores Christians and Hindus, because honestly, who cares, right?

During the coverage of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) recently, a comedian on television said the following verbatim to showcase his patriotism: ‘I am ready to do anything for Pakistan, I will even become a choora’. A choora is a derogatory term for a Christian khakroab, and this statement elicited thundering applause from the studio audience. What a great man, he is willing to sink all the way to the level of a choora to save Pakistan! No one questioned the logical inconsistency. No one questioned the deep-seated racism and hatred for minorities. No one questioned the comedian on this exceptionally insolent and crass claim.

The racism continued in various forms on the program. A short while later, the comedian asked a former cricketer, a question about Chris Gayle. He asked whether Gayle feels disgusted when he looks at his own black hands. Surely it must cause nausea when he is eating. Tactfully, the guest stayed quiet on the issue, and the show moved on as if nothing had happened. The comedian, however, looks quite pleased with himself, for he had cleverly snuck in both religious discrimination and racism into the affair, and no one had been the wiser.

All of this is normal, but it should not be. All of this is accepted, but it should not be. Within our so-called liberal bubbles, we feel secure that we clamoured over social media. But the dirty secret of social media is that most of what is said on social media is not seen by most people. It is not sufficient to just tweet a picture of the newspaper. As citizens, we need to hold our leaders more accountable. Make calls to their office, write letters to their secretaries, send emails with demands for a better apology, and a promise to refrain from tinting a job posting in religious racism ever again.

Discrimination against minorities seems to be the true national sport of Pakistan. In our textbooks, in our daily social upbringing, we are lead to believe that non-Muslims are lesser beings, second-class citizens meant for janitorial jobs, indifferent attitudes, and universal disdain. This institutional racism has crept into every crevice, every pore, and every corner of the Pakistani society. It is our responsibility, as conscientious citizens to keep to in check, to challenge it, and to demand a better environment for everyone as equal citizens, as afforded by Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

Report: Pakistan Terror Groups Get Rich From Crime, Money Laundering

Waves of crime in Pakistan — including extortion, smuggling and kidnapping for ransom — are major sources of terrorist financing for extremist groups in the country, according to a new government report obtained by Pakistani media.

The report by the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) in Pakistan, titled "National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing 2017," reportedly details how terror groups generate funds through criminal activities, a Pakistani newspaper reported Thursday.

"Main sources of income of terrorists in Pakistan include foreign funding, drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, extortion from business, vehicle snatching," according to the 45-page confidential report by FMU, which is an intelligence service department within the Ministry of Finance.

The report, which has not been released publicly, says over 200 local and international terrorist organizations generate billions of Pakistani rupees to fund their activities.

"Annual operational budget of terrorist organizations is from 5 million rupees [about $48,000] to 25 million rupees [about $240,000]," the report said, according to The News website, which published excerpts.

Hawala system

According to the report, terrorist groups also receive money through the hawala system, an alternative or parallel system that operates outside traditional banking and financial channels. The system largely has been used in money laundering.

The income sources include "hawala/hundi,' cash couriers, [and] dealings in foreign exchange," the report said. "A part of foreign exchange collected abroad may include funds for terrorist financing, and the rupee counterpart disbursed in Pakistan may help terrorist financing."

Some terrorist groups get rich off selling military equipment looted from NATO supplies that pass through Pakistani land before arriving in neighboring Afghanistan, according to the report.

The so-called southern route, which runs through Pakistan, is the most direct and cost-effective way to send supplies to U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, but it is vulnerable to attacks by militants.

Islamabad has frequently been blamed for achieving little progress in combating the financing of terrorist groups in the country.

A U.S. Treasury Department report on terrorist financing last year said many militant groups in Pakistan, including those that "continue to pose a direct threat to the U.S. interests and allies in the region," fund their activities through proceeds from illegal businesses and charitable organizations.

The Treasury report said the Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba group, which was blamed by law enforcement for attacks in 2008 in Mumbai that killed more than 150 people, including six Americans, receives millions of dollars through funding from several humanitarian organizations within Pakistan and private donations.

Government focus

Analysts say the Pakistani government has shown little interest in curbing militants' financing in the country.

"The issue has been neglected within the framework of the war on terror in Pakistan," said Fida Hussain, a finance expert in Islamabad. "Combating terror financing and money laundering should have been a priority for the authorities but they don't seem serious in combating it."

Pakistani authorities say the government is trying hard to deal with the issue.

"The first thing our government did in the parliament was to come up with a law and measures to prevent money laundering," Tallal Chaudhry, a member of the standing committee on finance and revenue in Pakistan's national assembly, told VOA's Urdu service. "We've also worked to stop the flow of illegal funds coming from foreign countries and the money that was being illegally generated in the name of charity in Pakistan."

Pakistan's Central Bank last year ordered the country's commercial banks to freeze the accounts of about 4,000 individuals and businesses linked to terrorism.

Analysts say the government is well aware of the income sources for terrorist groups, though it does not go far enough to curb them.

"The government has the ability to combat the terrorist financing, but it lacks a strong a will to do so," veteran Pashtun politician Afrasiab Khattak told VOA. "It enacts laws, including anti-terrorism laws, but fails to implement them."

He added that the people are not aware that some of their donations end up strengthening militant groups.

Said Amir Rana, a security analyst: "The Federal Investigative Agency and other agencies have the responsibility to look into the matter and see why they've not been able to come up with a plan to curb the illegal economic activities of the terrorists in the country."

PPP leader rejects CM’s offer to join PTI

“I can quit politics, but never Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP),” said Syed Zahir Ali Shah of the PPP while rejecting the invitation of Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday.

Khattak visited his residence and invited him to join PTI party.

The former provincial health minister said that he would never quit the party of Zulfkar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir Bhutto.

“I have pledged my allegiance to Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,” he told media persons after the gathering. He said that when he had met with the chief minister, he had told him that he would consult with his family and party workers before taking any decision.

“This did not mean that I had, in any way, agreed to join PTI.”

PPP workers and leaders also passed unanimous resolutions, rejecting Pervez Khattak’s invitation. Instead, they advised him to join PPP.

Addressing political activists, Zahir Ali Shah said that PTI’s leadership would not be in a position to win any seat in the province in the upcoming general elections.

“Its leadership lacks political acumen and its government has failed to deliver … They are simply fishing for electable candidates,” said Shah.

Pointing out that there were rumours that other PPP leaders were engaging in talks for switching political loyalties, he said that they should stay away from other political parties as switching parties would destroy their political prospects.

He said that Amir Muqam of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and chief of Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Sirajul Haq had also asked him to join their parties but he had also rejected their invitations.

Referring to the much-delayed party re-organization, he said that the party’s provincial leadership was working to elect eligible leaders at district and town levels in accordance with the wishes of party workers.

He said that political situation was not static and there could be adjustments. “We cannot rule out the possibility of political alliances with other political parties.”

Dispelling rumours about bickering within party ranks, he said that differences exist in all parties and “this is the real democracy”.

“I will never leave PPP even if I do not get party ticket to contest (general) elections,” said Zahir Shah.

Bilawal Bhutto pays rich tributes to Begum Nusrat Bhutto on her 88th birthday

Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has paid rich tributes to Begum Nusrat Bhutto on her 88^th birthday celebrated today and described her as a great icon of democratic struggle against the ruthless dictatorship.

In his message on the occasion, the PPP Chairman said that late Begum Nusrat Bhutto fought valiantly against the dictatorial rule of General Zia and was regarded and revered as mother of democracy by all the Jiyalas and democratic workers of the country.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Begum Nusrat Bhutto lost her almost entire family in the fight against dictatorship for the rights of the people of Pakistan and braved torture, prisons and solitary confinements but stood firmly with the masses.

He said that such iconic and tall figures are rarely found in the history who sacrificed everything for her people and Pakistanis, especially the PPP leaders and workers never forget her and continue to cherish her memories every time.

From daughter-in-law of a Prime Minister to wife and mother of martyred Prime Ministers and martyred sons, Begum Nusrat Bhutto remained a brave lady and fought with full force against cruel dictatorial forces for her entire life. “This is the day to remember her in our hearts and minds and pray for her departed soul,” he added.