Bhutan’s neutral stance embarrasses India

Despite India's continuous pressure on Bhutan to openly take India's side, Thimpu's passive resistance has embarrassed New Delhi. 

Indian media reported Thursday that anonymous sources in the Bhutanese government told the media to refer to the Bhutanese foreign ministry's June 29 statement for its position on the Doklam issue. The statement said the construction of the road in Doklam was a direct violation of agreements.

A few days ago, a Chinese diplomat told a visiting Indian media delegation that Bhutan had conveyed to China through diplomatic channels that the area of the standoff is not its territory. 

Due to the fact that Indian troops crossed into Chinese territory on the ground to "protect Bhutan," Thimpu's stance is catastrophic for India. 

India has stationed troops in Bhutan and controls the country's defense and foreign affairs. 

Senior Bhutanese officials have never openly said the area of standoff is Bhutan's territory and never acknowledged they requested India's intervention in China's road construction. New Delhi took the liberty to speak on Bhutan's behalf. 

On Friday, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met her Bhutanese counterpart Damcho Dorji. Dorji said "we hope the situation in Doklam will be resolved peacefully and amicably."

Bhutan obviously wants to remain neutral in the standoff. It does not appear like a country that had been "invaded" by China and desperately wants India's protection. 

India is bullying Bhutan and its fabricated excuses are groundless in front of international laws. 

India's overall strength is far from that of a major power, but its hegemonic ambitions are world-class. It forcefully annexed Sikkim in the past and continues to violate Bhutan's sovereign rights and to interfere in Nepal's foreign policies. Because India has always been courted by the West, many of its practices were tolerated by the US and its allies. 

India's regional hegemonism has expanded to harm China's national interests, forcing Beijing to take action. China has advocated that all countries are equal despite their size. It's necessary for China to spread this initiative to South Asia, which will surely be welcomed by countries under India's pressure. China is also capable of influencing how India is perceived by these countries. It's time for India's hegemony in South Asia to come to an end. 

China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council. We can also condemn India's violation of South Asian nations' sovereign rights through UN platforms. The Doklam standoff is just the start. The world needs to see what India has done in South Asia.

China : Op-Ed: India is playing with fire, and it could get burned

By Curtis Stone

The military border standoff between China and India in the Dong Lang area (Doklam) reveals India’s geopolitical ambitions and motivation to use “protecting Bhutan” as an excuse for its own superpower dream. To defuse the crisis, India should immediately withdraw its troops from the area.

The current standoff began in mid-June, when hundreds of Indian border troops crossed the boundary in the Sikkim Sector of Doklam and advanced into territory claimed by China to obstruct the construction of a road. The assumption that China is the aggressor is just plain wrong. “We have repeatedly stated that Doklam has always been part of China’s territory,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Jul. 5. “There is no disagreement on the fact that Doklam belongs to China,” he added.

India has long sought to dominate Asia. “India considers China, which crushed India in the 1962 war, as its most serious security threat,” an unclassified document on India’s strategic interests concluded. In an intelligence assessment, the US argued that India’s key objectives have remained largely unchanged since independence in 1947. “Preeminent among these objectives is the desire to obtain recognition from its neighbors of India’s status as the region’s leading power,” the document said, adding, India seeks to curb the influence of others in the region.

Making territorial claims on Bhutan’s behalf suggests that these long-held objectives remain as important today as they were years ago. According to an editorial in the People’s Daily by Zhong Sheng, or “Voice of China,” India’s intrusion into the area under the pretext of helping Bhutan not only violated China’s territorial sovereignty, but challenged Bhutan’s sovereignty and independence. Now, Bhutan is stuck in the middle of a geopolitical conflict that could spiral out of control and lead to a wider regional conflict.

All this suggests that the conflict started by India is not about “protecting Bhutan,” but about India trying to realize its superpower dream.

Fortunately, the two countries can and need to cooperate in many areas. For example, India benefits from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a multilateral financial institution founded to help increase connectivity across Asia. Three projects have been approved to date, including a power project and an infrastructure development project. Most recently, the bank approved a $329 million loan to build access roads to approximately 4,000 villages in all 33 districts of Gujarat. In addition, another six projects are being considered by the bank. At the same time, more Chinese companies are investing in India, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for closer cooperation.

India is also a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which means India has a voice on the important regional political, economic, and security issues that directly affect it. Furthermore, China and India are members of the BRICS association, an important platform for cooperation among major emerging economies, as well as members of the G20, the premier forum for international economic cooperation and global governance. In addition, China and India could always further enhance cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, which India is still reluctant to join in.

This is to say that the relationship is complicated, but China and India do not need to see each other as rivals for leadership in Asia. There is always the strategic dimension to relations, but emphasis should be placed on strengthening cooperation. For example, China and the Philippines are working out their differences on the South China Sea issue, and China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) endorsed a framework for a maritime code of conduct, an important step to ease tension in the strategic waterway. This shows that conflict is not inevitable. Steps can be taken to lower tensions and peacefully resolve differences, and India should follow suit.

But China has made it clear that its patience is wearing thin and is not endless. “If the Indian side truly cherishes peace, what it should do is to immediately pull back the trespassing border troops to the Indian side of the boundary,” Geng said on Aug. 3. Given the high stakes and the importance of good relations with China, the best strategy for India is to stop playing geopolitical games and turn its attention to finding ways to prevent future conflict between two growing neighbors.

China and India on brink of armed conflict as hopes of resolution to border dispute fade

Chinese military primed for battle, military sources say; Indian troops ‘prepared for any eventuality’.

Chinese and Indian troops are readying themselves for a possible armed conflict in the event they fail in their efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution to their border dispute on the Doklam plateau in the Himalayas, observers said.

Sources close to the Chinese military, meanwhile, said that the People’s Liberation Army is increasingly aware of the possibility of war, but will aim to limit any conflict to the level of skirmishes, such as those contested by India and Pakistan in Kashmir.

“The PLA will not seek to fight a ground war with Indian troops early on. Instead it will deploy aircraft and strategic missiles to paralyse Indian mountain divisions stationed in the Himalayas on the border with China,” a military insider told the South China Morning Post on condition of anonymity, adding that he believes Indian troops will probably hold out for “no more than a week”.

Another military source said that officers and troops from the Western Theatre Command have already been told to prepare for war with India over the Doklam crisis.

“There is a voice within the army telling it to fight because it was Indian troops that intruded into Chinese territory in Donglang [Doklam],” the second source said. “Such a voice is supported by the public.” Both sources said that China’s military believes any conflict will be controlled, and not spill over into other disputed areas, of which there are currently three along the 2,000km border between the two Asian giants.

However, Indian defence experts warned that once the first shot is fired, the conflict may escalate into full-scale war. That in turn could result in New Delhi blockading China’s maritime lifeline in the Indian Ocean. “Any Chinese military adventurism will get a fitting reply from the Indian military,” Dr Rajeev Ranjan Chaturvedy, a research associate at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, told the Post. “Certainly, it will be detrimental for both, but if Beijing escalates [the conflict], it will not be limited. Perhaps, it may extend to the maritime domain as well,” he said.

“If China engages in a military offensive against India, New Delhi will take all necessary measures ... [and will] respond to Chinese actions in its own way. Why only a border war? It could escalate to a full-scale India-China war,” he said. Rajeswari Rajagopalan, a defence analyst from the Observer Research Foundation think tank in New Delhi, said that “in the event of a full-scale war, definitely India’s navy will prevent the Chinese navy from moving into the Bay of Bengal or the Indian Ocean.” China is heavily reliant on imported fuel and, according to figures published by state media, more than 80 per cent of its oil imports travel via the Indian Ocean or Strait of Malacca.

Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie said that India in 2010 established a naval base in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, close to the Strait of Malacca, where the narrowest sea channel is just 1.7km wide. “Since 2010, India has also upgraded two airstrips on the islands to serve fighters and reconnaissance aircraft,” he said. “All these moves pave the way for India to be able to blockade Chinese military and commercial ships from entering the Indian Ocean in the event of a naval conflict between the two countries.” In July, India, the United States and Japan completed their 10-day Malabar 2017 naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal, while around the same time the US approved the US$365-million sale of military transport aircraft to India and a US$2-billion deal for surveillance drones.

As a result, the Indian navy now has eight Boeing P-8A Poseidon submarine hunters patrolling in the Indian Ocean. Chinese and Indian troops fought a war in 1962 after a series of skirmishes heightened tensions on the border. That conflict ended largely in a stalemate, despite China’s large military advantage. However, Chaturvedy said that India has learnt lessons from its past mistakes and is now better prepared to defend itself against China. Macau-based military expert Antony Wong Dong said that both sides have underestimated each other. “If the border conflict expands to the sea, it will be very difficult for the PLA to defeat the Indian navy, whose capabilities are much stronger after the purchase of the P-8A Poseidon submarine hunters,” he said.

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Pakistan - Nun known as 'Mother Teresa of Pakistan' to receive state funeral

The government of Pakistan will accord a state funeral to Sister Ruth Katharina Martha Pfau, a German-born member of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary who devoted her life to eradicating leprosy in Pakistan. Sister Ruth, dubbed the Mother Teresa of Pakistan, died Aug. 10 in Karachi. She was 87. "Sister Ruth was a model of total dedication. She inspired and mobilized all sections of society to join the fight against leprosy, irrespective of creed or ethnic identity," Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi, president of Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference, told Catholic News Service Aug. 11.

"We are happy that the government is according her a state funeral on Aug. 19," the archbishop said, noting it would be at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Karachi. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Sister Ruth would be remembered "for her courage, her loyalty, her service to the eradication of leprosy, and most of all, her patriotism." "Pfau may have been born in Germany, her heart was always in Pakistan," he said.

Born in Leipzig, Germany, in 1929, she went to France to study medicine and later joined the Society of Daughters of the Heart of Mary. Archbishop Coutts said she arrived in Karachi in 1960 due to some visa problems en route to India and was touched by what she saw at the leprosy colony off Macleod Road in Karachi. She decided to join the work Mexican Sister Bernice Vargasi had begun three year earlier, Archbishop Coutts said. In 1962 Sister Ruth founded the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre in Karachi, Pakistan's first hospital dedicated to treating Hansen's disease, and later set up its branches in all provinces of Pakistan. She spent the rest of her life in the country and was granted Pakistani citizenship.

In 1996, the World Health Organization declared Pakistan one of the first countries in Asia to be free of Hansen's disease. The Dawn daily reported in 2016 that the number of those under treatment for leprosy fell to 531 from more than 19,000 in the 1980s.

The Pakistani bishops' National Commission for Justice and Peace called Sister Ruth a "national hero of Pakistan." It said her services for humanity "were nothing less than a pure manifestation of God's divine love."

Sports should not be dragged into politics: Maria Toorpakai to critics

Pakistan's decorated female squash player, Maria Toorpakai, on Friday responded to the ones vilifying her lately, saying that sports should not be dragged into politics.

Speaking to newsmen here, Toorpakai said people casting aspersions on her make no difference to her.

"We are soldiers of sports having our own uniform, our own style," she said, adding that she does not care about politics.

Toorpakai, who happens to be former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Aisha Gulalai's younger sister, came under bitter verbal attacks by several PTI leaders following Gulalai's allegations against PTI chief Imran Khan.

The vilification campaign against Toorpakai had also prompted Khan to ask his supporters not to target the decorated squash player. Commenting further, she welcomed the PTI chairman's tweet asking his supporters to refrain from targeting her.

"I do not mind even if someone abuses me; all heroes including Imran Khan are my ideals," she said.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/153332-sports-should-not-be-dragged-into-politics-maria-toorpakai-to-critics

Nawaz Sharif only trying to save himself: Bilawal Bhutto

Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday addressed a press conference in Islamabad and claimed that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was only trying to save himself. 

He told journalists that there was no threat to democracy at the moment and added that the PPP would not accept demands from any other party. 

Bilawal added that he will not make any contact with PML-N, will not pick their calls or go to a meeting. 

"They are on their own," said Bilawal.

The PPP chairman also said that there should be no role of the military or the judiciary in the parliament and added that institutions should not interfere.

“It is upsetting to see that he [Nawaz] is doing contempt of court in every speech,” said Bilawal and asked if contempt of court notices are only reserved for PPP.

Responding to a question, the PPP chairman said that there is no possibility of 'minus-one' formula in the PPP. 

During the press conference, he also condemned alleged forced disappearances in Sindh.  

Bilawal also claimed that Sindh's accountability commission will be more successful than the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).  

"If KPK can have a Ehtisab Commission, then why can not Sindh?"

https://www.geo.tv/latest/153287-nawaz-sharif-only-trying-to-save-himself-bilawal-bhutto-zardari

On National Minority Day, Bilawal Bhutto vows to uphold every word of Quaid-e-Azam about non-Muslims

Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that PPP was the true torchbearer of the ideology of Pakistan as professed by Founder of the Nation assuring that every word of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah for the protection and promotion of non-Muslims will be upheld, fulfilled and accomplished.

In his message on the National Minority Day being observed on Friday August 11, the PPP Chairman said that as per vision of the founding fathers every citizen of Pakistan is an equal partner without the discrimination of caste, creed, ethnicity or religions. “Pakistan is blessed with beautiful diversity and we all shall further nourish and nurture this diversity with equality to all,” he added.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that his Party has taken drastic steps for the rights of the non-Muslim people so that they have adequate representation in the Parliament, bureaucracy, and every sphere of life. “PPP gave representation to the non-Muslims in the Senate for the first time in 2012. It was Prime Minister Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto who established Minority Affairs Ministry. PPP has tripled the budget of Minority Affairs Department in Sindh during last four years,” he added.

He pointed out that PPP was the only Party which gave representation to the non-Muslims in its organizational structure besides inducted them in Sindh cabinet.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari further pointed out that National Minority Day observance was approved by President Asif Ali Zardari during previous PPP government with the purpose to further highlight their problems and pave the way for their solutions.

PPP Chairman said that speech made by the Father of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah on August 11, 1947 was part of his ideology and the PPP will uphold his every word assured to the non-Muslims.

https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2017/08/10/on-national-minority-day-bilawal-bhutto-vows-to-uphold-every-word-of-quaid-e-azam-about-non-muslims/

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عمران نیازی تلاشی دو بھاگ کیوں رہے ہو، عائشہ گلالئی

چیئرمین پی ٹی آئی پر مختلف الزامات عائد کرکے پی ٹی آئی کو خیر باد کہنے والی عائشہ گلالئی کا کہنا ہے کہ عمران نیازی تلاشی دو بھاگ کیوں رہے ہو۔

انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ حیرت ہوئی آج اخلاقی طورپر کرپٹ شخص مالی کرپشن کی بات کررہا ہے، اگر میں نے جھوٹا الزام لگایا ہوتا تو آج میرے خلاف عمران نیازی دعویٰ کرتے۔

عائشہ گلالئی نے کہا کہ عمران نیازی نہ سپریم کورٹ جاتے ہیں نہ پارلیمانی کمیٹی میں پیش ہوتے ہیں،وہ کہتے ہیں کہ اپنا موبائل فارنزک آڈٹ کے لیے نہیں دیں گے۔

انہوں نے کہا کہ میں توپارلیمانی کمیٹی میں اپناموبائل پیش کروں گی، عمران کوبھی اپناموبائل دینا ہوگا، عمران نیازی جھوٹ اور تہمت کی سیاست کر کے قوم کو اپنا اصل چہرہ دکھا رہے ہیں۔

گلالئی کا مزید کہنا ہے کہ عمران خان شدیدخوف اور گھبراہٹ میں مبتلا ہیں، چار سال سے ان کو میری کرپشن نظر نہیں آئی، اب کرپشن کے الزام لگا کر خواتین کی آواز دبانے کی کوشش کی جارہی ہے۔

https://jang.com.pk/latest/359477-get-searched-why-are-you-running-imran-ayesha-gulalai

Are We Living In Jinnah’s Pakistan?

تمام اقلیتوں کو، خواہ ان کا تعلق کسی بھی مذہب ، فرقے یا گروہ سے ہو، مکمل تحفظ دیا جائے گا۔ ان کا دین و مذہب قطعی محفوظ ہوگا۔ انہیں عبادت کرنے کی مکمل آزادی ہوگی اور اس میں کسی قسم کی دخل اندازی نہیں کی جائے گی۔ ان کے مذہب ، عقائد ، جان و مال اور تہذیب و تمدن کو تحفظ حاصل ہوگا۔ وہ ہر طرح سے پاکستان کے شہری ہوں گے جن کے ساتھ دین یا ذات پات کی بنیاد پر کسی قسم کا کوئی امتیاز روا نہیں رکھا جائے گا۔پریس کانفرنس ،نئی دہلی، ۱۴ اکتوبر ۱۹۴۷

“…. let me tell you that I shall not depart from what I said repeatedly with regard to the minorities. Every time I spoke about the minorities I meant what I said and what I said I meant.

Minorities to whichever community they may belong; will be safeguarded. Their religion or faith or belief will be secure. There will be no interference of any kind with their freedom of worship. They will have their protection with regard to their religion, faith, their life, their culture. They will be, in all respects, the citizens of Pakistan without any distinction of caste or creed.

They will have their rights and privileges and no doubt, along with it goes the obligation of citizenship. Therefore, the minorities have their responsibilities also and they will play their part in the affairs of this state. As long as the minorities are loyal to the State and owe true allegiance and as long as I have any power, they need have no apprehension of any kind.

Today minoriites are suffering, insecure and marginalized. Though be Christians, Hindus, Sikhs Hazara community or others all suffer. Churches are being attacked, Christians burnt alive their homes burnt to ashes over mere allegations, Hindu girls being abducted, Sikhs murdered, Hazara community targetted. Minorities are forced to think, What kind of country do we live in?

https://www.christiansinpakistan.com/are-we-living-in-jinnahs-pakistan/

Pakistan - Amid 70 years of the creation of Pakistan, Minorities still confronting challenges

By Cynthia Sohail

Amid the 70 years of the creation of Pakistan, the portion decreased from 11% to five percent and it is never again executed by the source

According to the source, the number of inhabitants in Sindh is assessed to be 5.5 million, with 91 percent of Muslims and nine minorities containing minorities, including Hindus, Christians and Persians. Nine percent of the eight percent in the Hindu populace is 50 percent of which is settled in Tharparkar.

Jagendra Nath, the main Indian law serve, presented 11 percent quantity for the welfare of the minorities, under this framework Hindus, Christians, Bahrain and Schedules cast tribes, kept six percent standard independently for the calendar for the stronghold. had gone.

In 1998, Rana Chandra Singh and Shahbaz Bhatti exhibited an alteration charge in the National Assembly, as indicated by which all minorities including Hindus, Ahmadi, Christian and Bahrain people group will be profited from five percent standard. It was an unexpected that the individuals from the minorities spoke to the correction by decreasing 11% portion to five percent.

Because of this adjustment, the diminishment in the general amount and the six portion of isolated calendars of the rank cast was additionally finished, which, from which Bhil, Koli, Megharwad, Bala, Kabotra tribes were advantageous, and later on, the entryways of government employments were shut for them. They were and they remained with the enormous landowners.

The present time is formally 5 percent share in occupations, however just a few percent is handled, it additionally gives bring down review employments, ordinarily under clean, sterile specialists or 14 to 15 grades. Are there

In a report, a minority lady has been cited as saying that five percent share on Karachi, which works in Sindh including Karachi, is confined to the employment of Kharob, despite the fact that these occupations are not likewise accessible on justify.

A political gathering in Karachi has selected specialists for clean laborers on minority amount in metropolitan administrations, while nearby lawmakers enlist other individuals in different urban communities, larger part of them have a place with Muslims. Try not to go to your employments just get pay rates.

‘A previous Hindu Member of the Assembly asked whether the legal sees five percent minority judges? None of the common divisions’ secretaries is minority, in such a way no agent magistrate of a locale is from the minorities group. Is this not a capability in the Hindu people group? Assuming this is the case, who was running the framework here before 1947? ”

This report additionally featured the explanations behind minority portion not being executed by the guidelines. Government’s non-intrigue, the duty regarding actualizing this law is not ready to pay its obligations.

‘In the event that the government declares the issue in Islamabad, how did the declaration come to Umarkot in light of the fact that there are no daily papers here, the second is the means by which a portion of the destitute individuals can reach here for interviews.

There is a sure point of view in the counsel of the report that there is a political, religious and established effect on executing minority amount, and it is additionally a fluid set which appears that the minority is for the most part abnormal and substantial occupations not qualified.

‘Hindu and Christian sterile laborers and other little employments that are indigenous to Muslims, the joblessness rate is higher in the minorities, since graduates are likewise denied of occupations since government employments are given on political premise as opposed to justify. Are there

The report has been encouraged to shape a strategy to guarantee that minority portion is being prepared. On the off chance that the demise of a representative is done, at that point his tyke ought to be utilized on parent portion.

It has additionally been suggested that political impedance ought to be halted, the six percent amount ought to be reestablished in the work of speaking to the Schedules and Dalit people group in national and commonplace gatherings.

Minor minority issues ought to be stayed up with the latest by refreshing their site, in broad daylight works of daily papers, and radio TV and in addition to screen the minorities.

Women should not live in fear, but act with courage. By Shobha Shukla

"One day, when my first child was barely 6 months old, my husband kicked away the water and food I had served him. On asking him the reason, he started pulling my hair and thrashing me. I was stunned at his sudden violent behaviour. But this was just the start of a never-ending saga of domestic violence that continues till today", said 30 years old Lakshmina. She hails from a Dalit community in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. The only sister of four brothers, Lakshmina is illiterate. She did start her schooling, but one day, while going to school, she met with an accident and hurt herself. Her doting mother immediately stopped sending her to school, saying that she did not want to risk her daughter’s life.

At the age of 18, Lakshmina was married to a labourer. Her marital problems began soon after one year of married bliss. Her husband would come home drunk and start beating her for no apparent reason. The first time she was hit, Lakshmina went to her parent’s home. When she returned after two months, her husband pushed her in his room, held her by the neck and started thrashing her. She was saved through the intervention of her in-laws and neighbours. But the beatings continued- even after the birth of two more children. After every bout of violence, he would apologize and promise never to hit her again, only to forget it just too soon.

No excuse for abuse

He began spending more and more of his earnings on liquor. To make both ends meet, Lakshmina started working in the fields. But thinking that this would make her independent, he forbade her from stepping out of the house. When she resented, she was beaten black and blue. When she was seriously injured, her parents came and took her from one hospital to another, till she got well.

Lakshmina’s brothers wanted her to leave her husband for good and marry someone else. But she knew that no one would accept her with her three children (two sons and a daughter) in tow. She decided to stay in her husband’s home and continue to fight for justice, even though he wanted her to leave his house.

She was clear in her mind that, “Being his wife and the mother of his children, I have equal rights in his house and property. I too contribute in running the household. I am ready to be reprimanded if I do something wrong. But to be beaten without any reason, is something I will not tolerate. I will fight for my rights by staying here. Men must realize that anger and blatant show of power is not their prerogative. Marriage is all about having equal partnership.”

Some neighbours, told her to contact Hina Desai, Director of Sri Ramanand Saraswati Pustakalaya (SRSP)--an organisation that works to combat caste and gender biases in rural India. The support provided by Oxfam India has helped SRSP in advancing the fight against gender discrimination and motivating women to stand up against domestic violence.

SRSP helped Lakshmina file a police complaint, as well as a case of domestic violence against her husband. Under police duress, he promised never to misbehave with his wife again. But he did not keep his words.

He has no love even for his three children. Lakshmina recalls an incident that occurred 3 years ago: "Once, he literally snatched the food from their hands, saying that he will eat first. When my elder son (who was 12 years old at that time and was studying in Class 7 then) resented his behaviour, he hit him in the stomach. After this incident, my son refused to stay in the house. He left his studies and home and went to Chennai to make a living to help me financially. I feel very sad for him. His is an age to study and not to work. He sends money for me and for his siblings. But my husband accuses me of having earned this money by selling my body."

Earlier Lakshmina would beg for mercy from her husband when ill-treated. She would also run to SRSP for help. They would scold her husband and the police too would threaten to send him to prison if he did not mend his ways. He would say sorry and remain calm for 3-4 months, only to start his brutal behaviour all over again.

Change your mind, change your life

But long years of sufferings have made her strong and determined. She is no longer scared of her husband and does not tolerate his beatings anymore. Now if he hits her, she hits him back. She has learnt it the hard way that women should not live in fear, but act with courage. Fear is a sign of weakness. Women need to be strong from within and fight their own battles. No amount of outside interventions can alone help. The more one fears the more one is suppressed.

Belief triggers the power to do

God gave her courage and Hina Desai restored her self- confidence, feels Lakshmina. SRSP gave her INR 2000 and helped her open a bank account. She used that money to start her own business. Lakshmina shared with Citizen News Service (CNS): “We have formed a group of ten women to make and sell pickles, potato chips, ‘papads’, etc. Today I am earning myself. I am no longer financially dependent on my husband and so I am under no obligation to suffer his indignities. I will continue to fight my battle while staying in his house. I will not let him succeed in throwing me out.”

Lakshmina wants her children to marry only after they complete their education and start earning. She has also told her sons that if they ever misbehave with their wives (as their father did with her), she would stand by her daughters-in-law and would not hesitate to seek punishment for them if need be.

Lakshmina fights for the rights of other women too. She strongly believes that, “Women must raise their voices against injustice, and not take it lying low. It is human to err, but it is inhuman to become violent. Solutions to problems can be found through dialogues and discussions only. Men should be taught to respect their wives.”

Keep the promise

Let us not forget that governments of over 190 countries, including India, have promised to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, one of which is to achieve gender equality and end all forms of discrimination and violence against all women and girls. If we are to deliver on these promises of sustainable development and gender justice, lot more action is needed on the ground.

The upcoming 3rd Asia Pacific Feminist Forum (APFF 2017) to be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, would hopefully provide a platform to mobilize stronger action for dismantling economic, social and political systems that produce obscene levels of inequality and fuel violations of women’s human rights.

Pakistan - FOUR EMPLOYEES OF CHINESE COMPANY PJP KIDNAPPED NEAR TANK

Four employees of a Chinese company were kidnapped near the boundary between the Frontier Regions (FRs) of Tank and Lakki Marwat district on Wednesday.

Although Tank tehsildar Yasir Suleman said unidentified gunmen abducted four employees of the Chinese company, PJP — which is surveying gas reserves in the area— from Kazmomai area of FR Tank, it is believed that the Deobandi terrorists of banned outfits are behind this kidnapping in a bid to damage Pak-China relations making Chinese nationals unsafe in Pakisatan.
The abducted employees were identified as supervisor Riaz, bulldozer operator Shaukat, private security guard Zaro Jan and driver Amir Mohammad.
Sources said personnel of Khasadar Force and security forces had launched a search operation in the area to track down the kidnappers and recover the employees.

http://www.shiitenews.org/index.php/pakistan/item/29987-four-employees-of-chinese-company-pjp-kidnapped-near-tank

On National Minority Day, Bilawal Bhutto vows to uphold every word of Quaid-e-Azam about non-Muslims

Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that PPP was the true torchbearer of the ideology of Pakistan as professed by Founder of the Nation assuring that every word of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah for the protection and promotion of non-Muslims will be upheld, fulfilled and accomplished.

In his message on the National Minority Day being observed on Friday August 11, the PPP Chairman said that as per vision of the founding fathers every citizen of Pakistan is an equal partner without the discrimination of caste, creed, ethnicity or religions. “Pakistan is blessed with beautiful diversity and we all shall further nourish and nurture this diversity with equality to all,” he added.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that his Party has taken drastic steps for the rights of the non-Muslim people so that they have adequate representation in the Parliament, bureaucracy, and every sphere of life. “PPP gave representation to the non-Muslims in the Senate for the first time in 2012. It was Prime Minister Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto who established Minority Affairs Ministry. PPP has tripled the budget of Minority Affairs Department in Sindh during last four years,” he added.

He pointed out that PPP was the only Party which gave representation to the non-Muslims in its organizational structure besides inducted them in Sindh cabinet.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari further pointed out that National Minority Day observance was approved by President Asif Ali Zardari during previous PPP government with the purpose to further highlight their problems and pave the way for their solutions.

PPP Chairman said that speech made by the Father of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah on August 11, 1947 was part of his ideology and the PPP will uphold his every word assured to the non-Muslims.

Bilawal Bhutto grieved over Dr Ruth Pfau’s death

Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has paid tributes to Dr. Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, the German-Pakistani lady for her life-long battle against leprosy since 1960 and expressed deep grief and sorrow over her demise today.

In his condolence message, the PPP Chairman said that Dr Ruth Pfau spent her life in serving the leprosy patients in Pakistan.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Pakistani nation is grateful Dr Pfau for dedicating her services to the people of this country adding she would be remembered by every Pakistani and our entire nation was her heir.

https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2017/08/10/bilawal-bhutto-grieved-over-dr-ruth-pfaus-death/

Pakistan's Candle of hope - A TRUE PROPHET - Dr Ruth Pfau

Being an atheist, If god and prophets were not false and man made, then Dr Ruth Pfau is definitely a Prophet who served and loved humanity, what a shame a Muslim Pakistani doctor refused to touch a Christian sanitary worker who was brought to the hospital in critical condition.
MWAQAR

By Shagufta Gul

WHEN you start to despair — and we have too many occasions for that — go get the light of hope from someone who holds the candle. So I went to see Dr Ruth Pfau, who has been an inspiration for many, especially the most stigmatised of segments — her leprosy patients.

Even in her poor state of health in her hospital bed, Dr Pfau continues to be the candle of hope she has epitomised. She was hospitalised recently but is now in her own apartment in her neat and prim clinic. Of course, she is happy to be back home, she told me.

As I held her hand I could feel the “enrichment flow from her into me” to use her words. That is the role she has been playing since she arrived as a young woman of 31 in Karachi from Germany in 1960 and made Pakistan her home. It was chance that took her to the Lepers’ Colony behind the commercial offices on McLeod Road (now I.I. Chundrigar Road). The squalor and subhuman conditions did not deter her. Within three years, she had set up a proper leprosy clinic, now an eight-storey hospital on Shahrah-i-Liaquat, and the hub of 157 leprosy centres all over the country. There followed an arduous journey of over five decades devoted to “serving the unserved”. At no stage has her commitment slackened.

In her forthcoming autobiography, quoting an axiom, she writes, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness” and, better still, “to keep it burning”.

Leprosy, according to Dr Pfau, ‘is not just a sickness’.

What I find striking about Dr Ruth Pfau is her holistic approach to the people she works for and whom she loves unconditionally.

Thus leprosy, the disease she focused on, is, according to her, “not just a sickness” with specific medical conditions, but also a monstrosity due to society’s attitude towards the person who is suffering from it. He or she is dubbed a sinner, a victim of the scourge of the divine.

It is this stigma that robs patients of their dignity and deprives them of their basic birthright that Dr Pfau finds disquieting. Hence in her scheme of things the cure is a process which not only treats the physical ailment but continues until the patient has been rehabilitated and has access to his right to food and clothing, shelter, education, health, equal job opportunities and, above all, social acceptance. With the risk of relapse ever present, leprosy workers have to establish lifelong associations with their patients who are monitored for early signs of any recurrence of the disease.

This sounds so idealistic in Pakistan’s context. But it has actually worked because Dr Pfau’s strategy from the initial years has been to focus on community development as well. She took healthcare to the patients right to their doorstep, personally visiting families to convince them that leprosy, a grossly misunderstood disease, was treatable.

After studying Dr Pfau’s approach, I feel that is the only one which can work in a Third World society. To be effective, a four-pronged strategy is needed: a) adopt preventive measures; b) educate communities to lower the incidence of diseases; c) provide curative treatment to those who still fall ill; d) monitor and detect early cases that recur to nip the damage in the bud.

Dr Pfau made an impact on the leprosy scene in Pakistan and in 1996; WHO declared that leprosy had been controlled in the country. Dr Pfau then set her sights on leprosy elimination, a bigger challenge as the incubation period can last from two to 40 years. In 2016, the number of patients under treatment in Pakistan were only 531 — a far cry from 19,398 in the early 1980s.

To use fully the capacity, it had created, the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre (MALC) bran­ched out into tuberculosis and blindness prevention programmes in support of the government. Why TB? The TB bacterium is related to the leprosy bacillus. Why blindness? For the leprosy patient, blindness enhances his helplessness since he is robbed of his tactile ability as well. You need a lot of compassion to understand the feelings of those suffering from either of the two.

TB and blindness programmes require similar community efforts. With the socio-medical infrastructure in place for leprosy, the MALC could include these in its sphere of work.

Dr Ruth Pfau saw a rat nibbling the decayed foot of a leprosy patient who had lost sensation in his legs. That prompted her to “care for such patients” as she puts it.

What would you say about the case of a doctor in Umerkot who, reportedly, refused to touch a sanitary worker who was brought to the hospital in critical condition after inhaling gas in the gutter he was cleaning? The reason that was supposedly given was, “The man was covered with filth and I was fasting.”

Pakistan - Suharwardy and Bhutto

In utter desperation, the ruling PML-N is quoting the names of political heavyweights and former prime ministers (PMs) of Pakistan. Hussain Shaheed Suharwardy was the most popular leader of East Pakistan and was also Chief Minister of undivided Bengal. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto entered the political arena as a cabinet member of Iskander Mirza’s government and remained a part of the Ayub regime. Both PMs were barristers, orators and populist leaders who earned their political wings through struggle and sacrifice.

Ayub Khan’s EBDO (Elected Bodies Disqualification Ordinance) could not knock him out. He presented his own defence in the Military Tribunal and prevailed as no impropriety could be proven against him. Before he opened his defence he warned the nation with the following words, “A country cannot survive in which a Lt. Col. presides over the trial of a Prime Minister”. Thirteen years later Pakistan was dismembered. Suharwardy, after his exoneration, went into self-exile and started living in Beirut. Till his last breath, he remained the greatest threat to the establishment as he was upright, popular and able. His death remains a mystery till today. One morning he was found dead in a hotel where he was staying in the capital city of Lebanon.

Bhutto emerged from the shadows of the establishment, but like Suharwardy, he too launched an anti-establishment political party. He launched a movement against Ayub Khan which eventually toppled his government. Initially, he was not taken seriously by the establishment politicos. The progressives rallied around his socialist manifesto. In the first free and fair elections held in 1970, his Pakistan People’s Party won 81 out of 138 seats in West Pakistan while Suharwady’s Awami League under Mujib-ur-Rehman won 160 out of 162 seats in the Eastern Wing.

After the fall of the Bhutto government in 1977, General Zia targeted his party. Three individuals were shortlisted in Punjab. Mian Nawaz Sharif was one of them. While Pir Pagaro succeeded in getting the Prime Minister’s slot for his nominee Muhammad Khan Junejo, Zia managed to bag the Chief Minister Punjab’s position for Mian Sahib. There was no turning back. A Lahore based establishment goon had been launched. When Junejo tried to be his own man, Mian Sahib conspired with the dictator to topple him.

Then came the infamous IJI (Islami Jamahoori Ittehad) the brainchild of Lt Gen Hamid Gul, to knock out Benazir Bhutto in the 1990 elections. The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) has already ordered to punish the culprits, the decision remains un-implemented. Ishaq Khan, the ‘Baboo’ President promised the interim PM Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi continuation in office if elected, but Mian Sahib turned the tables and managed to take control of the government. By 1992, Mian Sahib had assumed complete control of the country and its largest province. Massive infrastructure projects were launched. While the large kickbacks were for the Sharif family, smaller benefits were left for the party and its workers at the cost of plunder of the nation’s resources. Today, PML-N has become a party of interests, it is no longer a political outfit as it claims.

Justice Asif Khosa has rightly mentioned the famous novel ‘The Godfather’ to describe the corruption of the Sharif clan. In Government College Lahore, Asif Khosa was a great debater. As a judge he has to listen more and speak less but when he talks the sparks still fly. Justice Gulzar is not too far behind in his assertions about the corruption of the royal family. From Gawalmandi to Model Town to Jatti Umra, the trail is evident. Both Suharwardy and Bhutto emerged through free and fair elections. They were backed by the power of the masses. Mian Sahib was launched through manipulated ballots and continues to win elections through questionable methods. Electoral reforms are crucial to determine the will of the people and to diffuse the unholy influence of PML-N over the administrative machinery. Biometric identification is vital and can be carried out with the assistance of NADRA and mobile telephone service providers. CCTV cameras can also be installed in all polling stations to record the entire electoral process.

After 1970, ten elections have been manipulated for desired results with 2013 being the latest. Elections in 2018 will be equally disputed unless massive electoral reforms are carried out. Only a leader who emerges with the power of the ballot can take on the establishment, Mian Sahib does not enjoy that grassroots support. Most PML-N workers are either paid employees of the party or the beneficiary of its policies of plunder. Politics of resistance is not their forte as was seen during the Musharraf era when Mian Sahib and his family were unable to force their homecoming.

The judicial murder of Bhutto was only possible after the Quaid-e-Awan had surrounded himself with status-quo politicians who were willing to jump the ship when it landed in troubled waters. Mian Sahib and his party of interests is not equipped to face the brewing storm. At best, he can gain time or appoint an interim PM to complete the term till next elections in 2018. There are trade-offs in both approaches. Time will allow them the opportunity to increase their loot but will also force electoral reforms which does not suit parties like PML-N. The nation still mourns the loss of leaders like Suharwardy and Bhutto. Suharwady could have saved Quaid’s Pakistan whose breakup he had predicted during his defence. Bhutto, during his mock trial wrote that Himalayas will cry if I am assassinated. It is interesting, the individuals who attacked him hiding behind the same mountains are now crying. Once they are knocked out of the political arena, there will be a sigh of relief. They will be remembered as an establishment nightmare that finally ended in the highest court of the country after tormenting the people of Pakistan for over three decades. More than ever before, the nation awaits the emergence of leaders like Hussain Shaheed Suharwardy and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto whose legacies are everlasting while it will be better off by getting rid of rulers like Nawaz Sharif and his brother.

Nawaz roadshow aimed at derailing system: Kaira

PPP Central Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira has said former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s road show is aimed at derailing the system, vowing his party will foil his attempt with the support of the masses.

Addressing media persons here yesterday, Kaira said Nawaz Sharif like a stubborn child wished to roll back the system in a situation when he had been caught red-handed before the apex court and the JIT in the Panama leaks case. “The former premier is severely criticising the Supreme Court, saying the decision against him was pre-planned and that the five men ousted a prime minister elected by millions of people. This attitude on the part of Nawaz Sharif is intolerable and amounts to sheer contempt of court,” he said, adding a prime minister had no right to use public mandate to commit corruption, forge documents, record false statements in a court and loot the public money.

The PPP leader heavily grilled Nawaz Sharif on his claim that his ouster from power was a conspiracy. He asked the former prime minister to come out with the name who conspired against him to get him out of power. “Whom are you showing street power? Have you still not learnt that you yourself are responsible for what has happened to you? You also moved similar cases against Imran Khan. Was it also not a conspiracy if the case against you was a conspiracy?” he questioned. He said Nawaz Sharif and his children were given the fullest opportunity before the Supreme Court and the JIT to defend the allegations, but they miserably failed as they did not have any proof and what they brought forth were fake, forged and fabricated documents. He asserted the upcoming NAB references were terrifying Nawaz Sharif as the real story was being disclosed through the same and the Sharifs wanted to prevent the NAB courts from doing anything against them. He said unlike the PPP leaders, the court had treated Nawaz Sharif leniently otherwise he and his children as well as relatives would have been in jail on the charges of committing forgery and recording false statements.

Kaira observed Nawaz Sharif’s road rally had failed to attract more than several thousand people. He alleged public funds had extravagantly been spent on the rally while this money would be shown as used for the preparations of the Independence Day celebrations. It was gross misuse of public funds and would be accounted for, he added. He also mentioned the chairmanship of Nawaz Sharif in the company of his son and said millions of pounds and dollars were transacted abroad to purchase scores of properties. “It is not a small offence which you committed,” he said addressing Nawaz Sharif.

Kaira strongly questioned the democratic credentials of Nawaz Sharif and said democracy for him meant his personal rule and use of state institutions as per his wishes as well as in his personal interest. It was, in fact, the PPP which always struggled for democracy while Nawaz Sharif had left the country along with his family after signing an agreement with the military dictator, he said, adding today when his theft had been traced out, he was crying for democracy and implementation of the Charter of Democracy. He asked the former prime minister why he had ignored the CoD and at whose behest he had moved the court on Memogate and got PPP Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani out of power. “You must realise your mistakes and apologise to the nation for all before seeking implementation of the CoD,” he advised Nawaz Sharif. Kaira said Nawaz Sharif was reaping what he sowed for others. He reminded Sharif that he was responsible for ousting a president, a chief justice and Benazir Bhutto in league with judges in his second stint in power.


http://nation.com.pk/newspaper-picks/10-Aug-2017/nawaz-roadshow-aimed-at-derailing-system-kaira

Bilawal Bhutto grieved over Dr Ruth Pfau’s death

Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has paid tributes to Dr. Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, the German-Pakistani lady for her life-long battle against leprosy since 1960 and expressed deep grief and sorrow over her demise today.

In his condolence message, the PPP Chairman said that Dr Ruth Pfau spent her life in serving the leprosy patients in Pakistan.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Pakistani nation is grateful Dr Pfau for dedicating her services to the people of this country adding she would be remembered by every Pakistani and our entire nation was her heir.

https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2017/08/10/bilawal-bhutto-grieved-over-dr-ruth-pfaus-death/