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Thursday, October 19, 2017

Days After Sentencing 3 Ahmadi Muslims To Death, Pakistan Wins UN Human Rights Seat

Kashif N Chaudhry

When posters abusing and calling for the social boycott of Ahmadi Muslims were plastered in a Pakistani village, four Ahmadis decided to remove them from their Mosque. In retrospect, it was a bad decision. Just five days ago, a Pakistani court handed three of them the death sentence for “blasphemy” (for tearing down “religious posters”). The fourth one? just a few days after his arrest, he was gunned down while in police custody.

Ms. Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, claimed Pakistan’s record of “promoting and protecting human rights” had been vindicated with the victory.

With the image of Pakistan in the world today, I felt a certain elated too. After all, Pakistan is my motherland. However, I know this election wasn’t remotely based on our human rights record. It pains me to admit that Pakistan has a depressing human rights record and is behind one of the worst religious apartheids of this age - the #AhmadiApartheid. Here is a snapshot: Denied Right to Self Identity: Pakistan continues to deny Ahmadi Muslims the basic right to self-identity. In 1974, then Prime Minister Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, in an attempt to appease right-wing religious extremists, amended the country’s constitution to declare the Ahmadi Muslims a non-Muslim minority. The Second Amendment was an unprecedented move in recent world history. With its passage, Pakistan became the first State — and remains the only one — to judge the faith (or lack thereof) of its citizens. Pakistan’s passport application requires all Pakistanis to condemn the Ahmadi Muslims to be eligible for a ‘Muslim’ passport.

Denied all Religious Freedom: The discriminatory Second Amendment resulted in further restrictions on religious freedom with President Zia’s promulgation of the anti-Ahmadi laws shortly thereafter in 1984. Known as the Ordinance XX, these laws criminalize the daily lives of Ahmadi Muslims and impose a three year jail term for Ahmadis guilty of ‘posing as Muslims’. Thousands of Ahmadis have been jailed under these opprobrious laws for ‘crimes’ such as praying, saying the salam (Muslim greeting), saying the Kalima (Islamic creed), reading the Quran etc. These laws are a violation of the UN Human Rights Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which Pakistan is a signatory.

Since the inception of these laws, over a hundred Ahmadiyya Mosques have either been sealed by the State, or burned down or forcibly taken over by extremist mobs.

Denied Freedom of Speech: Despite numerous attacks on Ahmadi Muslims (hundreds have been murdered since the passing of the anti-Ahmadi laws), not once has a representative of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community been invited to express the community’s views or state their grievances on air. And while the media regularly publishes and airs conspiracy stories that amount to hate speech and incite violence against the Ahmadis, the books published by the Ahmadiyya community are banned across the country. Numerous book-sellers and publishers have been jailed under the country’s blasphemy laws for hurting the “sentiment of the Muslims.”

Denied Right to Peaceful Assembly: While ‘Jihadist’ outfits are allowed to convene across Pakistan, the annual peace convention of the country’s Ahmadi Muslims has been banned since 1984. No government has lifted this ban since, despite repeated requests.

Denied Right to Vote: Ahmadi Muslims have been systematically disenfranchised for the last many decades and have been prevented from participating in the country’s electoral process. There was quite the anxiety recently in Pakistan when the clause that prevents Ahmadi Muslims from taking part in the electoral process was mistakenly omitted in the new electoral bill. The government was quick to issue an apology and reinstate the clause, assuring the right-wing majority that Ahmadi Muslims would remain disenfranchised.

Take this for an example: When Pakistan’s Foreign Minister was recently asked why he took a picture with an Ahmadi Muslim during his recent United States visit, Mr. Khawaja Asif had to apologize and promised never to repeat the offense again. “Now I always ask people about their faith first before I take pictures with them,” he said in apology. Ms. Maleeha Lodhi is no stranger to this bias herself. Earlier this year, Ms. Lodhi deleted her tweet congratulating Mahershala Ali on his Oscar victory after finding out about his Ahmadi faith.

Pakistan’s attitude and its support of the discriminatory anti-Ahmadi laws is not fading by any measure. Pakistan’s Law Minister, Mr. Rana Sanaullah, recently reassured the country’s right-wing majority that Ahmadi Muslims will remain second class citizens until they voluntarily denounced their self-identity. In other words, the rights of Ahmadi Muslims were conditional to them denouncing their faith and identity.

“It is our duty to protect minorities of the country but for the Ahmadis, they will first have to stop claiming to be Muslims. There is no other way around it.” (Rana Sanaullah, Pakistan’s Law Minister, October 13, 2017)

This is not what Pakistan started as. Pakistan was founded on the very premise of minority rights protection. The founder of the country promised religious freedom, equal rights to all, and complete separation of State and Mosque.

“You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the State.” (Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s first Presidential Address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, August 11, 1947)

Pakistan’s persecution of Ahmadi Muslims is therefore a betrayal of the very founding values of the country.

Now that Pakistan has won a seat in the UN Human Rights Council, I hope the world will hold it to a higher standard and call for the repeal of the discriminatory Second amendment and the apartheid anti-Ahmadi laws. That would be the real victory for human rights, and for Pakistan.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/days-after-sentencing-three-ahmadi-muslims-to-death_us_59e28ba7e4b09e31db97599d

Nawaz Sharif, ousted Pakistani prime minister, indicted on corruption charges

By Shaiq Hussain and Antonio Olivo

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was indicted Thursday over allegations of corruption, the latest setback for the deposed leader who remains one of the most popular politicians in Pakistan.

Sharif, 67, was ousted from power in July by the country’s Supreme Court after months of hearings on the corruption charges. He and his family stand accused of using offshore holding companies to buy luxury properties in London, charges stemming from the Panama Papers leaks in 2016.

Sharif — who was not in court — sent a plea of not guilty. His daughter Maryam and her husband, Muhammad Safdar, were also named in the indictment by the anti-corruption court.

“You tell me if this is justice or murder of justice,” Sharif told reporters in London on Thursday, where he is staying with his wife while she undergoes treatment for cancer.

“I think that if our justice system continues like this then we will get nothing but embarrassment,” he was quoted as saying by the Geo News channel in Pakistan.

Sharif’s supporters claim he is the target of high-level conspiracies that include the country’s powerful military. But Sharif decided last summer to step down rather than try to cling to power — quashing concerns about a possible military intervention in the nuclear-armed country of 180 million.

Sharif had returned to Pakistan earlier to face the charges and is expected to fly back from London by Sunday to prepare for the trial, which is set to open next week.

The five-member court’s findings — and now the indictment — give a powerful boost to Pakistan’s major opposition leader, former cricket star Imran Khan, 64, who brought the case against Sharif in the Supreme Court more than a year ago.

Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League party hopes to counteract that momentum by showing party unity in the face of the political scandal.

“Nawaz Sharif is bravely facing all these false cases, he hasn't run away from facing the courts and he will come out victorious,” said Zafar ul Haq, a Pakistani senator who is also a senior leader of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League party.

The case stemmed from the disclosure of the so-called Panama Papers, which included leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm that implicated leaders of several foreign countries, including Pakistan, in shady financial dealings. The trial means possible jail time for Sharif if found guilty.

After the indictment, Maryam Nawaz vowed to fight the charges, which she called “a travesty of justice and a mockery of justice.”

“I refuse to accept the charges,” Nawaz told reporters outside the federal courthouse. “We are being denied a fundamental right to justice. I plead not guilty.”

No Pakistani prime minister has completed a full term since the country’s founding in 1947. Sharif had served as prime minister twice in the 1990s.

Sharif repeatedly denied the charges during the Supreme Court proceedings, but offered varying and sometimes contradictory explanations as to how he and his family had financed various properties, especially a group of luxury apartments in London.

During the Supreme Court hearings, a senior justice excoriated Sharif and his family for engaging in “mafia”-like financial dealings.

Pakistan - Bilawal Bhutto inaugurates second state-of-the-art satellite centre of NICVD

Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has appreciated the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD Karachi) for setting a precedent by providing free of charge quality care to its patients without any distinction.

Inaugurating the second satellite centre of NICVD Karachi in Tando Muhammad Khan on Thursday, Bilawal said facility established in collaboration with the Sindh government was in consonance with PPP’s policy aimed at providing quality healthcare facilities to the masses at their doorstep, according to a statement issued here.

He said that this collaboration had done wonders in Karachi through the inception of free of cost cardiac treatment to the inhabitants of the metropolis.

“It is heartening to see that they are now fast on their way to initiate major cardiac facility for both adults and children in comparatively smaller towns of the province,” said the PPP chairman.

The services, including provision for interventional cardiology, will be of huge comfort for the natives of Tando Muhammad Khan and its peripheries, he said, acknowledging that in following months there would be more such centres with comprehensive heart care facilities in the province.

Bilawal on the occasion particularly appreciated doctors and other personnel associated with NICVD for getting materialised the vision of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.

The inaugural ceremony of the NICVD’s second State-of-the-Art Satellite Centre at TM Khan was also attended by Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah, Health Minister Sindh Dr Sikandar Ali Mandhro, Health Secretary Sindh Dr Fazlullah Pechuho, NICVD trustees and others.

Asif Zardari asks party ticket holders to start preparations

Pakistan Peoples Party’s ticket holders from Lahore Division called on former President of Pakistan and President Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House Lahore.

Former Prime Ministers Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Mian Manzoor Wattoo, Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, Chaudhry Islam Gil, Rana Farooq Saeed Khan and Rana Shahjahan were also present during this meeting.

Asif Ali Zardari asked about the political situation in their constituencies from these ticket holders and instructed them to start preparations for next General Elections and in this regard begin trainings for polling agents.

He said that party workers should continue working till the announcement of results of their polling stations. He said that Party has provided a young leadership in Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to the nation and Bilawal will hold public gathering all over Pakistan. He also said that Party has valiant and dedicated workers and no other party can claim this in Pakistan.

Pir of Taunsa Sharif Khawaja Ataullah Khan Taunsvi also called on former President Zardari.

Former PML-N provincial minister from Swat Dost Muhammad Khan and a PML-N office holder from Swat Rohail Amin called on former President Zardari and announced joining PPP. Former Deputy Speaker National Assembly Haji Nawaz Khokhar was also present on the occasion.

Corruption cannot be ended till farmers and labourers continue to be exploited: Bilawal Bhutto

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday launched a fresh tirade against Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan, saying their “politics would turn into ruins” but not Sindh.

“Whenever Mian sahib [Nawaz Sharif] and Khan sahib [Imran Khan] come to visit Sindh, they claim it presents the picture of ruins … Let me tell you, Sindh won’t be ruined but your politics would be,” Bilawal said while addressing a public rally in Hyderabad to mark the 10th anniversary of Karsaz tragedy in Karachi.

Speaking to party workers, office-bearers and the general public, he said that the PPP had faced challenged ever since its inception. He said that after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged, Benazir Bhutto and Nusrat Bhutto took charge of the party and proved the dictators wrong.

He said that on one hand was the PPP, while on the other was the politics nurtured by dictators.

He said that politics was not the name of mud slinging. He criticised the stance of Imran Khan, saying there were some politicians who had not yet come out of the cricket ground.

“These people use corruption as a mere slogan. But corruption cannot be ended till farmers and labourers continue to be exploited,” he added.

The PPP chairman also criticised the motorway constructed under the rule of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. “Your so-called motorway has so far claimed hundreds of lives.”

On October 18, 2007, around 200 people were killed and over 500 others injured when two blasts ripped through the homecoming procession of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

The PPP chairman paid homage to the martyrs of Karsaz blast, saying it was people’s love for Benazir Bhutto that saved her in the attack, but enemies were after her.

He lauded the courage of those who “did not run away after the first attack but instead rushed towards their leader, Benazir Bhutto, and embraced martyrdom in the second blast”

Imran opposes rights of women, claims Bilawal Bhutto

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan opposes the rights of women.

“My reservations are with Imran’s policies,” Bilawal said as he spoke at the media after attending a Deepawali ceremony.

The PPP Chairman added that he has no personal differences with the Imran.

He further added that democracy can’t survive without accountability, and claimed that Imran’s fate will be similar to that of Asghar Khan, the founder of Tehreek-e-Istiqlal who was placed under a five-year long house arrest after General Zia postponed the elections in 1979.

Bilawal Bhutto extends heartiest felicitations to Hindu communities on eve of festivities of #Diwali

Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has extended heartiest felicitations to the Hindu communities on the eve of the festivities of Diwali in Pakistan and the world over.

In a message on festival, the PPP Chairman said that Diwali heralds the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. “PPP stands for equality and harmony. Being citizens of Pakistan, the Hindu communities are free to celebrate their religious festivals with full enthusiasim and fervor,” he added.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari assured that all the non-Muslims in Pakistan are entitled to equal rights and opportunities under the unanimous Constitution of our nation gifted by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2017/10/19/bilawal-bhutto-zardari-extends-heartiest-felicitations-to-hindu-communities-on-eve-of-festivities-of-diwali/