Tuesday, December 28, 2021
#Pakistan - #Balochistan: Where Promising Cakes Doesn’t Work Anymore – OpEd
By Nilesh Kunwar
After he came to power in 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan told Balochis that the “Centre will work with Balochistan as a partner,” and assured them that “We will not make any such promise for which we may have to excuse later on.” On National Minority Day a day earlier, Khan publicly admitted that “Balochistan is impoverished [since] Pakistan has always neglected the region.” Though it’s no secret that the people of Balochistan have been historically marginalised by the country’s powerful Punjab lobby and brutalised by Pakistan Army, Islamabad has never admitted this earlier.
So, when Khan reiterated that the future of Pakistan was linked with that of Balochistan and announced his willingness to talk with Balochi insurgents, his willingness to undo the wrongs of the past expectedly raised a lot of hopes amongst Balochis. There was another compelling reason why the people of Balochistan had high expectations from him- before becoming Prime Minister, Khan had been vocally quite critical of Pakistan army’s horrific excesses and atrocities in Balochistan.
His Khan’s concern for the pitiful condition of Balochis is apparent from an undated video in which he can be heard saying, “Our Army bombing people in Balochistan, how can we bomb our own people?” Not only this, he even said, “It is our own people with their children, but it is important to understand are we just bombing out people, just think about the immorality of bombing villages with the women and children.” So, the oppressed Balochis genuinely believed that after becoming Prime Minister, the cricketer turned politician would walk his talk.
However, while Khan’s assurances fooled the people of Balochistan for two years, his pretence finally crumbled in November when thousands of Balochis in Gwadar city took to the streets in response to a call from Jamaat-i-Islami [JI] leader Maulana Hidayatur Rehman. Initially, while the government tried to play down this massive protest, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian dismissed reports of this humungous protest as “fake news” aimed at maligning China-Pakistan Economic Corridor [CPEC] project.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin claimed that “China-Pakistan Gwadar Faqeer Middle School, the vocational training institute in Gwadar, and China-Pakistan Fraternity Emergency Care Center in Gwadar, which have been completed, have played important roles in and made China’s contributions to creating education opportunities, improving employment skills and responding to COVID-19 for the benefit of the local people.” He also said that “… all CPEC projects including the Gwadar Port will, play a more positive part in improving people’s livelihood in both countries.”
But with large scale protests continuing for a month, it’s patently clear that while Khan was just making false promises, Beijing was issuing blatantly fallacious statements. So, while the Gwadar Port development project is being touted as the “crown” of the ambitious USD 60 billion CPEC project that would boost infrastructural development as well as provide employment to locals on a large scale, what was actually happening on ground was just the opposite. So, the Gwadar protest was both justified as well as expected.While a series of check posts has made movement of locals in the area a nightmare, security reasons are being cited to prevent fishermen from venturing into the sea. Resultantly, while local traders and commuters are facing severe hardships livelihood of fishermen is being adversely impacted. At the same time, Chinese nationals are moving around freely in Gwadar while Chinese trawlers are having a field day fishing merrily in Pakistani waters. The very fact that the government has accepted 19 demands made by protesters makes it absolutely clear that Islamabad was being grossly unfair to the people of Balochistan.
The tragedy of Balochistan is two-fold- one, its illegally occupation by Pakistan, and two, the step-motherly treatment meted out by successive governments. Yet, it goes to the credit of Balochis that they never had secession on their minds- until they were forced to consider this option, thanks to Pakistan army’s reign of terror. Balochistan is today inextricably associated with Balochis being abducted, tortured, killed and their corpses simply dumped. The top ten results of Google search for “kill and dump policy” will be about Balochistan!
In his illuminating piece titled ‘The rise of Maulana’ that appeared in ‘Dawn’ on December 1, Muhammad Akbad Notezai quotes JI leader Hidayat-ur-Rehman as saying “There are two main demands in our protest: first, our respect; second, joblessness. Our source of livelihood and employment in the name of security, via fishing, trade, and other businesses have become ruined. In a nutshell, we want our very own employment that has been snatched from us in the wake of development and security, not the one from you to be given to us.”
The important thing to note here is that the people of Gwadar haven’t fallen for the much-hyped claim that CPEC will be a “game changer” and usher in prosperity, being peddled by Beijing and Islamabad. Balochis are quite happy and content with their traditional sources of livelihood and all they want is a fair share of the income accrued from sale of its mineral resources. It also wants that seurity forces should treat them with due respect and dignity.
However, there is a problem.
Khan is openly pandering to Chinese interests as evident from his priorities. Even when public discontentment in Gwadar was palpable, rather than address concerns of the locals, Khan was busy assuring a Chinese business delegation of support “on a priority basis,” and bending backwards by saying that Pakistan is “grateful to them for their keen interest in accelerating their investment in special economic zones.”
Similarly, Pakistan army and other security agencies under its command hold Balochis in utter contempt and views them as terrorists. Therefore, the chances that the people of Gwadar would be treated with respect may be difficult to ensure at grass root levels.
What should concern Islamabad is that though spearheaded by a JI cleric, the Gwadar protest isn’t a movement inspired or spurred by religious considerations. Au contraire, it’s a campaign for ensuring that Balochis are given basic amenities guaranteed by Constitution of Pakistan and that Pakistan army ends its highhandedness and unlawful actions. The Gwadar protests also highlights the phenomenal rise in regional and ethnic prejudices within Pakistan that are compelling several minority communities to unite and in an act of self-preservation, raise their voices against Islamabad’s discriminatory treatment.
The writing on the wall is clear. Pakistanis can no longer be fooled by hollow promises of a bright future or unimaginable riches and prosperity. So, offering cakes to the economically weak who struggle to by bread will no longer work and thus, Khan has no other option but to act. However, whether he will be able to take the bull by its horns and make Chinese commercial interests in CPEC subservient to those of his own countrymen, remains a million dollar question.
https://www.eurasiareview.com/27122021-balochistan-where-promising-cakes-doesnt-work-anymore-oped/
#Pakistan - #BenazirBhutto - Benazir Bhutto’s murder still remains a ‘mystery’
At least 20 party workers were killed and 71 others were seriously injured in the attack on the former premier. In the aftermath of the incident, four inquiries were conducted into the high-profile case with the police joint investigation team (JIT), the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the United Nations (UN) and Scotland Yard striving to solve the matter. However, these inquiries and investigations yielded no results as the Bhutto family did not pursue the case in the special anti-terrorism court (ATC), the TV channel reported.
A total of 12 challans were filed in this case, 355 appearances were recorded, 10 judges were changed and 141 witnesses, including 68 prosecution witnesses, testified. 16 people were accused in the case, but only eight of them were arrested. The main accused, Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a drone strike. Five other accused – Nadir Khan alias Qari, Nasrullah, Abdullah alias Saddam, Ikramullah, Faiz Muhammad Kaskat – were also killed in encounters with intelligence agencies at different places.
The suicide bomber who attacked the former prime minister was identified as Saeed Blakel, who died in the blast. The police arrested five accused Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman, Rashid Ahmed, Rafaqat and Hasnain Gul, and dumped the debris on them.
The FIA also arrested the then-president General (r) Pervez Musharraf, former city police officer (CPO) Saud Aziz and superintendent (SP) Rawal Khurram Shehzad as accused in the case. However, they were later granted bail by the high court.
On August 31, 2017, Judge Muhammad Asghar Khan of the special ATC pronounced the verdict in the Adiala Jail after nine years, acquitting five accused, and declaring Musharraf as a fugitive on absenteeism, and issued permanent arrest warrants, besides confiscating his movable and immovable property.
Meanwhile, police officers – deputy inspector general (DIG) Saud Aziz and SP Khurram Shehzad – were sentenced to a total of 17 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs1 million each for destroying evidence and breach of security. However, three months later, the high court suspended the sentences and released the two officers from jail. The CPO is now retired while the SP has now been promoted to the rank of DIG.
Appeals of the accused and plaintiffs have been pending in LHC’s Rawalpindi bench for over four years, and are expected to be heard in the last week of February 2022.
Former president Asif Ali Zardari has filed an appeal in the high court against the acquittal of the five accused in the case, and has sought to increase the sentences of both the police officers and to initiate trial against Musharraf in his absence.
The FIA has also filed appeals against the acquittal of the five accused while the convicted police officers have filed appeals against the sentences.
The three acquitted accused Aitzaz Shah, Sherzaman and Rafaqat have been released from jail. Meanwhile, two accused Rasheed Ahmed and Hasnain Gul are still locked up in Adiala Jail on various charges.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/860585/benazir-bhuttos-murder-still-remains-a-mystery/
Many questions about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto - Unsolved and unhealed
Many questions about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, a two time prime minister, on December 27, 2007, remain unanswered.
The assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, one of the most tragic incidents in the history of Pakistan, is still shrouded in a confusing cobweb of mysteries. Official investigation of the crime was marred by two glaring oversights: one, lack of a post mortem examination; and two, the hurried hosing down of the crime scene by the police. Both are understood to have destroyed evidence that could be vital to investigation and prosecution of the most high-profile murder case in Pakistan’s political history.
This article is about the washing of the crime scene, which later gave rise to a host of conspiracy theories. After so many years, the question remains: why was the crime scene washed away in such a hurry? According to police record, the crime scene was washed only about an hour and half after the attack that killed the Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson.
On December 27, 2007, Benazir Bhutto’s cavalcade was attacked by a suicide bomber while it was slowly coming out of Liaqat Bagh, the venue of her last public meeting. As a result, 25 people, including Benazir Bhutto, were killed and more than 100 others were injured. DIG Saud Aziz, the city police officer, visited the scene shortly after the fatal explosion. Along with the Operations chief, SSP Yaseen Farooq, he then left for Rawalpindi General Hospital where Benazir Bhutto had been rushed for treatment. SP Khurram Shahzad, DSP Rana Shahid and Inspector Kashif Riaz, the SHO, remained at the crime scene. When Benazir Bhutto was declared dead, SP Khurram Shahzad grew apprehensive that the sight of blood at the crime scene could enrage PPP workers and the general public, who might resort to violence. He shared this fear with the CPO, who gave the permission to wash the scene once the SP and his team were satisfied with the collection of evidence. Dr A Rehman of 1122 then went ahead with the actual washing on the instructions of SP Khurram Shahzad.
Questions were raised later on the ‘hasty’ washing of the scene and the improper collection of evidence from there. Reports by the UN Commission and the Scotland Yard team expressed dissatisfaction on both counts. The UN Commission report said: “Hosing of the crime scene and the failure to collect and preserve evidence inflicted irreparable damage to the investigation”. The Scotland Yard reported that “the opportunity of a thorough forensic examination was lost”.
Importantly, a rumour then spread that the Rawalpindi CPO had ordered the washing of the crime scene at the behest of the then Military Intelligence director, Maj Gen Nadeem Ijaz. The UN Commission Report quoted a source as saying that the CPO had received a call from Army Headquarters to hose down the crime scene. Another source told the UN team that the MI chief had passed on these instructions to the CPO, directly or through some junior officer. However, the DG denied having given any such instructions. The CPO too refuted this allegation. It was, however, confirmed that personnel of intelligence agencies were present at the time of collection of evidence from the crime scene. The Rawalpindi MI head had also visited the crime scene at the time.
Questions were later raised over the hasty washing of the crime scene and the improper collection of evidence. The UN Commission and the Scotland Yard reports expressed dissatisfaction with these aspects of investigation.
The CPO and other police officers reportedly claimed that hosing down the crime scene was standard procedure in Rawalpindi once sufficient evidence had been collected from the crime scene. They said it was considered prudent to wash it to avoid reaction from the furious party workers or the general public. Some officials said that the then ASP Ashfaq Anwar and DSP Rana Shahid were not in favour of washing the scene.
Three former inspectors general of police and two former additional IGs said, however, that the hurried hosing of the crime scene raised suspicion.
One of them stated that the crime scene needed to be preserved for a “reasonable period.” He said an investigation officer may have to visit it for a second time, even several times to collect more evidence in light of information they got from the witnesses or other sources. The officers denied that washing of the crime scene was a standard practice. Earlier, crime scenes had been preserved for several days following the two attempts on Gen Musharraf’s life in Rawalpindi.
Lawyer Najib Faisal Chaudhry says that though there was no specific law setting a timeframe for the preservation of the crime scene, all evidence had to be preserved. “Section 25.10 of Police Rules demands all possible steps to preserve the crime scene, to record particulars of and secure the presence of potential evidence,” he says. He adds that in high profile cases, a prolonged preservation may be necessary because it may not be possible to collect all evidence in one go. He finds it strange that the crime scene was washed within two hours.
Furthermore, under the rules the investigation officer or the investigation team examine and collect the evidence. In this particular case, this was done by the police officers on duty. Inspector Kashif Riaz was tasked with the collection of evidence and making the recoveries and recording those. As per record, SP Tahir Ayub, the then in charge of investigation, was not part of the process of collection of evidence and preservation of the crime scene. This, later, became a handicap for the investigation teams.
SP Khurram Shahzad was the supervisory officer on duty at the Liaqat Bagh jalsa under the supervision of SSP Yaseen Farooq, in charge of Operations. However, SP Khurram Shahzad talked to the CPO directly and the Operations SSP was not consulted regarding the decision to hose down the crime scene. The SSP, therefore, was not aware of the sufficiency or thoroughness of evidence collection from the crime scene.
The police officers’ claim of collection of “all available evidence” from the crime scene was to prove incorrect later. Two days after the incident, a Special Investigation Group (SIG) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) carried out another inspection of the crime scene and recovered a bullet casing from a drain that matched the pistol used in the attack that had been recovered on the day of occurrence. Khalid Qureshi, the then SIG director, reportedly claimed that the team had also recovered a few pellets from the scene and a part of a skull bone from the roof of a nearby building. A former FIA director general confirmed the recovery of the .30 bullet casing and pellets but not the recovery of a skull bone. Strangely, the SIG did not issue a formal crime scene report.
The police officers’ apprehensions of violence by an enraged mob were also misplaced considering a large number of policemen were available to ensure the maintenance of law and order.
DSP Sultan Mehmood and Inspector Adul Sattar and the Waris Khan SHO had been deployed along with their force comprising more than 50 personnel to cordon the crime scene. Later inquiries confirmed that no violence took place in the vicinity and force was not used against any crowd or group of protestors at the spot. There were some small protests in front of the hospital and at Murree Road but none at or around the crime scene.
Usually, an SOS call is given over wireless for additional force to tackle such situations. There is no record of wireless communication testifying to the claim that a crowd was seen around the crime scene. Had it been so, the Operations SSP and the Investigation SP as well as other senior police officers would have played their roles. Why did the CPO and the SP communicate over the phone, instead of using the wireless system?
On August 31, 2017, an anti-terrorism court declared Gen Musharraf, the former president, a fugitive in the Benazir Bhutto case. Citing a lack of substantial evidence, it acquitted five suspected Pakistani Taliban of conspiracy to murder. Two senior police officers were, however, sentenced to 17 years in prison: one for mishandling security at the rally and the other for mishandling the crime scene. Both were subsequently exonerated and released.
Senior and seasoned police officers, retired and serving, have raised eyebrows over the handling of the case. The observations of the UN Commission Report were not followed up in terms of ascertaining whether the CPO had ordered the hurried washing of the site by himself or under instructions.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/919469-unsolved-and-unhealed
Monday, December 27, 2021
بینظیر بھٹو کی 14 ویں برسی - ڈاکٹر مرزا اختیار بیگ
ماہِ دسمبر پاکستان کیلئے نہایت دکھ اور رنج و الم کا مہینہ ہے جس میں سقوط ڈھاکہ، سانحہ آرمی پبلک اسکول اور بینظیر بھٹو کی شہادت جیسے دلخراش واقعات پیش آئے۔ زندہ قومیں ملک کی قسمت بدلنے والے لیڈروں کو ہمیشہ یاد رکھتی ہیں۔ اللّٰہ تعالیٰ نے پاکستان کو بھی قائداعظم محمد علی جناح کے بعد شہید ذوالفقار علی بھٹو اور بینظیر بھٹو جیسے عظیم لیڈرز عطا کئے۔ میرا اور میری فیملی کا شہید بینظیر بھٹو سے قریبی تعلق رہا ہے۔ گزشتہ ہفتے پیپلزپارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری اور سابق وزیراعظم یوسف رضا گیلانی سے ملاقات ہوئی جس میں ہم نے شہید بینظیر بھٹو کے ساتھ گزارے یادگاری واقعات پر گفتگو کی جو آج میں شہید بینظیر بھٹو کی 14ویں برسی پر شیئر کرنا چاہوں گا۔ شہید بینظیر بھٹوسے میری پہلی ملاقات 1994ء میں سائٹ ایسوسی ایشن ایوارڈ کی تقریب میں ہوئی جس میں انہوں نے مجھے صنعتوں کی بحالی پرایوارڈ دیا تھا۔ بعد میں محترمہ کی درخواست پر میں انہیں بیمار صنعتوں کی بحالی، ملکی معیشت اور توانائی کے بحران پر مختلف تجاویز دیتا رہا جس کی بناء پر مجھے ان کی قربت حاصل ہوئی، وہ مجھے اپنے ساتھ برطانیہ، کوریا، اسپین، مراکش، ترکمانستان اور دیگر کئی ممالک کے سرکاری دوروں پر وفاقی وزراء کے ہمراہ لے کرگئیں۔ بی بی عموماً اپنے خصوصی طیارے کی روانگی کے بعد وفد کے ارکان کو فرداً فرداً بلاکر ان کی تجاویز اپنے دورے کے ایجنڈے میں شامل کرتی تھیں۔
2002ء کے الیکشن میں شہید بینظیر بھٹو نے مجھے کراچی کے قومی اسمبلی کے حلقہ NA-250 سے پیپلزپارٹی کے ٹکٹ پر الیکشن لڑنے کیلئے کہا جو میری سیاسی زندگی کا آغاز تھا۔ بی بی نے مجھے پیپلز بزنس فورم اور سفارتی تعلقات عامہ کی کمیٹی فارن لائژن کی ذمہ داریاں دیں۔ میں دبئی میں جلاوطنی کے دوران محترمہ کے قریب رہا۔ ہم نے اپنے برطانوی پارلیمنٹ کے ممبرز اور وزیراعظم ٹونی بلیئر سے پاکستان میں جمہوریت کی بحالی کیلئے بینظیر بھٹو کی وطن واپسی کی حمایت حاصل کی اوربالآخر بینظیر بھٹو نے 18اکتوبر 2007ء کو وطن واپسی کا اعلان کیا۔ محترمہ کی کراچی واپسی ہم سب کیلئے خوشی کے ساتھ ایک چیلنج تھا کہ ہم کس طرح ان کا شایان شان استقبال کریں۔ میں استقبالیہ کمیٹی میں شامل تھا اور دنیا نے دیکھا کہ بلاول ہائوس کا میرا حلقہ NA-250محترمہ کی خوبصورت قدآور تصاویرسے شاندار طریقے سے سجایا گیا تھا۔میں نے الیکشن اور بی بی کے استقبال کی مصروفیات کی بناء پر اپنے بھائی اشتیاق بیگ کو بی بی کے ہمراہ دبئی سے کراچی آنے کیلئے بھیجا۔ وطن واپسی پر بینظیر بھٹو نے طیارے سے اترتے وقت میری پی پی الیکشن کیپ نہ صرف خود پہنی ہوئی تھی بلکہ طیارے میں سوار دیگر رہنمائوں کو بھی یہ کیپ پہننے کا کہا تھا جسے دنیا بھر کے چینلز نے دکھایا۔
کراچی میںمحترمہ نے اپنے کاغذات نامزدگی جمع کراتے وقت الیکشن آفس میں ہنگامے کے بعد واپسی پر بلاول ہائوس میں ایک اہم میٹنگ کی جس میں میرے علاوہ شیری رحمن، رضا ربانی اور دیگر اہم پارٹی رہنما بھی شریک تھے۔ اس موقع پر میں نے محترمہ کو مشورہ دیا کہ سیکورٹی کے پیش نظر ہمیں الیکشن کمیشن سے آپ کی ذاتی حاضری سے استثنیٰ حاصل کرنا چاہئے۔ اس سلسلے میں، میں نے الیکشن کمیشن کے سیکریٹری سے رابطہ کرکے بینظیر بھٹو کی الیکشن کمیشن میں ذاتی حاضری سے استثنیٰ حاصل کیا تاہم رحمٰن ملک نے مجھے الیکشن کمیشن سے تحریری اجازت نامہ لینے کا مشورہ دیا۔ اتوار ہونے کے باوجود کنور دلشاد نے تحریری اجازت نامہ بلاول ہائوس فیکس کیا، جسے میں نے فخریہ انداز میں محترمہ کو پیش کیا۔ انہوں نے اجازت نامہ دیکھ مجھے Welldone کہا۔ اس موقع پر وہاں موجود ذوالفقار مرزا نےازراہِ تفنن محترمہ سے کہا۔ ’’میڈم! ایسے کام صرف ’’مرزا ‘‘ہی کرسکتے ہیں۔‘‘ محترمہ نے جواب میں کہا۔’’نہیں صرف ’’بیگ ‘‘کرسکتے ہیں۔‘‘ محترمہ کی تعریف میرے لئے کسی اعزاز سے کم نہ تھی۔ محترمہ نے لندن کے پارٹی اجلاس میں 2008ء کے الیکشن میں مجھے دوبارہ قومی اسمبلی کے حلقہ NA-250کا پارٹی ٹکٹ دیا اور بی بی اور نواز شریف کی خواہش پر مشترکہ امیدوار نامزد کیا گیا جبکہ مجھے اے این پی، جے یو آئی اور سنی تحریک کی بھی حمایت حاصل تھی۔
شام کو میرے قریبی دوست فرخ مظہر نے اپنی رہائش گاہ پر میری انتخابی کارنر میٹنگ رکھی تھی۔ میں نے جیسے ہی اپنی تقریر شروع کی، تھوڑی دیر میں آغا خان اسپتال کے ڈاکٹر مختار بھٹو بھاگتے ہوئے میرے پاس آئے اور روتے ہوئے بتایا کہ سب کچھ ختم ہوگیا۔ میں اپنے دوست فرخ مظہر کے ساتھ ان کے ڈرائنگ روم کی طرف بھاگا جہاں ٹی وی پر ہمیں یہ اندوہناک خبر سننے کو ملی کہ بینظیر بھٹو کو شہید کردیا گیا۔ یہ دلخراش خبر سنتے ہی میں سیدھا بلاول ہائوس پہنچاجہاں پیپلزپارٹی کے سینٹرز اور قومی و صوبائی اسمبلیوں کے امیدوار بڑی تعداد میں جمع تھے اور اپنی عظیم لیڈر سے بچھڑ جانے پر ایک دوسرے کے گلے لگ کر زار و قطار رو رہے تھے۔ ہمیں یقین نہیں آرہا تھا کہ بینظیر بھٹو ہمیشہ کیلئےہمیں چھوڑ گئی ہیں۔ بینظیر بھٹو کی شہادت کے کئی روز بعد اُن کے بلیک بیری فون سے شریک چیئرمین آصف زرداری کا ایک میسج آیا کہ ’’شہید بی بی کے آخری پیغامات میں آپ کو کیا گیا یہ ایس ایم ایس بھی شامل ہے۔‘‘
"Are you happy, now you must win this seat, good luck"
میں تصور بھی نہیں کرسکتا تھا کہ بی بی سے یہ میری آخری گفتگو ہوگی۔میں NA-250سے الیکشن جیت گیا تھا لیکن پیپلزپارٹی کی ایم کیو ایم کے ساتھ اتحادی حکومت بنانے کی وجہ سے زرداری صاحب نے دوبارہ گنتی ہونے اور میرے جیتنے کے باوجود مجھے اس نشست سے دستبردار ہونے کا کہا جس کا اعتراف یوسف رضا گیلانی نے حالیہ ملاقات میں کیا اور اس کا مجھے آج بھی افسوس ہے۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/1029454
بے مثل، بینظیر - خورشید شاہ
محترمہ بے نظیر بھٹو شہید کو عالم اسلام کی پہلی خاتون وزیر اعظم ہونے کا شرف حاصل ہے اور یہ مقام انہوں نے سیاسی تدبر، جہدِ مسلسل اور عظیم قائدانہ صلاحیتوں کی بدولت حاصل کیا۔
عوام، جمہوریت، انسانی حقوق، دفاعِ وطن اور آئینِ پاکستان کے لئے ان کی خدمات پر جب بھی کوئی مفکر ، صحافی اور دانشور قلم اٹھائے گا تو وہ سیاسی، آئینی، دفاعی، معاشرتی اور معاشی میدان میں محترمہ کی خدمات کو سنہری حروف میں درج کرے گا۔ مجھے فخر ہے کہ میں نے ذوالفقار علی بھٹو شہید، محترمہ بے نظیر بھٹو شہید کی قیادت میں جمہوری جدوجہد کی۔
ان کے قافلے کے دیگر قائدین کے شانہ بشانہ کام کیا اور سر زمین پاکستان کے عوام کی سربلندی اور حقوق کیلئے آواز بلند کی۔ مجھے فخر ہے کہ عوام اور جمہوریت کیلئے اپنی جان قربان کرنے والا ہمارا اولین اور عظیم رہنما شہید ذوالفقار علی بھٹو تھا۔
ان کے بعد ان کی بیٹی شہید محترمہ بے نظیر بھٹو نے پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے پلیٹ فارم سے عوام کی خدمت کا بیڑہ اٹھایا اور ملک اور عوام کیلئے جدوجہد اور خدمت کی نئی اور درخشندہ مثالیں قائم کیں۔ اور آخرکار اپنے عوام کیلئے جمہوریت، حقوق اور انصاف کی جنگ لڑتے ہوئے ستائیس دسمبر دو ہزار سات کو لیاقت باغ راولپنڈی میں عوام کے درمیان اپنی جان قربان کردی۔
اگر آج ہم جمہوریت اور جمہوریت سے وابستہ امنگوں کے عہد میں زندہ ہیں اور طاقت کے ایوان اگر آج عوام کے منتخب نمائندوں کی سیاسی دسترس میں ہیں تو اس کا کریڈٹ شہید ذوالفقار علی بھٹو اور محترمہ شہید بے نظیر بھٹو کو جاتا ہے۔ جنہوں نے ماضی کے مطلق العنان آمروں اور غاصبوں کے شکنجے سے اقتدار واپس لیکر عوام کی جھولی میں ڈالا۔
پیپلز پارٹی کے عظیم رہنماؤں اور کارکنوں نے اپنی جانوں کا نذرانہ دے کر یہ کارنامہ سر انجام دیا۔ آج محترمہ بے نظیر بھٹو کی برسی کے موقع پر ہم فخر سے یہ بات کہہ رہے ہیں کہہ انہوں نے ضیا الحق جیسے آمرِ مطلق اور پھر پرویز مشرف ایسے ڈکٹیٹر کا ڈٹ کر مقابلہ کیا اور عوام کے غصب شدہ حقوق ان کو واپس دلائے۔
تاریخ نے یہ بھی دیکھا کہ مشکلات کے دور میں مرد آہن، شیر ببر اور بے باک لیڈر اور اس طرح کے القابات رکھنے والوں نے پارٹی سے راہیں جدا کر لیں اور مشکل وقت میں بیرون ملک فرار ہو گئے یا پارٹی سے دوری اختیار کر لی۔
مگر سلام ہے محترمہ بے نظیر بھٹو کی جرات اور عظمت کو جو کسی جابر اور آمر کے آگے جھکیں اور نہ جمہوریت اور عوام کی قیمت پر کسی آمر سے کوئی سمجھوتہ کیا۔ جمہوریت اور عوامی حقوق کی اس جدوجہد میں محترمہ نے اپنی ذات پر جبر، قید و بند اور جلا وطنی کی اذیتیں برداشت کیں۔
جنرل ضیاالحق کی آمریت کے مصائب کو یاد کرتے ہوئے محترمہ نے ایک بار لکھا کہ:گرمی کی شدت نے میری جیل کی کوٹھڑی کو تنور میں تبدیل کر دیا تھا اور میرے ہاتھوں کی جلد گرمی کی شدت سے اترنے لگی تھی اور چہرے پر گرمی کے داغ نمایاں تھے۔ رات کو کیڑے مکوڑے، مچھر اور دن کو مکھیاں چین نہیں لینے دیتی تھی‘‘اس طرح کے کئی دور محترمہ کی زندگی میں آئے مگر کبھی ایک لمحہ کیلئے بھی ان کے پائے استقامت میںلغزش نہ آئی۔
انہی مشکلات اور مصائب سے گزرتے ہوئے محترمہ دنیائے اسلام کی پہلی خاتون وزیر اعظم بن گئیں اور باوجود اس کے کہ ان کی وزارتِ عظمیٰ کے دونوں ادوار جمہوریت دشمنوں کی سازشوں کی وجہ سے نامکمل رہے، انہوں نے وطن اور اس کی عوام کیلئے کئی بے مثال کامیابیاں حاصل کیں جن میں میزائیل ٹیکنالوجی کا حصول بھی شامل ہے۔
حکومت اب کسی بھی سیاسی جماعت کی ہو مگر سچ یہ ہے کہ ہم آج بھٹو اور محترمہ کے وژن کے عہد میں زندہ ہیں اور یہ عہد ہمیشہ زندہ رہے گا اور ہمیں کامیابیوں کی آخری منزل تک لے جائے گا۔محترمہ بے نظیر بھٹو شہید نے اپنے دور اقتدار میں عورتوں کے حقوق کیلئے خصوصی اقدامات کئے۔
جن میں فرسٹ وومن بنک اور وومن پولیس اسٹیشن کا قیام، کراچی،کوئٹہ، لاہور، پشاور اور اسلام کی پانچ یونیورسٹیز میں وومن اسٹڈی سنٹرز کا قیام، سرکاری ملازمتوں میں خواتین کیلئے پانچ فیصد کوٹے کا قیام، لیڈی ہیلتھ ورکرز پروگرام، خواتین کی ترقی کیلئے وفاقی وزارت کا قیام،لیڈی کمپیوٹر سنٹرز کا قیام اور خواتین کیلئے قرضوں کا اجرا شامل ہیں۔
آج کوئی بھی ذی شعور اس حقیقت سے انکار نہیں کر سکتا کہ محترمہ کی تحمل، امن اور برداشت کی پالیسی ہی جمہوریت کی روح ہے اور آج اگر اس ملک میں جمہوریت ہے، اور جمہوری قدروں کی پہچان ہے تو یہ محترمہ بے نظیر بھٹو شہید کے اسی سیاسی وژن کی بدولت ہے جس وژن کو عوام نے دل و جان سے قبول کیا اور سیاسی نظام کیلئے اپنایا۔
مجھے یقین ہے کہ آنے والے وقت میں ہم ذوالفقار علی بھٹو شہید اور محترمہ بے نظیر بھٹو شہید کے سیاسی وژن کی روشنی میں وطن عزیز کو دنیا کے خوشحال، مضبوط اور مستحکم ممالک کی صف میں لا کھڑا کریں گے۔
ہم اپنی قائد کو وطن اور جمہوریت کیلئے ان کی خدمات پر خراج تحسین پیش کرتے ہیں اور یہ عہد کرتے ہیں کہ ہم ان کے مشن کی تکمیل کیلئے عوام کے شانہ نشانہ اپنی جدوجہد ہمیشہ جاری رکھیں گے۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/1029455
’جیالے تیاری پکڑیں، 5 جنوری کو لاہور سے حکومت کے خاتمے کی کہانی شروع ہوجائے گی‘ - بلاول بھٹو زرداری
لاہور بنے گا جنگ کا میدان ، بے نظير کے بیٹے بلاول نے کردیا اعلان ، بے نظیر بھٹو کی برسی پر جلسے سے خطاب میں بلاول نے کہا ڈیل ڈیل کی رٹ لگی ہے ، رٹ لگانے والے وہی ہیں جو بے نظير پر بھی ڈیل کا الزام لگاتے تھے۔
پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے اپنی والدہ سابق وزیراعظم پاکستان بے نظیر بھٹو کی برسی کے موقع پر گڑھی خدا بخش میں جلسے سے خطاب میں کہا ہے کہ پیپلز پارٹی غیر جمہوری روایت نہیں اپناسکتی،کسی ڈیل کی ضرورت نہیں ، ہماری ڈیل پاکستانی عوام کے ساتھ ہے ، 5 جنوری کو حکومت کے خاتمے کی بنیادلاہورسے ڈالیں گے۔
اپنے خطاب میں انہوں نے کہا کہ عوام نااہل اور نالائق وزیراعظم کا بوجھ اٹھا رہے ہیں ، آپ تیاری پکڑیں ، ہم اپنے بل بوتے پر اس کٹھ پتلی کا مقابلہ کریں گے۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ پیپلز پارٹی ڈيل پر یقین نہیں رکھتی، ڈیل پاکستانی عوام کے ساتھ ہے، جیالے تیاری کریں۔
بلاول نے یہ بھی کہا کہ کبھی آر و الیکشن، کبھی آر ٹی ایس الیکشن، کبھی کسی چوہدری کا استعمال ، کبھی کسی نثار کا استعمال کرکے جمہوریت پر حملے ہوئے، آج عوام کٹھ پتلی راج بھگت رہے ہیں اور اس نالائق اور نااہل وزیراعظم کا بوجھ اٹھا رہے ہيں لیکن اب دیواروں پر لکھ دیا گيا ہے کہ اس کٹھ پتلی کو جانا ہوگا۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ جیالے تیاری پکڑیں، 5 جنوری کو لاہور سے حکومت کے خاتمے کی کہانی شروع ہوجائے گی۔
https://urdu.geo.tv/latest/273117
Shaheed Bibi’s Pakistan is in trouble today – Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on the 14th Martyrdom Anniversary of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto
Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that Pakistan Peoples Party does not believe in a deal, but it is time to topple the puppet Prime Minister. Addressing a grand rally at Garhi Khuda Bux on the occasion of the 14th Martyrdom Anniversary of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, the PPP Chairman further said that it has been 14 years since the martyrdom of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, but people still remember her. He said that Shaheed Bibi’s Pakistan is in trouble today.
“Democracy is just a name in the current Pakistan where there is neither freedom of expression nor freedom of life,” said Chairman PPP. “Today, Pakistan has collapsed economically and the poor people are destitute.
Chairman PPP said that Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto used to say that democracy is the best revenge. We restored democracy, the 1973 constitution, and the Islamic democratic federal system. And for the restoration of democracy, we revived the 30-year struggle of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in the form of the 18th Amendment. Also empowered the Parliament, And for the first time in history, completed the term in the Parliament. But in this country, sometimes the RO election and sometimes the RTS election was held. Sometimes a Chaudhry, sometimes a Nisar was used.
Democracy continued to be attacked, people’s votes were robbed and democracy was snatched from the people.
Today the people of Pakistan are suffering from the puppet rule and carrying the burden of an incompetent Prime Minister. The PPP Chairman pointed out that PPP fought terrorism. While establishing the writ of the state of Pakistan, the flag of Pakistan was hoisted in Swat and Waziristan. We broke the roots of terrorists and our army and police defeated the beasts that the whole world could not defeat in Afghanistan.
He said that today the blood of our martyrs and children of APS is being traded because the President of Pakistan and the Prime Minister have bowed before these terrorists and are begging for a deal. Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari further said that we not only restored the constitution in its original form through the 18th amendment but also gave economic autonomy to the provinces. Today, if a port is built in Balochistan, hospitals like NIVCD are set up in Sindh, or a metro bus is built in Punjab, it is only because of the 18th Amendment.
After our government, the implementation of NFC has stopped. The present government wants to rob the provinces of their rights. The puppet government does not believe in provincial sovereignty or the welfare of the people. “There was a global economic crisis when our previous government was formed, but we still managed the economy,” he said. Increased salaries and pensions, launched projects such as the Benazir Income Support Program, CPEC, and the Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline. But today, the poor are drowning in a tsunami of inflation, they are surrounded by a storm of taxes.
Today, unemployment and poverty in the country have reached record levels. Every class, including the poor, the salaried class, the peasants, and the laborers are troubled. The PPP Chairman said that now there is only one path, one party, one ideology, and one manifesto. That ideology and manifesto belong to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. He said that my message to the Jiyalas in different parts of the country is that we cannot see the troubles and helplessness of the people of Pakistan. Only the jiyalas of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto can handle this country. So be prepared, we will fight the puppets on our own.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that he may have heard about the deal on TV, but these are the same faces and pens which were saying on the morning of December 27, 2007, that Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was making a deal. The PPP does not believe in deals.
Those who make deals in politics do not have a graveyard of martyrs.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the PPP is the source of power and that the people ask the federal party believe in equality and Islam. However, it cannot adopt an undemocratic attitude and undemocratic politics.
He stated that we don’t need a deal. We will go from village to village and city to city, carrying the flag of Shaheed Bhutto in one hand and the arrow of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in the other. I will go to every province, and this is becoming my schedule. He said all the provincial leaders of the party, Amjad Advocate, Chaudhry Azeem, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Qamar Zaman Kaira, and Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmood should be prepared. We will go to every corner of the country. “Where I cannot not reach, President Asif Ali Zardari will go, where President Asif Ali Zardari will not be able to reach, Faryal Talpur Sahiba will go and where Faryal Talpur will not be able to reach, Aseefa Bibi will go,” said Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
The PPP Chairman said that it’s time to attack the puppet. January 5 is the birthday of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and on that day the meeting of the Central Executive Committee of the party will be held in Lahore. He said that we will now sit in Lahore and the current government will be overthrown from the city where our party was founded. Now the puppet has to go.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that those who were in favor of resigning and not contesting the elections are also now enjoying the by-elections. Wherever we have faced them, they have lost. Defeated them in By-elections, Senate, and Local Body elections. Jiyalas be ready, the next election is yours. All of the coming Chief Ministers, including the Prime Minister, will be a jiyala.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdvnhDsfjjU
Sunday, December 26, 2021
President Asif Ali Zardari’s message on Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s martyrdom anniversary - #سلام_بینظیر #WohLarkiLalQalandarThi
President Zardari said that the country is dearer to us than our lives. We will not compromise on its freedom, dignity and respect. He said that today, the country is going through a dangerous situation, the economy, foreign affairs and law are all going through turmoil. He said that it pains him to see that the poor are suffering and have been deprived of the fruits of democracy.
Asif Ali Zardari said that since 2013, there have been constant attacks on the authority, honour and dignity of the parliament, and PPP has been resisting them. He said that the leadership of PPP saved and rebuilt the country after devastation in the past, and will do the same now. Patience and endurance are not our weaknesses but our principles.
He said that we will not let Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s great sacrifice go in vain.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/25957/
27 دسمبر ہماری قومی تاریخ کا سیاہ ترین دن ہے، اس دن پاکستان کی مقبول ترین رہنما کو ہم سے چھین لیا گیا تھا۔ پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی شعبہ خواتین کی مرکزی صدر و رکنِ سندھ اسمبلی فریال تالپور
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اسلام آباد / کراچی (26 دسمبر 2021) پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی شعبہ خواتین کی مرکزی صدر و رکنِ سندھ اسمبلی فریال تالپور نے شہید محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو کو ان کے یومِ شہادت پر شاندار الفاظ میں خراج عقیدت پیش کیا ہے۔ شہید محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو کی برسی کے موقعے پر جاری کردہ اپنے پیغام میں فریال تالپور نے کہا کہ 27 دسمبر ہماری قومی تاریخ کا سیاہ ترین دن ہے، اس دن پاکستان کی مقبول ترین رہنما کو ہم سے چھین لیا گیا تھا۔
فریال تالپور نے کہا کہ شہید محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو ایک مدبر رہنما اور بھادر خاتون تھیں، جنہوں نے ظلم و جبر کا خندہ پیشانی سے سامنا کیا اور اپنے دکھوں کو بھلا کر پاکستان کی عوام کے حقوق اور آئندہ نسلوں کے روشن مستقبل کے لیئے جدوجہد کی۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ شہید محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو نے اپنی تاریخی جدوجہد کے ذریعے آمریتوں کو شکست دے کر جمہوریت بحال کروائی اور شہری آزادیوں کی حفاظت کی۔
فریال تالپور نے زور دیا کہ آج ہم میں سے ہر ایک کو یہ عہد کرنا چاہیئے کہ ہم شہید محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو کے مشن کو پایئہ تکمیل پر پہنچائیں گے، جو کہ قومی ترقی کو اس منزل تک پہنچانا ہے کہ جہاں ہر شہری کے پاس روٹی، کپڑا اور مکان کے ساتھ ساتھ روزگار بھی ہو۔
فریال تالپور نے کہا کہ پارٹی چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری اور سابق صدرِ مملکت آصف علی زرداری کی مضبوط قیادت میں جمہوریت اور غریب عوام کے حقوق کے تحفظ کی وہ جدوجہد آج بھی جاری ہے، جس کا آغاز شہید ذوالفقار علی بھٹو کے عدالتی قتل کے بعد شہید محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو نے کی تھی اور یہ تحریک عوام کی مکمل خوشحالی تک جاری رہے گی۔
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/25960/
محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو شہید کے ہر خواب کی تعبیر کریں گے ملک سے غربت اور بیروزگاری کا خاتمہ کرکے عوام کو معاشی مشکلات سے نجات کیلئے جدوجہد جاری رکھیں گے، صدر پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی پارلیمنٹیرینز آصف علی زرداری
سابق صدر مملکت اور صدر پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی پارلیمنٹیرینز آصف علی زرداری نے محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو شہید کے یوم شہادت پر اپنے پیغام میں حترمہ بینظیر بھٹو شہید کو
خراج عقیدت پیش کرتے ہوئے اس عہد کی تجدید کی ہے کہ محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو شہید کے ہر خواب کی
تعبیر کریں گے ملک سے غربت اور بیروزگاری کا خاتمہ کرکے عوام کو
معاشی مشکلات سے نجات کیلئے
جدوجہد جاری رکھیں گے،
آصف علی زرداری نے کہا کہ ملک ہمارے لیئے اپنی جانوں سے ذیادہ عزیز ہے ہے اس کی آزادی ، وقار خودداری، اور عزت پر کوئی سمجھوتہ نہیں کرینگے ، انہوں نے کہا کہ آج ملک خطر ناک صورتحال سے گذر رہا ہے ، ملک کی معیشت تباہ ہو گئی ہے ، خارجہ امور زبوں حالی کے شکار ہیں، قانون کو موم بنا دیا گیا ہے ۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ میرے لیئے تکلیف دھ بات یہ ہے کہ
غریب مشکلات کا شکار ہے اور وہ ریاست کے ثمرات سے محروم کیئے
جا رہے ہیں، آصف علی زرداری نے کہا کہ 2013 کے بعد مسلسل پارلیمنٹ کے اختیار پر حملے ہو رہے ہیں اور اس کی عزت اور وقار کو
بے توقیر کیا جا رہا ہے جس کی پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی مزاحمت کر رہی
ہے ۔ آصف علی زرداری نے کہا کہ پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی کی قیادت نے تباہ حال ملک کی دوبارہ تعمیر کی ، ملک کو بچایا اب ملک کو مشکلات سے نکالے گی ، انہوں نے کہا کہ صبر اور برداشت ہماری کمزوری نہیں ہے ہمارا اصول ہے ۔ آصف زرداری نے کہا کہ محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو شہید کی عظیم قربانی رائے گان نہیں ہونے نہیں دینگے ۔
Saturday, December 25, 2021
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari pays glowing tributes to Father of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah on his 146th birthday.
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has paid glowing tributes to Father of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah on his 146th birthday being celebrated tomorrow across the country. In his message on the occasion, the PPP Chairman said that attempts were made by the dictatorial forces and their cronies to dent the ideology of the Founder of the Nation and drift the country from his vision but the democratic forces led by PPP have always foiled their designs through monumental struggles. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah was the tallest personality among his contemporaries and he dreamt an egalitarian country for the Muslims in the sub-continent to live in peaceful cohesion. He said that it was only Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who accomplished the dream of Quaid-e-Azam by gifting the first-ever unanimous 1973 Constitution to the nation, founded strong economic base in the country and an stronger defence by launching nuclear programme. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto took steps for making Quaid’s Pakistan a welfare state where the rights of women, children and the marginalized segments were given protection and promotion. He pledged that people of Pakistan and the PPP would following the vision and mission of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah as his Party is the true torch-bearer of the ideology of Pakistan.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/25942/
Pakistan slips on a slippery slope of religious militancy
James M. Dorsey
The government is increasingly hiring madrasa graduates as teachers in the public sector.
Pakistani political and military leaders have vowed to eradicate ultra-conservative religious extremism that drove a mob to torture, brutally lynch a Sri Lankan national, and burn his body in the eastern city of Sialkot. Some 900 cases have been filed with police and 235 people arrested in connection with the killing.
“Let me make this clear: I have decided that from now we will not spare those who resort to violence in the name of religion, especially in the name of the Holy Prophet (PBUH),” Prime Minister Imran Khan said at a commemoration of Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana, a 48-year-old textile factory manager.
The mob accused Mr Diyawadana of removing a sticker of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) or “I am Present Pakistan” (TLP), a far-right militantly religious group, from machinery before a visit by foreigners.Some reports claimed that a dispute between Mr Diyawadana and workers sparked the lynching. It was not clear whether the argument may be connected to the stickers.The TLP condemned the Sialkot killing but has often turned unfounded blasphemy allegations into a violent crusade in a country where punishment for it is a mandatory death sentence.
Whatever sparked the killing, the government’s response seemed aimed to project determination to tackle a festering problem. It is a claim that rings hollow, despite Mr Khan’s strong words, in a country where government policies are inconsistent or appear to even encourage religious ultra-conservatism and intolerance.
“We’ll see the truth of this soon enough when the next Pakistani—be he or she Muslim, Hindu, Christian, or otherwise—is lynched in the name of blasphemy,” said journalist Zarrar Khuhro. “Because that’s going to keep happening no matter what becomes of those arrested in the Sialkot lynching. You know it, and I know it too.”
Despite acting against Mr Diyawadana’s killers, government and military leaders failed to censor defence minister Pervez Khattak for downplaying, if not justifying, the killing.
Speaking after Mr Diyawadana’s killers proudly admitted their crime in front of TV cameras and posted selfies with his mutilated body online, Mr Khattak described them as boys entering adulthood who were “ready to do anything” and learn with age how to control their emotions. “So, this happens among kids; fights take place and even murders. Does this mean it is the government’s fault?”
Most of the suspects in Mr Diyawadana’s killing were under the age of 30.
Mr Khattak’s remarks seemed a throwback to four years ago when the military appeared to openly support the TLP as its staged a mass protest against the government of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Dawn, Pakistan’s flagship English-language newspaper, summed up the state of affairs in an editorial. The paper said that “such a statement from a federal minister should come as a shock, but unfortunately, we are accustomed to our public officials being in denial about the realities of extremism and violence in the country.”
Weeks earlier, the government had initially caved in to demands of the TLP under pressure from a mass protest march of thousands of the group’s followers on the capital Islamabad. The demands included the reversal of a decision to outlaw the group and releasing its leader and followers from jail. However, a week later, the government backed out of the deal with the group.
Days before the killing, Mr Khattak’s colleague, information minister Fawad Chaudhry, sought to shield from criticism religious seminaries or madrasas, an influential segment of Pakistan’s education system. Mr Chaudhry, who unambiguously condemned Mr Kumara’s killing, did so by blaming the spread of extremism in Pakistan primarily on public schools rather than on madrasas.
“The institution of the madrasa has become the primary political base for religious groups and religious-political parties and continues to strictly adhere to its potentially explosive sectarian character. It is expanding and encroaching on the formal education sector, and the state has failed to regulate the institution,” said Pakistani analyst Mohammad Amir Rana.
Countering Mr Chaudhry’s assertions, Mr Rana noted that “formal education institutions have not produced a fraction of the number of militants who enter the ranks of various national and international terrorist organisations which the madrasas belonging to different banned militant organisations have produced so far.”
Mr Rana made his remarks days before the Sialkot killing, but he could have been writing after the incident when he noted that successive Pakistani governments had sought to depoliticise education on public campuses “while the madrasa students remain politically and ideologically charged and vulnerable to be exploited for street protests and recruitment for military purposes.”
Mr Chaudhry got it right when he pointed to the public system but failed to mention that it was because the government was increasingly hiring madrasa graduates as teachers in the public sector.
“The madrasa mindset is at its full play in society and is responsible for promoting two major socio-political conflicts…first, the sectarian divide, and second, ideological radicalism,” Mr Rana warned.
That mindset is gaining further ground with the introduction of a singular national curriculum that gives greater importance to religious education. A court in Lahore has ordered that all school students in Punjab be checked for Quran reading skills.
“Preliminary reports suggest province-wide confusion and chaos and a state of fear among children, teachers, and school principals. Magistrates accompanied by rifle-bearing policemen are pouncing upon schools, interrogating seven- to 12-year-old children,” reported nuclear scientist and human rights activist Pervez Hoodbhoy.
“Grim-faced magistrates swooping down upon schools, destroying the authority of teachers and school principals, and putting terror into the hearts of all is a disgrace to the notion of education. It may not end here,” Mr Hoodbhoy warned.
“How we dress, speak, and think is going to be increasingly policed. Imran Khan’s Pakistan is racing down the path to Talibanisation,” he added.
https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/news/pakistan-slips-slippery-slope-religious-militancy
#Pakistan - The promise of a secular Jinnah
By Areej Fatima
Whether Jinnah wanted an Islamic state or a state for Muslims is as contested a subject as it gets. I will try to substantiate the latter by taking examples from his personal and political life, values, ideals, public statements and practices.
A firm believer in Hindu-Muslim unity, Jinnah initially joined the Congress to work towards that goal. He aspired to be the Muslim Gokhale, a prominent Indian liberal. On the establishment of the Muslim League in 1906, the Quaid dismissed its agenda drawing a comparison with British conspiracy to divide and rule. Later in 1913, he joined Muslim League and got Lucknow Pact to his credit in 1916. Jinnah was bestowed with the title “Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity” for his selfless efforts towards uniting people of India on one platform irrespective of their religious identity.
Even though ironic, it was actually Gandhi who first created division on the basis of religion and later became a beacon of secularism. He first used the religion card to support the Khilafat Movement and recruited Muslim fundamentalists and Hindu conservatives in the Congress which Jinnah was strongly opposed to and asserted that “it must lead to disaster.” He finally resigned from Congress in 1920 out of frustration over the divisive religio-political policies of Gandhi and Congress. Jinnah then used the platform of the Muslim League to propagate this vision of Muslim-Hindu unity and Indian nationalism.
Mohammad Ali Jinnah supported the “Inter-Faith Marriage Bill” and banned child marriages. Moreover, he was a part of the Fabian Society (The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow.) in England. Jinnah was impressed by Mustafa Kemal Attaturk who was a secular dictator, so much so that his daughter Dina nicknamed him “Grey Wolf” which was essentially Attaturk’s title. He was an Anglo-Saxon man at heart and his lifestyle is a clear manifestation of that.
Jinnah found himself in a quandary when on one hand, he wanted inter-faith unity rooted in Indian Nationalism and on the other, he needed to defend the interests of the Muslim minority of India. Eventually, he had to choose the latter after contemplating the power deficit that Muslims would have hypothetically faced in a united India under Hindu rule. The Quaid had realised that the Indian Muslim conundrum was not as much religious as it was political. Since he had already seen the indifference of the Hindu-led Congress towards Muslims’ demands, the Muslim League adopted the Lahore Resolution and laid the foundation for the creation of Pakistan.
Ayesha Jalal in her book, “The Sole Spokesman,” argues that Jinnah wanted to use Pakistan as a bargaining counter only and that in the later stages it was Congress that insisted on Partition while Jinnah was against it. According to her, Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan did not entail partition and it was not a Pan-Islamic call, rather a “secular polity with political choice and safeguards.”
When a Muslim Leaguer chanted the slogan “Pakistan ka matlab kya, La Ilaha Illallah” at the last session of the All India Muslim League, the Quaid-i-Azam refuted him and said: “Neither the Muslim League Working Committee nor I ever passed a resolution [called] ‘Pakistan ka matlab kya’ - you may have used it to catch a few votes.”
Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah expressed his desire to keep religion and state separate in his famous speech; “You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of 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.” In his address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947, calling religion a personal matter, Jinnah assigned each citizen equal value, rights and responsibilities; “You will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state.”
There are many examples of Jinnah appointing non-Muslims to important offices after the De Jure birth of Pakistan. One of them is Jogendranath Mandal who served as the country’s first minister of law and labour and also was the second minister of Commonwealth and Kashmir affairs. Sir M Zafarullah Khan, an Ahmedi, served as the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan. Jinnah warned against the threat of sectarianism. In a public meeting on March 21, 1948, he said: “Provincialism has been one of the curses; and so is sectionalism -Shia, Sunni, etc. You should think, live and act in terms that your country is Pakistan and you are a Pakistani.”
In contemporary Pakistan, religious bigotry, discrimination, extremism, sectarianism and violence are not only normalised but institutionalised. The weaponisation of religion by the state has become a Frankenstein that will not spare anyone, if not neutralised. Today, religious minorities cannot hold important official positions and they are shunned by the state. In our false and inflated sense of religious self-righteousness and pride, we have arrogantly disowned intellectual greats like Abdus Salam, Atif Mian, Pervez Hoodbhoy and others over religious differences.
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan that persecutes people on religious grounds is not what the Quaid had envisioned and he would be very displeased to see where we are now. Jinnah did not struggle for a haven for Muslims only to witness the Muslim majority become the oppressor instead. Religion is for individuals, not for states. A state cannot have a religion since it is itself a socially constructed entity. Any social contract that brings people together should be based on the safeguard of equal rights and opportunities for all, regardless of petty racial, ethnic, linguistic or religious differences.
When states acquire a religion and legislate upon such divisive lines, incidents like the Sialkot mob lynching of Priyantha Kumara become inevitable. The only hope for a better, peaceful, inclusive, welfare-oriented future lies in the separation of religion and state. Blasphemy laws should be scrapped from the constitution as they aggravate the prevalent religious intolerance. Pakistanis have to be trained in a secular, democratic tradition and taught the wisdom in accepting and respecting diversity and tolerating differences of opinion. In this regard, awareness about the right of Freedom of Thought, Speech and Expression is indispensable.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/919630-the-promise-of-a-secular-jinnah
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