Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Why Bangladesh should not pardon Pakistan for 1971 Genocide?
Despite the passage of 50 years since the ‘1971 Genocide’ Pakistan has shown no intention to apologize.
And, why does Bangladesh pardon Pakistan, which along with its collaborators killed 30 lakh unarmed innocent people under the “Operation Searchlight” launched on March 25. It is a clear case of “Genocide”.Afrasiab Mehdi Hashmi, former High Commissioner of Pakistan to Bangladesh clearly says that Pakistan should not apologise to Bangladesh in 1971 as Pakistan considers the issue settled and fully resolved, with the conclusion of the Bangladesh-India- Pakistan Agreement of April 9, 1974.
However, the media and lawyers of Pakistan have accepted that in 1971, a “Genocide” was carried out by the Pakistan army. There are several reasons why Bangladesh should not pardon Pakistan. Firstly, Pakistan has a role in the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Secondly, after joining in the active politics, many attempts were made to assassinate PM Sheikh Hasina (during the regime of BNP/JEI). Sources reveal that Pakistan’s spy agency the ISI was behind all the attacks. Thirdly, though Pakistan is pretending to improve the bi-lateral relations with Bangladesh, it will not miss a single opportunity to destabilize the country. The recent attack on the minorities during Durga Puja is an example of that. Investigators found the involvement of Pakistan. Fourthly, Pakistan is responsible for the rise of militancy in Bangladesh. Militant cadres recruited by Jamaat were sent to Pakistan for training. Two Pakistani diplomats posted in Dhaka were sent back for terror financing. “Incoming days, Pakistan will use the militants to create problems in the country, even to assassinate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” said a source. Fifthly, Pakistan is still maintaining close ties with Jamaat-e- Islam of Bangladesh. Though top leaders of the party were executed, the party is still active and capable of causing harm any moment. Now the new addition is Hefazet-e- Islam. Pakistan is using these two organizations against the current regime. “Under no circumstances, Bangladesh should pardon Pakistan. If it does, then it will be an insult to all the victims, freedom fighters and even Bangabandhu”, said a source in Bangladesh.https://theprint.in/world/why-bangladesh-should-not-pardon-pakistan-for-1971-genocide/893375/
Pakistan's Imran Khan faces a political showdown — without the army for support
By DIAA HADID
It wasn't long ago that many in Pakistan thought Imran Khan, the cricket star-turned-politician, might defy the odds to become the only prime minister in recent history to actually serve a full term.
After all, he was relatively popular. And more importantly, he enjoyed the firm support of the military, which many say helped catapult him to power in 2018.
But Khan's fortunes have rapidly shifted. The military appears to have withdrawn support and defections within the ranks of Khan's own party, known as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, mean that a no-confidence move in parliament planned to get underway on Monday, looks like it has a good chance to succeed.
The military backs away from Khan
Khan's shaky grasp on power has made for more than the usual amount of messy politics in Pakistan. The current crisis erupted after the military appeared to suddenly back away from him, signaling to the opposition that it was open season on the prime minister.
"The opposition now has free rein to go after Khan," says Madiha Afzal, a fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Even Khan's own coalition partners are making use of the chaos to try to leverage better deals.
Meanwhile, violence is feared because opposition parties are planning their own mass rally to coincide with Monday's start of debate on the no confidence motion. In anticipation of trouble, security forces have moved razor wire across major roads. Analysts fear that if the chaos escalates, the military could step in to restore order, as it has done so many times before in Pakistan's 75-year history.
The turmoil comes as Pakistan negotiates with the International Monetary Fund to release a desperately needed next tranche of a $6 billion bail out package.
"History tells us what happens when there are no resolutions," said Najam Sethi, a journalist and editor of The Friday Times. If "the opposition and the government continue to slug it out," Sethi said, "and you're facing financial bankruptcy and now you have political bankruptcy," he continued, "that's when the military steps in directly."
Pandemic-linked inflation is pushing up the price of food and fuel. And it's expected to worsen as shortages of fertilizer for crops could cut wheat yields, just as global prices skyrocket amid the Russian invasion.
"Inflation has become unbearable. What can people do, except cry, or curse him?" mechanic Muhammad Zubair, 35, who lives in the capital, Islamabad, says of the prime minister.
There are troubles with the Taliban next door
Khan's troubles are also closely tied to events across the country's western border. The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in August underscored his sympathy for the group, as he told an audience that the regime change meant that Afghans had "broken the shackles of slavery." The remarks only served to fray already fraught relations with Washington.
Khan also seems to have infuriated some in the military with his foreign policy decisions, such as finding himself in Moscow meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the very day the invasion of Ukraine began.
"The relationship started to see some cracks," Afzal says.
For others who support Khan, he is seen as a straight-talker who has helped the poor through instituting health insurance schemes and cash payments. He is contrasted with many other Pakistani political leaders who are widely viewed as corrupt.
"He is not like thieves who are making money for themselves and their children. Imran Khan cares about the entire country," Fazl-e-Wadood, a 28-year-old laborer with seven children in Islamabad, says, adding that his support for Khan is so strong that he would "even sacrifice my life" for the prime minister.
Kahn has attracted sympathy too from Pakistanis tired of their lawmakers jumping ship as political winds shift. It is so common that one newspaper editorial even dubbed Pakistan a "lotacracy" playing on the word "lota" – a vessel used by Pakistanis to wash themselves after using the toilet. The word can also be used as to mean a political turncoat.
Political instability, although not uncommon in Pakistan, is always cause for concern in the nuclear-armed nation of more than 220 million people, which has been ruled by generals for nearly half its history.
In the latest case of Khan, the military's apparent abandonment of the prime minister is all the more stark, given that he's widely seen as beholden to the army for his present position.
Ahead of the 2018 election, Amnesty International described a crackdown on media and analysts said was a campaign to beat down allies of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Sharif himself was disqualified from politics in 2017, following a corruption scandal surrounding his family.
Essentially, the military "rigged the elections to bring Imran Khan to power," says the journalist Sethi.
Khan's PTI denies such claims, pointing to the party's widespread popularity among the country's conservative middle class.
But even after the polls, when Khan was unable to form a majority government, Sethi and others say the military nudged smaller parties into a supporting coalition. In fact, Khan's government was so closely intertwined with the military that it was described by many as "hybrid rule," says Zahid Hussain, an author and columnist for the English daily Dawn. "The military was part of the power arrangement which has worked for the last three and a half years."
Khan is perceived by many as mismanaging the economy, as well as rule of Pakistan's most populous Punjab province, where he appointed a political nobody as chief minister.
He was insulated by the army's support. But then, Sethi and other analysts say, the military began distancing itself from Khan amid a series of perceived missteps.
Sharif's tirade "crossed of the Rubicon"
A turning point was a tirade by Sharif, the disqualified prime minister who remains one of Pakistan's most popular political figures. He boldly called out the military by name — accusing Army Chief of Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and the former former head of Pakistan's powerful intelligence service, Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, of engineering Khan's rise to power.
"Who is responsible for the destructiveness of this incompetent government of Imran?" asked Sharif in a speech aired in October 2020.
Sethi describes Sharif's speech as having "crossed the Rubicon," in a country where officials and media only refer to the military's role in politics indirectly and euphemistically, using code such as "the establishment," "invisible hands," and even "the department of agriculture."
"Everybody, frankly, was shocked," Sethi says of Sharif's public shaming. "That's when I think the military began to squirm."
Tensions bubbled to the surface after reports emerged that Khan refused for weeks to sign off on a transfer for Hameed, the intelligence chief. The Brookings Institution's Afzal says the move was "seen as [Khan] trying to assert his power as prime minister."
"Many of us wondered at that point, what it would cost him," she says. "It was a matter of embarrassment for the military."
Because the military has long insisted that it doesn't interfere in politics, just how it signaled its loss of faith in Khan isn't clear, but the army was "forced to pull itself out of the fray," says Hussain, the columnist and author.
The military claims to be neutral
Khan himself alluded to the army's reversal or "neutrality" as it is referred to in Pakistan, when the prime minister raged at a rally this week: "When there is a battle between good and evil, then God asks us not to be neutral. Only animals are neutral."
The army's stance appears to have ignited momentum for the three largest opposition parties to try to make a decisive move against Khan. They are already thought to have 162 votes in support of the no confidence motion, and the anti-Khan forces think they can peel away enough of his own lawmakers to reach the necessary 172.
About a dozen of Khan's own lawmakers have already rebelled against him, and may vote with the opposition.
Khan's allies have appealed to the Supreme Court, which is now considering whether a lawmaker can defy their own party's instructions.
Right now, Khan is betting heavy on a rally set for Sunday. "I want the entire nation to come out," he said in a special video message. Analysts say he hopes to attract enough people to intimidate wavering lawmakers and coalition allies.
"The government is trying to subvert the whole process by calling their supporters to march on Islamabad and to protest during the session, which means they are threatening the assembly," says Hussain. "All that has created a very, very tricky situation."
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/26/1088749675/pakistans-imran-khan-faces-a-political-showdown-without-the-army-for-support
عدم اعتماد کی تحریک پیش ہو چکی، اب عمران خان کے بھاگنے اور بچنے کا کوئی طریقہ نہیں۔ چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری
چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا ہے کہ عدم اعتماد کی تحریک پیش ہو چکی ہے اپوزیشن کی تعداد
مکمل ہے۔ عمران خان بزدل ہے اور 8مارچ کے بعد بھاگ رہا ہے۔ آج پروسیس شروع ہوگیا ہے۔ ہم سلیکٹڈ حکومت سے صاف و شفاف انتخابات کی طرف بڑھ رہے ہیں۔ پیر کے روز پارلیمنٹ ہاﺅس کے باہر میڈیا سے گفتگو کرتے ہوئے بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ اسپیکر اور ڈپٹی اسپیکر کا رول غیرجمہوری رہا ہے۔ ہم اس کی مذمت کرتے ہیں۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ اب سات روز کے اندر عدم اعتماد کی ووٹنگ ہونی چاہیے۔
عمران خان کے بھاگنے اور بچنے کا کوئی طریقہ نہیں ہے۔ اخبار نویسوں کے سوالات کا جواب دیتے ہوئے چیئرمین پی پی پی نے کہا کہ وزیراعظم کے بعد صوبوں کی طرف توجہ دیں گے۔
ایک سوال کے جواب میں انہوں نے کہا کہ مذہب کا کارڈ استعمال نہیں کرنا چاہیے، مذہب کوئی کارڈ نہیں ہے، یہ ذاتی ایشو ہے۔ سیاست کو مذہب سے نتھی نہیں کر سکتے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ جب یہ حکمران اپنے وعدے پورے نہیں کرتے تو مذہب کا کارڈ استعمال کرتے ہیں۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ وزیراعظم اور وزراءمذہب اور ریاست مدینہ کی بات کرتے ہیں اور ساتھ گالی بھی دیتے ہیں۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ وزیراعظم جا رہے ہیں اور ساتھ جھوٹ بول رہے ہیں۔ ایک سوال کے جواب میں چیئرمین پی پی پی نے کہا کہ ہم چاہتے ہیں کہ تمام پارٹیوں کے ساتھ مل کر کام کریں۔ عمران خان کی حکومت ختم ہو چکی ہے، ایم کیو ایم فیصلہ خود اور وقت پر کرے گی۔ ہم چاہتے ہیں کہ تمام اسٹیک ہولڈرز سے مل کر کام کریں۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ پاکستان کی معیشت اور ترقی کے لئے کراچی کے مسائل پر توجہ دیں۔ ایک سوال کے جواب میں چیئرمین پیپلزپارٹی نے کہا کہ پرویز الہی اپنی بات خود کر سکتے ہیں،
حکومت والے ان کی بات نہیں کر سکتے۔ چیئرمین پیپلزپارٹی نے کہا کہ ہماری تعداد پوری ہے اور اب پلس میں ہیں۔ ایک سوال کے جواب میں بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ میرا نہیں خیال کہ کوئی بھی اتحادی حکومت کے ساتھ چل سکتا ہے۔ ایک اور سوال کے جواب میں بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ ضیاالحق یہاں دفن ہیں اور اس سے ہمارا کوئی کام نہیں ہے۔
عمران خان جاتے جاتے سب کو یاد کر رہے ہیں۔ وزیراعظم کا بھی کہنا ہے کہ آج بھی بھٹو زندہ ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ میں ابھی وزیراعظم کا عہدہ خالی کروانا چاہتا ہوں۔
انہوں نے وزیراعظم کو چیلنج کیا کہ وہ خط دکھا دیں۔ یہ پہلی سازش ہوگی جو خط لکھ کر کی جاتی ہے۔ یہ دنیا کی پہلی سازش ہوئی ہے کہ خط لکھ کر کوئی کرے گا۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ کل عمران خان ہارا ہوا شخص لگ رہا تھا آج بھی پرانی باتیں کر رہا ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ ہر پاکستانی پارلیمنٹ کی طرف دیکھ رہا ہے کہ اس تاریخی مہنگائی، غربت اور بیروزگاری میں کون عمران اور کون عوام کے ساتھ کھڑا ہے۔
چیئرمین پیپلزپارٹی نے کہا کہ سیاسی مستقبل کے لئے عوام کا ساتھ دینا ہوگا۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ عمران کی نہ حکومت میں کوئی ڈائریکشن تھی اور نہ بعد میں ہوگی۔ انہوں نے بھٹو بننے کے لئے تین سال میں کچھ نہیں کیا، نقل کے لئے بھی عقل کی ضرورت ہوتی ہے۔
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/26704/
Monday, March 28, 2022
No-trust motion against Pakistan PM Imran Khan tabled in assembly
A no-confidence motion was tabled Monday against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly.
Leader of the Opposition and President of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Shahbaz Sharif, introduced the motion in the lower house.
Deputy NA Speaker Qasim Suri said a discussion on the no-trust motion would take place on 31 March at 4 pm.
The Pakistani National Assembly has a total strength of 342 members, with the majority mark being 172. Imran Khan’s PTI-led coalition has 179 members. The Opposition has 162 members.Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party has a strength of 155, while four major allies Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) have another 20 among them.
Khan, however, is in a spot as three allies — MQM-P, PML-Q and BAP – are keeping cards close to their chest on the confidence motion. Some of his own men may vote in favour of the no-trust motion.
The move to oust Khan is led by the PML-N and the Pakistan People’s Party.
There are several reasons behind the dissatisfaction with Khan’s government. Prominent among those are economic mismanagement, rising prices, alleged corruption and inefficient legislators.
If Khan does not survive, he will join the long list of Pakistan premiers since 1947 – none of whom have completed a full term in office.
https://theprint.in/world/no-trust-motion-against-pakistan-pm-imran-khan-tabled-in-assembly/892062/
#Pakistan - PM Imran will soon say 'mujhey kyun nikala': Bilawal
The PPP chairman says the opposition won't allow anyone to 'rig' its no-confidence motion against Premier Imran.
After a meeting with the PPP chief at his residence, Bugti announced he would support the opposition in the wake of the no-confidence motion submitted against Premier Imran on March 8.
Bilawal further said, "The prime minister deceived his allies and didn't ensure justice to the people of Balochistan."
"We will take our revenge from a non-democratic man using democratic means and oust the PM through the parliament's vote," he added.
The Bhutto family's scion went on to felicitate everyone for an end to Imran's government, adding his party won't allow anyone to rig the no-trust vote in the National Assembly.
"We won't let Imran fulfil any of his wishes," he said terming "threats to impose a state of emergency, attack at the Parliament Lodges, and other steps a result of frustration in the government's ranks", saying "none of it would work any longer".
Concluding, the PPP chief also said the opposition will ensure that the process of Imran's removal remained peaceful.
On March 8, the united opposition front had filed a requisition for the no-confidence motion against the prime minister, pinning its hopes for its success on the estranged members of the ruling party and its allies.
For making the no-trust vote successful, the opposition needs to have the support of at least 172 of the total 342 members in the lower house of parliament to show a simple majority – leading to the choosing of a new prime minister.
Political analysts conjectured that the opposition could bag the support of 10 lawmakers or more from the ruling party or any of the allies as they had been in touch with it for quite some time now.
As Prime Minister Imran Khan was addressing a charged rally in Islamabad ahead of the crucial no-trust motion, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Sunday that the premier would soon say why he was "ousted from power".
Talking to media persons accompanied by Shahzain Bugti who today announced parting ways with the PTI government, Bilawal said that the former's decision was a brave one, Express News reported.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2349938/pm-imran-will-soon-say-mujhey-kyun-nikala-bilawal
Sunday, March 27, 2022
آج عمران نیازی سمیت پوری کابینہ کی شکلیں بتا رہی تھیں گل مک گئی ہے - #بزدل_بھاگ_رہا_ہے
وزیر اطلاعات سندھ سعید غنی نے کہا کہ آج قوم نے شکست خوردہ سابق وزیراعظم عمران نیازی کا رونا دھونا سنا، آج عمران نیازی سمیت پوری کابینہ کی شکلیں بتا رہی تھیں کہ ’گل مک گئی ہے‘۔
وزیراعظم عمران خان کے ’امر بالمعروف‘ جلسے سے خطاب پر ردِ عمل دیتے ہوئے صوبائی وزیر کا کہنا تھا کہ ’خدا حافظ عمران نیازی۔‘
انہوں نے کہا کہ آج 10 لاکھ لوگوں نے نہیں، ملک بھر سے آئے چند ہزار افراد نے نیازی حکومت کا جنازہ پڑھا۔
ان کا کہنا تھا کہ ساری زندگی اسلامی احکامات کی دھجیاں اُڑانے والا نیازی، آج مذہب کا چمپیئن بننے کی کوشش کر رہا ہے۔
سعید غنی نے کہا کہ عمران خان نیازی نے آج بھی حسب روایت سوائے جھوٹ کے کچھ نہیں بولا، ڈھٹائی اور بے شرمی سے جھوٹ بولنے میں عمران نیازی کا کوئی ثانی نہیں۔
ان کا کہنا تھا کہ آج نیازی سمیت پوری کابینہ کی شکلیں بتا رہی تھیں کہ ’گل مک گئی ہے۔‘
وزیر اطلاعات سندھ نے کہا کہ نیازی کی سیاست کا آغاز جھوٹ سے، نیازی کی سیاست کا اختتام جھوٹ پر ہے۔
ان کا کہنا تھا کہ سب کو رُلانے کی بھڑکیں مارنے والا نیازی، آج گڑ گڑا کر رو رہا تھا۔
سعید غنی نے کہا کہ عمران نیازی کی عوام دشمن حکومت کو اتحادیوں اور اپنے ساتھیوں نے بھی چھوڑ دیا ہے۔ اس نے ملک کی معیشت کا جنازہ نکال دیا ہے، کرپشن کو پروان چڑھایا۔
انہوں نے یہ بھی کہا کہ عمران نیازی کے جانے کے بعد پاکستان تحریک انصاف (پی ٹی آئی) کی ہوشربا کرپشن کی کہانیاں عوام کے ہوش اُڑا دیں گی۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/1067009
Imran Khan done with boot polishing, now licking boots: Bilawal Bhutto
'His nappies were changed by General Hameed Gul and he was a toy for General Pasha,' Bilawal alleged.Pakistan People's Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said "selected" Prime Minister Imran Khan calls other politicians "boot-polishers", but he himself is a bootlicker. "The entire career of Imran Khan has been boot-polishing, but now he is done with it, and he has started bootlicking," he told a public rally, The News reported. "His nappies were changed by General Hameed Gul. He was a toy for General Pasha," he alleged. Bilawal Bhutto said now the selected PM was asking for pardon for using derogatory remarks for the "neutral". "He begged the 'neutral' to ask the allies not to leave him before the OIC meeting in Pakistan, and now he is asking to spare him till his 'jalsa' in Rawalpindi." He alleged that PM Imran Khan and his cronies had set a new record of corruption, which caused an unprecedented price-hike and unemployment in the country. He warned the Prime Minister to stop telling lies, "otherwise, we will start giving details of corruption by the first lady", The News reported. "We know who Usman Buzdar paid money to become the Chief Minister of Punjab," he claimed. "Kaptaan has become a joker, who introduced indecency in politics, which would have far-reaching effects on our young generation," the PPP chairman said, adding that the Prime Minister and his associates "had now started licking the boots after they were done with polishing". https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/imran-khan-done-with-boot-polishing-now-licking-boots-bilawal-bhutto-381249
PM’s aide Shahzain Bugti quits post, announces support for opposition after meeting Chairman PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressing a press conference along with Shahzain Bugti on the eve of the latter resigning from the federal cabinet, said that he is grateful to Shahzain Bugti.Shahzain Bugti hosted us at the time of the Senate election, and today when the country is at a crossroad where the future of the country and democracy are at stake, the country is looking at the parliament to emerge from this crisis.Chairman Bilawal said that this is a timely and courageous decision by Shahzain Bugti. He said that many respectable politicians who truly represent their constituencies made efforts to raise their voice for the people. Imran Khan betrayed his allies the same way that he ditched the people and the opposition. As long as true representatives of Balochistan and all of the country do not come forward, the problems of the people cannot be solved.
We are grateful to the Jamhoori Wattan Party and Shahzain Bugti for taking this brave decision. The issues of Balochistan are very complicated and the people of Balochistan have not gotten justice in our history. If we have to save Pakistan, we have to give justice to the people.
Chairman PPP said that those who are trying to harm Pakistan are wrong to think that they can hurt Pakistan through Balochistan. When we hold free and fair elections post electoral reforms, true representatives from all over the country will be elected. Then, the decisions we take together will be for the benefit of the country.
Shahzain Bugti has announced his decision after working with those people for three years. He is a brave man who stands by his words. We believe that the new generation is responsible for the legacy of their ancestors. We would have to work hard together for the country, which should be for the long-term.
Answering the questions of the journalists, Chairman Bilawal said that all of the allies have made their decisions, when they present them before the country is their own choice. If we brought the 18th Amendment, it was for the people. President Zardari was the most powerful president in the country’s history but gave his powers to the parliament and to the provinces. Balochistan was given a specific protection. Even in a critical condition, Balochistan’s budget cannot be reduced. If President Zardari apologized to the people of Balochistan for past mistakes, he did so as the president of the country and the military’s supreme commander. If we can make hospitals and schools in Sindh, we can do the same in Balochistan. Our effort will be to work with Shahzain Bugti on genuine issues and their solutions.
Chairman Bilawal said that as far as the surprise is concerned, Imran Khan has lost his majority already and it is too late now. All this propaganda and pressurising will not work now. The opposition believes in democracy and will use democratic means to drive out this undemocratic man. We would like to congratulate the country on Imran losing his majority and government.
Attacking the parliament and threatening of an emergency are all signs of a desperate man. Those on the losing side use violence to disrupt peace. Imran cannot release a single notification or advice, let alone impose the Governor’s rule or declare an emergency. The opposition is not taking this threat seriously. Each bureaucrat and AC, DCs from KP and other areas have been told to bring people with them to the gathering.
At a time when the whole environment is prioritized, it is the credibility of our Chief Justice that the opposition and the government’s representatives were in the Court. We believe that the decision taken by the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court of Pakistan will be for the benefit of the country. It is the Chief Justice’s authority to form a bench as per his wish.
Our demand throughout history has been for the institutions of the country to work within their constitutional boundaries, which is not only in their favour but that of the country. We hope that neutrality is maintained. The no-confidence is the test of neutrality.
It is recorded in history that despite the efforts against her, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto would only talk for democracy and the betterment of the country.The people of Pakistan have learned that the meaning of ‘Naya Pakistan’ is destruction, unemployment and poverty. We will try to help the country emerge from this crisis together, Chairman Bilawal said.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/26698/
Friday, March 25, 2022
Will Pakistan’s Inflation Crisis Bring Down Imran Khan? - #بزدل_بھاگ_رہا_ہے
By Hajira Maryam
Political instability looms as the opposition brings a no-confidence vote against the prime minister.Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s 2018 campaign relied on a promise to make the country’s economy work for the poor by ending corruption and providing employment. Four years later, inflation in Pakistan is the highest of any country in South Asia, and citizens are struggling to make ends meet as the price of essential goods rises to unprecedented heights. Meanwhile, public support for Khan is eroding: In recent weeks, the political opposition has organized protests aiming to oust the cricket star-turned-politician from power. This week, the prime minister’s outlook grew even worse. Pakistan’s parliamentary opposition has called a no-confidence vote, with proceedings postponed until Monday. They have the support of a dozen defectors from Khan’s own party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who remain dissatisfied with his economic mismanagement. The prime minister has said he will not resign, and his party called for supporters to rally in Islamabad on March 27, the day the vote was originally expected. If Khan is ousted, he would join a long list: No Pakistani prime minister has ever finished a five-year term. Pakistan has grappled with extreme inflation for months. In January, the country’s consumer price index rose to 13 percent—the highest in two years, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The sensitive price index, which includes the prices of essential food items, was recorded at 15.1 percent last week. As a result of this inflation, so-called middle-class poverty is on the rise, squeezing the average wage earner and deteriorating standards of living. The surging prices are pushing many people to the brink. Skyrocketing inflation has given the political opposition a window of opportunity to call for Khan’s resignation. Furthermore, recent tensions with Pakistan’s powerful military over the appointment of a new intelligence chief have weakened the prime minister’s political position. Last month, the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) organized a march from Karachi to Islamabad demanding his ouster, and the Pakistan Democratic Movement—an anti-PTI alliance—is planning a rally to counter the ruling party. Murtaza Wahab, the PPP spokesperson, highlighted the government’s denial of people’s suffering as particularly damaging for Khan. “Despite macro[economic] factors being positive, inflation has touched a record high, taxes are increasing, the common man can’t receive any benefits, and the government has no policy,” he said. “We are organizing this march for the working class.” Khan acknowledged the deepening challenges in a public address this year, saying his government was making efforts to curb inflation. But the prime minister has deflected the blame for Pakistan’s economic problems throughout his tenure, saying he inherited a disrupted economy from previous governments. Pakistani finance minister spokesperson Muzzammil Aslam echoed Khan in an interview with Foreign Policy, highlighting rising gas prices and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, Khan announced a $709 million subsidy program to mitigate the effects of inflation and help families bearing the brunt of the economic crunch. Aslam added that the government is also trying to offset inflation by raising the minimum wage. “Despite inflation, the country’s economy is progressing,” he said. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted some economic recovery for Pakistan this year. But such optimism is largely confined to the ruling party’s bubble. Meanwhile, experts say its efforts to help the poor—central to its 2018 elections platform—have come to a standstill. The Khan government’s lip service about macroeconomic indicators doesn’t offer much to alleviate the average person’s suffering. Economist Kaiser Bengali said no government in Pakistan’s history has managed its finances as incompetently as Khan’s. The prime minister has “no clue on what to say and is in outright denial on the plight of the people,” he said. In confronting Pakistan’s economic challenges, Khan has also broken other campaign promises. In 2018, he pledged not to resort to external borrowing and to end the country’s cycle of debt, criticizing previous governments for relying on a “begging bowl.” But Khan’s government struck a deal with the IMF in May 2019: a 39-month program that demands cuts in social and development spending in exchange for a $6 billion loan. The IMF released a $1 billion tranche in February, and economists worry that increasing taxes—a condition of the loans—will trigger further price hikes. The weight of the economic crisis is now catching up with Khan. “The country has already been bankrupt for more than two years,” Bengali said. “We are a debt-ridden economy, constantly surviving on loans. There is a pattern now behind every program: We run out of money, we can’t pay our loans, we go to the IMF to repay. There need to be political and structural changes so that this pattern breaks.” Of course, some of the issues are deep-rooted: Pakistan’s economy is designed to serve a handful of elites, said Ammar Ali Jan, a historian and political activist. It doesn’t export enough goods to make up for the luxury items it imports for the political and military elite. Despite Khan’s campaign promises, this burden falls on the working class. “An ordinary wage earner is being squeezed to make an economy work that doesn’t benefit them,” Jan said. “Imran Khan made all kinds of promises, but the machine he assembled around himself has taken Pakistan down.” The pressure on Khan has reached new heights in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, causing a surge in global oil prices. The prime minister was quick to address the public and announce economic relief measures, including reducing gas and electricity prices through subsidies. Skeptics argue the measures are a political stunt to appease the public for short-term gains. Meanwhile, the IMF demands more austerity and spending cuts—presenting a challenge for Khan or any potential successor. Even if Khan is ousted in the coming days, it won’t resolve the crisis facing Pakistan’s people. Khan’s mismanagement, along with the rise in global inflation, has worsened the country’s long-standing economic issues. The reliance on imports has hindered employment opportunities, and Pakistan faces a balance of payment crises. Whoever holds power in Pakistan inherits a dysfunctional economic model, and the current opposition’s only apparent agenda is the removal of Khan. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/25/pakistan-inflation-imran-khan-no-confidence-vote/
The Government wants to flee from the no-confidence motion but the united opposition will not let the selected escape – Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the prime minister, Imran Khan is running away from the no-confidence motion. What kind of a captain runs away from contest?Chairman PPP talking to the media outside the Parliament building on Friday said that the Speaker is a facilitator of Imran Khan and is avoiding taking up no-confidence motion. In the name of tradition, he is trying to protect Imran Khan. Chairman Bilawal said that in June 2012, PPP’s member National Assembly Fauzia Wahab had passed away and a new prime minister had to be elected. The PPP had fulfilled its constitutional responsibility. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that this government wanted to spread terror first by attacking Parliament lodges and then the Sindh House. The government wants to run away from the no-confidence motion but the opposition is united and will not let this selected person escape. How long will the selected be able to avoid the no-confidence? We will use the democratic weapon of no-confidence against this undemocratic person, Imran Khan. Chairman PPP felicitated the people of Pakistan who rejected the selected, Imran Khan. Imran Khan’s government has ended and soon he will be a former prime minister.
Responding to the questions of journalists, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the prime minister and the Speaker are both undemocratic. We are resisting all these undemocratic forces with democracy. Insha Allah, the next prime minister will be an elected prime minister. Neutrality is still continued and our long term struggle has been for this neutrality. This no-confidence is also a part of the same struggle.
Earlier on arrival at the parliament house responding a question from media the former President of Pakistan and President Pakistan People Party Parliamentarians, Asif Ali Zardari said that Insha Allah the things will be better. He said that if the Speaker does not allow tabling the no-confidence motion then we will protest. He said that the allies can form a government with the opposition. He said that he is 100% confident that the no-confidence will be successful.
Chairman PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari talking to journalists in the parliament House said that everyone knows that victory is ours. We had total members of opposition. We will request for production order of Ali Wazir. The victory and defeat are as per Allah’s will but our preparations are complete. You will see what we do.Afterwards Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari participated in the joint meeting of opposition members. All the opposition members were in attendance. The members were given important instructions regarding the session.
Chairman PPP met the independent member National Assembly, Ali Nawaz Shah in the opposition lobby. After meeting the Chairman PPP, Ali Nawaz Shah assured his support for no-confidence motion.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/26680/
Thursday, March 24, 2022
#Pakistan #PPP - Parliamentary democracy and Article 63A
By Nafisa ShahOn March 8, the combined opposition moved a motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan. Subsequently, faced with a growing number of the ruling party’s own dissenting members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and a clear and present danger of the prime minister losing his majority in the house, the PTI government moved a presidential reference to the Supreme Court under Article 143/1 of the constitution – seeking a radical interpretation of the defection clause in the constitution, Article 63A, apparently to deter members of the ruling party from voting for the motion against party direction. Article 63A states that if a member of a political party abstains or votes contrary to the direction of the parliamentary party to which he or she belongs in the election of the prime minister or a chief minister, a vote of confidence or n- confidence, and in a money bill or a constitutional amendment, they may be deseated through a set procedure involving the party leader, the speaker of the NA and finally the Election Commission. However, this does not prevent a member from voting and there is no precedent of any contrary vote not being counted. Through the presidential reference, the Supreme Court has been asked to expand the scope of 63A to restrain defected MNAs from voting in favour of the no-confidence motion through suggested preemption, and further application of Articles 62 and 63 proposing permanent and immediate disqualification of such members. At present, Article 63A only provides for de-seating and is silent on future elections of the member concerned. But the presidential reference is deeply flawed as it goes against a settled legal principle as the courts cannot interpret what is not already written in law. Only the legislature can amend the constitution to broaden its scope as suggested in the reference. Also, the reference is based on the assumption that defections of members are motivated by bribes and financial incentives by the opposition which is untenable without concrete evidence. Interestingly, when the 2019 Senate chairman’s vote of no-confidence was held, the opposition lost despite the numbers, and this was vehemently defended by the ruling party which had argued that a secret vote was a vote of conscience and the question of buying votes was impossible. Finally, there is a much larger principle – of the sovereignty of parliament and the principle of parliamentary democracy itself. If parliament elects the prime minister, it alone can remove them. By making it impossible for ruling political party members to vote against their party leader, it is implied that assuming there is no coalition and the prime minister is also the party leader, the prime minister can never be held accountable, making Article 95 and the vote of confidence and no-confidence redundant and meaningless. The present defection clause is harsh enough as it deseats a member after s/he has voted against party direction but to wish that no member should ever vote against the prime minister even with the risk of de-seating and should be permanently disqualified seems to be person specific to escape accountability and nothing else. Members of a sovereign house are free to vote and have free will in most democracies. In Pakistan’s assembly, free will and vote of conscience is already restricted under Article 63A. If that restricted vote is also taken away the house will lose its powers to hold the executive accountable. What if a prime minister has failed to deliver on his/her manifesto, and has lost the confidence of the house? What if s/he has taken the country to the brink, to an economic and security collapse? An MNA, regardless of party affiliation, must be fully empowered to dethrone such a prime minister. As it stands, the present prime minister has in the past attacked parliament, has always been derogatory towards it and has never deigned to be in the house even during emergency times and crises, as in the case of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kashmir crisis, and the Afghanistan situation. If the law’s interpretation is stretched to disqualify members permanently, it will lead to political party dictatorship, and the parliamentary prerogative to hold the executive accountable will be lost – thereby weakening parliament. It will also imply that parliament is subservient to the political party, making rule by parliamentary democracy into rule by political party. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/944008-parliamentary-democracy-and-article-63a
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Bilawal pays rich tributes to Begum Nusrat Bhutto
The PPP’s chairman said his grandmother Begum Nusrat Bhutto ignored her personal trauma to fight for the fundamental rights of the people of Pakistan. He said, “The Mother of Democracy taught us to resist and defeat the dictators and the tryants,describing her as resilient, brave and dignified person.”
She was like a mother to millions of Jiyalas (PPP’s workers), Bilawal said and added the struggle and sacrifices of Begum Nusrat Bhutto were incomparable and in response, the people gave her everlasting love and respect. He reiterated his commitment that the PPP, following its first female chairperson, Begum Nusrat Bhutto, would continue its struggle to protect the constitution and strengthen democracy despite all odds.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/943870-bilawal-pays-rich-tributes-to-begum-nusrat-bhutto
Imran has to go for the country to progress-Bilawal Bhutto Zardari - #MalakandBhuttoKa #بزدل_بھاگ_رہا_ہے
Imran Khan is an animal and wants the law of the jungle in Pakistan. Imran Khan was imposed on Pakistan to destroy its economy, politics and foreign policy. Imran Khan will be booted out through democratic means. This was said by the Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari while addressing a charged public rally in Dargai, Malakand in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that the relation between the people of Malakand district and the PPP goes back three generations. Quaid-e-Awam established a tax free zone and if anyone tries to take this status of Malakand then the Jiyalas will chase them out. Quaid-e-Awam laid the foundation of edible oil factory and spinning mills in Malakand district. He gave the right of free passport so the people could work from abroad and help their families. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto provided gas and electricity to the people of this area. She also provided employment, not only to the youth but also women of the area through establishing women banks and police stations. President Zardari gave an identity to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and fulfilled the promise of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto by raising the flag of Pakistan in Swat. He made it possible for 2.5 million IDPs to return to their homes in three months with compensation while also striking out utility bills and loans. The treatment of the IDPs after our government has not been in the benefit of the country. I have come to you once again, since we are combating a tyrant and a barbarian today. We and our Jiyalas have been facing this puppet since the first day. We called him ‘selected’ in the parliament on the very first day, and that is his identity before the world now. We will face this undemocratic person through democratic means. We will treat the umpire’s finger with the thumb by voting. I will not use any undemocratic mean to drive this puppet out. I cannot attack any institution, nor will I go to the court in a black coat. I will not go to Gate no. 4. Quaid-e-Awam has taught us ‘all powers to the people’, and I will chase him out with the help of the people. We continuously made efforts for the opposition to be on one page. We laid the foundation for the platform for PDM while ignoring our differences to chase him out through democratic means such as the bye-elections, Senate elections and the no-confidence. Chairman Bilawal congratulated the Jiyalas and nation on Imran Khan having lost his majority and his government ending. Imran Khan is now the ‘former prime minister’. Imran is a coward who is running from a challenge. Imran is a rat. He calls himself ‘Khan’, how is he a Khan? Khans are brave and courageous. He can only be a Khan of Funny Gala. We have submitted the no-confidence on 8 March and voting was to take place within seven days, the session had to take place within 14 days as per the constitution. This coward first attacked the parliament lodges and the Sindh House, and has now abrogated the constitution. Now, he is trying for the Speaker to be wrapped up in Article 6. We challenge Imran Khan to stop running away and escaping and call a session tomorrow. He should try gathering 172 members in the National Assembly. It has been three years and he has nothing better to do than criticise my Urdu as the prime minister. Urdu is our national language and we all want to learn and speak it. Various languages are spoken in this country and we respect each one. Those who speak Pashto, Sindh and Siraiki are just as Pakistani as those who speak Urdu. Imran should teach his own kids Urdu before teaching us. The language he uses against Maulana Fazlur Rehman is not fit for a prime minister. He can only abuse and that is the sign of a defeated man. He cannot see the increase in prices of petrol and diesel during his tenure. The nation wants for the prime minister to focus on inflation which used to be a priority during PPP’s cabinet meetings while in power. He prioritizes abusive language over inflation. Imran accuses Shehbaz Sharif of polishing boots when he himself has polished to the extent that no polish is left. Imran abuses with the same tongue that he uses to talk about Riasat-e-Madina. The state of Madinah was based on justice and morals. How can this be Riasat-e-Madina when Imran’s state is running on abuses and magic while being anti-people. The farmer and labourer are sleeping on an empty stomach in his tenure. This man has been sent to destroy Pakistan as per a scheme. It was a scheme to send this man to ruin the economic and foreign policies. How can he come to Malakand and say that the foreign policy of India is successful while being the prime minister? If India’s foreign policy is to ruin the CPEC, this man successfully did so. If this is India’s policy, it is his policy too. He made his ministers talk negatively about the CPEC. He talks of schemes and plots while being the biggest one himself. He cannot even give an answer to the foreign-funding case. It has been proven that he obtained funds from Israel and India. Bowing to the IMF and weakening Pakistan before the world is Imran’s conspiracy against the country. What greater foreign conspiracy is there than Imran campaigning for Modi in the Indian elections while being a prime minister? He used to say that Modi winning would benefit the Kashmir cause. ‘No compromise on Kashmir’ is every Pakistani’s slogan. Chairman PPP reassured the Pakistani nation of getting rid of this curse, Imran soon. I will come to you again. We have been hearing him talk of corruption since a long time. Three years of the federal government have passed and eight years in KP. He refuses to answer quesbvtions about his own corruption. His father was sacked by the Quaid-e-Awam on corruption and that is why he accuses all others of corruption. He does not answer the questions raised over the billions of rupees’ worth of buildings bought by Aleema Khan. He has nothing to say about the money which is taken on posting goes in Punjab and who is benefitted. Now, he has tried to attack institutions. He wants every institution to be like his tiger force. The people of Pakistan demand free and transparent elections. We will not let the no-confidence motion be rigged. This is a test for the federation of Pakistan and neutrality. We demand that the no-confidence should be completed constitutionally. Imran Khan has lost every bye-election and local government elections. Imran Khan has to go for the country to progress. https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/26663/
عمران خان سابق وزیراعظم بن چکے ہیں، بلاول بھٹو زرداری
پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی (پی پی پی) کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا کہنا ہے کہ ہم عوام کی طاقت کے ساتھ کٹھ پتلی کو بھگائیں گے، پارلیمنٹ میں اس کٹھ پتلی کا
مقابلہ جمہوریت سے کریں گے۔
مالاکنڈ میں عوامی جلسے سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ ہم انگلی کا جواب انگوٹھے سے کریں گے، جمہوریت سے کریں گے۔
بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ ہم کوئی غیر جمہوری ہتھیار استعمال نہیں کریں گے، بزدل بھاگتے ہو، اگر مرد ہو تو ہمارا مقابلہ کرو۔
پی پی چیئرمین نے کہا کہ عمران اپنی اکثریت کھو چکا ہے وہ سابق وزیر اعظم بن چکا ہے، عمران بزدل ہے مقابلے سے بھاگ ر ہے ہیں، ہمیں چوہے کہنے والا، چوہا بن کر مقابلے سے بھاگ رہا ہے۔
ان کا یہ بھی کہنا تھا کہ خان تو بہادر ہوتے ہیں، خان تو غیرت مند ہوتے ہیں، یہ کہاں کا خان ہے، یہ بنی گالا کا خان ہے، یہ فنی گالا کا خان ہے۔
بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ عمران خان میری انگریزی کا مذاق اُڑاتے ہیں، وزیر اعظم ہو کر ہمیں اردو سکھانے کی کوشش کر ر ہے ہیں،
پی پی چیئرمین نے کہا کہ عمران خان تو خود سازش ہے، وزیرا عظم ہو کر آپ نے یہ بیان کیسے دیا کہ بھارت کی خارجہ پالیسی کامیاب ہے، عمران اور بھارت کی خارجہ پالیسی ایک ہی ہے، بھارت اور عمران کی سازش ہے کہ سی پیک منصوبے کو سبوتاژ کیا جائے۔
بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ اس سے بڑی کیا سازش ہو سکتی ہے کہ ہمارا وزیر اعظم مودی کی الیکشن مہم چلاتا ہے، عمران نے جو کشمیر کا سودا کیا ہے، کیا یہ ملک کے ساتھ سازش نہیں ہے؟
انہوں نے کہا کہ ہم محنت اور جدوجہد عوام کے لیئے کر رہے ہیں، صاف اور شفاف الیکشن اب دور نہیں ہے، آپ کے پاس آیا ہوں ملک کو بچانے کے لیے اس، کٹھ پتلی کو بھگانے کے لیے۔
پی پی چیئرمین نے مزید کہا کہ اپنی شکست دیکھتے ہوئے عمران نے اداروں پر حملے شروع کر دیے ہیں، یہ چاہتا ہے کہ میڈیا ہو تو میری ٹائیگر فورس کی طرح ہو، عمران خان چاہتے ہیں کہ ہر ادارہ اس کے ٹائیگر فورس کی طرح ہو۔
بلاول بھٹو نے کہا کہ ہمارا آئین کہتا ہے کہ ہر ادارے کو اپنی آئینی حدود میں رہ کر کام کریں، جبکہ عمران خان چاہتے ہیں کہ اگر وہ نہ کھیل سکے تو کوئی بھی نہ کھیل سکے، یہ آج تک نہیں بتا سکے کہ وہ کس کو جانور کہہ رہے تھے۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ ہماری عدم اعتماد جمہوریت اور نیوٹریلیٹی کے لیے امتحان ہے، ہم اپنی عدم اعتماد میں کوئی دھاندلی برداشت نہیں کریں گے، اب سلیکشن نہیں ہوگا، اب آپ سے کوئی ہاتھ ملانے کو بھی تیار نہیں ہے۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/1065426
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Religion-Fueled Mobs on the Rise Again in Pakistan
Mr. Mushtaq was tortured for hours and eventually killed, his body hung from a tree. A handful of police officers were among those who watched. The Feb. 12 killing in the district of Khanewal was denounced across Pakistan. Prime Minister Imran Khan said the government had “zero tolerance” for such mob violence and promised that the police officers would be punished.But lynchings over offenses to Islam, real or imagined, are far from new in Pakistan, where blasphemy is punishable by death. Rights activists say lynch mobs exploit anti-blasphemy laws to take matters into their own hands. In recent years these episodes have risen to an alarming level, with increasing cases of fatal violence. Critics and rights activists say that vows like those made by the prime minister are mere lip service and that Mr. Khan’s government, much like his predecessors, has not taken any practical steps to curb violence. Instances of mob violence, and state-enforced criminal blasphemy cases, are more frequent in Pakistan than anywhere else, according to a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. “The lack of political will and commitment has always stood as the biggest obstacle to prevent the abuse, misuse, and exploitation of blasphemy laws,” said Tahira Abdullah, a rights activist based in Islamabad. Mr. Khan’s government is no different from its predecessors in promising to tackle the menace of religious violence, she said. But “it is too cowardly to confront” influential religious parties in Parliament, Ms. Abdullah said, “and the rampaging militant extremist groups outside Parliament.” Blasphemy allegations have led to the vandalizing of Hindu temples and neighborhoods, the burning of police stations by angry mobs, the lynching of a student on a university campus and the killing of a provincial governor by his own security guard. After Musthaq’s killing, a senior police official told a parliamentary committee that 90 percent of those involved in blasphemy violence are between the ages of 18 and 30. Just two months ago, a Sri Lankan, Priyantha Diyawadanage, was lynched by workers he oversaw in a factory in the eastern city of Sialkot. Mr. Diyawadanage was accused of tearing off stickers with religious inscriptions from the factory walls. He was tortured for hours by an enraged mob before his body was thrown off the factory’s rooftop, beaten and set on fire. In 2021, at least 84 people faced blasphemy accusations in courts and from angry street mobs, according to the Centre for Social Justice, a Lahore-based minority rights group. Three people, including Mr. Diyawadanage, were killed by a mob over such allegations, it noted. In August, a mob in the Rahimyar Khan district, also in Punjab Province, damaged statues and burned down a Hindu temple’s main door after a court released an 8-year-old Hindu boy on bail. He had been charged with blasphemy for allegedly urinating in the library of a madrasa. Defense lawyers are also at risk. In 2014 gunmen murdered a Pakistani lawyer, Rashid Rehman, in Multan city for defending Junaid Hafeez, an academic charged with making derogatory comments about the Prophet Muhammad. Mr. Hafeez had been in prison, unable to find a lawyer, before Mr. Rehman agreed to take up his case. In 2011, two politicians were murdered in similar episodes. Salman Taseer, then a provincial governor, was killed by a bodyguard after expressing opposition to blasphemy laws. Shahbaz Bhatti, a federal minister, was murdered for opposing the death sentence imposed on Asia Bibi, a Christian convicted of verbally insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Though Ms. Bibi was acquitted in 2019, she fled Pakistan and her lawyer has been receiving death threats. “The increasing theocratization of Pakistan and rising militant extremism makes it very difficult for lawyers to defend alleged blasphemers,” Ms. Abdullah said. “It takes a great deal of personal courage and professional integrity to withstand huge overt pressure and threats.” Law enforcement agencies are not trained, or equipped to handle, frenzied vigilante mobs, and find themselves overwhelmed, Ms. Abdullah noted. Pakistan inherited 19th-century British laws outlining punishments for offenses related to blasphemy. But the government revamped these laws in the 1980s, introducing new clauses adding severe penalties and even a death sentence for anyone who insults Islam. Iran, Brunei and Mauritania are the other three countries that impose the death penalty for insulting religion. “Since the death penalty, a mandatory punishment for blasphemy, was made a law, there have been several bouts of religion-based violence in Pakistan,” said Peter Jacob, executive director of the Centre for Social Justice. While no one has ever been executed for the offense, violence against alleged blasphemers is hardly unusual. Rights activists link the current spike in blasphemy-related violence to the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, an emerging radical religious party. And Islamist parties and militant groups in Pakistan have been emboldened by the Taliban’s coming to power in neighboring Afghanistan last year. “The government’s narrative about Islamophobia in the rest of the world” fuels the religion-based violence, Mr. Jacob said. “This narrative builds on anger among the youth, which becomes ready-made ammunition for sporadic but large-scale violence against anyone who is suspected of offering any disrespect to religious persons, scripture, places or articles,” he said. Tehreek-e-Labbaik, the radical religious party, first came to prominence as an organized force when it demonstrated for the release of Mumtaz Qadri, the police bodyguard who fatally shot Governor Taseer in 2011. Mr. Qadri was eventually sentenced to death and hanged in 2016. Since then, it has shaped itself into a political party, contesting elections and continuing to unsettle governments. In April last year, Tehreek-e-Labbaik organized violent, countrywide protests demanding the expulsion of the French ambassador after President Emmanuel Macron of France eulogized a French teacher murdered for showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in a classroom. The Pakistani Taliban have also announced support for anti-blasphemy campaigns and promoted armed struggle to protect the honor of Islam. Posters offering a reward of some $56,000 to kill Faraz Pervaiz, a Pakistani Christian, for posting anti-Islamic content on social media often appear in anti-blasphemy protests in the country. Mr. Pervaiz, 34, now living in self-exile in Thailand, said that he started speaking out for the rights of non-Muslim communities on social media after a Muslim mob attacked a Christian neighborhood in Lahore in 2013, torching more than 150 houses and two churches following reports that a Christian sanitation worker had blasphemed the Prophet Muhammad. “Even in Thailand, I feel insecure,” he said in an interview, after a Pakistani Muslim refugee shared one of his videos and his location on social media. Mr. Pervaiz left the country in 2014 after receiving threats, he said. Journalists in Pakistan have refrained from reporting on blasphemy cases since the rise of the extremist parties and their growing influence. “Covering the issue of blasphemy as a journalist, and especially for the Urdu-language press, can either get you killed, or you’ll be fired for jeopardizing the survival of the organization you work for,” said Razeshta Sethna, a journalist and author of a recent report on the stifling media environment in the country.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/20/world/asia/pakistan-blasphemy-religious-violence.html
Taliban snubs Pakistan at #OIC foreign ministers conference in Islamabad - Diplomatic setback for Pakistan
https://theprint.in/world/taliban-snubs-pakistan-at-oic-foreign-ministers-conference-in-islamabad/883833/
China, Pakistan share concern about sanctions on Russia, China says
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Old allies China and Pakistan have refrained from condemning Russia over its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, unlike Western countries that have imposed unprecedented financial and corporate sanctions in response to what Russian President Vladimir Putin calls a "special military operation".
"Both expressed concerns about the spill-over effects of unilateral sanctions," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement following a meeting on Monday in Pakistan between the neighbours' foreign ministers.
"Both called for a ceasefire through diplomatic dialogue and hope that based on the principle of indivisible security, a fundamental solution to the Ukraine problem can be found,” the Chinese ministry said.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-pakistan-share-concern-about-sanctions-russia-china-says-2022-03-22/
حضرت لال شہباز قلندر ؒ کا پیغام معاشرے میں بھائی چارہ، رواداری اور محبت ہے۔ چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری
پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا ہے کہ حضرت لال شہباز قلندر ؒ کا پیغام معاشرے میں
میڈیا سیل بلاول ہاوَس کی جانب سے جاری کردہ بیان کے مطابق، پی پی پی چیئرمین نے حضرت لال شہباز قلندر ؒ کے 770 ویں عرس مبارک پر اپنے پیغام میں کہا ہے کہ حضرت لال شہباز قلندر ؒ کی تعلیمات معاشرے میں تعاون کو فروغ اور مختلف طبقہ ہائے فکر کو متحد ہونے کی فضا مہیا کرتی ہیں۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ آج امتیازی سلوک، انتھاپسندی اور دہشتگردی کے بڑھتے ہوئے رجحانات انسانیت کے لیئے چیلنج ہیں۔
چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے زور دیا کہ ایسے حالات میں دنیا کو حضرت لال شہباز قلندر ؒ جیسے صوفی بزرگوں کی تعلیمات سے رجوع کرنے کی ضرورت ہے۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی ملک میں حقیقی جمہوریت اور مساوات کے لیئے سرگرم عمل ہے، جو حضرت لال شہباز قلندر ؒ جیسے بزرگوں کی تعلیمات کی اساس ہیں۔
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/26651/
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