Wednesday, May 23, 2018
#Pakistan - #Christian persecution watchdog urges #UNHRC to protect #Pakistani Christians
The United Nations Human Rights Council has been urged to protect Pakistan’s Christian community. In this regard, a legal submission has been made to the UN body seeking action in order to guard Christians in Pakistan from religion based persecution.
This submission was made by the American Centre for Law and Justice (ACLJ). The Washington-based watchdog maintained in its submission that: “The Islamic Republic of Pakistan continues to violate the human rights of its religious minorities. Instances of mob violence; police torture; false accusations of blasphemy; rape, murder, and other forms of violence occur on a regular basis. Authorities in Pakistan have shown a continuous inability or unwillingness to protect its minorities from human rights abuses. These aren’t isolated incidents. Christians are being specifically targeted.”
The watchdog further maintained that “Pakistani Christians are being terrorized, tortured, murdered – even sentenced to death – simply because of their faith. The Pakistani government seems unable or unwilling to protect its Christian citizens. We are asking the world’s leaders to take urgent action.”
The ACLJ said that the churches are being targeted and damaged frequently, what is more Christian neighborhoods have also been attacked repeatedly. It claimed that the Pakistani government has turned a blind eye to the plight of the Christians so much so that, “Christians can’t even count on the local authorities to protect them.”
“We are aggressively fighting for persecuted Christians through our office on the ground in Pakistan. We also continue to advocate for Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five who we’ve told you has been sentenced to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws for offering a Muslim coworker a glass of water. Pakistan has allowed these easily misinterpreted laws to cause innocent people – particularly Christians like Asia Bibi, and other religious minorities – to suffer and even die,” the ACLJ submission stated.
The American Centre for Law and Justice briefed the UNHRC that the blasphemy laws are being widely misused. “As a result, the blasphemy laws are easy to misuse and charges often result because of personal vendettas between the parties. Since Pakistan enacted these laws in the 1980s, over one thousand cases have been registered and over forty people are on death row or serving life sentences. Over fifty people have been killed over blasphemy allegations and hundreds are serving or have served prison terms ranging from three to ten years,” ACLJ said.
The ACLJ urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to exert pressure on the Government of Pakistan to comply with the international agreements it endorsed in order to protect the religious minorities nestled in the country.
“We must act now to protect our persecuted and dying Christian brothers and sisters. We will continue aggressively to advocate at the U.N. and through our office on the ground in Pakistan, but we need you. Be the voice of Pakistan’s frightened and dying Christians,” the ACLJ urged.
#Pakistan - Rift becomes apparent in #PTI
The rift within Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which is now acting like a government-in-waiting, became apparent on Tuesday when its two senior leaders came face to face in a party meeting.
It all started when there was an altercation took place between PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and former secretary general of the party Jahangir Khan Tareen in the party’s core group meeting.
Sources in PTI confirmed that Qureshi brought under discussion the matter of participation of disqualified politicians in the party’s affairs and Tareen took the remarks as personal as he has been disqualified for life by the Supreme Court
In the PTI’s core committee meeting that was held in the chair of Imran Khan, Qureshi objected to the participation of PTI leader from district Sahiwal of Punjab Rai Hasan Nawaz in the party meetings on the grounds that he has been disqualified for life by the Supreme Court.
Qureshi also objected to Rai Hasan’s participation in the parliamentary board meeting, as the regional head of the party, which has to start the process of award of party tickets soon for the next general elections.
On this, Tareen directly addressing Qureshi said that perhaps he was attributing these remarks to him. Tareen also said that he would not meddle into the affairs of the party and sit at home if the party decides so. After this, both started alleging each other on different party matters till the party chairman intervened.
Tareen alleged that Qureshi for his poor performance in the party and said that he had been assigned the task of revival of the party in Sindh to which he had failed miserably during the last two years. Tareen claimed that he had invested and worked a lot on south Punjab and number of politicians and lawmakers of the area had joined PTI because of his efforts. He taunted Qureshi for remaining isolated with the local lawmakers and small political groups.
In the argument, former secretary general PTI claimed that he had invested a lot of money on the party and he convinced the leadership of South Punjab Province Front to have a merger into PTI and objected to the behaviour of Qureshi. He added that if Qureshi followed the suit and with this behaviour, neither his dream of becoming chief minister Punjab would come true nor Imran Khan would become the prime minister as well as his party would come into power. Tareen also said that he would sit at home after Imran Khan became prime minister.
The sources within PTI viewed that Qureshi was not happy with Tareen because he was instrumental behind the newcomers within PTI. Qureshi thought that perhaps Tareen had not brought some tainted politicians within the party and these were damaging the image of PTI. At the end, Imran Khan assured the meeting that neither Rai Hasan Nawaz would remain on any party position nor would have a say in the parliamentary board.
On December 15 last year, a Supreme Court verdict had declared Jahangir Tareen to be dishonest under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution and Section 99 of Representation of People Act (ROPA) for the non-declaration of his property as well as assets in his nomination papers and disqualified him for life.
In 2016, the SC had also disqualified Rai Hasan Nawaz for concealing his financial assets and details of unpaid loans to commercial banks in his nomination papers. Hassan had approached the apex court against the election tribunal’s verdict
PTI rebuttal
Late in the Tuesday evening, PTI issued a rebuttal stating reports of differences between the two senior party leaders were baseless and based on speculations. The statement said that party leadership was united and the publication of such reports without proper verification was a proof of irresponsible journalism. The statement said that all decisions in the meeting were taken with consultations and with consensus like in the past.
PTI Secretary Information Fawad Chaudhry while talking to a private TV admitted that there was a discussion in the party over the participation of Rai Hasan in the parliamentary board following his disqualification by the SC. He said that the discussion was held in the light of the other day’s decision of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that disqualified politicians could not hold party positions. However, he denied that there was an argument between the two leaders.
PTI statement after the meeting
PTI in a statement after the meeting said that the party had suggested most suitable names for the slot of caretaker premier and these names should be considered by both PML-N and PPP.
It said that PTI termed its 100-days plan integral for the future of the country and the top brass has decided to put forth the details of the plan before the masses in the wake of the criticism of the opponent parties on the plan. Sharing the details of the meeting, the party spokesperson stated that PTI leaders discussed in detail the 100-day plan of the party and has decided to enlighten masses with the details of the plan. “Central leaders, including Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Jahangir Tareen, Asad Umer and Dr Shireen Mazari have been tasked to disseminate the details of the plan across the length and width of the country,” said the spokesperson.
Moreover, the spokesperson said that in the meeting Shah Mehmood Qureshi briefed the leadership regarding the caretaker setup. He stated that PTI’s suggested names, including Tassaduq Hussain Jilani, Dr Ishrat Hussain and Abdul Razzaq Daud are the best choices for the PM slot in the caretaker government and urged the ruling party to consider these names.
The spokesperson stated that the meeting also deliberated over the strategy for upcoming general elections and issuance of tickets and selection of candidature. It has been decided, he said, to convene a meeting of the parliamentary board immediately.
“The performance of PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been minutely analysed and chairman PTI specifically lauded CM KP Pervaiz Khattak and his cabinet for their remarkable performance even in worst circumstances,” the spokesperson said.
The meeting also looked into the issue of a huge number of politicians and lawmakers joining the party.
PTI is also considering to issue white paper on the “worst” governance of the PML-N’s Punjab government, said the spokesperson.
#Pakistan - #PTI leader Fauzia Kasuri quits party
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fauzia Kasuri on Wednesday announced that she is parting ways with the party as Kasuri no longer believes in PTI as a “representative of aspirations of the underserved citizens.”
In an official statement issued via Twitter, Kasuri announced that she is resigning from party membership over certain reservations. Kasuri said that she no longer believes that PTI is a true representative of aspirations of underserved citizens, who desire a change.
The PTI leader also complained that PTI Chairman Imran Khan has joined hands with electables who the party had earlier fought against since its inception.
Kasuri said that since she can “no longer defend party’s actions”, she would like to resign from party membership and to that end, requested the party chief to accept her resignation.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/243711/pti-leader-fauzia-kasuri-quits-party/
Re-Impositions Of Sanctions On Iran: Implications For Pakistan – OpEd
The recent decision of the U.S. president to pull its country out of the nuclear deal signed by six super powers of the world with Iran has serious implications for the world in general and Pakistan in particular. Contrary to policy recommendations, President Donald Trump’s decision to pull-out from the P5+1 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has already hiked crude oil prices to three-year highs. Since Pakistan and Iran enjoy common border, the geopolitical tension in its backyard must be handled with extreme care as policy decisions of the country are influenced by its relationship with the United States and Saudi Arabia.
From a domestic perspective, if one assesses Pakistan-Iran trade relationship with Iran the likely implications are negligible. Some analysts say that the decision may become a major roadblock in the execution of any energy supply projects (IP gas pipeline, possible expansion of electricity imports). As regards implications on the equity market the pressures imposed through higher global crude oil prices will weigh on an already precarious current account situation and will also not bode well for investors’ sentiments.
According to some economic analysts, having myopic view the hike in crude oil price bodes well for E&P sector and revenue collection. They also believe that influx of foreign exchange from Saudi Arabia will increase. However, they tend to forget that country is already suffering from serious balance of payment crisis.
There are speculations that U.S. sanctions against Iran would lead to a disruption in supply which would further tighten global supplies. Iran’s oil exports were 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in April 2018. However, gains have been capped by a stronger U.S. Dollar, which affects demand, and rising U.S. production. The uncertainties over Iran are helping to underpin prices with buyers coming in on weakness, but refraining from buying enough to drive the market through resistance and into new multiyear highs. This is holding the markets in a range and giving the appearance of a sideways trade.
The move has been initiated by the US president and many ‘me too’ are trying to please him. The crusade is led by Israeli prime minister, who is licking wounds caused to Israel in Lebanon by Hezbollah. The US is also adamant at taking revenge of its defeat in Syria, where it also faced Hezbollah. The west is never tired of accusing Hezbollah being supported by Iran but it is in no way part of Islamic Revolutionary Guards of Iran.
The US commentators have very cunningly convinced OPEC led by Saudi Arabia to curtail crude oil output which has resulted in 1) substantial increase in crude oil price and 2) significant hike in the output by the US and Russia. At present, Saudi Arabia has slipped to third position in terms of daily oil output. The US has also emerged as one of the major exporter of crude oil. Therefore, Iran with a daily export of 2.6 million barrel has become ‘of no consequence’. Even if export of oil from Iran is stopped completely, it would be compensated by other producers very quickly.
As a daily ritual, I have to write a few lines on commodities market and factors driving their prices. The most bizarre part is writing about the factors driving crude oil prices. The usual jargon used are increase/decrease in rig count in the US, movement in US stock piles, turmoil in Venezuela and MENA (countries including Iraq, Libya, and Nigeria). Little reference is made to investment by hedge funds.
Crude prices fell after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a surprise build of 6.2 million barrels in the week-ending April 27. Traders shrugged off the news because the surprise rise in inventories was largely concentrated on the West Coast where supply jumped nearly 5 million barrels.
If one peeps into history, it becomes evident that the price of crude oil is driven by any factor, but certainly not by demand and supply alone. The moral of the story is that developed economies, through hedge funds make millions of dollars by maneuvering crude oil prices. To achieve their objective they often breach agreements. Super powers are notorious for breaching the agreements for achieving their motives.
Therefore, re-imposition of sanctions on Iran will not be a surprise but an example of yet another blatant violation. However, they must not forget that even stopping oil export from Iran completely will neither make an immediate difference for Iran nor sky rocket oil prices.
Comments from Iran’s Foreign Minister triggered a volatile short-covering rally on Thursday after he said U.S. demands to change its 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers were unacceptable.
Trump and traders are waiting for the Europeans to hand Trump a plan to save the Iran nuclear deal by the end of next week. However, the situation remains uncertain enough that buyers are willing to come in on dips. If the Europeans can come up with a plan that satisfies Trump then prices are likely to decline sharply on speculative profit-taking and shorting. If Trump moves forward with sanctions then prices could rise, but gains are likely to be limited by rising U.S. production.
The moral of the story is that developed economies, through hedge funds make millions of dollars by maneuvering crude oil prices. To achieve their objective they often breach agreements. Super powers are notorious for breaching the agreements for achieving their ulterior motives. Therefore, re-imposition of sanction on Iran will not be a surprise but an example of yet another blatant violation. However, they must not forget that even stopping oil export from Iran completely will neither make an immediate difference for Iran nor sky rocket oil prices.
Belt And Road Initiative Enhances Pakistan’s Maritime Security, Decreases Likelihoods Of War Between India And Pakistan – OpEd
By Asia Maqsood
Pakistan plays a significant role in China’s Maritime Silk Route as part of China’s Belt and Road (B & R) initiative. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a vital development project within China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI) and serves as the crucial link between the maritime ‘road’ and land based ‘belt’ aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). India perceives this China’s Maritime Silk route passing through South Asia a direct threat to its core strategic interest in Indian Ocean as it wants to maintain Indian primacy in the Indian Ocean (IO) and Indian Ocean Littoral States.
India’s great leaders have strong aspirations to be a blue water navy or the dominant naval power in the Indian Ocean since its inception in 1947. India’s Anit Mukherjee determines Indian Ocean strategy in three categories. One is to establish closer ties with the US and its allies, second is to strengthen its links with Indian Ocean Littoral states and last is to building up its own military power ( including the induction of Nuclear capable Submarines into Indian Ocean).
Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is the coastal area (consists of islands and states) lying in contact with the IO. It has become a renewed focal point of global economy, having substantial avenues for economic activities of Asia, the US and Europe. Therefore, all stakeholders are obliged to ensure the security of the Indian Ocean in order to avoid any miscalculation or misperception among all stake holders. Moreover, China is expected to be the world’s largest oil importing country and India expected to be the largest coal importing country by 2020; therefore, there is an inevitable need for their cooperative efforts to ensure energy security.
On the other hand, the enlargement of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in the IOR is primarily due to the large economic incentives. China has transported 173.9 million tons of oil from the Middle East to China, and 52.4 million tons from Africa to China in 2016. Besides, China has established its first overseas military base in Djibouti which is considered by India as part of China’s “String of Pearls” strategy and would engulf India.
If India is developing its military (three wings: army, navy, air force) to maximize its power, likewise it may avoid to feed its fears related to China’s port development assistance in the IOR as China is pursuing its own national economic and strategic interests. India perceives that these ports can disrupt the refueling of India’s tankers, warships because of the presence of People’s Liberation Army Navy in the IOR.
The contemporary world is globalized and interdependent where states have to cooperate with each other in each walk of life. Therefore, India’s rhetoric regarding China’s development projects may prove unjustified in future. Here question arises that why India is the one of the biggest trade partner of China if it feels that it would be engulfed by China?
By the same token, India has presuppositions that the development of Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Baluchistan Province under China—Pakistan’s joint development project, “China—Pakistan Economic Corridor” will pave the way for the formation of Chinese naval base in Gwadar. Fuelling fears against China, India has launched nuclear capable Submarine in the Indian Ocean. This nuclearization of Indian Ocean has serious security implications for Pakistan. Thus, Pakistan needs a strategic partner currently (in form of “China”) in order to monitor India’s naval activities in the Indian Ocean. China can monitor the naval activities of both the US and India on the Indian Ocean.
Some of the recent events such as India-China military standoff at Doklam from 16 June 2017 – 28 August 2017 and India-Pakistan’s blame game on the unprovoked firing on the Line of Control region in 2017 and in the beginning of 2018 (left hundreds of people dead and injured), are the destabilizing incidents in the South Asian region. In the backdrop of these insecurities, Pakistan has to maximize its defence.
Most recently, an embryonic formation of an alternative route against China’s B &R initiative by a quad of Australia, India, Japan and the US in order to contain China’s global influence may exacerbate some tensions at global level. India being part of this quad may pursue its strategic objective against China’s B & R initiative. India considers China’s Maritime Silk Route projects in South Asia as part of its larger strategy of challenging Indian primacy in the Indian Ocean.
India here has certain doubts about Chinese aims to deploy Gwadar in the medium to long term as a dual use port, allowing the PLA key access into the Indian Ocean as well as bolstering Pakistan’s ability to deter any Indian advantage in the naval realm. The Pakistani port of Gwadar, built, financed and operated by China is located at the union of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, providing China access to a key location in the Indian Ocean.
In between all these states, Pakistan being an important part of China’s Belt and Road initiative can maximize it maritime security fittingly. Pakistan navy is likely to buy eight more diesel-electric attack submarines from China in near future. These are scheduled for delivery in 2028 to maximize Pakistan’s maritime security as a defensive measure. It may a direct response to India’s August 2016 deployment of its first nuclear submarine, the Arihant. A second, even more advanced Indian nuclear submarine, the Arighat, began sea trials last November, and four more boats are scheduled to join the fleet by 2025. That will give India a “nuclear triad,” which means the country will have the ability to deliver a nuclear strike by land-based missiles, by warplanes, and by submarines. The submarine is the key component. It’s considered the most “survivable” in the event of a devastating first strike by an enemy, and thus able to deliver a retaliatory second strike.
Lastly, both China and Pakistan will be able to monitor India’s naval activities in the Indian Ocean so that India’s any attempt to get an advantage in the IO can be counterbalanced. If, supposedly, that advantage will go unnoticed, there would be more chance of the nuclearization.
When it comes to India and Pakistan, by contrast, the new generation of nuclear submarines may increase the risk of a devastating war between the two longstanding enemies.
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Opioids crisis - Rudy Giuliani won deal for OxyContin maker to continue sales of drug behind opioid deaths
By Chris McGreal
The US government secured a criminal conviction against Purdue Pharma in the mid-2000s but failed to curb sales of the drug after Giuliani reached a deal to avoid a bar on Purdue doing business.
The US government missed the opportunity to curb sales of the drug that kickstarted the opioid epidemic when it secured the only criminal conviction against the maker of OxyContin a decade ago.
Purdue Pharma hired Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York mayor and now Donald Trump’s lawyer, to head off a federal investigation in the mid-2000s into the company’s marketing of the powerful prescription painkiller at the centre of an epidemic estimated to have claimed at least 300,000 lives.
While Giuliani was not able to prevent the criminal conviction over Purdue’s fraudulent claims for OxyContin’s safety and effectiveness, he was able to reach a deal to avoid a bar on Purdue doing business with the federal government which would have killed a large part of the multibillion-dollar market for the drug.
The former New York mayor also secured an agreement that greatly restricted further prosecution of the pharmaceutical company and kept its senior executives out of prison.
The US attorney who led the investigation, John Brownlee, has defended the compromise but also expressed surprise that Purdue did not face stronger action from federal regulators and further criminal investigation given its central role in the rise of the epidemic.
Connecticut-based Purdue is now facing a wave of civil lawsuits as New York, Texas and five other states have joined a growing number actions against the company. But Brownlee was the first, and so far only, prosecutor to secure a criminal conviction against the drug maker.
Brownlee launched his investigation shortly after being appointed US attorney for the western district of Virginia as the region struggled with escalating overdoses and deaths from opioids in the early 2000s. When he looked at the source of the epidemic he found OxyContin, a drug several times more powerful than any other prescription painkiller on the market at the time.
Newborn deaths in Pakistan
Asad Ali
A GLOBAL assessment published by Unicef in February highlighted that a baby born in Pakistan is 50 times more likely to die in its first month than a baby born in Iceland, Japan or Singapore. One newborn out of every 22 in Pakistan dies within the first month, meaning 46 out of 1,000 newborn babies die within the first month of their life.
In contrast, India, which has similar sociocultural factors to those existing here, has a corresponding newborn mortality rate of 25 per 1,000 newborns. According to the report, Pakistan’s survival rate of newborns is ostensibly worse than many countries having compromised economies as well as weaker health infrastructure.
A critical factor responsible for the high newborn deaths is the poor state of maternal health and nutrition, especially during pregnancy. Pakistan’s stunting rate (ie children shorter than normal for that age) which is an indicator of chronic undernutrition, is one of the highest in the world. Girls who are malnourished as children grow up and become pregnant, not having received any dietary rehabilitation to correct this deficit.
This then leads to adverse consequences for the pregnant mother, newborn baby as well as a household’s overall well-being. Limited resources due to widespread poverty, combined with a lack of understanding that pregnant women need nutritious diets along with micronutrients leads to poor weight gain of pregnant women. Thus, malnourished women give birth to babies who are small and weak — increasing their likelihood of dying in the face of otherwise minor illnesses.
Interventions to reduce newborn deaths include those focusing on the nutritional health of girls and women.
The second key factor responsible for the high neonatal deaths is the poor provision of available obstetric care. Delivering in a health facility is generally considered safer as compared to delivering at home. However, according to the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) of 2012-13, at least half of the births in our country are at home. Only 52pc of our births are assisted births, with the help of a skilled birth attendant, while the rest are not supervised by any trained person. The ability to care for the newborn is very limited in the home settings, with no access to immediate life-saving obstetrical procedures, otherwise provided at good health facilities. Examples of such critical services include obstetrical surgical interventions to safeguard both maternal and foetal lives as well as provision for subsequent neonatal resuscitation.
There are also major challenges within the healthcare facilities that provide obstetric care in Pakistan. Most of the private-sector obstetric facilities are concentrated in urban areas, and operate on a business model that prefers high volume of low-complexity cases. They do not invest adequately in the infrastructure and personnel to deal with labour complications and advanced neonatal care. In case of any last-minute complications related to the mother or the baby, they bank on referring the case to public-sector facilities. However, very few public-sector facilities are capable of dealing with these complicated cases, and those able to are overburdened by the magnitude and complexity of urgent cases coming their way, both from the private sector and failed attempts at assisted or otherwise unsupervised home-based deliveries.
While these two factors are critically important, they still do not explain why Pakistan’s newborn mortality rate would be higher than any of the other countries listed in the top 10 of Unicef’s list. Especially puzzling is the fact that this report comes at a time when other indicators like rates of institutional delivery, skilled birth attendance and Caesarean section have progressively improved, particularly in Punjab and KP as shown by recent provincial health surveys. Unicef estimates seem to be based largely on the findings and trends of both the 2006 and 2012-13 PDHS, and there are some fundamental differences in these two surveys with how a baby’s death has been defined and classified. We clearly need more robust data to make better-informed estimates of the number and causes of newborn deaths, ideally with district-level specificity.
There are probably additional factors in Pakistan that need scientific exploration such as cousin marriages which increases the risk of genetic disorders in subsequent generations. According to the 2012-13 PDHS, half of all marriages in Pakistan occur between first cousins. The burden of genetic disorders due to cousin marriages and its impact on the overall newborn and maternal mortality burden is currently unknown in Pakistan.
Moving forward, it seems that other than conducting research regularly, interventions most likely to reduce newborn deaths in Pakistan include those focusing both on the general and nutritional health of girls and women. It is important that this be done across the board to make certain that no female child is left behind. This can be done by ensuring that during her infancy a female child is not malnourished, during adolescence every girl is provided adequate nutritional resources for herself as well as to cope with the added requirements of pregnancy so that she gets adequate diet for two, and after childbirth so she is able to provide adequate nutrition and immunity to the newborn via breast milk. All deliveries should be in the presence of a skilled birth attendant. The health facilities need to be upgraded, with networks and services being brought closer to the people, rather than expecting people to bring the delivering woman in obstructed labour or a sick newborn all the way to the tertiary care public sector facilities of large urban areas.
Prevention, prompt diagnosis and correct treatment of illnesses in newborns are equally important, and must be given due importance in parallel to efforts focusing on women’s health. Although the government bears the primary responsibility for public health, the developmental sector, the academic institutions and civil society also need to prioritise this issue of women and girls health. Ignoring girl and women’s health any further literally threatens the future of our very nation.
Shoot the messenger: Pakistan authorities disrupt newspaper distribution after report on Sharif's 26/11 comments
The action led by Pakistan's military began after the newspaper published the interview of Nawaz Sharif.
Pakistan’s oldest newspaper, Dawn, is facing the heat after publishing an interview of ousted PM Nawaz Sharif in which he all but accepted that Pakistani ‘non-state actors’ were involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international body keeping track of the state of independent journalism, claimed that distribution of Dawn was being disrupted in much of the country since the publication of the interview.
The interview which appeared on May 12 has reportedly displeased Pakistan military. RSF says that the blocking began on May 15. The distribution of the English daily is “disrupted in most of Baluchistan province, in many cities in Sindh province and in all military cantonments,” it said.
Apparently, the Press Council of Pakistan has also notified Dawn’s editor that the newspaper breached the ethical code of practice by publishing content that "may bring into contempt Pakistan or its people or tends to undermine its sovereignty or integrity as an independent country".
RSF, in a statement, said, “The unwarranted blocking of the distribution of one of the main independent newspapers has yet again shown that the military is determined to maintain their grip on access to news and information in Pakistan.”
“It is clear that the military high command does not want to allow a democratic debate in the months preceding a general election. We call on the authorities to stop interfering in the dissemination of independent media and to restore distribution of Dawn throughout Pakistan.”
Nawaz Sharif, in the interview, had questioned Pakistan’s inability to complete the trial against 26/11 attack mastermind. “Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can’t we complete the trial?” he had said.
The comment was lapped up by Indian media as an acceptance of Pakistani role in the terrorist attack. In Pakistan, his comment was criticised by all quarters. PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi accused the Indian media of giving the issue “a different hue”.
Dawn was founded by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1941 in New Delhi. Though it started as the mouthpiece of Muslim League, after the division of British India, it became the leading voice in English Language journalism in Pakistan.
#MeToo - Pakistan confronts its Me Too movement — and backlash
Naila Inayat
A handful of Pakistani women recently went public to accuse famous actor and musician Ali Zafar of sexually harassing and abusing them. Their announcement grabbed headlines, prompted outrage and sparked the Me Too movement in conservative Pakistan.
The women’s remarkable statements — followed by similar claims in politics and business sectors — are a sea change in this highly traditional Islamic country where female honor killings, child brides and polygamy are commonplace. In Pakistan, women receive only a portion of an inheritance that males get.
"I think in any society it is difficult for women to come forward,” said Nighat Dad, director of the Digital Rights Foundation and an activist for women's rights. “The Me Too movement has organically come with women coming forward against powerful men, be it Ali Zafar or a CEO of a tech start-up, to finally hold men accountable for their behavior.”
Victims of sexual abuse and harassment have long suffered in silence in Pakistan, where shame is placed on the woman and not the perpetrator. Most women never report the incidents, but those who do come forward often face shame or questions about their morality.
Pakistani pop singer Meesha Shafi, who accused Zafar of sexually harassing her on multiple occasions, is challenging that tradition.
“Today I am breaking this culture of silence and I hope that by doing that I am setting an example for young women in my country to do the same,” Shafi wrote on Twitter last month. “We only have our voices and the time has come to use them.”
Zafar denied the claims and demanded that Shafi delete the allegation online and issue an apology, or he would file a $9 million defamation suit against her.
“I am deeply aware and in support of the global Me Too movement and what it stands for,” Zafar said in a statement. “I am the father of a young girl and a young boy, a husband to a wife and a son to a mother. I have nothing to hide. Silence is absolutely not an option.”
Shafi has refused to take down her tweets. Her attorney denied she defamed Zafar. Days after the public dispute erupted, more women came forward against Zafar, who has been compared to Hollywood producer and accused abuser Harvey Weinstein in the Pakistani news media. Leena Ghani, a makeup artist based in London, said Zafar had repeatedly “crossed boundaries” with her. “His behavior displays a clear lack of respect for women,” Ghani said on Twitter. “Inappropriate contact, groping, sexual comments should not fall in the gray area between humor and indecency.” Humna Raza, a blogger from Lahore, accused Zafar of groping her when she asked to take a selfie with him. Another woman, Noor Sehar, a Karachi marketing executive, accused Zafar of sexual misconduct at a party. Such allegations are not isolated. Khalid Bajwa, chief executive of local music streaming company Patari, stepped down from his post last month following sexual harassment allegations. While many have supported the Pakistani singer for bravely speaking out, others questioned Shafi's accusations.
“I just don’t see any truth in these allegations,” said film actress Resham, who uses a single name for her career. “Ali cannot do such a thing. How can he harass a woman and she doesn’t slap him back, hit him with a shoe, push him away or complain to his wife?”
Shafi also has been shamed on social media after she went public. "The backlash that Meesha has faced, the misogynistic attitudes that she has had to confront also sends women a message that there is still a cost to coming forward,” said Dad, the women's rights activist. Others defended her.
“Meesha is a superstar who is really successful and earns as much as the male stars in this country,” said actor and model Iffat Omar in an Instagram post. “So why would she do this if she was not hurt? Many people are claiming that she is doing this for fame or money. She already has more than enough of both.”
Still, many women are afraid to come forward because of possible repercussions.
For example, lawmaker Ayesha Gulali of the mainstream Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insafpolitical party, recently accused her party’s leader, Imran Khan, of sending her lewd text messages. She was hit with backlash both online and from her party. Party leaders tried but failed to kick her out of the party and expel her from Parliament.
Also, broadcast journalists Tanzeela Mazhar and Yashfeen Jamal pursued a sexual harassment case against the director of current affairs at Pakistan Television, Agha Masood Shorish, they stirred up a storm of criticism before he was eventually fired. “When I raised my voice, people responded with (degrading) comments about women, our character and personal lives,” Mazhar said.
Still, Shafi encouraged other women to come forward with this answer on Twitter: “It’s only scary till you say it!”
Load-shedding triggers protest across the district Badin
The residents of the different parts of city including Seerani road, Ward no: 05, Shahi Bazar, Shah Latif road, Bilawal Park, Post office area, Army sugar Mills road Badin, Kachhi Mohla, Gujrati Mohla, Kazia Canal, Khatti Mohla and others areasled the protests for immediate supply of power and minimize the load-shedding during the holy month of Ramzan.
Enraged people haling of different areas city led by Ayaz Rahimon, Nadeem Abbasi, Rizwan Zaur, Ram Chand, Ghulam Sarwar Shaikh, Nazir Udhejo, Ali Akbar Udhejo, Dhani Bux, Ahsan Memon and others gathered at outside of Badin Press Club on Monday and shouted slogans against the federal and provincial governments for their people negligence policy and failing to take any action against WAPDA officials.
The protesters alleged the politicians of district and HESCO officials of not taking measures to address the issue. On the others hand, Govt of Sindh has announced heat-stroke for the week long span of time and advised to the people to avoid going out of the shelters from dawn to dusk amid to protect them from upsets of heat-stroke.
The people of Badin facing extreme heat and load-shedding and dearth of the water adding that unannounced load-shedding had made their lives miserable. The regretted that HESCO officials did not even bother to attend phone calls of the citizens let to resolve the complaints.
Adding the protesters demanded the water and power ministry to take immediate notice of the situation and bring an end of unscheduled load-shedding and stressed that government to take strict action against those officers who do not pay heed to the complaints of the citizens.
http://www.thesindhtimes.com/sindh/05/load-shedding-triggers-protest-across-district-badin/
Monday, May 21, 2018
Who should mothers hold responsible for their death in Balochistan?
By: Yousaf Ajab Baloch
Khair Bibi, 26, breathed her last, when she was struggling to give birth to her second child. Her family members claim that she was thrice taken to District Head Quarter (DHQ), but she was given no treatment. She was brought from Kapoto, a village some 35 kilo meter away from Kalat city. Her family members allege that staff at Gynecology Ward did not admit her and sent her back behaving rudely.
Fortunately, her parents lived in Kalat city so she was taken there. Her husband, a poor former, told the Balochistan Point that she could live if she were admitted at hospital for the delivery case with a reasonable response, adding that he had no money otherwise he would have taken his wife to a private hospital in Quetta.
Shoaib Ahmed, one of the cousins of deceased female, who was requested to accompany them when she was brought to hospital, told that he did not think his cousin died a natural death but she was killed prematurely for want of medical care. “The staff was unwilling to meet us and admit patient at Gynecology Ward. Firstly, they pretended absence of `doctors and other staff as well as of no electricity or light.” Shoaib told.
“Thrice she was taken to hospital with in eight hours but not even for a single time her blood pressure was checked and last time she was threatened that she would go under surgery if brought again.” Shoaib lamented.
Shoaib added: “There was no light facility even we had to bring a torch from our home, even then she was sent back home, where she had her last breaths.” However, denying the allegations, Dr. Gansham, the Medical Superintendent (MS) at DHQ Kalat, told Balochistan point that there was no negligence of doctors in death of the female; she died of self-medication.
Dr Gansham Das admitted absence of facilities and resources in hospital. “We have no facility or alternate in case of load shedding which causes suffering for patients. Because the installed solar energy system worth 6 million for hospital has become of no use in less than a year due to the poor quality supplies for the project.” he told the Balochistan Point.
Kalat city is the districts headquarter of the Kalat, roughly located in the center of Balochistan with the population of more than 300000 where 80.79 % of the population lives in rural areas.
District Head Quarters (DHQ) hospital confronts significant shortage of clinical staff besides other basic facilities. According to the MS DHQ, out of 44 sanctioned posts of doctors and other medical staff members, more than 30 lay vacant. Currently we have only two lady medical officers but no gynecologists which is very alarming, he adds.
There was no such serious issue of dearth of staff and resources but there were flaws in management and lack of sincerity
One of the staff members at DHQ told this scribe on condition of anonymity that there was no such serious issue of dearth of staff and resources but there were flaws in management and lack of sincerity. “Currently there are 6 Medical Officer, 2 Lady medical Officers, 4 staff nurses 3 Lady Health Visitors (LHVs) and more than 5 Midwives even than people suffer so it is just because of the failure of management. Despite utilization of more than 20 million annual budgets for medicine people suffer.” The staff member added.
District Health Officer Dr. Naseem Langove indicates lack of staff at DHQ as cause of issues in service delivery. “The doctors are appointed but they are soon transferred having support from politicians and bureaucracy and here the lack of doctors and other staff creates problems for the common people.
No enough accommodation facility also creates issues for doctors. Some normal patients may be referred to Quetta but the serious patients at gynecology ward and emergency sometimes perish due to non-availability of staff and resources.
Khair Bibi is one the examples among thousands of suffering mothers who lose their lives during pregnancy and childbirth-related issues. One of UN Population Fund (UNFPA) recent reports states that a woman dies from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications every 20 minutes in Pakistan, however, in Balochistan the Mother Mortality Rate (MMR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) are higher as compared to the other provinces. The report states: “Majority of Balochistan’s eight million inhabitants have only limited access to adequate health care; the situation is far worse.” It may be mentioned that the population is crossed over 12 million as per 2017 census.
Among different factors, the health experts mark above mentioned problems’ persistence as a result of no gynecologists, female health workers at hospitals in far-flung areas of Balochistan since most of the doctors prefer working in Quetta or big cities in Balochistan. Even most of the doctors and LHVs refuse to serve in remote areas of Balochistan.
In the recent years country based Maternal Mortality rate (MMR) was recorded at 260 per 100,000 live births, whereas, it is the worst-hit area when it comes to MMR, CMR, and health-related indicators in Balochistan. Keeping in view Balochistan’s MMR and female reproductive health demographics the experts have already expressed that it could only compete with war-torn Somalia – with MMR of 1000 and Liberia with MMR 770 per 100,000 live births.
The poverty, no enough health services and untrained staff always keep mothers health at risk since the pregnancies are always serious and complicated which can only be tackled if required health facilities are provided and trained staff including gynecologists are appointed. Besides this mothers need to be educated on the complexity of pregnancy and basic medical requirements.
In order to control MMR, Balochistan government claims to have provided gynecologist, anesthesiologist and pediatrician to most of the districts headquarter hospitals across the province. Three nursing colleges in Khuzdar, Turbat and Loralai districts are said to equip professional health workers to fulfill the needs for maternal health; however, the increased maternal mortality proves no tangible development in Balochistan.
Former senator and chairperson of PPHI Balochistan Board of Directors (BoD), Rubina Irfan has showed her concerns over the death of discussed female in Kalat. She called on Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kalat, MS DHQ and questioned the role of district management including the district representatives.
It is not called progress when there are no doctors, medicine and even no light in case of power shortage at a hospital
Talking to the Balochistan Point Rubina Irfan said that she had discussed the miserable condition of DHQ mainly maternity care ward at DHQ Kalat with secretary Health and Minister Health to pay attention towards them. She surprised at the role and tall claims of development in Kalat’s health and education sector by the MNA and MPA of the area. “I see misuse of wealth in district Kalat but no development. It is not called progress when there are no doctors, medicine and even no light in case of power shortage at a hospital.” She added.
Rubina Irfan stressed on dire need of well functional and equipped hospitals not only in Kalat but also in all districts of Balochistan to provide healthcare facilities to the populations, especially to those who come from far-flung areas with a hope to be treated.
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