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Perspective: Persecution of Ahmadi Muslims -- a problem in the DNA of #Pakistani society

By Imad Zafar 

It is the height of hypocrisy that Pakistani society always demands and protests for the rights of minorities in India, Israel, Myanmar and other countries while in our country, we oppress minorities in each and every possible way.

Life for Ahmadis has never been easy in Pakistan. They live in a state of fear of being accused of blasphemy all the time. In a recent development, a 100-year-old mosque of the Ahmadi sect was destroyed by an angry mob in the town of Sialkot.

The city administration, trying to cover up the matter, stated that the mosque had failed to obtain a written approval from the authorities for renovation, thus it was decided to destroy the section of the building that had been recently renovated. However, contrary to those claims, the Ahmadiyya Jamaat presented a copy of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) stating that the mosque had obtained permission to be renovated.

In any case, the argument from the government officials seems very vague and unacceptable, as by no means does the law allow the authorities to accept help from a mob of religious fanatics to demolish any illegal construction.

While many Sunni mosques are built on illegal land acquired or renovated and expanded against regulations without any NOC for adding additional floors, they are never abolished or sent any notice from the authorities.

The media, as usual, did not cover the Sialkot story properly, nor was an investigation into the matter launched by higher government authorities.

It is not the first such incident. Three years back a chipboard factory owned by an Ahmadi was burned down on allegations of blasphemy in the city of Jhelum, and there are many incidents where the Ahmadi community is being targeted or persecuted.

It is the height of hypocrisy that Pakistani society always demands and protests for the rights of minorities in India, Israel, Myanmar and other countries while in our country, we oppress minorities in each and every possible way.

A few decades ago when Hindu extremists destroyed the Babri Mosque in India, protests erupted across Pakistan, and people in Pakistan still accuse India of marginalizing its Muslim minority and deliberately destroying their historic mosques. Yet the demolition of a historic Ahmadi place of worship in Sialkot is justified for the majority of the population in Pakistan.

This double standard and hate toward Ahmadis and other communities is proof that as a society we Pakistanis have a genetic disorder of hating others on the basis of belief, and this genetic disorder is being created by ourselves. Even the children in many families in Pakistan are taught to hate Ahmadis and do not form relationships with or trust them, as Ahmadis are deemed a threat to the religious mainstream.

One wonders why 96% of the population is afraid of only 1% of the population and conceive them as a threat.

Life for Ahmadis in Pakistan is all about somehow surviving the wrath of the majority of the population. They are treated as third-rate citizens and hated for their religious beliefs.

Such is the level of hatred that shops in major markets across the country carry a poster on the entrance door that Ahmadis are not allowed, or we do not do business with Ahmadis. Religious clerics freely declare Ahmadis to be a threat to the Sunni-dominated population and beliefs, and this creates a hostile atmosphere for Ahmadis where they even hide their identities in order to be saved from the fanatics.

For the state, the persecution and marginalization of Ahmadis never matter, as Ahmadis only constitute around 1% of the total population. So political parties, in order not to lose religious and popular votes, never intervene or take steps to save the community from exploitation at the hands of Sunni clerics and the Sunni population.

The problem is getting worse as general elections are approaching and every single political party in order to attract voters in some way endorses the hatred against this community. Unfortunately, intellectuals and journalists, who play a vital role in bringing positive changes to the social fabric of any society, are either reluctant to speak up or are under the influence of their set religious belief systems, so they choose to remain silent or they write and talk about usurping all the rights of Ahmadis. It gives them the approval and ratings from the general population.

The Ahmadi problem is not even considered a problem and generally, it is considered that if Ahmadis declared themselves as Muslims they would be spared and no one would target them or try to marginalize them.

According to the constitution of Pakistan, Ahmadis are declared non-Muslims, but Ahmadis call themselves Muslims. The law that was passed by Zulfiqar Bhutto to appease the religious clerics in order to save his government has been haunting Ahmadis for the last four decades, and there is nowhere to hide or run.

With almost every Sunni and Shiite Muslim brought up with the belief that Ahmadis are blasphemers and use the name of Islam to exploit religion, there is very little hope that the problem of the Ahmadis will be addressed in near future. In fact, if someone tries to take steps to provide a little relief he is deemed a blasphemer as well.

The tragedy is that Ahmadis persecution and marginalization is not even considered a serious issue. While the media and state choose to remain silent, the Ahmadis are left to the mercy of religious clerics and their millions of blind followers. The state, by declaring Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974, laid the foundation for their massacre and exploitation, as this step by the state vindicated the stance of fanatics that Ahmadis were blasphemous, and the rest of the population created a narrative that has resulted in Ahmadis being the most vulnerable community.

Until the state denounces the policy of hatred and extremism and stops intervening in the personal faith and beliefs of its citizens, there is no hope that Ahmadis will be even considered human in this society. For now, life for the 5 million Ahmadis in Pakistan is all about somehow surviving the wrath of the majority of the population.

The persecution and marginalization of the Ahmadi community is actually a crime by both society and the state. It seems we as a society need DNA surgery in order to get rid of the hatred and extremism in our genes toward the faith and beliefs of others.

BANNED TERRORIST OUTFITS TARGETING MINORITIES IN PAKISTAN: US REPORT

Banned terrorist outfits are targeting minorities in Pakistan, revealed the annual report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

“In 2017, religious minorities in Pakistan, including Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Ahmadis…continued to face attacks and discrimination from extremist groups and society at large,” the report states, adding that as many as 231 people were killed and 691 injured in such incidents in Pakistan last year.

The report states that the government of Pakistan “failed to protect these groups adequately, and it perpetrated systematic, ongoing, egregious religious freedom violations.”
It was noted that forced conversions of non-Muslims continued despite the passage of the Hindu Marriage Act, which grants greater rights in family law for Hindu citizens.

“The entry of fundamentalist and often extremist, religious parties into the political arena in advance of July 2018 national elections further threatens religious minorities’ already precarious status in the country,” it adds.
In December 2017, the State Department named Pakistan as the first, and only country on its “Special Watch List,” a new category created by December 2016 amendments to IRFA.

http://www.shiitenews.org/index.php/pakistan/item/34650-banned-terrorist-outfits-targeting-minorities-in-pakistan-us-report

#Pakistan - Missing Salmaan Taseer

Had he lived, Salmaan Taseer would today be celebrating his 74th birthday. It is important to remember him on this occasion. Not simply due to his connection to this newspaper. But because of his relentless struggle for democracy, civic freedoms and minority rights.

Taseer’s bold stance and ultimate sacrifice remain a benchmark for the human rights movement in Pakistan. Whenever there is a call to protect the weak or to speak up against injustice, his name will be remembered.

Here in 2018, Pakistan has more reason to miss him than ever. The country has not just seen a resurgence of the religious right. It has witnessed a state apparatus capitulating to those who want nothing more than to sow the seeds of religious disharmony.

The rise of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP)’s political clout over the last year is cause for grave concern. Not least because the party termed the execution of Mumtaz Qadri “unjustifiable”. This, despite him having assassinated Taseer in cold blood over the latter’s efforts to have the country’s draconian blasphemy laws reviewed and amended. At the time of his murder, Taseer was no ordinary man. He was the governor of the Punjab. That Pakistan did not wake up to this threat back then was a case of wilful myopia.

Which leads us to where we are presently. Another assassination attempt; this time against Ahsan Iqbal, the outgoing man at the Interior. And although the TLP denied links to the gunman — the latter had been, by his own admission, incited by party chief Khadim Rizvi to do the unthinkable. Namely, shoot a federal minister on the basis of mere hearsay and false impression partly created by the media. All because of what may have been a minor change in the oath taken by the parliamentarians to affirm Khatm-e-Nabuwwat (finality of the Prophethood [PBUH]).

The outgoing PMLN government came under fire for tampering with a tenet of Muslim faith. In reality, this was nothing more than fake news. As fake, in fact, as aspersions levelled by sections of the fourth estate against the late Governor Taseer. The TLP movement has brought with it Ahmadi suffering. State institutions that are tasked with upholding the constitutional provision requiring the equal treatment of all citizens before the law now call for a declaration of faith to be made mandatory for anyone wishing to hold public office. As if it were not enough that the issuance of CNICs and the documents of citizenship are dependent upon denouncing another’s faith. And from there we arrive where we are now. The destruction earlier this month of an historic, century-old, place of worship in Sialkot by those who believe in anything but religious pluralism.

So, yes. Pakistan has every reason to miss Salmaan Taseer. For without him, the country is hurtling along a theocratic path not of its own choosing. But it will be of its own making as long as those parties that preach violent bigotry are allowed to go ballot-boxing. And so, we hope that the PPP will not give up the mission for which Taseer sacrificed his life. Recently, its leadership paid respects to a hate-preaching cleric in Sindh province. A party that has lost leaders due to bigotry must not fall into the trap of short- term gains by allying with dubious religious characters. This is the least it should do if it wants to respect the legacy of the long list of its own martyrs, including: Benazir Bhutto, Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti, among others.

Happy Birthday, Salmaan Sahib. Your compassion must be kept alive for the good of us all.

World Justice Project report: Singapore most, Pakistan least peaceful Asian state

According to a World Justice Project report, people in Singapore feel the safest, while people in Pakistan feel the least secure.

The report measured the prevalence of common crimes in 113 countries, including homicides, kidnappings, burglaries, thefts, armed robberies and extortions, as well as people’s perceptions of safety. Japan was the second safest in Asia and eighth in the world, while South Korea ranked third in the region and 22nd in the world. Despite the tension with North Korea, people in the South perceived their country as free from intimidation, mob violence and serious incidents of crime and terrorism. Here are the names of prominent countries with their ranking: Singapore 1, Japan 8, South Korea 22, China 28, Mongolia 39, Malaysia 41, Vietnam 42, Indonesia 49, Nepal 57, Sri Lanka 59, Myanmar 64, Thailand 69, Cambodia 81, India 98, Bangladesh 102, Philippines 107, Pakistan 113.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/323323-world-justice-project-report

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Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan For Peace And Solidarity (APAPPS): What’s In It For CPEC? – OpEd

By Qura tul ain Hafeez

China intends to extend the CPEC into Afghanistan which is a positive move towards regional economic integration. So, it has played a vital role in bringing the two countries on table.

Pakistan recently had its fourth meeting of Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) on May 14, 2018, which can further pave the bilateral relations among the two neighbors – Pakistan and Afghanistan, thus eventually materializing the CPEC to extend towards Afghanistan. The two sides showed their interest to promote pace and solidarity among six different areas mutually beneficial for them.

These areas include commitments including: Pakistan’s support for Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation; to undertake effective actions against fugitives and the irreconcilable elements posing security threats to either of the two countries; deny use of their respective territory by any country, network, group or individuals for anti-state activities against either country, to put in place a joint supervision, coordination and confirmation mechanism; avoid territorial and aerial violations of each other’s territory; no public blame game, instead APAPPS cooperation mechanisms would be utilized to respond to mutual issues of contention and concerns and working groups and necessary cooperation mechanism would be set up as per APAPPS. Upon successful implementation of this joint action plan the two countries will meet the common objectives of eliminating terrorism and achieving peace, stability, prosperity and development of the people of the two countries.

Continuing to achieve the peace and solidarity will help improve the economic relation between Afghanistan and Pakistan. As the political constraints and terrorism, extremism, and separatism are the major contributing factors behind the poor economic and trade relation between Afghanistan and Pakistan. At present, for Pakistan, CPEC is the window for economic development. However this window of opportunity faces severe security challenges. In this regard, the APAPPS will be instrumental in improving the security situation in Pakistan specifically in terms of curbing terrorism. Once these security challenges will be addressed the possibility of extending CPEC to Afghanistan will be even more likely.

Moreover, China has been quite helpful in promoting these peace talks between Pakistan- and Afghanistan. This will provide not only a smooth regional connectivity to CPEC but a broader perspective for OBOR initiative. With the extension of CPEC into Afghanistan, the country can become a major beneficiary of this project because in near future the corridor will add to the economic development of this fragile country-Afghanistan, by enhancing economic activities in the area which can put the flimsy economy of Afghanistan on a sound footing, eventually securing and bringing peace to the westward borders of Pakistan.

There are several connectivity projects that Pakistan, China and Afghanistan can undertake if become partners under the CPEC. The significant road projects that may be incorporated in the economic connectivity to Afghanistan envisages 265 km Peshawar to Kabul motorway and the road link connecting western alignment of CPEC to Afghanistan by linking Chaman to Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif to Termez near the border of Central Asian countries. This passage will offer an effortless and short access to Afghanistan in order to connect to the sea port of Gwadar (which is almost 600 kilometres shorter than the presently existing transit route being used by the traders and people of Afghanistan). This connection will integrate Afghanistan with other regions and also allow it to start commercial activities through the Indian Ocean.

Consequently the Chinese efforts for APAPPS will bring Kabul and Islamabad much closer, which is the need of the hour. This will also address Chinese fears about the spread of Islamist militancy from Pakistan and Afghanistan to the unrest-prone far western Chinese region of Xinjiang. This is not the first time that China is paying a role of mediator in solving the conflict of interest and grievances between the parties involved in CPEC. Previously China has played a vital role in bringing the Baloch tribes on the table to discuss the matters related to CPEC. So, the APAPPS will provide a forum to enhance connectivity and cooperation through CPEC projects with neighboring countries, including Afghanistan, Iran and with Central and West Asian states.

#Pakistan - Sikh rights activist gunned down in Peshawar

A renowned Sikh religious leader and rights activist was gunned down on the outskirts of Peshawar on Tuesday.

52-year-old Charnjit Singh was gunned down inside his shop in Scheme Chowk area.

“An attacker shot Singh inside his shop and escaped afterwards,” superintendent police Saddar Shaukat Khan told The Express Tribune. “He died on the spot.” It was not clear whether it was a target killing incident or a result of personal enmity.

The deceased had been residing in Peshawar for decades but his family hailed from Kurram Agency. He owned a store in the metropolis for quite a long time.

The murder caused panic among the community as several Sikhs have been killed in different parts of the city in the past.

Most of the Sikhs residing in Peshawar are those whose families previously resided in different parts of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) but shifted to Peshawar and started a business.

Most of the Sikh community resides in Mohalla Jogan Shah where the old temple is located.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1721880/1-sikh-rights-activist-gunned-peshawar/

Pakistan's emboldened judiciary poses headache for ruling party ahead of polls

Asif Shahzad

Visibly annoyed, Pakistan’s Chief Justice Saqib Nisar picks up a dirty steel bowl, displays it to a barrage of TV cameras, slams it against a rack, and shouts: “You serve food in it?”

The outburst was captured during a recent visit to inspect patients and their living conditions at a hospital psychiatric ward in the northwestern city of Peshawar - one of a series of trips around the country in what Nisar has termed a crusade against corruption and bad governance.

With TV channels following his every move and lapping up his verbal barbs, Nisar has become a thorn in the side of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and its founder Nawaz Sharif, whose third stint as prime minister was cut short in July when the Supreme Court disqualified him over a small undeclared source of income. Sharif and his family now face corruption charges that could see the veteran leader jailed, and there is a growing concern within PML-N ranks that the judiciary could dent the party’s electoral prospects in a general election on July 25.

“The present scenario, the way the judiciary is interfering in the executive’s work ... the governments can’t work like this,” said outgoing Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, speaking at a news conference on Monday after the election was called at the weekend.

“SUO MOTO”

Nisar has used Pakistan’s so-called “suo moto” provision - which allows him to take up cases on his own initiative - to launch inquiries ranging from the payment of sugar cane farmers by mills and increases in milk prices to allegations of corruption in the running of the country’s railways and national airline.

He says such cases, and his frequent public appearances to inspect development projects and public facilities such as schools and hospitals - rare for a sitting chief justice - are aimed at protecting the poor. “We have to fight for those people who unfortunately don’t have means to get their rights,” Nisar said, addressing lawyers early this year. Nisar is not the first activist chief justice. Indeed, his high media profile has drawn parallels with Iftikhar Chaudhry, who initially won plaudits for helping oust military dictator Pervez Musharraf in 2008, but was later criticized for overstepping his constitutional remit.

PML-N insiders and some analysts say Nisar’s assertiveness smacks of judicial overreach and hints at a return to Pakistan’s past, when they say the judiciary cut politicians down to size at the behest of the powerful military, which has ruled Pakistan for nearly half its history since independence in 1947.

PML-N insiders accuse shadowy military networks of working with the judiciary to weaken the party in the run-up to the election. Some analysts say the judges would be unable to take such an aggressive stance against the civilian government without at least tacit support from the generals. “With their specific targeting of PML-N, this would undermine fair play in election, and squeeze Nawaz Sharif,” Ayesha Siddiqa, an author and political analyst, told Reuters.

“The judicial decisions are a strong signal as to where the powerful establishment will lay their eggs this time.” The military did not reply to requests for a comment. The army has previously said it does not interfere in politics. Nisar’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

GOVERNMENT CRITIC

Nisar has previously denied being a military stooge and has shown no signs of pulling punches ahead of the general election, serving contempt of court notices to senior PML-N figures who have criticized the judiciary.

While he has also taken on the opposition, his principal target has been the PML-N and Sharif himself.

During several visits in recent months to the province of Punjab, Sharif’s longtime electoral heartland, Nisar has been demanding the provincial government - run by Sharif’s brother Shehbaz - improve public sector institutions. In April, he inspected a new train project that the PML-N wants to showcase before the polls, which he threatened to shut down in January if the government didn’t prioritize education and health.

“Punjab government did nothing in the last 10 years,” Nisar said from the bench in March.

He also removed PML-N Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb, who has been critical of the judiciary, from a parliamentary committee that regulates the media. “The committee can’t be independent as long as she is a member,” he said.

“DE FACTO PM”

Nisar’s actions have delighted the opposition.

“We’re happy that Supreme Court is upholding the supremacy of law in this country,” Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party leader Imran Khan told reporters after the court barred Sharif from holding party office for life in April.

But many within the legal profession are unnerved.

“A considerable number of lawyers, including myself, don’t see this activism as a positive step,” said Ali Ahmad Kurd, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

Sharif, whose second stint as prime minister was ended by a military coup in 1999, has labeled his dismissal and the corruption charges against him as a “fraud” and a witch hunt.

Last month, he said he had “grave doubts” about whether the upcoming election would be “fair and free”.

The top court followed up Sharif’s July disqualification by removing him as PML-N party leader in February, and lately banned him for life from holding any public office. Last month the Islamabad High Court also disqualified from parliament Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, one of Sharif’s closest allies.

In recent weeks, Pakistani TV channels have been muting the sound on Sharif when he talks about the judiciary and military, prompting him to complain of creeping censorship.

But Nisar has not been immune to criticism. The top judge’s growing profile has raised eyebrows, and drew ridicule after a news clip of his presidential-style motorcade, showing at least 34 vehicles, went viral.

Journalist Omar R. Quraishi shared on Twitter another video clip of Nisar flanked by several police and paramilitary commandos.

“That’s more security than for the Prime Minister or President,” tweeted Quraishi. “Oh wait... we are looking at the de facto PM.”

#Pakistan -ECP allots sword symbol to #PPP for 2018 polls

The Election Commission of Pakistan has allotted the sword symbol to Pakistan People’s Party for the 2018 general elections.

The election commission heard the case regarding the allotment of sword symbol for the next elections.

PPP lawyer Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, in his arguments, said that the party came into being in 1967 and they contested the 1970 elections on the sword symbol.

He said that sword was removed as an election symbol during the 1977 election and it was not mentioned in ECP’s list in 1985.

Estranged PPP leaders Safdar Abbasi and Naheed Khan had also filed applications for the allotment of sword symbol for the next election.

Abbasi said that PPP has contested four elections on the arrow symbol since 1988.

He said that Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Peoples Party – Parliamentarians are the same party.

Safdar Abbasi told the PPP counsel that he should submit an affidavit which states that the party will contest elections on the sword symbol. To this the PPP lawyer asked who was Safdar Abbasi to demand these documents.

The estranged PPP leader said that he wanted to settle the issue, adding that a similar petition has been filed by his wife in the Supreme Court.

ECP reserved its judgment after hearing the arguments of all three parties and later allocated the symbol to PPP.

https://www.samaa.tv/pakistan/2018/05/ecp-allots-sword-symbol-to-ppp-for-2018-polls/

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#MemorialDay2018 — let's remember those who died as a result of VA's lack of accountability

Every Memorial Day, our news and social media channels are filled with images of heroic veterans, reminding us that “all gave some, but some gave all.” Typically, when we are honoring those who died in service to our country, we conjure up images of soldiers who died nobly on the battlefield, taking their last breath while shots blaze and bombs go off all-around them.

However, this Memorial Day, we must commit to honoring those who died for their country, albeit in a much less glamorous and unnecessary way — those who died as a result of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ lack of accountability.

By now, the VA’s woes since the patient wait-time scandal of 2014 first broke have been well-documented, including the fact that as many as hundreds of thousands of veterans have died as a result of inability to access VA care. From the current drama over the appointment of a new Secretary to Congress’s cold feet on choice and caregiver expansion legislation (the latter of which looks like it will soon be remedied), veterans issues have enjoyed, albeit somewhat reluctantly, a top spot in the Trump administration’s list of priorities.

Of the topics dominating the focus on veterans’ issues, first and foremost is choice, or the ability to pick a healthcare provider in your community or at the VA, rather than being forced to see one or the other as dictated by VA bureaucrats. What is talked about less and less, unfortunately, is the accountability component.

In the same way that the military commits to leaving no man behind, those that are committed to VA reform must not leave accountability behind. The accountability component is important, because, without it, we are forced to remember a large number of veterans on Memorial Day rather than celebrate with them on Veterans Day.

In 2014, issues surrounding VA choice and accountability went hand in hand. Indeed, the first legislation passed in response to the wait-time scandal was entitled “Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act.”

To their credit, the Trump administration attempted to tackle the accountability issue head on by creating the VA Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. However, like many good ideas trusted to the VA for implementation, according to numerous whistleblowers, the VAOWP quickly became a tool used to further whistleblower retaliation, rather than to remedy it.

For example, take a look at the case of Dr. Dale Klein, the first VA whistleblower to have his case handled by the new VAOWP. Rather than providing a triumphant example of years of bureaucratic injustice being corrected and how veterans’ lives were saved by addressing his concerns, Klein’s case demonstrated just the opposite. He was unceremoniously fired for “failure to follow orders” — even though his orders included treating veterans in an unsanitary workspace and overprescribing prescription pain medicine.

Upon his arrival at the Poplar Bluffs VA Medical Center in Missouri, Klein raised these issues to the VA Office of the Inspector General, most notably his concerns about opioid prescriptions, which were subsequently substantiated in a June 2017 OIG report. Instead of fixing the problems and protecting Klein through the VAOWP, the VA fired him.

According to Dr. Klein, “OAWP's ostensible purpose is to hold management accountable for retaliating against whistleblowers.  Unfortunately, administrators were not held accountable in my case, which has emboldened them to retaliate.”

And, Dr. Klein’s situation is not unique. According to Tom Devine, legal director of the nonprofit Government Accountability Project, “the VA is by far the most repressive federal agency in the government. Depending on the year, between a third and 40 percent of whistleblower retaliation complaints for the whole government comes from this one agency.”

In other words, accountability at the VA is lacking much more than it is in the rest of the federal government.

Furthering this point, a new report from Whistleblowers of America, an organization that assists whistleblowers who have suffered from retaliation after having identified harm to individuals or the public, found that most whistleblowers find that the VAOWP has failed them. According to one whistleblower who contributed to the report, “Whistleblowers would be better off if OAWP did not exist because it gives whistleblowers a false sense of security where none exists. And obviously, it wastes taxpayers’ money because OAWP is ineffective.”

There is a saying that illusions never change into something real. Currently, many politicians take pleasure in finding VA accountability to be an issue they no longer need to deal with, due to the creation of the VAOWP. However, due to larger systemic issues within the VA, this is just an illusion; and real accountability is still lacking.

Despite this criticism, Devine acknowledges that the OAWP “has made a good-faith effort to try to help whistleblowers,” but add that’s that “the national VA office just doesn't have the power to effectively police the local branches.”

Thankfully, to this end, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hinted at a recent hearing that they were looking into such structural changes that may result in greater accountability, to include an overhaul of VA’s VISN structure.

“The VISNs are due for an overhaul,” said committee chairman Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn. “They should be the fail-safe mechanism when a medical center goes off course. Unfortunately, too many of them seem to be afflicted with a case of learned bureaucratic helplessness.”

As we acknowledge this Memorial Day that there is no more noble pursuit than risking your life for your country, let’s remember that risking one’s life shouldn’t carry over to one’s dealings with the VA after service.

http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/389283-memorial-day-2018-lets-remember-those-who-died-as-a-result-of-vas-lack-of

#MemorialDay2018 - Former presidents honor fallen soldiers on Memorial Day

Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama took to social media on Monday to honor America's fallen service members on Memorial Day.

Obama shared a photo of himself in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with a message honoring "our fallen heroes."

Clinton kept his twitter message short, writing: “Remembering, honoring, and thanking all who served our great country.”

Bush shared on Instagram a portrait he painted of David Wright, a marine who died this month, and honored “the brave souls who have given their lives in defense of our country.”

“May we honor them in thought and in deed this #MemorialDay,” he added.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/389629-former-presidents-honor-fallen-soldiers-on-memorial-day

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Protest in Pakistan over Gilgit-Baltistan order

Several people have been injured in Pakistan in clashes between police and protesters during a demonstration against the so-called Gilgit-Baltistan order, media reports said on Sunday.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has seized more authority from the local council to deal with the affairs of the disputed region through the Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018 which was passed on May 21.

The order is seen as Islamabad's efforts towards incorporating the disputed region as its fifth province.

Police fired tear gas shells and resorted to aerial firing in Gilgit yesterday to stop protesters approaching towards Gilgit-Baltistan assembly for a scheduled sit-in against the newly introduced order, The Express Tribune reported.
Politicians, cutting across party lines, held protest rallies across Gilgit-Baltistan demanding constitutional rights for the region.

The Gilgit-Baltistan government has promulgated the Gilgit-Baltistan Order-2018, which replaced the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order of 2009.
However, the new order has failed to impress local politicians who announced region-wide protests.
"We will continue our sit-in outside the assembly till this package is revoked and we are given constitutional rights," said Awami Action Committee (AAC) Chairman Sultan Raees.
Civil rights groups in Pakistan have also criticised the order.

In New Delhi, Pakistan's deputy high commissioner Syed Haider Shah was summoned over Islamabad's so-called Gilgit-Baltistan order.

He was told by India that any action to alter the status of any part of the territory under his country's forcible occupation has no legal basis.

In a statement, the ministry of external affairs said it conveyed to Shah that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, which also includes the so-called 'Gilgit-Baltistan' areas, is an integral part of India by virtue of its accession in 1947.

Pakistan has bifurcated occupied Kashmir into two administrative parts - Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Gilgit-Baltistan was treated as a separate geographical entity by Pakistan untill now.
Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh are the four provinces of Pakistan.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/protest-in-pakistan-over-gilgit-baltistan-order/articleshow/64344720.cms?utm_source=Colombia&utm_medium=OrganicNative&utm_campaign=CTN&utm_term=Video&utm_content=26

#Pakistan's - Ilaqa-e-Ghair - Rethinking FATA

By Zaigham Khan

The Ilaqa-e-Ghair – the alien territory – is no longer ghair (alien). Through the 31st Amendment to the constitution, parliament ended Fata’s ‘special’ status last week. It is an occasion to celebrate, but it is also a moment for soul-searching, particularly on the part of those who have been, or are, at the helm of the state in Pakistan.

Why did it take us three generations to make such a common sense decision? How and why did we accept the British colonial explanation of the culture of the area, based on sheer stereotyping? Why did we not bother to develop our own knowledge and understanding of Pakistani cultures and people? How did those sound cultural reasons for the unique governance structure of Fata evaporate overnight? How did this area turn into an ungoverned space that went into the hands of insurgents and had to be re-conquered through military means? Why did we have to wait for the people of the area, and a good part of the country, to go through a trial of fire before making this decision? Finally, are there other Fatas in Pakistan hiding in plain sight?

Let’s start with the problem of the “alien gaze”, ie looking at our own people with the lens of a powerful outsider. There is a famous travel writer who writes about Pakistani people and places with the arrogance of a 19th century European explorer. He happens to have a background of government service. More or less, this is the attitude of most officers in the service of Pakistan. This attitude, inherited from the British at the time of Independence, has continued without much alteration.

Talk to an officer of the elite District Management Group (DMG), for example, and he will tell you about the people of his district quoting some centuries-old British gazetteers. It is one thing for people to have stereotypes, it is quite another for state functionaries to perpetuate and propagate them, and govern using these stereotypes. Fata existed for seven decades because our rulers foolishly believed, or cunningly assumed, outlandish cultural assumptions that cannot stand the scrutiny of social sciences.

The people of Fata have suffered from this stereotype-based ‘knowledge’ as the foundation of policy. These stereotypes are not completely external. Many of these stereotypes have been fully internalised by the people themselves or, as some researchers have shown, they started as internal stereotypes and the British used them for their own objectives. Pakhtuns saw themselves as warlike while outsiders either respected them for this stereotype or turned this stereotype upon them by branding them as irrational, headstrong and violent.

These stereotypes were peddled to justify a governance structure that was based on the strategic needs of the British Empire. Fata was crafted as a ‘frontier’ of the empire with Czarist Russia – an additional buffer behind the buffer state of Afghanistan. It also served as a buffer from the unrest in Afghanistan. For strategic considerations, these areas were insulated from political movements in British India and, later, in Pakistan. In fact, adult franchise was extended to Fata in 1997 and political parties were only allowed to work in the tribal belt in 2011 when the PPP government introduced a set of reforms and extended the Political Parties Act to the region.

The first serious effort to reform governance in Fata was made by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1976 when he formed a committee under Gen Naseerullah Babar. The committee included Hafeez Pirzada, Rafi Raza and Dr Mubashar Hassan and was given the task to create a framework so that Fata could become a part of the then NWFP.

Under Zia, Fata was turned into a strategic space once again which provided Pakistan with plausible deniability for its involvement in the Afghan jihad. However, Fata was not just a strategic space, it was also the bureaucrat’s kingdom where officers ruled with the grandeur and glory of the colonial era. There was no job more coveted than the office of the political agent in the tribal region. A job in Fata offered access to limitless power, unaudited state resources and a share in the huge crime economy. Officers would return from Fata with riches that could be laden on dozens, if not hundreds, of camels – all at the cost of the common man in the area who lived a life that was worse than the citizen of a famine-stricken country. (Kindly see the human development indicators if you find this statement exaggerated).

In Fata, the social contract between individuals and the state did not exist. In fact, the individuality of a citizen was denied through the FCR, which made the whole tribe responsible for the actions of an individual. It was an ominous reminder of the period of Jahiliya, the pre-state age in the Arabian Peninsula that Islam ended fourteen centuries ago.

While political parties and the civil society were locked out, religious groups, the uncivil society and criminal gangs flocked to the region and thrived in this poorly governed space. It became a hub of smuggling, narcotics and violent religio-political movements. Thanks to Fata, Pakistan became a major exporter of narcotics to the world. Whenever an individual was abducted or a car was stolen in any part of the country, there was always a good chance that they could be found in Fata. More recently, it became a sanctuary for terrorists from all over the world.

Pakistan’s achievements in its war against terror may be unparalleled, but, at the same time, it will be hard to find a parallel to such self-defeating policies. In Fata, the state gave away its monopoly over force – the very basic definition of state.

While we integrate Fata, we must debate the fabric of the Pakistani state and its colonial heritage. Dozens of Pakistani institutions and hundreds of Pakistani laws are colonial fossils that have no purpose other than to serve elite interests. It is time to wake up because they can no longer serve elite interests.

Pakistan’s system of law and order, and its justice system, are the heaviest colonial millstone around our necks. The failure of our justice system can be easily linked to the rise of terrorism. Reforming the police, laws and the justice system should be a top priority. The municipal problems do cause diseases, but they do not cause terrorism or threaten the very existence of the state. The failure of the justice system does that.

Lack of evidence-based policy results in the allocation of resources on the basis of patronage. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the developed areas get the lion’s share of resources while the least developed areas have to depend on crumbs. This situation has only worsened under the PTI government. Is there a guarantee that subsequent KP governments will not treat Fata in a similar manner?

The bureaucratic state of Pakistan suspects the civil society and human rights defenders, while it feels more comfortable with the conformist and backward-looking uncivil society. Will Pakistan’s real rulers allow the civil society to thrive in the integrated Fata regions or the rest of the country? Before we end our discussion on Fata, we must start debating Gilgit-Baltistan. Why has Pakistan’s paradise been in a constitutional limbo for seven decades? Must we wait for the people to rise before we undertake serious reforms? Can’t we find a way to integrate GB without sacrificing our national interests?

#Pakistan - Aseefa Bhutto distributes Iftar boxes among people in Karachi

Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, the daughter of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, distributed iftar boxes among the poor and deserving families in Karachi on Sunday.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) set up an iftar camp and the youngest member of Bhutto family, Aseefa distributed iftar boxes to the needy near her residence at Bilawal House.

Aseefa is also committed to eradicating polio from Pakistan. She is the Rotary Ambassador and a former UN Ambassador for Polio Eradication.

She has actively driven an anti-polio campaign across the nation to make people aware of the serious consequences of this epidemic and has encouraged the masses to get their offspring vaccinated against this fatal disease.


https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/05/28/aseefa-bhutto-distributes-iftar-boxes-among-people-in-karachi/

In Pakistan, Non-Muslim Voters Up By 30%, Hindus Maintain Majority

The number of Hindu voters before 2013 polls was 1.40 million, higher than the collective number of all other minorities.

The number of non-Muslim voters in Pakistan has climbed to 3.63 million in 2018 with the Hindus at 1.77 million maintaining their majority among the religious minority electorate, according to a new voters' list prepared by authorities ahead of the general elections.

The non-Muslim voters have registered an increase of 30 per cent over the last five years, the Dawn newspaper reported citing an official document.

The number of voters belonging to religious minorities has climbed to 3.63 million in 2018 from 2.77 million as registered in electoral rolls for the 2013 general elections, it said.

According to the report, the number of Hindu voters before 2013 polls was 1.40 million, higher than the collective number of all other minorities.

The number of Hindu voters now stands at 1.77 million.

Hindu voters continue to maintain their majority among the minorities, but they no more constitute over half of total non-Muslim voters as was the case in 2013, according to the report.

They are mostly concentrated in the Sindh province, where in two districts they form over 40 per cent of total registered voters.

The current government led by the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) will complete its tenure on May 31 post which a caretaker regime will oversee the election which is proposed to be held on July 25.

A total of 105 million -- 59.2 million males and 46.7 million females -- constitute the electoral roll across the six provinces of Pakistan, which has a population of over 200 million, according to data on the website of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

A triangular contest between the governing PML-N led by prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan's PTI and former president Asif Ali Zardari's PPP is on the cards.

Christians form the second largest group of non-Muslim voters, totalling 1.64 million with over 1 million settled in Punjab followed by over 200,000 in Sindh. Their number has grown at a relatively high pace as compared to Hindu voters as it was 1.23 million before the 2013 general polls.

The total number of Ahmadi voters is 167,505 - most of whom dwell in Punjab, followed by Sindh and Islamabad. The number in 2013 stood at 115,966.

Of the total 8,852 Sikh voters, most are settled in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa followed by Sindh and Punjab. Their presence in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas is more than their combined strength in Balochistan and Islamabad. They numbered 5,934 in 2013.

The number of Parsi voters has grown from 3,650 in 2013 to 4,235. Majority of them are settled in Sindh followed by KP. The number of Buddhist voters has increased from 1,452 in 2013 to 1,884. Most of them live in Sindh and Punjab.

There are a total of 31,543 voters from the Bahai community on the electoral rolls.

The report, based on official document, makes no mention of Jewish voters in Pakistan, though in 2013 there were 809 Jewish voters in the country 427 women and 382 men.

While the district-wise data of non-Muslim voters is yet to be prepared, according to official statistics related to 2013 elections, Umerkot and Tharparkar districts in Sindh had as high percentage as 49 per cent and 46 per cent of total voters, respectively.

The voting lists have been updated ahead of election scheduled to be held on July 25.

#Pakistan - OP-ED #FATA: is a merger the solution?

By Lal Khan


The merger of FATA with KP alone will not make much difference for the region’s oppressed people

The situation in the backward wilderness of the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) has been simmering for the last few years. The British imperialists called these badlands, and therefore carved the region to contain the Pakhtun tribes straddling across their imposed Durand Line of 1893. The Colonial Raj indirectly ruled FATA brutally through the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), first promulgated in 1872. Under this archaic law, an innocent individual could be imprisoned for the crimes of his or her relatives. Families were subjected to collective punishment, the government could displace entire villages without compensation, explanation, or warning and individuals would languish behind bars for years without any charges being filed.

These laws prevailed for 70 years after the so-called independence of 1947. The recent anti-terrorist operations have inflicted dreadful collateral damage. Hundreds of thousands were displaced from their homes; villages and bazaars were bombed into ruins, thousands of civilians were killed and maimed in this crossfire. Many thousands remain ‘missing’ in suspicion of supporting the Taliban. It has now been decided, however, that FATA is to be merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

Last Thursday, Pakistan’s parliament approved the 31st Amendment Bill 2017 to the 1973 Constitution for the merger of FATA with KP. However, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) opposed the bill and staged a walkout. Their vested interests seemed to be in conflict with those of the other mainstream parties and their bosses. But an earlier high level meeting of the military establishment and the government ensured the passage of this bill.

The passage of the bill became necessary after an unprecedented political movement by FATA’s youth started last autumn. The extrajudicial murder of a young Pakhtun named Naqeeb Ullah Mehsud in Karachi by the police accentuated the uprising. Hundreds of thousands of Pakhtuns, as well as members of other ethnicities thronged to the mass rallies supporting the demands of the PTM. These included putting an end to the discriminatory treatment of FATA’s people, including harassment of tribal women by security forces at check posts; recovery of missing people covertly abducted by intelligence and security agencies; the removal of hazardous landmines and the reconstruction of their property, which was destroyed during military operations.

There is no industry in FATA, and social infrastructure is negligible. More and more people have turned to the narcotics and the arms trade to earn a living

The regime and the military establishment were caught unawares and baffled by the intensity and vigour of this new movement from the tribal areas, but all media outlets have capitulated to complete censorship of this movement. The deep state has resorted to stealth repression. However, it has continued to garner support and has successfully held some of the largest rallies held by any indigenous grass route movement over the last few decades. The fight is far from finished.

FATA’s people were the main sufferers of the Afghan Dollar Jihad during the late 1970s and 1980s. After the collapse of the USSR and subsequent departure of the Americans, FATA became a hub of the drug trade and a training ground for Islamist sects breeding terrorism. Western and regional imperialists have kept their proxies, wreaking havoc in their lust for FATA’s abundant natural and mineral resources, along with its strategic significance. FATA has also been subjected to a blitzkrieg of indiscriminate US drone attacks, mainly killing civilians.

The CIA financed reactionary insurgency in Afghanistan with locally generated black capital from the drug trade, ransom and other crimes. The black economy still dominates the region and the rest of Pakistan. Any structural change in the administrative apparatus and political setup would be unable to break the strangle hold of the drug barons and bosses of this black capital. Keeping the Levies force intact according to this plan will continue a parallel law-enforcement apparatus, which will further confuse jurisdiction.

FATA is the most impoverished and least developed region of the country. It is an arid mountainous region, made up of seven ‘political agencies’ Bajaur, Khyber, Kurram, Mohmand, Orakzai, North Waziristan and South Waziristan, spanning 27,220 square kilometres. Literacy rate is 17.4 percent, and only three percent amongst women. Eighty-six percent of the population lives beneath the poverty line. Traditionally, the economy was based on subsistence agriculture, rearing livestock the indigenous weapons manufacturing industry and small-scale businesses. Many locals have migrated to larger cities and abroad in search of jobs. The internecine wars have destroyed their orchards, small businesses and other sources of livelihood. There is no industry and social infrastructure is negligible. More and more people have turned to the narcotics and the arms trade to earn a living.

With these socioeconomic conditions, the merger of FATA with KP would not make much difference for the oppressed. Access to the courts and other state institutions is going to be limited to the elite and sections of the middle class. The aristocratic elite related to black capital will continue to dominate the region economically, socially and politically. On the other hand, the demand for referendum in FATA for making it a separate province is also restricted to administrative changes only. The solution to the woes of the oppressed masses is the necessity of a socioeconomic system that can guarantee development; eliminate poverty, misery, illiteracy and deprivation. Other regions of the country have only a relatively better socioeconomic situation. Oppressed masses everywhere are yearning for an end to this exploitative system.


However as Marx explained, wherever capitalism exists, it penetrates into the deepest and farthest regions of the society. However, due to the rotten nature of Pakistan’s capitalism, its penetration has created more unevenness rather than any harmony and social development. In FATA, conditions of medieval ages exist side by side with the most modern smart phones and other 21st century gadgets. Rather than eliminating backwardness, this distorted and weak capitalist modernity has made this medieval tribal system more corrupt, criminal, reactionary and vicious; creating seething contradictions. The courageous uprising of the Pakhtun youth from this primitive area was actually an explosion of these contradictions. For the attainment of their basic human rights and fundamental necessities of existence, this struggle of the Pakhtun youth has to be linked with the class struggle of the oppressed throughout South Asia. Only through a revolutionary strike can these colonial shackles be broken. Only by transforming this socioeconomic system can FATA be brought out of the wilderness of terror and backwardness and its people achieve emancipation and prosperity.