Sunday, June 27, 2021
#Pakistan - #PPP will not tolerate a puppet Prime Minister in Azad Kashmir
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/25183/
Saturday, June 26, 2021
After US Afghanistan withdrawal, will Pakistan, Iran and Turkey take over?
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN
Each of the three are preparing for the day after the US leaves.
Moves by Turkey, Pakistan and Iran are afoot to fill the void left by the US as Washington draws down its last troops from Afghanistan after two decades of war there. The Taliban is advancing on various fronts and there are concerns that when America and its partner forces from other countries in NATO leave, instability and terror could spread.Turkish media is boasting that Ankara may rush in to backfill the US withdrawal by taking over Kabul International Airport. But Turkey won’t be sending more troops to secure the airport, Ankara’s media reports. It likely understands the crucial importance of controlling airports.For instance, Ankara has recent experience sending mercenaries to Libya and Syria, and also involving itself in Azerbaijan and northern Iraq. Turkey also has experience with airports. In the 2000s a Turkish construction group helped modernize Erbil International Airport. Turkey’s model for airport control and influence may be by watching how Iran used its role in the Baghdad, Damascus and Beirut airports to build up control for weapons trafficking and other activities. Iran and its network of militias and proxies play a key role at these airports in the region. Turkey may want a hand in Kabul for reasons of its own desire. It has a close relationship with Pakistan and both countries have religious far-right leaders who are seeking to assert their power. Pakistan has long been accused of supporting the Taliban through its intelligence services and the Turkey-Pakistan relationship could lead to them partitioning Afghanistan or facilitating the Taliban taking over part of the country. Meanwhile, Iran has its own interests in Afghanistan. It has long sought to target US forces there and eject the United States. It also has designs on a larger presence in Central Asia. This could dovetail with the Pakistan-Turkey plans, but it could also lead to some competition or flashpoints. Iran ostensibly would like to protect the Shi’ite Hazzara minority in Afghanistan. Islamist extremists linked to Pakistan and ISIS, as well as the Taliban, have targeted Shi’ites in genocidal bombing attacks. These attacks spare no one, including attacks on girl’s schools and children. Iran would not welcome more such attacks. But Tehran has flirted with Al Qaeda, hosting its members, and other extremist groups in the past. How this fits in with Turkey’s goals and Pakistan’s goals is as yet not entirely clear. What is clear by reading the press accounts is that each country has its own policy and is preparing for the day after the US leaves. Even when it does leave, there will still be hundreds of American personnel in Afghanistan. Around 650 troops will stay, according to reports. The Taliban says it has a “right” to react if the troops remain. Basically, the Taliban appears to be dictating terms to the US now, a major reversal from 2002 when the US helped crush the Islamist movement. Evidence that Iran and Pakistan may work together can be found at a Press TV article highlighting how Islamabad will no longer permit US bases in the country. In recent interviews, key Pakistani officials have indicated how they are growing closer to China and have voiced antisemitic claims. Iran also has a new 25-year deal with China. Iran’s goal though will be to increase trade with Pakistan and China, and instability in Afghanistan would not help achieve that. This means that insofar as Pakistan supports the Taliban, the goal will be to ease their conquest of the country. Turkey moving into the airport could fit into that design as well. Afghan leader Ashraf Ghani was in Washington to meet with US President Joe Biden late last week. He compared Afghanistan’s current predicament to an 1861 moment of the US Civil War. “The senseless violence has to stop, but it’s going to be very difficult,” the president said. “But we’re going to stick with you and we’re going to do our best to see to it you have the tools you need.” The comparison to 1861 is an indication that the Afghan leadership wants to mobilize the country to stop the Taliban offensive. However they may find that Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and other countries have other plans.It remains to be seen where those countries will position themselves and whether Afghanistan falls to extremists and becomes a base of terror or whether stability can be maintained and the Taliban offensive checked. Considering the religious extremist nature of the governments in Ankara, Tehran and Islamabad, things do not bode well.
Pakistani PM's comments on women's clothing, sexual assault spark protests
Pakistan's prime minister sparked protests this week after suggesting during an interview with Axios' Jonathan Swan that there would be fewer sexual assaults in the country if women dressed modestly.
The big picture: When asked by Swan if the clothes women wear could provoke acts of sexual violence, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said: "It depends on which society you live in. If in a society where people haven’t seen that sort of thing, it will have an impact on them."
- Khan's comments drew nationwide protests and calls for a public apology, according to the Washington Post.
Driving the news: Some women in Pakistan responded to Khan's comments by sharing photos of the clothes they were wearing when they were sexually harassed, per the Washington Post.
- Women also shared anecdotes about inappropriate behavior they have experienced, even when dressed conservatively in traditional headscarves and shalwar kameez.
- At a protest on Saturday, women were encouraged to bring clothing that they or somebody they know were wearing when they experienced sexual violence.
What they're saying: “This is dangerously simplistic and only reinforces the common public perception that women are ‘knowing’ victims and men ‘helpless’ aggressors,” the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and more than a dozen other civil society groups said in a statement published on June 24.
- “For the head of government — a government that claims to defend the rights of women and vulnerable groups — to insist on this view is simply inexcusable.”
- https://www.axios.com/pakistan-prime-minister-protests-women-sexual-assault-dc94d4c0-dc5b-4f19-840e-3d0348c64cc1.html
#PPP’s Kashmir policy is that the people of Kashmir will decide for Kashmir – Chairman PPP #Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/25178/
Friday, June 25, 2021
Report Says Islamic World ‘Actively Collaborating’ With China’s Global Campaign Against Uyghurs
By Reid StandishIn 1997, the government of Pakistan deported 14 Uyghurs accused by Beijing of being terrorists plotting to split Xinjiang, China’s heavily Muslim western province, away from the rest of the country. Upon being driven across Pakistan’s eastern border with China, they were summarily executed. That case represents the first documented episode of Uyghurs being extradited at China’s request, “marking a watershed in the evolution of Chinese transnational repression,” according to the China’s Transnational Repression of Uyghurs Dataset, a new database and report that was launched on June 24. It examines 1,546 cases of detention and deportation across 28 countries, from the 1997 incident until March 2021. The data set, which is a joint initiative by the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs and the Uyghur Human Rights Project, shows how China’s campaign against the Uyghurs has gone global, rapidly expanding from Central and South Asia to include Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The report, which claims to be the most complete account of China’s international campaign, documents how governments — predominantly from Muslim-majority countries across the Middle East and Asia — have cooperated with Beijing to surveil, detain, and repatriate Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities from China who have fled Xinjiang. “There has been a lot of criticism against Muslim majority countries for their silence on Xinjiang and the repression of the Uyghurs,” Bradley Jardine, the director of research at the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs and the report’s lead author, told RFE/RL. “But this database shows that it isn’t just hypocrisy from the Islamic world, it’s active collaboration with China.” United Nations human rights officials estimate that 1 million or more Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other Muslim minorities are detained at camps in a vast Chinese internment system. Many former detainees allege they were subjected to attempted indoctrination, physical abuse, and even sterilization. The United States government and several Western parliaments have labeled China’s actions in Xinjiang as genocide, but most governments of majority Muslim states — who increasingly have close financial and political ties to Beijing through China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — have remained silent on the issue.According to the report, efforts to target Uyghurs and force them back to China have intensified since 2017, when Beijing is believed to have begun its mass internment program in Xinjiang. “Through these practices, the government of China is able to extend its repression and control over the Uyghur people across sovereign boundaries,” the report says. A Domestic Campaign Goes Global China’s government initially denied the Xinjiang camps’ existence, but has since been on a diplomatic and public-relations campaign to counter the growing outcry against what Beijing has termed “vocational-education centers” by defending them as necessary to combat Islamic extremism. Concerns over terrorism have been at the heart of official Chinese reasoning for targeting Uyghurs abroad that employs an evolving array of tactics, the report notes, from espionage and cyberattacks to issuing Red Notices via Interpol, an organization designed to coordinate global policing activities. While Chinese authorities have long viewed the Uyghur community with suspicion, and radical Uyghur separatist groups have carried out attacks, the report argues that the 2009 ethnic riots in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, were a turning point for Beijing. The riots claimed 200 lives, most of them ethnic Hans, and attacks by extremist Uyghur groups escalated the security situation in Xinjiang in the following years. The unrest led to swift retaliation by Beijing in the name of fighting extremism, and according to Jardine, who is also a fellow at the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, this led to large outflows of Uyghurs from China who sought asylum and refugee status in countries around the world. “This forced China to have a more global outlook, whereas before it was regionally focused on neighboring areas like Central Asia and Pakistan,” he said. The data set highlights three phases in China’s evolving efforts against Uyghurs abroad. The first phase was predominantly focused on neighboring areas with Uyghur diasporas in Central and South Asia, with 89 Uyghurs detained or sent to China from 1997 to 2007. The second phase, from 2008 to 2013, expanded to 15 countries and targeted 130 individuals. The third phase, from 2014 to March, saw a major escalation, with 1,327 people detained or extradited from 20 countries. The data highlight a focus on Muslim-majority countries, with 647 of the cases in the report taking place in the Middle East and North Africa and 665 cases occurring in South Asia. Eleven hundred and fifty-one of the cases recorded involved Uyghurs being detained in their host country, while 395 were deportations or extraditions back to China. “These numbers are just a drop in the bucket,” Jardine said. “We are limited to people that have come forward, but there are far more unreported cases that we just don’t know about.” A Spotlight On The Muslim World Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan recently made headlines when he declined to acknowledge or condemn the Chinese government’s alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang during a June 20 interview with the U.S. news outlet Axios. Islamabad and Beijing maintain strong ties, and the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) remains a flagship project within China’s BRI.But the database highlights how Pakistan’s cooperation with China on Uyghurs is decades old and predates Beijing’s increased investment and economic push across Eurasia.“While there is no evidence of an official agreement to monitor Uyghur activities, Pakistan’s activities in the late 1990s hint that an agreement had likely been reached, formally or otherwise,” the report says.Similarly, lawyers for Uyghur groups have submitted new evidence to the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s Office of the Prosecutor showing the government in Tajikistan has been cooperating with Beijing to send Uyghurs back to China. Their complaint also accuses Tajik authorities of helping to facilitate the extraordinary rendition of Uyghurs from Turkey back to China. Turkey remains a crucial location for the broader Uyghur community. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has welcomed Uyghurs to Turkey for many years, with an estimated 40,000 Uyghurs living in that country of around 82 million. Erdogan has been critical of China’s heavy-handed policies in Xinjiang, but more recently has tempered his remarks as Ankara has become closer economically with China. In December 2020, Beijing ratified a 2017 extradition treaty between the two countries. But the Turkish parliament has yet to follow suit, leaving Uyghurs fearful that the looming decision could see many of them sent back to China at Beijing’s request. “Turkey was once seen as a safe haven, but no more,” Jardine said. “The West now needs to start looking at expanding its refugee quotas and facilitating Uyghur claims from Turkey and other countries that are complicit in China’s transnational repression.”
https://www.eurasiareview.com/25062021-report-says-islamic-world-actively-collaborating-with-chinas-global-campaign-against-uyghurs/
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Blames Women for Sexual Violence
By Munir AhmedIt was the second time in two months that Khan sparked outrage after suggesting that women’s attire plays a role in provoking sexual violence against them. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is facing growing criticism at home after seemingly blaming a rise in sexual violence in Pakistan on women wearing “very few clothes.”His comments drew nationwide condemnation from human rights activists and the country’s opposition, which sought an apology. The controversial statements aired over the weekend came in an interview on Axios, a documentary news series on HBO. “If a woman is wearing very few clothes it will have an impact, it will have an impact on the men, unless they’re robots,” the prime minister said. “I mean it’s common sense.” Asked directly by interviewer Jonathan Swan whether the way that women dress could provoke acts of sexual violence, Khan said: “It depends on which society you live in. If in a society where people haven’t seen that sort of thing, it will have an impact on them.” It was the second time in two months that Khan sparked outrage after suggesting that women’s attire plays a role in provoking sexual violence against them. In April, in an online show on state-run Pakistan Television, Khan claimed that wearing a veil — the traditional head covering worn by conservative Muslim women — would protect women from sexual assault. Khan’s government has faced criticism over its failure to curb sexual attacks on women since he came into power by winning a simple majority in parliamentary elections in 2018. Pakistan has been rocked by high-profile sexual attacks, including last September when a woman was gang-raped in front of her children after her car broke down on a major freeway at night near Lahore.Sexual harassment and violence against women is not uncommon in Pakistan. Nearly 1,000 women are killed in Pakistan each year in so-called “honor killings” for allegedly violating conservative norms on love and marriage.The weekend interview with Khan in Islamabad covered a wide range of issues, but his comments seemingly linking how women dress to sexual violence garnered by far the most attention. The former cricket star drew broad criticism on social media from both civil rights groups and everyday Pakistanis. “Shame on You,” a Pakistani woman, Frieha Altaf, said on Twitter. Marriyum Aurrangzeb, spokeswoman for the opposition Pakistan Muslim League party, condemned Khan on Twitter for his remarks. “The world got an insight into a mindset of a sick, misogynistic, degenerate & derelict IK (Imran Khan). It’s not women’s choices that lead to sexual assault rather the choices of men who choose to engage in this despicable and vile CRIME,” she said. However, female lawmakers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party defended the prime minister, saying his comments were taken out of context, without elaborating. Minister for Climate Change Sartaj Gul said at a news conference Tuesday “our culture and our way of dressing is idealized across the world,” referring to conservative norms of dressing in Pakistan.
Pakistan remains on FATF’s grey list
However, FATF noted that Pakistan had completed all but one of the 27 items in the action plan drawn up for the country to tackle money laundering and terror financing when it was placed in the list of nations under increased monitoring or the grey list in 2018
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan-remains-on-fatf-s-grey-list-101624624315404.html
PPP is the only party which can protect Azad Kashmir and Occupied Kashmir – says Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during a rally in Azad Kashmir
Chairman PPP said that the behaviour and policy of federal and Kashmir governments with the people is derogating. We feel your pain because you are the comrades of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed |Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and I cannot leave you at the mercy of these callous governments. Now I am among you all, and once again you have to support the PPP like you did with the Quaid-e-Awam and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. If you want for the problems facing Kashmir to be solved, then you have to support the PPP. In occupied Kashmir people are fighting against Modi’s policies and here in Azad Kashmir people are fighting poverty, inflation and unemployment in Imran Khan’s government. You are suffering because of the failed and incompetent government of Imran Khan. The people of Kashmir always prospered during the PPP governments. The PPP is the only party to get you out of these sufferings. We should form a government of PPP which can not only stand up to Modi’s government but also save you from this PTIMF government.
He asked the workers to campaign door to door and deliver the message of PPP. He resolved that the next prime minister of Azad Kashmir will be from PPP. He asked to the people to elect PPP candidate, Afsar Shahid with a huge margin.
At Palak Chaksawari in Mirpur Azad Kashmir, addressing a huge crowd Chairman Bilawal said that he is always happy to visit Kashmir because the relations between the PPP and the people of Kashmir go back three generations. Our relation is not only political but historical, and it will continue for generations to come. When you supported Shaheed Bhutto, we wrote history together. When you supported Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, we also recorded a history. When you supported President Zardari, the PPP government carried out historic development. Now, we have started the journey of a new generation. The youth of both Azad and Occupied Kashmir are also starting a new journey. They are fighting against Modi’s government in Occupied Kashmir and against Imran Khan’s policy of unemployment, poverty and inflation in Azad Kashmir. They cannot send their children to schools, buy medicines for their elders and feed their children. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had said that we will fight for Kashmir for a thousand years if need be. There was a time when Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto said that where Kashmiris shed sweat, we will shed blood. Now, Modi has done a historical injustice to Kashmiri people and Imran Khan’s response is “What can I do?”.
When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto used to give a call for strike in Azad Kashmir, the people of Occupied Kashmir used to observe it as well. Imran Khan tried to find a solution for Kashmir by changing the name of Kashmir Highway to Srinagar Highway. You have to respond to this failed and incompetent prime minister by your votes. You have to tell the world that regardless of what this puppet prime minister says, the Kashmiri people are standing with the people of Occupied Kashmir. You have to give a message to the entities who declared the person who gave you nuclear capability and missile technology, a security risk. This puppet has not only compromised on Kashmir, but also wants to compromise Pakistan’s nuclear capability. The Kashmiri people will declare this puppet prime minister a security risk by rejecting him in the elections. You will chase out PTI from Kashmir. After electing a prime minister in Kashmir, we will elect a PPP prime minister in Pakistan as well, who will not compromise on Kashmir and will also be able to solve your problems. There is only one party which can not only protect Azad Kashmir, but Occupied Kashmir as well. You have to elect PPP candidate with huge margin. The PPP will serve the people of Kashmir after getting elected on 25 July.
Addressing party workers at Dhana, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that late Matloob Inqilabi served the Kashmiri people tirelessly and kept the flag of Shaheed Zualfikar Ali Bhutto and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed flying high. Now the son of the Matloob Inqilabi will continue his mission. Now the new generation is starting his struggle and now Matloob Inqilabi will start his struggle with me.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/25174/A
The PPP has always served the people of Kashmir and I have come here to ask your support and your vote. Now this new generation will solve the problem confronting Azad Kashmir and will also stand by with the Occupied Kashmir. Even a child knows that the PPP has given employment to the Kashmiri people. You have to support the PPP ask anybody whether a government servant or a teacher or a soldier, their salaries were increased during the PPP governments. We have to increase the salaries and pension and have to provide employment to ever household. The nuclear capability and missile technology is with us due to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed. This cowered Imran Khan says that we have no need of nuclear capability. We will not allow this puppet to compromise on our nuclear capability. You have to vote for the PPP on 25th July and have to vote for Waleed Inqilabi and all other PPP candidates. The PPP the only party which has not shook hands with Modi. We don’t celebrate with such people and we do not share our sadness with them. We have always supported Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and Mard-i-Hur President Zardari and now you will support me.
The PPP has always served the people of Kashmir and I have come here to ask your support and your vote. Now this new generation will solve the problem confronting Azad Kashmir and will also stand by with the Occupied Kashmir. Even a child knows that the PPP has given employment to the Kashmiri people. You have to support the PPP ask anybody whether a government servant or a teacher or a soldier, their salaries were increased during the PPP governments. We have to increase the salaries and pension and have to provide employment to ever household. The nuclear capability and missile technology is with us due to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed. This cowered Imran Khan says that we have no need of nuclear capability. We will not allow this puppet to compromise on our nuclear capability. You have to vote for the PPP on 25th July and have to vote for Waleed Inqilabi and all other PPP candidates. The PPP the only party which has not shook hands with Modi. We don’t celebrate with such people and we do not share our sadness with them. We have always supported Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and Mard-i-Hur President Zardari and now you will support me.
Thursday, June 24, 2021
مدرسہ، منبر، مولوی، مرد پرائیوٹ لمیٹڈ
عفت حسن رضوی
کیا دینی تعلیم کے لیے مدارس ہی آخری سٹاپ ہیں؟ کیا جدید علوم کے ساتھ دین کی تعلیم نہیں لی جاسکتی؟ کیا اعلیٰ دینی تعلیم کا بوجھ عورتیں نہیں اٹھا سکتیں؟
مذہب اسلام سے تحقیق، مکالمہ اور جمعیت نکال دیں تو پیچھے کیا رہ جاتا ہے؟ میرے خیال میں تو صرف مولوی، منبر، مدرسہ اور مرد پرائیوٹ لمیٹڈ۔ پھر دینی تعلیم کے اداروں میں جنسی درندگی کے ایسے ایسے واقعات جن کا ذکر بھی کرنا محال ہے۔
بات شروع ہوئی تھی ایک لطیف الہامی معاملے یعنی آسمانی مذہب دین اسلام اور اس کی تعلیم و تحقیق سے۔ اور بات آ کر کہاں پھنسی؟ ایک مخصوص طبقے کی جارہ داری، اسلام کی ٹھیکیداری پہ۔
چند ایک سوالوں کے ساتھ آپ کو دعوت فکر دیے جاتی ہوں۔
کیا قرآن کو جُزدان، اسلام کو مدرسے، شرعی فرائض و واجبات کو رمضان، اور اسلام کو صرف عبادات تک محدود کرنے والے ہم نہیں؟
کیا ایک مخصوص گروپ کو مذہب کا ٹھیکہ دینے والے آپ اور ہم نہیں، کیا مذہب کے موضوع کو ہم نے اپنے کندھوں کا بوجھ سمجھ کر اتارا اور مولوی پہ نہیں ڈالا؟ یہ شاید اس لیے تو نہیں کہ گناہ ثواب کا سارا جھنجھٹ مولوی جانے۔
کیا اسلام، قرآن پاک، احادیث، شریعت، طریقت، تاریخ، فقہہ پڑھنے کی کوئی آفاقی ذمہ داری صرف مولوی پر ہی عائد ہوتی ہے؟ کیا دینی تعلیم کے لیے مدارس ہی آخری سٹاپ ہیں؟ کیا جدید علوم کے ساتھ دین کی تعلیم نہیں لی جاسکتی؟ کیا اعلیٰ دینی تعلیم کا بوجھ عورتیں نہیں اٹھا سکتیں؟
بعض مولوی حضرات کی تو جتنی بساط ہے وہ مذہب کے ساتھ وہی کر رہے ہیں مگر ہماری حقیقت یہ ہے کہ ہم نے دینی تعلیم کو ترجیحات کے آخری خانے میں رکھا ہوا ہے، اپنی تن آسانی کی خاطر ہم نے یہ ٹھیکہ خود مولوی، مدرسے، منبر اور مرد کو دے رکھا ہے۔ مذہب کو ایک ٹولے کا پرائیوٹ لمیٹڈ پراجیکٹ ہم نے بنایا ہے۔
https://www.independenturdu.com/node/71176/madrassah-men-and-private-limited
Pakistan in troubled waters Stuck in Chinese debt, its problems are only growing
G Parthasarathy
Five decades after its surrender in Dhaka, Pakistan is finding that Bangladesh, which remained poverty-stricken because of its exploitation by West Pakistan, is today a dynamic and growingly prosperous country. Bangladesh, with a population of 160 million, is now competing with the booming economies of its Southeast Asian neighbours. Its economy has grown at 6% annually over the past two decades. Even during the Covid challenge, it is expected to register a growth of 6.8% in 2021 and 7.2% in 2022, by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Pakistan, on the other hand, is a massive recipient of foreign doles. It averaged a growth rate of around 3.5% in the years preceding the pandemic.
Bangladesh has also been far ahead of Pakistan in human development indicators, like women’s education and literacy. With foreign exchange reserves of $45 billion, Bangladesh has provided $200 million under a currency swap agreement to Sri Lanka. Bangladesh is ahead of Pakistan economically, even as it spared no effort to look after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
Pakistan, in contrast, has uneasy relations with virtually all its neighbours, notably India and Afghanistan. Pakistan has also incurred Iranian displeasure over its trans-border support for disgruntled elements from Iran. Pakistan has become a virtual international “basket case”, feverishly looking around for financial “aid” from international institutions like the IMF, World Bank, ADB and its “all-weather friend” China. Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which have contributed generously to address Pakistan’s economic woes, recently had second thoughts on aiding Pakistan.
Pakistan’s economic woes have grown rapidly in recent years. Its total external debt had risen from $44.35 billion in 2013 to $90.12 billion in April 2021. Interestingly, Pakistan’s debt repayments to China rose from 9.3% in the recent past to 27.4% in 2021. These are official figures, which do not necessarily reflect the real position on Pakistan’s growing debts to China. The real costs will be substantially more when the $65 billion CPEC, linking Gilgit-Baltistan in PoK to the port of Gwadar in Balochistan, fully takes shape. This ‘corridor’ may be of great use to China. Its utility to Pakistan is, however, questionable, especially given the huge costs of the debts that Pakistan will have to repay to China.Gwadar is now virtually a Chinese port. It is just a question of time before the Chinese take over total control of the port. They even now have a dominant say on who enters and who leaves the port. Gwadar is set to become a major strategic naval base for China. This becomes inevitable as China proceeds to complete its wide range of projects under CPEC, which will ultimately link Gilgit-Baltistan to the Arabian Sea at Gwadar. It is very likely that with Pakistan borrowing more than it can repay, Gwadar will become a replica of the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka that was built with Chinese ‘aid’. Hambantota is now virtually owned by China.
The foundations of the CPEC were laid in 2013, when Chinese premier Li Keqiang visited Pakistan. The project has become more controversial after Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa was appointed its chairman. He and his family reportedly have a colourful record of their assets abroad. Saudi Arabia, which was planning to invest $10 billion in the Gwadar port, has now withdrawn and indicated that the money will be invested in Karachi. Saudi Arabia knows that China is set to invest $25 billion in Riyadh’s main rival/adversary, Iran, located close to Gwadar.
While one would have expected a sense of circumspection in Pakistan’s dealings with the Americans, Imran Khan and his loyalists have gone ballistic in criticising and embarrassing the Biden administration. The Pakistan media has also gone ballistic, declaring that the US had been told ‘firmly’ that Pakistan would not provide any bases on its territory for US drones to be deployed for action in Afghanistan. There have been separate meetings between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and CIA director William Burns, with their Pakistani counterparts, and the army chief, General Bajwa. Moreover, wide publicity was given to Imran’s decision to refuse a request for a meeting by the visiting CIA director.
The Pakistan army, which has sought to maintain good relations with the US, would be wondering what is going on, as virtually every visiting American invariably pays homage to General Bajwa, who understandably has concerns about instability and turmoil in Afghanistan. Pakistan is going to be fully focused on developments in Afghanistan in the wake of the US withdrawal. The Taliban are determined to rule Afghanistan again. They are not ready to share power. The Taliban will, however, meet growing resistance as they approach Kabul. They will also meet strong resistance in non-Pashtun regions. While Pakistan is backing its protégés, it will have to watch out for trouble in its Pashtun areas bordering Afghanistan. Iran would reluctantly be drawn into the conflict.
India would be well advised to stay at an arm’s length from any direct involvement in the raging civil war, while remaining in touch with its friends in Afghanistan. There can be no meaningful relations with an Imran Khan-led government. We, however, need to keep our “back channel” lines of communication with Pakistan open. India should also ensure that Pakistan is not let off the hook in the Financial Action Task Force, especially given its continuing support for leaders of terrorist groups. Moreover, the architects of the terrorist attacks on our Parliament and Mumbai — Maulana Masood Azhar and Hafiz Mohammed Saeed — have mysteriously disappeared, just before the FATF meeting.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/pakistan-in-troubled-waters-273157
PPP will not support the government’s legislation to facilitate Kulbhushan Jadhav – says Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari talking to media at the Parliament House Islamabad on Thursday, has said that PPP will not support the government’s legislation that is being brought to facilitate Kulbhushan Jadhav.
Responding to a question about the shortage of gas in Sindh, Chairman Bilawal said that the crisis of energy sector which is looming on Pakistan will have to be borne by the common people of Pakistan. It is a very unfortunate situation as it was avoidable but because of the failure of the government, the common people will have to suffer. The PPP always fights for its rights and we think that production orders of every member should be issued for the budget session. No one can be stopped from representing their constituency. Due to the continued incarceration of Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, the people of Sukkur are deprived of their representation. If the speaker does not fulfil his responsibility, then you are sending a message that the members will not be able to exercise their right, be it stopping the budget or casting teir cote for the no confidence motion.
This is a very disputed and anti-people budget, if the House is not complete and there is no representation of Waziristan and Sukkur, then as we say, the entire budget process is illegal. The speaker should take note of the decision of Islamabad High Court into account for issuing production orders of Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah. The opposition leader has sent in writing to the speaker for the production order of Khursheed Shah. I have also sent a letter to the speaker today.
Regarding the unfortunate death of Usman Kakar, Chairman Bilawal said that we have great respect for Usman Kakar and he was an honourable colleague, we will miss him in the Parliament. We tried our best but unfortunately, we lost him. We will do according to the demands of his family and his party. The government should also address those demands.
Regarding the unfortunate death of Usman Kakar, Chairman Bilawal said that we have great respect for Usman Kakar and he was an honourable colleague, we will miss him in the Parliament. We tried our best but unfortunately, we lost him. We will do according to the demands of his family and his party. The government should also address those demands.
Regarding Afghanistan, he said that he had a point in his budget speech about it, because Pakistan has been dealing with this situation since1980. Whatever happens in Afghanistan will impact the entire region and the world. We would have to face the consequences for decades for the decisions we make about Afghanistan now. This is why we demanded that the ministries and institutions which are involved in negotiations should bring the negotiation on record. PPP has a viewpoint and it should be heard. We will hear them out but the way our government and international powers are handling the situation, is not making things easy for Pakistan and Afghanistan and our coming generations. We have to address this issue.
As far as giving airbases to the United States, it is up to the government, and we hope that the decisions taken will be in the interest of Pakistan. We do not trust the prime minister because he takes u-turns and we are concerned that he might take a u-turn on this as well.
Addressing the Kashmir elections, Chairman Bilawal said that he is starting the campaign from tomorrow. About the political activities in the Punjab, he said that not only Punjab, but in th e entire Pakstan the situation for PPP is going to improve and President Zardari’s role is very important in all this. He is the only politician in the country who can unite all politicians. President Zardari had gone to Lahore to consult his doctors and we are thankful to Pervez Ilahi who visited him to enquire about his health, and whoever has ever worked with the PPP, we want to work with them. These meetings with President Zardari are only the beginning and a lot will happen in the coming days. We will keep trying to form government in the centre and every province of Pakistan. We think that we can solve the problems through a progressive manifesto of the PPP.
About the forced conversions in Sindh, Chairman Bilawal said that crimes take place everywhere, but we have to see what the response of political parties on such issues. The Pakistani community is very patriotic, and most of them live in Sindh and forced conversions are an issue for us but PPP is always at the forefront of minority, women and the rights of the downtrodden masses. It is unfortunate that the legislation on the issue is not up to the mark. Sindh is the only province which banned underage marriages. Unfortunately, some judicial decisions violate this law but we are trying to protect every citizen.
Regarding the bill on Kulbhushan Jadhav, he said that the government brought the bill in the darkness of the night for this individual, but he did not take advantage of this bill. Now, they are bringing this bill to the assembly. We will oppose this bill because we were not taken into confidence. PPP will not become a party in facilitating Kulbhushan Jadhav. If Imran Khan wants to facilitate him, he can do so. However, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and PPP will not support it.
Answering a question about Manzoor Watto, Chairman Bilawal said that Watto says that he never left PPP so we think that we should work with everyone. The people who have always been sincere to the PPP, they will be dealt differently and we will also work with the old comrades who are coming back. PPP’s doors are open for everyone who raised the slogan of Jeay Bhutto. We want to form a progressive government in this country and for this, we will take along whoever is ready to work with us.
Regarding Shahbaz Sharif’s proposed APC, he said that we are ready to cooperate with the opposition leader on every effort to unite the opposition. The people in the government from my province were more passionate in their speeches because the PPP had defeated them badly in their cities. They are not able to tolerate their defeat. PTI used to say that Karachi is their city, we brought them down from the first to the sixth position. The PPP jiyalas badly defeated them in Matli, Badin. They will remember it for their whole life. They should take out their frustration on their own prime minister Imran Khan who did not care for them. Hence, they lost from Badin to Karachi to Kashmir. I will ask the PPP jiyalas to not adopt their language and attitude and work coolly and solve peoples’ problems .
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/25164/
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Top U.S. military leader: ‘I want to understand White rage. And I’m White.’
By Alex Horton
Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, admonished lawmakers over questions about critical race theory at a Wednesday hearing, saying it is important for leaders to be well-versed in many schools of thought. “I’ve read Mao Zedong. I’ve read Karl Marx. I’ve read Lenin. That doesn’t make me a communist,” Milley told the House Armed Services Committee. “So what is wrong with understanding … the country which we are here to defend?” Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) criticized reports that the U.S. Military Academy at West Point teaches a course involving the theory, which broadly explores the idea that racism reaches beyond individual prejudice and affects minorities at the institutional level, particularly in criminal justice. A guest lecturer at the academy included phrases such as “White rage,” Waltz claimed, and he pressed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the nation’s first Black Pentagon chief, to investigate further. Soon after, when the committee gave Milley a chance to expand, he launched into an impassioned defense of inquiry about U.S. society and its racial dynamics. He emphasized that the U.S. Military Academy is a university. “I want to understand White rage. And I’m White,” Milley said, focused on learning more about the mostly White, mostly male mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. “What is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America. What caused that?” Milley asked. “I want to find that out.” Only one elective course at the academy, “Politics of Race, Gender, and Sexuality,” includes critical race theory in its syllabus, Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, the university superintendent, said in a letter provided to Waltz. About 23 cadets take it a year, mostly by cadets majoring in political science, Williams said. Milley said he was offended that critics, among them GOP lawmakers and right-wing commentators like Fox News host Tucker Carlson, have accused the military of being “woke or something else because we’re studying some theories that are out there.” Republicans for months have raked military and Pentagon leaders over policy and personnel changes, such as relaxing hair restrictions for women and reversing bans on open transgender service, as distractions fueled by a liberal agenda. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) had questioned the curriculum at the academy, later prompting the comments by Milley. After the hearing, Gaetz took a swipe at Milley on Twitter: “With Generals like this it’s no wonder we’ve fought considerably more wars than we’ve won.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/republicans-joint-chiefs-chairman-critical-race-theory-congress/2021/06/23/84654c34-d451-11eb-9f29-e9e6c9e843c6_story.html‘Shhhh...don’t say a word’: Child abuse case rocks Pakistan’s clergy
Seventy-year-old Aziz ur Rehman, a scholar at one of the top Islamic institutions in Pakistan's second largest city of Lahore, has confessed he forced a student to perform sexual acts in return for a promise to let him take an exam after he was caught cheating. Rehman is now in police custody. The case involving Rehman, who’s a Mufti, which means he’s among the highest echelons of the clergy, can become a test case for Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government on how to tackle a politically sensitive matter, experts said. “What I am concerned about is all those kids who are still studying at that madrassah (seminary). We don’t know how many of them have been abused in the same way, ” said Dr Kishwar Enam, a pediatrician who works with underge victims of assault and is affiliated with multiple NGOs. “Authorities must immediately screen all the students for any signs of abuse. We can already see many supporters of this mufti are coming forward in his defence — this clearly means many of them could can even be involved in a similar crime,” she told TRT World. Jamia Manzor Al-Islamia, where Rehman has been a teacher for many years, is home to more than 500 kids between the ages of 8 and 25 who come from poor families and remote towns and villages. Both Rehman and the student who leaked the video hail from a region in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which borders Afghanistan. It’s difficul to estimate how rampant sexual abuse is in the 20,000 seminaries spread aross the country as most cases are never reported because victims and their families are too scared to come forward, said Rana Asif, a childs rights activist who has assisted street children since the early 2000s. “One way to look at the stats is that in the last year there were 2,690 cases of sexual abuse involving children. And out of every 100 cases that we deal with, between 10 and 20 percent involve kids from the seminaries,” he told TRT World. Sahil, an NGO, said it recorded 42 cases of sexual abuse or assault that took place within a religious insitution in Pakistan. It collected the information from the crime reported in the newspapers. Assault at the hands of a cleric hasn’t come as a shock for many. In Europe, North America and Australia, Catholic churches have faced a storm of criticism for trying to hide systematic abuse at the hands of priests. In Pakistan, generations have grown up hearing stories about a friend, sibling or a cousin who was molested by a religious tutor — even if the recitation classes were taken in their own homes. It’s only recently that cameras in mobile phones have helped capture some of the most heinous violations. With such videos going viral, many more students are coming forward to share their own tales. But Pakistani courts do not consider videos as admissible evidence, making the job of the police difficult when it comes to building a case, said a senior police official. “Conviction rate in cases of violence against children is low because the witnesses, in most instances, change their statements. For a long time we have been recommending that it’s time to update our criminal justice system,” he told TRT World. ‘Everyone has to go through it’ Even if a child in a seminary dares to come forward to complain about abuse, he’s very often told to keep his mouth shut and not to discuss it with anyone, said Sabookh Syed, a journalist and researcher, who is at the forefront of reporting on child abuse stories concering clerics. “The clerics twist an Islamic concept to justify this silence. They say you are supposed to cover up other people’s mistakes and if you do that Allah will similarly whitewash your sins.” Over a period spanning 15 years, Syed has investigated multiple instances of abuse in seminaries. He said there’s a deliberate attempt at the top leadership to cover up child molestation and abuse. “If things go really out of control at a madrassah, do you know what they ask teachers to do? They ask them to fast twice a week. They think fasting helps reduce sexual appetite. If the abuse continues then they ask all the teachers and students to fast!” One factor that is usually not considered is also that studies have repeatedly shown that rape is not always sexually motivated, but about power, control and violence. Child abuse workers such as Rana Asif said that it’s routine that a teacher or caretaker found to be involved is fired. However, the matter is hushed up and the accused cleric is never prosecuted. “Even though such abuse is a non-compoundable offence, parents of the kids end up compromising with the mosque or seminary administration. That’s why the conviction rate is so low.” The boy who was sodomised by Aziz ur Rehman recorded the video of the act more than a year ago. He had reportedly informed his parents and the seminary administration but was asked not to talk about it. He has been in hiding ever since the video was leaked on Twitter on June 14. “I personally know of 2 cases where a child was molested inside a seminary. In both cases the kids were forced by the parents to go back to the same seminary. Some parents don’t even recognise child sexual assault as something that’s improper. They say ‘hota he sab ke saath, koi baat nahi’ (it is not a big deal, everyone has to go through it),” said Dr Enam, the pediatrician. Even in the case of the senior cleric, Aziz ur Rehman, police officers fear that the family of the boy might end up forgiving the cleric. “This cleric was really confident that he could have negotiated some sort of a deal with the family of the student if he wasn’t arrested and had a bit more time,” Shoaib Khurram Janbaz, a senior police officer who is part of the investigation, told TRT World. “He even sent a delegation of local elders and clerics (known locally as a jirga) to the student’s parents to request that he be forgiven.” It’s common in parts of Pakistan’s rural areas to reach out-of-court settlements at the behest of influential people in a village or a town. “We are trying our best to make a strong case. But if the victim reaches a compromise then there’s a possibility that Aziz ur Rehman will walk free,” said Janbaz. A state of disbelief Madrassahs in Pakistan are charity-run boarding houses, which offer free meals, lodging and education to some of the poorest children who would otherwise end up on the streets. “Parents think they are sending their kids to a better place. I don’t think any other class of citizens is respected more than the religious scholars in our society,” said Syed, the journalist. The grinding schedule of theological and religious lectures turns even weak and shy students into fearsome debaters — at least on matters of religion. “So when a seminary student goes back to his village and eloquently presents his views and confidently drives forward a narrative, his poor parents and people around him are in awe. Parents are even more thankful to the institution,” said Syed. Pakistani religious institutions and leaders extend their influence around the world. Scholars such as Maulana Abul A’la Maudidi have left a deep imprint on the Muslim Brotherhood. Missionary movement Tablighi Jamaat’s Maulana Tariq Jameel has millions of followers globally. This along with a belief that clerics are doing God’s work leave people in a state of disbelief when sexual scandals come to light, said Syed. “These clerics can be very learned men. But being very smart and knowledgeable doesn’t absolve you from a crime. What we see is that top scholars are not ready to publicly condemn what has happened in this case.” Aziz ur Rehman is also a senior leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Pakistan’s largest religious political party headed by influential cleric Maulana Fazal ur Rehman (no relation with Aziz). Aziz ur Rehman’s affiliation with the party was suspended, only after his arrest. Fazal and other religious leaders are facing criticism for not issuing any statements condemning the cleric or willing to accept that abuse occurs in some of the seminaries. Instead, religious scholars see the entire episode as another attempt by the secular class to lobby against them. “People like Aziz ur Rehman must be given a harsher punishment than any other criminal because they represent Islamic schools,” said Maulana Zahid Qasmi, a leading scholar of the Deobandi sect, who is also a member of the board that oversees religious schools in the country. “At the same time, I’d add that this case must be treated as an individual’s act and should not be used to malign madrassahs or Islam,” he told TRT World. In 2019, Pakistan was roiled by a series of assaults on children in a city called Kasur. Public pressure forced the government to adopt the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act — a law against child abuse named after a young girl who was brutally raped and killed. While laws have been passed and multiple state-run bodies have been setup to counter child abuse, lack of enforcement and resources have not helped in reducing the cases of abuse, child rights activists said. It’s all the more complicated when authorities have to deal with madrassahs. “The state institutions, which deal with child protection policies, hardly have any reach when it comes to religious schools,” said Afshan Tehseen, Chairperson of National Commission of Rights of Child, a federal body. This is concerning because “the isolated environment of religious schools makes children even more vulnerable to abuse,” she told TRT World. Some activists such as Dr Enam and Rana Asif have tried to organise seminars in seminaries on educating kids about abuse and how to avoid it. They are advocating for child protection committees and dedicated officials for hearing complaints in schools and seminaries. “But many of the madrassahs won’t even let us come near their gate,” said Dr Enam. https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/shhhh-don-t-say-a-word-child-abuse-case-rocks-pakistan-s-clergy-47739
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