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Monday, June 24, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Indo-Pak attorneys discuss judicial activism
The two-day India-Pakistan regional workshop on ‘Judicial Activism, Public Interest Litigation and Human Rights’ started on Tuesday with speeches by judicial activists, retired judges and renowned lawyers from both the countries.
Justice (retd) AK Ganguly from India and Justice (retd) Rashid A Razvi from Pakistan gave detailed overview of constitutional and judicial systems in their respective countries and discussed the status of public interest litigation and constraints at judicial level. Senior Indian lawyer Colin Gonsalves, Mukul Sinha Advocate, Nijhari Sinha Advocate, Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid, Faisal Siddiqui and others spoke on the occasion.
Ganguly in his speech gave examples of revolutionary changes brought in public interest cases in different countries of South Asia. Justice Razvi cited examples of prominent judgments and amendments in the Pakistan judiciary to understand the public interest activism within judiciary and impacts of increasing religion extremism.
Razvi also criticised military adventurism, which has badly affected the judicial system. He lauded the role of lawyers and other civil society activists in Pakistan for restoration of the judiciary. After restoration of judiciary in 2009, he said, the country witnessed that the cases of missing persons and bonded labour were taken up by judiciary, which provided an important forum to the citizens, especially the marginalised people.
Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid, talking about the India-Pakistan Judicial Committee on Prisoners, said the Judicial Committee has helped the prisoners from both the sides by visiting jails in both the countries. There are 437 Indian prisoners in Malir Jail Karachi, out of which 284 are those who have completed their terms. They are still in jails because of bureaucratic hurdles, he added. It is a violation of Constitutions of both India and Pakistan.
He said when he visited Indian prisons to meet Pakistani prisoners to confirm their nationality it took few minutes, but the bureaucracy have been languishing in jails for years. He urged the judiciary members to play their role and make the process easy in the public interest.
The lawyers' couple Mukul Sinha Advocate and his wife Nijhari Sinha Advocate gave a joint presentation on ‘Judicial intervention in cases of communal conflicts’ in India. If there is any party wanting to get votes of minority, the counter political parties use majority votes and in this way communal conflict rises, they said. In this situation it depends on active judiciary how it should play role to avoid communal conflicts and resolve the issue of minority, they concluded.
Advocate from India Colin Gonsalves said there are revolutionary changes in laws and public interest cases are being taken. According to him developed countries, even Europe and US cannot understand the public interest cases, but in developing countries the situation is different.
“In India 40 percent people earn bellow PKR 100 a day. Due to this there is malnutrition and poverty,” he said. He said a court can give orders, but it cannot implement it. It is the responsibility of state to implement the orders. Tracing the history, he said there was a tradition that prisoners used to write letter to courts and judges would turn the same letters into petitions for hearing to provide relief to the victims.
Gonsalves said World Trade Organisation (WTO), World Bank and multinational companies force the governments to breach their own laws just to safeguard the interests of such world organisations.
Apart from this private sector is being promoted in education, health sector and water. In this situation how can poor people survive as their children are even victims of malnourishment. He also opposed public-private partnership, terming it a dangerous trend for the marginalised people.
Prashant Bhushan advocate from India said judges are discouraged to take up suo moto related to PIL cases; the culture of suo moto in India is rare. He said there is a need of systematic changes to protect rights of citizens. It was observed that police was put under the power of political ministers, using them for their interests instead of allowing police to safeguard the rights of people.
When the government failed to make legislation the courts gave judgments but for the last seven years their orders are yet to be enforced. For instance, he said, the court issued orders for formation of state security commission, protecting right to food, right to education and right to basic health facilities.
Monday, April 15, 2013
A revolution in Pakistan?
There is a general consensus in Pakistan that the country is heading in the wrong direction. The same perception exists outside Pakistan with the term “failed state” raising its ugly head more frequently in the international media. How does the country get out of the precarious situation it finds itself in today?
The solution offered by mainstream political parties and the civil society is that the continuation of the democratic process affords the best chance to the country. However, pose the same question to a man on the street and the answer could range from bringing back the army to lining up all the corrupt politicians and putting a bullet in them. Some other would maintain that the root of the all the trouble is economy, poor law and order and the scourge of terrorism.
Given that both military dictators and civilian rulers have betrayed the people of Pakistan time and again, it is surprising that there is not much talk of a mass uprising to destroy the prevalent power structure and replacing it with a system that is responsive to the needs of the populace. On the national level there is only one political party, the Awami Workers Party (AWP) that endorses bringing about a revolution in Pakistan. However, even this coalition of the fragments of the left-wing political groups has admitted that this is not the right time for revolutionary politics, and has thus, decided to participate in the election process by fielding a few candidates.
So, why is there no revolutionary movement in Pakistan?
The answers may be found in the history of anti-colonial movements in the subcontinent. There were only two major armed struggles in the undivided India against the British rule. First, the war of independence of 1857 that, some historians claim, was more of a mutiny than an organised and protracted struggle. After putting down the peril of the 1857 uprising, the British ruled in peace for nearly eight decades. This period of peace ended in 1942 when the Indian National Army led by Subhash Chander Bose, a communist intellectual, fought against the British rule with the support of the Axis powers. Another revolt took place in 1946 when the sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutinied against their British officers.
Other anti colonial efforts like the “Quit India” movement were non-violent civil disobedience movements and not revolutionary struggles.
The Pakistan Movement itself was mainly a legal and constitutional battle. Mr. Jinnah was the ideal leader to spearhead this movement because of his expertise in constitutional law.
While these struggles did hasten the departure of the British from India, the primary reason was that in the aftermath of the Second World War, Britain was in no position to maintain its rule and had already accepted that quitting India was its best option.
Compared to the other movements of national liberation like Algeria, Nicaragua and Mozambique, the independence struggle in India was predominantly legal and constitutional with non-violent means used to put pressure on the coloniser. Also, there was little participation of the working class in the struggle. In contrast, the Algerian war of liberation that was fought from 1954 to 1962 was lead by FLN – a socialist organisation formed by the merger of smaller groups. While estimates vary, anywhere between a million and 1.5 million Algerians were killed in the eight years of the struggle. The population of Algeria was just 10 million in 1960 and it lost a staggering 10 per cent of its population in achieving independence.
Thus, when Pakistan was created it did not have any historical experience in revolutionary struggles. In Pakistan the only time there was a serious attempt at mobilising the working class to bring about a radical change was between 1968 and 1972 during the anti Ayub Khan movement led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). A number of left groups that were influential in the working class became energised and played an important role in bringing PPP into power. This is where the left in Pakistan made a bad judgement and instead of continuing the struggle with the factory workers as vanguard, it stopped and pinned their hopes on PPP to bring about radical changes. It soon faced a rude awakening when PPP abandoned its socialist agenda, dismissed left-wing provincial governments in NWFP and Balochistan, arrested the left-leaning leaders and then slapped some with charges of treason. The left in Pakistan never recovered from this debacle.
Another malaise also crippled the left – its derivative nature resulted in uncritically following the dictates of direction taken by the two main communist centres of power – China and Russia. In 1971, when it should have condemned the military action in East Pakistan it supported the massacre simply because China (for its own strategic interests) was supporting the Pakistan army. Wars have historically provided the best opportunity for leftist revolutions. Russia is a case in point. The West Pakistani left missed an opportunity again and instead of gaining advantage from the weakness of the state alienated the left in East Pakistan.
Whatever juice remained in the left movement was squeezed out by the draconian policies of the military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq, and the demoralisation that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. Currently, Pakistan’s left is the weakest it has been since 1947.
Today, the only struggle that can be remotely called revolutionary is the nationalist struggle of the Baloch. No national organisation of the left in the country has the ability to mobilise the downtrodden classes.
To prevent Pakistan’s headlong fall into an abyss, changes are needed at the grassroots level through a revolutionary movement. This is the responsibility of the left in Pakistan. The left must muster up its resources, organise itself, do a fresh analysis of what needs to be done and get ready to pick up the pieces again and rebuild a better country.
The solution offered by mainstream political parties and the civil society is that the continuation of the democratic process affords the best chance to the country. However, pose the same question to a man on the street and the answer could range from bringing back the army to lining up all the corrupt politicians and putting a bullet in them. Some other would maintain that the root of the all the trouble is economy, poor law and order and the scourge of terrorism.
Given that both military dictators and civilian rulers have betrayed the people of Pakistan time and again, it is surprising that there is not much talk of a mass uprising to destroy the prevalent power structure and replacing it with a system that is responsive to the needs of the populace. On the national level there is only one political party, the Awami Workers Party (AWP) that endorses bringing about a revolution in Pakistan. However, even this coalition of the fragments of the left-wing political groups has admitted that this is not the right time for revolutionary politics, and has thus, decided to participate in the election process by fielding a few candidates.
So, why is there no revolutionary movement in Pakistan?
The answers may be found in the history of anti-colonial movements in the subcontinent. There were only two major armed struggles in the undivided India against the British rule. First, the war of independence of 1857 that, some historians claim, was more of a mutiny than an organised and protracted struggle. After putting down the peril of the 1857 uprising, the British ruled in peace for nearly eight decades. This period of peace ended in 1942 when the Indian National Army led by Subhash Chander Bose, a communist intellectual, fought against the British rule with the support of the Axis powers. Another revolt took place in 1946 when the sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutinied against their British officers.
Other anti colonial efforts like the “Quit India” movement were non-violent civil disobedience movements and not revolutionary struggles.
The Pakistan Movement itself was mainly a legal and constitutional battle. Mr. Jinnah was the ideal leader to spearhead this movement because of his expertise in constitutional law.
While these struggles did hasten the departure of the British from India, the primary reason was that in the aftermath of the Second World War, Britain was in no position to maintain its rule and had already accepted that quitting India was its best option.
Compared to the other movements of national liberation like Algeria, Nicaragua and Mozambique, the independence struggle in India was predominantly legal and constitutional with non-violent means used to put pressure on the coloniser. Also, there was little participation of the working class in the struggle. In contrast, the Algerian war of liberation that was fought from 1954 to 1962 was lead by FLN – a socialist organisation formed by the merger of smaller groups. While estimates vary, anywhere between a million and 1.5 million Algerians were killed in the eight years of the struggle. The population of Algeria was just 10 million in 1960 and it lost a staggering 10 per cent of its population in achieving independence.
Thus, when Pakistan was created it did not have any historical experience in revolutionary struggles. In Pakistan the only time there was a serious attempt at mobilising the working class to bring about a radical change was between 1968 and 1972 during the anti Ayub Khan movement led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). A number of left groups that were influential in the working class became energised and played an important role in bringing PPP into power. This is where the left in Pakistan made a bad judgement and instead of continuing the struggle with the factory workers as vanguard, it stopped and pinned their hopes on PPP to bring about radical changes. It soon faced a rude awakening when PPP abandoned its socialist agenda, dismissed left-wing provincial governments in NWFP and Balochistan, arrested the left-leaning leaders and then slapped some with charges of treason. The left in Pakistan never recovered from this debacle.
Another malaise also crippled the left – its derivative nature resulted in uncritically following the dictates of direction taken by the two main communist centres of power – China and Russia. In 1971, when it should have condemned the military action in East Pakistan it supported the massacre simply because China (for its own strategic interests) was supporting the Pakistan army. Wars have historically provided the best opportunity for leftist revolutions. Russia is a case in point. The West Pakistani left missed an opportunity again and instead of gaining advantage from the weakness of the state alienated the left in East Pakistan.
Whatever juice remained in the left movement was squeezed out by the draconian policies of the military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq, and the demoralisation that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. Currently, Pakistan’s left is the weakest it has been since 1947.
Today, the only struggle that can be remotely called revolutionary is the nationalist struggle of the Baloch. No national organisation of the left in the country has the ability to mobilise the downtrodden classes.
To prevent Pakistan’s headlong fall into an abyss, changes are needed at the grassroots level through a revolutionary movement. This is the responsibility of the left in Pakistan. The left must muster up its resources, organise itself, do a fresh analysis of what needs to be done and get ready to pick up the pieces again and rebuild a better country.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Civil society to pull for sanitation together
WaterAid and Plan International Pakistan along with other civil society organisations from across Pakistan have joined hands to launch a year-long campaign calling for government to keep its promises to improve access to sanitation facilities. As in Pakistan, nearly 52 per cent of the population (94 million people) has no access to improved sanitation facilities and 23 per cent of the population (40 million) defecate in open, said a press release.
The Campaign “Keep Your Promises on Sanitation” aims to establish a broad-based civil society and citizens’ alliance to create a momentum to improve governance of the sanitation sector. The Campaign is being launched in parallel on 19th March 2013, in four countries of the region (Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan). In Pakistan, the Campaign was simultaneously launched in Islamabad, Quetta, Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar at respective press clubs.
The Campaign “Keep Your Promises on Sanitation” aims to establish a broad-based civil society and citizens’ alliance to create a momentum to improve governance of the sanitation sector. The Campaign is being launched in parallel on 19th March 2013, in four countries of the region (Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan). In Pakistan, the Campaign was simultaneously launched in Islamabad, Quetta, Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar at respective press clubs.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Viewpoint: Pakistan civil society under threat
The space for NGOs and civil society workers appears to be shrinking as they receive threats, several have been killed and others forced to go into hiding. There appears to be less protection for NGO workers at a time they are badly needed as the state fails to carry out basic functions such as education and health care.
At the same time there is growing intolerance in society as the use of violence and weapons to address grievances rather than courts of law is on the increase.
At least 19 male and female officials working with a countrywide children's polio immunisation campaign have been killed by the Taliban and other Islamic radicals since last July. The worst incident took place in December when five health workers were shot dead by militants in different parts of the country.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the killings, with Mr Ban saying they were "cruel, senseless, and inexcusable". But nobody has been caught and the government appears paralysed - unable to prevent further killings.
In a worrying development this year, policemen escorting polio teams are now being deliberately targeted.
The vaccination drive remains partially suspended in two of Pakistan's four provinces - Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) - and despite the deployment of security forces, there is no indication when the vaccination drive can be completed.
Vicious campaign
Last October the young but prominent educationalist Malala Yousafzai was attacked in her school bus and had to be flown to England for a series of operations. Her attackers were self-proclaimed Pakistani Taliban. Malala, who is only 14, has become an international celebrity and has now been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, but it is still not safe for her to come home.
Asma Jahangir, the country's leading human rights lawyer and women's rights advocate, has been forced to respond to a campaign launched by right-wing politicians such as Imran Khan and religious leaders who have called her unsuitable to become the caretaker prime minister when parliament is dissolved.
In reality, no political party has nominated her for the job and it is only the speculative Pakistani media that has suggested her. She has several times refuted claims that she would ever be a candidate for such a job and yet she continues to be attacked by political parties.
On 6 February she delivered a blistering rebuttal to Imran Khan, describing his statement against her as "illogical but also vicious", saying that he seems to be acting on the cue of the "establishment" which is shorthand for the army.
His PTI party responded by "taking note" of her comments, reasserting their belief she is not suitable for the job and accusing her of bias against the party.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and its representative in Pakistan, Ali Dayan Hasan, have been accused by the army of maligning Pakistan in a recent report, which the army described as "a pack of lies, propaganda-driven and totally biased".
A statement by the media wing of the military said that HRW was trying to add fuel to "ongoing sectarian violence" in Pakistan.
The military has never before used such language. It was responding to HRW's World Report 2013, a 665-page annual tome which covers human rights in every country in the world and is compiled in New York.
The report said "the security and intelligence services" have "continued to allow extremist groups to attack religious minorities". It also said Pakistan's human rights worsened in 2012 and the military perpetrated "abuses with impunity in Balochistan".
In fact, such charges against the security forces have been made repeatedly over the years by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, local media groups and other local and international human rights groups such as Amnesty International and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. In March 2012, the Supreme Court issued a stern warning to military intelligence services not to overstep their writ, with Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudry saying: "Who gave you the right to hound people?"
Foreigners not immune
In 2012, more than 400 Shias, most of them belonging to the Hazara community of Balochistan, were killed in targeted attacks by Sunni militants. So far this year, more than 100 Shia Hazaras have been killed. No culprits have been arrested and the Hazaras are now fleeing Pakistan en masse as the government provides no relief.
Meanwhile some 800 schools have been closed down in KP province and the Federal Administered Tribal Areas because of attacks by militants, while hundreds of primary schools are shut in Balochistan because of violence. Teachers have fled these areas and NGOs dealing with health and education have reduced their operations because of security threats.
Farida Afridi, a prominent activist working with tribal women in KP province, was shot dead in July 2012. In January 2013 gunmen shot dead seven aid workers including six women working with "Support with Working Solutions", a local NGO in KP province. The culprits have not been found.
Foreign aid workers are not immune. A British Muslim doctor working for the International Committee for the Red Cross, Khalil Dale, was kidnapped and then killed in April 2012. More than 60 foreign aid workers left Pakistan in 2012, largely because of security concerns or the refusal of the authorities to renew their visas.
Suspicions against foreign NGOs have increased substantially after an unethical ruse by the US Central Intelligence Agency to try to kill Osama bin Laden, by using a fake NGO to try to obtain his blood sample.
In the next few months, general elections are expected to be held. But there is a grave political crisis with some parties wanting to delay the elections and the ruling party accusing unnamed dark forces of conspiring to do this. If elections are held, civil society groups are expected to be at the forefront of monitoring the polls, as they have done for past elections.
However, the lack of protection for NGOs, the inability or refusal of the state machinery to protect them and the growing intolerance of their neutral stance is dismaying many.
At the same time there is growing intolerance in society as the use of violence and weapons to address grievances rather than courts of law is on the increase.
At least 19 male and female officials working with a countrywide children's polio immunisation campaign have been killed by the Taliban and other Islamic radicals since last July. The worst incident took place in December when five health workers were shot dead by militants in different parts of the country.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the killings, with Mr Ban saying they were "cruel, senseless, and inexcusable". But nobody has been caught and the government appears paralysed - unable to prevent further killings.
In a worrying development this year, policemen escorting polio teams are now being deliberately targeted.
The vaccination drive remains partially suspended in two of Pakistan's four provinces - Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) - and despite the deployment of security forces, there is no indication when the vaccination drive can be completed.
Vicious campaign
Last October the young but prominent educationalist Malala Yousafzai was attacked in her school bus and had to be flown to England for a series of operations. Her attackers were self-proclaimed Pakistani Taliban. Malala, who is only 14, has become an international celebrity and has now been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, but it is still not safe for her to come home.
Asma Jahangir, the country's leading human rights lawyer and women's rights advocate, has been forced to respond to a campaign launched by right-wing politicians such as Imran Khan and religious leaders who have called her unsuitable to become the caretaker prime minister when parliament is dissolved.
In reality, no political party has nominated her for the job and it is only the speculative Pakistani media that has suggested her. She has several times refuted claims that she would ever be a candidate for such a job and yet she continues to be attacked by political parties.
On 6 February she delivered a blistering rebuttal to Imran Khan, describing his statement against her as "illogical but also vicious", saying that he seems to be acting on the cue of the "establishment" which is shorthand for the army.
His PTI party responded by "taking note" of her comments, reasserting their belief she is not suitable for the job and accusing her of bias against the party.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and its representative in Pakistan, Ali Dayan Hasan, have been accused by the army of maligning Pakistan in a recent report, which the army described as "a pack of lies, propaganda-driven and totally biased".
A statement by the media wing of the military said that HRW was trying to add fuel to "ongoing sectarian violence" in Pakistan.
The military has never before used such language. It was responding to HRW's World Report 2013, a 665-page annual tome which covers human rights in every country in the world and is compiled in New York.
The report said "the security and intelligence services" have "continued to allow extremist groups to attack religious minorities". It also said Pakistan's human rights worsened in 2012 and the military perpetrated "abuses with impunity in Balochistan".
In fact, such charges against the security forces have been made repeatedly over the years by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, local media groups and other local and international human rights groups such as Amnesty International and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. In March 2012, the Supreme Court issued a stern warning to military intelligence services not to overstep their writ, with Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudry saying: "Who gave you the right to hound people?"
Foreigners not immune
In 2012, more than 400 Shias, most of them belonging to the Hazara community of Balochistan, were killed in targeted attacks by Sunni militants. So far this year, more than 100 Shia Hazaras have been killed. No culprits have been arrested and the Hazaras are now fleeing Pakistan en masse as the government provides no relief.
Meanwhile some 800 schools have been closed down in KP province and the Federal Administered Tribal Areas because of attacks by militants, while hundreds of primary schools are shut in Balochistan because of violence. Teachers have fled these areas and NGOs dealing with health and education have reduced their operations because of security threats.
Farida Afridi, a prominent activist working with tribal women in KP province, was shot dead in July 2012. In January 2013 gunmen shot dead seven aid workers including six women working with "Support with Working Solutions", a local NGO in KP province. The culprits have not been found.
Foreign aid workers are not immune. A British Muslim doctor working for the International Committee for the Red Cross, Khalil Dale, was kidnapped and then killed in April 2012. More than 60 foreign aid workers left Pakistan in 2012, largely because of security concerns or the refusal of the authorities to renew their visas.
Suspicions against foreign NGOs have increased substantially after an unethical ruse by the US Central Intelligence Agency to try to kill Osama bin Laden, by using a fake NGO to try to obtain his blood sample.
In the next few months, general elections are expected to be held. But there is a grave political crisis with some parties wanting to delay the elections and the ruling party accusing unnamed dark forces of conspiring to do this. If elections are held, civil society groups are expected to be at the forefront of monitoring the polls, as they have done for past elections.
However, the lack of protection for NGOs, the inability or refusal of the state machinery to protect them and the growing intolerance of their neutral stance is dismaying many.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Civil society vows to protect democracy
Speakers at a people convention on Friday said that civil society had
always resisted the undemocratic and unconstitutional forces and would
do the same if any individual or institution tried to derail democracy.
The Centre for Human Rights Education (CHRE) and other civil society organisations held a convention titled ‘Current Political Scenario and 2013 Election’ at the HRCP Auditorium. Speaking on the occasion, Justice (r) Nasira Javed Iqbal said the people should not allow any person or institution to sabotage the electoral process because “democracy cannot flourish without a peaceful democratic process”. “We must show a ‘No’ sign to the undemocratic forces that have always tried to push Pakistan into darkness.”
HRCP Director IA Rehman said that in the past, the military establishment did not allow any democratic government to complete its term, which prevented the democratic system from flourishing and strengthening; therefore “it is a good sign for democracy that the current government is completing its constitutional term”.
Simorgh Director Neelam Hussain criticised the military establishment for its negative role in politics and asked the people of Pakistan to be very watchful in choosing their representatives in the future.
Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) Regional Director Salman Abid expressed his satisfaction on the completion of the current government’s constitutional tenure and said that Pakistan’s better future was linked to the democratic system and its continuity. staff report
The Centre for Human Rights Education (CHRE) and other civil society organisations held a convention titled ‘Current Political Scenario and 2013 Election’ at the HRCP Auditorium. Speaking on the occasion, Justice (r) Nasira Javed Iqbal said the people should not allow any person or institution to sabotage the electoral process because “democracy cannot flourish without a peaceful democratic process”. “We must show a ‘No’ sign to the undemocratic forces that have always tried to push Pakistan into darkness.”
HRCP Director IA Rehman said that in the past, the military establishment did not allow any democratic government to complete its term, which prevented the democratic system from flourishing and strengthening; therefore “it is a good sign for democracy that the current government is completing its constitutional term”.
Simorgh Director Neelam Hussain criticised the military establishment for its negative role in politics and asked the people of Pakistan to be very watchful in choosing their representatives in the future.
Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) Regional Director Salman Abid expressed his satisfaction on the completion of the current government’s constitutional tenure and said that Pakistan’s better future was linked to the democratic system and its continuity. staff report
Monday, December 10, 2012
Geelani asks civil society to work for Kashmir cause
Chairman All Parties Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani has asked the civil society to work for the Kashmir cause and not leave everything to the leaders.
“We have capable people in Kashmir who can work to address various
dimensions of Kashmir issue. But they leave everything to Geelani. They
should not blame the leaders but work at their own level. Instead of
raising finger at us they should understand that we are not even allowed
to move outside the house for prayers,” Geelani said addressing a
seminar titled ‘World Human Rights Day and Oppressed People of Kashmir’
at his residence here.
Geelani said despite sacrifices people are not safeguarding their
contribution. “Sacrifice and voting cannot go together. Despite
sacrifice, people are strengthening New Delhi’s rule here.”
Geelani said that Institute of Kashmir Studies was shut down ‘with
the collaboration of so-called friends.’ “A center was running in which
we tried to document Kashmir history, but certain elements contributed
in shutting it down.”
However, Geelani said that people should not feel dejected and appealed them to maintain unity.
Reacting to the statement of National Conference General Secretary
Sheikh Nazir that Sheikh Abdullah never signed 1975 Accord, Geelani
said, “They think people are fool. More than 30 years have passed since
the accord took place. Sheikh’s son and grandson continue to hold the
chair. They continue to enter into alliance after alliance with Congress
whom they used to call gandi naali kay keeday. They think people will
forgive them for their sins. Chief Minister is brutal than his
grandfather.”
Geelani also said that New Delhi has ‘sent a battery of Hindu
officers to rule the state through bureaucracy and police.’ “Governor,
DGP, 4 ADGPs, 6 IGPs, 5 DIGs, 4 Principal Secretaries, Chief Electoral
Officer, 6 Commissioner Secretaries are Hindus,” Geelani said.
He termed Kashmir as an economic, political, human and religious
issue. “Until we are not free from India, our religion and resources are
under threat. If people will not raise voice against injustice, I warn
you that future of Kashmir will be dark. I want to educate people about
the injustice done to them, but government keeps me under house arrest.”
Geelani said his amalgam will fight for the release of Muslim League
leader Dr Qasim Faktoo and other Kashmiri youth who were recently
awarded life sentence. Geelani said he will consult lawyers to fight for
their release and also launch a campaign for their release.
He said that 150 youth have been slapped with PSA this year and 850
youth are in different jails in J&K and outside. “Thirty three are
convicts and five have been awarded death sentence and life
imprisonment.”
Geelani demanded that FIR should be registered against 500 officers
of police and paramilitary whom Coalition of Civil Society recently
accused of human rights violations.
Asiya Andrabi also spoke on the occasion. “Judiciary has been no
different to Kashmiris. My husband’s sentence is a political vendetta.
We should move beyond calling one-day protests and conferences,” she
said.
Asiya called on the people and leadership to capitalize on the
sacrifice rendered by his husband and others. “However, we should not
forget the families of sufferers.”
She also asked the government of Pakistan to take up the issue of Kashmir youth who have been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Prof. Hameeda Nayeem asked the leadership to move beyond sloganeering and present a rational case of Kashmir issue. “It is not only killings and torture; our every right has been vandalized. We have miserly failed to present Kashmir issue beyond a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan.”
She also castigated Hurriyat (M) for their scheduled Pakistan visit.
“Pakistan has always supported us. They have never been against the
third option, what will they present to Pakistan,” Hameeda said.
Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain said Kashmiris have failed to document human rights violations. “We failed to argue our case in various international organizations,” he said.
Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain said Kashmiris have failed to document human rights violations. “We failed to argue our case in various international organizations,” he said.
Other who spoke on the occasion included Ghulam Nabi Sumji, Zamrooda
Habib, Abdul Majid Zargar, Muhammad Shafi, Abdul Ahad Para, Arjimand
Hussain Talib and Peer Saifullah.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Civil society urged to contribute to economic growth
These views were expressed by the participants in Jang Economic Session on “Future of Pakistan in Global Scenario” here on Tuesday. The panelists were Muhammad Ali Mian, Prof Shahida Saleem, Dr Tariq Bucha, Dr Yasir Mehmood and Nadeem Bhatti while the session was hosted by Sikindar Hameed Lodhi and Intikhab Tariq.
Muhammad Ali Mian said economic recession was going on across the world while Pakistan economy also was affected by high budget deficit and foreign loans. He said 60 percent of Pakistan SMEs had closed down while economic revival was crucial for safeguarding future.
Shahida Saleem said self-dependent policy and removal of social inequality were crucial to protect economic future of the country.
She suggested not taking loan facilities from international lenders. She said Pakistan growth rate was 9 percent in 1960s which needed to bring back through visionary leadership. She said China, India, Malaysia and Singapore had achieved growth with human resource development by improving their education system.
Tariq Bucha said agriculture was not vital for Pakistan only as globally the current decade was food and fuel decade but Pakistan government had put the agriculture sector on the back burner during the last three years. He said agriculture share in the country’s GDP was 50 percent but it was ignored by the government. He said the government had given MFN status to India rather than providing facilities to agriculture sector. He said a urea fertilizer bag was sold at Rs350 in India while at Rs1,750 in Pakistan. He observed that government might face circular debt in food sector if it continued ignoring agriculture.
Dr Yasir Mehmood said the next three years could be positive for Pakistan economy as labour cost was growing in China which was pushing its cost of production upwards. He said the minimum wage in Pakistan was Rs9,000 while in China it was equal to Rs40,000 to 50,000. He called for using alternate energy generation resources to produce cheap energy and use of labour cost advantage.
Nadeem Bhatti said that Pakistan’s share in global market was reducing quickly due to increase in production cost. He said unavailability of gas and electricity had bankrupted the industry. He said government should take concrete steps to stop energy theft and facilitate the taxpayers.
Source http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-144358-Civil-society-urged-to-contribute-to-economic-growth
Friday, October 5, 2012
New bounty offer in Pakistan for prophet filmmaker
A former Pakistani legislator has offered a
$200,000 bounty for anyone who kills the maker of an anti-Islam film
that has angered Muslims around the world.
Ikramullah Shahid made the offer at a rally Monday in the northwestern city of Peshawar, before a crowd of about 15,000 people.
The rally was led by the
Difa-e-Pakistan Council, an umbrella group of radical Islamic and
militant groups. Shahid is a member of the group.
This is the second such
offer made by someone in Pakistan. A federal cabinet minister earlier
offered $100,000 for the man behind the U.S.-made film that portrays
Islam's Prophet Muhammad as a fraud, womanizer and child molester.
Outraged Muslims have rallied against the film. At least 23 people have died in protests in Pakistan against the film.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Pakistani Kashmir Demands Power and End to Corruption
In Pakistani Kashmir
dozens of civil society activists staged a peaceful demonstration;
calling for much-needed reforms in region’s Interim Constitution Act “to
pave way for worthwhile democracy, good governance and uncompromising
accountability.”
The demonstration, held
in the wake of a row between the AJK Accountability Bureau and the AJK
Council, coincided with a controlled visit of Prime Minister Raja Pervez
Ashraf to the outskirts of Muzaffarabad for inspection of an
under-construction hydropower project. However, local media was not
invited to the event for fear of upsetting questions on its part.
The prime minister of
Pakistan happens to be the chairman of AJK Council, which is at the
centre of allegations of corruption and financial irregularities,
largely because of non-observance of codal formalities and pre-audit
checks in its expenditures.
“No to corrupt AJK
Council,” read one of the several placards carried by the demonstrators,
including lawyers, students, NGO workers, traders and journalists, as
they lined up along the capital’s bustling thoroughfare and later
marched through it and the adjacent magnificent district headquarters
complex.
The AJK Council, it may
be recalled, was established under the Interim Constitution Act 1974
apparently “to serve as a bridge between the governments in Muzaffarabad
and Islamabad.” However, over the years, officials and public in AJK
believe, it has turned itself into a parallel government, evading
scrutiny of its expenditures by investigating and accounting bodies of
Pakistan or AJK.
The main income source
of Council, which is vested with legislative, executive and financial
powers, is 20 per cent of the taxes generated from the AJK territory,
which it claims it spends on the administrative expenditure of its
secretariat in Islamabad, development activities (in Pakistan and AJK)
and other miscellaneous heads. Apart
from the 20 per cent of taxes, it has some other income sources as
well, including license fees from the cellular phone companies operating
in AJK.
It was the former AJK
Accountability Bureau chairman Justice Hussain Mazhar Kaleem, who had
dared summon record of some dubious contracts from the Council in the
wake of corruption complaints, but the Council officials did not comply
with his orders until the AJK government removed him on Friday allegedly
under the pressure of vested interests, fuelling anger among the
already charged civil society and political circles in AJK.
While calling for
abolition of Council and accountability of the Kashmiri taxpayers’ money
at its disposal, the demonstrators criticised what they termed as
lily-livered AJK rulers for bowing to the pressure of corrupt AJK
Council officials.
They also emphasised for long pending constitutional reforms to address such issues.
The interesting aspect
of the demonstration was the use of social media to attract its
participants, something unusual in this area where modern ICTs are not
so common.
Tariq
Naqash, a senior journalist, who created a group on Facebook, namely AJK
Civil Society Forum, said he was heartened to observe the response of
civil society to the posts on social media on the issue.
“It’s the first drop of
rain and I am sure the civil society in Aad Kashmir will play a pivotal
role in sensitising the decision makers and general public about the
issues of national concern,” he said.
Speaking to
correspondents on the occasion, Raza Ali Khan, President AJK Supreme
Court Bar Association, said the Interim Constitution had undermined the
status of the AJK government as it gave excessive executive and
legislative powers to the AJK Council over 52 subjects, including
taxation.
Mr Khan pointed out that
as chairman AJK Council the prime minister of Pakistan was exercising
full authority in AJK while he was neither answerable to the people nor
to the elected representatives of AJK.
“There is dire need of constitutional reforms to remove such anomalies.”
Abdul Qaiyum Khan, a
student, said if the federal government could devolve powers to
provinces, why AJK was not being treated in the same manner.
“Why our government is not being empowered? Why we are being made to feel as aliens?”
It may be recalled that
in the recent session of AJK Legislative Assembly, Prime Minister
Chaudhry Abdul Majeed had announced to work in consultation with all
parties for constitutional amendments. However, the government is yet to
make a serious effort to move ahead in this regard.
Monday, July 9, 2012
HRCP slams killing of FATA civil society activist
The Human Rights Commission
of Pakistan (HRCP) has condemned the assassination of Farida Afridi,
who worked for an organisation working for women’s welfare, in Jamrud,
Khyber Agency, as well as reports of a man accused of desecrating
religious texts being snatched from police custody and burned to death.
In a statement on Thursday, HRCP said: “It is a matter of grave concern that the risks facing human rights defenders and those working to ameliorate the lot of marginalized segments remain very high across the country. HRCP is utterly shocked at the targeted killing of Farida Afridi, whose only crime was working for the uplift of women in an area where they need such help the most.
Two armed men riding a bike shot her in the head and fled. The threats to human rights defenders in FATA are as worrisome as the impunity the killers enjoy. The ghastly murder is reminiscent of the killing on December 8, 2011, of Zarteef Afridi, a well known human rights defender and HRCP coordinator in Khyber Agency. He was too shot dead by two men on a motorcycle. His killers are still at large.
HRCP would like to remind the government of its obligation to provide a safe working environment to human rights defenders all over the country, particularly more so in the FATA region, which faces about the worst turmoil in the country. In such places, journalists, human rights defenders and workers of civil society organisations who strive to provide essential needs or awareness to the people at great personal risk, have faced perils only because of their role in promoting rights or highlighting violations.
The killing of journalists, rights defenders and civil society activists in FATA is the latest addition to the prevailing hurdles for those working in the region for the uplift of the marginalized people, especially women.”
In a statement on Thursday, HRCP said: “It is a matter of grave concern that the risks facing human rights defenders and those working to ameliorate the lot of marginalized segments remain very high across the country. HRCP is utterly shocked at the targeted killing of Farida Afridi, whose only crime was working for the uplift of women in an area where they need such help the most.
Two armed men riding a bike shot her in the head and fled. The threats to human rights defenders in FATA are as worrisome as the impunity the killers enjoy. The ghastly murder is reminiscent of the killing on December 8, 2011, of Zarteef Afridi, a well known human rights defender and HRCP coordinator in Khyber Agency. He was too shot dead by two men on a motorcycle. His killers are still at large.
HRCP would like to remind the government of its obligation to provide a safe working environment to human rights defenders all over the country, particularly more so in the FATA region, which faces about the worst turmoil in the country. In such places, journalists, human rights defenders and workers of civil society organisations who strive to provide essential needs or awareness to the people at great personal risk, have faced perils only because of their role in promoting rights or highlighting violations.
The killing of journalists, rights defenders and civil society activists in FATA is the latest addition to the prevailing hurdles for those working in the region for the uplift of the marginalized people, especially women.”
Monday, October 10, 2011
Election Commission blames NADRA and floods for delay
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will not be able to complete the verification of fresh electoral rolls in time to meet the March 2012 deadline, Provincial Election Commissioner Sono Khan Baloch said on Monday.
The ECP planned to finish verifying voters by October 30. It then takes six weeks for the lists to be published and another three weeks to put the rolls under new inspection. Corrections are made at this stage at the commission’s district offices. In the last two phases, they planned to verify or add names through short text messages, to finally publish the lists by March 2012.
“Verification of voters displaced in rural Sindh and the rectification of lapses in preparing voter data are the main causes of the anticipated delay,” Baloch explained to the media at a consultative meeting with political leaders, civil society members and other stakeholders.
Baloch held the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) responsible for errors in the electoral list drafts. He explained that the authority had mangled data on CNICs when it came to family numbers and areas.
“Due to mistakes in NADRA’s data, members of one family have become scattered in separate polling blocks,” he alleged. “This means a family living in a particular area will be casting its votes at two or more separate polling stations.”
He added that, while cumbersome, NADRA’s errors would take less time to fix as compared to the time it would take to verify and register voters in flood-hit areas. However, the election commissioner could not elaborate on whether they would correct NADRA’s data on CNIC holders before the electoral rolls were rectified.
“Besides NADRA, we also collect data from district administrations and registration is also carried out by the staff and hired staff of the ECP itself,” he said.
ECP member Justice (retd) Roshan Essani told the gathering that verification teams have begun work in flooded areas from where water is receding.
Haphazard lists
Sindh Fisheries Minister Zahid Bhurgari, PPP workers and residents of Qasimabad and rural tehsils of Hyderabad complained of omissions of their areas’ voters from the rolls. They also claimed that voters in the City and Latifabad tehsils of Hyderabad have been duplicated.
“Voters of union council 1 of the City tehsil are also registered in union council 2 which is a clear case of the doubling of votes,” Bhurgari told The Express Tribune. He alleged that the issue is most common in the City and Latifabad lists.
The two tehsils are considered Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) strongholds while the Qasimabad and rural Hyderabad tehsils always return Pakistan Peoples Party members.
The 2011 electoral roll draft has around 1.13 million voters in Hyderabad – up from 922,214 in 2007.
“The list is likely to have more names after the omissions are sorted out,” Aijaz Anwar Chauhan, assistant election commissioner, assured The Express Tribune.
The MQM, on the other hand, had its own objections. A member of the party’s zonal committee complained about the increase in the number of voters in Qasimabad. However, MQM MPA Suhail Yousuf intervened, saying that the party has no oppositions to an increase or decrease in voters in any part of the city.
PPP’s Roshan Solangi, meanwhile, explained the population surge in Qasimabad by pointing out the number of people migrating into the town from Latifabad, City and other districts. Qamar Din Lakho of PPP’s rural Hyderabad tehsil made a surprising revelation – 15,000 people from his area who filled out NADRA forms for CNICs back in 2008 are still waiting for their cards.
“We re-registered all of them again in 2010 only to be told that any applicant with a duplication of data cannot be issued the CNIC.”
Mukhtiar Korejo, a resident of Jamshoro district, informed the ECP officials that their staff has yet to reach 20 per cent of the district’s population that lives in mountainous areas.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Benazir always believed in policy of reconciliation: Bhayo
Member Central Executive Committee (CEC) of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Sardar Wahid Bakhsh Bhayo has said Shaheed Benazir Bhutto (BB) always believed in the policy of reconciliation and forgiveness.
President and PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari is a realistic person, who is pursuing BB’s unfinished mission of developing the country and providing employment opportunities to youths, he expressed these views in an exclusive interview with Daily Times at the State Guest House, Karachi.
He said that following the incarceration and hanging of father at the hands of a military dictator, BB experienced an unstable period, which was further aggravated by the untimely death of her brother Shahnawaz Bhutto, a murder that still remain shrouded in mystery.
Bhayo further said that for 11 years of the dictator’s regime, BB lived away from her people and motherland. “Despite living abroad for all this time, she still had complete acquaintance with her party’s affairs at central, provincial and district level. If any party leader ever expressed reservations against the other, her decision remained acceptable to all concerned”, he said.
Bhayo said it was her vision to accommodate the party workers and their families, who dedicated their lives for the democracy and party, adding, “It was her utmost desire and aspiration to compensate them commensurate to their sacrifices.”
Responding to a question regarding the no-confidence move against PPP government in 1993, Bhayo said that after the martyrdom of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB), the country witnessed the grim era of Zia’s Martial Law spanning over 11 years during which PPP’s leadership and workers were subjected to hardships and state repression.
As PPP took over the government in 1988, it failed to fulfil the pledges made with the masses and the fate of this term remained not different from the previous one, he added.
Every member of national & provincial assemblies, senators and party leaders had their own agenda to follow, which resulted in the dissolution of the government at the hands of their own nominated President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari in a short span of two and half years.
To a query, Bhayo said BB changed her mindset just after the removal of PPP’s second government in 1996. “She decided to sit in the opposition and regularly attended the National Assembly sessions. Being an opposition leader, she fought against a heavy mandate holding government,” he said.
“She was distressed after the removal of her second government, especially when her husband Asif Ali Zardari was put behind bars. BB herself faced several fake corruption cases and her family’s life went into total disarray, when she remained away from her children,” he said.
Bhayo said BB realising the ground realities and political culture of the country, decided to settle for a reconciliation process with her archrival Nawaz Sharif to foil conspiracies of establishment against democracy.
According to Bhayo’s observation, when BB returned to Pakistan on Oct 27, 2007, she had a completely changed mindset. Her attitude and speeches depicted a determination on her part for a fight against the anti-state, anti-people and anti-democratic forces through democracy,
The forces inimical to the people and democracy realising the changed attitude of BB decided to eliminate her through a well-hatched conspiracy, he added.
Commenting over the failure of present PPP government to end miseries of poor and downtrodden masses, he said it was a mere misperception of party’s rivals.
The present government inherited most of the problems from global crises and the financial crisis that not only affected this part of the world but also developed countries like United Stated and United Kingdom, he said.
Bhayo pointed out that the PPP government did not terminate services of ordinary workers and instead provided further employment opportunities to the needy, reducing the unemployment rate. Thousand of people rendered unemployed by the previous governments were reinstated during the current PPP government, he added.
He said that the government had been establishing new powerhouses along with several other projects so as to curtail the power shortage issue being faced by the country.
Commenting over the long debated honour killings (Karo-Kari) issue, he said it was a hype-up created by so-called human rights & non-governmental organisations and civil society, adding, they were merely interested in generating revenue by raising this issue.
He said, the issue was entirely Islamic and its salvation lies within ‘Qazi Courts’ which could be constituted to resolve the issue. If the courts had been constituted to provide swift justice, Karo-Kari issue would have been buried, he added.
Replying to a question, he said the people of Balochistan and Sindh, especially upper Sindh, had confidence in ‘Jirgas’ because they provided swift justice at their doorsteps without any hurdles and advocacy expenses.
Ironically, our prevailing judicial system had been very sluggish and people had been compelled to seek justice from ‘Sardars’ or ‘Waderas’.
Recollecting his first meeting with ZAB, Bhayo remained silent for a moment and then said it was in 1972 when he and Mir Murtaza Bhutto were studying at the Aitchison College Lahore. “It was dusk when I and Murtaza returned from the playground. He sat in the lawn and I was walking towards the hostel block when I saw a man in full-suit. He asked, “Hi young man do you know Murtaza and where is he now?”
I replied, “We were playing together but he is now having a nap, but I will soon bring him. After that ZAB, Murtaza and I went to a shop for a tea”, he added.
When ZAB was the prime minister, Bhayo invited him for a meeting with the student union of Maryland University on his visit to US, which was accepted and that was the first time he met BB.
Sardar Wahid Bakhsh Bhayo was born on Oct 15, 1954 in the home of Sardar Muhammad Jagan Khan Bhayo situated in a small village of district Shikarpur. He was enrolled in his village’s primary school but soon his father passed away and he got himself enrolled in the Grammar School, Quetta where he passed his primary level education. In 1973-74 Bhayo completed his High School studies from the Aitchison College Lahore. He then went to the University of Maryland, US to complete his Graduation in Business Administration.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Pakistan would definitely rise: Sudanese Envoy
I AM impressed by the natural beauty and greenery of Pakistan. This is indeed a blessed land. It is full of natural resources. With peace and stability, foreign investment would be massive. The nation is full of talent and hardworking people. It is destined to rise no matter the difficulties and challenges the people are facing. I will always remain a friend and well-wisher of Pakistan.
These were the highlights of a farewell interview with the outgoing Ambassador of Sudan Mr. Mohammed Omer Musa who shared with Pakistan Observer some interesting moments of his diplomatic life while serving in Islamabad.
When Musa was told that he would be stationed in Pakistan, many friends in the media were worried. The media projected Pakistan negatively due to law and order situation. However, When Musa arrived to Islamabad as a member of a military delegation, he assumed his duties as Ambassador of Sudan to Pakistan in the same day.
Additionally, the Prime Minister Sayed Yusuf Reza Gilani gave him the surprise of his life when he invited him to Iftar-Dinner party before presenting his credentials. The prime minister also was keen to seat him on the main table. The message of amity and goodwill to him and Sudan was conveyed in the best possible and powerful manner.
Among sincere friends, protocol can wait.
Musa immediately realized how wrong was international media and how lively is Pakistan, its leaders and people. Those moments would always live with him. They made him determined to promote the bilateral relation in every field.
Overwhelmed by the love and affection shown to him, Musa made a comprehensive plan to lift the relations. He made a comprehensive plan to activate the ties. Before he arrived to Pakistan, the last meeting of the Joint Ministerial Commission was held in 1996. Musa immediately worked on resuming the meeting of JMC and was successful in holding the meeting in March 2010. A compressive mechanism was devised by JMC to promote the relations in economic, trade and cultural ties.
The business community in Pakistan has also responded by investing in Sudan. In next August, an investment delegation would visit Sudan to sign an agreement on joint investment.
For Musa, geographic distance is no hindrance to trade and investment. The ties between the two countries and people are deep-rooted and based on common history, culture, customs, traditions and religion.
One characteristic of the bilateral relations is that they remain steady and have never been affected by political changes in the two countries. This would further help invigorate the ties to the benefit of the two peoples.
Having been fascinated by the natural beauty of Pakistan, Musa visited major cities including Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Muree, Peshawar, Charssada, Naushehra, Gilgit- Baltistan and Hyderabad. He also attended social functions by the civil society including wedding parties and was highly impressed by the local traditions, colours, songs and the strong family bonds in the Pakistani society. Musa was particularly moved by the warmth and generosity of the people. Resultantly, he never felt living away from his country.
Answering a question about a memorable occasion in his life while in Pakistan, Musa narrated his visit to Skardu. He, along with other diplomats were invited to attend an investment conference by the government of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The conference was supposed to last two days. However, bad weather compelled the delegates to stay for five days. During the extra three days, the prime minister of Gilgit-Baltistan made an elaborate programme to show the delegates various places in the area and to enjoy breath-taking scenes of majestic nature. He thanks his stars for the most valuable delay.
During the 2010 flooding, Musa accompanied the Sudanese relief team and mixed with the people affected by the flood. He personally supervised distribution of the reliefs among the affectees. He also recommended that Sudan should build a hospital in Sindh as a token of goodwill from the government and people of Sudan.
Musa expressed special thanks to the foreign office for their cooperation and interests in strengthening the bilateral relations especially to foreign secretary Salman Bashir and Additional Secretary for Africa and the Middle East Mr. Muhammad Aslam.
His last message is : Be steadfast and don’t worry. Work hard. And with your talent and dedication, Pakistan would definitely rise.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Pakistan's problem is that we did not make it British enough
Having told the Indians last year that Pakistan was basically a nest of terrorists, David Cameron has now told an audience of academics in Pakistan that the real problem is Britain! Not just Kashmir, he said, but pretty much all the world’s problems are our fault.
He really does like to please an audience. For once I agree with Tristram Hunt, the Labour MP and historian, who said: “To say that Britain is a cause of many of the world’s ills is naïve. To look back 50-odd years for the problems facing many post-colonial nations adds little to the understanding of the problems they face.
“David Cameron has a tendency to go to countries around the world and tell them what they want to hear, whether it is in Israel, Turkey, India and Pakistan.”
Peter Oborne is also correct in pointing out that apology does not make good diplomacy. It might make the people in the room like Cameron personally, because he has helped to reinforce a narrative which they hold dear, or which they benefit from – that Pakistan was hard done by and Britain (and India, of course) is to blame for its various failings. But that is just a narrative; Britain did many good things in southern Asia, and many bad things. Where two countries have an unambiguous history, then such contrition may be appropriate – the German chancellor in Israel, for instance – but Britain’s relationship with Pakistan is more nuanced. After all, as Oborne says, we did give them “parliamentary democracy, superb irrigation systems, excellent roads, the rule of law, the English language and, last but not least, the game of cricket”.
Apologising only builds the negative narrative, so that Pakistanis keen to play on the downsides of British rule can now say to their countrymen: “Look, even their prime minister says so.” That’s human nature. And apologising while handing over hundreds of millions of pounds in aid certainly does not encourage gratitude – only resentment.
Of Oborne’s list the most important, by far, is the rule of law. The reason the world speaks English today, not Urdu, Persian or Arabic, is that England, and a host of other, smaller countries in north-west Europe, were able to undermine traditional family, clan and religious structures and loyalties to create societies with wide circles of trust. England, the Netherlands and Denmark in particular were able to forge nation-states in which men did not rely on clans or religious leaders for protection; this rule of law, and the creation of a strong national (rather than tribal) identity, helped to bring about astonishing growth in trade, transport, education, science and medicine.
Those former colonies which have most flourished are those that have mimicked Britain. Pakistan, alas, is not one of them. Parliamentary rule did not survive military coups and Pakistan took the retrograde step of introducing Islamic law. The country has not looked forward since.
Today the constitution states that “no law shall be enacted which is repugnant to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Koran” while the Federal Shariat Court has the power to examine whether bills comply with Islamic law (England still has some idiosyncratic religious elements in its constitution, such as bishops in the Lords, but imagine, for instance, if a body of Christian scholars could veto legislation if it contradicted Leviticus). Meanwhile Pakistan has made little progress in nation-building, tribal loyalty is supreme, and cousin marriage – an absolute guarantor of national failure, since it retards the development of civil society – is widespread. Meanwhile the country is rated 143rd on Transparency International’s corruption index (a good measure of civil virtue, which itself is a fairly good measure of national loyalty), which means that for all the good our aid money will do, we may as well build a new Millennium Dome. Out of chocolate. In the Western Isles.
If Britain owes Pakistan an apology, it is for not doing enough to make it more British.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Public representatives urged to monitor National Emergency Action Plan
In a PILDAT arranged National workshop on the National Emergency Action Plan 2011 for Polio Eradication, Parliamentarians and MPAs from all Provincial Assemblies believed that public representatives should effectively monitor and oversee the National Emergency Action Plan 2011 for Polio eradication. “To eradicate polio a nation- wide awareness campaign should be launched with effective participation of Parliamentarians and media,” said experts in the National Workshop. A strategy through which both public representatives take a pro-active role in overseeing the programme as well as Federal and Provincial Governments inform legislators ahead of campaigns to ensure legislators involvement and oversight is crucial to ensuring the success of the National Emergency Action Plan, said Parliamentarians and MPAs. In 2011 so far 24 cases of polio have been detected across Pakistan which is twice as compared to 12 in the same period in 2010 – an alarming scenario believed experts and legislators, and requires effective measures to counter the spread as well.
Ms. Fozia Ejaz Khan, MNA and Vice President Parliamentary Caucus on Immunization, chaired the session. Other speakers included Mr. Tariq Fazal Choudhary, MNA, General Secretary Parliamentary Caucus on Immunization, Mr. Wazir Baig, Speaker, Gilgit Baltistan Legislative Assembly, Dr. Abdul Khaliq Achakzai, MPA and Provincial Minister for Youth Affairs, Balochistan, Dr. Asad Ashraf, MPA, Convener, Parliamentary Caucus to promote Immunization In the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, , Mr. Anwar Ahmed Mehar, MPA, Convener, Parliamentary Caucus to promote Immunization in the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, Mr. Moin Aamir Pirzada, Convener, Parliamentary Caucus to promote Immunization in the Provincial Assembly of the Sindh, Dr. Azhar Abid Raza, Health Specialist, UNICEF, Mr. Agha Ishfaq, Deputy National Programme Manager, EPI, Government of Pakistan and Ms. Aasiya Riaz, Joint Director PILDAT.
Ms. Fozia Ejaz Khan stressed on the need for public representatives to take interest and work in their own areas to make immunization campaign a successful mission. “Media should run effective awareness campaigns especially an on FM radio that is the main source of information in FATA and other remote areas,” she added. Till we all work on this eradication mission as a national duty regardless of pay and perks and remuneration, unfortunately, this too shall remain a disaster, she said. While chairing the session she said that small pockets of areas should be targeted and campaigns should run in periodic manner to make it more result oriented. She stressed on revision of the honorarium for the field workers associated with the polio campaigns. Religious leaders should be involved in awareness campaigns to overcome misconceptions.
Dr. Azhar Abid Raza, while speaking on the occasion, said that Pakistan is one of the only four (4) countries in the world where polio still exists and Pakistan is the only country where number of polio cases is rising as seen in 2010. He told that 144 polio cases were found in 40 districts across Pakistan in 2010 while during the same period last year in Afghanistan 4 cases were found, 12 cases were detected in India and only I case was found in Nigeria. In 2011, while not a single case has been detected so far in any of these countries, Pakistan has already seen 24 reported as compared to 12 in same period last year. He believed that persistent operational challenges include security and access in FATA, KPK, and Balochistan, increasing fatigue, service delivery and quality, accountability and lake of awareness are major challenges though he believed if public representatives put their weight behind the campaign and effectively oversee and coordinate, Pakistan too can stop the spread of this virus.
Talking on the strategies to implement the National Emergency Action Plan, Agha Ishfaq, briefed that FATA, Central Punjab, Quetta, Qilla Abdullah, Karachi, Hyderabad and Jacobabad are high risk areas in Pakistan. He believed that polio coverage in far off areas is not satisfactory which needs to be addressed properly. He said that migrated population is yet another source of polio virus transmission. He admitted that over 250,000 children are still inaccessible in FATA. He stressed that a plan on districts level should be prepared which should be focused on local needs. Campaigns for 33 high risk districts was launched in 2010 but there is still 1% missed areas in KPK, Balochistan and Sindh while missed areas in FATA are 2%, said Agha Ashfaq in his presentation.
Mr. Tariq Fazal Choudhary, MNA appreciated PILDAT for highlighting issue of such national importance. He believed that it is not necessary that all polio cases are reported across Pakistan and the ground realities could be much more drastic as presented by the experts today. He stressed that health departments need to coordinate campaigns with public representatives and it’s a sorry state of affairs that despite efforts, effective coordination is still missing in this crucial area.
Mr. Wazir Baig said that all our efforts should be continued to eradicate polio from Pakistan as well as to maintain polio-free status of areas such as Gilgit-Baltistan. He said that no polio case has been registered in Gilgit Baltistan for some years due to the efforts made by health department and NGOs. He said that legislators of Gilgit Baltistan are also actively involved in polio campaigns.
Dr. Abdul Khaliq Achakzai, believed that of the spread of polio in Pakistan should be declared as the most important national emergency. He believed that in Balochistan, Qilla Abdullah is marked as high risk area because it is on the border of Afghanistan and the union councils in which these cases were reported, all are on the border. He believed that the people have misconceptions about polio vaccination which need to be addressed. He said that health department never involves public representatives in immunization campaigns. He stressed that far flung and border areas should be given special attention.
Dr. Asad Ashraf believed that until all children of Pakistan are not vaccinated we should not relax. He said all the countries except 3 Muslim countries are polio-free except India and in India the most hit province is Bihar which is a Muslim majority province. He believed that it is because of misperceptions among Muslims regarding polio vaccine. He especially shed light on Government of Punjab’s lead in testing polio vaccination and then making sure only effective and quality vaccine is used in Pakistan.
Mr. Anwar Ahmed Mehar was of the opinion that if polio is decreasing in Afghanistan why it is on rise in FATA. He said that awareness campaign is the most important factor in the efforts of eradicating polio and public representative can play a very important role in this regard. He stressed that misconceptions can also be removed by creating awareness among masses.
Mr. Moin Aamir Pirzada believed that public representative should take a pro-active role and personally get involved in polio eradication campaign, demand from health officials to inform them ahead of campaigns and personally be part of campaigns. It is unlikely that once effective oversight of representatives is there, virus could still spread.
Introducing the Session, Ms. Aasiya Riaz, Joint Director-PILDAT, said that PILDAT has facilitated the formation of Immunization Caucuses for National and Provincial Legislatures in order to facilitate the public representatives and to enhance their awareness and involvement into immunization campaigns. The continued transmission of poliovirus in Pakistan has become a national emergency. Pakistan now risks becoming the last remaining reservoir of endemic poliovirus transmission in the world, and the only remaining threat to achieving global polio eradication. In the light of the situation and its national and global implications, the President of Pakistan has directed the immediate development of an emergency action plan for polio eradication in Pakistan. The Goal of the Emergency Action Plan is to stop transmission of polio in Pakistan by the end of 2011. PILDAT’s objective of holding the National Workshop on the National Emergency Action Plan 2011 to Eradicate Polio is to discuss the importance and need of the plan, to review the strategies for its successful implementation, to identify what role Parliamentarians can play for the success of the plan and to sensitize the civil society and media on this serious issue. She thanked honourable public representatives who especially travelled from across Pakistan to be part of the Workshop.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Pakistan, India must set up counterterrorism centres
The two-day strategic seminar organized under Aman Ki Asha concluded here on Wednesday with the conclusion that war is not an option for India and Pakistan.
The seminar was organized under the Aman Ki Asha initiative of the Jang Group and the Times of India for devising ways and means of reducing the acrimony that has thus far marked relations between the two countries and turn a new leaf in the ties for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries.
The two-day seminar deliberated on a plethora of issues which promised lots of positive developments. The seminar was marked by lectures and closed sessions to discuss various issues like trade, counter-terrorism, and others. At the end of the conference, recommendations were made for starting a new chapter in the ties, which are listed below:
Conclusions and recommendations
1. War is not an option. The two sides should formulate policies, which should make war impossible.
2. Terrorism is a common enemy of the people of India and Pakistan. The governments of Pakistan and India must coordinate to combat terrorism and in this context, a joint mechanism agreed to in Havana needs to be strengthened by establishing Counter Terrorism Centres (CTC).
a) It is proposed that CTCs be established in New Delhi and Islamabad as a way to institutionalise cooperation against terrorism.
b) The mandate of CTCs would include regular communication, early warning, exchange of actionable Intelligence, monitoring of terrorist organisations, joint training in counter-terrorism and potentially joint responses/operations.
c) The CTCs would be headed by a secretary-level officer and include senior officers from all the intelligence and criminal investigation agencies.
d) There would be a dedicated hotline between the CTCs and there would be monthly meetings between the heads alternatively in Islamabad and New Delhi.
3. To promote stability and peace in the region there is a need to implement all the confidence building measures, which have already been agreed to between Islamabad and New Delhi.
4. The Pakistan and Indian governments should move ahead for the resolution of the pending issues like Sir Creek and Siachen Glacier.
5. Jammu & Kashmir remains one of the critical issues between the two countries and they should work for its early resolution, taking into account the wishes of the people of Jammu & Kashmir.
6. Back channel needs to be revived at the earliest date.
7. There is a need for more civil society-led peace initiatives, like Aman Ki Asha, which would build public opinion and strengthen the hands of the two governments to resolve all outstanding issues.
8. The Indus Water Treaty has stood the test of time for more than five decades. There is value to utilising the existing provisions of the treaty for more optimal use of the water resources of the Indus River Basin.
9. The challenges of water scarcity and environment degradation must be addressed at the regional level.
These recommendations were accepted unanimously.
10. There is a need to develop an integrated energy plan for the provision of electricity and natural gas for South Asia.
11. The two countries should provide a level playing field to one another to boost trade and economic ties. For this, Islamabad should work to give most favored nation status to India, while New Delhi should remove the non-tariff barriers that will ensure a multi-fold increase in mutually beneficial trade.
12. There is a need to take bold initiatives in order to liberalise visa regime between the two countries. Practices like police reporting and city-specific visas should be done away with.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Civil society protests against killings in Lahore
Hundreds of protesters belonging to civil society, trade unions and legal fraternity staged a protest demonstration at Chur Chowk here on Tuesday against US national Raymond Davis who allegedly killed three Pakistanis in Lahore.
Holding placards with slogans against Raymond Davis, the demonstrators blocked traffic for more than an hour and demanded justice for victims. They said that the government of Pakistan should not succumb to the US pressure and punish Raymond Davis according to the law of the land.
The protesters said that Shumaila Kanwal, who committed suicide on February 6 in an attempt to secure justice for her husband allegedly killed by Raymond Davis in Lahore, was the daughter of the whole nation. They said that it was now the responsibility of Pakistani leadership to give justice to the families of the victims.
Shumaila Kanwal was the widow of Muhammad Faheem, one of two men who were allegedly shot and killed last month by Raymond Davis.
Azhar Mir, a social activist, while addressing the protest rally, said that police were trying to prove the two men criminals because of the US pressure. “All members of civil society are with the family of Shumaila Kanwal and they will not allow anyone to let Raymond Davis leave Pakistan,” he added.
He said that it was a test case for the federal and Punjab governments and if anyone would let Raymond Davis back to his country he would face public wrath, as Pakistanis were against the killing of innocent people. “The government should clarify its viewpoint and tell the nation about the status of Raymond Davis,” he said, adding that the media was playing a very important role and portraying the true picture of Americans.
Malik Humayun, another member of civil society, said: “Our government should not give immunity to Raymond Davis, as he is not a diplomat. No one has the right to kill any Pakistani. We trust our judiciary, but our leaders are under immense US pressure If Raymond Davis is released, every Pakistani will come out in the streets to protest against the government.”
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Pakistan moves to disarm
Worried about ongoing targeted killings and growing gun violence, civil society organisations have started a de-weaponisation campaign in Karachi, and the Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has filed a bill in the National Assembly seeking de-weaponisation across the country.
Last year was one of the most violent in Pakistan's history, with 801 people killed in Karachi alone. That is the most murders since 1995, when 1,742 people were killed, a Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) report says.
Some 40 people have been killed in targeted killing since January 13, which led to a partial curfew in parts of the city.
The MQM filed a bill in the National Assembly on January 17 seeking de-weaponisation across the country. The proposed law would ban the production, smuggling, import and use of firearms, ammunition and weapons throughout Pakistan, said Dr. Farooq Sattar, a key leader of the MQM.
The party also suggested forming a parliamentary committee to oversee the process, he said. A public outcry for de-weaponisation has been raised with every new wave of violence in Karachi.
“The present waves of anarchy and lawlessness have necessitated a need to launch a comprehensive de-weaponisation campaign to cleanse the city from the menace of illicit weapons,” said Farhat Parveen.“The present waves of anarchy and lawlessness have necessitated a need to launch a comprehensive de-weaponisation campaign to cleanse the city from the menace of illicit weapons,” said Farhat Parveen, head of the National Organisation for Working Communities (NOWC), a Karachi-based rights organisation.
The disarmament drive -- “Campaign for Peace” -- is run by NOWC with the collaboration of Oxfam-Novib Pakistan, Parveen told Central Asia Online last week. Civil society and professional organisations, traders, political parties and peace activists are part of the campaign, she added.
“Even though it is a difficult task, the disarming of the city is the need of the hour and has to be perused from some point,” Parveen said. Some of the victims of the violence were political activists, but most were apolitical daily wage labourers.
Crime statistics on rise in Karachi
From 2006-09, criminals and terrorists committed 6,894 attacks with illicit arms across the country, killing 9,634 people and injuring 18,788 others. Thousands of others were kidnapped for ransom, Sattar, who is also a federal minister, said.
The number of incidents of violence in Pakistan fell 11% from 2009 to 2010, but violence in Karachi rose 288%, according to a report by the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think tank.
Targeted killings in Karachi killed more people than suicide bombings did nationwide in 2010, media reported. Last year 1,208 people died in 335 suicide bombings, while 1,247 were criminally murdered. About 95% of “hit-and-run shootings” in Karachi were carried out with 9mm and .30 calibre pistols, police sources said, adding that these small arms are readily available on the black market.
Some Karachi residents keep around 50 weapons on a single license, Rehman Malik, Federal Interior Minister, said. He added that the government is devising a strategy to stop such abuses.
Central Asia Online has learned that the Sindh Interior Ministry has forwarded a recommendation to the Chief Minister to increase the penalties for possessing illegal weapons and make the possession of illegal weapons a non-bailable crime.
The government is amending Arms Rules 1924 and Pakistan Arms Ordinance 1965, and suggests that the penalty for keeping illegal weapons be increased to 10 years in prison, a senior Interior Ministry official told Central Asia Online.
Security affects businesses, medical care
The worsening security situation has prompted 150 businessmen and their families to leave the country, said Majyd Aziz, former head of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI). Targeted killings affect businesses as commercial areas close because of violence and riots, Aziz, who is also a leader the campaign to disarm Karachi, said.
A number of physicians from Karachi have also left Pakistan because they were victims of violence, said Dr, Samreena Hashami, an officer of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA).
The continued re-enforcement of the ideas of militarisation in the educational curriculum, and society’s emphasis on militancy were the main reasons behind the weaponisation of society, said Javed Jabbar, a former federal Minister, involved in the campaign.
“We have to focus on traditional and non-traditional education because non-traditional education including media is promoting violence,” Jabbar said. He added that law enforcement needs to be reformed to make it able to effectively de-weaponize society.
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