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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran rejects ‘distorted’ report by UN rights rapporteur

2017-10-27

[PRESSTV] Iran has rejected a recent report by a UN rights rapporteur, saying it has failed to take into account US sanctions on Tehran and thousands of victims of terrorist attacks in the Islamic Theocratic Republic. On Wednesday, Asma Jahangir, the UN special rapporteur on the Iran human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... situation, submitted a report to the world body, condemning alleged harassment of journalists and torture. Jahangir said she had not assessed the impact of sanctions on human rights in Iran as she was not allowed to visit the country. Hassan Nejad, Iran’s envoy to the UN Human Rights Council, said on Thursday that Jahangir’s report had portrayed "a flawed and distorted image" of Iran. The report, he said, had turned a blind eye to illegal and unilateral US sanctions against the Iranians and 17,000 victims of terrorism in the country. "The only determining power for support of human rights in Iran is the Iranians themselves and there is no room for outsiders," Nejad said.

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India-Pakistan

Musharraf’s rantings

2017-08-05

[DAWN] AS Pakistain’s only living ex-military dictator, retired Gen Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... has emerged as a front man for that small but significant club in the country’s history. Now, with the political downfall of Mr Musharraf’s bitter foe Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... , the former dictator has made one gleeful comment after another against civilian politicians in recent days. Much of it has been easy to ignore as the rantings of an individual who has failed to accept his present-day marginal political relevance. But in typical Musharrafian style, the former dictator has gone too far. In a shocking interview to BBC Urdu from his base in self-exile, Mr Musharraf has defended not just his record in office, but that of generals Zia and Ayub too. Mercifully, even for Mr Musharraf, a defence of Gen Yahya Khan’s record may have been a step too far. Still, the brazen defence of two extremely damaging military dictatorships in the country’s history and a sweeping denunciation of all civilian governments are extraordinary. Mr Musharraf may be unapologetic, but he is also terribly wrong. The devastation wrought by military regimes can be gauged by a straightforward metric that even Mr Musharraf can understand: most have left office in humiliation and in the immediate aftermath of each dictatorship, there has been a consensus in the country that a return to civilian rule is necessary (in Gen Ayub’s case, the extraordinary political circumstances somewhat delayed the inevitable). In Mr Musharraf’s case, he has further humiliated himself by relying on his parent organization to save him from serious legal trouble and escaping the country on a medical pretext. With his nemesis out of political office, perhaps Mr Musharraf should test his own theory of the Pak people’s preference for military dictators over civilian leaders by returning to Pakistain and bravely facing whatever the courts have in store for him. Surely, the same courts that have delivered justice in the eyes of Mr Musharraf in the case of Mr Sharif will do what is right by a ruler who is loved by the people, as Mr Musharraf’s argument suggests. The contrast between a former dictator’s cowardly words spoken from exile and the searing remarks by legendary pro-democracy advocate Asma Jahangir on Pak soil could not be more damning. Ms Jahangir, whose principled and outspoken stand on democratic values and principles have made her a national treasure, has once again publicly asked the kind of questions that few else dare. Her central question -- why do only civilian politicians face accountability in Pakistain? -- is answered by the arrogance and utter foolishness of Mr Musharraf’s remarks. Indeed, Mr Musharraf’s very freedom today is because of an ongoing distortion in the constitutional scheme of things. The selective and self-serving understanding of responsibilities under the Constitution is at the heart of those distortions. Perhaps the present military leadership ought to consider publicly distancing itself from Mr Musharraf’s remarks.

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India-Pakistan

Courtroom violence

2017-06-22

[DAWN] THE ugly courtroom scenes in Lahore on Tuesday have been quickly linked to the increasingly violent ways of sections of the lawyers’ community. A legal team from lawyer Asma Jahangir’s office, together with its client, was physically assaulted and bombarded with invectives as it tried to exercise a basic right: the team sought to establish that its client had been aggrieved, and petitioned the court for redress. It was a habeas corpus case, and the use of physical violence and coarse language, according to reports, was linked to the alleged involvement of a lawyer -- even though the petition did not mention his name. Without getting into the details of the case, the spectacle may well be taken as a kind of ’admission’ by the attackers. After all, would lawyers with a powerful argument to support their own claims feel the need to physically go after those on the other side? However incredulous it may sound to some, a day later, one version doing the rounds explained that it was actually an individual -- long discarded by the bar and not linked to the case at all -- who had criminal masterminded the episode to settle an old score. If this is true, it merits an investigation of its own. Whatever the case, there is much recent evidence of an increasing tendency among lawyers to take the law into their own hands. There have been instances where it has appeared practically impossible to hold any kind of probe into criminal cases in which lawyers themselves have been implicated. The bar has repeatedly been asked to do something about it but there has been little by way of reform. According to one bleak reading of the situation, it is no more possible for legal circles to even discuss ways and means to fight the growing urge of lawyers to resort to physical violence, let alone devise a strategy for achieving that goal. It cannot get any worse. The bar must come up with an effective remedy soon.

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India-Pakistan

LHC stops govt from deporting Turkish teachers

2016-12-01

[DAWN] The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday restrained the government from deporting Turkish teachers working for the PakTurk International Schools and sought a reply from the interior ministry on the matter. Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza passed the interim order on a writ petition filed by Mehmet Ali Seker and other teachers associated with the PakTurk Educational Foundation. Advocate Asma Jahangir argued before the court that the petitioners were residing lawfully in Pakistain on visas issued under the "NGO category" and enjoyed an unblemished record as they abided by the relevant laws. She said the interior ministry declined to extend the petitioners’ visas without disclosing any reason and asked them and other Turkish national employees of the foundation to leave the country. Some of the petitioners and their family members, who possessed visas valid till January, were also ordered to be deported, the counsel said. She also argued that the ministry was "planning a smooth takeover" of the foundation in favour of a different organization owing to domestic politics in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... . She said the government also cancelled registration of the foundation by promulgating the Companies Ordinance of 2016.

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India-Pakistan

Murree teacher’s death was ‘not suicide’

2016-07-22

[DAWN] A two-member Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) fact-finding mission on Wednes­day blamed flawed investigation for the rise in ’honour’ killings and other crimes against women. "Flawed investigations encourage crimes against women and this is one of the reasons that honour killings are on the rise; where the accused finds much sympathy amongst those involved in the criminal justice system at the subordinate judiciary," deplored the mission, consisting of two former SCBA presidents, Asma Jahangir and Kamran Murtaza. SCBA President Barrister Ali Zafar constituted the mission soon after the death of 19-year-old schoolteacher Maria Sadaqat from Murree, who died from burn injuries at the Pakistain Institute of Medical Sciences in Isla­mabad on June 1 for allegedly refusing a marriage proposal. The mission was set up to assess whether an independent and neutral investigation was being conducted into the crime or not. This step was taken in the backdrop of media reports that indicated a rise in the number of crimes against women, particularly killings in the name of ’honour’. The mission was also supposed to form an opinion over whether the killing of a woman follows a pattern where the victim’s character is vilified, the family is put under pressure and the investigation suffers because of external influences. Police investigations, however, concluded that Maria’s death was a case of suicide and not murder, and later declared the main accused innocent, after which he was also granted bail. On Wednesday, Ali Zafar, Asma Jahangir and Kamran Murtaza brushed aside police reports that claimed the victim had did away with himself, saying she was murdered since her entire body, except her hands, feet and face, were burnt. Speaking to news hounds outside the Supreme Court building, the mission, which visited UC Dewal in Murree, they said they met local government chairman Ejaz Abbasi, who was also the victim’s neighbour. Mr Abbasi explained that the first part of the human body to be burnt in a self-immolation attempt would be the hands. The victim’s statement that she had been held to the ground by four men seemed to be the explanation for her hands, feet and face being saved from burning. In the 40 hours that the victim was alive, she consistently accused Master Shaukat and his accomplices of setting her on fire, the mission noted. "We have recommended that the SCBA president nominate a competent trial lawyer to follow the case on behalf of the victim’s family and that the case should be pursued to the end," Ms Jahangir maintained. The mission noted that the pattern of suicides committed by women was completely different; nobody would burn themselves to death, adding that there were easier ways to commit suicide. They were also dismayed by the deep division in society: though the women are in full sympathy with the victims, the men are either justifying the crime or denying it totally, Ms Jahangir deplored, adding there was a concerted effort to paint the incident as a suicide rather than a murder. The mission noted a character liquidation campaign against the victim and her family, saying there were credible reports that the family was being threatened and induced to accept a reward for their silence. The team also expressed disappointment over the role of the doctors who did not discharge their duty in taking down the victim’s statement and gave no statement to the police corroborating her claim, Ms Jahangir added.

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India-Pakistan

Aslam Beg disallowed to change counsel

2015-12-09

[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a request by former army chief Mirza Aslam Beg ...the occasionally incoherent retired four-star general who was the Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army, succeeding the creepy General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, after the latter was rubbed out died in an air crash in 1988. The general was involved up to his hairy ears in the Mehran bank scandal, shuffling millions in public money to buy or lease politicians, and is believed one of the prime movers in the sale of Pak nuclear technology to Iran. He ranks second only to Hamid Gul in the volume and flavor of his anti-Western vitriol.. to be defended by a different counsel against charges that he played a role in 'polluting' the 1990 general elections. Gen Beg had filed a petition on Nov 22, 2012, seeking a review to the October 19, 2012, apex court verdict in the Asghar Khan case ordering the federal government to initiate necessary action against him and former director general Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) retired Lt-Gen Asad Durrani for their role in dishing out Rs140 million to a particular group of politicians. On Monday, a three-judge bench, headed by Justice Saqib Nisar, disallowed senior counsel Ali Zafar to represent Gen Beg in place of Mohammad Akram Sheikh on the ground that he did not entertain a request similar to the one made by Asma Jahangir in the Sumaira Malik case. The court, however, accepted Mr Zafar's request to help his client in case the court needed assistance on purely legal or technical questions.

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India-Pakistan

Apex court stays execution of two military court convicts

2015-12-08

[DAWN] The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the execution of two convicts who were awarded death sentence by military courts. A two-member bench headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed sought complete record of the case and forwarded a request to the chief justice for constituting larger bench to hear the appeals of the death-row convicts. According to Asma Jahangir, the counsel for the appellants, military court did not allow her clients named Haider Ali and Qari Gull to have a counsel and did not provide copy of the verdict. The bench adjourned the hearing till 16th December. Earlier in October, the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. High Court had upheld the convictions and death sentences awarded to the two 'militants' after it had stayed the execution of both the convicts in August. The Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of Pakistain Army, had on Apr 2 announced that the army chief had confirmed convictions and sentences of death awarded to six terrorists. Laiqa, mother of the convict, Haider Ali had moved the Peshawar High Court in August requesting to declare the "so-called trial" by the military court as illegal and void on different grounds claiming he was a juvenile and remained in illegal detention for six years. She maintained in the petition that her son was placed in durance vile Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! by security forces in 2009 on charges of terrorism, but they did not have any information about him after the arrest. The convicts mother, filed a writ petition in the high court stating that her son was regular student of 10th grade at Malakand High School, Sarsenai, Kabal tehsil in Swat. She claims that Haider Ali appeared in ninth grade board examination under Roll No.13170 and had obtained 388 out of 525 marks. The petitioner has also attached attendance sheet of her son stating the he attended his school regularly and had no nexus with any of the murderous Moslem outfits. According to his school record and birth certificate, the convict was born on Dec 1, 1994, which meant at the time of his alleged arrest in 2009 he was around 15. It was only recently, six years after Ali's arrest, that she and her husband found out through media reports their son was imprisoned in a jail in Timergara, in Lower Dir district, and was sentenced to death by a military court, the parents said in the application.

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India-Pakistan

Altaf media blackout: LHC decision challenged in SC

2015-10-06

[DAWN] The Lahore High Court (LHC) decision to ban the broadcast of images and speeches of Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... (MQM) chief the increasingly rotundAltaf Hussain ..The head of MQM in Pakistain, who has lived in London and hasn't laid eyes on Pakistain since Caesar made corporal. Judging from the size of him,he may be a Hutt... has been challenged on Monday in the Supreme Court. The petition was filed in the apex court on behalf of the MQM supremo by human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. activist and former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Asma Jahangir. The petition requests the apex court to declare the LHC decision null and void as the verdict handed out on September 7, 2015 is unjust and given without hearing the counsels of the other party. It further says that the ban imposed on Altaf Hussain's images and speeches is against freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistain.

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India-Pakistan

Law and lawyers

2015-10-01

[DAWN] THE law in Pakistain is sometimes far from safe in the hands of lawyers. A section of the country's legal fraternity -- notwithstanding a number of courageous and upright individuals within its midst -- has evolved into a formidable pressure group and many of its members have, time and again, thought nothing of flouting even fundamental rights to achieve their objectives. Their tactics have ranged from threats and coercion to blatant thuggery. Sometimes, aside from regular citizens, their own colleagues are the target of their ire. At the Lahore High Court on Tuesday, for instance, a group of lawyers protested against Supreme Court advocates Dr Khalid Ranjha and Asma Jahangir for representing the MQM in a case against the media blackout of party chief the increasingly enormousAltaf Hussain ..The head of MQM in Pakistain, who has lived in London and hasn't laid eyes on Pakistain since Caesar made corporal. Judging from the size of him,he may be a Hutt... ordered by the LHC last month. The protesters, who said that the MQM was behind the murder of several lawyers in 2007 during the movement for the restoration of the judiciary, demanded that the lawyers' licences be cancelled. Defence by legal representation of one's choice is constitutionally guaranteed and considered an essential pillar of the right to fair trial. For their part, lawyers should be able to represent whomsoever they wish without fear of repercussions on a personal or professional level. Their right to do so, however, is far from sacrosanct. When it comes to 'crimes against religion', for example, some lawyers themselves harbour contempt for due process. Advocate Rashid Rehman was threatened by his own colleagues for defending a blasphemy accused, and was later murdered -- the case remains unsolved. There is also reportedly an unwritten consensus in some local bar associations that if a lawyer is party to a case, no lawyer from that bar -- at the risk of severe censure -- will represent the opposing side. In the present instance, Dr Ranjha and Ms Jahangir are defending a basic tenet of democracy -- freedom of speech -- that everyone, including the MQM, is entitled to, regardless of their politics. The two lawyers should be commended for placing principles above narrow, parochial interests.

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India-Pakistan

Politicians decry army's role in politics

2014-08-30

[DAWN] As Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer... and Tahirul Qadri ...Pak politician, and would-be dictator, founder and head of Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran and Pakistain Awami Tehrik. He usually resides in Canada, but returns to Pakistain periodically to foam at the mouth and lead demonstrations. Depending on which way the wind's blowing, Qadri claims to be the author of Pak's blasphemy law. Other times he says it wasn't him... left their containers for separate meetings with the army chief on Thursday night, leaders from across the political spectrum regretted that things had to come to this juncture, where the military would get involved in a political issue. The most significant reaction came from a PTI leader. Former PML-N stalwart Javed Hashmi, who is known for his outspoken opposition to military's involvement in politics, said "After this, we will not be able to hold our heads high. It is shameful time for all politicians who, despite having the time, could not resolve the crisis on their own". Speaking to a TV channel, he said that real democracy would only flourish in the country when politicians were able to make their own decisions. The most one can expect from the army is the role of a guarantor between two parties, said Mr Hashmi. When pressed, Mr Hashmi explained he was known as "Mr Naraaz" within the party for his propensity towards taking principled stand. He stressed that he would never accept martial law in the country. "This is end of democracy, the Constitution and supremacy of the parliament in the country," said retired Justice Tariq Mehmood when he heard of General Raheel Sharif's intervention to defuse the ongoing crisis. This is the same Justice Mehmood who was at the forefront of the lawyers' movement, which was brought to fruition by the intervention of another military chief, Gen Sharif's predecessor Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... . "I feel no shame in admitting that military intervention was wrong then and it is wrong now. But considering that all political parties in the country were trying to resolve the impasse, having the army chief mediating between the quarrelling sides is something which will be remembered as a moment of collective disgrace for all politicians across the political spectrum," he said, adding that Gen Kayani's involvement wasn't as overt as Gen Sharif's has been. "I wonder how, after succumbing to military pressure, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... will face parliament, which has been supporting him throughout," he mused. JI Emir Sirajul Haq ...current head of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. Siraj was born in 1962 and entered politics shortly after that... had a more cautious response. He told a TV channel that if the army could intercede and end this crisis, well and good, but the military had no role in politics. JUI-F spokesperson Jan Achakzai had a similar response. "It is a failure of the politicians who could not resolve the crisis. But I welcome any deal that remains within the spirit of democracy and the Constitution of Pakistain," he said. PPP leader Syed Khursheed Shah, who is also leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, said he would ask the prime minister why the army chief had to be asked to mediate when nearly all political parties were present in the house and had offered their services to them. Former Punjab governor and PPP leader Latif Khosa put the onus of the military's involvement in this crisis squarely on the ruling PML-N's shoulders. "After killing 14 innocent PAT workers, the Sharif brothers were unwilling even to register their FIR," he said, adding that the government's delaying tactics in dealing with PAT and PTI further complicated the situation. Talking to DawnNews, prominent lawyer and rights activist Asma Jahangir criticised both Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan, saying that, "Those who had wasted 15 days must be discouraged." Nearly all parliamentary parties and politicians pleaded with them, but they did not heed anyone's advice, she said. "Now, on a single phone call, they rush to Army House." She bitterly criticised military's blatant involvement in political affairs, and said instead of using their proxies to destabilise the system, why don't they impose direct military rule. ANP's Haji Adeel said it is wrong to make the military a political guarantor; parliament is the supreme guarantor. "This is a major failure for all politicians," he said.

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India-Pakistan

Army accused of attacking post-funeral ceremony

2013-06-26

[Pak Daily Times] The Baloch Republican Party (BRP) has accused the Pakistain Army of targeting a post-funeral ceremony and torturing the relatives of the dear departed. In a statement issued to the media, the BRP claimed that relatives of the "Sui massacre" victims had gathered after burying their loved ones when Pak forces gatecrashed. "The forces kidnapped several people including two brothers Ashraf Bugti s/o Pondhal Bugti and Dostain Bugti s/o Pondhal Bugti and threatened the people who had come to express their condolences. The families and relatives of the victims were severely beaten up and the ceremony of the post-funeral reception was forcibly ended by the forces," said the BRP. The party accused the state of having no regard for fundamental human rights. ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... "State forces claimed that those killed during military offensive in Sui operation were armed gunnies but reality is they were all innocent Baloch civilians which is now supported by the recent statement of Human Rights Commission of Pakistain where prominent Human Rights activist Asma Jahangir said that while the HRCP was in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... , seven young men were picked up from Mathh area of Dera Bugti by the FC and subsequently summarily executed," said the statement. BRP also claimed that Pak forces were also increasing their presence in Noshki area of Balochistan. Baloch Republican Party has appealed to the international community to end its prolonged silence "over the genocide of Baloch people, state atrocities, human rights abuses and war crimes perpetrated by the state forces in Balochistan."

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India-Pakistan

Rising from the ashes

2013-03-17

After a mob attack on their homes, traumatized Christian residents of Joseph Colony wait to rebuild their lives in make-shift tents Lots of verbiage about what happened, but this is the key bit of background: The Joseph Colony arson is the largest attack against the Christian community in a major city in Pakistan in terms of damage done. But it is not the first attack of its kind. Since the heinous Shanti Nagar attack in 1997 in which a mob burned down schools, churches and buses, there have been 80 such incidents as per the data compiled by the National Commission for Justice and Peace, a Catholic Church run human rights organization working on religious minorities. Leading Human Rights activist Asma Jahangir believes state institutions have accepted defeat. "They are simply afraid of the people who use religion for mob violence." Indeed. Veteran journalist, activist and academic Dr Mehdi Hassan blames politicians and their lack of will in resolving the problems with the blasphemy laws. "Until the leading political parties develop a general consensus on the issue of blasphemy laws, we will not get anywhere." But Pakistan is the Land of the Pure, and the blasphemy laws are taken straight from Sharia. So attempting to change them is itself blasphemy. Q.E.D. He said police needed sophisticated training for dealing with a mob which is charged because of what they think is a religious matter. Perhaps if the Pakistani police had an Rab, there would be the possibility they could absorb sophisticated training. But they don't, because that would upset parties best not upset. And so the deterioration continues.

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