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India-Pakistan

SC stays military courts executions

2015-04-17

[DAWN] The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a stay of execution of six hard boyz convicted by military courts, after a petition seeking a halt to the implementation of death sentences awarded by military courts was filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) yesterday. "The execution of military courts' death sentences, those which have already been awarded and those which will be awarded, is suspended," Chief Justice Nasir ul Mulk told the Supreme Court. Those convicted by military courts could appeal against their sentences, he added. The apex court also issued a notice to Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt with regards to its order. The petition -- which was filed by human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... activist Asma Jehangir on behalf of the SCBA -- requested the SC to halt the implementation of death sentences awarded by military courts until a 17-judge full court took up challenges pertaining to the 21st constitutional amendment, especially the establishment of military courts.

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India-Pakistan

Two allegedly held by intelligence agencies produced before SC

2013-05-04

[Pak Daily Times] Two tossed in the calaboose Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! persons allegedly picked up by the intelligence agencies from Butkhela, Malakand, in 2009 and 2010 were produced before the Supreme Court for the first time on Friday after their arrest. A three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had ordered the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... government to produce the two accused before it on May 2. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Ghulam Dastagir, Home Secretary Azam Khan and Additional Advocate General (AAG) Naveed Akhtar appeared before the apex court that had taken up the petition moved by right activists Asma Jehangir. One of the detainees, Muhammad Ibrahim, was locked away Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! on n September 11, 2010, from Butkhela, whereas the other, Hidayat Shah, was arrested on December 23, 2009. Both were later sent to the internment centres set up under the Action in Aid of Civil Power Regulations (AACPR) 2011 promulgated by President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari ... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ... in exercise of his powers under Article 247 of the constitution. These internment centres set up under AACPR near Pak-Afghan border in the Orakzai Agency ... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers... allow the civil government to confine persons accused of terrorism. Asma described the AACPR law as worse than the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act introduced by India in 1985. According to the prosecution both the accused are residents of Butkhela -- an area that is situated in the jurisdiction of the PATA (Provincially Administered Tribal Areas). According to a statement submitted by the home secretary, the internment authorities had recommended the trial of both accused under terrorism charges after weapons were recovered from their possession, but they were later sent to the internment centres. The apex court, however, expressed its surprise over why the accused were not sent to the courts to face trials and noted that all during the detention, the family members of these accused were not allowed to meet them. However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... the home secretary assured the apex court during the proceedings that the family members of the accused would be allowed to meet them. The court directed the AAG to regulate the meetings between the accused and the family members and submit a report to the registrar of the Supreme Court for perusal by judges in chambers.

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India-Pakistan

Nuggets From The Urdu Press

2012-11-25

These nuggets are culled from the Urdu press. They are summarised here without comment. Absurd or ridiculous, tft takes no responsibility for them Drones behind Malala tragedy! Drones are the answer to every question, dear Reader. Writing in Dunya Rauf Klasra stated that some TV anchors and columnists were busy connecting the attack on Malala to America and to the rise of cursed secularism in Pakistain. This is the other answer to all questions, unless it is the Dread Hinjoos or Mossad. Some commentators have raised the cry that after the attempt on Malala it had become more urgent to start talking to the Taliban. What kind talks can we hold with the Taliban? Should we concede if they demand that Pakistain be handed over to them just as Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... was? Qazi Sahib's argument Writing in Jang ex-Amir Jamaat Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmad ... third president (1987--2009) of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. Qazi was also head of the Muttahidah Majlis-e-Amal until his ego became bigger than the organization. Qazi is what is known as a fiery preacher, which means he has lots of volume, a good delivery, and not a lot of reverence for coherence. He was the patron of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Rasool Sayyaf and Osama bin Laden during the war against the Soviets. He used to recommend drining camel's urine to maintain good health before his kidneys started to go... opined that we often complain about Taliban elements attacking Pakistain Army and doing other terror activities in the country, but it is difficult to explain to the Taliban that if fighting America in Afghanistan was jihad then how can we say that attacking the allies of America in Pakistain was terrorism? Qazi Sahib on Malala Quoted by Dunya ex-Jamaat Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmad stated that Malala has been attacked to facilitate attack on North Wazoo. Qazi Sahib said that girl Malala had once said that President B.O. was her hero. And the NGOs were active on cue after Malala had been built up. Munawwar Hasan on Malala Talking to Ausaf Jamaat Islami chief Munawwar Hasan stated that those who tried to kill Malala were the very people who had supported attack on South Waziristan. He referred to a video tape that showed a girl being flogged by Taliban in 2009 and said that it was a fake video. He said youths will have to unite to stop America from interfering inside Pakistain. Infidelity of journalists Columnist-anchor Nusrat Javeed wrote in Express that after the Supreme Court let the PM off the hook in the NRO case many journalists praised law minister Farooq Naek for winning in the case and denigrated the former law minister Babar Awan for not winning. Nusrat remembered that when Babar Awan was pleading the case the journalists used to praise him too. Malala attackers were from Orakzai Reporting in Jang Tahir Khalil stated that the faceless myrmidons who tried to assassinate Malala Yousafzai in Swat were from Orakzai tribal agency and had headed back to Orakzai after shooting her. According to sources there were differences of opinion among those in charge. One source wanted to attribute it to America by saying that the attackers had come from Afghanistan. KP said they did not know who the attackers were and had therefore set a reward for their identification. Khairpur killer found in South Punjab According to Ausaf the killer who killed 6 and maimed 18 at a political rally of the PPP under MNA Nafisa Shah - also daughter of Sindh CM - was found and placed in durance vile Please don't kill me! in Bahawalpur. He was a professional religious killer called Azizullah alias Kafan (shroud) who carried a head money of Rs 25 lakh. Bahawalpur is the centre of a famous jihadi ally of Al Qaeda. Story of two Malalas Writing in Jang Saleem Safi stated that Pakistain's Malala Yousafzai had become famous because of her bravery but there was Malala Joya of Afghanistan too who secretly educated thousands of girls while the Taliban ruling the country were busy destroying girls' schools. She was influenced by Shola Javed liberal movement but was soon critical of the post-Taliban government dominated by warlords. She attacked a warlord in parliament and was thrown out by Afghan parliament. Under attack, she finally left Afghanistan and had recently published a book about warlordism. Greater Taliban alliance Columnist Amir Khakwani wrote in Dunya that among Taliban leaders - apart from Baitullah Mehsud - no one fought in Afghanistan. The Mehsuds gave shelter to the fleeing Al Qaeda Arabs plus Chechen and Uzbek warriors. Later Fazlullah of Swat and Punjabi jihadi elements joined them. All together they started attacking Pakistain Army on the directions of Al Qaeda. Tehrik Taliban was given the fatwa that fighting Pakistain Army was first priority. Later a lot of criminal gangs too joined the Taliban forming a network of arms smuggling with money looted from banks and ransom collected from kidnappings. General Beg's pearls of wisdom Famous former army chief General Aslam Beg ...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.. facing charges of extortion and embezzlement told Dunya that people who recommend attacking North Wazoo are implementing the American agenda in Pakistain. No one including the US and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... can defeat the Haqqani network. Zardari has been told by Americans that he is of no use and the next turn is 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... 's to serve the Americans. He added Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... was now lifeless and could win only two to four seats in parliament. Lal Masjid holy man attacks chief justice Daily Jinnah quoted Lal Masjid naib khateeb Maulana Amir Siddiq as saying that chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was busy putting the state structure at risk to save the skin of his son. First the judge swore that he would be honest in dealing with his son's case then he withdrew from his oath. Now he must get Arslan's accounts investigated by such neutral personalities as Aitzaz, Asma Jehangir and Aleem Akbar. 'I will shoot myself!' Quoted in Jinnah PPP leader Senator Faisal Raza Abidi told the Senate that if he was stopped by anyone from speaking out against the Supreme Court he would shoot himself on 10 November 2012. He said there was a judicial martial law in the country and he was within rights to criticise it. He said he was a citizen and had the right to speak about the judiciary and yet was wrongly taken to a cop shoppe. He said if he was a liar there should be contempt proceedings against him. He would neither appeal nor ask for review of punishment if he is awarded one. Pak women not safe Columnist and TV anchor Javed Chaudhry wrote in Express that no woman was safe in Pakistain and only those who were paid attention became Mukhtaran Mai after the outrage. He said Pakistain did not care for its women until they became Mukhtaran Mai and were supported by foreign NGOs. He favoured honest treatment of girls like Malala who was targeted by the Taliban but the other girls who were maimed with her were not cared for to the same extent. Khar 'in trubbel' Reported in Express Mrs Nilofar Khar went to court asking for her Haq Meher from Mr Ghulam Mustafa Khar, renowned politician and ex-CM of Punjab. She said she was driven out of home after a beating (maar-peet) after which she was sent a talaq in writing. She said she still had the right to haq meher (bride money). Wait till Justice Chaudhry retires! Quoted in his own newspaper Jinnah property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain stated that till the retirement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in 2013 he would get no justice. He said it was his constitutional right to get a fair trial and the Chief Justice knew that he would not get it as long as Justice Chaudhry was in the court. Mr Hussain had petitioned the Court that he should be given a fair trial in a contempt case and that it was not possible at the present time.

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India-Pakistan

Nuggets From The Urdu Press

2012-06-10

When Hina Khar embarrassed Zardari Writing in Express Nusrat Javeed narrated that when a high level American person came to see President Zardari in connection with foreign policy and Pakistain's attendance of the Chicago Conference on Afghanistan the president was favourably disposed to consider the invitation when it came. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was also there but she threw in a monkey wrench by intervening (phat pareen) and telling the American guest that Pakistain could not commit to Chicago until Parliament had issued the new guidelines on Pakistain's foreign policy. President Zardari was shaken by this and thought he had to deal with another Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi. This could have ended her prospect of becoming prime minister in case Gilani had to go. Moinuddin Chishti jihadi saint Columnist Hamid Mir wrote in Jang that the famous saint of Ajmer Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti was reputed to be a saint of peace but in his day he was known to favour jihad in the name of Islam. When he saw that the Hindu Rajputs were becoming too cruel he called in the Moslem invader Shahabuddin Ghauri from Afghanistan. Ghauri came and trounced Prithvi Raj Chauhan. This gave rise to the naming of missiles by India and Pakistain. India named its missile Prithvi (not after Prithvi Raj but as one of the elements of nature) and Pakistain retaliated by naming its missile Ghauri. (India's other bigger missile is Agni which proves that Prithvi was not named after Prithvi Raj.) Zardari was a 'munshi' of America Leader of PPP Bhutto Shaheed, Ghinwa Bhutto was quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt as saying that those who are demanding more provinces are speaking the language of America. She added that Zardari was a 'munshi' (clerk) of America. She asserted that Bilawal was not the rightful heir of the Bhutto legacy. Her children are from the son of Bhutto therefore the rightful heirs of the Bhutto Legacy. Some graves give off nice smell Daily Jang reported from a popular GEO TV programme in which a soul expert Allama Shabbir and a group of gravediggers discussed the experience of soul (ruh) after separating from human body. They all agreed that after death the soul of the dead person does not reside in the house as some people believe. But they agreed that some graves belonging to good and pious people start giving off perfume. Not even food allowed on Nato route Leader of the Defence of Pakistain Council of holy manal parties Maulana Samiul Haq said in Express that his followers will spill blood to stop the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... supplies when they resumed. He said he would not allow even the supply of food to NATO forces through the Pak route. Ex-ISI boss Hameed Gul said America was coming next to 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... and he was unhappy that Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... had changed his stance on the NATO supply route. Saudis don't oppose gas pipeline The Foreign Office was forced to say in Jinnah that Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... was not opposed to the Iran Pakistain gas pipeline and that the visit of the deputy foreign minister of Saudi Arabia had not visited Pakistain to force Pakistain to abandon the project. The rumour was that Saudi Arabia was opposed to the project because that would lighten the sanctions on Iran and make it strong enough to make the bomb and threaten the Arab states. Attacks on Kandahar and Bannu prisons Columnist Hamid Mir wrote in Jang that two important jailbreaks were achieved by the Taliban in the month of April. In April 2011 they attacked the big prison of Kandahar in Afghanistan and easily took away 500 of their dangerous member terrorists. In April 2012, they attacked the big prison in Bannu in Pakistain and walked away with 286 hardened criminals including a number of their members held there. At Bannu over a hundred of Taliban came across a number of security checkposts in their vehicles and no one could stop them because of fear of being killed. America's discriminatory apology policy Daily Jang had Hamid Mir saying that when India's actor Shahrukh Khan was held at the American immigration for two hours the Americans apologised to India but America would not apologise to Pakistain after killing Pak troops at Salala Checkpost in November 2011. But America was forced to use the Pak route for its supplies because the Russians and Central Asians had asked for too much money for passage through their territory. 'Karant' pir of Jhelum Reported in Jinnah a spiritual guide called Saeen Abid called 'Karant Pir' in Sarai Alamgir in Punjab was raping innocent women by promising to solve their domestic problems. Women called on him at his home where he used live electric wire in his doorway to render them senseless after which he raped them. He used electric current to stage his miracle and was therefore called 'karant' Pir. Jamaat accepted Zia rule Writing in Jang Hamid Mir started that after General Zia imposed his military rule and tried to validate it through Islam, a number of religious leaders opposed him. They were: Allama Ehsan Elahi Zaheer who was killed during a rally of his party, Ahle Hadith. Allama Ariful Hussaini of the Shia faith too opposed him and he was killed in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar. But Jamaat Islami decided to join his government and live under his Shariat Bill. Sughra Imam almost became minister of state Reported in Mashriq daughter of PPP leader Syeda Abida Hussain almost became minister of state in the Foreign Office after being appointed by President Zardari. But incumbent minister Hina Rabbani Khar opposed the appointment and threatened to resign if Sughra Imam was inducted. Shabasha, Pasha! Famous columnist Major (Retd) Mehmood Abbasi wrote in Jinnah that General Pasha head of the ISI was true soldier and loyal to Pakistain and only those people were happy over his final retirement because he had not done them any favours. He became disliked by those who took bribe from America after he opposed America's infiltration of Pakistain with spies like Raymond Davis and talked back to the bullying US officials. He also unmasked the treasonable conduct of Ambassador Haqqani who was working for the Americans by allowing spooks to enter Pakistain without checking. Pasha did not forgive Haqqani and because of his sincerity also persuaded General Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... to honestly tell the Supreme Court what had transpired in the 'memo' case. 'Nuclear father' speaks out! Dr AQ Khan told Nawa-e-Waqt that PM Gilani was continuing to insult the Supreme Court which was not right while the Supreme Court was not able to come up to the expectations of the people by not deciding some major cases. He said Reko Diq was given in the hands of Chief Minister Raisani who could not tell the tail of a frog from its head. Judges should not threaten lawyers! Quoted in Mashriq lawyer and human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... worker Asma Jehangir stated that the courts should not threaten lawyers when they give their valid views about the running cases. She said Memo Commission had no law under which it could suspend the practice of a lawyer. The judges should remain within the ambit of law while deciding.

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India-Pakistan

Empathy for 'stranded Pakistanis' in Bangladesh

2011-10-07

[Dawn] A Bangladeshi civil society activist and scholar has sought an initiative by the Pakistain government to bring its stranded citizens home, who are in United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... camps in his country. "They were well-off when they migrated from India in 1947 but now some 300,000 of them are living in very bad conditions in refugee camps, which is very tragic and I have sympathy for them," maintains Shahriar Kabir currently on a visit to Pakistain. After the 1971 liberation war, these non-Bengalis refused to accept Bangladesh's citizenship and had to be shifted to camps set up by the UN. "The older generation are still dreaming to come to Pakistain but the younger lot, especially who were born after 1971, are willing to become Bangladeshi citizens. They don't even understand Urdu and speak the Bengali language. "In fact, there are very few people in my country who can understand or speak Urdu. It is treated as a foreign language like Hindi and is among the endangered Asian languages in Bangladesh. I asked the younger generation (of stranded Paks) why are you forgetting Urdu? There is a campaign in our country that every one has the right to have primary education in one's mother language but they have not approached the government in this regard yet," said Kabir who is on his third visit to Pakistain and second one to Lahore. "I have emotional attachment with Lahore. I have visited Minar-i-Pakistain, Badshahi Mosque and the Fort but the old city fascinates me more. It is like old Dhaka and old Delhi. Bloody Karachi is a cosmopolitan city and has characters like Bombay (Mumbai). Lahore has a distinct culture that we have read in Urdu literature. Lahore has become greener and cleaner than it was five years ago -- at least the areas I have visited in 2005 and now," he said. Lahore had a good film industry during British period and movies produced here had been as good as that of Bombay. "There was A.J. Kardar's Jagga Hua Sawera, the first and only Pak movie that got award at the Moscow Film Festival. To me, it was the best film produced in Pakistain. Ironically, we don't have any print of the maiden colour movie 'Sangam' and the first cinema scope 'Bahana' in Bangladesh," said Kabir who is a senior journalist and a documentary filmmaker. There was a backlash after the 1965 war and screening of Indian films was stopped here. It was a huge loss to the film industry of Lahore as it artistically suffered a lot. A huge market for films was lost after creation of Bangladesh. "But now good films like Khuda Ke Leay and Bol are being produced here," he said. Bangladesh, he said, has a vibrant civil society and middle class which Pakistain lacks. In the recent elections in Bangladesh, there were 15 million new registered voters, mostly youth and a majority of them voted for the secular political forces now in power. "A secular democracy is a distant dream in Pakistain because of a strong kinship or tribal mindset, having its negative and positive aspects. It is stronger than Taliban but is hindering democracy that should be strengthened here," said Kabir. In Bangladesh, it has become a movement to protect the rights of minorities. Individuals like Asma Jehangir have been struggling for the right of the marginalised segments in Pakistain. People like Aapa Tahira Mazhar Ali Khan and Naseem Baji struggled a lot against genocide of Bengalis and highlighted their sufferings. The Bangladesh government has decided to honour the two rights activists. "Since Aapa may not make it to Bangladesh owing to her health, our High Commissioner will be visiting Lahore in December next to confer the award. "Army takeovers are not good but Gen Musharraf attempted to liberalise Pak society by re-introducing cultural activities. Economic activity was seen during his regime and highways were built that even India and Bangladesh don't have. A road is priority number one to begin social development," he said. Most countries in South Asia have directly been affected by religious extremism and militancy. An effective network of secular civil society forces at the South Asian level can counter the strong presence of religious extremism in the region. No single government can uproot religious extremism from the region. All should be united to end religious militancy. "Sufism can also play an important role in countering militancy and creating a peaceful atmosphere. Sufism has deep roots in society of subcontinent and Sufis spread Islam in the region because Sufis never distinguished between a temple and a mosque," said Kabir and suggested holding a regional conference on Sufism in Pakistain.

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India-Pakistan

SC directs govt to form commission to probe Saleem's killing

2011-06-21

[Dawn] The Supreme Court on Monday directed the government to form a judicial commission to probe the killing of journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad. Of course! Why didn't anyone else think of that?!? Earlier, the court had ordered the submission of the entire record of investigations into Mr Shahzad's killing and asked the government functionaries concerned to explain their position on a petition moved by the Pakistain Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) seeking appointment of a high-powered judicial commission to investigate the case. On June 17, a bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Tariq Parvez and Justice Amir Hani Mohammedan took up the petition filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association's chief Asma Jehangir on behalf of the PFUJ and asked the secretaries of interior, information and law to submit comments and answer the questions raised in the petition. A commission set up earlier by the government to investigate Mr Shahzad's killing was mired in controversy, similar to the one which had erupted after the formation of committee on the covert US attack on Abbottabad.

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India-Pakistan

UN calls for minorities' protection in Pakistan

2010-05-30

[Dawn] UN rights experts on Friday urged Pakistan to do more to protect religious minorities after an attack at two places of worship in the country that killed some 80 people. "The government must take every step to ensure the security of members of all religious minorities and their places of worship so as to prevent any recurrence of today's dreadful incident," three UN experts said in a statement. "In Pakistan and elsewhere, Ahmadis have been declared non-Muslims and have been subject to a number of undue restrictions and in many instances institutionalised discrimination." "This emboldens opinion makers who wish to fuel hatred and perpetrators of attacks against religious minorities." The statement was from Asma Jehangir, a special rapporteur on freedom of religion; Gay McDougall, an independent expert on minority issues; and Philip Alston, a special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The international Red Cross also condemned the Lahore attacks, calling them part of an alarming wave of attacks on civilians. "The ICRC strongly condemns such deliberate attacks against civilians, of which the only purpose can be to spread terror among the population," said Jacques de Maio, the International Committee of the Red Cross head of operations for South Asia. "These attacks form part of a highly alarming, unacceptable series of attacks on civilians in Pakistan," he added in a statement.

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Bangladesh

Resentment over Jamaat presence at EC meet

2010-05-30

[Bangla Daily Star] UN rights experts on Friday urged Pakistan to do more to protect religious minorities after an attack at two places of worship in the country that killed some 80 people. "The government must take every step to ensure the security of members of all religious minorities and their places of worship so as to prevent any recurrence of today's dreadful incident," three UN experts said in a statement. "In Pakistan and elsewhere, Ahmadis have been declared non-Muslims and have been subject to a number of undue restrictions and in many instances institutionalised discrimination." "This emboldens opinion makers who wish to fuel hatred and perpetrators of attacks against religious minorities." The statement was from Asma Jehangir, a special rapporteur on freedom of religion; Gay McDougall, an independent expert on minority issues; and Philip Alston, a special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The international Red Cross also condemned the Lahore attacks, calling them part of an alarming wave of attacks on civilians. "The ICRC strongly condemns such deliberate attacks against civilians, of which the only purpose can be to spread terror among the population," said Jacques de Maio, the International Committee of the Red Cross head of operations for South Asia. "These attacks form part of a highly alarming, unacceptable series of attacks on civilians in Pakistan," he added in a statement.

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India-Pakistan

Pak whining on attacks draws rebuke from US

2010-01-15

WASHINGTON: Shut up and put up, is the curt message the United States is sending Pakistan after Islamabad's incessant whine about drone attacks on its territory. Washington says the complaints are hypocritical considering Pakistani leaders support the strikes in private and the hits are clearly damaging terrorists with minimum civilian casualties. In a public rebuke to the Pakistani leadership on Thursday, a leading US lawmaker, supported by the Obama administration, told reporters after a visit to the region that he was ''very unhappy'' with the vocal criticism of the drone strikes from top officials in Islamabad when in private they "not only understand and acquiesce but in many cases support the drone attacks." Washington, US Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin, told reporters in a conference call, would prefer "a silence on their part rather than a public attack on us that creates real problems for us in terms of the Pakistani public and helps create some real animosity" against the United States. "I just think it's wrong for them, I've told them that to their face," said Levin, who met in Pakistan with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Pakistan's army chief of staff Ashfaq Kayani. Gilani, Kayani, and interior minister Rehman Malik are seen as part of the hard-line clique that has adopted the tactic of whipping up public hysteria against US and India with phony, malicious charges, including feigned outrage about drone strikes and charges of interference in Baluchistan, to win the support of the fundamentalist constituency and rally a demoralized army. The tactic has led even Pakistani civil society activists like Asma Jehangir to contend that their government is engineering a hostile atmosphere even as the people desire peace. India's foreign secretary Nirupama Rao too alluded to it at a conference in New Delhi on Thursday when she accused Pakistan of using “terrorist ideologies to promote unscrupulous political or institutional agendas." Levin's rebuke has been quietly endorsed by the Obama administration, which has launched a drone strike after each visit by a US interlocutor in the past fortnight during which Pakistan complained about the attacks. Seven drone strikes have followed the December 30 attack in Khost that killed seven CIA and affiliated personnel, including one on Thursday targeting Hakimullah Mehsud, who evidently engineered suicide strike on the CIA forward base by a Jordanian doctor. There were conflicting reports about the fate of Mehsud, with some Taliban spokesman contending he had escaped the attack. The US has now launched a counter-campaign to show that contrary to exaggerated Pakistani accounts of civilian casualties, the drone strikes have actually attrited terrorists based in Pakistan. According to the blog Long War Journal, which tracks the drone strikes, the ratio of civilian to al-Qaida casualties in 2009 was one to ten (43 to 463) and not the other way around as suggested by the Pakistani leadership. Unmanned aerial vehicle attacks have been "extremely successful" at "knocking off a significant number of Taliban leaders and Al-Qaeda leaders," Levin said. The US assertion has been backed by some of Pakistan's civil society activists not manipulated by the hard-line militaristic leadership. According to Farhat Taj, an Oslo, Norway-based researcher originally from the Fata region, contrary to the anti-US propaganda spread by Islamabad, the people of Waziristan, suffering from occupation by Al Qaeda and Taliban, actually welcome the drone attacks. ''They see the US drone attacks as their liberators from the clutches of the terrorists into which, they say, their state has willfully thrown them,'' Taj said in a recent article in which she said her kinsmen described the Pakistani intelligence agencies and the Taliban as ''two sides of the same coin.'' Washington has apparently cottoned on to the Pakistani perfidy judging by Levin's public dressing down. Emboldened by the findings, the Obama administration has cranked up the attacks in recent days, unleashing a drone strike every other day in January this year. The stepped-up attack follows the more than 50 strikes that the Obama administration initiated in 2009, more than all the attacks ordered by the Bush administration during its eight years.

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India-Pakistan

'Poverty, joblessness' major causes of extremism: Asma

2009-03-22

LAHORE: Chairperson Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Asma Jehangir has said poverty, unemployment and injustice are major causes behind increasing Talibanization and extremism in the country. We're back to that again. Poverty, unemployement, and particularly ignorance are the major drivers allowing those who are in charge of Talibanization to harvest their cannon fodder. The major causes of the extremism driving them are Islam and the doctrine of jihad. She said this while addressing the concluding session of the international conference on religious freedom, minorities and supremacy of law here on Saturday. In Pakistain. Right. "Religious freedom." "Supremacy of law." Heh heh. Asma Jehangir observed that situation in Swat has failed to improve even after the agreement on implementation of Shariah in Swat. No! Reeeally?

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India-Pakistan

15,000 militants present in Fata, Owais tells Asma

2009-01-17

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Chairperson Asma Jahangir on Friday paid a day-long visit to the provincial metropolis in a bid to get the firsthand information about the growth of militancy in the tribal belt and certain parts of the Frontier province. During the visit, she met NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani, NWFP Peace Envoy Afrasiyab Khattak, veteran politician Begum Naseem Wali Khan, civil society members and media persons. In this connection, a five-member delegation of the HRCP, led by Asma Jehangir, discussed with the NWFP governor the deteriorating law and order situation in Fata and settled districts of the NWFP with a special focus on the Swat region. Other members of the visiting team included HRCP Secretary-General IA Rehman, Vice-Chairperson for NWFP Musarrat Hilali, Council Member Kamran Arif and programme coordinator. When asked by Asma that being a concerned citizen what should be expected from the government, the governor said that unfortunately, most of the people did not understand the real nature of the problem. "It's not a law and order problem, rather, it's a well-planned ideological insurgency, therefore, it should be treated as such," he said. The governor said that the forces were facing highly organised and well-funded militants, "who are persistently being espoused by external spy agencies. There are about 15,000 militants in the tribal belt, who have no dearth of ration, ammunition, equipment, even anti-tank mines." They were being paid properly for that, he added. The governor said that a militant was normally given Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 per month while their leaders got Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 per month which, he asserted, was next to impossible without funding from external intelligence agencies. He, however, sounded optimistic about containing these militants, saying that now they were back in the areas where the government had lost its writ, but he was quick to add that they had no resources for Fata to bring it at par with other parts of the country. The delegation also had a long meeting with Afrasiyab Khattak, who informed them about the policy of the ANP-led coalition government to put a permanent damper on militancy in the province. The HRCP chairperson also held a meeting with a group of media persons and discussed with them in detail the issue of law and order in the region. The journalists, nevertheless, appeared to be quite sceptical about the role of security agencies in eradicating the problem of militancy. One of them raised a very appropriate question about the supply line of the militants in Swat, saying that the valley was far away from the tribal region but the shortage of petroleum products across the NWFP had no effect on the local Taliban, "which clearly shows that their logistic activities go on uninterrupted." A senior journalist said the establishment must bear in mind the fact that the ongoing insurgency in the NWFP and Fata would not end here, rather, it would engulf the country. "You know first it was confined to Waziristan, then it spread to the whole tribal belt and has now crept into the settled districts of the Frontier and, eventually, it will go to other parts of the country, especially to the Punjab, which is the next door neighbour," he said. Other media persons apprised the HRCP chief of the threats to them owing to the growing influence of the local Taliban even in the settled areas of the province. The HRCP chairperson said the commission would soon launch a campaign outside the NWFP to make the people of other provinces aware of the situation prevailing in the northwest of the country.

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India-Pakistan

Activists Detained in Pakistain Emergency

2007-11-05

Authorities rounded up opposition leaders Sunday after military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution, replaced the chief justice and blacked out independent TV outlets, saying the country must fight rising Islamic extremism. Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup but had given a conditional pledge to step down as military chief and become a civilian president this year, declared a state of emergency Saturday night, dashing recent hopes of a smooth transition to democracy for the nuclear-armed nation. "Gen. Musharraf's second coup," read the headline in the Dawn daily. "It is martial law," said the Daily Times. "Gen. Musharraf's second coup," read the headline in the Dawn daily. "It is martial law," said the Daily Times. Across Pakistan, police arrested political activists and lawyers at the forefront of a campaign against military rule. Among those detained were Javed Hashmi, the acting president of the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; Asma Jehangir, chairman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; and Hamid Gul, former chief of the country's main intelligence agency and a staunch critic of Musharraf's support of the U.S.-led war on terror. "It's a big blow to the country," said Gul, as a dozen officers took him away in a police van near the parliament in the capital, Islamabad. Hashmi said the army general would not "not survive the people's outrage." Up to 40 activists were hauled in when police raided the office of the Human Right Commission of Pakistan, including its director, I.A. Rahman, a harsh Musharraf critic, said Mohammed Yousaf, a guard at the office in the eastern city of Lahore. Musharraf's leadership is threatened by an Islamic militant movement that has spread from border regions to the capital, the reemergence of political rival and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and an increasingly defiant Supreme Court, which was expected to rule soon on the validity of his recent presidential election win. Hearings scheduled for next week were postponed, with no new date set. Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum denied claims by Bhutto and commentators in the domestic media that Musharraf had imposed martial law — direct rule by the army — under the guise of a state of emergency. "There is no martial law in the country," Qayyum said, noting that the prime minister and parliament were still in place. "Only a state of emergency has been declared." In Islamabad, phone service that was cut Saturday evening appeared to have been restored by Sunday morning. But transmissions by TV news networks other than state-controlled Pakistan TV remained off the air in major cities. Scores of paramilitary troops blocked access to the Supreme Court and parliament. Otherwise the streets of the capital appeared calm, with little sign of demonstrators. "Nobody cares about us or about what we think," said Mohammad Amin, 31, wearing a black prayer cap as he took a break from his work with fellow laborers to sip sweet tea. Western allies had urged Musharraf not to take authoritarian measures despite recent his country's recent turmoil. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for a return to democracy in Pakistan, as the American embassy urged citizens in the country to remain at home and defer all nonessential travel. But Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the emergency declaration "does not impact our military support of Pakistan" or its efforts in the war on terror. Bhutto, who had traveled abroad again in the wake of an Oct. 18 suicide attack that narrowly missed her but killed 145 others, immediately flew back to the southern city of Karachi, and declared that the emergency was the "blackest day" in Pakistan's history. "I believe the problem is dictatorship, I don't believe the solution is dictatorship," she told Sky News television in a report available via satellite. In his televised address late Saturday, Musharraf, looking somber and composed, said Pakistan was at a "dangerous" juncture, its government threatened by Islamic extremists who are "taking the writ of the government in their own hands, and even worse they are imposing their obsolete ideas on moderates." The military ruler, wearing a black button-down tunic rather than his army fatigues, also blamed the Supreme Court for punishing state officials and tying the hands of the government by postponing the validation of his recent election win. The court was expected to rule soon on opponents' claims that Musharraf's Oct. 6 victory was unconstitutional because he contested the vote while army chief. Musharraf on Saturday replaced the chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who had emerged as the main check on the president. His name was deleted from the court's Web site. "We have to create harmony among judiciary, legislative and executive ... This is how we would tackle the issue of terrorism in a better way," Musharraf said. He said there would be no change in the government and its top offices, and parliament — set to dissolve by Nov. 15 — would complete its term. He also vowed to go ahead with parliamentary elections, originally due by January, but gave no time line. Deputy Minister for Information, Tariq Azeem, said Sunday he hoped the polls would go ahead soon. "But unfortunately everything has been put on the back burner," he said. "I'm still hoping the election will happen shortly ... but I can't give you the exact date." Musharraf's emergency order imposed a provisional constitution. Seven of the 17 Supreme Court judges immediately rejected Musharraf's emergency order, which suspended the 1973 constitution, and only five agreed to take the oath of office under the provisional constitutional order. "We will send flowers to those judges who didn't take oath, and shame on those who did it," said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the head of the six party coalition, United Action Forum. Authorities arrested Aitzaz Ahsan, a lawyer who represented Chaudhry when Musharraf unsuccessfully tried to fire him earlier this year. Another opposition party leader, Imran Khan, was put under house arrest Saturday. The emergency comes as Musharraf's security forces struggle to contain pro-Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants who have gained control of large tracts of the volatile northwest, near Afghanistan. Violence has reached major cities with deadly suicide attacks in Islamabad and Karachi underscoring the failure of Musharraf's administration to combat the threat despite huge financial support from the United States. Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general and respected analyst, said the emergency declaration was a pre-emptive move in case the court ruled against him, and said the move could "further aggravate terrorism and extremism in the country and slide the country into anarchism." Rick Barton, a Pakistan expert at the Washington-based Center for International and Strategic Studies, said Musharraf's move would likely only postpone his political demise. "He's obviously not very popular, and it's not going to increase his popularity." Musharraf issued two ordinances toughening media laws, including a ban on live TV broadcasts of "incidents of violence and conflict." Also, TV operators who "ridicule" the president, armed forces, or executive, legislative or judicial organs of the state can be punished with three years in jail. I guess we can assume Rantburg is illegal in Pakistain. I stand by my opinion that the Pak president is a ridiculous little man; that the Pak military is a laughable pretense led by incompetents, much better suited to oppressing the population than to dealing with any real threat; and that the executvie, legislative, and judicial organs are chock full of time servers, men on horseback, and pursuers of the main chance. By dancing around the chimera of "democracy," rather than embracing personal freedom the Paks are trying to implement the side effect rather than the cure. But they'll never embrace personal liberty, because that would involve freedom of religion, as well as freedom from gangs of roving fascisti.

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