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India-Pakistan

‘Space for religious minorities in Pakistan shrinking’

2018-09-27

[DAWN] The National Interfaith Working Group established by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistain (HRCP) held its inaugural meeting on Tuesday where it discussed the facilitation of interfaith dialogue and collective advocacy, awareness and action to protect the fundamental rights of religious minorities. During the meeting, members of civil society, the media, government and political parties discussed the group’s future strategy and plan of action. Former senator Farhatullah Babar said the rights of minorities have been shrinking, and intolerance toward them by the state and by society increasing, despite constitutional guarantees, religious injunctions and international covenants that Pakistain has signed in this regard.

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India-Pakistan

Opposition leaders sans Shahbaz Sharif lead protest against ‘rigging’ in Islamabad

2018-08-09

Looks like The Resistance™ is gathering there too. [DAWN] Opposition parties held a protest demonstration outside the Election Commission of Pakistain (ECP) in Islamabad on Wednesday against alleged rigging in the July 25 general elections. PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif ...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab... , however, was not in attendance. The PML-N president could not fly to Islamabad from Lahore due to bad weather, said party spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb. The decision to hold the protest was made by the newly formed 11-party grand opposition alliance, named ’Pakistain Alliance for Free and Fair Elections’, at a multi-party conference held in Islamabad on Friday. Apart from the Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N), the opposition alliance comprises Awami National Party founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism.... (ANP), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), National Party (NP) and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). 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 ... , chief of his own faction of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...a Pak religious party. It is usually part of the govt, never part of the solution... and president of the MMA, who arrived after the protest had been going on for a few hours, said: "The only reason why all political parties have joined hands today is because the ECP failed to conduct free and fair elections." Leaders of the PML-N, according to reports, refused to address the gathering when they were invited to do so. PPP's Sherry Rehman, Khursheed Shah and Farhatullah Babar, former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's former prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics could be awe-inspiring ... , and PML-N's Ahsan Iqbal were among the leaders who took part in the protest. Workers numbering in hundreds gathered in the capital. Participants rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud about their respective political parties as well as the alleged rigging. Security officials were deployed in the area to maintain law and order.

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India-Pakistan

Interior ministry has no information on Ehsanullah Ehsan, Senate told

2018-01-26

[DAWN] The interior ministry was unable to brief the Senate on Thursday on questions seeking information about the detention and trial of former Tehrik-e-Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... Pakistain (TTP) spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan ...formerly the front man for the Pak Taliban, then the lips and tongue of the Jamaatul Ahrar splinter group in Mohmand Agency... , and the nature of cases against him. In a written response, following a question raised by PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar asking if "Ehsan was under trial", the ministry said they had no information regarding this. "Will the case of former TTP spokesperson be sent to a military court," Babar had asked. The ministry said it had no clue pertaining to Ehsanullah Ehsan's trial, adding that the issue had been taken up with the civil intelligence agencies but they said "they weren't looking into the matter". The interior ministry, however, said the case of Ehsan, who is reportedly in the custody of security agencies, would be put forward before a special committee as per the recommendations of the home department. "The case will be sent to a military court if the committee gives approval." In December, Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 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 barred the government from releasing Ehsan, asking the authorities to continue investigating the former bully boy. Ehsanullah Ehsan, who had been associated with TTP and later its splinter group, the Jamaatul Ahrar ...A Pak Taliban splinter group that split off from the Mullah Fazlullah faction because it wasn't violent enough... (JuA), reportedly turned himself in April last year. Apprehensions regarding a possible pardon for and release of Ehsan were raised after his interviews to local media were released and aired. Observers had asked why authorities deemed it okay to allow the representative of one of the most notorious terrorist groups space on national media.

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Afghanistan

Supporters of ex-Taliban chief Mullah Mansoor are shielded: Pak Senator

2017-11-14

[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A Pak Senator Farhatullah Babar has said the supporters of the ex-Taliban ...Arabic for students... chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor have been shielded by certain circles in the government. Babar who is also the secretary general of the People’s Party of Pakistain (PPP) has told Dawn News "Those who aided Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour secure a Pak identity card and passport are shielded as is obvious from the replies given to questions asked in the Senate recently." Senator Babar made the remarks amid reports suggesting that efforts are underway to mainstream the Islamist groups including the Taliban into the politics with the revival of the defunct six-party religio-political alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). The alliance will also include Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman who is well recognized for his support to the Afghan Taliban. This comes as reports emerged last week suggesting that the minister of interior of Pakistain in his letter to the Senate had said that contrary to media reports that Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mansoor had been carrying a Pakistain passport and National Identity Card (NIC) ‐ it had emerged that the card had actually been issued to a man named Muhammad Wali, son of Shah Muhammad. The minister had also added that three officials from National Database and Registration Authority have been handed a major punishment as a departmental inquiry against the officials of the department completed regarding the issuance of the fake cards.

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India-Pakistan

Interior minister grilled over NIC issued to slain Taliban leader

2017-11-09

[DAWN] Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday informed Senate in a written reply that ‐ contrary to media reports that Afghan Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... leader Mullah Mansoor had been carrying a Pakistain passport and National Identity Card (NIC) ‐ it had emerged that the card had actually been issued to a man named Muhammad Wali, son of Shah Muhammad. The minister said in the statement that a departmental inquiry against all National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) officials involved in issuing the 'fake' NIC had been completed. At least three officials had been handed a "major punishment" ‐ removal from service. The minister said cases have also been registered against the accused and judicial proceedings are ongoing in the case. Responding to the minister's assurances, Senator Farhatullah Babar was not satisfied that action had only been taken against lower-level Nadra employees. "This is not the solution to the problem," he said, asking that the government should investigate who gave the orders for the card to be issued, if it was not already doing so.

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India-Pakistan

Foreign minister chides America for policy shaped by 'frustrated' generals

2017-11-02

[DAWN] A day after politicians slammed US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... 's new South Asia policy, ...because that will assuredly change his mind... Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif assured the Senate that their concerns had been heard and Pakistain's foreign policy would be devised keeping their guidelines in mind. Beginning his speech with an acknowledgement of Trump's assertion that "things have started getting better" in US-Pakistain relations, and thanking the American president for the endorsement, Asif reiterated that Pakistain wishes for a regional solution to the Afghan problem. "The entire region has a role to play in the Afghan process, and Pakistain wishes for a regional solution to the security challenges faced by the country," he asserted. "We will use the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) platform to Pakistain's benefit, and we have been very active there," he assured. Agreeing to a politician's assertion that Pakistain put its own interests first, he assured the senators that any foreign policy will prioritise Pakistain's needs of the hour. Rubbishing PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar's assertion that he had "unwittingly" criticised American generals for their failures in Afghanistan, Asif stated unequivocally that he firmly believes in the statement he made: that the new US policy is ineffective because it was influenced by generals who have been frustrated in the Afghan war.

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India-Pakistan

Pak senators overwhelmingly condemn US policy on South Asia

2017-11-01

[DAWN] Senators on Tuesday expressed serious reservations against the United States' policy on South Asia as well as related recent developments, including increased drone attacks and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to Islamabad. During a Senate session, politicians unequivocally criticised the US's new bent, terming it a threat to regional security and peace. Senator Taj Haider said US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... "wants to divide people while erecting walls." He claimed that the US economy was rooted in conflict, but Islamabad would not become part of any proxy war in the region. Senator Farhatullah Babar turned his guns on the government, criticising Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif for "not being able to control the reins of Pakistain's foreign policy". He also asked why dronezaps had resumed in the tenure of the incumbent government. He also lambasted Asif for a recent statement in which he had said that Pakistain would take action against those identified by the US. He said that it seemed to be the same narrative floated by military dictator and former president Pervaiz Musharraf. He also found fault with other statements made by the foreign minister. Recalling that Asif had told US officials that their generals had failed so they should find a political solution to Afghanistan, Babar urged the minister to "adopt the same approach."

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India-Pakistan

Benazir murder case: Court questions PPP leaders ‘disappearance’ from Liaquat Bagh

2017-08-26

[DAWN] The ’sudden disappearance’ of Rehman Malik Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship. , Babar Awan and others from Liaquat Bagh came under discussion during a hearing of the Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... murder case at a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday. ATC Judge Asghar Ali Khan asked Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Special Prosecutor Khawaja Imtiaz why Mr Malik, Mr Awan and others who were sitting in Bhutto’s backup vehicle, rushed to Zardari House before her vehicle had left the venue. According to the testimonies of several prosecution witnesses, including senior coppers, the backup vehicle ‐ a bulletproof Mercedes ‐ was included in the slain PPP leader’s convoy for emergencies. The prosecutor told the court that in addition to Mr Malik and Mr Awan, Farhatullah Babar and retired Lt Gen Tauqeer Zia were also in the backup vehicle. He told the court that the joint investigation team (JIT) that conducted an investigation under the PPP regime did not list the passengers of the backup vehicle. When asked by the ATC judge, the prosecutor disclosed on Thursday that of the around dozen passengers from Bhutto’s vehicle and the backup car, only two had testified before the court under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). He said that since the backup vehicle had already left the venue before Bhutto was assassinated, in their initial statements before the investigation team, the passengers of the backup vehicle had stated that they did not know anything about the incident since they were not present at the scene at the time. When the judge asked why the backup vehicle left the venue in such haste, the prosecutor said that they were supposed to make arrangements for Bhutto at Zardari House in Islamabad, ahead of her arrival. "[The passengers of the backup car] said they had rushed to Zardari House to open it for Benazir; was not any staff or servant available in Zardari House to perform such a job?" the judge asked. However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... the prosecutor could not respond to this question. To another query regarding the number of people sitting in the vehicle designated for Bhutto, the prosecutor listed then-senior superintendent of police (SSP) retired Maj Imtiaz Hussain, Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, as well as Khalid Shehenshah, Razzaq Mirani, and the driver Javed Rehman. Of these, the prosecution listed only Maj Hussain and the driver as witnesses.

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India-Pakistan

Musharraf’s N-technology disclosure embarrassed Pakistan: Foreign Office

2017-08-15

[DAWN] The disclosure made by retired General Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... in his 2006 autobiography that Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan transferred sensitive nucl­ear material to North Korea had come as a big embarrassment to the country, an official of the Foreign Office said on Friday at a meeting of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee. The disclosure had forced the Foreign Office on the defensive and left it with no choice but to regurgitate the standard response that Pakistain was firmly against nuclear proliferation, the additional secretary said. Foreign diplomats viewed the statement with scepticism and disbelief, he added. The Foreign Office reply came in response to a question by Senator Farhatullah Babar as to what was North Korea’s official reaction to Pervez Musharraf’s revelation in his memoir, In the Line of Fire, that a clandestine proliferation network operating from Pakistain had transferred nearly two dozen centrifuge machines, a flow meter and some special oils to North Korea.

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India-Pakistan

Rights activists highlight threats to existence of Kalash tribe

2017-05-27

[DAWN] "As members of the Kalash community we are facing threats to change our religion, our land is being occupied and the names of our places are being changed. However, nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... the media is portraying only our dances rather than highlighting our issues." This was stated by Gul Nazar, a representative of the Kalash community in Chitral, at a seminar on Thursday. The "Consultation on challenges for the Kalash community: the way forward" was organised by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistain (HRCP) at a local hotel. Ms Gul demanded that the Kalash area should be included in the World Heritage List in order to protect it. "Development work should be carried out in the area and basic facilities such as healthcare and education should be provided to the community. The syllabus of education should be in the local language. Doctors come to the Kalash valleys during the summer season and go back as soon as the tourism season ends," she said. "Kalash people are not aware of their rights. On the other hand, people from other areas are occupying their land. Dozens of Kalash people have been forced to change their religion. We have been trying to protect our graveyards as people even steal the bones of our deceased," she alleged. Ms Gul, who also looks after a Kalash museum, said the museum had all the information about the Kalash people but around three dozen officials of the elite force are now stationed there due to which the visitors are facing problems. "When we approached the police officer of the area to address the issue, he said we cannot teach him archaeology and he cannot not teach us security measures. So we had no option but to close the museum," she said. Luke Rehmat, another representative of the community, said the Kalasha religion was divided into pure and impure. "Men cannot go to places where children are born and those who go to the delivery places cannot enter the respective village for a certain period of time but tourists violate these restrictions due to which the community suffers mentally as there are a number of stories (superstitions) associated with it," he said. "Our religious ways are being blocked and names of our places are being replaced with Moslem names such as Qaziabad and Ahmedabad," he said. Ali Ahmad Jan, the director of a civil society organization, Sustainable Solution, said outsiders should not have the right to purchase land in the Kalash valleys like people of Pakistain cannot purchase land in Kashmire. "Some religious groups have been working in the Kalash valleys and forcing people to convert to Islam. Once a Kalash person accepts Islam, they are not allowed to wear the traditional Kalash dress and even are suggested not to speak the local language. There are also some religious scholars who say every Moslem should convince at least six non-Moslems to accept Islam. As a result, forced conversions are on the rise in the Kalash valleys," he said. HRCP member Nasreen Azhar, who chaired the event, said the Kalash community land was being occupied by outsiders and a large number of constructions were underway in the area. "People from other areas also go there to build restaurants. There is a need to look into all these issues," she said. Senator Farhatullah Babar said the Kalash community should move their case with the parliamentary committee on the marginalised people. He said every person had the right to live and practice their religion in Pakistain. Iftikharuddin, Member National Assembly (MNA) from Chitral where the Kalash valleys are located, said there were severe security challenges in the area and the state had to fulfil its responsibility.

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India-Pakistan

Senators call for amending blasphemy law

2017-04-19

[DAWN] Senators on Monday called for amending the blasphemy law to provide for punishments to those who concoct blasphemy accusations against others and deman­ded a campaign against those taking the law into their hands. Condemning the lynching of Mashal Khan, a student of Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan, politicians stressed the need for effective steps to prevent misuse of the blasphemy law. Talking about the blatant misuse of the law, PPP’s Farhatullah Babar said a religious scholar had proposed that accusers who levelled false accusations should suffer the same sentence as provided for a blasphemer. He recalled how a Federal Shariat Court decision had prompted the maximum punishment for blasphemy to be increased from life imprisonment to death, reminding the house that Raja Zafarul Haq -- the current leader of the house -- was the chairman of law and justice committee at the time. He said the committee had made some suggestions while approving the bill and called for that report to be made the basis of any further action. "The liquidation of Mashal Khan should make us think about concrete measures to prevent the misuse of the blasphemy law; we need to revisit this law," he remarked.

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India-Pakistan

Man burned to death over honour in Karachi

2017-01-26

[GEO.TV] A young man lost his life after succumbing to his burn injuries on Thursday, in what Sherlocks have described as a case of honour killing. According to police, Shafi was in a relationship with Shumaila - her brothers set him on fire in the name of honour in Zaman town, Korangi, a few days ago. The dear departed was immediately shifted to a hospital, however he breathed his last on Thursday. Authorities claim that two suspects, Fayyaz and Nasir Lamba are wanted in this case and raids are being conducted to apprehend the suspects. It was also informed that the suspects are known to have a criminal background. In last October, Parliament approved bills aimed at the prevention of honour killings in the country, removing a loophole allowing killers to walk free after being pardoned by family members. The bill was moved by Law Minister Zahid Hamid and Senator Farhatullah Babar which were duly approved by the parliamentarians, in the joint session. The amendments passed mandate judges to sentence someone who kills in the name of "honour" to life imprisonment, even if they have been forgiven, said senior opposition politician Farhatullah Babar. "Even if the close family members pardon the murderer, the court is bound to send him to jail for 25 years," Babar said. It said the identity of the victim must be kept secret and verdict be announced within 90 days. The bill for the prevention of honour killings stated an honour killing convict would at least be handed life in prison. In the case of pardon by the heirs of an honour killing victim, the minimum punishment - life in prison - will remain in place and could not be reduced. Law Minister Zahid Hamid, on the occasion, said the government will end the menace of honour killings from the country. He said a detailed consultation was held with parliamentarians from all the parties and a consensus was developed.

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