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India-Pakistan

Thousands rally in Pakistan after sectarian unrest

2013-11-23

[Pak Daily Times] Thousands of religious activists held protest rallies on Friday following sectarian violence last week which killed at least 11 people, amid tight security across major cities. Clashes erupted in Rawalpindi a week ago when a procession of Shias marking Ashura coincided with a sermon at a nearby Sunni mosque. The groups attacked each other, TV cameramen and security forces, firing gunshots. Schools, shops and restaurants were closed in the city on Friday while roads were deserted in both Rawalpindi and Islamabad. A heavy contingent of police, paramilitary rangers and soldiers was deployed in major cities, including Lahore, Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , 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. , Quetta and Multan. In Rawalpindi, Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi, who leads Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat ...which is the false nose and plastic mustache of the murderous banned extremist group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain, whatcha might call the political wing of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi... (ASWJ) organization, said, "We know how to fight against enemies of Islam and we are fighting against them." He said that the Raja Bazaar tragedy took place due to irresponsibility of the administration. He demanded that the Punjab government immediately arrest the culprits involved in the Rawalpindi incident. Difa-e-Pakistain Council and traders bodies also carried out a peaceful rally. In Islamabad, a rally was taken out from Lal Masjid to National Press Club on the call of Wafaqul Madaras and ASWJ. It was led by Maulana Masoodur Rehmani and attended by about 4,000 people, mostly students of seminaries of Islamabad and surrounding areas. The rally was also attended by JI central leader Mian Aslam, Maulana Tayyab Mehmood, Maulana Zahoor Alvi, Maulana Nazir Ahmad Farooqi and other holy mans. Addressing the rally participants, ASWJ Deputy Secretary General Maulana Masoodur Rehman condemned the Rawalpindi incident. He said Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi, Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... , 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 ... and others, during meetings with government officials, have presented their demands according to the aspirations of people. He said that according to the decision of ASWJ, they would remain peaceful. He said the "government has deployed the army, which is a respectable institution, to hide its failures". He demanded arrest of those responsible for festivities in Rawalpindi, imposition of ban on all mourning processions and compensation for the losses suffered by traders. He warned that if the government did not fulfil their demands at the earliest, the holy mans "would not care for the army and peaceful rallies will turn violent". Police used shipping containers to block certain roads in the capital Islamabad and Rawalpindi, while the approaches to the diplomatic enclave, which houses foreign embassies, were sealed. Umar Hayat Lalika, regional police chief for Rawalpindi, told news hounds that gatherings in the city have been banned and police would stop any attempts to hold rallies. He said police had tossed in the slammer Please don't kill me! 24 suspects including a few police officials, adding they were being interrogated. In Quetta, up to 2,000 activists gathered to record protest. Local ASWJ leader Ramzan Mengal addressed the protesters on the occasion. Similar scenes were seen in Peshawar, where some 4,000 people answered ASWJ's call at the city's Shobha Bazaar, while protests were also held in Lahore. In Karachi, 15,000 people attended an ASWJ rally, shouting anti-Shia slogans. All shops, restaurants and petrol stations in the city remained closed and roads were deserted amid a heavy deployment of police and paramilitary troops, an AFP news hound said. A curfew was imposed in Rawalpindi and army called in following festivities between Shia mourners and students of a Sunni seminary during an Ashura procession on November 15. Violence had also erupted in southern Punjab cities of Multan and Chishtian where civil authorities sought troops' help to maintain law and order.

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India-Pakistan

In Pakistan, a militant deal sours

2011-10-28

The deal saw one of Pakistain's most feared forces of Evil walk from jail apparently in exchange for his commitment to nonviolence, help in reining in other fighters and possibly delivering the votes of his followers. Supporters showered Malik Ishaq with rose petals when he left the prison in the eastern city of Lahore in July. Days later, he was preaching murderous hatred toward minority Shias to a cheering crowd, energising a network whose members have joined al-Qaeda for terror strikes. That was too much for Pak authorities, who incarcerated him again last month. Pakistain has a well-documented history of trying to co-opt or strike deals with forces of Evil of various causes, and a close examination of the Ishaq case shows how that can play out. It's a cautionary tale, perhaps, for US officials who are urging Pakistain to bring to the negotiating table Afghan forces of Evil who allegedly enjoy safe havens in the country's lawless border regions. Fifteen years ago, Ishaq founded Laskhar-i-Jangvi, or LJ, which allies itself with al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The LJ is blamed for scores of attacks on Shias and on Pak and US interests. Ishaq was locked away in 1997 and accused in more than 200 criminal cases including the killings of 70 Shias. One judge attempted to hide his face with his hands, but Ishaq made clear he knew his identity in a chilling way: He read out the names of his children, and the judge abandoned the trial, he said. But the state could never make the charges stick -- in large part because witnesses, judges and prosecutors were too scared to convict. That happens when your country's controlled by gangsters. Frightened judges treated him honourably in court and gave him tea and cookies, according to Anis Haider Naqvi, a prosecution witness in two cases against Ishaq. One judge attempted to hide his face with his hands, but Ishaq made clear he knew his identity in a chilling way: He read out the names of his children, and the judge abandoned the trial, he said. Despite the lack of convictions, Ishaq remained in prison for 14 years as prosecutors slowly moved from one case to the next. Ishaq proved his usefulness in 2009, when he was flown from jail to negotiate with forces of Evil who had stormed part of the military headquarters in Rawalpindi and were holding hostages there, said Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, who used to advise the Punjab provincial government on religious matters. A behind-the-scenes effort by the government to co-opt the leaders of turban outfits and bring them into mainstream political life, or at least draw them away from attacking the state, helped Ishaq secure his July 15 release, according to Ashrafi. "I met Ishaq several times in prison," Ashrafi said, emphasising that Ishaq assured him that he wanted to contribute to peace. "If someone wants to get back to normal life, yes, why not, we do help him," said Ashrafi. "These are our own men." He said he was disappointed to see him back in jail. Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah Khan denied there was any deal behind Ishaq's release, but said myrmidon leaders were free to join politics if they eschewed violence. "We are in touch with those who have become, or want to become, useful citizens," he said. The Punjab is the key battleground between the ruling party of President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... and the party of opposition leader Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Müslim League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... , currently in power in that province. Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi, the head of Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistain, or SSP, LJ's parent sectarian group, told a rally last year that Nawaz's brother, Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, had promised that Ishaq's release "would be settled in meetings" with him. "After that meeting, the time is not far when the prison door would break open and Malik Ishaq would be released," he said. LJ and other turban groups can muster significant support in Punjab and parts of Sindh province through their schools and mosques, making them an important political force. Mainstream politicians have shown no hesitation in courting them despite their links to violence. Local SSP leader Mohammad Tayyab said a recent SSP-backed candidate for a regional assembly seat in southern Punjab got 17,000 votes. "That is what Zardari's party and Sharif's know very well," he said. Khaled Ahmad, an expert on Pak turban groups in Punjab, said there is "no doubt" that the SSP and Sharif's party would cut deals as they have done in the past. "It is dangerous now because the group and its offshoots are in alliance with al-Qaeda." Government intelligence reports obtained by The News Agency that Dare Not be Named show Ishaq made threats in his public appearances after his release from prison. He urged his supporters not to be afraid of Pak laws or prisons. "We know how to kill and how to die," he told a gathering near Rahim Yar Khan on September, 4 according to one report. Ishaq's aides denied he made such remarks. "No,no! Certainly not!" The government suspected Ishaq of coordinating meetings in recent months of 50 or so alleged terrorists, said Khan, the law minister. Some of the men Ishaq visited directly after his release had allegedly been involved in terrorism and were being watched by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, said the government reports. LJ's stronghold is south and central Punjab, a neglected, blisteringly hot part of the country that has long been the recruiting ground for turban groups. Wealthy families, disproportionately Shia, own large swaths of land where tenant farmers grow cotton, sugarcane and wheat and work at mango orchids. Visitors to Ishaq's house in Islam Nagar in the southern Punjabi city of Rahim Yar Khan are greeted by an SSP member with an automatic rifle, against a backdrop of flags and banners glorifying the group. "My father's mission is a true one," said his son, Malik Usman. "We will seek our reward from Allah."

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India-Pakistan

Nuggets from the Urdu press

2010-05-01

How to increase Pakistan's honour Daily Nawa-e-Waqt editorialised that Pakistani citizens felt their honour increase (viqar mein izafa) on hearing that a delegation of nine Pakistani senators from the Tribal Areas (FATA) refused to continue their official visit in the United States after they were asked to submit to body scan (hattak amez amal). Similarly two Muslim ladies coming to Pakistan increased national honour by cancelling their journey from the UK after refusing to be scanned at the airport. The Americans have apologised for the scan but said that FATA senators could not be exempted. Rivers will flow with blood! Daily Jinnah reported that the UN-banned Jamaatud Dawa held a massive procession on Lahore's Mall Road to condemn India for stealing Pakistan's water. Famous leader Hafiz Said warned India (bharatio sunn lo!) that he will win Kashmir from India together with the dams India was building on Pakistani rivers. He said the rivers will run with Hindu blood. Indus Treaty an unhappy marriage Quoted in Jang Indus Water Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah said in Lahore that Indus Water Treaty between Pakistan and India was an unhappy marriage over the years. He said India was preparing to build 25 to 20 dams on the rivers given to Pakistan. Although the dams were allowed by the treaty India should act on the spirit of the Treaty and agree to amend the amount of water given by the treaty to India from three Pakistani rivers. The reason was that the water flow in these rivers had decreased. Blow up the dams! Quoted in Jinnah chief editor and heads of journalists' organisation Khushnood Ali Khan told a meeting that the Indian dams that stole Pakistani water should be blown up with bombs. He said if India did not desist from stealing water then the philosophy of Hafiz Said should be acted upon because that was the only language India understood. Talibanisation defined Writing in Jang Saleem Safi stated that Talibanisation is often equated with the Taliban but it was actually rooted in the state institutions and their Indian and Afghan policies, politics of the religious parties and the hawkish anchors of the TV channels. Jamaat has the wrong leader According to survey published in Jinnah Jamaat Islami rank and file are unhappy with the current chief Syed Munawwar Hasan and would like to see Liaquat Baloch to be their leader. According to them former chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad too would like to have Baloch as the Jamaat leader. After a year Munawwar has not won the acceptance of the party supporters and he is not likely to win his place the second time. Courting a terrorist party Reported in Express PMLN leaders were courting the banned terrorist party Sipah Sahaba in South Punjab to win in elections. PMLN Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah was seen together with the Sipah leader Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi who claimed that all politicians who won their seats in South Punjab had approached Sipah for help. One federal minister of state had invited Ludhianvi to his house. Ban on lewd gestures Reported in daily Pakistan Lahore Home Department sent a notice of ban to actress Saima Khan for making lewd gestures on stage while acting in a play. The play was titled Ishq, Muhabbat aur Mehngai (High Passion amid High Prices). The Home Department also issued a notice of warning to Nida Chaudhry for making similar gestures. I would have slapped him! Quoted in daily Pakistan Governor Salmaan Taseer said that had he known that a member of Sipah Sahaba was in the same vehicle he was travelling in and had he known that he was addressing the same gathering he was addressing he would have slapped him and thrown him out of the meeting. Target Nazir Naji Writing in Jang, columnist Nazir Naji stated that he received a death threat once and requested the police to trace the man who had arranged to get him killed. The police found the man responsible was an imam masjid of Multan who confessed that he had planned to kill Nazir Naji on reading his columns. Naji further revealed that his latest death threats included Islamic scholar Javed Ghamidi and himself as targets of assassination. Punjab lady MPAs exchange curses According to Jinnah two lady MPAs in the Punjab Assembly exchanged hot words during a committee meeting and came out quarrelling and had to be provided security against exchange of blows. One Fauzia Behram called Samia Amjad ‘ghatiya' in Urdu who shot back with ‘shut up' in English. Barber repents in Bhakkar Reported in weekly Al Qalam a barber of the sectarian conflict prone city of Bhakkar in Punjab repented and gave up shaving people's beards. Barber Hakim was persuaded by the greatly humanitarian Al Rehmat Trust organisation to give up the sinful occupation of shaving beards. He presented himself at a local mosque and confessed that shaitan (satan) and nafs (selfishness) had deceived him into sin which he was now giving up. Deobandi versus Barelvi in Faisalabad Writing in jihadi publication Zarb-e-Momin Deobandi religious leader Qari Muhammad Jalundhari stated that on 12 Rabiul Awwwal the Birthday of the Prophet PBUH was celebrated in Faisalabad by Barelvi followers. When the procession reached the tomb of Deobandi dignitary Maulana Ziaul Qasimi they became violent and destroyed the library of the great man. He said there was a conspiracy afoot to rake up the old Barelvi-Deobandi vendetta and make the two fight again. Conspiracies against Pakistan Weekly Al Qalam reported from Islamabad that Raw, CIA and Mossad had decided to work together to deprive Pakistan of its water and turn it into registan (desert). It also reported from Islamabad that an international plot was ready to destabilise Pakistan. RAW together with CIA and Mossad had set up training camps for terrorists inside India who would be unleashed on Pakistan. For this, notorious criminals from all over the world were being scouted and inducted. Sipah Sahaba is not terrorist! Daily Islam reported that Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi the chief of the UN-banned Sipah Sahaba now renamed Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat said that his party should not be called terrorist as saying so would be contempt of court. He said a case in this regard was sub judice at the High Court. He said the PPP candidate in Haroonabad was supported by his party and this support was announced by member Javed Iqbal in the presence of Governor Salmaan Taseer. Who was Maulana Jalalpuri? Daily newspaper Islam reported that head of the Khatm-e-Nabuwwat organisation in Karachi great scholar Maulana Jalalpuri was gunned down along with his companions. He was famous for his diatribes against the Qadianis and his janaza prayer was said at Banuri Mosque. The paper reported that he was a celebrated pupil of Maulana Yusuf Ludhianvi who was also killed in sectarian conflict. The head of Banuri Madrassa Mufti Shamzai was also thus killed in 2004. Earlier great scholar Maulana Ghafur Nadim of Sipah Sahaba was wounded by attackers in Karachi but his son Muawiya, provocatively named from the point of the view of the Shia community, was killed.

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