Author: Nafisa Hoodbhoy

A Council of Progressive Pakistanis has been created in the US, with the objective of contributing to building a progressive and liberal Pakistan.

A meeting of CPP affiliates was held in the greater metropolitan Washington area, Feb 10, 2018, where organizers espoused their vision of building a Pakistan, that would be in keeping with the speech delivered by its founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah in 1947 before the nation’s constituent assembly.

In his speech Jinnah had said, `You may belong to any religion or caste or creed; that has nothing to do with the business of the State. You will find that in course of time Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.’

The participants, who included the future council members of the CPP discussed the need to work toward tolerance between religious and ethnic communities, including the removal of laws that discriminate on the basis of religion.

In this regard, they pledged to work against imprisonment, torture, disappearance and extrajudicial killings of their fellow brethren who became victims of intolerance inside Pakistan.

In January, the CPP organizers held a talk in St. Louis, Missouri on `Partition & its Effects,’ based on the early chapters of `Aboard the Democracy Train.’

There, the author made a presentation and answered questions from the audience relating to democracy, human rights, terrorism and the changing international scenario.

Excerpts from the talk & questions and answers can be viewed below:

https://www.facebook.com/vasudha.ravv/videos/544375912594230/

https://www.facebook.com/vasudha.ravv/videos/544394135925741/

Asma Jahangir’s funeral was an emotionally draining yet an energising experience in unique ways. People of all ages, genders, ethnicities, religions, and social classes came to bid adieu to her. Only she could manage to amass such a wide spectrum of the society at such an occasion.

There were trans people, women, men, youngsters, older people, people descending from SUVs with their guards, people coming on motorbikes, as well as people pouring in on foot because public transport left them far from the venue owing to security arrangements. There were destitute women who had secured shelter because of Asma.

There were activists who had spent lifetime in struggling for people’s rights, under Asma’s guidance and leadership. There were people whose lives she had changed by merely being there when they needed help. There were people who found meaning in their lives while being with her.

There were people from practically all walks of life and widest possible range of classes. Religious scholars who admired her work were also in attendance. One Mufti sahib came looking for me from the thick crowd, and told me what a big fan of Asma Jahangir he was. Another cleric, who insisted he was not a mullah but just a deeply religious man, told me he hadn’t met a person more courageous, honest and upright as Asma.

The funeral prayer was led by Haider Farooq Maudoodi, who opposes Islamists and is considered closer to Marxists. His views against political Islam, mullahism and exploitation of religion for political power games are well known, just as his famous revolt from his father Maulana Abul A’ala Maudoodi. Farooq had a long-standing relationship with Asma’s family and he supported the values Asma stood for.

The striking feature of this unique funeral ceremony was the predominant presence of women and the role they played throughout the event. At 11:45am when the body arrived at Asma’s home from the mortuary, women took it from the ambulance to the drawing room, which had been emptied already by removing all furniture. Women of the family and Asma’s comrades from Women’s Action Forum were all clad in identical black dresses with yellow scarves inscribed with women empowerment slogans.

After almost three hours, when the body had to be shifted to the ambulance again for the funeral procession, it was these women who carried her to the ambulance.

While the close family, her husband, children, and siblings sat in the ambulance, other women escorted the slow moving ambulance to the venue on foot.

Defying another regressive tradition, women shouldered her funeral bed – a practice conventionally considered a strictly male domain.

It’s not very frequent that so many women are seen in public spaces on such occasions. Their presence gave an egalitarian look to the funeral ceremony. Afterwards, men and women made rows and said the prayers together.

This was a rare and unforgettable sight. Men and women from all religions – Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and Muslims of all sects, arranged in rows like beautiful pearls of different colours in one thread.

Women defied the established code. After the prayers, they raised slogans reiterating their vows to carry forward the legacy of Asma Jehangir.

The Government of Pakistan decided not to respond to people’s demands of flying the national flag at half-mast or of arranging a state funeral for her. Asma was much bigger than a state funeral anyway. Activists making these demands had only hoped that the state of Pakistan would honour itself by acquiescing.

It was hardly a surprise that some institutions and organs of the state maintained radio silence on the occasion. No public condolance, message of solidarity or eulogy or even a prayer for the departed came from those corridors. Not to mention, this hasn’t impacted Asma’s stature one bit.

Expressing solidarity with the mourners would have elevated state’s own perception among the public.

The sentiments of love and respect that people demonstrated for Asma Jehangir are unprecedented in recent history of this country.

Her detractors and haters, on the other hand, remain inconsequential and unknown. No one would even know when they die. But here is Asma Jahangir – who went like the majestic queen of hearts she has been. This probably is her revenge! But her ultimate revenge would be in continuation of her mission with all the energies of her supporters combined. The attainment of a progressive, democratic, secular and peace-loving Pakistan will be the ultimate revenge.

Sindhis, Siraiki, Pakhtuns, Baloch, Hazaras, Gilgitis, Baltis and others from far-flung areas came to bid farewell to their comrade. A Pakhtun contingent was most conspicuous for their number and for their vibrancy. They were the last people who were addressed by Asma in a public setting during their recent sit-in in Islamabad.

If one word can describe the funeral procession, it is pluralism. That’s what Asma Jehangir lived for as well. Her funeral looked like Pakistan. A truly federal Pakistan with all communities represented.

Even in her death, she did not conform to the established code. Resistance, thy name is Asma.

Asma Jahangir, one of Pakistan’s most prominent human rights activists, has died of a heart attack aged 66.

She was rushed to hospital in Lahore on Saturday night and died the following day, her daughter Muneeze Jahangir said.

Friends, relatives, activists and journalists thronged to her residence in Lahore to express their grief. Local TV stations broadcast footage showing public figures and Jahangir’s friends sobbing and consoling each other outside her residence as her body was brought home from hospital.

The prime minister of Pakistan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, lauded her “immense contributions towards upholding rule of law, democracy and safeguarding human rights”.

Pakistan’s rulers must show an honest resolve to fight terrorism

Jahangir was the chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and respected for her outspoken criticism of the country’s militant Islamist groups and her record as an activist.

She was also the president of the supreme court bar association and had served as the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran since 2016.

Jahangir, a fierce defender of democracy who also regularly raised concerns about Pakistan’s military and intelligence services, was included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential women.

She defended minority Christians charged with blasphemy, an offence that under Pakistan’s controversial law carries the death penalty.

She was repeatedly threatened by the country’s militant religious right whom she criticised loudly and often.

She was also placed under house arrest in 2007 for her part in a lawyers’ protest movement that helped lead to the military leader Pervez Musharraf stepping down from power.

A champion of human rights, Jahangir was unafraid to speak loudly against those attacking minority religions and women. She won scores of international awards. Several years ago, she briefly sent her family out of the country following threats from militant groups.

Zohra Yousuf, a former chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said she lost a “great friend and great warrior of human rights.”

“No one can replace Asma … She was unmatched and unparalleled, we suffered a great loss today,” Yousuf said.
The activist Marvi Sarmad tweeted: “Today it’s not only Pakistan who will cry. The entire South Asia shall mourn Asma Jahangir.”

“’Speaking truth to power,’ a phrase we often use, Asma Jahangir lived, practiced till her last breath,” said another activist, Raza Ahmed Rumi.

Jahangir is survived by her husband, the businessman Tahir Jahangir, a son and two daughters. Her other daughter, Salima, lives in London. The funeral would take place after Salima’s return to Pakistan, the family announced.

KARACHI: Veteran journalist Siddiq Baloch was laid to rest in Mewa Shah Graveyard Tuesday afternoon. He passed away early Tuesday morning in Karachi, while fighting pancreatic cancer for many years.

Siddiq, 78, was a renowned journalist, senior political economist and democrat. He was the chief editor of Daily Azadi Quetta, an Urdu newspaper started by him in 2002 and Balochistan Express, an English newspaper.

He regularly contributed columns to Dawn and was an authority on Balochistan’s social, political and economic matters. Siddiq played an important role in Baloch nationalist politics. In 2002, he authored a book, ‘A critical comment on political economy of Balochistan’.

He was conferred the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz in 2015.

Born in Lyari, Karachi in 1940, Siddiq moved to Quetta in 1990 and started the Balochistan Express. His journalistic career spanned over 50 years. In 1981, he was elected president of the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ). He took an active part in the freedom of expression movement, and served two terms. He was also elected as president of the Balochistan Newspapers Editors Council and as an office bearer of the Karachi Press Club.

Journalist Ziaur Rehman remarked, “He [Siddiq] was one of the founding members of the Baloch Students Organisation and affiliated with NAP in his student life. He was imprisoned in the infamous Hyderabad Conspiracy Case”.

Siddiq’s jail companions were Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, Sardar Attaullah Mengal and Khan Abdul Wali Khan.
Former correspondent for The Express Tribune, Shahzad Baloch, who was Siddiq’s nephew, while paying tribute to him said, “It is hard to believe that my teacher, a fatherly figure, my uncle and veteran journalist Siddiq has passed away. He was the reason for whatever I am today and I spent my entire life with him”.

In his message on Twitter, former editor of Dawn, Abbas Nasir, said that Siddiq was a huge resistance figure among journalists who opposed Zia’s autocratic rule.

Pakistan Peoples Party Central Information Secretary Nafisa Shah said that her heartfelt sympathies, thoughts and prayers were with the family of the senior leftist journalist.

Siddiq left three daughters and five sons among the mourners and his son, Zafar Baloch, is The Express Tribune’s correspondent from Quetta.