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Courageous human rights lawyer Rashid Rehman Murdered

Rashid Rahman (Credit: tribune.com.pk)
Rashid Rahman
(Credit: tribune.com.pk)

Thursday, 8 May 2014

He knew the risks he was taking. He knew too, that many others had declined to take on the case.

But Rasheed Rehman believed that every defendant deserved a lawyer, even – or perhaps especially – someone facing perhaps the most serious allegation that can be levelled at you in Pakistan.

At around 8.30pm on Wednesday evening, Mr Rehman, a well-known advocate and a regional coordinator for the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), was shot dead by two gunmen who entered his office in the city of Multan, apparently posing as prospective clients. The attack came just weeks after he agreed to defend a college lecturer accused of blasphemy and had reportedly received death threats from other lawyers for doing so.

“He was a dedicated activist from the very beginning. All his life he was helping the downtrodden,” senior HRCP official Zaman Khan told The Independent. “He was fearless and never gave any time to the threats. He said he would live for the struggle and die for the struggle.”

Earlier this year, Mr Rehman, who was 53 and married, agreed to take on the case of Junaid Hafeez, a lecturer at Multan’s Bahauddin Zakariya University who had been accused of defaming the prophet Mohammed on social media last year. Reports said the accusations were levelled by hardline university students who had pushed for him to be charged.

1The HRCP said no one was wiling to take on Mr Hafeez’s defence until Mr Rehman stepped forward. After the first hearing inside a prison in March, when he was allegedly threatened, the HRCP issued a statement which said: “During the hearing the lawyers of the complainant told Rehman that he wouldn’t be present at the next hearing as he would not be alive.”

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, introduced under British rule and then tightened during the years of military dictator Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, have become increasingly controversial and ever more deadly. Campaigners say that the laws, which carry the death penalty, are routinely used to settle personal scores and grudges that have nothing to do with Islam.

While no-one has ever been executed for blasphemy, many accused have been attacked and killed and lawyers and judges have been threatened. A recent report by a US government advisory panel said there were 14 people on death row in Pakistan and 19 others serving life sentences for insulting Islam.

Among those on death row is a 70-year-old British citizen, Muhammad Asghar, from Edinburgh, who was sentenced in January after being convicted of claiming he was a prophet. His lawyers and family said he has been suffering from mental health issues for several years.

2Efforts to reform the laws by Pakistan’s previous government were scrapped in the aftermath of the murder in January 2011 of Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab province, where Multan is located, who had spoken about the misuse of the laws and the need to reform them. A second politician, the then-minorities minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, who also supported reforming the laws, was murdered two months later.

“This is only a symptom of a deeper malaise [in Pakistan],” said Asma Jahangir, a celebrated advocate who was among those who attended Mr Rehman’s funeral service in Multan. “It is becoming more and more difficult for people who have liberal views to stay alive in this country. And the state sits by like a spectator.”

Today, in an indication of such threats referred to by Ms Jahangir, it was reported that in Multan leaflets had been distributed which claimed Mr Rehman had met his “rightful end”.

“We warn all lawyers to be afraid of god and think twice before engaging in such acts,” the pamphlets said, according to the Reuters news agency.

As Mr Rehman was buried, lawyers in Multan protested over the killing of their colleague. “Every time someone without means approached him for help, he would take his case without considering how mighty the opponent could be,” said Mr Rehman’s junior colleague, Allah Daad. “He was also very fond of reading, but he spent most of his time helping the needy,”

3Mr Daad said that after the prosecuting lawyer involved in the blasphemy case had made the threatening comment, Mr Rehman informed the District Bar Association and sought protection from the local police. Yet he said that Mr Rehman received no response from officers. The police in Multan were unavailable for comment.

Mr Rehman was reportedly struck by five bullets. Two other people in his office at the time were badly wounded and taken to hospital.

The lawyer and activist had no children but he lived in an extended family. His nephew, 24-year-old Atir, and his niece, Hareem, who is 25, said he had been like a father to them. The family now has no source of income. Mr Rehman’s traumatised widow, Robina, has been sedated.

“He never used to tell us anything about the work he was doing but still we came to know about the kind of threats he received,” said Mr Rehman’s niece. “He was a man of devotion and spent his entire life working for the poor.”

She added: “I would ask him to do something for me using his contacts but he said he would always use his contacts for the poor.”

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Journalists, civil society condemn attack on Hamid Mir

Hamid Mir (Credit: thenews.com.pk)
Hamid Mir
(Credit: thenews.com.pk)

LAHORE, April 21: Journalists, civil society activists and politicians have demanded early arrest of the perpetrators of the attack on anchorperson Hamid Mir, while terming it an attack on the freedom of speech and expression in Pakistan.

A large number of journalists and civil society activists gathered at the Lahore Press Club where they held a protest demonstration after passing a condemnation resolution. Hamid Mir sustained three bullet injuries in an attack on Faisal Avenue in Karachi by four unidentified gunmen, on Saturday. Doctors said one bullet pierced his intestine while two others wounded his leg and pelvic area, however he was out of danger.

The Lahore Press Club condemnation resolution and protest rally was joined by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Punjab President Ejaz Chaudhry, MNA Shafqat Mahmood, Andleeb Abbas, Punjab Federation of Union of Journalists leaders Rana Azeem, Afzal Butt and other office-bearers. LPC President Arshad Ansari, Afzaal Talib were also present there. Senior journalists including Geo Lahore bureau chief Khawar Naeem Hashmi and other journalist from Jang Group also joined the demonstration.

Civil society activists including former chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and former President Supreme Court Bar Association Asma Jehangir, Hina Gilani, IA Rehman, Abid Hassan Manto, Imtiaz Aalam, Jungo Mohin, Mehmal Sarfraz also participated in the protest rally and demanded early arrest of culprits involved in attack on Hamid Mir besides arrest of their mastermind. The protestors were holding various placards inscribed with slogan in support of Hamid Mir and press freedom.

LPC president Arshad Ansari said that the journalist community would boycott covergare of the government if proper and quick inquiry was not made and justice was denied. Khawar Naeem Hashmi said three bullets cannot stop him (Hamid Mir) from speaking truth. “Our fight which is continue from past will continue for the sake of truth and for the country.”

Earlier, a condemnation resolution was passed in LPC demanding a transparent investigation and bringing the culprits to the book. Separately, Opposition Leader in National Assembly Khursheed Shah, while talking to media at Lahore airport condemned attack on Hamid Mir and urged the government to hold a transparent probe into the incident. PU vice chancellor Professor Dr Mujahid Kamran, Punjab University Academic Staff Association president Ihsan Sharif and secretary Javed Sami have also condemned the attack.

PU Institute of Communication Studies, the alma mater of Hamid Mir, where his father Waris Mir also served as chairman, has prayed for the early recovery of their journalists. ICS teachers and students have demanded the government to book the culprits at the earliest possible.

Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said the attack on a senior journalist Hamid Mir is tragic and highly condemnable. He prayed for early recovery of Hamid Mir. He was talking to media after inaugurating Walton Flyover Sunday.

The chief minister prayed that Hamid Mir take up his journalistic responsibilities again. He said that attack on Hamid Mir was an attack on freedom of press. He said that the federal government would conduct inquiry into the incident and ensure punishment to the culprits. He said that the elements involved in this heinous act will soon be apprehended and brought to justice so that no one could dare attack journalists again.

Federal Information Minister Pervauz Rasheed while talking to media at Lahore airport said as per a directive of Prime minister a committee was being constituted to conduct a transparent probe into the incident. He expressed his complete solidarity with the Hamid Mir and his family as well as the journalists community.

The attack on Hamid Mir has brough large-scale criticism of the government as well as the law enforcement agencies by the Pakistani and foreign media. India media has launched a campaign against ISI quoting a statement of Amir Mir, the brother of Hamid Mir, who is also an investigative journalist.

An ISI spokesman has condemned the attack on Mir and the allegations against the ISI: “The spokesman has condemned the incident of firing on senior anchor Hamid Mir, prayed for his wellbeing and quick recovery. The spokesman said that an independent inquiry must immediately be carried out to ascertain the facts.

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Attack on Hamid Mir: Journalists say Geo TV bent upon maligning army

ISPR spokesman (Credit: Pakistantribune.com.pk)
ISPR spokesman
(Credit: Pakistantribune.com.pk)

Senior journalists, columnists and anchorpersons have expressed concern over the ‘organised campaign’ against the security agencies by a section of the media in the name of the attack on Geo TV anchor Hamid Mir, saying this is a clear violation of journalistic values and code of conduct.

“The attack should be investigated but the adventurism we are seeing should have been avoided and responsibility should have been shown,” said columnist Ayaz Amir.

Another columnist, Talat Hussain, said the allegations by Geo TV are akin to a charge sheet, wherein ISI chief Lt Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam has been blamed. “He [Lt Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam] has been charge-sheeted and the focus is on this one point, ignoring the other aspects,” Talat said.

He added that the television channel and Mir’s colleagues seem to have registered an FIR and issued a judgement in the case. “This is against journalistic rules and, in my opinion, unfair to Hamid Mir himself,” he added.

Express News anchor Shazeb Khanzada said that accusations were leveled against the security agencies as Mir’s brother was very vocal about his emotions at the time of the attack. “We are journalists and our job is to bring the truth forth and struggle for the rule of law and the Constitution,” Khanzada said. “We are not supposed to fight against the federal and state organisations. Unfortunately, yesterday an atmosphere was created to press the DG ISI to resign and I think this resignation should not have been demanded at all,” he added. Khanzada claimed “Indian channels took full advantage of the situation”.

Senior columnist and journalist Haroon Rashid said that Geo TV seems determined to ‘defame the army’ and criticised the television channel’s decision to air photographs of the ISI chief while leveling accusations against him of involvement in the attack on Mir.

“There is something called patriotism [which should be taken into account]. Love of the country is part of one’s faith but Geo people do not care for the country. Do they want to turn Pakistan into an Indian state?” Rashid said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2014.

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Relief in Afghanistan after largely peaceful landmark election

Afghan elections (Credit: abcnews.com)
Afghan elections
(Credit: abcnews.com)

KABUL/KANDAHAR, April 5 (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s presidential election closed on Saturday amid relief that attacks by Taliban fighters were fewer than feared for a vote that will bring the first-ever democratic transfer of power in a country plagued by conflict for decades.

It will take six weeks for results to come in from across Afghanistan’s rugged terrain and a final result to be declared in the race to succeed President Hamid Karzai.

This could be the beginning of a potentially dangerous period for Afghanistan at a time when the war-ravaged country desperately needs a leader to stem rising violence as foreign troops prepare to leave.

“Today we proved to the world that this is a people driven country,” Karzai, wearing his trademark green robe and a lambskin hat, told his nation in televised remarks.

“On behalf of the people, I thank the security forces, election commission and people who exercised democracy and … turned another page in the glorious history of Afghanistan.”

One of the eight candidates will have to score over 50 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off with his nearest rival.

The Taliban threat to wreck the vote through bombings and assassination failed to materialize, and violent incidents were on a far smaller scale than feared.

Turnout was seven million out of 12 million eligible voters, or about 58 percent, according to preliminary estimates, election commission chief Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani told reporters.

That was well above the 4.5 million who voted at the last election in 2009 which was marred by widespread fraud.

“I am here to vote and I am not afraid of any attacks,” said Haji Ramazan as he stood in line at a polling station in rain-drenched Kabul. “This is my right, and no one can stop me.”

In Washington, President Barack Obama congratulated the Afghan people on the elections.

“We commend the Afghan people, security forces, and elections officials on the turnout for today’s vote – which is in keeping with the spirited and positive debate among candidates and their supporters in the run-up to the election,” Obama said in a statement.

“These elections are critical to securing Afghanistan’s democratic future, as well as continued international support, and we look to the Afghan electoral bodies to carry out their duties in the coming weeks to adjudicate the results – knowing that the most critical voices on the outcome are those of Afghans themselves,” Obama said.

The United States could point to the advance of democracy in one of the world’s most violent countries as a success as it prepares to withdraw the bulk of its troops this year.

It has spent $90 billion on aid and security training since helping Afghan forces to topple a strict Islamist Taliban regime in 2001, but U.S. support for Afghanistan’s fight against the Taliban has faded.

As U.S. troops get ready to go home, the Taliban threat and uncertainty over neighbor Pakistan’s intentions leave the worry that Afghanistan could enter a fresh cycle of violence, and once again become a haven for groups like al Qaeda.

The United States has been at odds with Karzai who has refused U.S. entreaties to sign a bilateral security agreement that would permit about 8,000 U.S. troops to remain in the country after the formal U.S. withdrawal at the end of the year.

U.S. officials are keeping open the option of leaving behind a troop contingent for training Afghan forces and for a counter-terrorism mission if an agreement can be signed later this year by Karzai’s successor.

“The United States remains ready to work with the next president of Afghanistan. We will continue to stand with the people of Afghanistan as they work to build a democratic future,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement.

During Saturday’s election, there were dozens of reports of minor roadside bombs, attacks on polling stations, police and voters. In the eastern province of Kunar alone, two voters died and 14 were wounded, while 14 Taliban militants were killed.

Interior Minister Umer Daudzai said nine policemen, seven soldiers, 89 Taliban fighters were killed in the past 24 hours across the country, adding that four civilians were also killed.

Dozens died in a spate of attacks in the preceding weeks. A veteran Associated Press photographer was killed and a senior correspondent of the same news agency was wounded on Friday when a policeman opened fire on the two women in the east as they reported on preparations for the poll.

KABUL SEALED OFF

Most people had expected the election to be better run than the chaotic 2009 vote that handed Karzai a second term.

The constitution barred Karzai from seeking another term. But, after 12 years in power, he is widely expected to retain influence through politicians loyal to him.

Former foreign ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Zalmay Rassoul, and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani were regarded as the favorites to succeed Karzai.

More than 350,000 Afghan troops were deployed, guarding against attacks on polling stations and voters. The capital, Kabul, was sealed off by rings of roadblocks and checkpoints.

In the city of Kandahar, cradle of the Taliban insurgency, the mood was tense. Vehicles were not allowed to move on the roads and checkpoints were set up at every intersection.

Hamida, a 20-year-old teacher working at a Kandahar polling station, said more than a dozen women turned up in the first two hours of voting and added that she expected more to come despite the threat of an attack by the Taliban.

“We are trying not to think about it,” she said, only her honey-brown eyes visible through her black niqab.

Raising questions about the legitimacy of the vote even before it began, the election commission announced that at least 10 percent of polling stations were expected to be shut due to security threats, and most foreign observers left Afghanistan in the wake of a deadly attack on a hotel in Kabul last month.

In some areas of the country voters complained that polling stations had run out of ballot papers. The interior ministry said six officials – including an intelligence agent – were detained for trying to rig the vote, and elsewhere several people were arrested for trying to use fake voter cards.

RISK OF DELAY

If there is no outright winner, the two frontrunners would go into a run-off on May 28, spinning out the process into the holy month of Ramadan when life slows to a crawl.

A long delay would leave little time to complete a pact between Kabul and Washington to keep up to 10,000 U.S. troops in the country beyond 2014.

Karzai has rejected the pact, but the three frontrunners have pledged to sign it. Without the pact, far weaker Afghan forces would be left on their own to fight the Taliban.

The election is a landmark after 13 years of struggle that has killed at least 16,000 Afghan civilians and thousands more soldiers. Nearly 3,500 members of the U.S.-led coalition force have died since deployment in the country over a decade ago.

Karzai’s relations with the United States became increasingly strained as Afghan casualties mounted. He also voiced frustration with Washington over a lack of pressure on Pakistan to do more to stop the Taliban based in the borderlands.

Although his departure marks a turning point, none of his would-be successors would bring radical change, diplomats say.

“Whether the election will be the great transformative event that everybody expects is, I think, delusional.” Sarah Chayes, a South Asia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told a media briefing on the eve of the vote.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi in KABUL; Sarwar Amani in KANDAHAR, Steve Holland and Arshad Mohammed in WASHINGTON; Writing by John Chalmers and Maria Golovnina; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Gunna Dickson)

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Raza Rumi Narrowly Escapes Death after Hosting TV Show
Driver Killed in Attack as Express Tribune is Targeted Again

Raza after attack (Credit: awampk.com)
Raza after attack
(Credit: awampk.com)

Finally, I countenanced what I had been dreading for quite some time. Journalists and media houses being under threat is a well-known story in conflict-ridden Pakistan. I had also heard about my name being on a few hit-lists but I thought these were tactics to scare dissenters and independent voices. But this was obviously an incorrect assessment of the situation.

On Friday night, when I had planned to visit Data Darbar after my television show, my car was attacked by “unknown” (a euphemism for lethal terror outfits) assailants. The minute I heard the first bullet, the Darwinian instinct made me duck under and I chose to lie on the back of the car.

This near death experience with bullets flying over me and shattered window glass falling over me reminded me of the way my own country was turning into a laboratory of violence. Worse, that when I saved myself, it was not without a price. A young man, who had been working as my driver for sometime, was almost dead. I stood on a busy road asking for help and not a single car stopped.

A crowd had gathered and I was seeking their assistance almost like someone in a hysterical sub-continental film. The nearest hospital was a private enterprise, which initially refused to treat all three of us. I had to protest, after begging on the street and then seeking emergency medical aid. Suddenly, all that afflicts Pakistan became clear: the violence, the impunity for murderers, the failing values of a society and privatisation of essential public services.

Within minutes, my driver was declared dead, my wounds were cleaned and a third victim of barbarity struggled with a fast receding blood count. Thankfully, officers from the Punjab Police were helpful and enabled me to sort out things. This was harrowing and I became an object of all that I have condemned in recent years.

I am now at a safe location, unable to move out and have been told that my case is exceptional with six men — most armed — had attempted to eliminate me and they failed. And that the security agencies can only protect me if I remain locked up in a “safe” location.

So what is my fault, I have been wondering? I am a relatively small fry in the media and opinion industry. I am a recent entrant in the mass (electronic) media, but my views, I am told, are dangerous and invite trouble. So, I wish to ask my well-wishers the following questions: is raising the issue of minority rights unacceptable? Is demanding the inclusion of Jinnah’s August 11 speech in our Constitution and state behaviour unacceptable?

I have written a book on the shared history of India and Pakistan and this irked some. I have argued for rational engagement with the West and the outside world and that is not kosher. I reject conspiracy theories as I prefer reason over totem and this does not fit in a mindscape that considers the outside, external enemies.

Pakistan’s journalists face the oddest of challenges. They are being coerced into silence or singing praises of extremists and advocating legitimacy for their operations. Pakistan’s politicians have almost given up, as their private and public statements are at variance and they have accepted that this “new Pakistan” of fear, threats and unpunished violence is what they have to deal with.

I also know that I am not alone. There are dozens of other voices that have to be silenced by some quarters. These voices are a threat as they stand by civilian victims of terror and shun attacks on our security forces. These are voices, which also refuse to make martyrs out of terrorists. And they also hold that the greatest blasphemy is undermining humanity and using faith for spreading hatred.

The choice for me is stark. I am not willing to accept death as an option. Nor am I going to accept forced silence. I am grateful to all those who have shown support for my plight.

But it would be far more important if our collective outrage turns into public pressure to change the direction of the state and stop it from committing hara-kiri at the altar of a fabricated ideology or regional ambitions. There are no good or bad extremists. And there can be no justification for any form of violence by private actors. Who else would know, if not me?

I am haunted by the fact that a precious life has been lost while some people wanted to target me. More than that, I am worried that there may be many more lives at risk. I am not too hopeful if the current set of federal and provincial governments would deliver on security and public safety.

There is little or no will to tackle the camel that has entered the Pakistani tent and is displacing reason and humanity. Yet, there is no other recourse. So I appeal to the government to provide me security and not let me remain a victim of an ideology asserted with bullets and bombers.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2014.

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US Journalist Reviews Aboard the Democracy Train

ATDT Book Launch in US
ATDT Book Launch in US

One might have preferred the title “Aboard the Democracy Train Wreck,” or even “The Little Engine That Might (as opposed to, “The Little Engine that Could”) after reading Nafisa Hoodbhoy’s harrowing account of democracy’s travails in her home country.

Nonetheless, it becomes clear, after reading this unique and marvelous little book, that some parts of the planet were not colonized long enough by the West (or escaped altogether) and so have been unable to form lasting democratic institutions and rule of law. In such places we continue to see civil society overwhelmed by sectarian violence, political corruption, and an almost absolute disregard for justice.

Yet set against all this misery is the very real desire and heroic efforts of the best of Pakistani civil society to bring about a workable and democratic country. The problem is: they’re just outnumbered.

As her subtitle suggests, Ms Hoodbhoy charts that struggle with intimate details from her long career as a journalist — details long hidden from view — of a particular time marked by the end of a military dictatorship and the beginning of an extraordinarily untidy civilian rule wracked by civil unrest.

Yet another case, if one were needed, where, in the less favored parts of the world, feudal lords, tribal chiefs, ethnic and language differences make for a toxic brew where central government is weak. And then there are people who simply want to run their own family mafias at the expense of everyone else.

Yet this is not just a ringside seat to Pakistan’s recent and violent history but the story of the first female journalist in a Muslim society dominated by resentful, gender-crazed, patriarchs determined to enforce archaic and medieval customs upon women. Ms Hoodbhoy reveals what it took to walk a journalistic tightrope while all about her women were raped and murdered without recourse to justice, narrowly escaping with her life on several occasions.

This is an extraordinary book by an extraordinarily brave journalist who also happens to be a proud Pakistani woman. A must-read for anyone wanting to know what drives Pakistani history today and the region that surrounds it.

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Sindhi Nationalists Killed in Mysterious Circumstances

JSQM rally (Credit: thefridaytimes.com)
JSQM rally
(Credit: thefridaytimes.com)

When the so-called national TV channels were airing footages of official celebrations of March 23, two charred bodies of workers of a Sindhi nationalist party were awaiting interment in a morgue in Karachi. Millions of Pakistanis observing the day with profound fervour had no inkling of the grimace and anguish of the people of Sindh.

The two political workers — Maqsood Qureshi and Suleman Wadho — were associated with the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM). Their charred bodies were found in a smoldering car abandoned at a relatively deserted link road near Bhirya town of Noushehro Feroz district in the wee hours of March 21. Their postmortem report revealed that both of them were showered with bullets and their bodies were burnt after their murder.

Three workers of another nationalist party were killed in Sanghar district a few years ago.

According to reports, their vehicle was sprayed with bullets and then set ablaze with some inflammable substance. Atrocious and blatant violations of human rights are common in Sindh and Balochistan. Dumping mutilated bodies in Balochistan has already invited opprobrium of international community. Blithe state machinery bereft of even a tad of political sagacity is too obstinate to learn from history.

Young Maqsood Qureshi was brother of the former chairman of JSQM, Bashir Qureshi, who was mysteriously killed some two years ago.

Bashir Qureshi, a doughty nationalist leader, was revered for his humility and non-violent political struggle. Once an aggressive student leader, Bashir morphed into a political leader who ruled hearts of young political workers in Sindh. His death was widely mourned and resented in Sindh.

Ironically, his controversial death was never investigated in spite of frequent demands and protest by people of Sindh.

His brother, Maqsood, was an innocuous political worker who was known for his immaculate political career. His barbaric murder has ignited a strong yet admirably peaceful political reaction in Sindh.

There are discernible parallels between the two murders. Bashir had organised a humongous rally on March 23, 2012 in Karachi and was murdered within two weeks. His brother Maqsood Qureshi was killed only two days before March 23, this year — the day of the JSQM mammoth rally in Karachi.

Political leaders and human rights activists of Sindh believe that the two brothers were killed for committing the same sin of organising huge rallies on March 23.

Launched in early 1970s, the JSQM movement has remained remarkably non-violent mainly because of its founder G.M. Syed’s philosophy and practice of non-violence following the footprints of Gandhi. Many people may not be aware that about half a dozen factions of the Jeay Sindh movement each year celebrate G.M. Syed’s birth anniversary in his native town Sann, where carrying or displaying arms is strictly prohibited and not a single unpleasant incident has ever been reported on the annual ritual.

In a predominantly fractious political ambience, such characteristics are not very common and should not go unappreciated. Ghastly killings of leaders of such a peaceful movement look like a premeditated attempt to infuse violence in nationalist movement in Sindh. Credible evidences are never easy to establish that may justify implicating any specific perpetrator yet what is perplexing is that why dozens of such mysterious deaths go uninvestigated? This cannot happen without the connivance of people who command influence. Sliding all such cases under the carpet corroborates the assertion that it is not always an external hand that commits such crimes.

Higher judiciary in recent days has openly accused law enforcing agencies of forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Appalling human rights violations in the country are becoming more frequent and barbaric. Denying involvement of internal actors and blaming external involvement is hard to imbibe.

The flawed prescription of handling a political conflict brought an indelible ignominy in 1971 when East Pakistan became Bangladesh. The episode should have been a lesson to learn from, yet the security apparatus of the country demonstrated their inaptness by unleashing barbarity to steamroller the Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD) in 1983 and 1986 in Sindh. It did not stop there —the insensitivity extended towards Balochistan during the last decade has prevailed, giving a cold shoulder to repeated demands of civil society, political leadership and judiciary.

Political leadership in Bangladesh (and Balochistan) never demanded anything beyond constitution. Shaikh Mujib and his Awami League were demanding right to rule and the Baloch leadership has been demanding right over their natural resources. Both these demands are within the remits of the constitution of Pakistan.

Balochistan has become a bleeding wound, where hundreds of political activists have been killed in cold blood and dozens have been confined in clandestine internment centers. A headstrong former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court kept thundering in the courtroom but all fell on deaf ears. Missing persons and mass graves are stumbling blocks in restoration of peace in the restive province.

Amid all the uproar and embarrassment, more frequent killings of political workers are now being reported from Sindh. Dumping lacerated bodies and executing political activists in orchestrated encounters can stoke political violence which will be a recipe for disaster in this fragile national and regional security ambience.

 

Over six-decade history of the country is annotated with brazen trampling of human rights. What is more exasperating is that two opposite rules are being practiced in one country. Those who publicly infringe law of the country, proudly own pogroms and deride constitution are coddled as stakeholders but peaceful struggles for political rights are crushed with savagery and political activists are brutally killed. Such incidents will only sprinkle fuel on the fire and can eventually turn a peaceful nationalist movement violent.

 

Nationalist movement of Bangladesh and Balochistan were peaceful at their inception. Unbridled killings and flagrant violations of human rights spiralled violence that ultimately brought devastating results. One glaring example of peaceful nationalist movement of Sindh was witnessed on March 23 when thousands of people marched for several miles on Shahrah-e-Faisal, the main artery of Karachi, carrying dead bodies of their leaders and not even a minor incident of violence or even indiscipline occurred.

This testifies to a paramount commitment of nationalist movement to remain steadfast with a peaceful political struggle.

Regrettably, the so-called national media channels did not bother to relay this huge rally and did not appreciate such a commendable spirit of peaceful movement for political rights. Spirit of non-violence and equanimity if not reciprocated with political sagacity, may succumb to mounting frustration.

The provincial government in Sindh has failed to investigate unabated series of extrajudicial killings happening under its nose. Not a single responsible perpetrator has been nabbed so far. Such remiss and indolence is conspicuously deliberate.

The federal government is equally ignorant of this simmering volcano that can erupt with any incendiary incident. This lunacy must end to avoid any catastrophic ramifications. Repeating fatal mistakes of past would culminate in same nightmares.

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Footprints: Extremism in the land of Sufis

Dharmshala mandir, Larkana (Credit: nbc.com)
Dharmshala mandir, Larkana
(Credit: nbc.com)

WHEN the arsonists broke into the Seth Dhunichand Pahlumal Bhatia Hindu Dharamshala near Jinnah Bagh, Parvesh Kumar, 20, dashed up to the rooftop. A BSc student from Dokri taluka, Kumar had recently volunteered to be one of the caretakers of the community centre. As the emotionally charged men went on the rampage on Saturday night, Kumar shook nervously, praying the men did not discover him upstairs.

Situated on Station Road in Larkana, the pre-partition edifice can be easily missed as it is crammed between mobile phone and hardware shops.

Showing us around on Monday, Kumar made sure not to repeat the obvious. The white tiles of the spacious veranda had turned black as belongings and property were set alight by the men.

Chairs were set up near the rooms for community elders wanting to witness the damage. Nearby, the vice chairman of the Hindu Panchayat Dr Dharampal Bhawani’s mobile phone kept ringing. “I don’t know how to pacify people from our community. This is the first time we have to deal with an incident like this,” he said.

But an elderly local resident said the dharamshala had come under fire in the late 1950s too when a rape incident in the Indian town of Jabalpur infuriated the Muslims in the subcontinent. “A few men barged in then as well. There was no loss of life. But I remember my Muslim neighbours providing shelter to our family,” he stated.

The mood inside the dharamshala remained tense after the incident as community leaders remained non-committal in their response regarding what triggered the incident.

Half a kilometre away from Station Road, the New Leelabad — also known as New Murad Wahan — neighbourhood made news after a Hindu man was accused by a shopkeeper named Manan Sheikh of burning pages of the Quran on Saturday night.

But from the accounts of the man’s neighbours and various people of the area, it seems the suspect was well liked. A resident, G. R. Bhatti, said: “It is sad to see a simple man like him being wrongly embroiled in a controversy as scary as blasphemy.”

Walking along the narrow lanes as we made our way to the home of the suspect, Bhatti said the man accusing him was considered a “nuisance” by many in the neighbourhood. Sheikh, 22, irons clothes at a small dry-cleaning shop beside the suspect’s rented home. On a street corner stands a cream-coloured, two-storey building where the suspect, now under the protection of the ASP City Larkana, lived.

Both venues, the shop and the suspect’s home, were locked from outside. Pointing to the steps of the shop, Bhatti said: “Manan with his friends used to sit here and whistle at girls passing by. [The suspect’s] two sisters were among them. Though they were drinking buddies at night, they had many altercations about Sheikh’s wayward behaviour towards his sisters.”

As the suspect is unemployed, his sisters work at a nearby beauty salon to make ends meet. Residents said the girls would ignore advances of Sheikh and his friends.

Described mostly as a “simpleton” and “dervish-minded”, the neighbours said nobody saw the suspect burn the sacred pages. “Yes, the pages were recovered from a sewage line right in front of his home. But nobody saw him there; no one saw him burning the pages either. I don’t want to accuse anyone unjustly,” said Pervez Ali, owner of the dry-cleaning shop where Manan worked.

Living close by, Sheikh’s brother Izhar Ali was quick to present a clarification. “We have taken Manan to a safer place as we fear for his security,” he said. “A few people handed him a shopper with burnt pages of the Holy Book. I don’t know whether he did it or not. But we’ll help the police in locating who did it.”

“You just have to connect the dots,” doctor and professor at the Chandka Medical College Dr Inayat Magsi said. “A low-income neighbourhood, den of extortionists and land grabbers at the back of it, a Hindu girl refusing sexual advances, living with a brother with drinking problems — it helps many people in one go. If the men were so emotionally charged, why didn’t they go straight to a temple? Why did they plunder an off-route dharamshala first?”

He continued: “This is not Lahore or Bahawalpur where angry protesters will burn down an entire neighbourhood. Over here, people feel duty-bound to protect their neighbours. Many students from the seminary and boys from around the area surrounded the homes of other Hindu families to protect them. Otherwise, this incident could have created another Gojra from Larkana.”

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Pakistan Tops Nations Suffering Religion related Hostilities

A report placed Pakistan at the top of a list of 198 countries most suffering from social hostilities involving religion, by the end of 2012.

The Pew Research Center’s report issued two indices, based on statistics from the years 2007-2012:

1) The Government Restrictions Index (GRI), which measures government laws, policies and actions that restrict religious beliefs and practices.

2) The Social Hostilities Index (SHI), which measures acts of religious hostility by private individuals, organisations or groups in society.

The results show that “Pakistan had the highest level of social hostilities involving religion, and Egypt had the highest level of government restrictions on religion.”

Neighbours Afghanistan and India were also up there with Pakistan in the SHI index.

Worldwide, except for the Americas, “the share of countries with a high or very high level of social hostilities involving religion reached a six-year peak in 2012,” while ”the share of countries with a high or very high level of government restrictions on religion stayed roughly the same in the latest year studied.”

Pakistan topped the list for most religious hostilities while showing a ‘very high’ range of scores in the other index too.

Global Trends

SHI – One third of 198 countries reviewed saw high or very high levels of internal religious strife, such as sectarian violence, terrorism or bullying in 2012, compared to 29 percent in 2011 and 20 percent in 2010.

The biggest rise came in the Middle East and North Africa, two regions that are still feeling the effects of the Arab Spring of 2010-2011, said the Pew Research Center.

As an example, the report cites an increase in attacks on Coptic churches and Christian-owned businesses in Egypt. It said China has also witnessed a big rise in religious conflict.

https://twitter.com/conradhackett/status/423109435817725953

PEW said that radical elements often target mainstream Muslims and Christians in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia, while India has recurring tensions between its majority Hindus and minority Muslims and Christians.

Results for strong social hostility such as anti-Semitic attacks, assaults by Muslims on churches and Buddhist agitation against Muslims were the highest seen since the series began, reaching 33 per cent of surveyed countries in 2012 after 29 per cent in 2011 and 20 per cent in mid-2007.

Christians and Muslims, who make up more than half of the world’s population, have been stigmatised in the largest number of countries. Muslims and Jews have suffered the greatest level of hostility in six years, the report said.

Religious violence declined in the Ivory Coast, Serbia, Ethiopia, Cyprus and Romania.

GRI – The number of countries whose governments have imposed restrictions, such as bans on practicing a religion or converting from one to another, has remained more or less the same, however. Three out of ten countries have high or very high levels of restrictions, the study said.

Official bans, harassment or other government interference in religion rose to 29 per cent of countries surveyed in 2012 after 28 per cent in 2011 and 20 per cent in mid-2007.

Harassment against women and religious connotations of the way they dress has also risen in nearly a third of countries to 32 per cent, compared to 25 per cent in 2011 and seven per cent in 2007.

The five countries with the most government restrictions on religion are Egypt, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

Among the 25 most heavily populated countries, Egypt, Indonesia, Russia, Pakistan and Myanmar suffered the most religious restrictions.

The 198 countries studied account for more than 99.5 per cent of the world’s population, said the Pew center.

It did not include North Korea, whose government “is among the most repressive in the world, including toward religion.”

The Washington-based center, which is non-partisan and takes no policy position in its reports, gave no reason for the rises noted in hostility against Christians, Muslims, Jews and an “other” category including Sikhs, Bah’ais and atheists. Hindus, Buddhists and folk religions saw lower levels of hostility and little change in the past six years, according to the report’s extensive data.

Increase in hostility largest in Europe

Europe showed the largest median increase in hostility due to a rise in harrassment of women because of religious dress and violent attacks on minorities such as the murder of a rabbi and three Jewish children by a radical in France.

Tensions in Israel arise from the Palestinian issue, disagreements between secular and religious Jews and the growth of ultra-Orthodox sects that live apart from the majority.

Jews face hostility

The world’s two largest faiths, Christianity and Islam, make up almost half the world’s population and were the most widely targetted in 2012, facing official and social hostility in 110 and 109 countries respectively.

Jews suffer hostility in 71 countries, even though they make up only 0.2 per cent of the world’s population and about 80 per cent of them live in Israel and the United States.

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The report said there were probably more restrictions on religion around the world than its statistics could document but its results could be considered “a good estimate”.

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A Stitch in Time Could Have Saved at least 62 Lives

Tharis in drought season (Credit: Fayyaz Naich)
Tharis in drought season
(Credit: Fayyaz Naich)

As global average temperatures rise, scientific models indicate that human society will suffer increased heat-related illness and death, food insecurity, water stress and spread of infectious diseases, in addition to increased climate related disasters. Pakistan is, in fact, increasingly vulnerable to floods and droughts caused by a changing climate.

At first glance it appears that the recent deaths of at least 62 children in the southern district of Tharparkar in Sindh have been caused by drought; but actually the desert region is not in the grips of a severe famine as has been reported by some sections of the media.

According to the head of the National Disaster Management Authority, “Only a mild drought was indicated in Cholistan, Tharparkar, Sukkur and Khairpur areas by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD)”. The PMD’s National Drought Monitoring Centre has released a press statement dated March 7, 2014, stating that “In the wake of recent disaster confronting Tharparkar district, meteorological data has been analysed that depict that current disaster may be termed as ‘socio-economic disaster’ rather than simply drought because seasonal and annual rainfall were moderately below than climatic averages. The disaster may have occurred by moderately below average rains coupled with some epidemic and weak socio-economic settings of the area”.

The PMD’s statement further clarified that “During monsoon 2013, Tharparkar region received 70pc of its normal rainfall in which Chor received 94pc of rainfall while Mithi receive 46pc of rainfall. However, 60mm rainfall was recorded in Mithi during October 2013 that compensated the monsoon deficit in the area.” The amount of annual rainfall in the desert is generally low and around 90pc of the total annual rainfall occurs during the monsoon, from July to September. Hence the rains did not fail last year, although they fell in pockets over the district that spreads over 22,000 square km, with some Talukas receiving more and others less.

The winter months are generally a dry season in the desert and the local community copes by migrating with its livestock to the barrage-irrigated parts of Sindh to seek work as farm labourers to harvest the wheat crop. According to Zafar Junejo, the chief executive officer of the Thardeep Rural Development Programme that works in the district with local communities, “These deaths occurred from December to March and not just in one month. There is no drought as such. I attribute the deaths to a combination of factors: malnutrition, pneumonia, premature birth, low birth weight … all born to mothers who are anaemic (deficient in iron).”

He adds, “The mothers all suffer from neglected reproductive health issues. They have six to seven children each by the age of 40 and are suffering from a host of problems: anaemia, illiteracy and food insecurity, since in this district you have only one crop a year (the rest of Sindh has two crops). What is needed is long-term planning — the women need regular sources of income like milk cooperatives or women’s cooperative farming.”

He points out that while there is a widespread road network in Tharparkar connecting the district to the outside world, the local people have no purchasing power. “One time food distribution or aid is not really going to help the situation — they need more interventions and a perennial income source.”

It appears that the deaths of children were the result of a chain of events triggered by unusual cold weather in the Thar Desert this winter that led to the outbreak of pneumonia. The already weak/malnourished children then became victims of the poor medical facilities available in the district and died over the last three months.

At the heart of this disaster, however, is the growing issue of food insecurity in Pakistan. According to Oxfam GB, “Half the population is ‘food insecure’ — they can’t be sure where their next meal is coming from. This is compared to a decade ago when a third of the population was in this situation.” Pakistan’s National Nutrition Survey (NNS) 2011 found that around 60pc of Pakistan’s total population is today facing food insecurity. The results of the survey indicated a sharp decline in the nutritional status of the people of the country over the past decade.

The survey took a sample of 30,000 households nationwide covering all the provinces and found that around 57pc of the households were facing food insecurity. In these households, 50pc of the women and children were found to be malnourished. The report stated that iron deficiency and vitamin A deficiency remains widespread in the country. The survey found Sindh, Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to be the major hotspots for childhood malnutrition in the country.

The report noted that the increasing rate of chronic and acute malnutrition in the country is primarily due to poverty, higher illiteracy rate among mothers and the government’s lack of commitment towards ensuring food security for its citizens. The current levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high in Pakistan — instead of merely handing out relief to the people of Tharparkar our policy makers need to think about long-term solutions before further casualties take place. For now climate change might not be the reason, but as Oxfam points out “a hostile climate will become a potent risk multiplier”.