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Minority Issue (Important Articles)
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]Whither my Pakistan?[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER]
By: Mishail Imran | March 11, 2013 . 14 Pakistan, ‘the land of the pure’, is no longer a consecrated piece of land but a desecrated one. With every passing day, the country is drifting into chaos and violence. The frequency of target killings has accelerated. The recent tragedies in Quetta and Karachi are a dreary manifestation of our monstrous behaviour. The world now looks at us with anxiety and concern. We are now seen as the most dangerous nation on earth. The scenario is indeed scary and tragic. My generation is worried and feeling insecure. I have always been an optimistic person, but now I am beginning to be sceptical, and losing confidence in my country’s future. What led me to this utmost pessimistic outlook is not my deteriorating love for my homeland but my shattered faith in its people. I have lost faith because of those who have turned our country into a killing ground and a battlefield, instead of fostering harmony amongst its people. We are killing ourselves. We have become a suicidal nation. Islam is a religion of peace and demands that we maintain civil and harmonious relations, not just with our fellow Muslim brethren but also with every human being and every living creation. But the misinterpretation of this faith has resulted in fellow Muslims raising swords against each other. There may be differences of opinion or difference in rituals between sects. However, no one, absolutely no one, has the right to judge whether someone is a ‘proper’ Muslim or not. The power to judge solely rests with Allah alone. Only He has the authority to judge Muslims and peoples of other faiths. Hence, on the basis of this reality, what we need is to read and comprehend the Quran in a logical, coherent manner, trying to understand its true essence, instead of blindly following the dictates of ‘Mullahs.’ In this way alone, shall we be able to identify the flaws within us and focus on improving our own character rather than blatantly blaming others for being ‘less Muslim’ than us. Pakistan was not created for a single ethnic community. It was created for the welfare and freedom of every individual who wished to reside in it. It was meant to be home to every Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Parsi and Muslim. This was the Pakistan that Quaid-e-Azam envisioned and struggled to create with the hope of ending racial, ethnic and communal differences once and forever. According to the Quaid, the foremost duty of a government was "to maintain law and order and to protect the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects.” Our rulers have failed in their duty. There is no law and order in the country. Violence is endemic. Crime and corruption are rampant. Poor governance is at the root of all our problems. Unfortunately, there is no light at the end of the dark tunnel. We see no tidings of a bright future. Ours is no longer the country that Quaid-e-Azam had once aspired it to be: “one of the greatest nations of the world.” The Quaid believed in religious freedom and communal harmony. He urged the nation to shun sectarianism. But we seem to be doing just the opposite. We opted for intolerance and fanaticism that has led us to violence with no parallel anywhere in the world. Pakistan has become the hotbed of religious extremism and obscurantism. Sectarian violence has ripped our society apart. Communal clashes have become a frequent routine in our country, most notably targeting the Ahmedi and Shiite communities. Both communities, now being targeted frequently, are looking for refuge in foreign countries. How painful it would have been for the Quaid to see his Pakistan burning from within. The Ahmedi community has been harassed and most of its members were left with no choice but to leave Pakistan. It is a shame that our leaders could not take a corrective step for fear of the extremist backlash and, sadly, it is their fear that has deprived these communities of their right to a safe and peaceful living in the state, leaving them with no option but to find sanctuary in other countries. Our people seem to have set aside the Islamic values. They have become money-minded, and are running after money, purely for self-interest. Believing in distorted ideologies, they kill mercilessly on the basis of religious discrimination. There are countless examples of diverse evils in our society, but the one that really unhinges me the most is sectarian killings which are rampant these days. Lately, the Shiite community in Pakistan has been the target of an atrocity of unprecedented proportions. Quetta and Karachi have become battlegrounds where not a single day passes without violence being perpetrated against the Shias. Lahore too was shrouded in misery when two innocent souls, a father and his teenage son, were assassinated on February 20, 2013, just because they belonged to the Shiite sect. How can anyone benefit by taking the life of a skilled doctor and a young innocent boy who was yet to discover the world? This horrendous incident not only struck me with grief but also destroyed my faith in humanity. It made me realize that we, as individuals, are not even capable of calling ourselves human beings, let alone calling ourselves Muslims. Like the Ahmedis, the Shiite community is also now being targeted repeatedly. It is time that people of our ‘Islamic Republic of Pakistan’ look into their hearts and souls, if they have any, to assess for themselves how “faithfully” they have been able to live up to the ideals of our great faith and the vision that inspired the creation of Pakistan. We also need to asses for ourselves whether we are actually living up to the reputation of good, noble Muslims or merely wearing a façade of noble beings. It is high time that extremist religious groups also realized that their false perception of Islam and endless manslaughter in the name of Jihad is a complete negation of their religion. Unfortunately, today, not only have we forgotten the tireless efforts of this great leader but have left no stones unturned in shattering his dreams and his vision of a prosperous, united Pakistan. Now indeed is the time for every Pakistani to wake up and respond to the call of human degradation around him. We are living in ‘desperate times’ which call for ‘desperate measures’. If there is any hope left, then that hope lies within the people who need to understand their moral responsibility as human beings and as upholders of justice and peace. I would like to end with a verse that is highly thought-provoking and apt for those who go about desecrating my homeland in such a merciless manner. Iss Khaak Ko Hadaayat Day Maula Uss Khaak May Milnay Say Pehlay The writer is a university student. Email: [email]mishailimran94@gmail.com[/email] [url]http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/11-Mar-2013/whither-my-pakistan[/url] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]The Badami Bagh fiasco[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER]
By: Azam Khalil | March 15, 2013 . 1 “God bears with the wicked, but not forever.” – Cervantes There have been several incidents in the past that have put the entire nation to shame. In the latest one, a mob, supposedly unaware even about the fundamental principles and teachings of Islam, attacked, looted and burned more than 100 shops and houses, including two churches, at Joesph Colony, in Lahore, in the name of religion, while the law enforcers stood as silent spectators. If the government had taken some effective measures for the protection of minorities and to control the occurrence of such incidents by punishing the perpetrators after the Gojra tragedy, perhaps, the Badami Bagh incident could have been avoided. The judicial commission formed to probe into the incident highlighted at least 10 points for it to work on so that such events were not repeated, but it was a vain attempt. The tragedy was soon forgotten after the government claimed that the victims or their families had negotiated a settlement with the perpetrators. Hence, there was not much that it could do to punish them. Add to this, there are many examples where eyewitnesses have shied away from the cases, allowing the culprits to go scot-free. It is important to remember that Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance and love; and it teaches us to respect the sentiments of people belonging to other faiths. Having said that, both the federal and provincial governments have miserably failed to put in place a mechanism that ensures the safety of minorities and punish those who are guilty of committing crimes against humanity. In the Badami Bagh case, however, certain disturbing facts have come to light, which indicate that it was something more serious than just a fight between drunk friends; an elected representative, according to reports, wanted to occupy the precious land of Joseph Colony. As far as the police is concerned, the less said the better. But it was strange that one who has spent more than three decades in the Police Department and was senior police official for the area of the attack, could show such ineptitude and allow the situation to balloon into a tragedy of serious proportions. According to different police sources contacted by this scribe, it has emerged that the provincial leadership dithered for more than 24 hours to take any tangible action. Indeed, this inaction and wait-and-see policy is criminal negligence. Also, while the SSP and SP have been removed from office, no action has been taken against them. The questions, however, remain: why was the whole community targeted despite the fact that the alleged blasphemer was immediately arrested by the police? Why did the police allow a mob of 3,000 people to burn houses in Joseph Colony and made no serious efforts to stop them? Who is responsible for forcing the residents to vacate their houses before the attack? Further, there are reports that some of the cheques given to the people of Joseph Colony by the provincial government have bounced. If that is true, nothing could be a worse. Analyst suggest that the Badami Bagh incident may greatly harm the PML-N’s prospects in the coming elections. However, this does not imply that the rest of the country is moving on comfortably. There have been many incidents of sectarian violence in other cities, most notably in Karachi. Such incidences call for urgent measures and also demand that politics should not be played at the cost of innocent people. The political leaders must jointly make efforts to create conditions that will discourage occurrences resulting in chaos and lawlessness. However, all indicators that have emerged after the tragedy point to a sense of paralysis that has gripped the political leadership, which has shown no urgency to move on and initiate measures to contain violence in future. Hopefully, the religious political parties, along with mainstream parties, too will work to find the right solution. Otherwise, such incidents of tactical gravity will continue to destroy Pakistan’s image beyond repair. The writer has been associated with various newspapers as editor and columnist. At present, he hosts a political programme on Pakistan Television. Email: [email]zarnatta@hotmail.com[/email] [url]http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/15-Mar-2013/the-badami-bagh-fiasco[/url] |
[B][SIZE="4" Article by Zahida Hina ([I]Naram Garam[/I])[/SIZE][/B]
[IMG]http://pakistanredefined.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/1101529453-2.gif[/IMG] Source: [url]http://pakistanredefined.com/articles-about-minorities-issues-in-pakistan[/url] |
[B][SIZE="4"]Counter Quetta Genocide
[/SIZE][/B][B]By Asha Khan [/B] The Hazara community has been targeted second time in few weeks, the heinous attack killed 90 members of the tribe, as a result tens of thousands of people have been protesting across the country. The tribe has yet again shown its trust in army; the protestors demand to call in army in Quetta. Even the strategy to implement Governor’s rule remained ineffective and couldn’t stop a big terrorist activity to take place. Since 2002, more than 50,000 Pakistanis have been killed in the genocide. The terrorists are targeting Pakistanis since many years and by killing Hazara community people, the propaganda is definitely to divide the Pakistani society. Most of the political parties prevented military to operate freely in Quetta but it is unfortunate fact that the government remained failed in combating terrorism. In Pakistan the debate of counterterrorism always remained focused to operations in tribal region and TTP. The attention should have been paid to other militant groups, as lately Lashkar e Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the attack and remained active against Shias. The Hazara community should be appreciated for behaving prudently in understanding the lethal action and propaganda of hostile elements. They have called army but the government should be forced to take such steps because it is government’s responsibility to find the most appropriate and timely solution for the issue. Politicians should not turn opportunist to exploit this critical moment for their own political motives. The best counterterrorism strategy would be a balanced blend of intelligence, law enforcement and military. The Supreme Court took suo moto notice but mere notice is not going to be enough; terrorists should be hanged. Pakistanis should raise voice to detain terrorists but sectarian mobilization should not be promoted. Terrorists are our common enemy and they are above any sect and religion. [url]http://www.pkarticleshub.com/2013/03/15/counter-quetta-genocide/[/url] |
[B][SIZE="4"]Minorities in Pakistan
[/SIZE][/B][B]By Yahya Ahmad [/B] Pakistan is a country, where discriminatory laws and violence against the minorities are a major concern, according to Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) 21st Annual World Report. The religious demographic of Pakistan is based on a majority of Muslims, who constitute 95% – 97% of the population. The other 3% – 5% consists of Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis. Recently, there has been an alarming increase in the targeting of these minorities, spread throughout the country. As various nefarious elements incite religious sentiments against these communities, the incidents which could have been considered once to be sporadic, have now turned into a humanitarian crisis. These targeting of minorities by extremist elements, has not been a new concept, but throughout the history of Pakistan there have been numerable instances when these elements, with the help of ignorant masses, have unleashed their wrath on these communities. Islam is a religion of peace and espouses values of tolerance and coexistence, within the community and with other beliefs. The evident example of this is the Holy Prophet (PBUH.) life in Medina. Medinatul Munawwara which was previously known as Yasrab, was an amalgamation of different faiths, which included Jews and Christians. One of the earliest courses of action of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) was the treaty among the Muslims, non-Muslims and Jews of Medina, to facilitate and encourage peace, unity and coexistence. The accord was in writing and stated, ““Whosoever among the Jews follows us shall have help and equality; they shall not be injured nor shall any enemy be aided against them. The Jews shall maintain their own religion and the Muslims theirs.” Through this accord the rights of each community were protected and guaranteed, resulting in a peaceful coexistence of Muslims with other beliefs. It is stated in Quran “There is no compulsion in religion, the path of guidance stands out clear from error” [2:256] and [60:8]. In a letter when Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) wrote a letter to the people of Scripture in Yemen, he said, “…and a Jew or a Christian who embraces Islam becomes one of the believers, having their rights and duties; and the one who remains Jewish or Christian should not be forced to disband his religion..” Ibn Kathir: Al-Sirah Al-Nabawiyah, 5/146. He forbid clearly from committing any wrong doings against people belonging to other beliefs. He said, “Beware, if anyone wrongs a contracting man (a non-Muslim protected by the state or an agreement), or diminishes his right, or forces him to work beyond his capacity, or takes from him anything without his consent, I shall plead for him on the Day of Judgment.” narrated by Abu-Dawud, chapter of Al-Kharaj (tribute) (3052). The above clearly shows how much rights and privileges Islam has given to the people, belonging to other beliefs. The most significant right in this regard is the freedom of belief, stated in Quran and Hadith. Today in the prevailing social scenario of Pakistan, these values and teachings have been forgotten and replaced with hatred. Although Muhammad Ali Jinnah put it bluntly that, “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State.” This message has been lost through time and the continuous conspiring of nefarious elements with vested interests, seems to have prevailed. After 64 years of independence, it is distressing to see that Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan where all ethnic and religious groups coexist peacefully, striving to develop Pakistan, has been shattered. Instead, we find a country where there is intolerance among people of the same faith. The massive influx of extremist influence into the society can be traced back to the 1980s, where the regime of General Zia ul Haq openly promoted religion as a political tool. It is evident that these elements were pouncing on opportunities to attain limelight, since the early 1950s. The communal riots in the 1950s and 1970s are evidence, to the presence of these elements, under the surface of the social fabric. The ignorance of people regarding, true Islamic teachings, has been exploited by these elements for their own political and personal interests. The situation has become extremely tense, after the start of the war on terror. Over the years, these extremist sections have become strong and are increasing their demands day by day. The section of society that has been in their crosshairs is the religious minority communities. An initiative by every citizen of Pakistan is required, to stop the alienation of the religious minorities, taking place. The government will have to address the situation at a policy level and take steps to ensure the rights of these communities. Hate speech and exploitation of masses under the garb of religion, will also have to be stopped. A combined effort is required by everyone to bring these communities back into the mainstream Pakistani identity. Their apprehensions should be addressed and they should be treated as an equal citizen. This will not only represent Islam’s message of coexistence and peace but will also form an exemplary social structure, for the whole world and fulfill the Quaid’s dream of a prosperous and peaceful Pakistani state. [url]http://www.pkarticleshub.com/2011/05/03/minorities-in-pakistan/[/url] |
[CENTER][B][U][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]The communal inferno[/SIZE][/FONT][/U][/B][/CENTER]
By: Samson Simon Sharaf | March 16, 2013 . It happened umpteenth times in the past five years in Punjab. The forces of communal hate, intolerance, greed, qabza and extortion in the name of religious honour were unleashed on a Christian community of Badami Bagh in Lahore. The script of Shanti Nagar, Gojra, Kurrian, Kasur and Sangla Hill was superimposed with a familiar narrative. The initial brawl between two drunkards, police investigation, rising tensions, helplessness of police/local administration and finally the communal inferno are charades all too familiar. Bad luck for the poor Christians, the fury this time far outweighed the intensity, complicity and destruction in the past. A Holy Cross strung with shoes was thrown in the inferno with a bold banner advocating beheadings over blasphemy prominently displayed across the street. The target chosen was in the heart of the provincial metropolis. Chickens had come home to roost. As observed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, this gory incident was avoidable; but deplorably not contained by any desire, urgency or affirmative action of the local administration. There was no curfew imposed, no activation of Section 144, and as the fury reached its peak, no warning shots or teargas fired. The tragedy built up over a course of three days. No lessons from the incidents in the past were taken into account. Confronted with hapless and poor people, the inferno operation was methodical and executed in phases. First, the arrest followed by FIR; secondly, evacuation of the families under a shadow of threat; thirdly, looting of the houses and finally the use of incendiaries and burning at large. Though conspicuously ineffective before the inferno at Saint Joseph’s Colony, the civilian munitions of maintaining law and order were in full display at Youhannabad, where local Christians in peaceful protest blocked Ferozepur Road. The live telecasting of the scene sent shockwaves the world over. The media had predicted such an imminent tragedy and was, therefore, ready when the first flames of fire leaped to the skies. Such is the retardant potential of the Punjab government that it continued to give simplifications over the tragedy through its spokespersons and zombie minority representatives. Any noticeable leader entering Joseph’s Colony was greeted by a group of zombies perched on a rooftop shouting “Nawaz Sharif Zindabad.” During Imran Khan’s visit to the area, there was a deliberate attempt to stop him from visiting the charred streets. The local police deployed in the area made no attempts to clear these rowdy zombies; the lowest levels one can stoop to in politics Gowalmandi-Badami Bagh style. After I had finished talking on a TV show, an elderly Muslim from the area took me to a side and said that the looting and burning scenes had reminded him of the partition in 1947. The old man had the bull by the horns; a nation bent on self-destruction, a crescendo creating divides amongst divides. The flames of communalism, sectarianism and religiously inspired violence continue to rise even after 65 years of independence. The issue is no more the Hindu-Muslim divide, but rather the identity of a Muslim. Yet, the repeated violence against Christians cannot be explained in the simplification of the violence by militant groups. In these cases, these are the neighbours, who turn on their neighbours, having lived in the same localities for generations. As a Pakistani, I have a number of questions that beg answers and explanations. Barring a few who are successful and wealthy, why has the Pakistani society not been able to assimilate non-Muslims as mainstream citizens? After all, their leaders supported Quaid-i-Azam in Pakistan Movement, got All-India Muslim League the majority in the Punjab Assembly and did outstanding social work. Perhaps, the answer can be found in the political evolution of the state sans Jinnah’s script. The Objective Resolution raised issues of Muslimhood, while the military alliances were built around a paradigm of godless communism and infidel Hindu versus jihad. Successive military dictatorships and democracies formed their scripts around religious legitimacy alienating not only communities within Muslims, but also the non-Muslims. Constitutionalism had been opportunist and divisive. Pakistan’s political parties have also failed to play their roles in assimilating diversity. Built around hallow religious slogans, preservation of elitist interests and personalities, they view participation of minorities amongst them an affront and resign them to non-descript minority roles and exclusive wings. The fervour of one ethnic political party from Sindh in favour of the victims of Joseph Colony is incomprehensible from the fact that Issa Naghri, in Karachi, is under siege of target killings and extortion for over a year. Unless political parties do not open their ranks to non-Muslims and give them opportunities in mainstream politics, the syndrome of ghettos cannot be challenged. Pakistan’s civil society has also failed to play its role in integrating communities. Had such civic organisations been effective, neighbourhoods would have never become a potential threat to minority enclaves close to it. They have always tried to keep such colonies at a distance. Cognisant that their presence is not welcome, minorities too have chosen to stay away and live in their own slums and ghettos in relative safety, but for the unplanned creeping urbanisation. Pakistan’s educated elite, though a product of missionary institutions, failed to pay back in absorbing these communities. This has led to a social inbreeding, both in the haves and have-nots. Pakistan’s education system also promotes divisions and divides. Abundance of hate literature in the curriculum, blasphemous comments against other religions and failure to recognise the contribution of others to Pakistan inculcate an exclusive notion amongst Muslim children. The concept of us and them ingrained in the formative years take its toll on diversity as strength when it matters most. There was a tempest howling within me, as I drove to Islamabad. As the nature in fury of fierce rain and hailstones hit the windscreen, I noticed a rainbow in the distant sky across the Kallar Kahar Range. It reminded me of the faith and hope in Noah after the great flood. Amidst the sadness, a ray of hope began to grow. I began to see a playback of positive images dancing before my eyes. Those young educated Muslim girls hugging kids, distributing copies and pencils and consoling the broken ladies. I could see Ulema one after another condemning the incident as un-Islamic. I began to feel proud of the media for its unbiased narration of events and the many calls and tweets of Muslim friends, who condemned the tragedy and offered help. I could see Imran Khan standing amidst the ruins with pain and anger writ on his face, telling the people and media that we shall make a new Pakistan. As I cleared the meandering range, the rainbow in the distant kept reminding me that thesis would soon overtake the anti-thesis. Passing through a river of fire, the forces of love, moderation and Jinnahists would finally prevail over all exploitative agendas. Gold only glitters after passing through fire and a diamond only takes shape after grinding, scrubbing and rubbing. The writer is a retired army officer, current affairs host on television and political economist. Email and Twitter: [email]samson.sharaf@gmail.com[/email] [url]http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/16-Mar-2013/the-communal-inferno[/url] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]Minority in flames[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER]
By: M A Niazi | March 15, 2013 . 8 While the Badami Bagh tragedy has highlighted the plight of a community more usually ignored, it has also shown the devotion of the ordinary Muslim to the Holy Prophet (pbuh). While there have been allegations of the involvement of real estate interests, it is worth noting that no party stands accused. Even the mafia is supposed to have used the sentiment of ordinary Muslims for the Holy Prophet (pbuh) to allow the arson. Once again, the titanic sentiments provoked by allegations of blasphemy were on display. It was also worth noting that the normal groups named as culprits, including sectarian parties, were not accused by anyone. In Islam, blasphemy is not an extremist crime. At the same time, it had to be acknowledged that the reaction, even though the alleged blasphemer had been arrested for the crime, showed that the state machinery was not trusted by the populace. There are elements of imperialism, or rather neo-imperialism in the episode, for though the community whose colony was burnt belonged to an oppressed section of society, they are co-religionists of the US majority, who are Christians. It should not be forgotten that the conversion of the sweepers, who had Dalit status in their original Hindu religion, converted to Christianity in the Raj. It should be noted that the British did not encourage conversions, and the Dalits who became Christian found themselves labelled ‘native Christians’ and left to take a lowly place on the new caste ladder that the British took over from the Mughals who preceded them, and who themselves had taken over a social system already well entrenched when they arrived. It is interesting that two religions that created communities of believers, who were all converts in origin, had to accommodate the Hindu caste system in the subcontinent. It may well be an oversimplification, but successive empires, had rulers following Islam and Christianity, but neither succeeded in breaking down caste bonds, which continue to this day. That caste was a problem was recognised by the founders of Sikhism, even though they too fell victim to its scourge. Hinduism itself recognised that it was a problem. There was the Arya Samaj Movement in the Punjab and the Brahmo Samaj Movement in Bengal, both of which were 19th century reform movements centred about ending the bonds of caste. For some Dalits, Christianity was not the solution, so they converted to Buddhism. Dr Ambedkar, the Dalit leader at the time of partition, who played a major role in the framing of its constitution, was one. Though this was not the aim of the Raj, occupational mobility was provided to the new converts, mainly through the newly set up church institutions, in education and health, and then in the clergy. But the majority continued in the profession that Sanwal Masih, the accused in the Badami Bagh case, practiced: sanitary worker. Because of this, blasphemy charges have been directed against Christians not because they have committed blasphemy, but because there is resentment against social progress or individual prosperity by individual Christians. An important part of minorities living in Pakistan was the treatment minorities had always received under Islam, which was favourable. There were two things not taken into account. First, there had to be an Islamic state, which was ruled by Islam in its entirety. If allowed to take bits and pieces as it wishes what is to stop it rejecting the lesson of tolerance? That is the defect of the Indian solution, which is to propagate secularism. That secularism depends on the majority in the legislature. What if, as happened in India in 1996, Hindu extremists are elected to power? While Hindus may shrug their shoulders, while abandoning their so-called secularism, a Muslim cannot abandon non-Muslims because there are specific commands on their treatment. The second element is that there is supposed to have been an accord concluded, in which a Muslim conqueror grants the non-Muslims a zimma (accord) that is why non-Muslims are known as zimmis or ahluzzima (the people of the zimma). The Christians of Pakistan would be governed by the terms of whatever zimma was granted at the time of the entry of the Muslims into the subcontinent. That zimma cannot include the right to blaspheme. Nor can it include any Muslim right to allow arson. It cannot include anything in contradiction of the Quran and Sunnah. There is a general consensus, including among Christians, that both the alleged blasphemer and the arsonists must be tried and punished. Blasphemy of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) is not allowed. However, the prevention is to be achieved by a state, not individuals. It cannot be ignored that the incident occurred at the time that elections are upon the nation. While the incident itself throws the spotlight upon the Punjab government, it is noticeable that it makes the PML-N government in Punjab look as bad as all three other governments, which have had a senior Minister killed (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), and blasts killing Hazara Shias (Balochistan) and other Shias (Sindh). With the whole country apparently in the grip of lawlessness, it is, perhaps, not the best of times for the federal government to engage with the Election Commission of Pakistan over the nomination forms, as well as the opposition over the name of the caretaker Prime Minister. It is, perhaps, positive that this incident is not being seen as an effort to delay the elections. It is almost as if the long march by Dr Tahirul Qadri was a last-ditch effort. However, the Badami Bagh incident throws a garish light on the killings of Shias in Quetta and Karachi: have we become a society intolerant of difference. One symptom is the lumping of Shias with other minorities, even though they are Muslims. Then there are the massacres. True the latest incident, according to the Supreme Court’s suo motu hearing, appears to be about land grabbing, even though the real estate market has bottomed out, but there is a strong element of intolerance. But it must not be forgotten that the tolerance Muslims showed was from a position of superiority, based on the fear of the Almighty, not of foreign-funded NGOs. Though the incident occurred at the tail-end of the tenure of the elected government, when attention was more on elections than the actual functions of government, and though the initial handling will be by an elected government about to go to the polls, and the follow-up by the caretaker government, the only real solution will be if the culprits are brought to justice. The government has got 54 ready for trial, and the court will be asked to carry out a day-to-day hearing, so that this crime can be put behind everyone as fast as possible. Unlike in some cases, it is not possible to see any party benefiting from legal delays, except perhaps the guilty. However, even with the guilty getting the punishment prescribed for them by law, the problems faced by the community, of discrimination, will remain. And they will stay so long as Hindu values prevail among peoples whose ancestors long converted to Islam or Christianity. The writer is a veteran journalist and founding member as well as executive editor of TheNation. Email: [email]maniazi@nation.com.pk[/email] [url]http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/15-Mar-2013/minority-in-flames[/url] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]A poisonous mindset[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER]
March 10, 2013 . 2 It is the death knell for law and order in a nation when the tendency to take the law into one’s own hands has been gaining strength over time. No doubt, the wave of fanatical-extremist thinking gripping the land at the moment is operating without penalty and without any fear of being apprehended by the police. And if the issue in hand is an alleged case of blasphemy, even the police intervention or persuasion to control the enraged mob proves of little use. That is what happened on Saturday morning when a sizeable crowd gathered around a Christian colony in Lahore’s Badami Bagh on reports circulated against Sawan Masih, a 26-year old resident of that colony. For fear of disturbance of peace, the police took the accused into custody as news about the reported incident began circulating in the area. But nearly twelve hours later, in a coldly premeditated move, steeped in religious hatred and enmity, a violent mob descended on the Badami Bagh area. In no time, they had set the neighbourhood alight. Eventually, nearly a hundred houses stood destroyed and motorcycles, rickshaws and cycles in the alleys were thrown onto a bonfire. The crowd left the scene after the damage was done, on the appeal of the khateeb from Badshahi Mosque who arrived at the scene to lead the appeal for calm. It must be acknowledged that our collective mindset as a nation is in smithereens. Such demonstrations are sad and ugly proof of reason lost to the wind. No rage, no injustice, no offence is displayed by society for members of minorities in Pakistan who bear the brunt of our collective tolerance of such bigoted, uneducated, reactionary elements who live within us. This is by no means the first time. The horrific events in Gojra come to mind. We have learnt nothing and continue to set fire to our own land, slaughter our own citizens, pillage our own neighbourhoods and set fire to our own streets. Islam is a religion of tolerance and peace, examples of which are found during the reign of the Prophet (pbuh) himself. Quaid-i-Azam unequivocally stated more than once that the minorities enjoy the same rights in Pakistan as the Muslim. In the modern age, this alone is the acceptable approach. The world is already justifiably pointing fingers at such incidents as examples of barbaric behaviour, which are coming to epitomize Pakistan, not just in the foreign press, but even to ourselves when we glance in the mirror. Targeting hundreds with cold premeditation, burning down an entire neighbourhood, acting on an unproven charge is no evidence of religious ‘devotion’. It is downright criminal and must not be tolerated. Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif did well to ask, “What good has been done to Islam by the burning of a 100 houses?” Every person involved in burning down the Badami Bagh colony must be identified and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Something must be done to prevent another Gojra, another Badami Bagh. How many more times can Quaid-i-Azam’s Pakistan survive such barbarism? [url]http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/editorials/10-Mar-2013/a-poisonous-mindset[/url] |
[CENTER][B][U][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]Badami Bagh incident[/SIZE][/FONT][/U][/B][/CENTER]
March 11, 2013 . There is genuine outrage within and on behalf of the Christian community in the aftermath of the Badami Bagh incident, in which a largely Christian neighbourhood was torched by a violent horde. Two days before, a resident was accused of blasphemy by a person with whom he had recently been involved in an altercation. After two days of rumour mongering, the person accused was taken into custody for further investigation. Despite this, a mob of 10,000 odd descended on the area and laid it to ruin, as the 200 riot policemen failed to control the situation. The arson was not only unjustified, but was also totally unnecessary after the person on whom the accusation had been apprehended for investigation. The ulema condemned the attempt to take the law into private hands, and did what they could to calm the situation, Police officials who should have stopped the burning, but who did not were removed. The case must be dealt with great clarity: by a scrupulous attention to the principle of the rule of law. Not just the writ of the state been violated, but so has the law of the land. The only way to prevent further attempts to take the law into one’s own hands is to punish the perpetrators of this arson. This will only be achieved by ensuring that the law takes its due course. At a deeper level, the government should remember that minorities have a vote in general constituencies, and that the Badami Bagh incident will be reflected in Christian, indeed, all minority voting patterns countrywide. As the votes most affected will be cast in Lahore, hitherto a PML-N stronghold, the handling of the case will have to be carried out with the utmost sensitivity by the PML-N government, which will have to pay attention not only to a Christian community, some of whose members find their life savings burnt to the ground, but also the country as a whole, despairing of any sense prevailing among any of the 10,000 and others like them, without legal intervention to punish them and make them realise the error of their ways. [url]http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/editorials/11-Mar-2013/badami-bagh-incident[/url] |
[CENTER][B][SIZE="4"]Selective amnesia
[/SIZE][/B][B]By Masood Hasan [/B][/CENTER] I think it was last summer when I wrote a column in this newspaper about how we had created conditions that had forced many Christian families, particularly the Anglo-Indians to seek their luck elsewhere. Many had migrated to the UK, the US, Australia, Canada and other far-flung parts of the world. Since then, most have done reasonably well and come to some sort of acceptance of having de-linked themselves from the motherland. In the same column I had lamented that their departure over many years had left a gaping hole in our lives because they were not pieces of wood but a vibrant and happy-go-lucky community which brought its distinctive and merry culture in whatever it did and made us aware of the simple joy of living. Their purses may have been small, but their hearts were generous and welcoming. Most columnists will bear this out – other than the ones who have massive egos and would consider this nothing short of heresy – that our writings churned out every week painstakingly and with nauseating punctuality have cumulatively little or no effect on the many subjects we write about. Talk of changing the world, we cannot even persuade people to change socks. So you can understand my bewilderment when I was inundated by emails from all corners of the world, hardly had the column been published. In a few weeks these had run well past 600 and continued for almost a year. Most were heartbreaking. Either very old people still reminiscing about their lives in various parts of Pakistan, or the very young brought up on stories of another time – yet all homesick after all these years and still in fervent love with the country they had to leave. Not one email had anything bad to say about Pakistan and almost all were written by people choking with emotions – you could feel the tears in what they wrote from the very core of their beings. I was flummoxed. Dozens of clubs and organisations contacted me and told me that the column had been read to their members and had moved many to the verge of tears. An old lady, well over 80, said nothing could ever take her Lahore from her and virtually every single email said the same thing – pure and spontaneous love for the city they had left behind. “I will always love Pakistan,” many said. “It’s been decades but I dream of my life there.” Many wrote and said that their parents or siblings could never ever stop talking about ‘the good old days,’ and that ‘great country’ and ‘wonderful life’. We didn’t shed a tear when the Anglos left. That’s us! The Christians have been at the receiving end of bigotry for decades. The Anglos, who lived in some isolation and were thus often spared the abuse and ugly remarks, were lucky. So were the many Indian Christians, many of whom hailed from well-established and respected families and were not Anglos. In fact they were hardly the type who would frequent night clubs and dance sessions, being far more conservative by nature and upbringing. That left the lower classes – servants, drivers, sweepers and cleaners referred to by most Pakistanis as ‘chooras,’ a remark as racist as it can get. They, being ‘people of the book’, are always conveniently ignored if it suits the Muslim majority but used with full so-called respect when things are otherwise. Burning of churches has been going on for decades ever since we discovered we were not going to be either caught or, God forbid, punished. So has been the case with arson and looting of places of worship, homes, schools and centres of learning. Because we are past masters at hypocritical behaviour, we don’t protest at all. If we do, it is feebly and apologetically. Most people are afraid of the bigots and none of us wishes to be too vocal in the defence of the Christians, fearing that as so-labelled ‘supporters’ we too could be taught a lesson by the brigades of evil people who wear the armour of the righteous and are fired by the holy spirit. A friend said to me that, whatever else happens, the evil genie that Ziaul Haq let loose will never go back into the bottle. He added that no leader, present or future, would have the courage to strike off these laws. The blasphemy charges that have come to light are, more often than not, just deplorable means to settle scores over such petty things as property feuds, money matters or plain mischief. You cannot reason with a mob gone hysterical and the real culprits know this too well. And it is no longer news that those who register cases of blasphemy are then nowhere to be found, gone without a trace. This is what happened in Badami Bagh and countless other places. As for the laughable law and order forces, if they are present at the scene, they simply disappear. If they are desperately summoned for help, they take their own sweet time, often showing up when all that remains is smouldering ruins. If there are still mobs looting and committing arson, the police have a temporary fit of blindness. The media – which always shows up – dutifully records yet another gory and grisly drama. As for the rulers, into whose clutches we are thrust, they only arrive when the coast is clear and the last arsonist has ambled off. Then, putting on faces of great piety, goodwill to all mankind and deep felt grief and regret, they hang awhile and sail away into the sunset. Before they do that, they commit yet another deplorable act – the well-scripted cash announcement for the affectees, adding insult to injury. Of all the unacceptable things, this must rank as the most thoughtless gesture – and insulting to the poor who have already been killed, maimed or robbed. This award thing is of course the much established and done thing when such tragedies (for some) occur because what it looks like is putting a price on a human life and then paying it off. Your obligations are over. What remains is muttering such inane nonsense as ‘no one will be allowed to play with the lives of the people.’ Or ‘no one is above the law,’ or the equally hideous, ‘the miscreants will be brought to book’ whatever that bit of nonsense means. All this is in stark contrast to the ground reality. The criminals of the land, who multiply at an alarming rate even as we speak, will play with the lives of the people – particularly those who have no support-clout system to save themselves. Everyone and his uncle is now above the law and so deep down below has the law fallen that it is not even visible and fear not, no miscreant will ever be brought to book. It’s an exercise of shameful behaviour. Yes, those who have lost everything can do with some monetary help but why try and get some brownie points? Can’t you do it discreetly? Haven’t the poor souls paid enough already? The Joseph Colony culprits will never be brought to justice – it’s all a scam. The poor Christians would have fled long ago except they just can’t; they are our slaves and at our mercy. And to think that not too long ago, the brute Muslim majority of this hopeless land were a minority too! They have had a very convenient time with selective amnesia. [I]The writer is a Lahore-based columnist.[/I] Email: [email]masoodhasan66@gmail.com[/email] |
[CENTER][B][SIZE="4"]Pakistan is also for the minorities
[/SIZE][/B][B]By Anwer Mooraj [/B][/CENTER] There are a few things that really wrench the heart strings. Like attacking and slaughtering members of a defenceless ethnic minority. Or bombing clusters of unsuspecting citizens, which invariably include women and children. Or burning the homes of a religious minority. The new flavour of the month is orange, the colour of an arson attack. This time, it was the Christians who were at the receiving end of the fuse. There were the usual reactions. His Lordship took suo-motu notice. The government expressed the usual regrets. An inquiry was set up, the results of which nobody will read or implement. The police and Rangers, as usual, timed their arrival well after the place looked like Mannheim after an RAF raid in World War II. And all this was happening while President Asif Zardari was doing his bit for president and country by trying to solve the energy crisis. And Qaim Ali Shah, master of conciliation and compromise, was singing his swan song and gloating over the glorious achievements of the PPP government in Sindh during the last five years. However, the latest information that has come down the pike is that there has been a slight stirring in the wind in Lahore. After all, somebody remembered that there are Pakistani Christians in the army, navy and air force who have bravely fought and defended their homeland in the pointless wars with India. The minorities in Pakistan continue to live in constant dread of being attacked or molested. In fact, a newspaper wag in the Karachi Press Club suggested that as so many amendments have been made to the 1973 Constitution, which has now become a moth-eaten document, there is a need to amend paragraph six of the Preamble to the 1973 Constitution as successive governments appear to have been totally incapable of implementing the relevant clause. In case some of you haven’t seen the passage, it reads as follows: “Wherein adequate protection should be made for the minorities freely to profess and practice their religions and their cultures”. Without being accused of quibbling with words, the declaration used is “should” not “will”. Does this mean that protection will be left to the pleasure and caprice of the government in power? The only time such a clause was wilfully implemented in Pakistan was during the period 1947 to 1970. There was, of course, the episode of the Qadiani riots in Punjab. But the historical fact is that the Ahmadis were not officially declared non-Muslims until they were excommunicated by the parliament led by Mr ZA Bhutto, which was formed after the eastern wing was wrenched out of the combine. In his column in The Express Tribune, Yaqoob Khan Bangash did a bit of tongue-in-cheek sermonising when he asked all minorities to leave Pakistan. Even if this was financially possible, where the hell would these people go? The days of Ayub Khan when Pakistanis could travel freely to all parts of the globe at four rupees to the dollar are long forgotten. Nobody wants Pakistanis anywhere, anymore, except in parts of the Gulf where foreigners have no legal rights, and the Far East, provided they bring plenty of cash. They are isolated at immigration counters at Western airports, on suspicion of being potential terrorists. Mind you, Pakistani Hindus and Christians have a much better chance of getting a US visa than somebody with a strictly identifiable Muslim name. So those who can make it, get the hell out of here. Those who can’t should pray that the next Lucomo who misgoverns the country should keep the promises he makes to the masses. [I] Published in The Express Tribune, March 17th, 2013. [/I] |
[CENTER][B][SIZE="5"][CENTER]Sri Lankan Muslims under threat
[/CENTER][/SIZE][/B][B]By Irfan Husain [/B][/CENTER] [B]A CURIOUS story in a local English daily caught my eye the other day. It seemed the Sri Lanka Muslim Council had given in to demands that meat could be sold without halal certification. This is a huge success for radical Buddhist groups who have been orchestrating an anti-Muslim campaign for the last few years. [/B] Mosques have been attacked, prayers disrupted, and Muslims in general accused of being anti-state. The Muslim Tamil National Alliance has written to the Secretary General of the United Nations, asking him for protection, and protesting against this nasty campaign. Leading the anti-Muslim charge is a group called the Bodu Bela Sena, or Buddhist Force. Headed by ultra-nationalistic monks, the group follows a xenophobic agenda of “Sri Lanka for the Buddhists”. Of late, Buddhist monks have begun playing a growing and retrogressive role in the island’s politics. The monks first flexed their muscles to shore up the Rajapakse government’s resolve to crush the Tamil insurgency. First, they blocked any possibility of compromise by offering the Tamil Tigers greater autonomy. To build up pressure, they formed a political party and won enough seats to take a place in the coalition government. Then, when President Mahinda Rajapakse’s brother, defence secretary Gotabaya, was facing difficulties in finding enough recruits for the army, a group of monks fanned out across the Buddhist areas to motivate thousands of young men. These recruits were assured that they would not lose karma by fighting and killing in a war as they would be doing so in the cause of Buddhism. The brutal civil war ended nearly four years ago in a bloodbath that is now the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism from abroad. The ongoing session of the UN Human Rights Commission at Geneva is about to vote on a resolution initiated by the US, demanding an international investigation into the fate of tens of thousands of Tamils said to be killed in the last days of the fighting in the north of the island. Against this backdrop, it is odd that the government is doing so little to clamp down on the anti-Muslim campaign. Should it gain support and traction, the results could be very bad news. Muslims are mostly concentrated in three areas: in and around Galle and Colombo, and in the coastal areas of the north-east. The latter are mostly poor fishermen, while urban Muslims are heavily represented in business and the professions. According to unofficial reports, the 2011 census indicates that Muslims form around 10 per cent of the total population of 21.4 million. This is a substantial increase from the 7.6 pc in the last census. One reason the new census figures have not been officially released is said to be the disquiet the increase in the number of Muslims might cause among the majority. Already, Muslims in the north have been subjected to ethnic cleansing by the Tamil Tigers in the early nineties. Thousands were driven southward from their homes and farms in the mostly Tamil north. After the war ended, and they tried to reclaim their property, they were subjected to great hostility by Sinhalese farmers who had grabbed much of the land. Most of the displaced Muslims have settled around Colombo, and their children consider the capital their home. One factor that is probably driving the anti-Muslim campaign is envy. Urban Muslims have fared relatively well over the years, and have cornered the lucrative gemstone market. Others have gone into real estate and construction. Many have made a name for themselves in the legal profession. And while a few have gone into politics, they recognise that they can never hope to rise to the top. By and large, they have kept a low profile. A number of Muslim families in Galle and Matra pride themselves on their descent from Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka centuries ago. Others have come from the Indian coast. There is a small and wealthy Bohra community in Colombo. Many northern Muslims descended from Malays who settled along the coast. Thus, Sri Lankan Muslims represent an ethnic mix who have helped in creating prosperity and diversity. So far, at least, they have got along well with their neighbours. However, despite centuries of living together, integration has been slow. Like most minorities, Muslims tend to stick together, maintaining their dress code and diet. Women usually wear some form of hijab, and many Muslim men wear beards and skull caps. Even liberal Sinhalese accuse Muslims of not keeping their streets clean, and generally staying aloof from the mainstream. Inter-marriage between Muslims and Sinhalese are limited to the elites. But everybody acknowledges their hard work and sound business ethics. The civil war and the way it ended has exploded the myth of the peaceful Buddhists. There is thus a genuine concern over the ongoing anti-Muslim campaign: observers recognise the potential for a vicious pogrom should the government not step in. However, the ugly reality is that the Buddhist majority are a far larger vote bank than the Muslims. Many are puzzled by how and why anti-Muslim feelings have spread so quickly. After all, after the end of the civil war in 2009, it had been widely assumed that the restoration of peace would heal the ethnic wounds opened during decades of conflict. Sadly, the government has made little effort to reach out to a defeated and demoralised Tamil community. One theory is that the triumphant Sinhalese fringe elements on the extreme right need a fresh target for their xenophobia. Some in the business community are eyeing the assets of their successful Muslim competitors. Politicians are seeking to tap into the strong sense of Buddhist identity that was pumped up during the last stages of the war. The recent execution of a young Sri Lankan maid in Saudi Arabia on flimsy charges provided more ammunition to the extremists. None of this is good news for the peaceful and prosperous Muslim community in Sri Lanka. Hopefully, the government will check the vicious propaganda doing the rounds and prevent an explosion. [url]http://dawn.com/2013/03/18/sri-lankan-muslims-under-threat/[/url] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]Marginalising minorities[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER]
By: Dr Irfan Zafar | March 17, 2013 . We are Muslims". In the name of protecting our religion, we destroyed over 150 houses, dragging out and burning the possessions of the inhabitants of a Christian colony in the Badami Bagh area of Lahore. Although most of the residents had fled before the ransacking of the property, but there were heartbreaking scenes witnessed of women and children screaming in fear as they ran from the mob. "We are the followers of Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh)". We took hold of a Christian cross, lighted a bonfire, and danced around it in triumph. "We are the protectors of the life and property of the minorities". We came in thousands, carrying with us cans of petrol to inflict maximum damage in the shortest span of time. "We are the protectors of a faith having 2.2 billion Muslims spread in more than 200 countries". There was organisation, planning, and a determination on our part to drive the Christians out from their homes and, perhaps, harm them. “Are we Muslims?” I doubt. Edgar Allan Poe, an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, once said: "I become insane with long intervals of horrible sanity." The "horrible sanity" exhibited by the mob was nerve-shattering. Today, I struggle to move my pen to write a few words of sanity, while being immersed in a perpetual unconscious state of prolonged insanity. The past, like the present, looks so vivid when remembering the words of our Quaid just a few days before the creation of Pakistan, while inaugurating the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, when he talked of an inclusive and pluralist democracy promising equal rights for all citizens, regardless of their religion, caste or creed. During a broadcast talk to the people of the US on Pakistan (recorded February 1948), the Quaid said: “We have many non-Muslims - Hindus, Christians and Parsis - but they are all Pakistanis. They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizen and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan.” The Quaid died long time back and whatever remains of his words, unfortunately, carries no meaning in this age of total fanaticism. Pakistan was conceived as a country where every citizen will live in harmony, while practicing their individual faiths without interfering in the beliefs of others. It was supposed to equally belong to the Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Hindus and all other minorities living in it. Pakistanis first! We seem to have lost that concept and essence of our conception. The Quaid’s vision of Pakistan was in line with the true spirit of Islamic injunctions. But it has now been ignored in favour of misdirected ignorant orthodoxy that is pushing the nation towards complete inhalation. Self-interest infested interpretations of religion has tormented religion beyond recognition, thus turning it into a saleable commodity. The bigger irony is that the majority is afraid to speak up against this backwardness, which even labelled Baba Bulleh Shah, a Punjabi Sufi poet, a humanist and philosopher as a non-Muslim. For the ones who understand religion correctly, backed by in-depth study of its injunction, Islam carries within itself an inherent attribute of a code of conduct where the sanctity of all the faiths is preserved, thus forming the very foundation of the Islamic beliefs. The Quran says: “Had God willed, they had not been idolatrous. We have not set thee as a keeper over them, nor art thou responsible for them” (6:107) and “Do not revile those unto whom they pray beside God, lest they wrongfully revile God through ignorance” (6:108). Islam does not preach coercion of believers of other faiths, as the Holy Quran says: “There is no compulsion in religion” (2:256) and “(So) for you is your religion and for me is my religion” (109:6). According to Abu Dawood 3:170, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: “Beware! If anyone dared oppress a member of minority community or usurped his right or tortured him more than his endurance or took something away forcibly without his consent, I would fight (against such Muslims) on his behalf on the Day of Judgment.” At another point the Prophet (pbuh) maintained: “Whoever killed a member of a minority community, he would not smell the fragrance of paradise, though the fragrance of paradise would cover the distance of 40 years (of travelling)” (Ibne Rushd, Badiya-tul-Mujtahid, 2:299). Pakistan’s founders were not fanatics, but poets and intellectuals. We are now living in a country where killing human beings and destroying their life and property using religion as a weapon has almost become a norm. Look at the plight of Islam today, where there is a focus only on trivial issues, while the real issues like the need for education and learning, as laid down in the Quran and the Hadith, seem to have been forgotten. What needs to be understood is that someone’s faith is not anything physical that can be eliminated by bullets or silenced by threats. What needs to be understood is that there can be causes worth dying for, but there cannot be any worth killing for. How many more human beings will we kill to "preserve" our religion? Let there be an end to this deafening madness; for else, we are destined to be doomed. The writer is a PhD in Information Technology, alumni of King’s College London and a social activist. He is life member of the Pakistan Engineering Council and senior international editor for IT Insight Magazine. He has authored two books titled Understanding Telecommunications and Living In The Grave and several research papers. Email: [email]drirfanzafar@gmail.com[/email] Twitter: @drirfanzafar [url]http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/17-Mar-2013/marginalising-minorities[/url] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]Lahore inferno and beyond[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER]
By: Khalid Iqbal | March 18, 2013 . The unfortunate incident of Joseph Colony in Lahore, where homes, shops and Churches of the Christian community were set on fire, brought collective shame and embarrassment for the entire Pakistani nation. Each time an incident of violence against the minority community takes place, we think that nothing could have been worse. But soon after, another episode presents a yet bigger challenge and we witness acts of greater insanity, inhumanity and brutality. It seems that the armed groups with sectarian, religious and ethnic orientations in Pakistan are continuously engaged in their effort of tearing apart the entire fabric of Pakistani society. The factors and agents responsible for the ongoing madness are complexly intertwined: mobs can be activated on as required, manipulators hold the reins of power and tolerance has lost its rightful place in national discourse. The Badami Bagh incident is a part of the strategy to keep the Pakistani society off balance through exploitation of vulnerabilities in a quick succession. Unfortunately, no one has ever been punished meaningfully for earlier similar occurrences. For example, nobody has yet been taken to justice for the 2009 burning of Christian homes in Shanti Nagar, Gojra; in that unfortunate incident, eight Christians were burnt alive. Anyway, the abhorring image of young men hurling a Christian cross onto a bonfire and others displaying triumphant mood was certainly a shameful act. Fortunately, there was no loss of life, though there was massive loss of property. The silver lining was that the protest against this ghastly occurrence was nationwide, cutting across all ethno-sectarian divides. Thousands of Christians and Muslims took to the streets across the country, demanding better protection for the minorities. The rebuilding of property commenced immediately and the Supreme Court assumed charge almost spontaneously. The Badami Bagh incident was, indeed, another attempt to tarnish the image of Pakistan. When such incidents take place, the international media finds it easy to reinforce the bias that minorities are unsafe in Pakistan. The tenor of the violence in Lahore was unexpected; it indicates that there could be more incidents of similar nature in the coming days. It seems that one of the objectives, undercutting these incidents constructed around traditional fault lines, is to disrupt the election schedule. Against this backdrop, while reprimanding the Inspector General (IG) Punjab, the Supreme Court inquired: why security measures were not taken when there were prior reports of trouble in the area and whether the attack was a property-related matter? According to eyewitnesses, the police stood as silent spectators when the crime was being committed and did nothing to stop it. Surely, it was a crisis of state power that had lost the ability to subdue the armed groups and establish order. But once the jigsaw pieces are put together, the incident emerges to be a well planned scheme woven around a dubious plot of blasphemy. Movie like fiction was enacted to grab the prime land. All this came after a Muslim barber accused his Christian friend, Sawan Masih, of uttering derogatory words, reportedly, while both were consuming liquor! After nearly two days of rumour-mongering, the accused person was taken into police custody for investigation; yet the attack took place. There was nothing that spoke of spontaneity. The rioters, carrying cans of petrol, came in numbers and were fully prepared to do the damage. They were well organised, had done adequate planning and were determined not only to cause the exodus, but also ensure that the fleeing persons do not return back to their homes. The police contingent, though present, did not make a worthwhile effort to pre-empt and prevent the loot and arson. The behaviour of police was, indeed, a mirror reflection of the Gojra episode. It is important to mention that there is a blasphemy law and those indulging in blasphemous activities are accordingly dealt with. Only the state has the power to sentence the blasphemer and the law does not allow anyone to unleash collective punishment on any community just because a blasphemer belongs to it. Certainly, it was a conspiracy. It was, however, encouraging that the Punjab government took immediate damage control actions. The Punjab Chief Minister ordered a judicial inquiry and the construction of the destroyed houses within hours. Also, the concerned police officials were removed. Many religious parties and ulemas also condemned the attack on Joesph Colony and termed it as “unjustified” and “un-Islamic”. Their role, however, does not finish here; it must translate into a code of conduct calling for restraint on the onset of such incidents. The only way to prevent further attempts to take the law into one’s own hands is to punish the perpetrators. This will only be achieved by ensuring that the law takes its due course. Certainly paltry compensation for each family by the Punjab government will not heal the scars of the families, who have lost their homes and valuables. It would, nevertheless, help in their early rehabilitation. The police claims to have arrested some of the perpetrators, but it remains to be seen if they will be convicted. Undoubtedly, courage must be found to stop and fight this madness. In Pakistan, religious intolerance, violence and anger are on a rampage. Religion is used as a tool for deflecting empathy from those outside particular sectarian and religious affiliations. As a society, we are fast approaching the point where none of us is safe. Addressing the current crisis involves uniting state organisations with societal traditions. There are many things we need to tackle if similar incidents are to be prevented in future. We need to deal with extremism on a wider level. The voice of love, reason and human solidarity that underwrites our literature, music and folk cultures must not be lost in the storm of irrationality. It is expected that vulnerability to ethno-sectarian incidents would increase manifold during the coming days, as the caretaker setup takes over, with its primary focus on the execution of electoral process. Moreover, the maintenance of law and order would assume an election-related bias. There would, indeed, be added onus on the law enforcement agencies to be vigilant to ward off such unfortunate incidents, while ensuring peace and order before, during and after the elections. The writer is a retired air commodore and former assistant chief of air staff of the Pakistan Air Force. At present, he is a member of the visiting faculty at the PAF Air War College, Naval War College and Quaid-i-Azam University. Email: [email]khalid3408@gmail.com[/email] [url]http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/18-Mar-2013/lahore-inferno-and-beyond[/url] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]A modest proposal[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER]
By: Kunwar Khuldune Shahid [CENTER][B]For preventing the religious minorities in Pakistan from being a burden to their country[/B][/CENTER] It is a melancholy object to those, who are the champions of humanity, when they see the state of the minorities in this country. They see misery, discrimination and intolerance as non-Muslims continue to suffer at the hands of their religious identity. Mothers, instead of praying for the sustenance of their family, beg the deity to ensure their children return home alive. These children are nurtured in religious revulsion, and as they grow up, they either acquiesce to the bigotry and accept their status as second-class citizens or leave their dear native country to fight for their right to be recognised as human beings. I think it is unanimously agreed by all sane parties that the plight of religious minorities, that has seen them being reduced to unproductive citizens, is indeed one of the greatest grievances of the country. And so anyone, who can come up with an inexpensive method of making the minorities useful and sound members of Pakistan, would deserve a statue to be erected in their name. However, my intention is not merely limited to enhancing the utility of non-Muslims in Pakistan. The idea can eventually be extrapolated to include non-Muslims all over the globe. On my part, I have gone through every concerned scripture – divine or otherwise –throughout the past many years that I’ve mulled the issue. Many connoisseurs have come forward with their theories to answer the minority question, but every one of them, in my humble opinion, has fallen short of coming up with a well-rounded scheme to ensure that minorities become fruitful state members and in turn see their social status climb up the pecking order. The pros and cons; the rationalities and absurdities; the economics, mathematics, geography, religion and ethics; everything has been factored into this plan that would benefit both the country as a whole and the condition of the minorities. The scheme would help Pakistan overcome many of the predicaments that it faces – namely religious extremism, energy crisis, fiscal deficit, corruption, population growth, air pollution, etc – and give the religious minorities the opportunity to finally get the acknowledgement of the Muslims. There is likewise another great advantage in my scheme: it will prevent the suicide bombings and that horrid practice of targeted killings, which is, alas, too frequent in this country. The religious divisions and animosities would also be sorted out, which would convert this shambolic country into a hub of tranquility. The number of souls in this Islamic republic being usually reckoned 190 million, of these I calculate around 35 million Shias, 2.1 million Christians, 1.1 million Hindus, 300,000 Ahmadis, 100,000 Baha’is and 20,000 Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis each. Furthermore there are many atheists, agnostics and apostates in the country whose count is unknown. I calculate the total population of the minorities to be around 40 million – which is over 21 percent of the total population – from which I subtract 10 million, who can be manipulated or coerced into converting to the right kind of Islam. Of the remaining 30 million I further subtract 5 million that can be compelled to hide their religious identity and to pretend to be the right kind of Muslims. Of the 25 million that would remain, around two million can be driven out of the country for good. There should only remain around 23 million people who would be classified as religious minority. The question therefore is: how this number can be involved in doing something constructive for the country that also results in national peace, which under the current state of affairs is absolutely impossible by every single scheme hitherto proposed? For, they can neither be employed in the clergy nor as religious teachers. They cannot be relied upon as doctors or engineers. They cannot be assigned a role in the media, politics, education, bureaucracy, law enforcing authorities, or in any other sector where they would have any sort of power or any inkling of influence over the public opinion. Taking the average weight of a Pakistani to be around 50kg, which when multiplied by 23 million, gives us 1.150 billion kilograms (1.150 million tonnes) of human resource. Taking estimation errors into account, we should have at least 1 million tonnes of mass available. I shall now humbly put forward my own plan, which I hope would not be liable to the least objection. I have been assured by a very knowing Saudi physicist that a non-Muslim corpse after undergoing chemical conversion, is an invaluable source of energy. It has an energy content of around 35 megajoules (MJ)/kg, which puts it in the middle of coal (25 to 30 MJ/kg) and crude oil (42 MJ/kg) on the energy scale. And hence from 1 million tonnes of the aforementioned human resource, we can extract 35 billion MJ of energy. An average power plant produces 1,000 megawatts or 1,000 MJ per second. 35 billion MJ of energy would give an average power plant 35,000,000 seconds (405 days) worth of power. This number is derived from merely those non-Muslims that are alive, when one factors in the graveyards, this number jumps to around 700 days (around two years) worth of power from a national power plant. This should considerably reduce power outages, and bridge the energy deficit in the country. A truly worthy religious scholar and an expert on non-Muslims, was extremely pleased after hearing my plan. He was of the opinion that if his definition of a non-Muslim is used in this energy generation process, the sample mass would prodigiously increase, giving us up to three years worth of power. Another well-reputed personality revealed his master-plan to unveil the Ahmadis, apostates, atheists and agnostics, since these are the hardest to detect. I am fully aware of the fact that some scrupulous people might want to censure this thesis on energy generation and tout is as slightly bordering on cruelty (although unjustly so), but they aren’t aware of the multi-pronged prosperity that the project would bring to Pakistan. First of all the plan would reduce the population of Pakistan by at least 13 percent, and maybe more, depending on which non-Muslim classification is used. This would ensure that the resources available per person would increase. Secondly, load shedding would be curtailed. Thirdly, with the energy input increasing, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) would become favourable in the long run and inflation would decrease from the current 11 percent to around 4.5 percent. Fourthly, depending on fuel utility the rates of CNG, petrol and dollar would plummet from around Rs 90, 105 and 97 to Rs 15, 19 and 18 respectively. Fifthly, the whole talk of Kalabagh Dam and increasing work on other dams would be shelved. Sixthly, you would have religious harmony in the country since every single deviant would be flowing from the national grid in the shape of electrons. Seventhly, all forms of terrorism would be curbed since the project’s supervision requires the expertise of the likes of the Taliban who would then have to be an integral part of the government. Many other advantages can also be enumerated, for example the project would once and for all bury the oxymoron that “secular Pakistan” is. The tiring debate on what exactly is Jinnah’s Pakistan would also be laid to rest, and of course the increase in energy sector investment would boost the economy. I can really think of not one objection that can be raised against the scheme, unless it is raised by those that are against the well-being of this country. Everyone wants a Pakistan that is self-sufficient in its energy needs, and everyone wants a Pakistan without religious fundamentalism. Two birds, one stone and all that… The writer is a financial journalist and a cultural critic. Email: [email]khulduneshahid@gmail.com[/email], Twitter: @khuldune [url]http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/03/17/comment/columns/a-modest-proposal-2/[/url] |
[CENTER][B][SIZE="5"]Kargil: Echoes of Attacks against Minorities in Pakistan
[/SIZE][/B][B]By Zainab Akhter [/B][/CENTER] In Kargil, thousands of people took to the streets in February and participated in a protest rally against the killings of minorities across Pakistan (this time more specifically against the recent Hazara killings in Quetta). What are the reasons behind the sudden outburst of protests? [B]Why the Sudden Outbursts? [/B]For a long time, there has been an anti-Shia campaign in Pakistan; in Afghanistan, the Taliban regime was strongly anti-Iranian and conducted programmes against the Iranian Hazara population in the country. Kargil is the only Shia dominated district of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Despite minor communal clashes between the Muslims and Buddhists in the region, Kargil remained peaceful in terms of social relations between the communities. Kargil was better known to the rest of India due to the Indo-Pak war, rather than any negative communal relationship or violence in the region. Recently, there has been a series of violent activities against the Shia community in Balochistan and also in Gilgit-Baltistan. The response in Kargil to the violence against the Shia community in Pakistan was a surprise. Responding to the call of the Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust Kargil, the people of the district held a massive protest against the recent Hazara killings in Pakistan. They gathered outside Jamia Masjid, shouting slogans against the targeting of a particular community in Pakistan. Earlier in 2012, they took to the streets in response to the killings of Shia-Baltis in Gilgit-Baltistan. The Kargil Students Union in Jammu and Delhi also organised similar protest rallies chanting anti-Pakistan slogans. Being a Shia dominated community, the sectarian killings elsewhere becomes more of an emotional issue for the people of Kargil. Additionally, Iran would not like Pakistan wielding a sectarian agenda to harass Kargilis; therefore the people of Kargil, through these huge protests, intend to send a message to Iran that they strongly condemn the killings of their brothers across Pakistan. Amidst anti-Pakistan slogans and placards, the protesters requested the Government of India to pressurise Pakistan to stop such target killings, and for banning these terrorist groups. [B]The Iran Factor [/B]Iran’s influence is prevalent in Kargil. Posters of Iranian leaders can be seen in most of the places, especially in the main market; and even a street in the market is named as Khomeini Chowk, after the Iranian leader. The region is forging strong bonds with Iran; besides the Shia factor, what have given an impetus to this trend are the regular visits of youth to Iran to get religious training. Unlike any other part of the State, developments in Shia dominated areas such as Iran and Iraq are keenly talked about here. Even a political novice could give a detailed analysis of the events in Iran-Iraq, and also the latest statements of Shia clerics. Locals point out that the ‘cassette revolution’, which refers to the lectures and speeches of the Imam, changed the lives and religious standard of Kargil after the revolution of 1979. Unlike most other parts of India, in Kargil, women, almost without exception, wear head coverings; liquor is only available illegally; and there are no movie theatres. [B]Religion in Politics [/B]There are two schools of thought in the region, both of which are led by religious organisations: the Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust (IKMT) and the Islamia School Kargil (ISK). The ISK is backed by the National Conference and the IKMT by the Congress, and a strong rivalry is seen between them for political gains. The differences between the two schools of religious thought have magnified with their entering the realm of politics, which is indirectly dividing the society. The IKMT believes in the Islamic revolution initiated by Imam Khomeini and deems itself as the outcome of this revolution. It works towards the dissemination of Islamic teachings and elimination of un-Islamic traditions. It also runs a school called Mutahhari Public School where, along with the regular teachings, it imparts religious knowledge and its ideology to the future generation. On the other hand, the ISK also runs a school, Islamia School, where religious education is imparted too, but is considered slightly liberal compared to the IKMT. The religious and political divide between these two schools is taking a toll on the people of Kargil, and is leading to marked divisions in the society. The fact that one faction adheres to the IKMT, and the other to the ISK, is quite visible in the town now. In the whole process, the role, significance, and work of the Hill Development Council are overshadowed by the activities and influence of these groups. Even the divide between Leh and Kargil mostly arises due to religious differences. Although there are Muslims residing in minority in Leh and Zanskar Valley, such protests are not seen in these places. There is a negative impact of these demonstrations on the minorities of the region, as these massive protests are sometimes also used as a tool to show religious superiority. [url]http://www.ipcs.org/article/pakistan/kargil-echoes-of-attacks-against-minorities-in-pakistan-3846.html[/url] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]The Joseph Colony incident[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER]
By: Khurshid Akhtar Khan | March 19, 2013 . 0 The timing of the Joseph Colony incident in the Badami Bagh area of Lahore on March 9 could not have been worse for the PML-N. As the party was basking in the glory of the latest popularity polls, the outcry and the apportionment of blame on the Punjab government threatened to change the direction of the rising graph, so close to the general elections. It takes a long arduous journey to build and a minor tremor to demolish the whole lot. The rioting, carnage and arson did not happen overnight. There was a buildup to it over several days during which an incitement campaign was in progress. The story of alleged blasphemy committed by Sawan Masih was doing the rounds for a few days. The matter reached the local police station, Sawan was apprehended and a first information report, or FIR, was registered. That should have been the end of the matter, leaving it to the law to take its course. A similar incident of alleged desecration of the Holy Quran was triggered in 2009 in Gojra, which later proved to be false. Several people lost their lives and many houses were burnt down by charged mobs that could not be controlled by the ill-equipped, ill-trained and outnumbered police personnel. Since then, around 14 other incidents of religious incitement of various magnitudes have been reported in several parts of the country. By now, the perception and the sensitivity of such events should have been clear to the law enforcement agencies with a standard operating procedure in place to anticipate such occurrences and nip them in the bud. However, it did not happen. The hate campaign in Joesph Colony kept simmering and then exploded. The culprit was already behind bars and under investigation, yet the mob assumed the role of judge and executer, and proceeded to punish the entire locality. The local administration failed to assess the gravity of the situation, or to take appropriate measures to contain and diffuse it, despite ample warning. There was no contingency plan. When confronted with charged rioters, the local police that was not trained in riot control went on the back foot and advised the residents to evacuate the area in order to save their lives. Perhaps, they knew what was coming and thus abandoned their duty of protecting the lives and properties of the citizens. The field was left wide open for looting and burning. When the residents returned the following day, their houses had been torched and the contents had been taken away or destroyed, leaving them with no personal belongings, documents or shelter. The police had stood aside helplessly as silent spectators. No orders came from above, no reinforcements were sent to the local police and no assistance was requisitioned from the rangers or the army to avert an ugly situation. Joseph Colony is situated on land owned by the Lahore Municipal Corporation. It comprises unplanned shanty houses constructed by homeless and poor people of the Christian community that earn their living by manual labour and have made the area their communal living over decades. It is located in the heart of an industrial area where the land is very valuable. The incident is reported to have originated from a personal altercation between two people (one Muslim and the other Christian) that was transformed into blasphemy allegedly with ulterior motives. The residents tell tales of land mafia interested in occupying the land for industrial purposes. Such ghettos in densely populated prime land are common targets of vested interests. Many such illegally occupied localities are often evacuated by the government functionaries by employing force. This case assumed a high profile and became a national scar, as the victims were the minority Christian community. It became grotesque as the Muslim neighbours took the law in their own hands and desecrated the Christian places of worship and their religious relics. The usual political blame game commenced without ascertaining the real facts. The hyperactive Chief Minister sprang into action with damage control and was met with a hostile reception by the aggrieved residents during his visit to the locality. The DCO established a field camp and immediate relief of food and shelter were provided with a minimum of delay. Dozens of arrests were made of rioters, out of which 54 have been identified from the video footings awaiting further legal action. Given the Chief Minister’s past record, the rehabilitation process will no doubt progress on a fast track and some wounds will be healed. However, the administration was exposed for its weakness. In addition, one has to wait and see whether the cases of the culprits will be pursued and sentences awarded, and the PML-N will be able to win back its vote bank or the whole saga will be forgotten once the limelight of the media fades. The silver lining has been the maturity exhibited across-the-board. Instead of resisting the blasphemy law that could not be repealed, the flaws in its implementation have been recognised and highlighted. The Christian leaders of various factions got together as did the Muslim ulema of various schools of thought to condemn the riots, express solidarity with the residents and to plead for calm without any religious prejudice. The focus stayed with the miseries of the displaced persons and the injustice meted out to the poor minority. The peaceful protests staged by the Christian community in several cities in sympathy with the victims raised voices for equal rights as citizens of Pakistan. The media played its part in creating the awareness. It seems that five years of democracy has given a voice to the people by way of freedom of expression and owning the responsibility of events at all levels and an urge to right the wrongs. The writer is an engineer and an entrepreneur. Email: [email]k.a.k786@hotmail.com[/email] [url]http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/19-Mar-2013/the-joseph-colony-incident[/url] |
[CENTER][B][SIZE="5"]And now religious cleansing
[/SIZE][/B][B]By Tariq Mahmud [/B][/CENTER] We live in a world of paradoxes. Pakistan was a cherished dream of our founding fathers for the Muslim minority of the subcontinent. But after 65 years of existence, it has turned into a nightmare for the minorities living here. A few years ago, it was Shanti Nagar, then Gojra happened, and now Badami Bagh has brought the worst out of us. This residential area of Lahore’s Christian community was torched in a pre-planned move. After seeing the footage of the tragedy, an instant reaction was to wonder as to what happened to the culprits and those nominated as accused persons in the Gojra incident. What did the prosecution do to protect and secure the evidence of the carnage in which innocent people were torched to death? Under the Criminal Procedure’s Code, that crime was perpetrated not just against a person or property alone; it was also a crime committed against the state. How did the state look after its interest in that case? Ultimately, influence-peddlers were able to prevail upon the complainant and the witnesses of the Gojra incident, who perhaps, did not have the muscle to face the lifelong wrath of the locals. They just gave in. This sad commentary explains how the predators of power and money can defeat the objectives of the criminal administration departments and that of the state. Barbarity perpetrated by religious zealots in the name of Namoos-i-Rasalat have one common strand — apart from the alleged offence of blasphemy committed by an accused, there is invariably an undercurrent of some dispute over a stretch of land. Ambiguity about the title of land in some rundown locality keeps the pot boiling. Christians in Punjab are a small fraction of the population, with no palpable political or economic clash with the majority. As a community, in the past, its members have made commendable contributions in the fields of education and health. Even now, they are an important segment of the workforce. They live in close-knitted localities and what is needed is a detailed mapping of these places, especially where there is ambiguity regarding the ownership of the title of land. Their land rights must be protected so that they do not fall prey to the shenanigans of the land mafia or that of torch-happy street urchins. The tenure of the elected federal and provincial governments in the country has drawn to a close. The governments are busy presenting factsheets of their achievements while in power. It is also a moment for reflection as to what degree were they able to give a sense of personal security to the citizens of this country. The various ambitious programmes introduced by the federal and provincial governments cannot underwrite their future, as long as the problem of ensuring the security of the people of this country continues to simmer. Over the years, this has not just been a problem of governance failure but also of ethical failure. We are not inclined to change when we should have. We do not wish to solve problems whose solutions don’t sit well with our beliefs and require us to move out of our comfort zones. Our urban areas are in the grip of violence. From Gilgit to Karachi to Quetta, our cities are up in flames. The rural scene is not so promising either. The populace in the rural areas is in constant battle with the power-holders who draw their strength from their vast political networks and get their way through these. Our leadership, in the days to come, needs to realise that politics is a learning curve. Cognitive learning involves sharp preceptors to gauge coming events and a need to stop seeing things in isolation. Governance, after all, is all about forming a close bond between the state and citizens through policies, programmes, their implementation and the resultant dividends. If this relationship does not work well, or if there are frequent glitches, then disappointment and disillusionment sets in. The Badami Bagh incident should not pass off like earlier similar incidents. It should serve as a test case for criminal administration departments, if we wish to avoid recurrence of such happenings. Justice must be served with speed so that no influence-peddler can get any space to manipulate or compromise the evidence in this case. [I] Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2013. [/I] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]Interfaith harmony[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER]
Friday, 22 Mar 2013 [B][CENTER]Minorities have the same rights to Pakistan as do the Muslims [/CENTER][/B] Pakistan, though predominantly a Muslim state, has a mixed bag of religious identities, including Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis and a few others. This creates quite a powder keg of a situation, where one or the other pretext could be, and often is, used to light up not only sectarian fires but in certain cases a burning tinderbox is shown to this proverbial powder keg by some extremist elements that are hell bent on destroying what little semblance of interfaith harmony the country has. However, if the deteriorating situation is not held in its steps, it could prove to be too devastating for the country. In a conference, held by Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), a case for promoting tolerance and interfaith harmony was made. The conference which was attended by almost all the prominent religious parties, sects, leaders from minority religions in Pakistan and others, declared that a blasphemer has no religion but the blasphemy law should not be abused. Recent terror incidents, particularly the one with sectarian tint and the one with targeting minorities, in Karachi, Quetta, and Lahore have somehow managed to move the clerics of the country in issuing statements that condemn these barbaric acts but what they always seem to overlook is that their statements neither help in controlling the menace of terrorism nor they are of any value as a guiding principle for the public to follow. The government seems okay, as usual, with the way things are going. Even after such incidents, hatched out of religious intolerance, like Hazara Shia carnage in Quetta, Abbas Town incident in Karachi and Badami Bagh incident in Lahore, neither have the ulema taken any step to calm down the ultra zealous followers of extremist ideology nor have they come forward to help the government in capturing these misled and misguided few. A country that has been in the news for not just terrorism, the plain and deadly one, but also for having the governor of one of its provinces, and a minister for none other than minorities affairs, assassinated by religious bigots, one could have assumed that it might have corrected its course and had put behind the days of intolerance and violence. But that still remains only wishful thinking. What we really need is that more conferences like the one held the other day must be held on a more regular basis in order to provide a platform to voice, discuss and be heard on issues related to interfaith harmony and peaceful co-existence. After all, our constitution provides the same rights to minorities as it does to Muslims. [url]http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/03/22/comment/editorials/interfaith-harmony/[/url] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]Provocation of inter-faith strife[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER]
March 28, 2013 M. Khan Chishti The recent incident of vandalism at a predominantly Christian colony over an alleged blasphemy in Badami Bagh, Lahore, startled all concerned quarters regarding possibility of reactive inter-faith clashes across the country. But fortunately, a truly prudent reaction was shown by the hapless Christian victims and their supporters, who restrained their anger simply to protest demonstrations. Media reported that the violence was provoked when a Christian was accused of committing blasphemy by making offensive comments about the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and defiling pages from the holy Quran. The accused was subsequently arrested for further investigation; however, the outrageous mob attack on Christian colony a day after his arrest was considerably unreasonable. Here, some questions arise that why Christian community was attacked when the blasphemer was already being remanded? Who instigated the mob to burn houses and loot innocents, those who had nothing to do with this alleged case of blasphemy? Are the Pakistani Muslims radicalized to an extent that they would end up in such an irrational and revengeful act? Such incidents of bigotry evidently bring bad name to Pakistan and eventually facilitate a false perception that Pakistan is not safe for religious minorities and other factions. The same narrative persisted when attacks on Hazara community in Quetta and Abbas Town in Karachi resulted in killing of dozens of Shias. Targeted killing of minority factions, either Muslims or non Muslims, links to the same string of nefariousness. Many security experts and defense analysts connect these unprecedented attacks with recent handing over of Gwadar Port operation to China and initiation of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, despite strong opposition by the US. Experts believe that these attacks are orchestrated to discourage China and Iran from investing in a troubled country and exploit the increasing threat of Islamic extremism in Pakistan. The tragic incident in Lahore soon after the bomb blasts in Quetta and Karachi are lucid evidence to intrigues of international hostile force, who desire to provoke inter-faith disharmony in order to destabilize Pakistan on ideological grounds. Likewise, dedicated propaganda campaigns are launched abroad with the same pace to label Pakistani Muslims as radical, narrow-minded and violent extremists. Contrary to the prevailing perception of an “unsafe Pakistan”, all segments of the Pakistani society including religio-polical parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamaat ud Dawah, Tehrik-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool, Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadith etc categorically condemned the act of barbarism against Christian community and termed it extremely unwarranted. This reflects Pakistan’s unanimous stance regarding the protection of minority citizens, while, the timely compensation and relief provided by the provincial government has already started reducing the grievance of Christian victims in Lahore. Such well-timed measures taken by the authorities truly speak of the value and respect being given to the minorities in Pakistan. In addition, every effort is being made for the protection of rights of minority citizens whereby they are free to practice their respective religions. Pakistan state officially celebrates 10 religious festivals of minorities, including Besakhi, Diwali, Holi, Eid-e-Rizwan, Chilim Juhst, Nauroze, Christmas and Easter. Besides celebrating these festivals, adequate security measures are taken at all worship places to ensure safety of the minorities. The Ministry of Interfaith Harmony has also launched a national campaign to promote interfaith harmony and national unity in the society. Considering all these facts, Pakistani Muslims must continue to express complete solidarity with the affected Christian families, while scholars of all religions in Pakistan should to spread the message of love and brotherhood for promotion of peace and stability in the country. Ulema-e-Islam must also play their role for creating awareness about the minorities’ rights and importance of tolerance in the Islamic society. Moreover, perpetrators of the outrageous attack against Christians should be arrested and given exemplary punishment according to the law. [url]http://www.thefrontierpost.com/article/214113/[/url] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]The specter haunting minorities[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER]
Wednesday, 27 Mar 2013 [CENTER][B]Attack on Ahmaddiya family is reminder of polarisation [/B][/CENTER] Do religious minorities have a place in Pakistan? The recent attack on the home of an Ahmaddiya family in Lahore has again served up an answer in the negative. Worse is that the attack comes in the wake of the furor over the Joseph Colony mob attack which left around 200 Christian homes burnt. Many promises were made that such an incident would not be repeated but the fact is that the situation on the ground reveals that Pakistan’s track record on the question of how it treats its religious minorities is getting worse by the year. And while an attack on Christians or other religious minorities do provoke public outrage, attacks on Ahmaddiya’s are considered kosher. The trouble is that the problem is reinforced by the attitude of the state. When two Ahmaddiya worship places were attacked in Model Town and Garhi Shahu, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led Punjab government remained silent. From being declared ‘legitimate to murder’ on live television, having their graves desecrated and being disallowed to preach their faith, the Ahmaddiya community faces both social and state persecution. The fact is that Ahmaddiya’s are not considered equal citizens in the state of Pakistan – and more so than other minority groups. In many ways, it has been forced to reject all practical manifestations of Pakistani citizenship. It deserves being reminded that the community will not cast votes in the 2013 general elections in their tradition of protest against religious discrimination against them. This means that neither does the community have a stake in the electoral process nor does any member of it reach any of the legislative assemblies. The Lahore incident appears to have been the response to a failed attempt to convert an Ahmaddiya family. Forced conversions, as these are known, are becoming more and more regular. So much so that over 200 Hindu families from Sindh, the province with the most religious diversity in Pakistan, fled to India in the year 2012. The incident raised the spectre of the partition of the subcontinent once again. Cases of forced conversions that have been taken to the Supreme Court have also not been addressed in a satisfactory manner. Within such a polarised situation, the Lahore attack has only served to accentuate the sense of insecurity that religious minorities in Pakistan face – and the Joseph Colony response appears to have been only electoral point scoring. The real problem is that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is equally complicit in reducing minorities to second-class citizens. No amount of repeating the narrative that Islam preaches that minorities be treated well means anything concrete. On the ground, attacks on religious minorities have become so frequent that it appears as one is repeating the same narrative to deaf ears each time. [url]http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/editorials/[/url] |
Our battered image
[B][SIZE="4"]Our battered image
[/SIZE][/B][B]By Naseer Memon [/B] The Christian community experienced another tormenting nightmare some weeks ago when Joseph colony in Lahore was reduced to ashes by an insane mob. While a flurry of belated condemnations from official ramparts followed the incident, it was nothing less than wilfully ignoring a potentially serious situation as the incendiary episode started brewing at least a day before the horror scene occurred. Timely action could have averted yet another stigma on the much-tarnished image of the country. The Lahore administration and the erstwhile provincial government cannot be absolved from the responsibility of their unforgiveable indolence, which is tantamount to collaborating with the culprits. Accusing someone of blasphemy, stoking acrimony and unleashing of horror by riotous mobs has gone frequently unchallenged, especially in Punjab. Such elements can carry out their nefarious acts without any fear of the much-glorified writ of the state. The almost guaranteed impunity that is there for tormenting religious and sectarian minorities emboldens even ordinary loiterers to partake in mob-frenzy when it is targeted against hapless minorities. Only four years ago, the Christian community in Gojra witnessed a doomsday scenario when eight Christians were brutally killed and dozens of houses were torched, virtually crushing all state laws and Islamic teachings. Not a single perpetrator was punished as the complainant was conveniently intimidated to rescind his statement to avoid further wrath in the absence of law. No lion in the erstwhile Punjab government roared to demonstrate the writ of the state. Each such incident becomes a prelude for the next episode. The message was sufficiently loud and clear when a sitting governor of a province was killed and the murderer emerged as a revered hero. A paralysed state apparatus has lost its credibility as religious and sectarian minorities have become routine victims of unremitting discrimination. It has particularly gained momentum during the last year and Shias are prime targets nowadays. Our battered image in the international community has been further hit in the wake of this incident. International media and human rights groups will be fully justified in questioning the collective values of our so-called Muslim nation. For a country with an innate orthodoxy, it has become a Herculean task to rein in the malevolent religiosity nurtured during protracted dictatorships, thriving on religious sanctimony. Subdued elected regimes remain entangled with ceaseless challenges posed to their survival. Hence, the vexed question of extricating society from this quagmire remains an unresolved riddle. Determined groups of people within civil society keep clamouring against such barbarism, often at the risk of their lives. A valiant judiciary and some pro-people media outfits are the only flickers of fading hope for optimistic souls in the country. Although the swift response of the provincial government has brought some succour, the trajectory of such incidents has vitiated optimism. There is not even a remote chance of the long arm of the law catching the recalcitrant culprits. After some initial action to fool the people, poor prosecution will finally ensure that the case is interred. Meanwhile, the victims will hardly be able to find any lawyer to plead their case and it will be even more difficult to find a judge to carry out proceedings in the lower courts. A browbeaten community will hardly dare to pursue their case and most probably will capitulate at some stage. Similarly, the media and civil society are most likely to soon get seized with some other macabre incident lying in store. In all likelihood, the petrified victims of Joseph Colony will only be left with haunting memories of horror, and Pakistan as a country will earn only one more blot on its name. [I] Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2013.[/I] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]No place for 'impure' in 'the land of pure'[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER]
Faheem Amir Life is not easy for minorities in Pakistan. They are leading a very pathetic life, a life which is filled with fear and exploitation. Pakistan was created to give equal rights to every citizen. In his 11 August, 1947, speech, the great Quaid said : "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed - that has nothing to do with the business of the State...We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State...I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in due course Hindus would 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 Quaid's golden views have not been followed by our corrupt rulers, including politicians, religious leaders, military-civil officers and feudal lords. Every person knows that the minorities are not free to go to their worship places. They are also not considered as equal citizens of Pakistan. They are discriminated against in every field of life. In the armed forces and civil service, the members of minorities do not get promotion beyond a certain level. A non-Muslim cannot become the president or the prime minister of Pakistan. There is no place for the "impure" in "the land of the pure". Let alone non-Muslims like the Hindus, the Sikhs, the Christians, the Ahmadis, the Muslims belonging to the Shia community and even the Barelvi Sunnis are living in utter insecurity and hopelessness, as they are being killed by extremists and hardliners across the country. Ahmed Rashid, a famous journalist, writes in BBC News: " An average of 10 to 20 people a day are being killed in the major cities - Karachi, Quetta, Lahore and Peshawar - as the country is gripped by violence. On a bad day as many as 100 people can be killed by suicide or car bombs. Those suffering most are the minority Shia population, who are being targeted by Sunni extremists. On 9 March, Christians were attacked and their homes ransacked in a poor locality of Lahore by a rampaging mob. Pakistan endured one of its worst days of violence on January 10, when 115 people were killed - including 93 Shias belonging to the Hazara ethnic group in Quetta. A month later on February 16, another 84 were killed and 200 wounded in a similar massacre in the city. For days Shia Hazaras refused to bury their dead and many prepared to leave Pakistan forever. The plight of some Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Ahmedis and Shias has forced many to flee the country as intolerance unchecked by the government escalates. On March 3, another 50 Shias were killed and over 100 wounded in a massive truck bomb that exploded in a Shia locality of Karachi. Pakistani Shia naval officers and Shia doctors have likewise been killed. Last year more than 400 Shias were killed in Pakistan by Sunni hardliners. Already more than 200 Shias have been killed in the first two months of 2013. The killings are being carried out by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi - a Sunni militant group which has already been declared a terrorist organisation. But the government's only reaction so far has been to place its former leader Malik Ishaq under house arrest. He has been arrested and freed several times before. It appears to many Pakistanis that the militants are more powerful than the army or the government". The members of minorities are facing new tragedies almost every day in Pakistan. The Lahore Badami Bagh incident is a most tragic incident for the Christians. On the night of March 8, and 9, a mob burned down around 178 houses in Joseph Colony on the pretext of allegedly blasphemous remarks made by a Christian youth in a drunken fracas with a Muslim friend. The Daily Times writes about the plight of the minorities: "It is with deep sadness that one contemplates how 2013 is turning out to be one of the worst years for minorities in Pakistan's sordid history of sectarian violence. Militant ire has been directed at the Shias throughout the first three months of this year and now mob frenzy has bared its teeth at a Christian colony in Lahore... How on earth could this happen? It seems as if the government in the Punjab is either complacent about the goings on where such 'defenders of the faith' are concerned or are just indifferent to the plight of the minorities. The negligence on display is what led to this looting and destruction. The Christian minority has reacted.... However, this was the first time one has really seen a minority in Pakistan fighting back. Pushed into a corner after repeated attacks - the Gojra incident in 2009, still sends a shiver down one's spine - the Christians turned to violent protests themselves, burning tyres, smashing bus windows, etc., to show that they had had enough.... The fact that any Tom, Dick or Harry can accuse anyone of blasphemy without any sort of evidence to back up the claim is what is leading to this insanity in the name of religion. It is so simple and the results are so murderous that the very suspicion of blasphemy is enough to make one cower in their boots. Usually, this country's minorities are targeted and most of the time the accusations are bogus - revenge, hidden agendas and provocation are the only reasons blasphemy accusations are so common, and nothing is done to stop them. Forget about the idealism of fixing or reforming the blasphemy laws, this nation's people must reform their mentalities. The governments, provincial and federal, must wake up from their slumber and help our minorities against this targeted abuse and mayhem. Anyone can rent a crowd in Pakistan and have free licence to become rabid if blasphemy is even mentioned. This is ridiculous and it is high time that the government bring to book all those responsible for the Joseph Colony rampage. If they do not, no one will be safe". The incident has tarnished Pakistan's image in the world. Human Rights Watch has urged Pakistan to protect religious minorities and vulnerable groups. "Pakistan's government should immediately take legal action against Islamist militant groups and others responsible for threats and violence against minorities and other vulnerable groups", said Human Rights Watch. It says: "Abuses under the country's blasphemy law continued as dozens were charged in 2012 and at least 16 people remained on death row for blasphemy, while another 20 served life sentences. Aasia Bibi, a Christian from Punjab province, who in 2010 became the first woman in the country's history to be sentenced to death for blasphemy, continued to languish in prison. In July 2012, police arrested a man who appeared to suffer from a mental disability for allegedly burning the Quran. A mob organized by local clerics demanded that the man be handed to them, attacked the police station, pulled the victim out, and burned him alive. On August 17, Islamabad police took into custody Rimsha Masih, a 14-year-old Christian girl from a poor Islamabad suburb with a "significantly lower mental age," who was accused of burning pages filled with Quranic passages. On September 23, police officials stated they had found no evidence against Rimsha Masih, who was released and given state protection at an undisclosed location. Members of the Ahmadi religious community continued to be a major target for blasphemy prosecutions and subjected to specific anti-Ahmadi laws across Pakistan. They faced increasing social discrimination as militant groups used provisions of the law to prevent Ahmadis from "posing as Muslims," forced the demolition of Ahmadi mosques in Lahore, barred Ahmadis from using their mosques in Rawalpindi, and vandalized Ahmadi graves across Punjab province. " Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan director at Human Rights watch, says: "The ugly fact is that the blasphemy law is an enabler of mob violence against vulnerable groups. As long as such laws remain on the books and the authorities remain unwilling or unable to rein in mobs playing judge, jury and executioner, Pakistan will remain plagued by abuse in the name of religion." The minorities are citizens of Pakistan and they must be protected at every cost. The rulers, the ulema and media should play their positive role in erasing the influence of the teachings preached by extremists and hatemongers. They should take every pain in creating awareness among the Pakistani people about the true spirit of Islam, which is a religion of peace and brotherhood. The blasphemy law must not be misused by any person, if we want to materialise the Quaid's words and turn Pakistan into a veritable heaven, a heaven where every person would have equal rights, opportunities and protection of life. [url]http://www.weeklycuttingedge.com/front%20story01.htm[/url] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]Pakistan resolution and ‘where are you from?
Inayat Ali Gopang[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER] It’s very strange, that in abroad when two Pakistani meet to each other, then there first and foremost question comes that ‘where are you from’? With ample enthusiasm and happiness a couple of days ago 23rd March was observed across the country and the world by Pakistanis to celebrate a historic resolution that was passed during a three-day meeting of All India Muslim League held on 22-24 March 1940. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah addressed to the participants of that meeting and truly said that Muslims are a different nation than Hindus in terms of their belief system, culture, literature and philosophies. Therefore, it was demanded that ‘’the areas in which Muslims are numerically in majority as in the North-Western and Eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute independent states in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign.” This resolution played a significant role in making the dream of a separate nation come true. The leaders who put their all efforts for the constitution of that dreaming state considered all Muslims of that territory as a single nation with the name of ‘Pakistani Nation’. The line was drawn in terms of religion not in terms of other ‘ethnic identity’ such as region, race, language, sect, caste etc. But along-with this, it was also mentioned in the resolution that “adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards shall be specifically provided in the constitution for minorities in the units and in the regions for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights of the minorities, with their consultation. Arrangements thus should be made for the security of the Muslims where they were in minority.” However, at the moment it is necessary to analyze today’s Pakistan in the light of that resolution and ask ourselves that are we that single nation our great leaders dreamed for and put their efforts for separate state. We will know that there is a lot of difference between the dream of our leaders and, actions and reflections of we people. Interestingly, today, it has been observed in Pakistan that whenever two unknown persons meet to each other, then most likely, their first or second question becomes ‘where are you from’? Even in the interviews this question is being asked. Then answers start at different levels. For instance, if both the persons belong to different provinces then answer most probably ends after telling the name of province such as I am from Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtun Khawa, Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan etc. Generally the listener says that Oh! So you are from that province or you are a Punjabi, Baloch, Pathan, Sindhi, Gilgiti etc. And if the persons belong to same province then answer starts from district, Tehsil, City/Village, Family and so on and so forth. In the premises of Pakistan it makes some sort of sense again, but it’s very strange, that in abroad when two Pakistani meet to each other, then there first and foremost question comes that ‘where are you from’? Here I would like to give an example of a person, who first time goes abroad considering himself as a Pakistani. When that person meets to other Pakistani then they ask in their introductory conversations that how are you? Afterwards, next question comes ‘where are you from’? At that time the person feels surprised and shocked that a Pakistani is asking from another Pakistani that where are you is from. For a while the person thinks that what could be the more suitable reply to give. Isn’t it Pakistani identify enough for another Pakistani to tell? Here in abroad, still it is needed to tell about one’s region, language, sect, district, Tehsil, village, family etc. especially in the first meeting? When I discussed it with some of my highly qualified friends that why we ask this question ‘where are you from’ particularly in our first meeting, then they replied that because we want to know about each other so that we can treat each other in a better way. However, it does not work most of the time and after knowing its answer we treat each other very different way not the better way. After asking and knowing the answer of this question, usually stereotypes play their role and we become biased and discriminatory in our attitude and behaviour. Because, we learn a lot of stereotypes during our socialization process which derive our behaviour then. We have good examples of these stereotypes. We have borrowed the most respectable terms and titles from each others’ language such as ‘Sain’, ‘Baloach’, ‘Sardar’, ‘Khan’ etc. which are used for showing high level of respect in their respective languages, but in other languages they are used in a very negative sense and generally used for ‘mentally retired persons’. It would not be an exaggeration that these words are used as an equivalent to English words ‘non-sense’, ‘idiot’, ‘mad’ and ‘mental’ etc. Even when a person is titled as ‘Sain’ in other than Sindhi language, he minds it and becomes angry. Moreover, as far as considering and treating minorities is concerned, it is also not hidden the way they are being treated in spite of the consideration, respect, space and acceptance given to them by our leaders while making the Pakistan. The killing of Hazara community, incident of Badami Bagh and migration of Hindu community are solely the most recent incidents to be quoted; otherwise list will be go long. As, one foreigner rightly said about Pakistani nation that either they are Punjabi, Balochi, Pashtun or Pakhtun, Sindhi etc. There, one can hardly find a Pakistani. This is true that we lack a unity in true terms. In order to face and solve the challenges of Pakistan together there is a dire need to create coherence between our present and our past state. To ensure the unity, this is the time; we should analyze our actions and behaviors in the light of concept and cause of Pakistan’s creation. It will be quite helpful to delete this question ‘where are you from’, from our introductory list of questions at least while meeting to an unknown person first time in the country in general and in the abroad in particular. I think it’s more than enough that s/he is a Pakistani. Moreover, we should break the stereotypes about each other, not to judge any person on the basis of stereotypes and avoid using the respectable words of any language in negative terms for showing our respect to that language and its speakers. We should also treat and consider ‘minorities’ as Pakistani. We should ensure them that you are also part of this country. We are one nation and together we can make Pakistan peaceful and prosper. [url]http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/40/[/url] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]Politics of Blood: Is MQM the Target?
Farheen Rizvi [/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER] How did Karachi lose more than 50 people in Abbas Town with hundreds of apartments and shops reduced to rubble? One bomb-packed car rampaging around the neighborhood rummaged it all? Government announced the day of mourning on the incident but is anyone willing to claim responsibility for the act? No. Is anyone accountable for that? No. This only shows that meeting political ends in Pakistan mean far more than human values and all our law-enforcing agencies have failed. We, Karachiites have seen countless sectarian eruptions since1980s where Shiite processions and neighborhoods were attacked by other sects. Last riot witnessed were during Zia era in Liaquatabad had many houses were burnt and Shiits were forced to leave the neighborhood. Then, the mercurial rise of Muttahidda Qaumi Movement as Muhajir Qaumi Movement changed the entire perspective of the city. MQM united both the sects under a common flagship and out of sectarian skirmish. The “sectarian harmony” turned out to be the core strength of MQM, and both sects started to live peacefully under slogan of “Muhajirs”. The recent attack in Abbas Town is the example of that harmony; in this attack not only Shiite but many Sunni brothers living in a common locale lost their lives too. MQM has been enjoying this unique power over Karachi by winning more than 85% of the mandate of Karachi for decades. Suddenly a new wave of Shiite killings has started in KPK, Baluchistan, South Punjab and Karachi. But this time it is worse and of fairly different nature. There are no neighbors or commoners involved in the killings but groups of terrorists under different labels are playing hooligans. Unfortunately, there have been instances where politicians are found pulling each others’ collars for the mighty blame game and accusing intelligence agencies of having ties with these groups but no institution has so far taken any action against the cold-blooded killers. Let me add, Hamid Mir, in his recent column titled “A day in Khuzdar’ has proven the ties between intelligence agencies and some extremists groups in Baluchistan. Reportedly, the electoral allies Ahle-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) with PML-N and Muttahida Wahdatul Muslemeen (MWM) is now allying with PTI for the upcoming elections. Both alliances will only affect the election results in Karachi by bifurcating the Urdu speaking vote bank among Shiites and Sunnis – just like before it was divided among Jamat Islami and PPP. The described political scenario is no different than the concerns showed by MQM chief. Although Rehman Malik insists these attacks are only a part of delaying the election process because some hidden forces don’t want to see democratic process in Pakistan. Recently, he has accused two banned outfits, Tehreek Taliban and Lashkar Jhanvi, playing role in sabotaging election process. If the dots from Hamid Mir’s journalism to Rehman Malik’s information are correct then Altaf Hussain has correctly analyzed that these attacks in Karachi are against MQM’s democratic vote bank. If banned outfits are playing the worse role for establishment then ASWJ and MWM are playing the clean role by dividing a democratic vote bank of MQM. But the two groups are unaware that they are throwing the 85% population of Karachi in the deadly sectarian division. It is precisely the time for people of Pakistan especially Karachiites to come out with sectarian harmony against the forces bend on dividing them. We can’t forget the fact that Abbas Town is the Shiite dominated neighborhood but more than 30 Sunnis were killed in the attack too. If we live together and die together then we have to muster together to defeat the bad and evil forces. Whether Altaf Hussain’s concern is right or not but Karachi is not ready to go back in the history of sectarian riots and bloodshed which will not only cost us lives of our innocent people but also the solidarity and sovereignty of the country. [url]http://www.thenews.com.pk/[/url] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Should we be complacent?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER]
| Zubeida Mustafa | THE report prepared by Zeenat Hisam and Yasmin Qureshi on Religious minorities in Pakistan for the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) and launched last Tuesday at the South Asian conference on the subject does not really come as a revelation. Pakistan has earned notoriety for its ill-treatment of non-Muslim communities — who are the so-called religious minorities in the country. The report is, however, timely, as also the conference was, on two counts. First the authors have highlighted the socio-legal constraints the non-Muslim communities face in a state that is supposedly democratic and constitutional. Even the society they live in comprises people who profess to follow a religion that is said to be tolerant vis-à-vis all communities even if they are not Muslim. The report should come as a reminder to the people of Pakistan that it is time for them to shake themselves out of their complacency. This complacency can be disturbing. At another group discussion I was invited to two days later, a sociologist claimed that the faith-based minorities faced no problem in Pakistan as her personal experience was that the media fabricated many of the reports and the minorities were content with their status. Probably she had never heard of the members of minority communities being charged under the blasphemy laws. She also seemed unaware of tragedies like Shantinagar, Gojra and Joseph Colony. Secondly, Piler’s conference which brought activists from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and Pakistan together, clearly established that this intolerance towards the “other” is something that is not typical of Pakistan alone. This is a problem shared by South Asia. Of course, the intensity and nature of intolerance varies from country to country, but it exists all across the region. The speakers dwelt at length on the sufferings of the minorities in their own country. This underlines some interrelated issues. One is the need for a democratic and secular political set-up that should not discriminate against a section of the population described as a minority by virtue of its own faith and the law and constitution in operation. The other is the need to promote education and awareness of human rights and tolerance in order to create a democratic culture in society. Both these features go together and one without the other does not solve any problem. The fact is that a state with a democratic and secular constitution, as India, has experienced communal riots and carnage as in Ahmedabad and the demolition of the Babri Masjid. And yet India is a state where seven years ago, as Mazhar Hussain, the delegate from India at the Piler conference, pointed out, the president was a Muslim, the prime minister was Sikh, the chief justice a Dalit, the commander-in-chief of the air force a Parsi and an Italian Christian was the Congress leader managing state affairs from behind the scenes. In Pakistan, the constitution itself is full of contradictions and discriminates against the non-Muslims even though it speaks of all citizens being equal. With the mullah culture and Talibanisation on the rise, extremism and intolerance which was not such a problem before is now making life difficult for many, and that includes Muslims of different sects. In the wider South Asian context, the problem spills across boundaries with the minorities in one country feeling the impact of violence in a neighbouring state. As Mazhar Hussain pointed out, when the Hindus in Pakistan are attacked, the Muslims in India have to bear the brunt of the anger sparked in the Hindu majority in that country. It therefore makes sense to approach the problem in a regional perspective. It calls for greater political understanding among the various member states of Saarc because mistrust and suspicions among governments promotes animosities among their populations while preventing bonds of friendship at the people-to-people level. Lack of contact and interaction among people of different states does not promote inter-faith dialogue or understanding among them. Most important of all, it allows unscrupulous elements to use religion for narrow political gains. In that context, the suggestion put forward at the Piler conference made eminent sense. It was recommended that a South Asian institute be set up to propagate the message of love and peace that is the essence of all religions. While an organisation of this kind would institutionalise an on-going inter-faith dialogue among all communities, governments should also play a role in this respect. The commonality in the ethical values of all religions makes it possible for their followers to live in harmony. The fact is that democracy is such a new phenomenon for the countries of this region that they have not had the time to develop a democratic culture which took centuries to evolve in the democracies of the West. The colonised world inherited the political structures of its colonial masters when it won its independence. But it missed out on the long evolutionary experience that had endowed Europe with its rich democratic and political traditions that enabled it to run its political system so smoothly. It amounts to transplanting a system in an alien environment without the existence of the preconditions needed for its successful working. Thus many political scientists such as Harold Laski and John Strachey say that a measure of literacy and education in the voters is necessary for the successful working of a democracy. That presupposes that education teaches them tolerance and respect for diversity and plurality. [url]www.zubeidamustafa.com[/url] [url]http://dawn.com/[/url] |
[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]Aggressive discrimination
I.A Rehman[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER] IN the mad race for power that has affected participants and spectators alike nobody seems to be bothered about the havoc being wrought by intolerance-driven violence. For several months, the 20 or so Ahmadi families living in village Shamsabad, in Chunian tehsil of Kasur district, not far from the Punjab capital, have been subjected to harassment and violence by the majority community because of their belief. A public meeting organised by a man who had just returned from Europe declared all Ahmadis living in the village liable to be killed. They were told to abandon their faith or leave the village. Mob rule followed. Ahmadis were persecuted in various ways. Some labourers were driven out of the village. After repeated complaints a police post was ordered to be set up in the village but political influentials got this decision rescinded. On March 25, about 50-60 armed men attacked the Ahmadi community leader and subjected him and his family members to violence and after beating him mercilessly left him for dead. The district coordination officer and the district police officer arrived, an FIR was registered but no action was taken against the culprits. Instead, the Ahmadis are being advised by the administration to make up with their tormentors, obviously on the latter’s terms. Quite a few people have their eyes on their lands — prized booty certainly. In Lahore itself several Ahmadis were subjected to violence for distributing their newspaper, Al-Fazal, and then arrested on the charge of blasphemy. Meanwhile, the news from Islamabad is that there will be no peace for Rimsha, the Christian girl who was acquitted by the Islamabad High Court of the charge of desecrating the Holy Quran. The complainant has appealed to the Supreme Court against the high court decision but no date of hearing has been fixed. Earlier, his petition had been dismissed by the Supreme Court for non-prosecution. The vengeful attitude of Rimsha’s persecutors is beyond reason and impossible to justify. It is possible that the victims in these cases have done something to deserve being beaten up, booked under dreaded charges, and threatened with death. In that case let them be dealt with under the law. An administration that leaves the minorities at the mercy of overzealous vigilantes and their patrons in the police will not escape indictment for complicity — and worse. The mischief must be suppressed forthwith, otherwise it will spread to a dangerous extent in the days before the next government takes over. But that is a relatively minor issue. Far more important is the need to take a dispassionate view of what may be described as the third phase in the persecution of religious minorities and sects in Pakistan, under the heading: deliberate, aggressive discrimination. In the first phase the minorities, like the poor belonging to the majority community, were at a disadvantage. They could not get good jobs because they lacked the means of qualifying. They had little access to justice or ability to engage the counsel of their choice because they could not afford the cost. To be disadvantaged was bad enough but the state, goaded by preachers of intolerance, made the situation worse for the minorities by legalising their disadvantage. It did this by denying a non-Muslim the right to engage a non-Muslim lawyer to defend him in a Zia-made religious court, by denying a non-Muslim student admission to higher classes on merit, by barring Ahmadis from getting a commission in the army that fellow Ahmadis like generals Akhtar Malik and Abdul Ali had served with distinction. As if the phase of state-sanctioned discrimination were not enough, the state has been blinking at the organised and large-scale persecution of minorities by non-state elements. Some prominent manifestations of this form of persecution are: many individuals and groups have made it a profession to incite violence against the minority communities and kill them, and the state has done nothing to curb the menace; blasphemy charges are bandied around for the heck of it and the trend has been strengthened by the executive’s lack of will and by the accommodation allowed to mischief-makers by the courts in several cases. A conference on the challenges faced by the religious minorities in South Asian countries held recently in Karachi by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research fully revealed the pattern of minorities’ persecution following the mixing of religion with politics in the law and constitution in several of these countries. Some of the most moving presentations were made by the victims of vigilante squads and police alacrity in throwing the victims of violence in jail instead of the culprits. What is the source of the strength of the growing breed of non-state actors in this phase of organised, aggressive discrimination against the minority communities? In one sentence: a state that has been unhinged from its democratic moorings. The question all responsible citizens may ask themselves is: could there be a link between the rise of aggressive minority-baiting and the belief-dominated discourse on electoral matters? Tailpiece: Those attacking the interior minister for recognising Nawaz Sharif are patently in the wrong. He would have risked his job if he had spoken well of Asif Zardari or Asfandyar Wali or even Altaf Hussain. The laws made to deal with patwaris and head constables cannot be applied to the chosen few, who are so busy refurbishing their reputation for piety that they do not have time to notice the systematic annihilation of ANP candidates and cadres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. What a simple way of cleaning Pakistan of the opponents of bigotry and extremism. 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[CENTER][U][B][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]Grassroots organization fights minority discrimination in Pakistan
Shiraz Ahmad[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U][/CENTER] There have been worrying signs of breakdown in ethnic relations in Pakistan – including accounts of ethnic Hazaras (a Farsi-speaking, predominantly Shia group) taking up arms and forming their own militia after bombings in Quetta, and Christian protestors clashing with police in Lahore in response to anti-Christian mob violence earlier this year. Too little has been done to address this growing danger by a Pakistani Government already stretched in their fight to contain militancy in the country’s north. Recent anti-discrimination laws designed to better protect minorities do little to address or change ethno-religious tensions. And accusations of Pakistan’s police and military ambivalence towards extremist Sunni groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba have only increased minority distrust of authority in Pakistan. What is needed is a stronger civil society that slows and reverses any slide into religious and sectarian strife. And a proven but underused way of fostering a stronger civil society is through grassroots community organizing. While extremist groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who claimed responsibly for January’s bombing of Shias in Quetta pose a potentially grave physical danger to minorities, a longer-term danger lies in violent extremist or sectarian ideology seeping into community consciousness and strengthening the formation of isolated in-groups along ethnic, religious and sectarian lines. Communities, when faced with an overwhelming challenge or threat, unite and in part define themselves by such experiences. And bigger challenges can bind people together not only within communities, but across them. It is this principle that grassroots community organizing can apply by framing constructive challenges as the uniting points around which communities can shed their differences and work together. The collective action such collaboration fosters is a vital antidote to the increasingly dangerous ghettoisation of communities in Pakistan. This approach has already shown success in helping better integrate a religious minority that has experienced one of the greatest challenges to integration in Pakistan - the country’s Hindu minority. Against the backdrop of Pakistan’s traumatic partition and on-going hostilities with India ever since, Pakistan’s Hindu minorities have experienced on-going discrimination, as documented by open Security and Human Rights Watch. But Sindh’s Thardeep district in Southeast Pakistan, one of lowest socio-economic indexes, a one-third Hindu population with historically strained relations between the two communities, has seen relations improve. This is thanks largely to the grassroots work of Thardeep Rural Support Programmes (TRDP), a local non-governmental organization and part of Pakistan’s largest development network. Based on a self-help philosophy of grassroots community organizing and social mobilization, TRDP’s work cuts through religious, sectarian and ethnic divides, uniting local village communities around common development challenges that affect them all, like access to education, better sanitation, medical care, economic empowerment and emergency relief. When the floods of 2010 devastated rural Pakistan, Thardeep’s community organizations were catapulted into action. The ensuing relief work was delivered with the support of all of Thardeep’s religious communities; it was work delivered by everyone, for everyone. TRDP’s work has reportedly reached 70,365 people and they have rebuilt over one hundred schools to date. TRDP has enhanced the accepted role of not just Hindus, but of Hindu Dalits – those who rank lowest in the caste system – in public life within Thardeep. TRDP’s previous CEO was himself a Hindu Dalit, as well as the first Pakistani Hindu ever to be awarded the Medal of Excellence, the highest civilian honour in Pakistan. This is no small achievement in the Indian Subcontinent, where Dalits have traditionally experienced relentless discrimination. Hindu and Sikh Pakistanis play a prominent role in TRDP, as Board Directors, community organizing leaders and local activists. As such, the organization stands as a model of cooperation that dismantles stereotypes, empowers minorities and brings previously disparate communities closer together, even against the backdrop of powerful divisive narratives. More of this kind of civil society action is needed if Pakistan is to bridge its widening sectarian and religious divides. Substantive grassroots action can act as a buffer again extremist and sectarian ideology. (Shiraz Ahmad is Director of Unitas Communications, an international cross-cultural communications agency that works to build stronger relations between the Muslim and Western worlds) [url]http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/40/[/url] |
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