Always mindful of the plight of others, 17-year-old Ghalib Khalil decided to wade right through to the ones who needed to be rescued during the 2010 floods and has won international recognition for it.

Seventeen-year-old Ghalib Khalil’s parents always knew that their son was a bit of a philanthropist. “Every time we saw a beggar on the street, he would force us to give something,” says his mother, recalling Ghalib’s childhood. “He was always curious about why people were weak, sick and poor.”

It didn’t then come as a surprise to them that when the 2010 floods devastating Pakistan, Ghalib was filled with the desire to help those thousands of people whose lives and livelihoods had been swept away by the surging waters.

Not one to simply switch the channel and move on, Ghalib instead decided to roll up his sleeves and pitch in with the relief efforts. Thus, with the help of school friends and one of his teachers, the Rescue Pakistan Youth Foundation was born and the real work of collecting funds for the flood victims began.

But good intentions are rarely enough in this world, and despite his enthusiasm, Ghalib wasn’t too optimistic about receiving enough donations to make a difference. “I had thought that only Rs25,000 would be collected in the first flood drive, but two days later when I checked my bank account, it showed a balance of Rs200,000,” said Ghalib in an interview with the BBC. “I was amazed at our people’s generosity.” It was an impressive beginning, but the best was yet to come: by the end of the campaign, which included a fundraising festival in Lahore that he had organised himself, he had collected 10 million rupees under the aegis of his newly formed NGO.

For those who know him, the idea that this relatively unknown teenager could raise so much money wasn’t at all unbelievable. With a reputation of being trustworthy and responsible, it wasn’t difficult for him to gain the trust of donors.

“In school, he was nicknamed ‘little angel’ because he was always lecturing us on helping people and being kind,” says Ghalib’s close friend Haider Jamil.

The next step was to ensure that the money reached those it was meant for. “We made several attempts to contact the government and coordinate with their relief efforts, but received no response, Ghalib said in the BBC interview. Without any official support, Ghalib decided that the only way to complete this Herculean task was to simply do it himself. He then screened every single person who applied to volunteer for the foundation, selecting 40 young girls and boys. While he himself monitored every rupee that was donated, the volunteers he’d selected went to flood-hit areas to disburse the amount. “We owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who helped us,” said Ghalib.

While he may not be a household name in Pakistan, he has certainly won accolades in the wider world. The Huffington Post, in partnership with youth service America included him in their list of 25 most powerful and influential young people in the world list for his relief work during the floods. The list was aimed at promoting teenagers and young adults who were having a positive effect on their community — and if anyone fit that bill, it was Ghalib!

But even as the relief activities for the 2010 floods wound down, another disaster soon attracted his attention. In April 2011 the Fukushima earthquake and resulting tsunami devastated Japan and Ghalib once again could not sit by idly and watch.

“The lives of millions of happy people were uprooted and homes were levelled to the ground,” he recalled. “So we geared up to help the Japanese people and managed to raise a million rupees. Gina, a Japanese friend, assisted us in distributing funds in her country.”

For Ghalib, humanity truly transcends borders — even hostile ones — and his best friend is an Indian girl named Arveen.

“I was surfing through my Facebook fan page when I saw a message in my inbox which was sent by a girl named Arveen Singh. In the message, she asked me to promote her page on my fan page. When I went to view her profile, I found out that she was from India. This immediately sparked my curiosity, and I sent her a friend request, which she accepted,” Ghalib writes in a blog for The Express Tribune.

From that simple step, they have developed a friendship deeper than their countries’ conflicts and gone on to become youth Peace Champions from India and Pakistan through Facebook’s Friends Without Borders project.

“The description on the project’s page intrigued me and I immediately joined. They soon launched a campaign in which they were selecting peace champions from eight countries,” Ghalib writes. The countries included Pakistan and India and Ghalib realised that he and Arveen fit the bill perfectly.

Excited, they brought out their cameras — Ghalib in Sialkot and Arveen in New Delhi — and made a short film showing that their friendship has survived cultural differences, customs and problematic ties between their countries. The video was selected by Unicef to be screened at the World Youth Conference in Mexico in August 2011.

“Peace is possible, but not by the help of government or nations. It is actually possible when we make our own selves peaceful. Only then can we maintain peaceful relationships in the world,” says Ghalib in the video.

Through his work, Ghalib has put that philosophy into action. He may not have a future plan of action sorted out already, but he knows what his calling is. “My message to young Pakistanis, and people from around the world, is that they should let go of their differences to rescue the downtrodden and secure the oppressed.”

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, June 10^th, 2012.

Saima* Bibi told The Express Tribune that police had contacted her uncle and asked him to settle the matter out of court. She said her brother-in-law, Zulfiqar, had attempted to sexually assault her but the police had not included the charge in the FIR they had registered against him and his mother, Amina, after the two assaulted her and expelled her from their house.

She said she and her husband, Sarfaraz, had had a quarrel with his family and left the house over a month ago. “We moved with one of Sarfaraz’s friends in Candan Sial village where we stayed for several days,” she said. She said the couple had returned to their village after elders of the two villages intervened and negotiated a settlement between them and Sarfaraz’s family. However, the victim said, her mother-in-law would frequently harass her and accuse her of inciting her husband against his family. “She (mother-in-law) would curse me and say “you have cast a spell on my son,” the victim said.

On December 17, she said, she had an argument with her mother-in-law. Her when her brother-in-law joined his mother and started beating her.

“They beat me and shaved my hair and eyebrows after I had resisted Zulfiqar’s attempt to sexually assault me,” she alleged.

Phalora police rejected the impression that they were partial in the investigations. Sub Inspector Nawaz said Zulfiqar had been arrested on December 18, a day after the alleged assault, and sent to the jail on a judicial remand. He said Amina had been released on bail at the request of Pasrur magistrate Zulfiqar Hussain Chaudhry. “Police can release suspects on bail. This does not mean that the woman has been acquitted of the charges. That decision will be taken by a court,” he said. He said all charges brought by the complainant, Saima’s maternal uncle Muhammad Sakhi, in his application had been mentioned in the FIR. “He said his niece had been attacked and her hair and eyebrows shaved. He didn’t mention sexual assault,” the SI said.

Phalora police have registered the FIR under Sections 337-B and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Pakistan Penal Code Section 337-B (Jurh)

(1)  Whoever causes on any part of the body of a person, other than the head or face, a hurt which leaves a mark of the wound, whether temporary or permanent, is said to cause jurh.

(2)  Jurh is of two kinds, namely:-

(a) Jaifah ; and

(b) Ghayr-jaifah.

Section 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation)

Whoever commences the offence of criminal intimidation shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with both.

And if the threat be to cause death or grievous hurt, or to cause the destruction of any property by fire, or to cause an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, or to impute unchastely to a woman, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with both.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2011.

Ijaz Goraya, another customer at the stall, said number of shoppers at landa bazaars had increased over the past few years. “Most landa bazaars run out of stock by the end of December. It is best to visit a couple of these bazaars before mid December to get clothes in good condition.

Landa bazaars have been set up in the city on Railway Road, Sardar Begum Hospital Road, Islamic Watan Road and Kashmir Road and at Allama Iqbal Chowk, Alam Chowk and near Muslim Bazaar and Bano Bazaar.

Shopkeepers said the variety of garments available at these bazaars had increased over the last few years.”We now have everything from woolen sweaters, mufflers, jackets in leather, cotton and denim to trousers and shoes,” they said.

A customer at another stall, Ahmad Abbas, complained about the rise in prices at landa bazaars. He said with some bargaining last year the same clothes were available for less than half the price the vendors wanted this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2011.

In a complaint filed with Sabzpir police, the victim’s grandfather, Shareef Ali*, stated that Majid* and Rizwan* allegedly sexually assaulted the woman in the absence of her husband, who had moved abroad for work after their marriage six months ago. He alleged that the woman was pressured by her in-laws to stay quiet about the matter. They, however, expelled her from their house after making her abort the child about two months ago, he said.

The complainant said the delay in the filing of the police complaint was due to interference by village elders who had been insisting that the matter be settled out of court.

“I didn’t expect them to do justice with my grand-daughter so I finally approached the police,” he said.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the two midwives at the BHU admitted that an abortion had been carried out but said that they had only followed the family’s directive. “We did not force the woman to abort the child. Her in-laws asked us to do so,” one of them said. Besides, she held, the child was deformed and would not have survived. She said the woman was pregnant for about five months.

Investigation officer Aftab Shah said the complaint was received and FIR registered on Thursday (December 1). He said they were investigating the case and that arrests would be made if evidence were gathered against the suspects.

*Names have been changed to protect the victim’s identity

Legal status

Abortion allowed only if mother’s life is threatened.

Abortion is allowed under the Pakistan Penal Code only if the pregnancy poses a danger to the woman’s life.

In 1990, the Pakistan government revised the pre-partition penal code of 1860 to bring it in line with Islamic teachings. Under the revisions adopted, the conditions for legal abortion were set in accordance with the developmental stage of the fetus—that is, whether the foetus’s organs are formed or not.

Islamic scholars consider the foetus’s organs to be developed by the fourth month of conception. Before formation of the organs, abortions are permitted to save the woman’s life or to provide “necessary treatment.”

After organs are formed, abortions are permitted only to save the woman’s life.

The penalties for illegal abortion depend on the stage of foetus development. Before organs are formed, the offence is penalised under civil law, by imprisonment for three to 10 years. Once organs are formed, Islamic penalties in the form of compensation are imposed. National Commission for Maternal and Neonatal Heath report 2009.

(Read: Abortion — a taboo: ‘Every sixth pregnancy in the country is aborted’)

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2011. 

SIALKOT: Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Sharad Sabharwal has said India has a clear-cut visa policy for citizens of Pakistan, but a more liberal policy is under consideration.

“Recommendations of the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) will be given special consideration for visas to businessmen,” he said while speaking to businessmen at SCCI on Tuesday.

Sabharwal said India wanted to resolve all issues with Pakistan peacefully through dialogue and efforts to promote bilateral trade were part of this agenda.

He said India was a fast-growing economy not only in South Asia but also in the world and productive and friendly commercial and diplomatic relations with the international community, particularly with neighbours, was the key feature of the foreign policy.

He said promotion of trade with neighbouring countries in order to reduce poverty and bring prosperity in South Asia was an important part of the vision of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Welcoming Commerce Minister Amin Fahim’s recent visit to India, the high commissioner said it benefited bilateral trade relations and would help expand trade up to $6 billion, adding such positive steps must remain continue as they would lead both sides to a non-discriminatory trade regime and would make South Asia a free trade area.

In the past, he said, trade was limited between the two countries, but after improved bilateral ties and infrastructure development along the border new trade targets could be achieved easily.

Sabharwal pointed out that Pakistan’s business community, including Sialkot, preferred trade with western countries and invited them to assess the eastern market worth $1.4 trillion, which was waiting to be explored.

Highlighting the facilitation measures, he said Delhi gave Pakistan $25 million for flood relief while talks were under way to export 500 megawatts of electricity to help Pakistan mitigate energy shortage.

Earlier, SCCI President Naeem Anwar Qureshi briefed the high commissioner about the Sialkot-based industries.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2011.

SIALKOT: Salma Bibi, the widow of a retired Pakistan Railways employee Mushtaq Hussain Gillani who survives on her late husband’s pension, is on the verge of starvation. Reason: the Pakistan Railways has not paid her the pension money for the last five months.

She told The Express Tribune that she and her family are suffering serious financial crisis for not receiving the payment.

Hers is not an isolated case. There are more than 2,500 retired railway employees going through the same kind of ordeal.

Two other pensioners Talib Hussain and Khaliq Hussain told The Express Tribune that due to prolonged delay in the payment of pensions they were facing serious problems in paying the tuition fees of their children and utility bills.

They said that due to their old age they were unable to get any job even on a daily-wage basis. The retired employees staged a protest demonstration to press the PR authorities for payment of their pensions.

Muhammad Hafeez, who is in charge of pension payments at the National Bank’s District Courts branch here, said that due to non-availability of funds the payment of pensions was being delayed. Bank officers said that cheques issued by the federal government for payment of pension to retired PR employees bounced for want of funds in the federal government account. They said that if new cheques are issued and cleared, the payments will be made shortly.

The pensioners have appealed to the high-ups for payment before Eidul Azha.

PR is said to be deep in debt due to poor management, ineffective policies and lavish money spending by the bosses at the helm. Their spendthrift ways are partly to blame for the mess the Railways are in, sources said.

Contrast this with the plight of low-ranked retired Railway employees: they are having a hard time making ends meet because of non-payment of pensions.

Some 150 pensioners receive their pensions from Sialkot Railway Station, 85 from National Bank Small Industrial Estate area and another 350 receive pension from National Bank District Courts and most of them were facing the delay.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court has given a three-day deadline to pay the salaries of 50 legal advisers who have not been paid. Justice Shaikh Azmat Saeed told the PR’s counsel during the hearing on Wednesday that either PR should pay the salaries of the petitioners or its officers should get ready to go to jails.

The minister for railways Ghulam Ahmed Bilour told INP in Islamabad that he was committed to pulling the railways out of its financial crisis. He said that President Asif Ali Zardari has especially given him time for a meeting on October 17 to discuss the PR crisis at President House. He was optimistic that the meeting will certainly produce some results.

WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AGENCIES

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2011.

“Pakistan currently faces a variety of crises like violence, an unstable economy and recurring floods, but it can overcome all those problems with the help of Almighty Allah and its people’s commitment.”

McClellan said he had visited Sindh to see for himself the destruction caused by the recent floods. “Christians are facing problems from certain elements but it must not be forgotten that Christians are loyal citizens.” He said he was trying his best to secure the property of Church of Scotland in Pakistan so that it could be used for the welfare of Christians.

Minorities MPA Punjab Rana Asif Mehmood said the Church of Scotland was one of the oldest missionary institutions in the sub-continent. “Contrary to common perception, the former PPP government had inflicted severe losses on the Christians when it nationalised dozens of missionary educational institutions, like Gordon College, Rawalpindi and  FC College Lahore,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2011. 

Others believed to have died from it were six-year-old Zobia, 13-year-old Afia and six-year-old Khushnood.

More than 500 people have so far been treated at a medical camp set up in the village by Al-Khidmat Foundation, a non-governmental organisation.

At least 28 people have been referred to the district headquarters (DHQ) hospital.

Several villagers told The Express Tribune that people had been reporting stomachache and other problems since last Saturday when village men had cleaned the water tank using potassium permanganate as disinfectant. They said villagers had decided to clean the tanker on their own after several calls to the tehsil municipal authority had been in vain.

The Basic Health Unit closest to the village lacked the medicines needed to cure the patients, the villagers complained. They said before the medical camp set up by the NGO, a few villagers had consulted the BHU but were referred to the DHQ hospital. “What is the use of having a health centre next to the village when we have to go all the way to Sialkot whenever there is a problem?” they asked.

Dr Aslam Butt, former medical superintendent at Government Sardar Begum Hospital, who has been treating patients at the medical camp, said so far more than 500 villagers had been given first aid. “The serious cases have been referred to the DHQ hospital,” he said.

DHQ officials said the patients were out of danger. They said most of them had been relieved of their stomachache after a few doses of medicines. They said except for the few who had severe swelling in the stomachs, the patients had been discharged.

Malik Pervaiz and Kausar Bibi, parents of one of the deceased children, Khushnood, said all of the entire family was unwell from drinking the water. “Khushnood’s condition deteriorated on Sunday night. She died before we could take her to a doctor,” they said. The other three children died at the DHQ hospital.

A Chaprar Union Council official rejected the suggestion that their negligence was to be blamed for the deaths. “The disinfectant is not poisonous. We too would have cleaned the tanker using the same disinfectant. Our guess is that the villagers used it in very large quantities,” he said.

He said the water should be safe for drinking now as the disinfectant’s effect got diminished.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12^th, 2011.

The children’s father is inside the hospital, receiving treatment for his drug addiction, which Khatoon says often leads him to beat her and renders him perennially unemployed.

Khatoon and her children are from Dulchike, a village in Sialkot district. She said that she married her husband Bilal about ten years ago. At first she was able to tolerate life with his drug addiction, but he soon became increasingly violent, making Khatoon’s life unbearable.

Bilal’s addiction seems to have gotten the better of him: Khatoon says that her husband is “in the last stages” of his drug problem, implying that he may not survive much longer. Meanwhile, her in-laws decided to kick her out of the house, leaving her with no home and no support from anyone but her own meagre earnings.

Khatoon’s parents are dead, and her brothers are barely able to feed their own families, let alone take on the burden of another four people. Her three children are all she has and she has nothing to give them. And so she decided to sell them, not for the money, she says, but in the hope that her desperate act would provoke someone compassionate to take them in and provide them a better life than she has been able to thus far.

Her act of desperation seems to have caught the attention of the media and local politicians. Nasim Nasir Khwaja, a PML-N member of the Punjab Assembly, has directed officials from the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) to provide shelter to Khatoon and her children. Khwaja also asked Khatoon not to give away her children.

CPWB superviser Zafar Iqbal said that Khatoon and her children had been taken into protective custody and would be provided food, shelter and other facilities. Khatoon herself will be provided vocational training and a Rs3,500 monthly stipend at Darul Falah, according to the organisation’s superintendent.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2011.