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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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                        <description>The Express Tribune keeps you up to date with all the latest happenings from Pakistan and across the world!</description>
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			<title>The gathering storm</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/374577/the-gathering-storm-2</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/374577/the-gathering-storm-2#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 05 May 12 18:58:25 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[anwer.mooraj]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=374577</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[There is much talk of Pakistan a mistake, possibility of violent upheaval wiping out upper middle, middle class.]]>
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				<![CDATA[There’s an old Negro spiritual saying that goes something like this: “I’d rather be on the inside looking out than on the outside looking in”. In Pakistan, the overwhelming majority of people live on the outside without a hope in hell of ever trading places. But even some of those on the inside are beginning to feel that the ground is slipping from underneath their feet. It is not just because of the shenanigans of their prime minister, who is overdoing his somewhat theatrical defiance of the judiciary and following it up with those ridiculous one-liners. Nor is it because of the reaction of the government to the assassination of the former governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, or because there is little to choose between the frightening available political alternatives in the forthcoming election.

It is primarily because there really is no hope. There is no government, no planning, no direction, no supervision — just functional anarchy. Whatever laws were passed for the protection of women are not being implemented. There is too much talk of Pakistan having been a mistake and the possibility of a violent upheaval in the near future which will wipe out the upper middle class and what’s left of the dwindling middle class. There is also the illusion that some sort of activity still exists in industry, which is largely functioning on a single shift where Parkinson’s Law reigns supreme, where work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

The family of the deceased governor must wonder what happened to all that bluff and bluster, all that heroic posturing and truculence, that absurd claim to secularism, when the head of state and head of government couldn’t even make an appearance at the funeral of such a high-ranking and loyal supporter of their party. Was it a case of blue funk or did their gesture indicate a tacit acceptance of the principle that, in Pakistan, a murder is justifiable, as long as it is committed in the name of religion?

There have been very few instances where a slaying such as that of Salman Taseer has been captured so clearly on national television. The world also saw a platoon of lawyers garlanding and throwing rose petals on the assassin who, after committing cold-blooded murder, strutted about like Alexander Nevsky after defeating the Teutonic Knights. In all countries, including Saudi Arabia, lawyers are supposed to be the upholders of the law and wilful murder is punishable by death. But in this country, the ethos has been drastically altered.

In all fairness to the coalition, it has, of late, been hampered by threats of long marches, political tsunamis, calls for early elections and attempts to bring back a former president who did incalculable damage to the country — a man who destroyed the civil service, eliminated the chief justice, passed the odious National Reconciliation Ordinance and didn’t add one kilowatt of electricity to the national grid. Karachi has been constantly riddled by strikes, demonstrations, ethnic unrest, a well-organised criminal network and general turmoil. The people are tough and they have survived. But they are rapidly losing hope. A heavy air of foreboding hangs over Pakistan’s cities and the countryside. Some have managed to escape to the West and have braved racism and discrimination. For those who can afford it, Malaysia has provided a second home. For the rest, there is a light at the end of the extinction.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Punjab Assembly: Sanaullah accused of obstructing Taseer’s recovery</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/251137/punjab-assembly-sanaullah-accused-of-obstructing-taseer%e2%80%99s-recovery</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/251137/punjab-assembly-sanaullah-accused-of-obstructing-taseer%e2%80%99s-recovery#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 11 22:01:11 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[abdul.manan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=251137</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Law minister says Taseer family on board over investigation.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan Peoples Party’s Deputy Parliamentary Leader Shaukat Mehmood Basra on Monday demanded that Law Minister Rana Sanaullah be removed from his office over the government’s failure to recover Shahbaz Taseer. He said the PPP had no hope of Taseer’s recovery as long as Sanaullah was in office.


Speaking on a call attention notice, Basra said Sanaullah had been openly patronising banned militant organisations in the province. He said had it been Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s son who had been kidnapped in a similar manner the Inspector General of Punjab Police would have been suspended by now.

Responding to Basra’s remarks, Sanaullah said the police and a joint investigation team probing the kidnapping were in touch with the Taseer family. He said the family was being briefed on updates in the investigation. He claimed that the family was satisfied with government’s efforts.

(Read: Crime unlimited)

He said the details could not be disclose at this stage as that could jeopardise the investigation and put Taseer’s life in further danger.

Basra demanded that if details about the investigation could not be disclosed due to Taseer’s security the government should at least arrange a briefing on the issue for Opposition Leader Raja Riaz in his chamber. He said the Sharif family bore grudge against late Salmaan Taseer.

He said Taseer was assassinated following Sanaullah’s provocative statements against him.

Opposition Leader Raja Riaz said investigators should take into account Sharif family’s differences with late Salmaan Taseer as an important factor in Shahbaz Taseer’s kidnapping. The session was suspended for some time after PPP members boycotted in protest against Sanaullah’s statement that President Asif Ali Zardari be asked to testify that he had no role in Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.

Sanaullah was responding to Basra’s demand that the law minister clarify that he or the chief minister had no knowledge of Taseer’s abduction.

To a question seeking a deadline for Taseer’s recovery, the law minister said he would set a deadline if Interior Minister Rehman Malik agreed on one for the arrest of Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti’s murderers.

Sanaullah earlier informed the house that DIG (Investigation) Aamir Ali Malik was heading the police team investigating the case. He said once Taseer was recovered Shahbaz Sharif would himself come and disclose all details of the investigation to the House.

The session had started after a delay of an hour at around 4pm. The Parliamentary Secretary on Local Governments, Abdur Razzaq Dhillon, failed to respond to the questions concerning his department during the question hour. A Punjab Industrial and Commercial Employment (standing orders) Amendment Bill 2011 was also moved in the House. The session was later adjourned till Tuesday at 10am.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Taseer’s Inheritance: Arguments on Oct 4 on ‘widow’ claim</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/251162/taseer%e2%80%99s-inheritance-arguments-on-oct-4-on-%e2%80%98widow%e2%80%99-claim</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/251162/taseer%e2%80%99s-inheritance-arguments-on-oct-4-on-%e2%80%98widow%e2%80%99-claim#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 11 20:46:16 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=251162</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Woman claiming to be a widow of the slain Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer and seeking a share in his inheritance.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[A civil court on Monday fixed for a written reply and arguments October 4 in a petition by a woman, claiming to be a widow of the slain Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer and seeking a share in his inheritance. Ayesha Bukhari had filed the application in April 2011 seeking to be declared one of the legal heirs of the late governor. Earlier, the court had summoned the respondents by September 12 for their arguments. On Monday, the counsel for both sides requested the court to fix another date for the submission of replies by the respondents. Bukhari says she had married the late governor on June 29, 2004. She said they did not have any children. The petitioner told the court that the respondents, Taseer’s wife,Amina Taseer and his children, Shahbaz Taseer, Sheharyar Taseer, Sheharbano Taseer, Sara Taseer, Shan Taseer and Sanam Taseer, had sought to be declared as his only legal heirs. She also named the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the State Bank of Pakistan as respondents in this case. She requested the court to help her get her share in inheritance as Taseer’s widow.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Chinks in the armour?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/250797/chinks-in-the-armour</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/250797/chinks-in-the-armour#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 11 16:07:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=250797</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Has the Dawat-e-Islami, too, become a possible threat to the army?]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[A report in this newspaper says that the military has become alerted to a possible danger from the proselytising activities of the religious organisation Dawat-e-Islami, distinguished by the sporting of green turbans by its followers. A Barelvi variant of the Deobandi Tableeghi Jamaat, Dawat also claims to be apolitical. But the intelligence agencies have warned that “its growing influence in the armed forces will have serious implications”. It has never been under strict watch, but it is financially powerful and has its own 24-hour channel that many cable operators provide.

The Tableeghi Jamaat was considered fit for elite support because of its Deobandi orientation and patronage from the Gulf and the  Middle East. The Dawat has remained a poor man’s religious organisation, so to speak, divorced from the state’s patronage of jihad. It is surmised that the army has become sensitive to the penetration of its ranks after a policeman decided to kill Salmaan Taseer, earlier this year. Thereafter, the army confirmed that it had detained a senior officer, along with four other military personnel, for links with the banned Hizbut Tahrir. Has the Dawat-e-Islami, too, become a possible threat to the army? An intelligence report says its influence is increasing: over Rs20 million were collected from the Pakistan Air Force for the organisation during this past Ramazan. The organisation was founded by its present charismatic leader Ilyas Qadri, in 1980, when the Deobandis were getting the green light for jihad and the Barelvis were being ignored simply because the training camps — some of them run by al Qaeda — were located in Afghanistan, where the Deobandis hold sway.

The Dawat has grown powerful on its own. In October every year, it holds the biggest congregation in Multan rivalling the one held by the Tableeghi Jamaat in Raiwind near Lahore. As in the case of the Jamaat, special trains are run by the government to transport the devotees to the venue from all over Pakistan. The congregation is usually 500,000 strong or more, according to media reports.

In Multan, the venue is annually converted into a small city with all facilities provided by the Dawat to rival the annual gathering, of the Tableeghi Jamaat outside Lahore. During three days the city of Multan receives a big economic boost because of the visitors who have to eat and drink and buy their other necessities in the market. In Lahore, the biggest mosque of Dawat-e-Islami is situated on the Mall Canal Bridge near the National Institute of Public Administration academy. Often, green turbans are distributed for free to an increasing number of well-to-do devotees who throng the mosque.

Maulana Ilyas Qadri is, in the true Barelvi tradition, a follower of Ghaus-e-Azam Abdul Qadir Jilani of Iraq and Khan Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi of Bhopal. His magnum opus is the bestselling book titled Faizan-e-Sunnat consisting of 1,326 pages in small print. It is a treasury of Sunni tradition in the Barelvi branch, every page of which is properly sourced to the greatest saints in the Sunni-Barelvi school. In the Barelvi tradition, there are miracles recounted in the shape of dreams seen by the followers of the Dawat, which all true believers must accept. That said, however, it should not be forgotten that Mumtaz Qadri, the policeman who killed the Punjab governor, was also a follower of the Dawat-e-Islami and motivated to do what he did because he was told that it was the right thing to do. Similarly, several Barelvi organisations have sprung up, especially in Punjab, where they aggressively rally the local population in favour of the controversial blasphemy law and against Ahmadis and Christians. One such organisation is currently involved in distributing hate literature against Ahmadis in Faisalabad, after which one Ahmadi was shot dead in the city last week.

The military can take its precautionary steps inside its own structure and it will only be good for Pakistan; but the last time Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Tableeghi Jamaat was a nursery of terrorists, he was roundly condemned by the opposition led by the PML-N’s Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and leader of the PPP’s coalition partner PML-Q, Chaudhry Shujaat. The minister immediately denied that he ever made the statement. Let’s see what happens this time around.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Dawat-e-Islami comes under military’s radar</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/250572/clamping-down-dawat-e-islami-comes-under-military%e2%80%99s-radar</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/250572/clamping-down-dawat-e-islami-comes-under-military%e2%80%99s-radar#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 11 02:24:55 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[kamran.yousaf]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=250572</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Intell­igence agenci­es warn agains­t growin­g influe­nce of the preach­ing group in the armed forces.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[In an unprecedented move, military authorities in Pakistan have decided to curtail the activities of a proselytising organisation in their ranks after reports by intelligence agencies warned that its growing influence in the armed forces will have serious implications.

Dawat-e-Islami, an ostensibly apolitical Barelvi proselytising organisation, had never been under the strict watch of security agencies until now, primarily because of its non-violent religious views.

That appears to have changed after the assassination of former Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer in January this year by one of the elite police guards in his security detail, who was believed to be a follower of Dawat-e-Islami.

Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the self-confessed assassin of the late governor, is thought to be the first person affiliated with the organisation to publicly use violent means in the name of religion.

(Read: ‘Osama and Obama bad, Qadri good’)

“That incident has changed our opinion about the organisation,” said a source in the intelligence agency which recently compiled a report about the growing activities and influence of Dawat-e-Islami in the armed forces.

“We do understand it was an isolated event but we cannot be complacent now,” the source added, justifying the decision to put Dawat-e-Islami under the radar in military.

According to the intelligence report, the contents of which have been shared with The Express Tribune, not only is the influence of Dawat-e-Islami increasing in the armed forces, its followers in the military have become the organisation’s key source of funding.

“Over Rs20 million were collected from the Pakistan Air Force for the organization, during the month of Ramazan,” said a security official who requested to remain anonymous.

Founded by Ilyas Qadri in 1980 in Karachi, Dawat-e-Islami has hundreds of thousands of followers in Pakistan and abroad. The organisation has its own website and a TV channel called ‘Madani TV’.

Downplaying the move

A military official, when approached, tried to downplay the move by authorities to stop the growing influence of Dawat-e-Islami in the armed forces.

“It is nothing new. We have zero-tolerance for all such organisations within the military,” the official insisted. He acknowledged that Dawat-e-Islami has a following in the armed forces but it is not unusual.

“You can’t stop individuals practicing their own religious beliefs, if they are not violating the military discipline,” he argued.

Pakistan armed forces personnel are often accused by the west of having links with religious extremists.

In June, the army confirmed that it had detained one of its senior officers, along with four other military personnel, for links with the banned Hizbut Tahrir.

Brigadier Ali Khan and four unnamed majors have been in the military’s custody since then.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Crime unlimited</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/248778/crime-unlimited</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/248778/crime-unlimited#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Sep 11 17:34:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=248778</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Warren and Shahbaz Taseer, investigators say, have been whisked away to an area beyond the reach of security agencies.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Our society is becoming harder and harder to fathom. Each time a crime takes place, it is followed by wild conjecture as to who is responsible and why. The whole process is rather like a wild guessing game, with no assurance that the true answers will be found. We live in lawless times when guns rule and there is no sense of security for anyone. The gangs of criminals that operate are, meanwhile, adopting more and more sophisticated methods, moving far ahead of the law enforcers who seem unable to match their skill or technique.

Immediately after the kidnapping of US aid expert Dr Warren Weinstein in the middle of August and that of the son of the late Salmaan Taseer, Shahbaz, a few weeks later, investigators say both men were captured by criminal gangs who then ‘sold’ them to yet another gang of hardened criminals specialising in kidnappings for ransom. The two men, the investigators say, have now been whisked away to an area beyond the reach of security agencies, presumably in the tribal belt. Admitting they are effectively helpless, law enforcers have little to offer the families. They suggest they should wait for a ransom demand and then negotiate with the kidnappers.

This is not very encouraging. Paying ransom — as the families of other victims have done in the past — can only encourage more abductions, no matter how quietly the cash is handed over. It is also not reassuring to know our agencies can do nothing to help the victims of crime against powerful gangs who may or may not be linked with the Taliban. Some reports have spoken of a percentage of proceeds from such crimes going to militants and helping them fund their own activities. Who knows what the precise truth is. But for all of us, foreigners and locals alike, it is hardly comforting to know that the police and other agencies can do nothing to protect us and, for all practical terms, we live in times when we must act alone to save ourselves or see our loved ones whisked away, as Weinstein and Taseer were. 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>New assembly session begins today</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/248272/new-assembly-session-begins-today</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/248272/new-assembly-session-begins-today#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Sep 11 02:31:46 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=248272</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[‘Centre’s inept handling of power crisis to blame for kidnappings’.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[The 30th session of the Punjab Assembly (PA) starts today at 3pm and will likely run for three weeks as the members debate law and order, new provinces and other issues.


Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, talking to reporters on Thursday, indicated that the Karachi situation would be discussed. He said that he believed that the allegations made by former Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement concerning the violence in Karachi, and vice versa, were true.

He accused the Pakistan Peoples Party of hypocrisy, saying they were demanding the carving up of the Punjab on the basis of ethnicity and language, but any mention of the division of Sindh was condemned as offensive. He said the Muslim League-Nawaz was not opposed to new provinces, but it wanted any such process to be carried out according to constitutional provisions. He said if the federal government were serious, it would set up a committee to consider the subject like it had with the 18th Amendment.

Sanaullah sought to refute a claim made by PML-Quaid’s Parliamentary Leader in the Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Zaheeruddin Khan that 33,000 kidnapping for ransom cases had been registered from 2009 to 2011. He presented official documents stating that there had been 1,300 such cases registered from 2006 to 2010.

He said that police investigations of these cases showed that the reason behind most kidnappings was poverty and unemployment, and these were a direct result of the gas and electricity shortages crippling industry, which in turn were the responsibility of the federal government.

Sanaullah said he was satisfied with the joint investigation team trying to find the son of slain former governor Salmaan Taseer, Shahbaz Taseer, who was recently kidnapped. PA Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal met with senior officials of the police, Rescue 1122 and Home Department on Thursday to discuss security arrangements for the building during the session. He directed security officials to make sure that no guests are allowed on the premises.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Taseer and Weinstein ‘sold by original abductors’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/248374/breakthrough-or-dead-end-taseer-and-weinstein-%e2%80%98sold-by-original-abductors%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/248374/breakthrough-or-dead-end-taseer-and-weinstein-%e2%80%98sold-by-original-abductors%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Sep 11 01:04:29 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[asad.kharal]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=248374</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Invest­igator­s say negoti­ating ransom is the only plausi­ble soluti­on.]]>
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			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Law enforcement agencies investigating the abduction cases of Shahbaz Taseer, son of slain former governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer, and American aid expert Dr Warren Weinstein reportedly made a breakthrough but have simultaneously arrived at a dead-end, officials privately informed The Express Tribune.

Investigators have traced the initial kidnappers in both high-profile abduction cases, and confirmed that both are kidnappings for ransom, but discovered that the original kidnappers “sold” their victims to another set of abductors at a higher ransom, sources said.

The ‘new’ kidnappers have been identified and are organised criminals, with a strong background of such abductions, but so far, no link has been established with banned militant outfits in either case, sources added.

Investigators said that the two cases are not linked and two separate gangs are involved in these abductions for ransom.

(Read: We are not all CIA agents)

The victims, however, have been moved to a location where Pakistani law enforcers and security agencies cannot act to recover them, they added.

The investigators said the only option possibly left for the abducted persons’ families is to negotiate a ransom, which is yet to be communicated.

Investigators say they have communicated to the families that going after the abductors could endanger the victim’s lives. The agencies are playing it ‘safe’ and are waiting for the kidnappers to ‘contact’ the families, sources added.

It may be weeks before any contact is established since the kidnappers know that they are far from the reach of security agencies, a senior official familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune.

(Read: Shahbaz Taseer and today’s Pakistan)

The lack of contact by the abductors was corroborated by a joint investigation report sent to the interior ministry that analysed call data records of Taseer’s family members.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Shahbaz taseer’s abduction: Minorities ask govt to step up efforts</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/244943/shahbaz-taseer%e2%80%99s-abduction-minorities-ask-govt-to-step-up-efforts</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/244943/shahbaz-taseer%e2%80%99s-abduction-minorities-ask-govt-to-step-up-efforts#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 04 Sep 11 21:06:07 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=244943</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The protesters carried banners in support of late Salmaan Taseer, the former Punjab governor.]]>
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				<![CDATA[All Pakistan Minorities Alliance Faislabad chapter took out a rally in protest against law enforcement agencies failure to make progress in Shahbaz Taseer’s abduction case. The rally started at Press Club and ended at Katchery Chowk. The protesters carried banners in support of late Salmaan Taseer, the former Punjab governor. They demanded provincial government to step up  efforts for Taseer’s recovery.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Shahbaz Taseer abduction splits Barelvi group</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/244436/abduction-splits-barelvi-group</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/244436/abduction-splits-barelvi-group#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 04 Sep 11 05:07:36 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=244436</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[‘Islam’s image will suffer if clerics don’t condemn Shahbaz Taseer abduction’.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The spokesman of a Barelvi group that had called for the assassination of Salmaan Taseer is under fire from colleagues for condemning the kidnapping of Shahbaz Taseer, the slain governor’s son.


Ziaul Haq Naqshbandi, the spokesman for Tahafuz Namoos-i-Risalat Mahaz (TNRM) and president of the Fikr Writers Forum, issued a press statement a few days ago condemning Shahbaz Taseer’s abduction and calling on religious parties to do the same. He said that it was un-Islamic to punish someone “for the sins of his parents”.

Naqshbandi told The Express Tribune that he had been criticised by his party colleagues and they were threatening to expel him for issuing a statement “in favour of the son of a blasphemer”.

Salmaan Taseer was gunned down in January by a member of his security detail, Mumtaz Qadri, who boasted that his motive was to punish the governor for his alleged blasphemy through opposition to the ‘blasphemy’ laws. TNRM representative Mufti Pir Afzal Qadri had at an earlier public rally declared that it was permissible to kill Taseer as he had disrespected the Holy Prophet (pbuh), and his killer would go to heaven.

Naqshbandi, speaking to The Tribune on Saturday, justified the TNRM campaign against Taseer, but added that it was unfair to target the rest of the family. He said many clerics agreed with him about Shahbaz, but some “illiterate and fanatical” clerics were demanding that he withdraw his statement. “People in my own party have been calling me and saying to my face that I have committed a blunder,” he said.

The TNRM spokesman said he stood by his statement. He said he didn’t think a religious group was behind the kidnapping, but whoever it was had committed an un-Islamic act and was not a representative of Islam. “The religious parties must come forward in support of Shahbaz Taseer’s recovery to portray the true image of Islam,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Fighting a losing battle?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/244132/fighting-a-losing-battle</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/244132/fighting-a-losing-battle#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 03 Sep 11 16:52:19 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ayesha.siddiqa]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=244132</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Question that liberals fail to ask is how, in absence of legwork, can they change mindset of Hamid's followers?]]>
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				<![CDATA[A recent television debate between columnist and political activist Marvi Sirmed and televangelist Zaid Hamid has invited many comments. The discussion revolved around Zaid Hamid and Meher Bokhari’s accusations that the South Asian Free Media Association is being funded by Indian intelligence agencies.

The debate reminded me of a duel between renowned boxer Muhammad Ali and Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki. The competition between the masters of their respective fields was a mismatch in which both men felt out of place — a wrestler fighting a boxer.

Both speakers spoke different political and social languages. The debate at best was a zero-sum game since neither side made inroads into the other’s camp. While the liberals patted Sirmed, Hamid’s followers pelted abuses at her. Today, Ms Sirmed is an endangered species who may not even be helped by the ‘liberal’ PPP government in case she gets into life-threatening trouble.

The liberal discourse is based on certain assumptions starting from the impression that a large majority of people subscribe to liberalism, which they express by not voting for religious parties. This is a fallacy. In fact, the post-Salmaan Taseer reaction proved that a number of PPP jiyalas did not sympathise with what Taseer stood for and the party was absolutely clueless about mustering support for Taseer, leave alone Aasia bibi. Second, for the liberals it is a particular group, political party or agenda that personifies liberalism. For instance, a human rights activist sent around a message recently asking people to demonstrate against the film censor board’s decision to ban a Pakistani film. This was seen as a decision taken under the influence of the religious right. However, the same person was hesitant to protest an act of blatant misdemeanour by the present government. There are many others who wouldn’t protest certain issues out of fear of being labelled as anti-liberal. So it’s not the issue which is important but the right tag.

The question that the liberals fail to ask themselves is that in the absence of any legwork to eradicate growing radicalism, such as having the will to change the curriculum or creating a social agenda tied with political objectives, how can anyone even begin to change the mindset of Zaid Hamid followers? Today, Jinnah’s August 11 speech does not mean anything except what our state-sponsored historian Akber S Ahmed calls political pragmatism. We could debate until the cows come home that Jinnah did not want a theocratic state. But the fact is that Pakistan’s underlying philosophy espoused a separation between ethnic communities on the basis of a religious identity. Having done that, neither Jinnah nor his Muslim League could claim sole ownership of a political narrative laced in religion.

The state, the political class and the bulk of the intelligentsia owned the religious identity-based politics to a degree that national identity became synonymous with religious identity. It’s due to the state’s ownership of this peculiar discourse that no one was able to convince the common man that the two-nation theory needed serious revision after the breakup of Pakistan in 1971. The inability to introspect even then made us put the responsibility solely on India’s doorsteps. Resultantly, Zulfikar Bhutto’s slogan of a ‘thousand years of war’ with India strengthened the age-old narrative. Similarly, it is false to argue that Musharraf encouraged liberalism through his policies as he was one big supporter of militancy. The fact is that all our leaders, be it civilian or military, have contributed to this selective narrative.

However, Pakistan needs to graduate from a two-nation theory to a one-nation narrative that is all-inclusive. It has to cut across religious-ideological, ethnic and sectarian divides. The Zaid Hamids of this country have to appreciate that the two-nation theory might have created a country, but it has run out of steam and must be replaced by slogans that can join people without coercion. An all-inclusive agenda will strengthen us even more than our neighbour India, whom we insist on contesting all the time. This also means that only the political group we support will not colour political and intellectual choices.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>High-profile abduction: Police find SIM cards used during Taseer’s kidnapping</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/242658/shahbaz-taseer-abduction-3-mobile-numbers-traced</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/242658/shahbaz-taseer-abduction-3-mobile-numbers-traced#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 31 Aug 11 05:47:21 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rameez.khan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=242658</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[An abductor had dropped a mobile phone while kidnapping Shahbaz.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Lahore police said on Monday that it had traced three mobile numbers that it believed were used by Shahbaz Taseer’s kidnappers minutes before the abduction.


Investigators said that a China-made mobile phone was dropped by an abductor, which was picked up by a scavenger who deleted the data on the SIM cards.

Shahbaz Taseer, son of slain Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, was abducted last Friday in Lahore’s Gulberg area while he was on his way to work.

The scavenger was traced through the SIM cards’ International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. He was then picked up by Lahore police’s Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) and was transferred to an undisclosed location.

However, investigators managed to retrieve the numbers used through the call history of the mobile phone. The data retrieved from the mobile phone companies revealed that the location of the phone was Gulberg when the calls were made. They also revealed that the abductors used the cell phones to keep each other updated regarding Shahbaz’s kidnapping.

Initially, the police suspected that the scavenger was involved in the abduction but later, it became apparent that the person had no connection with the alleged kidnappers.

Investigators said that this was a major breakthrough in the case and raids were being conducted to arrest the owners of the SIM cards.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31st, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Taseer abduction : PM Gilani assures early recovery of Shahbaz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/241634/pm-gilani-visits-taseer-family-in-lahore</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/241634/pm-gilani-visits-taseer-family-in-lahore#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Aug 11 07:51:24 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=241634</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Khosa says Taseer is alive; police say they have ‘a clue’ into abductors’ location.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani visited the family of late Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer assuring them of the safe recovery of Shahbaz Taseer. However, the police still remain clueless about the abduction and have claimed to have no leads in the case so far, The Express Tribune learnt on Monday.


Shahbaz Taseer was abducted from Lahore’s upscale Gulberg area while on his way to work on Friday. Search operations continue in parts of the city, while no one has been arrested yet, investigators revealed.

The prime minister, meanwhile, visited the Taseer residence where he met the former governor’s widow, Amina Taseer and younger son, Sheharyar Taseer. Gilani assured the family that the government was doing its utmost for the Taseer’s safe recovery.

Well placed police officials have said that the police have found a clue into the abductors’ whereabouts by tracing call records. However, sources said, they have yet to narrow down the list of numbers for a definite location, adding that ‘there were clear suspicions of his presence in the city’.

The officials further said that they suspect that the abductors will contact Taseer’s family in 10 to 15 days. They added that the modus operandi of abductors in such high-profile kidnappings is that they take the hostage to a safe place and analyse the circumstances before making any contact with the family. The sources added that the aspect of property dispute could not be ruled out yet.

SSP Operation Shuakat Abbass told The Express Tribune that results of the fingerprints taken from the crime scene will take at least eight more days, and are being traced through NADRA’s countrywide record. He added that the weapon, seized from the crime scene, is also being analysed by forensic experts.

Abbass reaffirmed that the police do have a clue about Taseer’s suspected location, adding that seven committees were working in their given mandate.

Shahbaz is alive: Khosa

Meanwhile, Punjab Governor Latif Khosa has expressed confidence that Shahbaz Taseer is alive. Express 24/7 reported on Monday that Khosa said significant clues regarding Shahbaz’s abduction have been found during the investigation.

However, the Punjab governor expressed dissatisfaction over the ‘slow pace’ of the investigation which is being conducted by the provincial government. So far, investigations into Taseer’s abduction have led the Lahore police to interrogate two servants, and seven employees and guards at his company.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Shahbaz Taseer’s abduction: Police interrogate family servant</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/241452/shahbaz-taseer%e2%80%99s-abduction-police-interrogate-family-servant</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/241452/shahbaz-taseer%e2%80%99s-abduction-police-interrogate-family-servant#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Aug 11 05:09:29 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rameez.khan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=241452</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The man’s fingerprint matched with that found on a handle of Shahbaz’s car.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Investigations continue into Shahbaz Taseer’s abduction as Lahore police interrogated two servants, and seven employees and guards at his company, The Express Tribune has learnt.

“So far, we have traced only one fingerprint from his Mercedes car’s left handle which, according to the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), belongs to one of the servants of the Taseer family,” SSP Investigations Abdul Razzaque Cheema said.

He said that NADRA is tracing fingerprints taken off of the gun [left behind by the kidnappers], Shahbaz’s phone and laptop. Phone records, he said, have also been checked by mobile phone companies and no suspicious called were made at the time [of the incident].

Shahbaz Taseer, son of Punjab’s slain governor Salmaan Taseer, was kidnapped on Friday in Lahore’s upscale Gulberg area while on his way to work. But forensic experts have warned that evidence collected from the abduction site may not help investigators as some police officers mishandled the evidence.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on Sunday, investigators said that police have no leads as yet in the case. They said multiple aspects were being investigated and only hypothesis seems conclusive: since no group has claimed responsibility or demanded ransom, the abduction could be rooted in a family or property dispute.

Eyewitness?

SSP Cheema said that traffic warden Zeeshan, who was said to have witnessed the entire scene, was actually told by someone that a 222-rifle is lying on the ground near Park Plaza Hotel which contradicts his earlier statement that he saw the kidnappers throw the rifle out of their black Prado.  Cheema said he does not suspect any other car to have accompanied that of the kidnappers. He added the man, who had checked out from a company guest house a few minutes before Shahbaz’s abduction, has been cleared from the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>The non-Muslims of Pakistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/241152/the-non-muslims-of-pakistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/241152/the-non-muslims-of-pakistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 28 Aug 11 16:18:40 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=241152</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The blasphemy laws are still on the statute book and regularly used to victimise the minorities.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[In compliance with the 18th Amendment, President Asif Ali Zardari recently signed an amendment in the Senate (Election) Rules 1975 to reserve four seats for non-Muslims in Pakistan’s Upper House. This means that each province will send an additional member to the Senate which consists 100 members including 17 seats reserved for women and 17 seats reserved for technocrats and ulema. The Senate will have reserved seats for non-Muslims for the first time. Although the Senate represented the provinces, it was presumed earlier that they did not need to pay special attention to getting their non-Muslim minorities an airing there despite their disadvantaged position.

On the other hand, the National Assembly was sensitive to the position of the largely backward religious minorities. It had a total of 342 seats, including 60 seats reserved for women and 10 seats reserved for non-Muslims. We are at a loss to understand the thinking behind this difference in envisaging representation in the two houses of parliament but welcome the correction that the 18th Amendment has brought about. The provincial assemblies already have non-Muslim seats in proportion to the numbers in the constituencies, in addition to those elected on the basis of still controversial joint electorates.

A lacuna has been addressed by all the political parties who voted for the 18th Amendment. It is just as well that the ruling PPP did not have a two-thirds majority to pass the amendment; now the change denotes a political consensus otherwise in short supply in the country. This is not to say that problems faced by the non-Muslim minorities are well on the way to being resolved. The controversial and much-misused blasphemy laws, are still on the statute book and regularly used to victimise them individually or collectively. Finally it is a measure of how incapable our political parties are of providing leadership on crucial issues and will go along with the base instincts of society to retain themselves in popular focus.

Pakistan has a very small non-Muslim population. By normal accounts, it should have no ‘minority problems’ unlike Bangladesh which was declared a secular-socialist state in 1971 but was not able to handle its large Hindu minority amounting to almost 25 per cent in 1947. Because of the maltreatment meted out to the Hindus, their population is down to 11 per cent in today’s Bangladesh. Deprived of land through legislation and maltreatment, the Hindus have steadily fled into India over the years. Ironically, Muslim Bangladeshis, too, have fled to India in large numbers.

The germ of the two-nation doctrine is embedded in the mind of the Muslim majority community and it is misapplied to an already minuscule non-Muslim population in Pakistan. Its original application was related to the ‘imagined’ nations in India. The Congress claimed there was one nation in India and the Muslim League claimed there were two. After Partition, Pakistan should have moved to a single identity: whoever is a citizen of Pakistan belongs to the nation of Pakistan. But this universally applied concept was soon scuttled when the Muslim League thought of separating the non-Muslims through separate electorates.

General Zia actually separated the non-Muslims from the rest of the nation through separate electorates. Behind the change in the Eighth Amendment to the 1973 Constitution was the idea of ‘zimmi-hood’ which he and his partners in power had close to their heart although many thought it was violation of the spirit of Mithaq-e-Madina envisaging one nation. He, however, stopped short of ‘jazia’ (special protection tax) which is a historical corollary to ‘zimmi-hood’ — a kind of ‘payment from minorities’ received by some Muslim kings in India. There is helplessness in the face of the cruelties inflicted on the non-Muslims by the blasphemy law. When late Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer publicly condemned the law, he was killed by his own bodyguard. After his death no one would lead his funeral prayer, and the man who finally did has run away to the UK seeking asylum from those who threaten him with death. And the Christian woman whom Governor Taseer died defending is still rotting in jail under a seemingly trumped-up charge of blasphemy. In Punjab, the Christian minority wants its support to the Pakistan Movement mentioned in the textbooks while religious fanatics torch their houses.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Brazen abduction: As clock ticks, search for Taseer narrows to urban areas</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240955/brazen-abduction-as-clock-ticks-search-for-taseer-narrows-to-urban-areas</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240955/brazen-abduction-as-clock-ticks-search-for-taseer-narrows-to-urban-areas#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 28 Aug 11 05:58:00 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[abdul.manan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=240955</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[8 police teams investigating case from various angles; top officials insist kidnapping is case of personal rivalry.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[As investigators collect and comb through evidence for leads, senior security officials say they have narrowed the scope of the investigation in the Shahbaz Taseer abduction case to urban areas of Punjab.


Law enforcement officials informed Punjab Governor Latif Khosa that they have failed to find any clue of involvement of terrorists from tribal areas, sources in the Governor House said.

Meanwhile, the Punjab police chief informed the governor that Taseer appears to have been abducted over personal rivalry, sources added, despite the insistence by Taseer’s family to the contrary.

Law enforcement agencies are therefore focusing on urban areas of the Punjab in general, and provincial capital Lahore in particular, for Taseer’s recovery, the governor was informed.

Punjab Home Secretary and the Inspector General of Police called on Governor Khosa on Saturday and briefed him on the progress on Taseer’s recovery.

Son of former slain governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer and his widow Aamna, Shahbaz was abducted early Friday morning en route to his office in Gulberg, from his residence in Cavalry Ground.

Taseer’s mobile phones and laptop, left behind in the abandoned car after his abduction, have been sent to the forensics department while finger prints collected from the car have been sent to National Database Registration Authority (NADRA), investigators said.

Eight teams investigate 

The police have formed eight teams to investigate Taseer’s abduction case, said Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Investigation Abdul Razzaque Cheema.The abductors have not contacted Taseer’s family and no arrests have been made yet, he said.

The Kalashnikov, thrown out of the abductors’ black Prado while they escaped, is being checked for finger prints and ownership, he added.

SSP Operation Shuakat Abass said that since Taseer’s family is engaged in multiple businesses, the police cannot single out one dispute and is therefore investigating the case from multiple angles.

Deputy inspector-general (DIG) operations Ghulam Mehmood Dogar also confirmed that the police have leads in the case but refused to disclose any.

Security on the city’s entry and exit points has been tightened and cars, especially big ones, were being thoroughly checked, he added.

Meanwhile, a team has been particularly assigned to investigate whether any sectarian or religiously-motivated group, related to slain governor’ self-confessed killer Mumtaz Qadri, is involved in the abduction, sources added.

Off the record

Taseer had retuned to Pakistan from Dubai a day earlier and the investigators are probing how the information of his arrival was leaked, sources said while speaking to The Express Tribune.

Disposing the gun on the street might have been an attempt to mislead the police, they added, since there was no need to do so.

A search operation was conducted across the city including Defence, Model Town and Gulberg, and while few people were taken into custody, no arrests have been made yet, sources added.

The two people taken into custody were also released after questioning, sources said, adding that seven employees from Taseer’s company were being questioned as well.

PPP requisitions assembly session

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has submitted a call attention notice in Punjab Assembly (PA) over Taseer’s abduction. The PPP has submitted a call attention notice in the assembly secretariat , PPP deputy parliamentary leader in PA Shaukat Mehmood Basra told The Express Tribune.

According to the law, the chief minister is bound to reply to questions raised in the call attention notices, he said, adding that he would submit a requisition a PA session to discuss the abduction.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>WikiLeaks revelations: Q, N League rivalry interrupted child jockey return programme</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240980/wikileaks-revelations-q-n-league-rivalry-interrupted-child-jockey-return-programme</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240980/wikileaks-revelations-q-n-league-rivalry-interrupted-child-jockey-return-programme#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 28 Aug 11 05:41:34 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saba.imtiaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=240980</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[PML-N claimed it can introduce blasphemy law reforms because of right-wing credibility.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Over 1,000 US State Department and embassy cables related to Pakistan were published by WikiLeaks this week. 

The cables – which deal extensively with political developments, the state of the economy, human rights and security crises – provide an insight into the past two decades of the US-Pakistan relationship and Pakistan’s progress, or lack thereof, on critical issues.


UNICEF suspended programme over PML-N – PML-Q tussle

Tensions between the PML factions in 2009 caused Unicef to temporarily suspend a programme to rehabilitate child jockeys. A cable from the US Consulate in Lahore quoted a Unicef officer as saying that its relationship with the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) had “fallen victim” to a political battle between the PML-Q and PML-N. In January, Unicef realised that the CPWB was not returning Unicef’s phone calls or engaging with it.

“On investigation, it (Unicef) discovered the home secretary, a PML-N member, had prohibited CPWB interaction with international organisations. It appeared that he did this because the CPWB was headed by PML-Q member Dr Faiza Asghar, and preventing the bureau from functioning effectively would give the home secretary a pretext to replace her.”

The district officer of the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) in Rahim Yar Khan told the consulate that the Punjab government had closed programmes to rehabilitate child jockeys. Unicef said that the programme was temporarily stopped because the CPWB could not effectively perform field activities and distribute funds, and that Unicef would select a new partner within the Social Welfare Department to continue the programme.

A Unicef officer also predicted the CPWB would be relocated to the Social Welfare Department, and then it could renew its relationship with it.

The Home Secretary also initially refused to let a political officer meet with PML-Q’s Asghar or CPWB officials. Asghar told the consulate in October that “while the PML-N government provided a budget for the CPWB, she was unable to expand her programmes or fill vacant positions. The current PML-N government used the excuse that the Home Department did not have proper documentation to support her role as Chairperson of the CPWB and was using this to stall CPWB’s work”.

The child jockey rehabilitation programme was funded by the United Arab Emirates and overseen by Unicef.

Blasphemy laws

Even though the PML-N has opposed any amendments in the blasphemy laws, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal held different views.

A cable recording a May 2008 meeting between Iqbal and the assistant secretary of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour states: “He (Iqbal) was extremely cautious about possible repeal of blasphemy laws. At first he said the government (the PML-N was then part of the federal government) is too busy working on constitutional legislative issues that will determine the future of the state. He spoke in favour of ensuring that the laws are not misapplied to punish particular people, but said totally striking the law would be too controversial for any government to accomplish.”

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif believed the PPP could not accomplish reforms. In a 2009 cable sent by the US Consulate in Lahore, which detailed the case of a blasphemy accused dying in police custody, Sharif is quoted as telling a political officer that the “PPP was too weak on religious issues to repeal the blasphemy  law.  Only a change in administration, from PPP to PML-N, would result in a party with enough support from the religious community to institute a real change to the law.”

The cable also highlights that Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was called a blasphemer by religious parties for saying that the law should be repealed. Taseer was assassinated this January for his opposition to the blasphemy law.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Council of Common Interest: PM urges nation to support Karachi operation</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240983/council-of-common-interest-pm-urges-nation-to-support-karachi-operation</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240983/council-of-common-interest-pm-urges-nation-to-support-karachi-operation#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 28 Aug 11 04:55:46 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[qamar.zaman]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=240983</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Sharif briefs the meeting about efforts to recover Shahbaz Taseer.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has urged the nation to support the Sindh government’s decision to rule out military intervention in Karachi which has been plagued by political and ethnic violence.


“Karachi is now our biggest challenge. I take this opportunity, in the presence of all four chief ministers, to urge the nation to support the Sindh government’s operation. It is a provincial initiative which is fully backed by the federal government. The resolution of the Karachi conflict lies in upholding the rule of law,” said the prime minister on Saturday while addressing the seventh meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI).

Gilani said that while we are all engaged in efforts to strengthen democracy, anti-democratic forces and anti-state elements are carrying out activities detrimental to the country’s economic growth and stability. “We need to raise our guard against these disruptive forces to be able to move forward unimpeded,” he added.

“I am a great believer in politics of consensus and reconciliation. These attributes constitute the essence of democracy. The path is however full of pitfalls and obstacles,” the premier said. “Sacrifice, understanding, patience and commonality of purpose are required to evolve a consensus.” The Sindh chief minister thanked the prime minister for his support for the measures taken by the provincial government to restore peace in Karachi.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif apprised the prime minister of his government’s efforts to recover former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer’s son, Shahbaz Taseer who was abducted from a busy artery in Lahore on Friday.

The CCI agreed to work on a formula for distribution of zakat by the provinces and to expedite compensation to the people affected by last summer’s devastating floods. The CII members reached an agreement to devolve the distribution of zakat to the provinces in pursuance of the 18th amendment. The Express Tribune has learnt that the federation and the provinces agreed to equally share the financial burden of payment of the second tranche among the survivors of last year’s flood. The chief ministers were urged to provide details of each household within two weeks, so that the federal government can release the necessary funds. The CCI has asked the ministry of water and power to coordinate with the provinces regarding permission for power generation and submit its proposals within a week.

Public debt management, imposition of a new levy, the sixth housing census and privatisation of power sector entities also figured on the meeting’s agenda.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Watch your wallets: Malik to plead for alms collection ban as an anti-extortion tactic</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240843/watch-your-wallets-malik-to-plead-for-alms-collection-ban-as-an-anti-extortion-tactic</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240843/watch-your-wallets-malik-to-plead-for-alms-collection-ban-as-an-anti-extortion-tactic#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 27 Aug 11 21:08:52 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Hafeez Tunio]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=240843</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Interior minister says he cannot put ‘a deadline’ on his war against Karachi’s killers.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that he will request all political parties in Sindh, especially in Karachi, to stop collecting Zakat, Fitra and sacrificial animal skins on Eid in an attempt to root out the ‘bhatta mafia’ (extortion groups).


“It is not the political parties’ job to knock on doors and distribute slips for Fitrana or to ask people to give them the hides of sacrificial animals,” he told media personnel, after a meeting with Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) representatives on Saturday.

“There is a dire need to enact laws to stop the collection of Zakat, Fitra and animal skins in Karachi,” he said. “I will take this matter to parliament and ask all political parties to stop these activities because the extortion groups gain inspiration from it.”

Malik said that during the investigation of these groups in the last week, law enforcement agencies discovered that many criminal gangs actually began their activities from collecting the skins of sacrificial animals on Eid. Later, these small groups started using the names of political parties and continued their criminal activities in major cities in Sindh. He said that the government would issue a telephone number which people can call to lodge their complaints against people forcing them to give Fitrana and hides of the animals.

He added that banned religious parties, such as the Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), also collect animal skins throughout the country and the profit from them helps to encourage illegal activities. The JuD is not technically banned by the government of Pakistan but is on a list of groups sanctioned by the United Nations. Last Eid, the JuD advertised openly under its new name - the Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation - and asked for sacrificial animal skins and donations.

Of search operations and flags

Malik also spoke about the search operations against Karachi’s criminals, saying that the police and Rangers will crackdown on criminal gangs without targeting any particular political party. Police and Rangers will enter Lyari if criminal sanctuaries are reported there, without worrying about whether the area is a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stronghold.

He said that many criminals had taken the cover of political parties by encroaching important public and private properties. “These people have hoisted party flags on the buildings, plots and even on parks. We have decided to remove these flags.” He issued a 48-hour deadline for this.

Malik said that around two dozen suspects had been arrested from Haji Ilyas Goth near Liaquatabad. Police and law enforcement agencies have started interrogating the suspects. Meanwhile law enforcers must be careful whom they arrest because they will be punished if they arrest innocent people.

“The president and prime minister have given me the task to bring peace to Karachi. I will achieve it, but cannot give a deadline.”

Malik commented that he is constant touch with law enforcement agencies regarding the kidnapping of Shahbaz Taseer, the son of the late Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer. “I think the Punjab chief minister will do his best in this case (to recover Taseer).”

Manzoor Wassan’s dreams

On the other hand, Sindh Home Manzoor Wassan still believes that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will rejoin the Sindh government and that the situation in Karachi is only getting in the way of their move back to the treasury benches.

“We want to bring peace to not only Lyari but the whole city,” he said. “It would be premature to disclose where we will start the operation, because it will create hindrances and suspects will manage to escape.”

He claims that the authorities have a lead as to where these people are hiding and will act on it soon.The home minister also believes that the situation has improved since August 23.

“It’s time we delivered results, matters have gone beyond dreams because we have to prove results now,” he said.

According to Wassan, around 378 suspects have been arrested in the search operations  and 140 weapons have been recovered from them, including two AK-47s and a light machine gun.

With additional reporting by Farhan Zaheer

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Shahbaz Taseer and today’s Pakistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240595/shahbaz-taseer-and-today%e2%80%99s-pakistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240595/shahbaz-taseer-and-today%e2%80%99s-pakistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 27 Aug 11 19:22:51 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=240595</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Most credible candidate among kidnappers is al Qaeda and subordinate groups out to acquire funds for their activities.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Two cars and a motorbike were used to kidnap the son of former governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer, Shahbaz, from Lahore’s Gulberg area while he was on his way to work on August 26. The city was gripped with panic because this was the second high-profile kidnapping, coming soon after the kidnapping of an American official from the city. Most likely, Shahbaz has been picked up by the Taliban through their affiliates such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which last February kidnapped the son-in-law of former chairman joint chiefs of staff committee (CJCSC), General Tariq Majid.

The police is considering other possibilities too. It could be Mr Taseer’s tenants in a plaza which he wanted vacated for repairs; it could be a rival real-estate tycoon seen attacking the Taseer family through a local newspaper; and it could be a quarrel within his circle of personal friends. However, the most credible candidate among the kidnappers is al Qaeda and its subordinate groups out to augment the fast-dwindling kitty of the global terrorist organisation.

Thirty-five year old Amir Malik, the son-in-law of General Tariq Majid, was kidnapped for ransom. He was picked up by armed men in August 2010 from his Faisal Town, Lahore residence. The videotaped message received later showed masked militants wielding kalashnikovs in the background. The price: Rs130 million as well as the release of 153 militants being held in various prisons across Pakistan. The American named Warren Weinstein, too, will most probably be returned after a big payment. An American officer similarly picked up in Quetta was rumoured to have been released after a payment.

It is unfortunate that Shahbaz Taseer did not think much of the security detail provided to him by the Punjab government. The Taseer family had a total of 17 police and five rangers personnel posted with them while Shahbaz himself had two police guards for his personal protection. Because his father, the late governor Taseer, was killed by his own police guard, he travelled without them on the fateful day. The family says they have been receiving threatening phone-calls from the Taliban and their extremist followers in Punjab.

Why should the Taliban-al Qaeda combine be interested in this kidnapping? It should be recalled that when the clergy led by the Barelvi school of thought went on the rampage in Punjab against governor Taseer’s defence of Christian Aasia Bibi’s conviction under the blasphemy law, the Taliban declared themselves resolved to take revenge from the governor. It should also be noted that the cleric who led the funeral prayer for governor Taseer was delivered credible threats till he fled to the UK to seek asylum there. The Barelvis simply don’t indulge in this kind of activity except al Qaeda is short of funds and has slowed down its attacks not because it’s ‘back is broken’ but because it needs to have money to buy weapons and explosives. This happens periodically and the kitty is replenished through kidnappings. These have taken place rather heavily in Karachi and Peshawar. In the latter city, rich people have been pauperised by the heavy ransom they have had to pay to remain alive. Those who collect include warlords like Mangal Bagh of Khyber Agency who have to finance their internecine wars. The last time al Qaeda ran short of funds, it got a retired army officer, Major Ashiq, to kidnap putatively rich people from across Pakistan for ransom. Use of explosives is the mainstay of terrorism in Pakistan and al Qaeda even tried to steal the Wah Factory explosives meant for the mining industry.

Pakistan’s record in foiling kidnapping for ransom is not very good. It is said that one senior Pakistani diplomat kidnapped by al Qaeda’s affiliates in Waziristan was released after a big payment. The same is true of an Afghan diplomat who has recently been released and lives in the palace of President Karzai for fear of being kidnapped again and is narrating his tale of woe to the world media. In the case of General Tariq Majid’s son-in-law, the negotiations may still be ongoing and one should be grateful that state agencies still have a way of reaching the kidnappers. We hope and pray that Shahbaz Taseer will be released soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>No breakthrough in Taseer's abduction case</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240577/no-breakthrough-in-shahbaz-taseers-abduction-case</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240577/no-breakthrough-in-shahbaz-taseers-abduction-case#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 27 Aug 11 12:25:24 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=240577</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[IG Punjab briefs Governor Punjab Khosa about steps taken to recover Shahbaz Taseer.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[No breakthrough has been achieved in the search for Shahbaz Taseer, while eight teams have been formed to conduct raid for recovering the late governor Salmaan Taseer’s son, Express 24/7 reported Saturday.

The Inspector General (IG) of Punjab police briefed Governor Punjab Latif Khosa about the steps being taken to recover Shahbaz Taseer.

(Read: Brazen and in broad daylight: Salmaan Taseer’s son abducted from Lahore)

Meanwhile, Senior Superintendent of police (SSP) Investigation Abdul Razzaq Cheema told the media that the eight teams have been formed for investigations and will conduct raids in different parts of the city.

On the other hand, fingerprints of the kidnappers have also been sent to the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) crisis management cell for verification.

Earlier on Friday, unidentified men on bikes and an SUV intercepted Shahbaz Taseer’s car and abducted him at gunpoint from the Gulberg area of Lahore.

Three men dragged Taseer out of his car and took him away. His family was informed when a company employee saw his abandoned car.

PPP to launch move against Punjab govt

Pakistan People's Party Punjab President Imtiaz Safdar Warraich has said that his party will initiate a protest movement against the Punjab government from Monday.

He said that while addressing a press conference at PPP Punjab office.

Warraich said that the protest rallies would be organized at a district level to thrust the investigation and recovery of Shahbaz Taseer.

He condemned the incident and said that it has disturbed all the citizens of the province.

“The poor situation of crime and law and order situation in Punjab is now clear to all”, he added.

Warraich said that the Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif should improve the law and order situation in “his province” first and then talk about other provinces.]]>
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			<title>Citizens left at the mercy of criminals: Imran Khan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240582/citizens-left-at-the-mercy-of-criminals-imran-khan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240582/citizens-left-at-the-mercy-of-criminals-imran-khan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 27 Aug 11 12:20:13 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=240582</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[PTI chief meets Taseer family, expresses deep concern over Shahbaz Taseer's abduction.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Friday expressed deep concern over the abduction of Shahbaz Taseer, son of former governor Salmaan Taseer, and observed that the federal and provincial governments had completely failed to provide security to the people and left them at the mercy of criminals. 

Speaking to the media after expressing sympathies with the Taseer family at their residence, Khan said that the “NRO-beneficiary government and its supporters” could not protect the life and property of the masses as they were busy “in their loot and plunder” and had no concern with the agonies of the common man.

He said that a government which had no faith in the Supreme Court could not maintain law and order. He said that kidnapping of Shahbaz Taseer after the assassination of his father was a matter of serious concern.

Consoling the Taseer family, Imran assured them of his complete support for taking up the issue at every forum available to him. The PTI chief also appealed to the captors of Shahbaz Taseer to free him as his family members were already bearing the sorrow of Salmaan Taseer’s death.]]>
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			<title>Shahbaz Sharif’s visit: As Lahore grapples with abduction, Punjab chief scrutinises Karachi</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240526/shahbaz-sharif%e2%80%99s-visit-as-lahore-grapples-with-abduction-punjab-chief-scrutinises-karachi</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240526/shahbaz-sharif%e2%80%99s-visit-as-lahore-grapples-with-abduction-punjab-chief-scrutinises-karachi#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 27 Aug 11 07:59:18 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saba.imtiaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=240526</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Sharif suggests depoliticisation of police force, conducting ‘ruthless operation’ in Karachi.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[While Lahore’s security apparatus was being thoroughly criticised and questioned in the wake of the kidnapping of Shahbaz Taseer, the late governor Salmaan Taseer’s son, Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif held court at the Karachi Press Club to express his concern at the state of Karachi.


Sharif expressed a great deal of shock and horror at the security conditions in Karachi. “In the past three days I have met with businessmen, entrepreneurs and intellectuals.” Sharif said Karachi is the ‘gateway to and heart of Pakistan’ and pivotal to the country’s economy, and its problems needed to be resolved since this was “difficult, but not impossible”.

His solutions involve depoliticising Karachi’s police force, and conducting a “ruthless operation” against extortionists and criminals.

Sharif said his visit to Karachi was to meet citizens and understand their issues. “Lahore and Lyari, Gujranwala and Gwadar, Hazara and Hyderabad…. They all have intimate connections,” said Sharif, calling Karachi the ‘mother’ city that took in residents of its ‘brother and sister’ cities.

Sharif tried to create an air of camaraderie with the press corps, rattling off a few sentences in Sindhi with a reporter for a Sindhi television channel, and joking with others.

Even though the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) is not popular in Karachi, Sharif hopes to change that and acknowledges his party was not able to play an active role in the province.

His security detail comprised Punjab police officers, which a reporter questioned, asking if he did not trust the Sindh police. Sharif shot off his reply – “Of course I trust the Sindh police”.

As soon as the press conference wrapped up, Sharif, Sanaullah and their security detail – comprising men clad in suits – and a coterie of police vehicles, sped away in seconds.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Shahbaz Taseer abducted from Lahore</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/239869/shahbaz-taseer-abducted-from-lahore</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/239869/shahbaz-taseer-abducted-from-lahore#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 27 Aug 11 04:59:52 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=239869</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[More than three men abducted son of Salmaan Taseer from near his office.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Shahbaz Taseer, son of late Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer, was abducted from the Gulberg area of Lahore on Friday.

The Express Tribune’s Asad Kharal reports Taseer had left his house from Cavalry Ground in his silver Mercedes Kompressor (LZT-1) for his office around 10:15am. Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore said his car was intercepted by a black SUV and motorbike around 600 yards from the office and up to three men dragged Taseer out of the car and took him away.

Family sources said they had been informed of the kidnapping when a company driver passing by the area saw Taseer’s car abandoned in the street.

The kidnappers headed to Firdous Market via Cavalry Flyover, which leads straight to DHA Lahore and the cantonment areas. A traffic warden in the area reported a black SUV, white corolla and a motorbike sped through the area and made a sharp turn, which resulted in a black Kalashnikov dropping out of one of the cars.

“Shabhaz was out with a friend when four unidentified people kidnapped him,” his brother Sheryar Taseer told Reuters.

“Our family has been receiving threats from the Taliban and extremist groups,” he said, adding they could be behind the abduction.

Official sources said Shahbaz Taseer had some property disputes and had also been receiving threats recently.

No one has claimed responsibility.

Taseer was travelling without any security today and is normally reported to have travelled in a silver Prado with Elite force and police guards.

Police is also retrieving CCTV footage from the area to help with investigations.

One of the guards posted with Shahbaz Taseer was taken into custody and had his weapon seized when police questioned him and he revealed another guard was on leave. He had not left the house with Taseer but had later been told to go to the office.

Two police personnal, Liaquat and Sharafat, were posted with Taseer.

Police officials said the Taseer family had a total of 12 police and five Rangers personnel posted with them.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has taken notice of the incident and has issued directives to Inspector General of Police (IG) Punjab and Chief Secretary Punjab to take immediate action.

A Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team, on the directives of Director Punjab and Interior Minister Rehman Malik, has started investigations.

A National Response Center for Cyber Crimes (NR3C) team visited the office, home and checked Shahbaz Taseer’s car to collect forensic evidence. The team consisted of Deputy Director NR3C Sajjid Akram Chaudhry, SHO NR3C Ahmer Naeem, forensic expert Abdul Ghaffar and hardware engineer Muhammad Usman.

Background

Shahbaz Taseer, who is the eldest son of former governor Salmaan Taseer, is a director in several companies his father founded, including Pace Pakistan Ltd., First Capital Equities Ltd., Media Times Ltd. and First Capital Securities Corp. Ltd.

This is the second high profile kidnapping in Lahore during the last two weeks. Earlier on August 13, armed men had abducted US aid expert Warren Weinstein from his residence in the city.

Late governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer was shot dead on January 4 this year by his security guard.

A vocal critic of the blasphemy law, Salmaan Taseer showed his overwhelming support for Aasia Bibi, the woman charged with making disrespectful remarks against the Holy Prophet (pbuh), and condemned the controversial law on several occasions.

Last week, the cleric who led the funeral prayers for Salmaan Taseer was forced to flee the country following threats.

According to a report by the Press Trust of India, Muhammad Afzal Chishti, the secretary general of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Ulema wing, left the country after having received numerous threats against his life.]]>
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			<title>Brazen and in broad daylight: Salmaan Taseer’s son abducted from Lahore</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240425/brazen-and-in-broad-daylight-salman-taseer%e2%80%99s-son-abducted-from-lahore</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240425/brazen-and-in-broad-daylight-salman-taseer%e2%80%99s-son-abducted-from-lahore#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 26 Aug 11 22:10:47 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[asad.kharal]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=240425</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Police arrest two suspects, seal city’s entry and exit points.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Misfortune struck the Taseer family a second time this year. Shahbaz Taseer, eldest son of slain former governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer and his widow Amna, was abducted in broad daylight from Lahore’s Gulberg area on Friday morning.

In the second high-profile case within a fortnight in Lahore, Taseer was abducted on the way to his office by at least three armed men.

The kidnapping brought the Punjab government, particularly its security apparatus, under sharp scrutiny – ironically, at a time when the provincial chief minister was in Karachi lecturing his Sindh counterparts on the worsening law and order situation in the port city.

Earlier on August 13, armed men abducted American aid expert Warren Weinstein from his residence in Model Town. No progress on the case has been reported yet.

(Read: Yet another kidnapping)

The abduction

Taseer left his residence in Cavalry Ground at 10:10 AM in a silver Mercedes Kompressor and was intercepted around 10:19 AM by a black Land Cruiser and a motorcycle, around 600 yards away from his office, close to MM Alam Road.

At least three men dragged Taseer out of his car and took him away, leaving his mobile phones and laptops in the car.

Taseer’s family was informed of the abduction around 10:35 AM when a company employee saw the abandoned car while passing by, sources said.

The kidnappers reportedly headed towards Firdous Market via Cavalry Flyover, which leads to DHA Lahore and the cantonment areas.

A traffic warden in the area reported a black Land Cruiser, a white Corolla and a motorcycle speeding through the area, taking a sharp turn, and dropping a Kalashnikov from one of the cars.

Suspects

“Our family has been receiving threats from the Taliban and extremist groups,” his brother Sheryar Taseer said, adding they could be behind the abduction.

Official sources, however, said that Taseer had some property disputes and had also been receiving threats recently. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the abduction.

The police retrieved CCTV footage from the area to help with investigations.

Security protocol

Taseer, who reportedly commutes in a silver Prado with Elite Force and police guards, was travelling without any police escort on Friday.

One of the guards posted with Taseer was taken into custody and had his weapon seized when the police questioned him at the crime scene.

He revealed that another guard was on leave and that he did not leave the house with Taseer but was later asked to go to the office.

According to the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore Ahmed Raza, two police personnel, Liaquat and Sharafat, were posted with Taseer.

The Taseer family had a total of 17 police and five Rangers personnel posted with them, including five ladies police staffers, two assistant sub-inspectors and four head constables, police sources said.

Investigations

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif issued directives to Inspector General of Police (IG) Punjab and Chief Secretary Punjab to take immediate action. A Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team under Director FIA Punjab started the investigations and a National Response Center for Cyber Crimes (NR3C) team visited the office, home and crime scene to collect forensic evidence.

The federal government directed the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the FIA to provide technical assistance to Punjab police for tracing the kidnappers and recovering Taseer.

Intelligence officials also visited the crime scene, and Taseer’s residence and office to collect evidence and information.

Meanwhile, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that all entry and exit points of the city have been sealed following the abduction.

All security agencies are investigating the kidnapping and a joint investigation team has been formed, he added.

Taseer, the eldest son of former governor Salmaan Taseer, is a director in several companies his father founded, including Pace Pakistan Ltd., First Capital Equities Ltd., Media Times Ltd. and First Capital Securities Corp Ltd.

Three leads for investigators

The law enforcement agencies are investigating Taseer’s abduction from three different angles, sources told The Express Tribune on Friday.

Taseer allegedly had a row with tenants at Pace shopping mall whom he had asked to vacate, owing to modifications to the mall’s basement. The tenants claimed damages and on being refused, threatened Shahbaz with dire consequences, sources said.

The Taseers also had a dispute with a major real estate tycoon of the country which came to light when both parties accused each other of malpractices through news items in publications owned respectively by them.

The second suspects are extremists, sources say. The Taseers have been receiving severe threats from extremist groups since Salmaan Taseer’s assassination. Shahbaz, particularly, had been receiving threats since August 10, 2011, family as well as intelligence sources said.

(Read: Taseer’s remarks about blasphemy law)

The law enforcement agencies are also considering Shahbaz’s personal dispute with an alleged girlfriend, sources added.

The police recovered at least three mobile phone sets including a BlackBerry, an iPhone and a Nokia E Series, besides a laptop, from his car.

The three SIM cards on these phones are in Shahbaz, his father-in-law and former bureaucrat Salmaan Ghani and an alleged girlfriend’s name.

Investigators have retrieved call records of all SIM cards, and his email records, and are analysing them.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has sought report from FIA regarding Taseer’s abduction. The agency has sent the report to the interior minister and the interior secretary.

Condemnations

Condemnations flew in from all quarters following Taseer’s abduction.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan visited the victim’s house and appealed to the persons behind abduction to release Taseer.

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid also condemned Taseer’s abduction in a statement and added that around 33,000 incidents of kidnapping have taken place during Sharif’s term in Punjab.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also expressed alarm at Taseer’s abduction and called upon the government to ensure his prompt recovery.

According to the HRCP statement, Taseer’s abduction “highlights the government’s inability to afford security and protection even to those known to be at high risk.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th,  2011.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Salmaan Taseer's name. The correction has been made.]]>
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			<title>Yet another kidnapping</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/239914/yet-another-kidnapping</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/239914/yet-another-kidnapping#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 26 Aug 11 16:26:40 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=239914</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[One can only hope that Mr Taseer returns home safe as soon as possible.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[We are rapidly turning into a land where opinions cannot be expressed; views that clash with the fundamentalist opinion cannot be said out aloud. When this happens, the punishment meted out is one that frightens most into silence. This is, of course, what the extremists want. In January this year former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer was shot dead by his police guard, who wished to take revenge on the courageously outspoken politician for daring to suggest that the blasphemy laws in the country should not be used to victimise people. It is not yet known if the audacious kidnapping of his son Shahbaz Taseer in Lahore, close to his office, in an upscale part of the city, is linked to his late father’s words. But it is known that the Taseer family has been facing threats in connection with the ongoing case in an anti-terrorism court against Salman Taseer’s alleged killer, Mumtaz Qadri. Since then, Qadri has been declared a martyr by extremist forces while the dead man’s alleged lifestyle is time and again mentioned in court.

Police are also reportedly exploring the possibility that Shahbaz, taken away after armed motorcyclists surrounded his car, dragged him out and drove him away in a larger vehicle, may have been abducted over a business feud. There has, since Salmaan’s death been some litigation involving business affairs. This is, of course, a possibility. But it is disturbing that a broad daylight abduction took place on a day when security was already on high alert because of Jummatul Wida. There are also other aspects to the crime that are disturbing. The kidnapping hit news channel headlines minutes after it occurred. Yet the disappearance of ordinary people, which happens day in day out in this land, goes relatively unnoticed by those in authority. Kidnappings of businessmen, traders and others — some members of minority communities — take place on what is a regular basis across the country but we don’t see the prime minister giving pledges that all state resources will be used to ensure their safe return. Some of these people have been missing for years and in most cases their families lack the influence to make their voices heard. One can only hope that Mr Taseer returns home safe as soon as possible. However, the government also needs to give a thought to the fact that lives of just about every ordinary citizen need to be made safer, whether they ride limousines or motorcycles.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Governor Punjab blames PML-N</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/239983/khosa-blames-lax-attitude-of-punjab-cm-for-taseers-abduction</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/239983/khosa-blames-lax-attitude-of-punjab-cm-for-taseers-abduction#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 26 Aug 11 14:43:55 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saba.imtiaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=239983</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Shahbaz Sharif condemns abduction, vows to ‘personally follow up’.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Shahbaz Taseer’s abduction on Friday sparked a sharp exchange between top provincial authorities, with Governor Punjab Latif Khosa lashing out at Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and blaming him for the deteriorating law and order situation in Punjab.

Meanwhile Sharif, who spent much of Thursday in Karachi expressing ‘shock and horror’ at its situation, condemned the abduction and vowed to “personally follow up [the case].”

‘PML-N in cahoots with extremists’

Khosa, in a press conference at the Governor House in Lahore, alleged that the abduction was a result of support the Punjab government had been extending to extremists and defunct organisations, and asked the federal government to review its reconciliation policy in Punjab.

(Read: Lahore’s growing Talibanisation)

“The PPP has tolerated the murder of its governor … they would not tolerate this abduction” he said.

Taseer’s abduction in broad daylight from an area lined with police pickets give credence to speculation that Punjab government is either involved in or supported the abduction, he said.

Citing the law and order situation, the governor hinted at an in-house change in Punjab assembly but said that the government will not impose Governor rule in the province.

If Salmaan Taseer’s assassin had been punished, Shahbaz’s abduction could have been avoided, he said, calling upon the Supreme Court to hang Salmaan’s self-confessed killer Mumtaz Qadri.

Sharif springs to action

Shahbaz Sharif termed Taseer’s abduction “regrettable” and said “it cannot be condemned enough,” while speaking to reporters at the Karachi Press Club.

“I have directed the administration and the police to find the culprits and bring them to book,” he said.

In an attempt to lay off responsibility, Sharif said that 26 security officers were deputed by Punjab government to Taseer’s family.

“I believe Shahbaz did not take his security officers with him today, which I wish he had. But this does not mean that this kidnapping should have happened,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Shahbaz Taseer’s kidnapping (III)</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/239950/shahbaz-taseer%e2%80%99s-kidnapping-iii</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/239950/shahbaz-taseer%e2%80%99s-kidnapping-iii#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 26 Aug 11 14:28:52 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[letter.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=239950</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Here’s hoping and praying that Salmaan Taseer’s son returns home safely.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[If someone as privileged and affluent as Shahbaz Taseer is not safe from being kidnapped in a busy part of the country’s second-largest city in broad daylight, what chance to ordinary Pakistanis have? This is the second major incident of kidnapping to have happened in Lahore in the past couple of weeks. While some may say this is not the time for a blame game, surely some of the responsibility for acts such as these lies squarely on the shoulders of the Punjab government. In particular I would like to single out people like the Punjab law minister whose proclivities and affections for certain extremists and sectarian outfits are an open secret. Here’s hoping and praying that Salmaan Taseer’s son returns home safely.

Natasha Iqbal

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Twitter alert: Prayers, support and despair for Shahbaz Taseer</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/239888/shahbaz-taseer-abducted-prayers-support-and-despair</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/239888/shahbaz-taseer-abducted-prayers-support-and-despair#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 26 Aug 11 08:13:12 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[sidrah.moiz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=239888</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Local Twitterati expressed anger over Shahbaz's abduction.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Shahbaz Taseer, son of slain Pakistani governor Salmaan Taseer,  was kidnapped in the eastern city of Lahore on Friday.

Unidentified men in a black SUV intercepted Taseer’s car and abducted him. The late governor was killed by his bodyguard for his opposition to a controversial blasphemy law this year. His family has said they have been recieving threats from extremist groups.

Local Twitterati expressed anger over Shahbaz's abduction and tweeted their prayers and support for the Taseer family.

Fifi Haroon

What has Pakistan become? What state of lawlessness is this? What utter anarchy? What madness? What fresh hell? How much more can people take?

I don’t live in Pakistan but my heart bleeds four my country. I worry for my family, my friends. I worry for all of you who I have never even met!

At 22 this poor girl (Shehrbano Taseer) has become de facto head of the Taseer family. To go though dad's death, now brother’s kidnapping.

Marvi Sirmed

Stay strong, as you have always been. Prayers and wishes with you Maheen Taseer,  Shehrbano Taseer, Aamna Taseer, Sanam Taseer and Sara Taseer

Please don't do this with Taseers. They deserve salutes for still choosing to stay in Pakistan after all that. Let Shahbaz come back safely.

Saba Imtiaz

Really no point in speculating over the who’s and why’s right now. Just makes you look like an idiot and hurts friends and family.

Omar Waraich

It's harrowing, particularly for the family that's already endured so much. Please can we avoid speculation about the captors' motives?

Rezaul Hasan Laskar

What on earth is Lahore police up to? First Warren Weinstein and now Shahbaz Taseer kidnapped in Lahore.

Ali Dayan Hasan

The Taseer kidnapping underscores the failing writ of state and its inability to provide security even to those known to be at high risk

Kazim Alam

They killed SalmaanTaseer in the name of Islam. Is his son's kidnapping also in the sweet name of Islam? Shariat iss bare mai kia kehti hai?

Mehreen Kasana

Wishing strength for Maheen Taseer, Shehrbano Taseer, Aamna Taseer, Tammy Haq. Hang in there. Praying for Shahbaz Taseer.

Madiha Riaz

Never say we've a hit a new low in Pakistan. Your words will come back to haunt you.

Rafaya Sufi

Utter madness. Praying for the Taseer family.

Zara Iqbal

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse ...

Ammar Yasir

It might be an attempt to free Mumtaz Qadri.

George Fulton

Our thoughts and prayers with you all Aamna Taseer, Maheen Taseer,  Shehrbano Taseer,  Sanam Taseer, Sara Taseer and Tammy Haq

DrAwab Awab Alvi

It’s scary. Shahbaz Taseer being kidnapped when already Pakistan cannot recover the kidnapped American despite full US pressure.

Jemima Khan

Oh God. Awful.

Follow the Tribune Twitterati list to stay updated or track the hashtag #ShahbazTaseer.

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Suspect behaviour: Govt in no hurry to screen out extremists in LEAs</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/236712/suspect-behaviour-govt-in-no-hurry-to-screen-out-extremists-in-leas</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/236712/suspect-behaviour-govt-in-no-hurry-to-screen-out-extremists-in-leas#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 11 05:07:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[zia.khan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=236712</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Federal govt had announced that all security personnel would be vetted to counter radicalisation.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The government has apparently deferred a plan to vet personnel of civil law enforcement agencies for countering radicalisation after a police guard assassinated former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer earlier this year.


Interior Minister Rehman Malik had said immediately after Taseer’s murder that all officials of civilian security agencies would be screened to identify ‘extremists in uniform’.

Official sources told The Express Tribune here on Sunday there had been little or no significant development on the plan. They said that apart from dispatching letters to provincial departments in the beginning, the interior ministry was not pursuing it hard enough.

“It seems people at the helms of affairs have forgotten all about this…Nothing is happening,” said an interior ministry official, requesting anonymity.

Islamabad police chief Bani Amin Khan was contacted twice to seek his opinion on the issue but he refused to share any specific information on both the occasions. “It is an old thing. What do you want me to say about it now,” he said.

Another official, however, said Islamabad police had been asked to fill out forms through which personality profiles were supposed to be generated.

The forms were issued by the office of the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Operations, as part of a departmental exercise.

But hardly five per cent of officers and officials returned the filled form and there was no mechanism to determine what they were telling was true.

Bani Amin neither confirms nor denies this.

In provinces, the situation was more precarious. Even the initial exercise of circulating forms was not undertaken there.

“I don’t remember any such thing happening,” said a senior police official from Punjab. Punjab’s Additional Inspector General Police (AIGP) (Investigation) Azam Joya said his department had not been asked to undertake this exercise.

A top military official said scrutinising people joining armed forces for their religious and sectarian affiliations was a common practice.

Brigadier Azmat Abbas, an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) official, said recruits “are asked to reveal not only their sectarian affiliation but also the religious inclinations”.

“It is…a continuous exercise in the military. We keep on doing follow-ups,” he added.

In case of departments under the Strategic Plans Division, including the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), all would-be employees are asked to fill in an even more detailed document. Prospective employees are told to mention their religious backgrounds, extent of theological knowledge, sects and if they had any affiliation with such an organisation.

A number of inquiries by various agencies follow the process, he added.

Despite all this, a few officers and personnel of security forces had been lured either by al Qaeda elements or the homegrown Taliban.

Analyst Amir Rana, who heads Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS) think-tank, said his perception on whether these measures were effective was different.

“They can only work if done in conjunction with other measures,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Shouting “fire” in a crowded theatre</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/236460/shouting-%e2%80%9cfire%e2%80%9d-in-a-crowded-theatre</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/236460/shouting-%e2%80%9cfire%e2%80%9d-in-a-crowded-theatre#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 21 Aug 11 19:07:48 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saroop.ijaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=236460</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Salmaan Taseer’s funeral prayer leader running is worrying, means Mumtaz Qadri and ilk are winning without a fight.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The classic example of the limitation on freedom of speech is the statement of the United States Chief Justice, Mr Oliver Wendell Holmes who wrote,” The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic”. An often obscured fact is the context of the statement, which was that he was sentencing a group of socialists who distributed flyers opposing the draft during the First World War. The judgment was subsequently overruled, but the succinctly yet ambitiously phrased statement of Mr Holmes remained a seminal example of the restriction on the otherwise theoretically unbridled right of free expression. While Mr Holmes was deliberately being disingenuous in the particular instance; even then the limitation has merit.

One of the biggest stories in Pakistan these days is of Aamir Liaquat Hussain making a complete idiot of himself on video. With suicide bombings in Jamrud and other parts of the country and the mayhem in Karachi, the salience attached to the video is telling. Comical and revealing as it is, the video pales into insignificance in comparison to another news story, admittedly not receiving comparable coverage i.e. the imam who conducted Salmaan Taseer’s funeral prayer has reportedly fled the country citing threats to his person and family as the main reason. Whereas the statements made by Aamir Liaquat are pathetically laughable, yet I am not sure I want this man to go down like this, not for silly frolics and mundane profanity. This man openly condoned and incited the murder of fellow Pakistanis, and regularly insinuates that people not agreeing with him on matters of metaphysics are destined for hell. Bigotry and hate-mongering is what he should have been humiliated for. He should have the freedom to curse, sing obscure movie songs and crack vulgar jokes, but not of spewing sectarian venom, and certainly not of having people killed.

Probably the single major crisis which plagues us today is the confusion regarding freedom of speech, extending from blasphemy law to criticism of politicians. The aftermath of Salmaan Taseer’s martyrdom brought the conflict into the spotlight and revealed a very disturbing picture. Even the enlightened, moderate liberals implied that Salmaan Taseer should have been more careful, since there was always a possibility of offending people. It reminds one of a statement made by the brilliant Rosa Luxemburg, who once said, “that the freedom of speech is meaningless, unless it means the freedom of the person who thinks differently”. To ensure that people are not offended should not be the primary endeavour of a civilised society, whereas to ensure people are not killed is the first and foremost responsibility of a state. The fact that the imam who led Salmaan Taseer’s funeral prayer is running for his life is the news story that we should be really be worried about, and by all means get riled up about. This is especially disturbing when the murderous clerics who were directly complicit in the murder still continue to provoke people to kill on the tenuous promise of a better afterlife. With hardly any talk of blasphemy law and Aasia Bibi, Mumtaz Qadri is winning, and the disgraceful bit is that it is without even putting up a fight. Incitement to violence is not freedom of speech, whereas making stupid and even offensive statements at some level is the very essence of it.

Recently, I watched a video of Zaid Hamid and Mehr Bukhari attempting an expose on identifying RAW agents in Pakistan. I am all for the freedom of Zaid Hamid and Mehr Bukhari of making foolish spectacles of themselves, and must admit that at times I find Zaid Hamid fairly good comedy. However, labelling someone a RAW agent in Pakistan is not only defamatory (hence not protected by freedom of speech) but also potentially extremely dangerous to the life and liberty of the person accused. Zaid Hamid is a conspiracy-mongering huckster and Mehr Bukhari is an anchor of average intellect who attempts to make up for substance by hysteria. Still, I firmly believe these two have a right to be heard and be paid for the nonsense, as long as they do not incite violence. I have chosen to talk about only these two, the same can be said of many others since they are really plagiarised versions of each other. Ms Bukhari in my opinion directly incited people to murder while conducting one of Salmaan Taseer’s last interviews and did not even have the common decency to apologise. That is what she should be taken to task for. Idiocy should not be censored, actually I would want Zaid Hamid to continue talking about how dengue fever might have been engineered by the Hindu-Zionist lobby, and using sub-evolved logic (if he chooses to bother with the matter at all) to explain himself. It will only expose him as the charlatan that he is and then people will eventually stop taking him seriously and the channels and probably the ISI stop paying him. If not, he can continue, thrive and prosper and I can carry on bickering about him and the likes. What should not be allowed is clear and direct provocation to wanton criminality by levelling evidently false accusations.

The confusion regarding the freedom of speech remains at the centre of the non-regulation of the media. It is a case of horribly skewed priorities. Those making wild and licentious accusations can be held accountable not by the fragile coalition government but only by the media themselves. Aamir Liaquat Hussain and the sort should be asked to explain themselves not for petty indecencies but for sickening invocation to violence. The imam leading Taseer’s funeral has as much right to freedom of choice and expression as anyone else. Every time we decide to exercise prudence and hold our peace, we are cowardly relinquishing the only semblance of freedom that we have left. Mehr Bukhari, Zaid Hamid and many others are falsely and piercingly shouting fire in a very crowded theatre.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Taseer funeral prayer leader forced to flee from Pakistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/235182/taseer-funeral-prayer-leader-forced-to-flee-the-country</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/235182/taseer-funeral-prayer-leader-forced-to-flee-the-country#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 19 Aug 11 14:18:48 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=235182</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Chisti had been in hiding since leading the funeral prayers while his family seeks police protection from threats.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The cleric who led the funeral prayers for the late Governor Punjab, Salmaan Taseer has been forced to flee the country following threats.

According to a report by the Press Trust of India, Muhammad Afzal Chishti, the secretary general of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Ulema wing, had left the country after having received numerous threats against his life.

The report, quoting sources close to Chisti said that he had recently moved to an undisclosed location abroad after spending much of the past seven months in hiding since leading the funeral prayers.

In a related development, Chishti's son Moin Chishti had filed an application with the Punjab Police chief, requesting him to provide security to the cleric's family living in Lahore.

"Although my father has left Pakistan for abroad as there were threats to his life from different hardline religious groups, the other members of my family have received fresh threats," Moin said.

The religious community had almost unanimously refused to lead prayers of the former governor after Taseer had shown support to a blasphemy convict. Taseer was then killed for his voiced opinions against existing blasphemy laws. Despite immense pressure from the religious community, Chisti led the prayers for Taseer, who was also a senior PPP member.]]>
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			<title>“You are free to go to your mosques…”</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/231910/%e2%80%9cyou-are-free-to-go-to-your-mosques%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9d</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/231910/%e2%80%9cyou-are-free-to-go-to-your-mosques%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9d#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 15 Aug 11 15:51:16 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[omar.kasmani]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=231910</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Living on an increasingly marshy terrain like ‘progressive’ Pakistan requires we swim from island to island.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Coffee-drinking liberals in the increasingly Islam(ist) republic often quote the oft-quoted. And I dare not preclude myself despite the fact that I prefer tea to coffee — only black though. Some like me find refuge in nice-smelling cafes where, while reeling from the ongoing metropolitan battles, i.e. of designer lawns, we pepper our conversations with all that has gone wrong in Jinnah’s Pakistan. Others, the more savvy ones I mean, have turned a new leaf, to put it literally; they are to be found rallying on pages of the world wide web. Nice-smelling cafes provide us with proof of a ‘progressive’ Pakistan, one that we have managed to neatly secure in our airtight islands. Social media pages are also useful as they too come with walls (and privacy controls). And I am, of course, not one of those who think that people like us live in our own bubbles. I have two good reasons to believe otherwise. One, the bubble, if there was any, has long burst. Two, living on an increasingly marshy terrain like a ‘progressive’ Pakistan requires that we incessantly swim from island to island. And it is in commuting back and forth across what lies between such islands that we experience a Pakistan that, perhaps, Jinnah failed to foresee. Governor Salmaan Taseer was not assassinated in the comforts of his home, neither in the secure environs of a café where he presumably took his last meal, but out in the marshes where he couldn’t stand his ground amidst souls he could not discern. Shahbaz Bhatti, too, amongst other martyrs, fell between homes on unfamiliar territory. If Jinnah envisioned a nation where religion would not be a matter of the state, as many would argue, he clearly failed to spot the crevices in his own argument.

But Jinnah, despite the portraits where his suits are painted over as sherwanis, is an image, we, the liberals of this country, can relate to with much ease, so much so we now have some signs of ‘wear a Jinnah cap day’. Distance to ritualised religion; foreignness to tradition, including his propensity to the new, perhaps makes an ideal template for the liberal Pakistani. But, more importantly, the image provides a suitable background against which our persistent colonial hangover continues to make some sense.

In a rather revisionist spirit, Ayesha Jalal has attempted to resurrect a Jinnah few in the Republic would endorse. Amidst a well-put-together audience of liberals at the Mohatta Palace last year, Jalal offered a fascinating thesis. Jinnah, in her opinion, did not originally envision Pakistan as a separate country, instead he imagined national sovereignty and self-governance for the Muslims of the subcontinent under the all-embracing Indian umbrella. Correct or otherwise, Jinnah, if given another chance, would perhaps willingly have aligned himself with the sophisticated position of Jalal. I am not concerned here with the particular form his vision took, neither do I stand to pass a judgment on history, though his own humanist position was hardly shared, let alone understood by the masses he commanded. My discontent then is not with Jinnah or with Pakistan, as it may seem. In fact it stems from the intellectual poverty of its liberals, who seek to resurrect inconsistent parts of an ideology that has long sunk into the Bay of Bengal. In response to the growing intolerance in our society, we often quote Jinnah from his admirable address of August 11, 1947: “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.” What is worth questioning, however, is how to wish away religious difference in a territory that is founded on the very discourse of cultural and religious difference, the Two-Nation Theory to be precise.

Wary of what seemed to unfold in August 1947, in a poem titled Subohe Azadi (The Dawn of Freedom), Faiz famously wrote “yeh woh sahar toe nahi” (lit: this is not that dawn). Quratulain Hyder, on the other hand, weaves a millennia of a narrative to question the cultural uprooting of Indian Muslims in her epic Aag ka Darya (The River of Fire). First published from Lahore in 1959, the novel challenged the exclusionary stance furthered by the All India Muslim League. Yet, in the new country, there was a desire to make something anew. But little space was left when it turned to those who sought to further purify this land of the pure.

In our impoverished attempts to reclaim this space, we continue to unearth the remains of a twentieth century ideology; we are eager to present history as a meaning-making whole, in narratives that espouse the grand and the romantic at the expense of the fragmentary and the marginal. Inheriting distaste for diversity and difference, and in our fear of local and ethnic grammars, we have enforced vocabularies of assimilation. If at all, we have inherited a notion of identity which is constructed on the very premise of its distinction in its opposition to an imagined Other. The Other-ing as we are witnessing has since not ceased.

To persist on the discourse that Pakistan was meant to be a secular state is to feign a belief that we have some recourse to an original moment whereby the dream can be salvaged. This is but a false pretence for hollow ideologues. More so, it is an ahistorical reading and a glossing over of various ideological forces that since its inception have fought for recognition in the State of Pakistan.

To hold on is to linger; to persist is to resist change. If there is a befitting answer to the ideology of those we fear losing our freedoms to, it is in the intellectual pursuit of an emancipatory vision, shared by all and owned by us, which is no longer tethered to the original bias of our foundation. For in Jinnah’s Pakistan, some are not even allowed to call their mosques, mosques and some not even free to go to their mosques, let alone their temples.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>President announces 185 civilian awards</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/231711/recognition-of-excellence-president-announces-185-civilian-awards</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/231711/recognition-of-excellence-president-announces-185-civilian-awards#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 15 Aug 11 04:33:55 +0500</pubDate>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=231711</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Salmaan Taseer conferred Nishan-i-Imtiaz for public service to the country.]]>
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				<![CDATA[President Asif Ali Zardari announced on Sunday the recipients of the top civilian awards, both Pakistani and foreign nationals, on the 65th Independence Day of the country. The investiture ceremony will take place on the Pakistan Day on March 23, 2012.

Nishan-i-Imtiaz is to be conferred upon the late Salmaan Taseer, ex-governor of Punjab, Senate chairman Farooq H Naek, National Assembly Speaker Fahmida Mirza, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Salman Faruqui, Secretary General to the president in the field of public service. Fuad Abdul Salam Muhammad Al-Farsi (Saudi Arabia) is to be decorated with Hilal-i-Pakistan for services to Pakistan.

Farzana Raja, chairperson of Benazir Income Support Programme, Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, Sultan Lakhani, Zumarad Khan, Mian Amir Mahmood, Farhatullah Babar, Gohar Ejaz and the late Mohammad Waris Mir will be honoured with Hilal-i-Imtiaz in the field of public service.

The late Wadal Shah is to be awarded Hilal-i-Imtiaz for journalism. Sitara-i-Pakistan will be bestowed upon Mohammad Farqad Alamgir (UK), Adnan Bin Mohammad Amin Katib (Saudi Arabia), Chen Qiu Fa (China) for services to Pakistan.

Sitara-i-Imtiaz will be awarded to Raihan Merchant for public service, Burhan Kayaturk (Turkey) for services to Pakistan, Javed Iqbal Minhas in metallurgical engineering, Iqrar Ahmad Khan for agricultural research and education, Khalid Mohammed Khan for science (medicinal and synthetic organic chemistry), Hassan Amir Shah for science (physics), Abdul Hameed for science (applied &amp; environmental microbiology/biotechnology), Aslam Azhar for broadcasting, Muhammad Farooq Khan for writing,  Mashkoor Hussain Yaad for literature, Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar for public service, Hanif Khalid for literature (journalism), Khush Bakhat Shujjat for public service, Sikander Ahmed Rai for public service, Zahid Malik for journalism, Tahir Khalil for journalism, Agha Nasir for literature, Ghulam Murtaza Solangi for public service, Sohail Rana for art, Mubasher Lucman for journalism, Mehdi Hassan for literature, Nasara Wazir Ali for public service, Javed Sarwar Naqvi Syed (UK) for services to Pakistan, Sharmila Faruqui and Nargis Sethi for public service. President’s Award for Pride of Performance is to go to Raja Shahid Nazir for engineering (mechanical), Abdul Hamid for science (physics), Aqueel Haider Zaidi for engineering (electrical), Muhammad Fayaz for engineering (nuclear), Sajjad Ahmad Mehmood for engineering (chemical), Ghulam Hussain for engineering (mechanical), Gulzar Alam and Ejaz Hussain for music.

Actors Noman Ejaz, Javed Sheikh, Meera and Saba Hameed were nominated for pride of performance for services in film and television. Cricketer Muhammad Yousaf was honoured for his services in cricket.

(APP with additional reporting by Ali Usman in Lahore)

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Sarfaraz Shah case verdict</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/231331/sarfaraz-shah-case-verdict</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/231331/sarfaraz-shah-case-verdict#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 14 Aug 11 15:07:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[letter.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=231331</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Why is the progress on the case involving Taseer’s alleged murderer, Mumtaz Qadri, progressing at such a slow pace?]]>
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				<![CDATA[It’s good that the killers of Sarfaraz Shah have finally got some justice but when will Salmaan Taseer’s family see justice? Why is the progress on the case involving Taseer’s alleged murderer, Mumtaz Qadri, progressing at such a slow pace?

Jamil Ahmed

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Twitter alert: Rangers sentenced... what about Mumtaz Qadri?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/229921/twitter-alert-rangers-sentenced-what-about-mumtaz-qadri</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/229921/twitter-alert-rangers-sentenced-what-about-mumtaz-qadri#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 12 Aug 11 09:50:00 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[sidrah.moiz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=229921</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Twitte­rati expres­s mixed emotio­ns over verdic­t; questi­on lack of justic­e in the case of slain Salmaa­n...]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Friday sentenced to death the Rangers personnel who killed Sarfaraz Shah. 

Local Twitterati expressed mixed emotions over the court's verdict, with some questioning the lack of justice in the case of slain Punjab chief minister Salmaan Taseer's.

Ali Faruq

Such a speedy court decision on Rangers killing case, wish the same had happened with Mumtaz Qadri.

AamnaTaseer

@SalmaanTaseer’s case still await justice…

Ammaraul Haq

There is still justice in Pakistan! Sentencing out in the Pakistan Rangers shooting! Now for them to actually serve their sentences!

Jehan Ara

I don't believe in capital punishment. Life imprisonment would have sufficed.

Ayesha Tammy Haq

Rangers killing case: Death sentence for one and life for the others and that’s what happens when cases are prosecuted.

Mirza9

If media pressure is what it takes for justice, you're overlooking the real issue here.

Fifi Haroon

Don’t believe in capital punishment, rest seems about right.

Faisal Qureshi

Court gives death sentence to the Pakistan Rangers official in Sarfaraz case. How come the court never tries real terrorists this way?

Saeed Shah

If Pakistan courts can convict killers of Sarfraz Shah in two months, why not the jihadi terrorists too?

Ali Abbas Zaidi

Sarfaraz Shah murder: Justice served. Thousands of terrorists and killer of Salman Taseer: Just ice served.

_____________________________________________

Follow the Tribune Twitterati list to stay updated, or track the hashtag #Rangers.

_____________________________________________

[poll id="467"]]]>
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			<title>Lahore’s growing Talibanisation (III)</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/227622/lahore%e2%80%99s-growing-talibanisation-iii</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/227622/lahore%e2%80%99s-growing-talibanisation-iii#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 09 Aug 11 14:59:04 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[letter.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=227622</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The message is loud and clear: liberals and progressives have no space in Pakistan.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The message is loud and clear: liberals and progressives have no space in Pakistan. And it is about time that they got the message. Have they forgotten the treatment meted out to Asma Jahangir when she thought she could arrange a marathon during Musharraf’s days? Is one Salmaan Taseer not enough proof of their utter and complete state of abject futility? Look at these liberals, how they scorn the good deeds of Mumtaz Qadri and now this valiant SHO, the soon to be new hero for all that is pure and honest.

Arif Qadri

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Lahore’s growing Talibanisation (II)</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/227619/lahore%e2%80%99s-growing-talibanisation-ii</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/227619/lahore%e2%80%99s-growing-talibanisation-ii#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 09 Aug 11 14:59:01 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[letter.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=227619</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[This police official has, in all likelihood, been brought up to believe that all working women are agents of the devil]]>
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				<![CDATA[Why should we be surprised? This police official has, in all likelihood, been brought up to believe that all working women are agents of the devil. We should be thankful he did not kill the poor curator. As for art, Pakistanis have heard all their lives that painting and music are haram, and anyone who indulges in such activities will be consigned to hell. So the policeman probably thought it was his duty to prevent such activities to save his faith. And you can bet that he, like Salmaan Taseer’s killer, will not be punished.

In fact, he will either be promoted or transferred to some place where he can further enrich himself.

Shakir Lakhani

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Lahore’s growing Talibanisation</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/226888/lahore%e2%80%99s-growing-talibanisation</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/226888/lahore%e2%80%99s-growing-talibanisation#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 08 Aug 11 15:03:59 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[raza.rumi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=226888</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Police behaviour is reflective of how state functionaries are radicalised or helpless before rising tide of Islamism.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The recent abuse of police power at Lahore’s premier hub of arts is a sad reminder of how ‘culture’ is under attack from the state and vigilantes alike. The rough handling of a woman curator at the Nairang Gallery is not an isolated incident. There is an unfortunate history of attacks on artists and cultural spaces in Pakistan.

According to reports, last week a senior police official barged into the gallery and harassed and assaulted a woman, later accusing her of wearing improper clothes and labelled the gallery’s work as ‘fahashi’ (vulgarity). Eyewitness accounts suggest that the official, a local SHO, at first picked on a couple and questioned why they were sitting together! Later, he barged into a rehearsal of a Bharatanatyam dance performance; and assaulted the female curator of the gallery who asked why the SHO was intruding in the activities of the gallery. Even the staff members who intervened to rescue the young woman were reportedly thrashed.

Later, when the well-known architect’s (who runs the gallery) son inquired about the misconduct of the police official, he was taken to the local police station to be “hung upside down”. He was released later, thankfully without much harm. This incident has left a big question mark on whether freedom to run cultural institutions without the ‘ideological’ endorsement of the state is possible anymore.

Nairang Gallery is the brainchild of the globally acclaimed Nayyar Ali Dada and its ethos runs counter to the Zia era’s policies of turning Pakistan into a fundamentalist desert. Nairang hosts weekly meetings of literary giants and thinkers. The space is also used for various study groups and allows for plural, progressive debates. In addition, the gallery showcases contemporary art and music. However, all such activities are endangered in times when state-nurtured jihadis have become more powerful than the state and have infiltrated the minds of the policemen.

The late Salmaan Taseer’s killer, Mumtaz Qadri, is a case is point. A member of a highly trained elite police force, he was abetted by his colleagues in committing a murder to eliminate a public figure who stood up against the tyranny of blasphemy laws. Unfortunately, the Punjab government is yet to take any concrete steps to cleanse the special police force of the bigotry, which has now become a fact of life in Pakistan.

In recent years, Punjab has witnessed the rise of sectarian and militant outfits, including the Tehreek- i-Taliban Pakistan, who have been appeased on various occasions by the leadership of the party that rules the province. A recent report entitled “Madrassahs fanning radicalism” was reportedly forwarded by the Punjab Home Department to the police and civil administration, urging regulation of mainstream madrassas “to ensure protection of civil society from radicalisation and sectarian polarisation.” Punjab is a haven for sectarian and radical ideologues who have full freedom, and some say protection, to carry on with their hate-business.

In this larger context, Nairang Gallery is a threat to purists and fanatics. Police behaviour is also reflective of how state functionaries are either radicalised or helpless before the rising tide of Islamism. However, this incident should not be brushed aside or forgotten. Pakistan’s civil society and progressive voices in the media should guard the shrinking public spaces and call for a wider reform of the police force and should demand a crackdown on extremist outfits which are busy infiltrating the civil and military institutions. Pakistan will cease to exist if its pluralism and secular traditions are further eroded.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Graphic details!</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/225056/graphic-details</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/225056/graphic-details#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 07 Aug 11 09:07:21 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[noman.ansari]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=225056</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Despite the literary and artistic talent Pakistan can boast of, we still don’t have a graphic novel to call our own.]]>
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				<![CDATA[With his long ponytailed hair, strong features, and facial stubble, Jamal Khurshid – a thirty-one year old graphic designer from Karachi – looks almost like a soccer star from Milan. As I sit with him in his living room, he tells me with a marked lack of pretence about his love of drawing, how one of his teachers – a comic book artist himself – tore up Jamal’s drawings instead of giving him direction, and of how Jamal’s prodigious talent was finally recognised at his art academy, where he was asked to impart skills to students several years older than him.

As Jamal gets up to fetch something from his bookshelf, I glance around at the delightful randomness of my surroundings; a PlayStation sits in the center of the room; art boards covered in sketches lie in a corner; a huge Donkey Kong collectible toy occupies one shelf while a tower of board games totters precariously near the  TV. As I glance into his work room, I see a wonderfully eccentric collection of gas masks, some from the Second World War, and others from Afghanistan.

Jamal returns to me, carrying a book with great care. I recognise the cover from his deviantART webpage; it is Wahid, a graphic novel he wrote and illustrated. As one of his Persian cats jumps onto my lap I wonder why I’ve never seen it on the shelves of local bookstores. Anticipating my question, Jamal explains how, nine years ago, his publishers deserted Wahid, even after he had printed the sample copy himself. “They didn’t even show up at the launch, and wouldn’t return my phone calls,” he tells me ruefully.

Compromise is a song few artists are willing to sing, but Jamal tried to hum a few notes by incorporating pieces of local folklore such as parees and ajooj majooj into Wahid. But the publishers wanted him to work on graphic novels based on Allama Iqbal and Tipu Sultan instead, something he wasn’t willing to do. “In the end, publishers are simply unwilling to risk the investment,” he says, shaking his head.

Author Musharraf Ali Farooqi and illustrator Michelle Farooqi had a little more luck with their project, titled Rabbit Rap. After initially planning it as a graphic novel, they then changed the format and subvmitted it to publishers as an illustrated book manuscript.  A cautionary eco-fable starring a cast of rabbits, Rabbit Rap is now complete. Farooqi says he wasn’t inclined to incorporate any ‘local’ flavour in his story. “Rabbit Rap is a universal fable about folly, and so I wasn't interested in putting my rabbits in dhotis and pagris simply for the sake of having cultural indicators. If it were about Pakistani rabbits then, of course, a dhoti-clad rabbit would have been just the ticket!".

Of course, Jamal and Farooqui are not the only would-be graphic novelists out there. Journalist Jahanzaib Haque’s  Jay’s Toons Facebook page has nearly 5,000 fans already, with groupies to match.

With incredible hilarity, Jay’s Toons jabs at political and social issues using raunchy humour, balanced by just the right undercurrent of wit. While it’s now a comic strip, the original idea was born out of a graphic novel he was (and still is) working on.

“Originally I wanted to do something big… something epic. I wanted to write the great Pakistani Graphic Novel. Sixty pages in, however, it kind of collapsed – largely due to a nasty breakup with my girlfriend, who also happened to be a central character in the Graphic Novel,” he says.

Like the classic superhero born out of emotional pain, Jahanzaib converted the negative energy from a painful breakup to propel his comic strip. And then Salmaan Taseer was assassinated and Jay’s Toons were officially born. Jahanzaib’s attitude is superheroic, as well, “I have also been blessed with a lot of threats and warnings by religious extremists, die-hard nationalists and political party supporters. I consider that a high compliment.” Unfortunately, the original Graphic Novel still remains incomplete.

Other Pakistani artists have also gone online as well. Fauzia Hussain’s Dirty Laundry graphic novel is innovative in that its script is directly affected by user feedback. Of publishing her work, Fauzia says, “With the internet as a platform there's definitely space for many voices but the downside is that without monetary support some of us have to take long breaks where [w]e deal with real life and bills and student papers.”

Then there are Ramish Safa and Nofal Khan, who recently launched what they plan to be Pakistan’s first daily comic, Kachee Goliyan. Impressively, their team seems to be moving with an actual business plan in mind.

So clearly, there’s no shortage of would-be writers, but are there people out there willing to read what they’ve written? In my search for unlikely fans, I came across Pakistani standup-comedian, and comic book geek, Sami Shah. When asked about rumours that he had inadvertently caused the nuking of Karachi in a Justice League of America comic book, Sami laughs, “When I met the Scottish comic book writer Grant Morrison through a mutual acquaintance, I mocked his countrymen for hours. Weeks later, he sent a message through our mutual acquaintance, asking me to check out the latest issue of JLA: Karachi had been nuked off the face of the planet!”

Another graphic novel aficionado is none other than the multi-talented Tapu Javeri. While saying that he would love to see a Pakistani Graphic novel, Tapu’s more than a little skeptical about whether one will ever see print: "Comic books in Pakistan can have a unique flair, but getting something published can be a nightmare," he says.

Not considered a child’s medium for decades, graphic novels from numerous countries are earning international literary awards (see Box: Kid’s Stuff). Silver screen adaptations of books like Persepolis, Road to Perdition, and A History of Violence, are finding success both commercially, and amongst critics.

The rage has also caught on across the border. Recently, India drew 15,000 fans to its first comic book convention, with its homegrown books selling well. Jatin Varma, the founder of the event, says that while the organising aspect hadn’t been easy, there was a lot of local interest: “There certainly is a great amount of interest and the best thing is that it attracts all age groups and even women. Comics and their related industry - mainly merchandising and animation - are highly lucrative and are doing very well in India. India’s graphic novels include fantasy adaptations of the Ramayan, and titles such as Devi – themes that resonate with the Indian readers.”

So if it works in India, then why can’t it work in Pakistan? Why can’t an artist as skilled as Jamal Khurshid get printed? A small part of the answer lies in the fact that graphic novels are a collaborative endeavor; teams of writers and artists work together to create a great graphic novel. While Wahid is a good looking book, narrative isn’t its strongest suit. The Jinnah graphic novel, published some years back, faced the same problem, albeit in reverse. While the story was compelling, the somewhat stilted artwork made for a less-than-average Graphic Novel.

Farooqi feels that the Indian model of using ‘local’ literary icons in the style of the popular comic series Amar Chitra Katha could work in Pakistan. “The market for English graphic novels is too limited for it to be a profitable venture for most publishers,” he says. “For graphic novels to really take off, they need to be locally-themed and published in Urdu, so that they can be accessible to the mass market. Just look at the way the popular Urdu digests are published – bulk printing allowing for a low cover price; with that sort of model, the genre can really take off.” Of course, says Farooqi, that would depend on a publisher actually sitting down and making a solid marketing plan. “Unfortunately, that’s something most publishers are unwilling or unable to do,” he adds.

Assured that Pakistan isn’t lacking in terms of talent, I decided to visit the local bookstores to see how well graphic novels were selling. At Liberty Books, Pakistan’s largest bookstore franchise, I found the comic book shelf presence to be woeful, with the branch managers blaming the economy.

I then visited The Last Word, a book store with branches both in Karachi and Lahore. There, I was pleased to see a sizable collection of graphic novels on sale, including less traditional work like The Preacher and The Walking Dead.

That evening, the proprietor of the chain, Aysha Raja, spoke to me with passion about comic book culture, telling me that interest in graphic novels was actually increasing in Pakistan.

When asked what she felt a quintessential Pakistani comic should be, her simple answer summed up the thoughts of every artist and fan I had questioned on the subject: “Above all, it should be socially relevant.” And of local comic books not finding publication she said, “You show me a good complete Pakistani graphic novel, and I will publish it!”

During my research, while I have come across both talented artists, and writers, I haven’t come across a high quality, recently put together, complete and quintessentially Pakistani graphic novel. And I know this: in Pakistan, it only takes one successful product to kick-start an entire industry.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, August 7th 2011.]]>
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			<title>Timeline: Pakistan Blasphemy law cases, Jan-July 2011</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/223353/timeline-pakistan-blasphemy-law-cases-jan-july-2011</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/223353/timeline-pakistan-blasphemy-law-cases-jan-july-2011#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 04 Aug 11 09:22:01 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saba.imtiaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=223353</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[List provides details of people accused/sentenced under blasphemy laws, harassment of minorities, killings of accused.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Scores of Pakistanis have been harassed and implicated in false cases instituted by misusing the country’s blasphemy laws. Additionally, allegations of blasphemy have led to assassinations, extrajudicial killings and threats to life and property. 

The list below provides details of people accused and sentenced under the blasphemy laws, harassment of minorities as well as extra-judicial killings of blasphemy accused and people connected with the issue from January – July 2011.

_________________________________________________

NEW CASES



Location
Description


Kot Addu&nbsp;

&nbsp;
January   8 – Mohammad Amjad, believed to be mentally challenged, is accused   of committing blasphemy along with his father and a relative. The case was   filed at the request of local cleric Mohammad Sajid. (Section 295-B, PPC   Section 109)


Bhakkar&nbsp;

&nbsp;
January   17 - Shahnawaz filed an FIR against Muhammad Javed of Dullewala. He   claimed that he had received text messages from an unknown cell number that   contained blasphemous remarks.


Karachi&nbsp;

&nbsp;
January   28 - Syed Samiullah, 17, was accused of blasphemy for allegedly writing   blasphemous remarks in his exam answer-sheets. (Section 295-C)


Mansehra
January   31 – Shahnawaz and another man were accused of blasphemy for   allegedly stealing copies of the Quran and burying them in a courtyard.


Okara&nbsp;

&nbsp;
February   6 - Shamsia Colony resident Shafique was arrested for committing   blasphemy, since he had allegedly tied a shoe to a flag bearing a religious   symbol. (Section 295-A)


Rawalpindi
According   to Pakistan Today, two Muslim sects clashed in Rawalpindi and   were charged under the blasphemy and anti-terrorism laws.


Multan
Noor   Khan was accused of blasphemy by his brother. Khan’s brother was reportedly   raising slogans of ‘Sada-i-Madina,’ when Khan and a man called Maulvi Idrees   accusing him of uttering “blasphemous” words about sacred personalities.


Bhakkar
February   20 –School teacher Tanveer Ahmed was beaten up by a mob that was   incited by announcements on mosques’ loudspeakers and text messages. A   student had complained that Ahmed had disrespected images of holy places and   the footprint of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him).


Faisalabad&nbsp;

&nbsp;
February   16 – According to the Pakistan Christian Post, Agnes Nuggo was   charged of blasphemy by a group of Muslims who failed to acquire a plot of   land from her. (Section 295-A)


Karachi&nbsp;

&nbsp;
February   26 - Idrees Khan was arrested by the Landhi police after his   neighbours handed him over for allegedly setting leaves of the holy book on   fire. According to his father, a day before the incident, he and Idrees   visited a pesh imam of a mosque, who asked them to bury the leaves of the   Quran after setting them on fire.


Gilgit&nbsp;

&nbsp;
March   26 - Abdur Rauf lodged a complaint with the police that a man named   Yaqoob had allegedly used abusive language against Prophet Mohammad (peace be   upon him). March 27 – Yaqoob’s father shows documents to the police to   prove his son is mentally ill. (Sections 295, 296, 298, 500, 506)


Lahore&nbsp;

&nbsp;
March   30 - Shadbagh resident Qasim lodged an FIR against Irfan Rafique.   Qasim said that he had received a text message which contained derogatory   language about Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). He said that he and   three others discovered that Rafique used the number from which the text   message was sent. (Section 295-C)


Lahore&nbsp;

&nbsp;
April   8 – Case filed against Kasur resident Akhtar Hussain for tearing a   Bible outside St Joseph’s Church in retaliation for American pastor Terry   Jones burning copies of the Quran. (Section 295-A)


Gujranwala&nbsp;

&nbsp;
April   15 – Gujranwala police took two Christian men into protective   custody after people tried to spark violence by accusing them of desecrating   the Quran and committing blasphemy against Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon   him) (Sections 295-B, 295-C)


Mardan&nbsp;

&nbsp;
April 19 –   Ebadullah was accused by his father of desecrating the Quran. (Section 295-B)


Sargodha&nbsp;

&nbsp;
May   26 – Basharat arrested on charges of allegedly sending text messages   that contained blasphemous content about the companions of Prophet Mohammad   (peace be upon him). (Sections 295-A, 298-A)


Karachi
July   2 - 25-year-old Muslim arrested, accused of burning the Holy Quran


Karachi&nbsp;

&nbsp;
July   29 – Printing press owner and colleague arrested after being accused of   printing a book with allegedly blasphemous material. (Section 295-A)



_________________________________________________

DEATHS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BLASPHEMY LAW

&nbsp;



Location
Description


Islamabad
January 4 –   Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer assassinated by his bodyguard Malik Mumtaz   Qadri


Islamabad
March 2 –   Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti assassinated. The   Punjab Taliban and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility.


Rawalpindi
March   5 - Mohammad Imran, who was released along with Sajid Mehmood on   February 13, 2010, was sitting at a shop near a bus stand in Danda village   when three masked gunmen killed him.


Karachi&nbsp;

&nbsp;
March   15 – Qamar David, who was serving a life sentence in two blasphemy   cases, dies in Central Jail. Jail officials say he died of a heart attack,   but his lawyer said he had been in good health. His autopsy report was not   made public. (Sections 295-A, 295-C)


Lahore
July   17 – Shaukat Ali, who was serving a sentence after being convicted on   blasphemy charges, dies at Services Hospital. Jail officials say he died of   natural causes, but his family said they were unaware he was unwell.



_________________________________________________

HARASSMENT



Location
Description


Lahore
January   15 - Two Christian women beaten by an angry mob over frivolous   blasphemy allegations


Karachi
January   18 - Amar Ali and Nazia Amar, who were accused of desecrating the   Holy Quran and Hadith in Sialkot, protested at the press club and denied the   allegations


Islamabad
January 31 –Senator Humayun Mandokhel discusses activist   Marvi Sirmed in the Senate, who had invited him to Salmaan Taseer’s chehlum   and used the word ‘shaheed’ (martyr) to refer to him in a text message, which   he disagreed to. Mandokhel asked to file a privilege motion against Sirmed   since their exchange had been reported in the press. According to Sirmed,   Jamaat-e-Islami’s Senator Ibrahim also reacted to the word martyr   similarly. (Personal interview)


Lahore, Karachi
February   25 – Banners appear in cities accusing Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz   Sharif’s wife Tehmina Durrani of committing blasphemy in her 1998 bookBlasphemy.


Lahore
April   6 – An attempt by Christian workers to file the FIR of a blasphemy   case against the MD of the Solid Waste Management department dismissed by an   additional district and sessions judge.


Gujranwala
April   30 - Hundreds of people attacked a Christian seminary, a church and   houses of Christians after police release two Christians who had been accused   of blasphemy from protective custody.


Sialkot
May –   Bookseller Gulzar Masih accused of committing blasphemy after former   partner’s son says his workers burned pages of the Holy Quran. The dispute is   solved by market elders


Lahore
May   18 – Clerics attacked blasphemy accused Irfan Rafique’s lawyer at   sessions court and take an undertaking from him that he would not appear   before the court to defend Rafique.


Kahna
May   29 – Muhammad Shoaib and three men entered a church in Lakhoki   village and desecrated the Bible.


Lahore
May   30 – Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Samiul Haq) called for the Bible to be   banned on account of allegedly containing blasphemous material


Lahore
July   5 – PPP Lahore president Samina Khalid Ghurki accused of committing   blasphemy by clerics


Lahore
July 12 – 30 Barelvi clerics issued a fatwa condemning a   newspaper advertisement of the Population Welfare Department which they said   insulted the beard. On July 13, Tahafuz Namoos-e-Rasalat nominates the editors, publishers and printers of Jang, Nawa-e-Waqt and Daily Express in an application stating they committed blasphemy by publishing the advertisement. It asks that they be tried along with the other offenders under Section 295-A, while the chief minister and chief secretary should be prosecuted under section 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code.


Lahore
July   22 – Barelvi clerics protest against the police for not filing an FIR   against a man accused of blasphemy.



 _________________________________________________

SENTENCES



Location
Description


Bahawalpur&nbsp;

&nbsp;
January   6 - Man sentenced to life imprisonment by a sessions court for allegedly   burning a copy of the Quran. (Section 295-B)


Daira Din Panah&nbsp;

&nbsp;
January   11 – Mosque imam Mohammad Shafi and his son Mohammad Aslam jailed   for life on blasphemy charges. (Sections 295-C, 295-A)


Bahawalpur&nbsp;

&nbsp;
February   3 – A sessions court handed down the death sentence and a Rs0.2   million fine to a man in Jalalpur Peerwala for committing blasphemy. (Sections   295-C, 298-A)



 _________________________________________________

BAIL



Location
Description


Lahore&nbsp;

&nbsp;
February   10 - The Lahore High Court granted bail to a man accused of   blasphemy who had been in jail for four months. (Section 295-B)



 _________________________________________________

ACQUITTAL



Location
Description


Rawalpindi
June   2 – An additional district and sessions judge cleared Hector Haleem,   Basharat Masih and Robin Masih of blasphemy charges. The case was registered   last March. The court ordered criminal action against the investigation   officer and the complainant after they could not prove charges against the   accused.



_________________________________________________

• The blasphemy law in Pakistan’s Penal Code can be read here.

• To view the cases on Google Maps click here.

• To download an excel sheet containing the above, click here.

_________________________________________________

Sources: The Express Tribune, Dawn, The News, Daily Times, Pakistan Today, Pakistan Christian Post

Disclaimer: This timeline and corresponding data is based on published news reports. Several of these cases have been verified independently; however The Express Tribune has not verified the status of each case. Please alert us of any additional cases by leaving a comment/link below.]]>
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			<title>The moon and the maulvi</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/222710/the-moon-and-the-maulvi-2</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/222710/the-moon-and-the-maulvi-2#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 02 Aug 11 14:58:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[letter.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=222710</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Until the secularists muster up some courage and take some risks, they will not succeed in spreading their viewpoint.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[This is in reference to the article “The moon and the maulvi” by Amina Jilani (July 29). Our problem is that those who are secular give in to the clergy very easily, usually without showing the slight hint of any opposition. And in this, one shouldn’t really blame the maulvis because they, after all, are doing only what they profess to believe in. That is unfortunately not what the more secular-minded in Pakistani society do. Hence, we have a situation where, by and large, someone like Salmaan Taseer is not remembered as a shaheed. Why has his party, the secular PPP, not demanded that justice be done to his family for his murder? The bottom line is that until the secularists muster up some courage and take some risks, they will not succeed in spreading their viewpoint among Pakistani society.

Liaqat Ali

Published in The Express Tribune, August 3rd, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Muslims join Christians in mourning Gojra dead</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/222420/second-anniversary-muslims-join-christians-in-mourning-gojra-dead</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/222420/second-anniversary-muslims-join-christians-in-mourning-gojra-dead#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 02 Aug 11 04:19:31 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[shamsul.islam]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=222420</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[None of the speake­rs oppose­d blasph­emy law, only its ‘abuse’.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Two years after the tragedy, the Christian community in Gojra was joined by a handful of Muslims in commemorating the vicious attack on their neighbourhood in which seven Christians were burnt alive.


A memorial service was conducted at the Sacred Heart Church in Gojra for those who lost their lives on July 31, 2009, when a Muslim mob – incited by local mosques over allegations of blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) – surrounded and set on fire dozens of Christian houses.

In what appeared to be a sign of healing ties between the Christian and Muslim communities, the Catholic priests were joined by Muslim ulema. The Bishop of Faisalabad Joseph Coutts presided over the ceremony which was attended by around 350 people.

The speakers, both Christian and Muslim, spoke of a shared revulsion against violence perpetrated in the name of religion.

“All sections of society should rise above social biases and condemn such madness in the name of religion,” said Father Younis Yaqoob. “This not only defies the country’s law but also brings shame to all of humanity.”

Tahir Naveed, a member of the Punjab Assembly, spoke out against the tendency of people to exact what they perceive to be vigilante justice, particularly in blasphemy cases.

“If a person has committed a crime, he should be prosecuted in a court of law,” he said. None of the speakers, neither Christian nor Muslim, spoke out against the law itself and focused only on what they described as its abuse. Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and Federal Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti were killed earlier this year by fanatics who perceived them to be opposed to the blasphemy law.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2nd, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Norway — ugly, but inevitable (II)</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/221408/norway-%e2%80%94-ugly-but-inevitable-ii</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/221408/norway-%e2%80%94-ugly-but-inevitable-ii#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 31 Jul 11 16:05:36 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[letter.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=221408</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[European society is coming under the influence of far-right forces, still has its moral bearings more or less intact.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The world has some bright spots and some dark. An example of a very dark one would be the assassination of Salmaan Taseer, and another would be the tragedy that has befallen Norway. However, in the case of the latter, one would say that the massive outpouring of public outrage following the killings suggests that while European society is coming under the influence of rightwing and far-right forces, it still has its moral bearings more or less intact. Compare this to what happened following the killing of the Punjab governor and the reception that his killer received from many elements in Pakistani society.

Siraj Ahsan

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1st, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Another victory for the forces of bigotry</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/220737/another-victory-for-the-forces-of-bigotry</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/220737/another-victory-for-the-forces-of-bigotry#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Jul 11 17:33:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[shaukat.qadir]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=220737</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Directly or indirectly, innocent Norwegian citizens; men, women, and children have died because of Islam.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[On July 22, Anders Behrin Breivik, a blond blue-eyed Norwegian and a Christian, suddenly went berserk and began indiscriminately shooting people at a campsite in Oslo, killing 76. A moment’s silence, please, let us share the sorrow of their families.

The perpetrator was caught red-handed and confessed, yet in Norway, there was total disbelief. This could not have been one of their own; such an act in Oslo; not by a Christian? There had to be a Muslim connection! Sounds familiar? Yes, for years we, in Pakistan continued to delude ourselves too. Muslims don’t kill Muslims! There had to be an Indian, or Israeli, or CIA connection! But whether there was a connection or not, Pakistanis Muslims continue killing their brother, sisters and children.

In Oslo, there was a Muslim connection. Breivik says that he was enraged by the thought that Muslims were beginning to occupy Norway! But who did he kill? And I am not going to dwell on whether he was part of an organisation called ‘The Army of God’, and there is also considerable speculation and some evidence to indicate that he may not have been alone. Why did he target this camp and these Norwegians?

He alone knows the real reason or, if he was part of a group, other members might know. Based on media reports, I can merely speculate and, considering that Breivik was a victim of Islamophobia, the reason has to be connected to Islam. Apparently, the Norwegian foreign minister visited this particular camp the day before the tragic killing spree and was greeted with an unapologetic call for the rights of Palestinians with placards reading ‘Boycott Israel’! Could that have caused him to target the Utoeya Labour Youth Camp?

Doesn’t that sound familiar? Try crying out for the rights of Ahmadis, or Hindu or Christian minorities, or against the laws on blasphemy in Pakistani streets and join Salmaan Taseer!

Ironically, within hours of the incident, The New York Times (NYT) published an online report quoting an unnamed analyst, saying that an unknown Islamic organization, Ansaar-al-Jihad-al-Aalami, had claimed responsibility! It turned out that someone, using a false name had posted an argument on a website which translated to ‘This was Allah’s punishment for the evil that the west is doing in Libya and Afghanistan’!

Accusations of the NYT again acting on CIA’s instructions to stoke anti-Muslim rage in Europe ran rife and the online report by the NYT quietly disappeared! A well-known American radio show host, Alex Jones, is already referring to the Oslo incident as a “flag terror attack” intended to incite Islamophobia in Europe. Directly or indirectly, innocent Norwegian citizens; men, women, and children have died because of Islam. Breivik hated Muslims and killed innocent Norwegians (if my earlier speculation is correct), for supporting the cause of oppressed Muslims.

What will this lead to?

There will be some ‘rednecks’ for whom this will be enough to further stoke Islamophobia. This line of thinking goes something like this: If Muslims weren’t such evil beings, guilty of such crimes, no poor Christian Norwegian soul would have hated them so much as to kill these innocents.

For others, more reasonable people, it will be a clear signal not to support any cause relating to the oppression of Muslims.

Doubtless, there will be thousands of courageous Norwegians who will be even more determined to support the oppressed; any oppressed, irrespective of religion, colour, caste, or creed, but they are bound to be in a minority.

Whether or not it was a conspiracy, as Alex Jones thinks it is, the end result is inevitable. The ultimate global victors are forces of bigotry and obscurantism; those who cannot help spewing hate.

There can be no peace in the world so long as hate continues to thrive and this tragedy in Norway cannot but cultivate increasing hate.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Defence tries to prove Qadri acted on ‘sudden provocation’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/216265/defence-tries-to-prove-qadri-acted-on-%e2%80%98sudden-provocation%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/216265/defence-tries-to-prove-qadri-acted-on-%e2%80%98sudden-provocation%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 24 Jul 11 04:52:37 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=216265</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Qadri said to Taseer that it did not behove him to criticise the blasphemy laws.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The head of the Punjab Elite Force, Inspector Muhammad Aamir, who was responsible for providing security to former Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, told the anti-terrorism court that he was unsure whether the governor had an altercation on the blasphemy laws with his self-confessed murderer before Mumtaz Qadri shot him on January 4.


Defence lawyers maintained that as the former governor came out of a restaurant in Kohsar Market, Islamabad, Qadri said to Taseer that it did not behove him to criticise the blasphemy laws. Taseer again criticised the laws which provoked Qadri to kill him.

The defence is trying to establish that sudden provocation by the former governor led Qadri to open fire at him to avoid the possibility of capital punishment.

Aamir said it was impossible to believe that Qadri had managed to depute himself as one of the elite guards for Taseer’s escort since members of the force are selected after intense scrutiny.

The inspector was the twelfth prosecution witness produced before Special Judge Pervaiz Ali Shah. The prosecution informed the trial court that they would only produce two more witnesses whereas they had earlier cited 42.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Bilawal Bhutto Zardari joins Twitterati</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/215124/bilawal-bhutto-zardari-joins-twitter-2</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/215124/bilawal-bhutto-zardari-joins-twitter-2#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jul 11 16:10:19 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[farwa.zahra]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=215124</guid>
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				<![CDATA[The PPP chairm­an has starte­d sharin­g his though­ts with his fast-growin­g group of follow­ers.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Twitter may not host enough entertainment celebrities from Pakistan, but the microblogging site is used by a fair share of the country’s politicians. Shahbaz Sharif, Pervez Musharraf, Naveed Qamar, Imran Khan and Rehman Malik are some of well-known members of Twitter. The platform now has a new member with Bilalwal Bhutto Zardari joining it this week.


With @bbhuttozardari as his Twitter handle, the chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has already crossed a fan-following of 1,450, within the first 24 hours of posting his first tweet: “How do I fix my profile picture?” Which was later followed by, “Ahhh... cup of coffee and @etribune. Perfect way to start the day.”

Bilawal is not the first member of the Bhutto clan to join the site as Fatima Bhutto, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, Ghinwa Bhutto and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari are already on Twitter.

The young chairman received a warm welcome from family and friends.

“So excited that my big brother is on Twitter. Ladies and Gentlemen, the real Bilawal Bhutto Zardari @BBhuttoZardari,” wrote Aseefa.

“Absolutely loves all the welcoming of Bilawal on Twitter. I had been asking him to join for almost a year, so touched by all the messages,” tweeted Bakhtawar.

“Good to see you here,” posted late governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer’s daughter Shaherbano Taseer.

And as expected, political status is not all that is attracting Bilawal’s fans on Twitter. “Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, you are a real gujee gujee goo,” tweeted the person behind television celebrity Mathira’s Twitter account, and while the account may be fake, the user sounds like a fan.

Now that all three siblings are on Twitter, the trio can have some family time online. “Aseefa, it’s my middle-child syndrome. I require attention from my siblings 24/7, Bilawal,” wrote Bakhtawar.

Other than his sisters, Bilawal is currently following 29 accounts, including the late governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer, his wife Aamna Taseer and daughter Shehrbano Taseer, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Pakistan Ambassador to US Hussain Haqqani, Minister for Privatisation and Energy Pakistan Naveed Qamar and MNA Farah Naz.

Here are some interesting statements posted by politicians on the site.

Shahbaz Sharif 

Waiting for the plane to land in Dubai and [listening to] ‘Ghazab Kia Teray Waday Pay Aiatbar Kia’.

Rehman Malik 

I have just seen the demand to bring back Shahid Afridi. My friends, I am the interior minister, not the minister for sports.

Marvi Memon 

The only VIP perk that I would use as MNA, which I have no access to now, is changing flights last minute without cancellation charges.

Farah Naz 

With all respect to those who are tweeting that we must not be working hard since we are on Twitter — it’s multitasking at its best.

Kashmala Tariq

Always keep praying because possible and impossible is only your thought — there is nothing impossible for Allah.

Atiqa Odho

Where is the code of conduct in media? Who sets the rules of the game?

Ijazul Haq

The entire country is in the grip of severe electricity crisis. No money. No electricity. Total mismanagement.

Pervez Musharraf

Unfortunately where politics divides us, sports unite us.

Mushahid Hussain

Within 90 days, two million citizens of Swat valley fled war, the largest number of internally displaced persons. But they are back now.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 23rd, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Bilawal Bhutto Zardari joins Twitter</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/214304/bilawal-bhutto-zardari-joins-twitter</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/214304/bilawal-bhutto-zardari-joins-twitter#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 21 Jul 11 06:51:44 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Ema Anis]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=214304</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Gains popularity within nine hours, with 421 people following chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of President Asif Ali Zardari and chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), tweeted for the first time as he joined the fast-growing social networking site Twitter on Thursday.

The first tweet by Bilawal, whose handle is  @BBhuttoZardari, read:
@AseefaBZ how do i fix my profile picture so our faces aren't cut off?
This was in response to his sister Aseefa Zardari’s tweet, who welcomed him on Twitter addressing him as the ‘real Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’.

Bilawal has gained popularity within nine hours of his joining as around 421 people have begun to follow him on the site. Bilawal himself is following 22 people and has tweeted around 13 times since his arrival, most of his tweets thanking followers who welcomed him to the site.

He is following prominent people on the site including Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Pakistan Ambassador to US Hussain Haqqani and Shehrbano Taseer, daughter of former Governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer. He is also following his siblings Aseefa and Bakhtawar Zardari who have been active on the site for some time now.

Bilawal was appointed as the chairperson of PPP in 2007 after his mother, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Rawalpindi. Benazir, in her will, nominated Asif Ali Zardari as the new chairperson of the party, but Zardari gave up the PPP office and handed over the charge to Bilawal. Bilawal also currently holds the title of the chief of Zardari tribe.

President Zardari had earlier also stated that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will take up some “political responsibility” this September.

Bilawal, who turns 23 this September, is two years away from being eligible to run for a provincial or national assembly seat.]]>
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			<title>Aatish’s personal fire</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/212319/aatish%e2%80%99s-personal-fire</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/212319/aatish%e2%80%99s-personal-fire#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jul 11 16:43:49 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Ejaz Haider]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=212319</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Aatish Taseer uses reductionist analysis to sell to Indian and US audiences by using his father's clout.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Will Cuppy, American humorist and literary critic, was said to read some 25 volumes of history on average before penning his humorous sketches of historical figures contained in the delightful volume The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody. That was then. Now we base our analysis of an entire country on a tweet. Welcome to Aatish Taseer’s Wall Street Journal article “Why My Father Hated India”!

There’s much thrown in here so let me try a flowchart of sorts.

Indian rocket test fails; father tweets to taunt at India’s misfortune; father’s attitude to India causes tension with Aatish (right!); Pakistan’s obsession with India; grounded in Partition; Pakistan’s search for identity; rejection of India’s culture; Islamisation; identity crisis; coups; Pakistani military is the villain; wants strategic depth in Afghanistan; plays a double game; imaginary threat from India; back to father’s tweet; veneer of bravado; arid pain and sadness; wounds of Partition to be healed.

How does one deal with a piece which throws in everything except the kitchen sink in order to construct a supposedly linear reality? The technique reminds me of the cross-examination of Stanley Weber by the two strange characters, Goldberg and McCann in Pinter’s The Birthday Party. From ‘why the chicken crossed the road’ and ‘you left the organisation’ to ‘why you defiled your mother’, the rhetoric becomes a nightmare for Stanley and leaves him catatonic. Taken separately, one can discuss issues and arrive at a balanced analysis. But that’s not the purpose of Aatish’s piece. Pakistan must be seen as a mistake, acting without stimuli. India is Professor Godbole sitting contentedly and doing nothing while Dr Aziz goes around raging and making a fool of himself. That is of course nonsense. But whoever controls the narrative wins.

Mercifully, contained within Aatish’s piece are pointers to greater complexity. The father was killed because he supported a Christian woman. How does that fit in with the article’s thesis that the father hated India (and Pakistan has to hate India and be Muslim) because that religious distinction lies at the core of its ‘other’-isation of India? Or is Pakistan more complex than is hinted in the article?

Aatish’s father did not ‘hate’ India. He was one of those who did much to open up Lahore — to Indians — by using the Basant festival. There is not a single viable political party in Pakistan that does not want to normalise with India. That is a matter of record. But Salmaan Taseer (Aatish’s eye for detail doesn’t inspire much confidence since he gets the spellings of his father’s name wrong), like others, was a proud Pakistani. We don’t need to ‘other’ India to be Pakistanis but neither can we ignore real problems that need to be addressed. Tackling those problems requires mature analysis, not reducing everything to Pakistan’s identity crisis vis-a-vis India.

But what of the Pakistani military, the villains in all this? Since Aatish began with India’s failed GSLV rocket test, let me put in some facts here for him.

The Indian Army, standing at over 1.1 million active-service personnel and 1.8 million reserves, is configured under six area commands (operational) and one army training command (ARTRAC). Three of these area commands — western, northern and southwestern — are totally Pakistan-specific. A fourth, central command, with one corps (1 Corps) is also primarily Pakistan-specific. The Indian Army has 13 corps, out of which eight, including one from the central command, are specific to Pakistan.

But more than the number of corps, it is the number of divisions — infantry, mountain, armoured — as well as independent armoured and artillery brigades that manifest the deployment pattern or order of battle (ORBAT) of the Indian Army. The Pakistan-specific area commands and corps have a much-higher number of lower formations, the actual fighting elements, than the eastern and southern Commands.

Aatish alleges that Pakistan army has diverted most of the $11 billion to arming itself against India. He has no details and is plainly wrong but let’s take what he says on face value. This money has come to Pakistan over 10 years, according to his own piece. Compare this with India’s defence expenditure especially in purchasing power parity terms and one would realise what Pakistan is up against. He can check the figures with SIPRI and IISS.

Finally, each of his points has inspired scholars to write books; he would do well to avoid reductionist analyses. Nor should he utilise his father’s clout to serve personal ends by making a sales pitch to audiences in both India and the US. On a personal note, his article would have extracted only a yawn from me but for a query from Shashi Tharoor who wanted to know why I had advised Aatish Taseer to stick to writing novels. Now, Mr Tharoor is serious business. And if he needs to be explained what was wrong with Aatish’s article, then we are in real trouble.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>The charge of the secular brigade</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/211054/the-charge-of-the-secular-brigade</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/211054/the-charge-of-the-secular-brigade#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 16 Jul 11 16:53:17 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[raza.rumi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=211054</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The secularists cannot agree on anything, divided along egotistical and ideological lines.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Much has been written about how the state’s writ has eroded, either by policy or by default. Critics of state-sponsored jihad are few and largely confined to the English press. The Urdu media continue to present jihad as central to Pakistan’s raison d’etre. After decades of paranoia about India, now the US is the new enemy.

The counter-narrative to this is weak and upheld by a handful of people who have been branded as traitors in the past and ‘liberal fascists’ in current times. This secular brigade is an endangered species, under attack from the state, militants and the mainstream public opinion shaped through three decades of the Islamisation mantra. However, the secularists are also bitterly divided.

Their instinct under General Musharraf was to believe that he was some sort of an Ataturk and a sizeable number of civil society mandarins joined his government. Sooner than later, they found out what our local Ataturk was all about and their frustration found expression in the lawyers’ movement leading to Musharraf’s ouster. However, it took nearly a decade for this process to happen and Pakistan suffered immensely.

The secularists cannot agree on anything. They are divided along several lines: Egotistical differences masked as ‘ideological’ battles; proximity or hatred of a ‘liberal’ PPP; and, of late, the fear factor which is now the greatest challenge to mobilising public opinion against the rising tide of soft-Islamism.

During the year 2011, three political assassinations — those of Salmaan Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti and Saleem Shahzad — should have spurred on activists to fight for secularism, moderation and a progressive Pakistan. However, this did not happen. The rightwing calls them agents of the US and India, but so-called secularists are not shy of calling each other spokespersons of the military and the ISI. The recent bubble of triumphalism created due to the intense scrutiny of military competence is a case in point. Individual talk shows or open letters mean nothing for they will be forgotten soon.

Salmaan Taseer had emerged as a towering figure for a secular, tolerant Pakistan due to his public profile and proclivity to not mince words against bigotry. His death could have been a rallying point. However, subsequent activism against his murder remained thin and ineffective.

Of course, these dividing lines are difficult to resolve. There are secular democrats who think that better relations with the US are essential. Conversely, there are many who think that America, the imperialist power, needs to be resisted, and if the Taliban can achieve that then so be it. Forget the political parties who are simply playing the power-game, the secularists are divided into little groups with their personal ‘charisma’ or an ideological ‘brand’ more important than the larger imperative of mobilising the public against extremism and pressurising the government and political parties for course correction.

The PPP and ANP have been major disappointments. Nawaz Sharif’s stance has sparked some hope, but the fissures within his party position have not inspired much confidence. Pakistan continues to straddle between powerful, larger than life militants and a retrogressive, unaccountable state. Worse, its so-called civil society is divided and incapable of forging a joint narrative. On the other hand, all the lashkars and tehreeks (barring the Shias and Barelvis) stand united under the al Qaeda banner. Nothing could be more worrying than this.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17th, 2011.]]>
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