Jamaatud Dawa to protest against India's MFN status
Jamaatud Dawa calls itself a charity group and denies having anything to do with militancy, but many of its leaders and workers were formerly part of banned group Lashkar-i-Taiba (LT)
The leadership of the party blamed the government for not showing sympathy for the people of Kashmir and claimed that it has no right to declare India as MFN without the approval of the people of Kashmir.
“The peace in the region is related to the peace in Kashmir, not by building terms of friendship with India and increasing economical relations with India. Our government has been preferring destruction. If they have to do so, they had to declare it in their mandate,” the party said.
Ameer Hamza, a top party leader, said that it was Mohammad Ali Jinnah who had a vision about Kashmir and its importance for the people of Pakistan.
He said that the government has bargained nothing with India over granting the MFN status to it, as the armed forces of India will still hold their same positions on the borders.
“Their (Indian army’s) brutalism and barbarism is harsher in occupied Kashmir but our government is silent.”
“If India can give freedom to the people of Kashmir and will leave it, then India would be MFN not only for us but for the whole Muslim ummah and nations of the world,” Hamza added.
Earlier, a hardline Kashmiri leader also rejected the MFN status saying that Pakistanis should compel their government to take back their decision. Leaders in the Indian-administered Kashmir rejected the deal saying it was being done under pressure from the United States.
Pakistan’s cabinet last week announced that it had approved a proposal for normalising trade relations between the two neighbours and the eventual granting of the MFN status to India.
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@muslim: What happened to those rights of Kashmiris to self determination, when Pakistan sold a chunk of their land to China???? Rest assure this MFN is really an negligible item, as India has moved on in last 16 years since it granted the same status to Pakistan, while its taken Pakistan that long to make an decision !!!!
all those who are speaking against JuD and his protests must make themselves with history of ind-pak relations. the must know that Pakistan during Musharraf regime went 'out-of-box' and showed historical flexibility but despite all those moves India didn't move even an inch from its traditional stance over kashmir and did not even remove its most controversial use of force act implemented in India held kashmir. why these all of my fellows don't see Indian grave violation of Indus Water Treaty and converting pakistan's water and construction of dozens of dam in an effort to turn Pakistan into barren desert??? this is fact acknowledged by international organizations. then if jamat ud dawa demands kashmiris right of self determination according to UN resolution then whats wrong?? but india not only calls but its part of indian constitution that kashmir its 'integral part' (atu'ang).....people who comment on this news don't know what havoc will this granting of MFN status wreak to pakistan's economy. then india is not ready to remove its tariff and non-tariff barriers and is not supporting Pakistan in EU. those who say that pakistan always orchestrates terrorism against must recall the indians attack on samjhota express and according to one their person's confession statement a serving col. of indian Army was the mastermind of that myham. i request all those who just blindly comment must remain unbiased and keep the fact in front.
The decision to give India most favorite nation deserves unreserved commendation, and were the PPP government to consider this as one more jewel in its crown, one would not grudge it. Business communities in both countries have welcomed the move. It is clearly a win-win move, which should have come years ago, especially in view of the fact that India granted this status to Pakistan 15 years ago. The fact that MFN is reciprocal in nature, i.e. trade privileges granted by one party extend to a reciprocating party, has meant that by not granting this status to India earlier, Pakistan has been hurting its own potential for export to India all these years. Meanwhile, India has come across as the more pragmatic country. Pakistani businessmen admit to having eyed Indian markets for a long time, especially given the plummeting purchasing power of consumers at home. MFN status for India should prove to be a sorely needed boost for local industry. Currently, official trade between the two countries stands at a paltry $2.7 billion, a fraction of the potential that may be assessed by contrasting this with last year’s Pak-China bilateral trade of $ 9 billion.
@Ikramuddin Akbar: looks like mullah fantasy has worked its way onto these gullible people.arabs ,afghans and iranians only brought destruction and blood-shed and converting your elders to their faith under duress.That is when you start making woman the 1/4 of man.poor mukhtar bai was no match for one man's denial;and this you learned very well,especially pakistanis-deny,deny, deny;lie;lie;lie and people will eventually get frustrated and stop bothering you;the whole world is moving forward and you people have made pakistan move backwards;and islam is the only religion that allows polygamy as a right of the male.off course,any ill that akistani society has is produced by foreigners;a bunch of story-tellers that is what you all are!!
then tamil arasu what abt the dravidan race which orignated from gonduvana continent which was exisit at the time of tolkappian period and that also fake
@Jay: Arayan theory is a myth created by British to rule the subcontinent...recent discovery of the dried-up river Saraswathi by NASA and ISRO gives another picture, that the IVC extincted not because of Aryan invasion, it's because the river which flown int the region dried-up and called sarswathi, and the people of Indus Vale Civilization migrated to other parts because in the olden days most of the cities are based on the river banks...And in-fact there is not concrete evidence to prove Aryan invasion, this theory the British gave, because they want to make the people of this region want to feel - that what ever culture and civilization they posses is given by the Europeans who came in the form of Aryans...
Kashmir must be liberated of indian occupation. Blood of brothers martyred and the respect of sisters taken away by the ruthless occupying indian army wont go in vain.
Mullahs are not held accountable for a country's economy .It is the politicians that has to go and negotiate with the world . so that they can feed every pakistani including these mullahs.On top of that,they have to answer outsiders about self-destructive things that these loud-mouths do.Then these same mullahs are after the politicians because the economy is bad and people are starving.
@Ali: Indian movies and songs are worst form of cultural oppression:).
@Ikramuddin Akbar: Heritage and civilization do not matter to rootless people who keep changing their identity and behavior based on their "masters" of the time as is evident from their name, language and religion. But people who are descendants of a great indigenous civilization have every reason to "own" it.
How fool are some people, they cant even remember what they ate in the morning and what has left at home for tomorrow and they are digging history of 6000 years.If you can remember 6000 years than why dont you go a little bit more, to ADAM. whom we are descendants of ,comparing races and braging on culture will not pay off, we need to resolve the disputes, and subside greivances if genuine.One relationship of human being with another human being is of humanty.We need to maintain that forever.
@Ali hamza: Pakistan has FTA with China..Now, tell me do you mean that Pakistani industry are able to compete with them where as the world is struggling? get a break and make a better argument dude..
The world economy is in very deep trouble. In these very difficult times, when unemplyment and reccession looms large over even the wealthy nations, its time the two poor neighbours join hands for their own good and the good or their poor and vunerable people. If US and Europe are sinking, they will not bother about helping a sinking Pakistan economy
chalo, keep that "MFN" with yourself and shove it where the sun doesn't shine. Who cares?.
You can only settle your disapprovements with a friend and not with an enemy peacefully. And now that both India & Pak is nuclear armed, both don't have a choice apart to be a friend to move ahead for better life of their citizens.
@Arpit: Pls do not make one-line trite statements on something that has been the subject of ongoing investigation for a good half-century.There are multiple theories - but the Aryan migration theory (not invasion) has not been refuted because of significant evidence of similarity in linguistics within Indo-European languages - pointing to a common origin somewhere near the Caspian sea. That said, there was clearly an well-developed indigenous culture within the sub-continent before the Aryans arrived which created a substratum on which further development happened, which is the basis for the significant differences and richness of grammar and languages here as compared to Central Asia. The point that is also under question is the percentage of migrants vs indigenous population - which is still under investigation. Another supporting factor is the similarities in languages between - say, Syrian Mittani, Iranian Avestan and Rig Vedic period groups even though it appears that there was no migration amongst them - indicating a common source somewhere further north. Note: This wasnt the subject of the thread, but you raised the point, hence the response.
@Jigi: Kashmir is part of India...there is no doubt about it. However categorizing the SEPARATIST (MUSLIMS) not Kashmiris but from some other origin is absurd.If we go by your logics then all the North India and Central Indian people can not be treated as Indian as they are from ARYA ORIGIN basically from Persia of olden times.Explain your stand but not in the way that you are subjected to ridicules.
@kashif: More british than the british .
@furqan: Short memory brother if i recollect India voted for Pakistan for its security council seat a few days back
@Patrik, Many Pakistanis consider themselves direct descendents of Arabs and Chinese. They and their ancestors ( Arabs, Chinese, Tajiks, Mongols ) have nothing in common with Indians. Chapter 7, lesson 5 from Pakistan history.
MFN status is a business deal which potentially will increase business on both sides. Since most businesses on either sides are owned by ordinary citizens, it will be good for the general masses.
These radicals are making it a big issue as most people don't understand the technical aspect of it. They are probably told that Pakistan is making India the most favored country which, of course, no one wants.
I remember, most likely a joke, when an Indian politician told the public that they didn't have a good harvest because the government took the power away from the water (via a dam).
Got to educate the masses.
@Ali hamza: but you have given the MFN status to China. So are you ready for China ?
@Arsalan:
Thank you for pointing this out. Unfortunately, I don't see this happening. India's economy is much bigger and growing at a rapid pace. It would have to suffer a drastic setback for over a decade (and Pakistan would simultaneously have to grow at a blistering pace) for there to be even a chance of economic competition between the two.
What this essentially means is that there is nothing that Pakistan can do to India to make it give up Kashmir.
Unfortunately, there are only a few in Pakistan (the much-maligned "secular liberals") who see the reality of this situation, and have accepted it. The rest of the vast majority is still obsessed with Kashmir.
The ultimate target must be no borders between Kashmir, Pakistan and India. Giving MFN treatment opens the doors to this journey. We should go for it and ignore dissenters.
@Ali hamza: "I am not a supporter of JuD but still I stand with them on the MFN status of India.Economically this MFN status of India is not viable for Pakistan.Our industry is not competent enough yet.we would have to prepare for trade with India first"
You do realize that this is ot an FTA that we are discussing but MFN status that Pakistan has already granted 100 other countries. It is also a requirement for Pakistan because it is a WTO signatory. India has not done so but any time in the last 15 years (from 1996 onwards) to now India could have complained against Pakistanand there would have been legitimate grounds to remove Pakistan from WTO which wuold affect trade not just with India but all the 100+ WTO signatories in the world. If Pakistan does not sign, that is still an option India could exercise.
carpet bomb these extremist- destroying the image of Muslims and Pakistan !
JuD is the direct threat to PTI. I bet Hamza will win the election if he stands. Imran Khan stands no chance compare to likes of Hamza.
these fanatics r just ruining our beloved .... we want peace with inida MFN status to india will smoother the ways in that regard ................
@antanu g: There are two types of people in Pakistan ,libral and fanatic, and you are annoyed with both of them, tell me where can i find people of your liking dear. you will have to select one. .
Good, good, Pakistan should always keep a laser sharp focus on Kashmir, come what may.
lets give peace a chance
@Jehangir: Oooo! I was scared, too!
This is just a facade to squeeze to some money's out of the Pakistani government. Just about everybody who works for or runs Jamaatud Dawa is on the dole. These people don't work or contribute anything constructive to Pakistani society. They're just a bunch of lazy bums who use the threat of violence or the periodic assassination or riot to extort money from the government or people.
These are hoax on pakistan side like bal thakuray and narendar modi on indian side there is no difference between them
@Proud Baloch:
I doubt that you represent any of the real Baluch who hate establishment inspired terrorism.
@Jay: Hey Jay, Aryan invasion theory is refuted by major historian today. It was a divisive theory coined by then british historians and they had no proofs. But as more and more archeological excavations are done and DNA studies reflect that people of these region are indigenous and haven't migrated.
The one with black beard in the front row is a scary guy. Tribune Photographers have a sharp eye for dangerous looking guys..
I am not a supporter of JuD but still I stand with them on the MFN status of India.Economically this MFN status of India is not viable for Pakistan.Our industry is not competent enough yet.we would have to prepare for trade with India first
@Harry Potter Fan: We don't want independence from Pakistan. And stop this pretentious attitude about caring for us. We certainly don't want any Indian to feel pity for us. !@#@#
@Ali " I understand we can’t live without indian movies and songs" Some of us can, I bet majority in that rent-a-crowd can't. They should be called 'jamat-ul-munafiqeen' (Party of the hypocrites).
Annual trade between India and China is USD 60 billion and it is going to reach USD 100 billion despite big issues(almost similar issues b/w Pakistan and India). We have never learned from our friendly country China and do not try to understand their policies. Giving MFN status to India does not mean allowing import of all products from India. Our policy makers are already working on negative list of items to protect local industry. Most of the machinery manufacturing firms have opened their branches in India and we can import such machinery from India which we do not and could not from EU, USA, Japan and other countries. We can also import raw material which we import from other countries at higher price.
On the other side, there are around 250-300 million people of mid-income group in India. Due to less value of our Pak rupee compared with Indian rupee, we have also the opportunity to enter in Indian market. We need to realize whats better for us instead of having anti-India policy. Look at Bangladesh, they went against us in WTO regarding low duty trade to EU. Even country like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka have moved ahead and we are still living in world of dreams and emotions to make fool ourselves.
All these things are only happening due to the soft corner enjoyed by banned outfits from the ruling elite in Punjab. Better annex this province into three so that proper check is maintained. Media should also be extra careful and must not give any importance or coverage to these non-state actors of our country.
Don't listen to them. We need trade with India as much as India needs trade with us. Let's hope for friendly relations between the two countries, for it is for the greater good.
If Jamaatud Dawa is a charity organisation what is it doing with protesting on political matters and especially related to India? Does Edhi foundation, a genuine charity, also protests on such matters?
@Ahmad Hammad: "JuD is not a terrorist or extremist group. They serve for what they think good, and to them, Islam is a greater good. Why to ridicule them?"
So if I hypothetically believe wiping the entirety of the Muslim countries off the map is a good cause that everyone should be behind me on because it will make the world a better place, it's alright and nobody should judge my attempts to make it a reality negatively? Also, you will also defend me against anyone who labels me some kind of extremist or bad person because I justify my view on a twisted defintion of justice and a greater good that can supposedly only be misunderstood by those beneath me?
Maybe your logic is so advanced my tiny little unislamic brain can't handle it. If so, I will schedule a good long crying session and mark it on my calendar later.
I get the feeling the slow ones actually require me to point this out: No, I don't actually believe that.
@Jigi: They are as much Kashmiris as everyone else in that land. Don't forget that we Aryans also came from Central Asia. After a couple of millenia, a large majority converted to Islam - and this is definitely a result of further invasions, whether the actual conversion was forced or accepted on the basis of religious values is not important any longer. The fact is that people like you are living in as much of fantasy world as these characters in JuD, and need to wake up and smell the coffee.
I am a Muslim indian and I have to say that I am really happy that barring a couple of crazy people, most Pakistanis are supporting India Pakistan peace. I think if we can do that instead of constantly pointing fingers, oth our countries will be able to make much more progress on reducing hunger and pooverty which should be the main priority.
@Ahmad Hammad: Im quite sure kashmiris don't want to accede to Pakistan...maybe they would have wanted it in the 90s...but looking at your current state no one would want to be with Pakistan. So seriously, stop this idiocy...first give independence to Balochistan and then think of Kahsmir.
Secondly, Shiv Sena's influence is limited to the western state of Maharashtra...they are more in the order of goons rather than a terror organisation, which Pakistan has plenty of.
Why are the Kashmiris not protesting even after being used to shooting from the shoulder of Pakistan
change your primary school text books and also, ensure proper education in schools
Dear 'Dawa': Stop calling yourself a charitable organization now that you have shown your true colours. The MFN status is for trade purposes only and will benefit both the nations. It is a step towards better relations.
If tomorrow the trade between India and Pakistan is sopped fully what will happen???
India's total Export 2010 -> 210 Billion - Ind's Export to Pak - 2.33 Billion
Pakistan total Export -> 20 Billion - Pak's Export to Ind - 333 Million
Pakistan have more room to improve it's export to India from it's current 333 million, because India has a strong middle class population which is almost twice the size of Pakistan's total population...
So if the trade stops tomorrow nothing will happen two both nation, it won't have any effect on our economy, India will loose just 2 billion export out of it's massive 210 billion and Pakistan will lose just 333 million out of it's 20 billion export which is just above 1% of it's total export, where us if we have more free trade then both country can benefit immensely because of close proximity, India need cement and I believe Pakistan have it in abundant, also patients in Pakistan pay 10 times more cost for some of the medicines compared to India those can be imported from India and many such mutual benefits...
@M: Very true! I wish liberals in this comments section can think like you.!
@White Crow: They have the RIGHT to protest against OPPRESSION. Stop being a slave of west let them protest.
@Nero: Why?
Why to bow down on oppression? When the world can criticize us about balochistan and terrorism then why to leave india out of what they have done in Kashmir?
I understand we can't live without indian movies and songs but at least stand against oppression.
What to do with these people? Why don't they do some work for a change?
@ JuD We have already given MFN status to India. Now start protesting and waste your time.
Kashmir has been Indian land for 6,000 years. The SEPARATIST “muslim” people in Kashmir are NOT INDIGENOUS people of Kashmir. They are turkic MIGRANTS from Central Asia who followed the Mughals. They do not belong in Kashmir. They are genetically, culturally and linguistically different from people in the Indian subcontinent. Hence, they cannot have any claim over Kashmir. Thus, the question of them having a say in the fate of Kashmir does not arise. India has been more than graceful that they did not chase them out of Kashmir after the Mughal rule ended and instead offered them citizenship. IF THEY DO NOT WANT TO BE PART OF INDIA, THEY ARE FREE TO LEAVE AND GO BACK TO CENTRAL ASIA. However, if they continue to stay and engage in their seperatist moves, it may well be time to get rid of them now!!!!
Pakistan must ignore these voices of insanity and proceed with wgat is in its best interest. Such voices exist on both sides of the border but must not given importance.
These type of fanatic groups will never let live liberal minded people of the subcontinent in peace.We want to live as friendly people with all our neighbors, and why not we have every right for that. The main problem is majority of masses are easily lured by their appearance and think they are true Muslims, Had the masses been literate they would have asked them the question. why Pakistan is enjoying the friendship of China, when the communists brutally killed hundreds of Muslims in sinkiang province some times ago? How come an Islamic country gloat being friend of Godless people. Isn't it a violation of Islamic rule.They dont take pain for the rest of the Muslims of the world but only for few peoples of a particular area.and why only Muslims, why dont they think about the starving poor of Africa. they have made our lives miserable. They cry on the death of Osama, because source of income is closed.The government should ban all the so called religious party and first the most evil and notorious mother evil party of all the kids parties that have grown under the mother's keen supervision.They will surely disintegrate Pakistan, then "na rahega bans na bajegi bansuri" Their heart never cry on the brutal KAROKARI SYSTEM OF THE LORDS OF PAKISTAN, they dont dare to finish jagirdarana ,sardarana, choudhrana, sordid and cruel system in Pakistan,, Shame on them.
@Ahmad Hammad: Yeah keep on saying JuD is charity organization ... What does a charity organization has to do with Kashmir or India Pakistan relations? Kashmiris no longer want to be part of our country .. they would rather prefer independence .. then why should we make our own people suffer? Why not care about 180 million people who are poor. How about people start caring for those thousand of men sleeping on road side of Lahore without any roof on their head? How about first care about those 180 million people who have no electricity in scorching summer?? If we increase trade it will have direct affect on economy and will reduce inflation .. which is good for the poor only .. Rich people like Hafiz saeed who fills his pockets and roam around in luxury cars with bodyguards will never care about poor .. they just want to manipulate people and misguide people like Kasab so that his politics of hatred doesn't stop. They are not interested in issue of common people .. If he was really that honest he could start caring about local population and would welcome any move by GoP which increases trade and brings money to our weak economy, If we have better economy we won't need people like Hafiz Saeed to give alms during calamity, the money his men distribute does not come from parental inheritance but they get it from us and then part of it is redistributed while rest is spent on their own luxuries. His game is very old and will no longer fool people. Also, What does Shev sena or any other extremist has to do with our situation .. Why do people start pointing fingering at any other country .. If some one's son is a criminal can he justify it by saying my neighbor's son is also criminal? Why not sort out our problems instead of pointing fingers at others.
Media should stop giving importance and coverage to these people, completely ignore them.. We unintentionally make them popular by covering their activities... they should be completely boycotted on every forum and blackout..
One look at this and one would think that India is dependent on Pakistan for all their trade. Well, you can keep that MFN. I'll still sleep soundly at night.
the usual rent a crowd, offer rs200 some roti and halva and voila!
vesey why they don't demonstrate about the barbarity of the Taleban towards our own soldiers, how they killed them by slitting throat etc.
Why dont they demonstrate about the loss of Pakistani life by these barbarians. Is a Pakistani life worth less to them than a Kashmiri life?
Has anybody bothered to ask the people of Kashmir on the Indian side, if they wish to be part of Pakistan??? What exactly has Pakistan got to offer at present, apart from their Ghairat, not Kashmiri's ??? I think the answer may just be very rude awakening for parties like JUD !!!!
Well, to me, JuD is using their right to protest in a democratic country. My Indian friends who ridicule JuD's 'extremist' stance should keep in view the reality that there are more extremists living in India who are a permanent threat to the state and the minorities all over, especially the Muslims. On the basis of being an extremist group, shouldn't the Indian government allow Shiv Sena to protest??? Or they, the Shiv Sena, refrain from doing so even if they are not allowed? JuD is not a terrorist or extremist group. They serve for what they think good, and to them, Islam is a greater good. Why to ridicule them? Secondly, will anybody of those 'intellectuals' who criticise Hafiz sb's stance on Kashmir tell us as to what was the UN resolution on Kashmir? And why India ins't freeing the Kashmiris? Are they waiting for another Gandhi who had to go on a starvation for the cause of issuing resources to Pakistan? JuD's work in the earthquake has been phenomenal. They are a strong social welfare group. If someone has reservations on their stance on Kashmir or MFN issue, just come and TALK to them, but do not talk ON them only, for this is nothing but a poor strategy of the meager intellectuals who have got NO argument to convince in their portfolio...
Jamat wallon, please call strike tommorow. So that we may have whole week off. Why only Friday?
Great stance. The Pakistani Govt should give full consideration to their views. India would be happy to then drag Pakistan to WTO and reward its acts with more trade sanctions for not reciprocating the MFN status that India has granted for many years now.
Jamaatud Dawa is paid by the black market business lobby who stand to lose under any MFN deal with India. Religion? JD has more to do with money and politics than Islam. Even their "charities" become excellent recruitment grounds.
India should reject MFN status. No country needs that status from Pakistan. India will repent any engagement with Pakistan. Mark my words.
99% in the protest wouldnt even know what it is all about but they have to protest.... the rise of mullahism in Pakistan...
I am sick of these people.
Uh Oh, even though taken into confidence, this news means one of the twin cities is not happy with relations bettering with India.
Can PAK trade these guys?
When unemployment rate increases people find some cause to stay busy.
Hope Pakistan heeds to his plea, of course India is not worth giving this favour, after all they yet to release son of the soil 'Kasab'.
“If India can give freedom to the people of Kashmir and will leave it, then India would be MFN not only for us but for the whole Muslim ummah and nations of the world,” Hamza added.
How foolish is this JuD. I really appreciate the current government of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan for not listening to these extremist groups.