Pakistan Link - October 31, 2014 by PL PUBLICATIONS

Pakistan Link

VOL. 24/44 - 7 Muharram 1436 H PAGE 4

Pakistan Needs Parvez Musharraf for the Transition Army’s Anti-Militant Offensive Successful

Peshawar: The Pakistani army declared on Wednesday that its four-month-long offensive against insurgents in a restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan has been a success, saying that the troops have so far killed 1,100 militants. But the military also accused neighboring Afghanistan of not providing “enough support” to the Pakistani operation in North Waziristan, and allegedly failing to take action against militants who had fled across the frontier to hide among the Afghans. The army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa, told reporters in the northwestern city of Peshawar that the offensive in North Waziristan, which was launched in June, was going according to plan and that its impact is being felt across Pakistan, with a decrease in “terrorist attacks, extortion and kidnappings.” “Most areas and roads in North Waziristan have been cleared and reconstruction is underway,” he said, adding it was still unclear when the operation would be finished. He said troops seized 132.5 metric ARMY, P29

US Special Envoy Visits Pakistan Washington, DC: The United States Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Mr Dan Feldman arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday on a two-day visit of the country. The envoy held a meeting with Adviser to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and the two discussed bilateral ties and issues relating to the region and Afghanistan. Both sides shared their resolve to improve and strengthen relations between Pakistan and the US. Feldman is scheduled to meet with “a wide range of civilian and military officials as well as representatives from civil society” during his stay in Pakistan, a statement issued by the US State Department had said prior to the envoy’s departure. While the agenda of Feldman’s visit was not clearly stated by the State Department, his visit ENVOY, P29

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Friday, October 31, 2014

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Bilawal’s Debut: Well Begun Is Half Done

A Model Muslim Community in a German Mosque

PTI MNAs Stand by Their Resignations

“We have said it many times that we have resigned. We have fulfilled the criteria of Article 64 of the Constitution,” PTI Vice Chairman told media

Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi reaffirmed on Wednesday that his party’s lawmakers had resigned from the National

US & Canada $1.00

Assembly. “PTI tried all constitutional means to highlight the massive rigging during the 2013 General Elections,” he said. “We have said it many times that we have resigned.

We have fulfilled the criteria of Article 64 of the Constitution,” Qureshi said, adding that the PTI lawmakers came to the Speaker’s chamber on his call and waited for more than two hours but he did

not show up. The PTI leader said that they had informed the Deputy Speaker to convey the word to Sardar Ayaz Sadiq that PTI lawmakers RESIGNATIONS, P29

Pakistan’s Coastal Areas Brace for Cyclone Nilofar

For news, updated round the clock, visit

www.PakistanLink.com Indian Envoy Summoned to Protest Border Violation Islamabad: The Ministry of Foreign

Affairs on Wednesday summoned the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad to lodge a protest over the killing of a civilian by firing of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) deployed at the Tashpura Post. According to a statement released late on Wednesday, Pakistan condemned the action of the BSF troops, which was in violation of the Border Ground Rules. In its protest, Pakistan called upon India to show respect for the lives of civilians and refrain from indiscriminate firing, which has caused loss of precious lives. The Indian side was reminded that earlier an inadvertent crosser, Kala Khan, was shot dead by the Indian security forces on the LoC in August 2014. The incident had coincided with, reportedly, a BSF soldier’s inadvertent crossing who was treated well by Pakistani troops and returned safely. Earlier on Wednesday, BSF shot dead a farmer who had inadvertently crossed over near Zero Line in the Shakargarh secrtor.

VIOLATION, P29

Petitions for Declaring 2013 Elections Void Rejected Islamabad: The Supreme Court on

Cyclone Nilofar’s track, courtesy Accuweather.com (left). Raging waves lash the Karachi shore (right)

Karachi: Cyclone Nilofar — which is expected to slam into Pakistan and India within the next 36 hours — reached within a

distance of 910 kilometers south from the coast of Pakistan, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

Officials also say that Nilofar, classified as a ‘very severe cyclonic storm’, may weaken to a ‘cyclonic storm’ when it

makes landfall. Pakistan’s chief meteorologist Tauseef Alam, however, said: “But CYCLONE, P29

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Wednesday dismissed all petitions calling to declare the May 2013 General Elections as void. The decision issued by the apex court read that petitions demanding last year’s general elections to be declared void at large were nonmaintainable as tribunals were in place to address grievances relating to elections on various seats. The court referred to Article 225 of the Constitution on election disputes which says that complaints pertaining to elections are to be resolved by the concerned tribunals. Three petitions had been filed in the apex court i by Kokab Iqbal Advocate, Zahir Sarfaraz and a former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Mahmood Akhter Shahid Siddiqui. Former Secretary General Election Commission of

PETITIONS, P29

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OPINION

P4 – PAKISTAN LINK – OCTOBER 31, 2014

Pakistan Link n By Mowahid Hussain Shah

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Awareness or Fairness?

wareness is the common refrain amongst the chattering classes and political pundits. Awareness is being equated with change. But, in Pakistan, the slogan of revolutionary change repeatedly has been proven fraudulent.

Awareness is focused on misconduct and misrule of others. Undoubtedly, there is more furious expression of public grievances being magnified and amplified by non-stop TV coverage. It has led to more aggressive finger-pointing, more of the blame game, and more abuse. It is also creating a bubbling volcano of hate, inflaming class resentment. Misdirected rage is like an overspeeding train whose brakes have failed. Already, there is no shortage of hate in society. Change doesn’t come through non-stop noise. The bigger issue is moral awakening. It comes through awareness of one’s own faults and compassion for the human dignity value of others. It comes through a collective conscientiousness. It doesn’t come through keeping one’s own dwelling clean while throwing litter outside on the road. A weak community ethic is a re-

curring hallmark of the sub-continental culture. It has helped entrench a grabby mindset wherein privileges are hoarded at the expense of the rights of

ity is poor-on-poor. These habits and attitudes have been transferred from generation to generation. Revealingly, the ongoing agita-

Change doesn’t come through non-stop noise. The bigger issue is moral awakening. It comes through awareness of one’s own faults and compassion for the human dignity value of others. It comes through a collective conscientiousness. It doesn’t come through keeping one’s own dwelling clean while throwing litter outside on the road others. The fault is always someone else’s. It would be a dangerous over-simplification to continue to persist in the belief that there is rot at the top and cleanliness at the bottom. Much of the cruelty in the lower strata is inflicted by women on women. A lot of brutal-

tion has now morphed into demand for more provinces. It is a thinly disguised ploy to break up Punjab – the veritable backbone of the nation. It is a scheme that has long been brewed abroad, using the hijab of more efficient administrative units and less dominance of one province. It has

successfully enlisted local proxies, and duped gullible and naive politicians. The consequences could be disastrous. When the need of hour is unison, the rallying call is for more division. Pakistan can ill afford this at a moment of polarization and severe national disagreements. The system caters to the wellconnected rather than meeting the concerns of ordinary citizenry. It is programmed to perpetuate dictatorship of the super rich. It is incapable of public betterment. On display are the same stale male faces. There is an old maxim that when you seek equity, you should come with clean hands. How many are educating the public on punctuality, to keep commitments, to respect the queue, to eat with decorum in public functions, not to usurp, not to litter, to be aware of one’s obligation to treat others with courtesy, to clean up after using toilets, to fight prejudice and to be aware of the population time bomb? All of the above connects with self-respect. In this turbulence, all factions have been tarnished – the government along with its foes. The tussle is highly personalized. If it continues to linger on, it will only mean replacing one set of faces with another set of faces. Cosmetic change is no change. The challenge is to find a remedy. Would awareness lead to fairness?

Why Pakistan Needs Parvez Musharraf for the Transition n By Dr I. Kamal

“

Kashmir and the rest of the issues should be sorted out by mutual talk but if India wants to talk in an aggressive way, then it should have no misconceptions. If anyone tries to challenge (Pakistan’s) power, they will learn a lesson that they will remember.”

- Former PresidentGen. (R) Parvez Musharraf, in a rallying speech to the nation on Pakistan Day, March 23, 2002. This speech was made at the height of the stand-off in Kashmir (13 December 2001 – 10 June 2002) when a belligerent India had amassed an army of close to a million men at the border with Pakistan. President Parvez Musharraf ’s tough stance, at a time when a nuclear confrontation appeared imminent, was a major factor in forcing India to back off. Earlier on in the crisis, he had boosted the country’s morale on January 12, 2002 in another historic speech, which ended with the following inspiring words: “We have to make Pakistan into a powerful and strong country. We have resources and potential. We are capable of meeting external danger. We have to safeguard ourselves against internal dangers. I have always been saying that internal strife is eating us like termite. Don’t forget that Pakistan is the citadel of Islam and if we want to serve Islam well we will first have to make Pakistan strong and powerful. “There is a race for progress among all nations. “We cannot achieve progress through a policy of confrontation and feuds. We can achieve progress through human resource development, mental enlightenment, high moral character and technological development. I appeal to all my countrymen to rise to the occasion. We should get rid of intolerance and hatred and instead promote tolerance and harmony. “May God guide us to act upon the true teachings of Islam. May He help us to follow the Quaidi-Azam’s motto: ‘Unity, Faith and Discipline’. This should always be remembered. We will be a nonentity without unity. “And I would again like to recite a couplet from Allama Iqbal. “Fard Qaim Rabte Millat Say Hai, Tanha Kuch

Naheen. Mauj Hai Darya Main Aur Bairoon-e-Darya Kuch Naheen”. (The individual survives because of its cohesion with the community, The life of the drop is in the river, and outside the river it is nothing!) This was in line with the same ‘Sab sey pahlay Pakistan’ (Pakistan First) theme which this great leader has been harping upon for the past several years. At a time when India has adopted the same belligerent attitude, indulging in unprovoked firing on our civilians on Eid day and the days following, a pincer- like situation is developing with an equally hostile Afghanistan to the north, the

With either approach, the formation of a tooth-less, weak, interim government would be disastrous and leave the country vulnerable, which is just what Pakistan’s hostile neighbors to the north and south would want VIP culture of those in power is showing its ugly face on a daily basis, and Pakistan is faced with humiliation abroad, with its Prime Minister coldshouldered by the high and mighty while on a trip to New York which cost our beleaguered country one crore rupees per day, one cannot help but recall the Musharraf years, which was a time when Pakistan had a voice in the comity of nations, when its leader took the nation into confidence and instilled confidence in the populace at each event of national importance, when things were under control, and good governance could be seen and felt all across the country. Currently, in addition to the problems referred to in the preceding paragraph, there is a political crisis in the country. The official opposition in parliament is playing its agreed-upon role of a “friendly opposition” in the spirit of the plunder-

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and-loot- by-turn agreement, the mother of all mukmukas, mislabeled as the London Charter of Democracy. Scandals, cases of blatant corruption and misuse of power are brought to light every day by the electronic media, without any effect on the powers that be. The leaders of both the major political parties have proven themselves true to the prediction made by the late noted columnist, Ardeshir Cowasjee, quoting a Gujrati saying which can be translated as “Jab raja bhaya beopari, parja bhayi bhikari” (when a businessman becomes the king, the people become paupers). In a truly democratic country, questions would be asked on the floor of parliament, ministers would resign, and governments would topple. Not so in Pakistan’s feudalocracy. The real opposition is out on the streets, in the D-Chowk and the Shahraah-e-Dastuur of Islamabad. The leaders of this opposition, Dr Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan, deserve credit for having aroused the conscience of the nation, and letting loose the winds of change. The writing is on the wall. In the words of an Urdu poet, JaR ham nay pakaR lee hai, ShaaKheiN nayee phooTaiN gee Shoalay bhaRak uTTHeiN gey, jhoaNkay jo hawa deiN gey (We have taken roots; new branches will blossom out – Flames of fire will burst out, if adverse winds try to still us!) These leaders differ in the solutions they are proposing, but are united on two important points in their demands: (a) the resignation of the prime minister, and (b) the setting up of an interim government. TRANSITION, P29

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OCTOBER 31, 2014 – PAKISTAN LINK – P5

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OPINION

P6 – PAKISTAN LINK – OCTOBER 31, 2014

Islamic State and Religious Extremism

n By Syed Kamran Hashmi

Westfield, IN

hen compared to the Islamic State (IS), Afghan Taliban strike us as a group of moderate nationalists with a religious tilt entangled in the web of local traditions and tribal pride. Of course, there was nothing moderate or reasonable about Taliban; after all, the memories of the public executions of innocent women still haunt us. However, the puritanical interpretation of the Islamic law (the Sharia) by the Iraq-based jihadi organization, its intolerance for other religions, its hatred for women freedom and its culture of beheadings of foreign journalists is so vicious and inhuman that it can only be considered as a manifestation of a sick mind which must not be confused with any religion, let alone Islam.

Of late, if you notice the rigidity in explaining the Islamic laws by such groups has turned into a new frenzy as though their clerics revise their own interpretation of the Sharia on regular basis scavenging every rule that may contain even a shred of clemency to replace it with pure savagery. My question is why do we see this trend; and how did this process start? You guessed it right. This brutality started exactly where you think: Pakistan. As I recall, one end of the puzzle lies in the tribal belt on the western border of Pakistan, the area covered with dry, rugged mountains which run between the two countries. Here, the combination of a failed and ineffective US invasion of Afghanistan on one side and the lousy and

conspiratorial military operations of the Pakistani Army on the other side gave birth to the infamous Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Once organized, under the pretense of Islamic doctrine, TTP butchered thousands of Pakistanis irrespective of race, religion, ethnicity or age. From neonates to the eighty years old cancer patient and from young male college graduate - the only bread winner of the family to the newly married pregnant female, it declared everyone as an enemy. Along with the mass killings through their suicide bombings - its signature strategy - TTP also terrorized Pakistanis by releasing the videotapes of decapitation of the soldiers, by promoting the target killings of minorities, by kidnapping the rich to extort the ransom money, and by sponsoring the sectarian outfits. Petrified by its ruthlessness, the hapless people almost knelt before it on their knees to negotiate a peace deal, which most of the times, the terrorists refused. And when they did agree, the pact did not last long. Once TTP had squeezed the maximum benefits, it would walk out of it like a glutted fully relaxed feline after devouring its prey. Just as the militants wrecked our cities and towns, its predecessors, the ‘milder, more reasonable’ Afghan version focused on fighting the foreign forces avoiding civilian casualties. Which is why the TTP becomes the bad Taliban and the jihadists on the other side of the border turned out to be the good ones. This distinction draws no confusion in Pakistan while for the West, the difference between the two groups, if there exist two groups, seems to be none to minimum.

F m

Similarly, in Iraq after ten years of dismal US performance, the violence has returned stunning the entire world with its lightning speed, thundering power and disconcerting vigor. This hurricane goes by the name of IS. It maintains a strict discipline like a professional military, follows strict chain of command and carries much more resources. Its activities also extend beyond the boundaries of a single country, unlike TTP involving Iraq, Turkey(indirectly) and Syria. Put it all together and I assure you that you will draw the same conclusion as I did: the war against IS would require more

witnessed a knee jerk response from America like the ‘Hulk gone angry’ who lost control and killed thousands of people with its robust fire power destroying the whole nation and essentially sending it back to the ‘stone age.’ What comes next from the remains of a war-wrecked Afghanistan is not rocket science to figure out: a cunning, more extreme form of resistance. Some resentful Afghans also believe that they were left alone by the Western powers to suffer under the tyranny of Taliban and afterwards the West penalized them again for not resisting the tyrants. Attacked from both sides,

Looking at this unsettling yet growing phenomenon of Islamic extremism, when the whole world fights a war on terror, should we not ask why do we fail to contain a distorted religious philosophy that we believe is inhuman to begin with. Does our strategy suffer from a basic flaw? Can you tell me any other plan put forward by the world except for using force? time, commitment and financial support than it took to capture Baghdad. Looking at this unsettling yet growing phenomenon of Islamic extremism, when the whole world fights a war on terror, should we not ask why do we fail to contain a distorted religious philosophy that we believe is inhuman to begin with. Does our strategy suffer from a basic flaw? Can you tell me any other plan put forward by the world except for using force? In my opinion, the war after 9/11 should have been fundamentally fought against religious extremism and the decision to invade Afghanistan had to be the last option, once all other avenues to capture or kill Osama bin Laden had failed. Instead we

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they lost their livelihood, their families and their loved ones. Besides that, they also lost their identities, brushed under the same generic name: the Taliban. The real battlefield did not have to be the desert mountains of Kandahar; rather they should have been the schools, the universities, the madressahs and the mosques. The fight, likewise, needed to be more ideological than physical focused on raising the collective conscience of the pupils above the sectarian and religious divide; teaching them to challenge their own intolerant tendencies, encouraging them to question the rigid rules of their faith, and even daring to take on the clerics with violent

messages. We did nothing of that sort and now have to deal with the mindset that only worries about the guns, the bullets, the tanks, the bombs and the seventy-two virgins in paradise. POINT FROM P8

lifestyle simplicity of Tahirul Qadri must be noted. The royalties of the many books that he has authored go to Minhajul Qur’an. He does not live extravagantly, tinker with billions, and enjoy gourmet foods, palatial homes or four wives. He does not banish the females of the PAT behind several partitions; in fact the participation of women in his sit-in is beyond impressive. Pakistan is in desperate need of politicians and governance that have individual and institutional integrity. Much to my own surprise I must say that Tahirul Qadri may well be the one that fits that bill.

The crowds galvanized by PTI and PAT only grow larger. The aerial view of the rallies is aweinspiring. And they promise more and more. Novel cases of individual courage are seen in Arjumand Husain and his co-passengers preventing Rehman Malik and Ramesh Kumar from boarding the PIA flight and tolerating the repercussions of employment termination. The movement of the Sharif family is severely curtailed by that annoying “go Nawaz go” chant. The moral pressure of the millions in PAT and PTI rallies could steamroll the Sharifs. But before that something trivial may well become the tipping point. Go zara si baat par could make Nawaz history. (Dr Mahjabeen Islam specializes in addiction and family medicine. She can be reached at mahjabeen.islam@gmail.com)

OPINION n By Dr Mohammad Taqi

Florida

he Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP’s) young chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, made his formal political debut with a welldelivered speech at a well-attended rally this past weekend. The 26-year-old Bilawal covered a wide range of political issues in his 90-minute address; in fact, way more than the 62-year-old Imran Khan has covered in over 90 speeches he has delivered during the past several weeks of his dharna (sit-in). Many of the issues that Bilawal highlighted in a rather hard-hitting speech, right wing politicians like Imran Khan would not touch with a 10-foot long pole.

Bilawal’s speech reminded me of a bumper sticker that a PPP stalwart once drew my attention to here in the US: “Vote Democrat; we are not perfect but others are nuts.” Bilawal took a clear left-of-center position on a broad spectrum of political, social and economic issues. How he will flesh his agenda out will determine his and the PPP’s political future but for now he deserves full marks for making an overwhelmingly progressive pitch. The most important thing that has happened with Bilawal’s rally is that after six years of being literally confined to their homes or offices due to an unrelenting Taliban assault, a prominent left-of-center political leader has finally unshackled himself, albeit at great personal risk. The PPP and the Awami National Party (ANP) have been much maligned for their governance and alleged corruption but conveniently ignored is the fact that both parties were

OCTOBER 31, 2014 – PAKISTAN LINK – P7

Bilawal’s Debut: Well Begun Is Half Done battered out of last year’s electoral contest by the Taliban while the state’s security apparatus stood by and watched. The Taliban’s chief apologist, Imran Khan, and those openly pleading with the zealots for mercy like the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N’s) Mian Shahbaz Sharif, had the political field wide open to them in the 2013 polls. Unlike Khan and the younger Sharif, Bilawal did not beg for the Taliban’s clemency in his speech. His message was loud and clear: the Taliban and their thought are not compatible with a prosperous and peaceful Pakistan. He not only highlighted atrocities by the religious extremists but also did not shrink from naming their victims like the Shia Hazara of Quetta, Shahbaz Bhatti, Aasia Bibi and of course the valiant Salmaan Taseer Shaheed. A lot will depend on how the PPP negotiates and navigates the security arrangements for Bilawal as he expands his outreach to the other provinces, which is an absolute imperative for his party’s revival. Imran Khan can pick on Bilawal’s Urdu all he wants but there is no question that the PPP’s chairman has the curb appeal and an oomph that is sure to engage younger voters as they get to see and hear more of him. Bilawal appears to be a fast learner and his delivery and diction has already improved compared to just a few months ago but where he trumps his competitors — old and young — is the substance of his message that clearly had a liberal enlightened overtone. One fears that the obscurantist forces will try once again to keep Bilawal from reaching out to his base. He and the PPP cannot let their guard down even for a second but still have to get him and

his message across the country. Door to door canvassing and smaller, more manageable meetings combined with conventional and social or internetbased media may be the way to go. The PPP should also give serious thought to bringing Bilawal into the National Assembly via by-elections at the earliest. It would not only give him a head start in parliamentary politics but a potential mega publicity boost as well. Unlike a lackluster and aloof Rahul Gandhi’s parliamentary stint in neighboring India, which drove the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty into the ground, Bilawal is keen, focused and engaging. He could not just learn the ropes but also increase his clout within and outside the PPP through his parliamentary presence. The opposition benches would afford Bilawal to chance to challenge the incumbents and position himself as a clear alternative. The PPP’s and Bilawal’s major challenge remains to overhaul the Sindh government’s performance. He

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would not be able to challenge the PML-N in Punjab and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa without showing tangible improvement in Sindh’s lot. The traditional way of cramming at election time might do the trick in Sindh but will not get him far in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or Punjab. The ‘roti, kapra aur makan (bread, clothing and shelter)’ slogan is not outdated but giving a roadmap of how the PPP proposes to go about delivering that would determine whether the downtrodden public buys into it. Bilawal’s PPP has to focus on the Punjabi peasant and not just on the industrialized GT Road corridor. Socialism, which Bilawal like his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto chose to call musawat (equality), may not be the answer to all ills but neither is the neoliberal economics that the PPP has subsumed over the years. Bilawal has to give an economic program geared towards the PPP’s social democratic foundations. The PPP’s organization has been

in shambles in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since Benazir Bhutto’s demise. The ANP, PPP and the PTI by and large compete for the same seats in that province and, while the Pashtun voters have a tradition of booting out the incumbents, the PTI stands to gain if the PPP and ANP fight each other. Unfortunately, both the ANP and the PPP do not have a tradition of forging electoral alliances. Bilawal, however, can take a lead and champion a left democratic alliance with the ANP and the Baloch nationalist parties. Progressive or even quasi-secular politics is an endangered spece in Pakistan now. The secular and quasi-secular parties can stick together and have a decent chance at gaining the lost ground or be routed one by one. The PPP’s spineless approach, during its 2008-2013 stint, to the sectarian monsters in Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, Kurram and above all in Punjab, has alienated its traditional Shia and Barelvi Sunni vote bank. It would take a sincere and robust effort to bring those voters back. Assuaging Baloch grievances would be an even tougher task. Bilawal has his work cut out for him and he must put together his own team posthaste. As the PPP goes to its Foundation Day convention on November 30, there should be more details about how Bilawal intends to structure his campaign to revamp his party and the country’s polity. A good place to start would be holding elections within the party at all levels, including for the chairman, which Bilawal will win hands down. Well begun indeed but it is a tall order with no time to waste; one wishes Bilawal good luck and Godspeed. (The writer can be reached at mazdaki@me.com and he tweets @ mazdaki)

OPINION

P8 – PAKISTAN LINK – OCTOBER 31, 2014 n By Dr Mahjabeen Islam

Toledo, Ohio

he Sharif coterie is suddenly irrelevant. Khatir Ghaznavi wrote so famously: Go zara si baat par barsoan ke yaraaney gaye, laykin itna to hua kuch loag pehchaney gaye: years of friendship dissolved over a minor incident but served to expose some people. Dragging on this disrepute for another three and a half years does not seem possible; the nation’s contempt for the Sharifs is almost palpable. Interestingly freedom of the press was given to Pakistan by a dictator, Pervez Musharraf. Freedom of the press is an integral part of democracy. Despite all the indignant claims of safe-guarding of democracy by the Islamabad menagerie, also known as the Parliament, the Sharif government has swooped down on freedom of the press by closure of the ARY television channel. The blame is passed around; the Lahore High Court did not order ARY’s closure, PEMRA ordered it but PEMRA does not have a legitimate chief etc., but the fact remains that ARY remains closed in Pakistan. Various television anchors tend to pull down their employers. And when the conversation gets very pointed, Hamid Mir is attacked and GEO is shut down. If Mubashir Lucman goes overboard, which he does more often than not, ARY is reduced to television snow. And this is what exposes the

The Tipping Point in Pakistan self-serving Sharifs. If patriotism was paramount, or democracy dear, why would they strangle the press? But how many fires can they put out? If I get vicarious for a few minutes, their paralysis gives me a panic attack. Zardari and the Sharifs excel in verbal embellishments of their intentions and accomplishments. While history will record their pillage of Pakistan as their primary “achievements”, their secret pact for political musical chairs, with power alternating between them, lies exposed and tattered. Bilawal Zardari can be credited for improving his Urdu and introducing transparent tele-prompters to Pakistan. His speech seemed extemporaneous but was read right through. Which in and of itself is not a problem; except for its disastrous content. Pakistan owes its creation to the vision of Allama Iqbal, the tenacity of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the blood, sweat and tears of the muhajir. An Aligarh University graduate, my father would speak of Quaidi-Azam’s speeches and how they followed all he said to a tee. An Indian Civil Service officer, my father migrated to Pakistan by train, his belongings in a wagon that was completely looted en route. Millions of others were not that lucky, entire trains full of muhajir were massacred. Pakistan was largely a rural society with little infrastructure and the looting and burning had left it without even pen and

paper in offices. My father joined the Civil Service of Pakistan; and it was the education, talent and hard work of muhajirs like him that put together a Pakistan that slowly but surely became viable. He loved to recount how Jawaharlal Nehru had claimed that Pakistan would last five years. 67 years later Kursheed Shah

assemblies. Zardari, the king of secret pacts, had one going with the MQM as well, and just like the fake PPP condemnations by the PMLN and vice versa, Altaf Hussain would also engage in frothing-atthe mouth lambasting of the PPP, but within all was well. Bilawal’s thunder seems to have changed all that and Zardari will need to go on overdrive to fix this one.

calling the word muhajir a slur is so egregious and overwhelming that it shouldn’t be dignified with comment. As though Khursheed Shah’s inflammatory statement were not enough, Bilawal’s un-parliamentary attack on Altaf Hussain caused a fall-out of MQM resignations from parliament and provincial

The end of seventy days of a sit-in by Dr Tahirul Qadri appears overtly to have been for naught, but it must be acknowledged that in a very short time, Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan have achieved a dramatic change in the mindset of Pakistanis. And this change is what will carry Pakistan. Not just in the removal of the Sharif gov-

The royalties of the many books that he has authored go to Minhajul Qur’an. He does not live extravagantly, tinker with billions, and enjoy gourmet foods, palatial homes or four wives. He does not banish the females of the PAT behind several partitions; in fact the participation of women in his sit-in is beyond impressive

ernment but in resetting Pakistan’s compass. In making corruption, self-aggrandizement and usurping others’ rights criminal. And justice, employment, education and a progressive economy a given. The Sharifs seemed to be the only ones that calculated the power of Tahirul Qadri accurately. Their high anxiety caused the Model Town massacre and containers all over Lahore. Like many Pakistanis I was deeply skeptical of the “crazy cleric” but with his tenacious sit-in I too realized the vitality of the PAT. How organized and disciplined it is and how it has educated the underserved for decades. It has now transformed from a religious organization into a political party with a very impressive following. The persona of Allama Tahirul Qadri is a notable one. He is schooled in religion as well as constitutional law. On 2 March 2010, Tahirul Qadri issued a 600-page Fatwa on Terrorism in which he said that “Terrorism is terrorism, violence is violence and it has no place in Islamic teaching and no justification can be provided for it”. This is in stark contrast to the various maulanas and moulvis in the JUI and other religious parties who, overtly and covertly, support terrorism and view the US and the yahood-hunoodas enemies, rather than the Al-Qaeda and Taliban that have destroyed Pakistan in so many ways. Post the Pakistan Awakening forged by Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan, especially with the concepts of economic justice and banishment of corruption, the POINT, P6

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OPINION

OCTOBER 31, 2014 – PAKISTAN LINK – P9

No Government Can Survive without Army’s Backing

n By Salahuddin Haider

Karachi, Pakistan

aying that the present government has failed miserably, and a complete overhaul of the political system is now needed , former President General (r) Pervez Musharraf made it abundantly plain last Thursday that an army-backed administration with judicial validation alone can pull the country out of the morass it has been trapped in. It is also necessary to ensure good governance. He also made four other major points during the course of an exclusive interview at his residence in Karachi on Thursday. These were: a) A change was visible with the start of Islamabad sitins in August, but now “seems to have been delayed”, b) PPP leader Benazir Bhutto during a meeting with him in Abu Dhabi mid-2007 had promised not to come to Pakistan, but broke the pledge, tempted perhaps by impending elections and paid very heavily for ignoring his advice, 3) the meeting was arranged at the behest of his PML(Q) partners and not by Americans, and 4) Religion instead of being a unifying factor, had actually polarized the country. Divisive tendencies were now threatening our very existence. Musharraf also felt that the case against ex-chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was fool-proof but the Supreme Judicial Council,

the body dealing with complaints against judges, instead of giving its judgment, “did not even read the files, passed it on to a smaller bench, and a case, full of evidence, collapsed”. Americans, he said, did not talk directly on internal matters of a country, but if their interests get involved, they do talk through CIA, ISI etc., but not directly with heads of State or government. At least they never advised him to join hands with Benazir, he removed the misconception found in certain quarters. “No, it was basically our own people in Quaid-i-Azam league who alarmed by the signing in London of the Charter of Democracy between Nawaz Sharif and Benazir, thought to isolate Nawaz. They devised a strategy to pull PPP out from the commitment, and advised him to speak to her. He flew to the UAE capital, met her, and even agreed on NRO, which later proved a mistake. Turning back to changes in the political system, he thought that this was inevitable. “What will happen I do not know,” he began when asked about the situation in Pakistan now, but remarked that “change should come, and will come” for there was no escape from that. Asked whether he stood for the presidential system, he said any of the parliamentary, presidential or proportional representation system could be followed but first the government had to be re-engineered, civil service re-structured, and constitutional amendments

made to bring about the required changes. The former army chief, presiding over the country’s destiny for nearly 9 years, wearing two hats for a long time, felt very strongly that unless a new system is introduced, “nothing noticeable will happen.” The same old faces will return and

so badly that no single step could help it improve. Musharraf, quitting the army post in 2007 in the midst of a massive agitation against him, and then the Presidency a year later, replied that wholesale changes were the only answer to the problems currently plaguing the country. “Well

He saw nothing wrong for richer sections being with Imran: Jehangir Tareen, despite being rich, had proved a very good and honest minister with him. “Nothing is wrong in being rich. It is integrity that matters” exploitation will remain firmly rooted. H e was also asked whether land reforms, introduced only twice in 67 years of our checkered history---- first by Ayub Khan, and later by Bhutto---- may well break the back of feudal and tribal chieftains, could liberate the people from their chains. He replied that land reforms could be a potent factor, but the system was messed up

Imran and Tahirul Qadri showed lot of guts” although Imran needed to learn a lot. He lacked vision and foresight. Nevertheless their campaign injected a silver lining as a general awareness among the masses to fight for their rights and a youth charged to play its role was now visible which could prove very catalytic in bringing about the required change. He saw nothing wrong for

richer sections being with Imran: Jehangir Tareen, despite being rich, had proved a very good and honest minister with him. “Nothing is wrong in being rich. It is integrity that matters,” he said. Musharraf spoke contemptuously about the Sharifs, saying that Nawaz despite being in office for the fifth time was incapable of dealing with major issues. Every time he was in power he made a bigger mess than before. “They are incapable of governing the country. Sharif addressed an empty hall at the UN General Assembly, and today is unable to sell Pakistan abroad, because no one in the world is listening to them.” This is despite Pakistan’s tremendous geopolitical importance, where China alone has been left as “our friend“. The situation on the borders with India, Afghanistan and, lately with Iran, has deteriorated. He also accused the tribal chieftains in Balochistan of being dishonest and corrupt. They distribute salaries to Frontier Constabulary, half of which they pocket themselves. How can you maintain peace in Balochistan then? He said religious extremism, differing in nature from place to place, be it Karachi, Balochistan, Punjab, or any other part of the country, had torn the country apart. Everywhere the situation needs to be handled according to the ground realities. He concluded by saying that the situation was extremely bad and warranted drastic changes. (The writer is a former Sindh Minister and senior journalist)

A Model Muslim Community Found in Penzburg Mosque, Germany n By Dr Amineh Hoti

Lahore, Pakistan

id is a time of joyous celebration and spiritual accomplishment at the culmination of the month of fasting. From dawn until dusk, it is a time of celebration in the company of one’s family and community, accompanied by new clothes and henna.

As part of our fieldwork for the research project, Journey into Europe, which took us across Europe and into Germany, I woke up early at 3:00 am with our team: Frankie, Mina, and Ibrahim. We drove one hour from Munich towards the Alps in the misty morning and into dusk, which held a sense of adventure to come. We did not know what to expect, only that there was this mosque built in the Alps and we were invited for Eid prayers by the Imam himself, Imam Idris. The very word “imam” is rooted from the Arabic word meaning ‘one who leads’ or ‘the one in front’; and appropriately he would stand in front of the men below on the ground level and women above on the first floor who had gathered in rows to offer prayer to God the Compassionate on this day of Eid. The mosque’s appearance pleasantly surprised me. It was not like any other mosque I had visited on this journey (and we had visited many). The first thing I saw were two large glass windows containing a modern library with books, tables, chairs and plants – systematic and well laid out in the best Germanic style. The minaret outside was like a piece of dazzling jewelry with Arabic kalimas inscribed all the way to the top in steel. Brilliant blue glass covered the front of the mosque. Inside the look was clean, cream, and calming. Imam Idris in traditional clothes sat in a large hall against an arch made of inscribed Arabic holy words. The pattern within the designs on the wall around us was so subtle

that they could easily be missed by one who does not see through the eye of an artist. In sophisticated artistic designs “Allah” in Arabic on the right, and “Muhammad” in Arabic on the left, were inscribed above the Imam. The male members of our team made themselves comfortable downstairs, whilst removing their shoes as a sign of respect. In the upper section, the blue carpet was clean and simple. I sat with Mina, next to a row of women I had never met; but they smiled at me and when I asked what the imam was saying in German and in Turkish they kindly explained the details. I sat absorbing the atmosphere. In the women’s section, the word ‘Allah’ was written in a simple geometric cubic design inscribed onto the cement ceiling above me repeated again and again, as in the repetition of zikr that removes the zang (or rust) from the heart (here I am alluding to a Qur’anic verse). On the roof and directly above me was another motif in cement I was familiar with. The same motif was repeated

on the panels behind us and on the large glass window to the right. The motif was a geometric pattern that I had found on the tiles in the Alhambra and Cordoba mosques. Subsequently,

This is an important message for this time and age. Showing mercy and compassion towards our fellow human beings, no matter which group, culture or faith they may belong to, is a great human strength and high virtue, a quality which must be learnt and cultivated within each one of us I saw this pattern borrowed and adapted from Andalusia to Germany, Dubai and even in our very own Shalimar Gardens in Lahore. This to me was fascinating. The country we had visited prior to our arrival in Germany was Spain, Andalusia. There I had seen this

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pattern everywhere, even on tiles that were a very popular souvenir item with thousands of tourists from around the world. The geometric Muslim pattern was a symbol in this mosque of Al Andalus – a time in Europe’s medieval history when people of all faiths and cultures lived together with deep faith, reason and mutual respect. Knowledge was of utmost importance and of great value - no matter where or from whom it came. As the time for Eid prayer approached, the lower hall was packed to an extent that the men overflowed into the top floor, and the women moved behind. There was an atmosphere of great respect between the men and women – none of the men stared at the women, but rather adopted a demeanor that brothers have towards their sisters. With a unanimous voice and sequenced action, all the believers fell into prostration by lowering the most supreme part of the human body and faculty, the brain – the seat of intelligence and knowledge, to the ground in humility before the Creator of the Universe. After the culmination of the Eid prayers, mutual greetings echoed within the halls. The Imam and his wife were meeting and greeting all the members of the community like gracious parents. I had requested the Imam’s wife, Nermina, for an interview as part of the research project and she graciously took me to the library for the interview where tea and sweets as part of the celebration for Eid were served. Her young teenage son (barely 12) brought her a gift – a beautiful rose wrapped in festive wrapping paper - and they warmly embraced. During the interview, Nermina talked about her life. She was from Bosnia and women in Bosnia, she said, are very strong, “the first they say is, “I have rights”!”. She went on to talk about how her own Serb neighbors who had come to Bosniak houses just the previous day for birthday celebrations had come to take them away the COMMUNITY, P10

OPINION

P10 – PAKISTAN LINK – OCTOBER 31, 2014 n By Riaz Haq

ewly-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s rhetoric about “jaw-breaking” (munh tod) policy toward Pakistan is the latest manifestation of a disease described by Indian diplomat Sashi Tharoor as “India’s Israel envy”.

It is reinforced by the Hindu nationalists over-estimating their country’s strength while under-estimating Pakistan’s. It’s aided by India’s Western allies’ belief that Pakistan cannot fight a conventional war with India and its only option to defend itself would be to quickly escalate the conflict into a full-scale nuclear war. Indian MP Mani has summed up India’s war rhetoric against Pakistan in a recent Op Ed as follows: (Indian Defense Minister) Arun Jaitley thumps his chest and proclaims that we have given the Pakis a “jaw-breaking reply” (munh tod jawab). Oh yeah? The Pakistanis are still there - with their jaw quite intact and a nuclear arsenal nestling in their pockets. (Indian Home Minister) Rajnath Singh adds that the Pakis had best understand that “a new era has dawned”. How? Is retaliatory fire a BJP innovation? Or is it that we have ceased being peace-loving and become a war-mongering nation? And (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi thunders that his guns will do the talking (boli nahin, goli). Yes - and for how long? India’s Delusions Indians, particularly Hindu nationalists, have become victims of their own hype as illustrated by Times of India’s US correspondent who found achievement-claims of Indians in America to be highly exaggerated: “On Monday, the Indian government itself consecrated the oft-circulated fiction as fact in Parliament, possibly laying itself open to a breach of privilege. By relaying to Rajya Sabha members (as reported in The Times of India) a host of unsubstantiated and inflated figures about Indian professionals in US, the government also made a laughing stock of itself.” The Times of India’s Chidanand Rajghatta ended up debunking all of the inflated claims about the number of Indian physicians, NASA scientists and Microsoft engineers in America. Similarly, a US GAO investigation found that India’s IT exports to the United States are exaggerated by as much as 20 times. The biggest source of discrepancy that GAO found had to do with India including temporary workers’ salaries in the United States. India continuously and cumulatively adds all the earnings of its migrants to the US in its software exports. If 50,000 Indians migrate on H1B visas each year, and they each earn $50,000 a year, that’s a $2.5 billion addition to their exports each year. Cumulatively over 10 years, this would be $25 billion in exports year after year and growing. Since the end of the Cold War, the West has been hyping India’s economic growth to persuade the developing world that democracy and capitalism offer a superior alternative to rapid development through state guided capitalism under an authoritarian regime---a system that has worked well in Asia for countries like the Asian Tigers and China. This

What If Modi Attacked Pakistan?

has further fooled Hindu nationalists into accepting such hype as real. It ignores the basic fact that India is home to the world’s largest population of poor, hungry and illiterate. It also discounts the reality that Indian kids rank near the bottom on international assessment tests like PISA and TIMSS due to the poor quality of education they receive. The hype has emboldened many Indians, including the BJP leadership, to push neighbors around. Pakistan’s Response Pakistan has so far not responded to the Indian rhetoric in kind. It might create an impression that Pakistan is weak and unable to respond to such threats with its conventional force. So let’s examine the reality.

Ground War In the event of a ground war, Pakistan will most likely follow its “offensive defense” doctrine with its two strike corps pushing deep inside Indian territory. Though Indian military has significant numerical advantage, Pakistan’s armor is as strong, if not stronger, than the Indian armor. Before embarking on further offensive, gains shall be consolidated. Pakistan is also as strong, if not stronger, in terms of ballistic and cruise missiles inventory and capability, putting all of India within its range. These missiles are capable of carrying conventional and nuclear warheads. In 1990 the Central Corps of Reserves was created to fight in the desert sectors, where enemy land offensives are expected. These dual capable formations trained for offensive and holding actions are fully mechanized. The Pakistan Army has ten Corps, including the newly formed Strategic Corps. The Army has twenty-six divisions (eight less than India). Two more divisions were raised as Corps reserves for V and XXXI Corps. The Army has two armored divisions, and ten independent armored brigades. Presently, one hundred thousand troops are stationed on the Pak-Afghan border to fight terror. The Special Service Group – SSG - comprises two airborne Brigades, i.e. six battalions. Pakistan Army has 360 helicopters, over two thousand heavy guns, and 3000 APC’s. Its main anti-tank weapons are Tow, Tow Mk II, Bakter Shiken and FGM 148 ATGM. The Army Air Defense Command has S.A- 7 Grail, General Dynamics FIM-92 Stinger, GD FIM Red Eye, and ANZA Mk-I, Mk-II, Mk-III and HQ 2 B surface to air missiles. Radar controlled Oerlikon is the standard Ack Ack weapon system. The ballistic missile inventory of the Army is substantial. It comprises intermediate range Ghauri III and Shaheen III; medium range Ghauri I and II and Shaheen II, and short range tactical Hatf I- B, Abdali, Ghaznavi, Nasr, Shaheen I and M -11 missiles. All the ballistic missiles can carry nuclear warheads....some can carry multiple warheads. Nuclear and conventional weapon capable Babur Cruise missile is a new addition to Pakistan’s strategic weapon inventory. It has stealth features to evade radar to penetrate India’s air space to hit targets. The number of ballistic missiles and warheads are almost the same as those of India. So there is a parity in nuclear weapons, which is a deterrent.

Tactical missile which can be tipped with miniaturized nuclear warhead is the latest addition to Pakistan’s arsenal. It’s a battlefield weapon designed to destroy enemy troop concentrations poised against Pakistan. Air War Pakistan has about 900 aircraft compared to India’s 1800, giving India 2:1 numerical advantage over Pakistan. India’s biggest advantage is in transport aircraft (700 vs 230) while Pakistan has some numerical advantage in two areas: Airborne radars (9 vs 3) and attack helicopters (48 vs 20). Pakistan Air Force has over

Complimenting the Pakistan Air Force pilots, the legendary US Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager who broke the sound barrier, wrote in his biography “The Right Stuff ”: “This Air Force (the PAF), is second to none”. He continued: “The (1971) air war lasted two weeks and the Pakistanis scored a three-to-one kill ratio ...” 100 upgraded F-16s and 200 rebuilt Mirage- 3’s (for night air defense) and Mirage-5’s for the strike role. They can carry nuclear weapons. They have been upgraded with new weapon systems, radars, and avionics. Additionally, the PAF 150 F-7’s including 55 latest F-7 PG’s. Manufacture of 150 JF 17 Thunder fighters (jointly designed) is underway at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra. The JF-17 Thunder is a 4th generation fly by wire multi-role fighter aircraft. Eight are already in PAF service. An order has been placed with China for the purchase of 36 JF-10, a Mach 2.3 -5th generation multi-role fighter, comparable in performance to the Su-30 Mk-1 with the Indian Air Force. In spite of Indian Air Force’s numerical superiority since independence in 1947, Pakistan Air Force has performed well against it in several wars. The PAF pilots have always been among the best trained in the world. Complimenting the Pakistan Air Force pilots, the legendary US Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager who

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broke the sound barrier, wrote in his biography “The Right Stuff ”: “This Air Force (the PAF), is second to none”. He continued: “The (1971) air war lasted two weeks and the Pakistanis scored a three-to-one kill ratio, knocking out 102 Russian-made Indian jets and losing thirty-four airplanes of their own. I’m certain about the figures because I went out several times a day in a chopper and counted the wrecks below.” “They were really good, aggressive dogfighters and proficient in gunnery and air combat tactics. I was damned impressed. Those guys just lived and breathed flying. “ In 1965, Roy Meloni of the ABC reported: “Pakistan claims to have destroyed something like 1/3rd the Indian Air Force, and foreign observers, who are in a position to know say that Pakistani pilots have claimed even higher kills than this; but the Pakistani Air Force are being scrupulously honest in evaluating these claims. They are crediting Pakistan Air Force only those killings that can be checked from other sources.” Naval War Of the three branches of the military, India’s advantage over Pakistan is the greatest in naval strength. Pakistan has just 84 sea-going vessels of various kinds versus India’s 184. Pakistan Navy can still inflict substantial damage on the Indian Navy. The Indian Navy has 17 submarines. Pakistan Navy has ten, some are brand new and equipped with AIP. Indian Navy has 28 warships, Pakistan Navy has eleven. As seen in the past wars, India will attempt a naval blockade of Pakistan. Here’s how MIT’s Christopher Clary discusses in his doctoral thesis the Indian Navy’s ability to repeat a blockade of Pakistan again: “Most analyses do not account adequately for how difficult it would be for the (Indian) navy to have a substantial impact in a short period of time. Establishing even a partial blockade takes time, and it takes even more time for that blockade to cause shortages on land that are noticeable. As the British strategist Julian Corbett noted in 1911, ‘It is almost impossible that a war can be decided by naval action alone. Unaided, naval pressure can only work by a process of exhaustion. Its effects must always be slow…. “. Meanwhile, over the last decade, Pakistan has increased its ability to resist a blockade. In addition to the main commercial port of Karachi, Pakistan has opened up new ports further west in Ormara and Gwadar and built road

infrastructure to distribute goods from those ports to Pakistan’s heartland. To close off these ports to neutral shipping could prove particularly difficult since Gwadar and the edge of Pakistani waters are very close to the Gulf of Oman, host to the international shipping lanes for vessels exiting the Persian Gulf. A loose blockade far from shore would minimize risks from Pakistan’s land-based countermeasures but also increase risks of creating a political incident with neutral vessels.” Summary The probability of India prevailing over Pakistan in a conventional war now are very remote at best. Any advantage that India seeks over Pakistan would require it to pay a very heavy price in terms of massive destruction of India’s industry, economy and infrastructure that would set India back many decades. In the event that the IndiaPakistan war spirals out of control and escalates into a full-scale nuclear confrontation, the entire region, including China, would suffer irreparable damage. Even a limited nuclear exchange would devastate food production around the world, according to International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, as reported in the media. It would set off a global famine that could kill two billion people and effectively end human civilization as we know it. I hope that better sense will prevail in New Delhi and India’s BJP government will desist from any military adventurism against Pakistan. The consequences of any miscalculation by Narendra Modi will be horrible, not just for both the countries, but the entire humanity. COMMUNITY FROM P9

following day to the slaughter houses. Her own brother who was 10 was killed as well as many male relatives in her family. She said this took away her will to live but her parents persuaded her to move to Germany where she met Imam Idris – an educated charming man with good manners. Together, they built a modern community based in this mosque with educational and welfare facilities. They have two sons and this has given her hope to live. Nermina’s pride in the mosque, while people celebrated over cups of Moroccan mint tea, was palpable when she said, “I am proud to say that there is not one revenge. Because we say, even though it was such a great and deep loss, we say ‘forgive, let it go’ ”. This is an important message for this time and age. Showing mercy and compassion towards our fellow human beings, no matter which group, culture or faith they may belong to, is a great human strength and high virtue, a quality which must be learnt and cultivated within each one of us. Imam Idris came in and greeted his wife warmly and attentively for Eid. This was a perfect moment. In a pocket of Germany, men and women of all cultures (Pakistani, German, Turkish, Bosnian, Albanian, etc) gathered under one roof in profound compassion, humanity, and deep respect for each other. Our last act, before departure was to take pictures before the fantastic library collection of books, in the two windows that dominated the entrance view. A fact that seems to embody everything Imam Idris and his wife Nermina have strived to build here. This seemed to me to be a thriving model community for humanity in the scenic green Alps of Germany.

PAKISTAN

OCTOBER 31, 2014 – PAKISTAN LINK – P11

London March Backs Kashmiris’ Struggle

Thousands of Britain-based Kashmiris and Pakistanis protest at Downing Street on Sunday

London: Thousands of people took part in a march here on Sunday to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir and support their decades-long struggle for the right to self-determination and to protest human rights violations by Indian troops in the occupied region. The march which started from London’s Trafalgar Square and concluded at 10 Downing Street was attended by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, his sister Assefa, leaders of Pakistan’s religious and political parties, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, and members of civil society. Addressing the participants, former Azad Kashmir prime minister Barrister Sultan Mehmood said: “We have gathered here to express solidarity with the Kashmiris and draw attention of the international community to the Kashmir issue”. He said the struggle would continue till the independence of Kashmir in accordance with UN resolutions. Some people in the crowd

pelted Bilawal Bhutto with plastic bottles, cans and shoes when he was on the dais at the square and raised slogans of ‘Go Nawaz go’ and ‘Go Bilawal go’. Former interior minister Rehman Malik and PPP Senator Saeed Ghani accused some political elements of playing at the hands of India’s sympathisers to sabotage the event. The London police tried to take Bilawal Bhutto away from the dais for his safety because of the saboteurs’ violent behavior, but the PPP leader stood resolute and responded: “These agents (of India) who are trying to damage the cause of Kashmir and intimidate me into leaving should know that I will not leave before completing my speech. This is not about me or you; this is about the people of Kashmir.” He declared that nobody would be allowed to play “partisan politics or diplomatic games” with the lives and future of the people of Kashmir. He said he had attended the march to pledge solidarity with the people of Kashmir and to re-

Rowdy Protestors Throw Bottles at Bilawal London: Pakistan Peoples Party

chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was forced to cut short his speech at the Million March in London on Sunday when rowdy protesters started throwing water bottles at him, Express News reported. The Million March was held to demand a just and peaceful resolution of the longstanding Kashmir issue and saw thousands of people rally through central London in protest against India’s human rights violations in Kashmir. However, it seems politicking was not welcome at the rally as some participants objected to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s presence at the stage. PTI chief Imran Khan’s nephew, Hassan Niazi, also seemed to be involved in the controversy. Niazi was briefly detained by the UK police after the incident, according to a tweet from his official account. Following the incident, Bilawal’s sister Aseefa Bhutto Zardari tweeted that her brother is safe and alleged that Indian agents tried to stop him from speaking but they did

not succeed. According to initial reports, certain participants at the march started throwing stuff at the PPP chairman, including water bottles, tomatoes and eggs when he came on stage, forcing him to leave and be escorted by the UK police. According to media reports, people also chanted ‘Go Bilawal Go’ and ‘Go Nawaz Go’ as the PPP chairman attempted to take the stage.

affirm his party’s unconditional support for their struggle for selfdetermination. In a tweet message, Assefa said: “Indian agents tried 2 stop my brother from speaking but Alhamdulillah they did NOT succeed. He completed his speech & Alhamdulillah he is safe.” Will not allow India to resolve Kashmir issue in its way: Pakistan will not allow India to resolve the Kashmir issue in its own way and plans to send envoys to different countries to brief them about “Indian aggression” along the LoC, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz has said. “India wants to resolve the Kashmir dispute in its own way and Pakistan will not allow this Indian attempt to succeed,” he told reporters. Aziz said that Pakistan’s desire for peace should not be misunderstood as it weakness. He said that Pakistan would continue to raise the Kashmir issue at the international forums.

BJP Exploiting Situation to Win Kashmir Elections, Says Aziz

“Many argue that the BJP government wants to use this escalation to win the forthcoming elections in Indian-held Kashmir,” Aziz said

Islamabad: Adviser to Prime Min-

ister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz told a Senate panel on foreign relations on Monday that a number of reasons were contributing to the recent rise in tensions along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary with India, including incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) desire to win the upcoming elections in Indian Kashmir. “Many argue that the BJP government wants to use this escalation to win the forthcoming elections in Indian-held Kashmir,” Aziz said while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Monday with Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel in chair at the Parliament House. He added that India wants to justify the cancellation of talks by arguing that it would not hold any dialogue under the shadow of bullets at the Line of Control. The adviser reiterated the policy of fostering cordial relations with neighbors, including

Iran and India. Terrorists affecting ties with Iran: Talking about recent border incidents with Iran, Aziz told the panel some groups were involved in terrorist activities on the PakIran border. However, Aziz said that relations between both the countries were improving and steps were being taken to eliminate these terror activities. About his visit to Afghanistan, Aziz informed that he called on President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, national security advisor, as well as the foreign minister. “President Ghani will visit Pakistan within a month and present a policy for the betterment of bilateral relations,” he informed. The committee meeting was attended by Leader of the House in Senate Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq, and Senator Farhatullah Babar, among others.

India Constructing Bunkers Close to Working Boundary Islamabad: The Foreign Office on Thursday said that Indian forces under the cover of unprovoked firing were engaged in constructing bunkers in locations within five hundred meters of the working boundary. Speaking to media representatives at the weekly briefing in Islamabad, FO spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam said the construction of these bunkers is in violation of the 2010 agreement between New Delhi and Islamabad. “Pakistan would never permit this construction which is in violation of a bilateral agreement,” Aslam said at the briefing for journalists. The agreement prohibits any construction, including that of bunkers, within 500 meters of either side of the working boundary. Speaking about the situation along the Line of Control (LoC), she said: “Kashmiri people also live on the other side of the LoC, and Pakistani armed forces always take their safety into consideration when retaliating to Indian firing along the LoC.” She rejected allegations leveled

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by acting Afghan Interior Minister Umer Daudzai who had said that Pakistan was supplying weapons to the Afghan Taliban. Daudzai had made these allegations while visiting India. “Pakistan is not supporting any group in Afghanistan and Pakistani security forces are taking decisive action against all militant groups... there is no question of supporting any group by Pakistan,” Aslam said. “Pakistan supports only the new political administration in Kabul,”

she remarked. Aslam also told the press that the Nepalese Foreign Minister was visiting Pakistan and had invited Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend the upcoming Saarc summit in Kathmandu to be held on November 26 and 27. Regarding Malala Yousufzai, she said: “This young girl has brought honor for Pakistan for which the country is extremely proud of her as well as of her mission of promoting education.”

PAKISTAN

P12 – PAKISTAN LINK – OCTOBER 31, 2014

Airstrikes Kill 33 Suspected Militants in North Waziristan: ISPR

“In two different aerial engagements in North Waziristan today, nine terrorist hideouts were destroyed killing a total of 33 terrorists,” a military statement said on Monday

Bannu: Pakistani jets and helicop-

ter gunships attacked suspected militant hideouts in restive North Waziristan tribal agency on Monday and killed at least 33 people, the military said. The strikes took place in the Datta Khel and Gharlamai districts of the remote tribal region. “In two different aerial engagements in North Waziristan today, nine terrorist hideouts were destroyed killing a total of 33 terrorists,” a military statement said on Monday. Local security officials informed the militants killed in the Datta Khel area were mostly Uzbeks and others who belonged to the Haqqani network. In a separate incident on Mon-

day, at least nine soldiers were injured when militants targeted a security forces vehicle with an improvised explosive device (IED) in Charmang tehsil of Bajaur tribal agency. The injured included seven Frontier Corps (FC) personnel and two Levies men. Pakistan has been battling extremist militants in its semiautonomous tribal belt since 2004, after the army entered the region to search for Al Qaeda militants who had fled across the border following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. In June, the military began an offensive Operation Zarb-i-Azb against militant hideouts in North Waziristan after a bloody raid on

Karachi Airport ended faltering peace talks between the government and Pakistani Taliban. North Waziristan is a major base for the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of extremist militants mainly based in the remote tribal areas. The military says it has killed more than a thousand militants and lost 86 soldiers since the start of the operation. But the toll and identity of those killed is difficult to verify because journalists do not have regular access to the conflict zones. The offensive has driven out over 800,000 residents from North Waziristan, where the army says it has cleared 90 percent of the tribal region.

TTP Sets up New Sanctuaries in Afghanistan Islamabad: Pakistani officials claim to

have found evidence of ‘new sanctuaries’ set up by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliates in the Afghan territory near the border with North Waziristan Agency, where a massive military operation, codenamed Zarb-e-Azb, has been ongoing since mid-June. A senior security official told The Express Tribune that the new sanctuaries have been established to create difficulties for Pakistan’s military and disrupt Operation Zarb-e-Azb in the troubled agency. “It is a worrying development that the TTP is regrouping close to the border right under the nose of the Afghan security forces,” said the official, who did not wish to be named. When asked, the official did not rule out the possibility of ‘tacit support’ from Afghan security agencies for the new Taliban sanctuaries. Despite repeated requests, Afghan authorities have done little to dislodge militants from their side of the Durand Line, he added. ‘The lack of action from Afghan authorities has encouraged the terrorists to carve out new sanctuaries.’ Pakistan has long urged Afghanistan to eliminate what it calls ‘safe havens’ of the TTP in northeastern Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan. Fugitive TTP chief Mullah Fazllullah is also believed to be hiding in those areas. Islamabad has sought Fazllulah’s extradition from Afghanistan, but Kabul is not forthcoming to such a demand. The Afghan inaction stems from a trust-deficit with Pakistan. While Pakistan voiced concern over Afghanistan’s reluctance to cooperate against the TTP, Kabul continues to believe that the country’s security establishment is still supporting Afghan insurgents. Recently, an acting Afghan interior minister reiterated

these allegations against Pakistan while speaking at a conference in New Delhi. However, with the formation of the new unity government led by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Islamabad is hoping for a new beginning. “I think we should give the new Afghan government benefit of doubt. Whatever has happened at the border is due to the policies of Karzai administration,” commented another government official. He said Pakistan was looking forward to the new Afghan leadership for a fresh start. The official pointed out that Pakistan has already conveyed to the Afghan administration that it would not allow its territory to be used against any other country. “We expect the same from Kabul now,” he added. Islamabad believes cooperation from Kabul would be crucial for eradicating the ‘terror infrastructure’ from North Waziristan. The military on Sunday also claimed that they have killed 18 suspected terrorists during ‘precise’ aerial strikes in parts of Khyber Agency where Operation Khyber-I has been ongoing for the past few days. “A huge cache of arms and ammunition was also destroyed,” said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police chief is said to have requested the federal government for manpower to deal with security threats emanating from Operation Khyber-I. According to documents available with Express News, intelligence agencies have warned in a report that Khyber Agency has become a safe haven for terrorists who have fled Operation Zarb-eAzb in North Waziristan. They plan to

use Khyber Agency as a springboard for launching attacks in Peshawar and elsewhere in the province. The IG police highlighted the pressing need for deployment of 4,000 Frontier Constabulary personnel in the areas lying between Peshawar and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Provincial authorities, according to sources, have warned that if these areas were not secured, the terrorists might carry out a major attack in Peshawar. Sources said that the authorities have also shared the reports of intelligence agencies with the federal interior ministry. They revealed that law enforcers have recently foiled three major terror plots and arrested suspected terrorists.

Army Chief to Visit US Next Month for Talks on Strategic Issues

Washington, DC: Chief of Army

Staff Gen Raheel Sharif will visit the United States next month for talks with senior US military commanders and defense officials. This will be Gen Sharif ’s first visit to the United States as the army chief, a position he assumed on Nov 29, 2013. Official sources told Dawn that Gen Sharif is coming to the US on a personal invitation from Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Martin Dempsey. During the week-long visit, starting on Nov 16, he is expected to meet Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Gen Dempsey, Commander of the US Central Command Gen Lloyd J. Austin and other members of the American defense establishment. He is also likely to visit Centcom headquarters in Tampa, Florida, as its area of responsibility includes both Afghanistan and Pakistan. The visit also marks the first formal consultations between the top military brass of the two countries after Sept 30, when the United States and Afghanistan signed a bilateral treaty agreement. The agreement paves the way for deployment

of some 10,000 US troops scheduled to remain in Afghanistan after a UNsponsored international combat mission ends on Dec 31. Diplomatic observers in Washington say that the agreement will have a direct impact on Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism in the areas bordering Afghanistan. Pakistan strongly supported the US-Afghan agreement on extending the deployment of American troops in Afghanistan, arguing that “a sudden withdrawal will have dangerous consequences for the entire region,” an observer said. The agreement goes into force on Jan 1, 2015 and remains in force “until the end of 2024 and beyond” unless either side terminates it at two years’ notice. The US troops will not be the only foreign troops staying in Afghanistan. Kabul signed a similar agreement with Nato on Sept 30 to allow 4,000 to 5,000 additional troops — mostly from Britain, Germany, Italy, and Turkey — to stay in Afghanistan in a noncombat role after 2014. “The Pakistanis feel that the agreement has many implications for their country and want to discuss those implications with their friends in Washington,” said another diplomatic observer while explaining why Islamabad wants to hold detailed talks with the Americans on the treaty. Officials in Washington say that there will be a thorough discussion on strategic issues during Gen Sharif ’s visit. “The visit will focus on strategic issues. Tactical issues are discussed at lower levels,” said an official when asked what will be the focus of the planned talks. “The purpose of the visit is to take military to military relations to a higher level,” he added.

Tahirul Qadri to Travel Overseas to ‘Reorganize Party’

POLIO FROM P15

But families also moved to areas where vaccination coverage was patchy, allowing polio to reestablish itself in cities where it had been eradicated, experts say. Children may need the oral vaccine up to 10 times for it to be effective. Many Pakistani children are malnourished or have diarrhea so the vaccine is not absorbed. The unlucky ones may end up like Rafia, a chubby two-year-old with kohl-rimmed eyes. Her legs were partially paralyzed after contracting polio this summer. “She was vaccinated whenever they came,” said her father Ghulam Isaq, a shopkeeper. He massaged her tiny toes as a group of black-robed polio vaccinators looked on, only their eyes visible above black niqabs covering their faces. “We need help even if we are poor,” Isaq said. “We are Pakistanis too.”

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Islamabad: While briefing the me-

dia on Monday evening, PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri said that he was leaving the country on an Emirates Airlines flight at 3.30am early Tuesday. He said PAT’s strength was his workers who lived in foreign countries. “PAT was dissolved in 2004, and we will reorganize it again,” he said. He revealed the party had entered the political arena to play the role of real opposition, adding that a schedule of protests and sit-ins had already been announced. “Reshuffling in the federal Cab-

inet is a result of our struggle of over 70 days in Islamabad,” he claimed. The PAT chief censured the incumbent government, claiming that the United Kingdom was a “real democracy” as it did not subject the protesters of ‘Kashmir Million March’ in London to police brutality or blockades. Qadri added that since there were reports of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif leaving for London, he had changed his schedule. “I will not land in London because of Shahbaz Sharif,” he said. “Most of my time will be spent in the US.”

PAKISTAN

OCTOBER 31, 2014 – PAKISTAN LINK – P13

High in Pakistan’s Mountains, Women Break Taboos

Shimshal Mountaineering School students prepare to climb near the Shimshal village in the northern Hunza valley

Hunza: A group of young girls sit

on a carpeted floor listening as their teacher writes on a whiteboard, preparing his students for the rigors of climbing some of the world’s highest peaks. This is Shimshal Mountaineering School, tucked away in a remote village in the breathtaking mountains of Pakistan’s far north, close to the border with China. While most of Pakistan’s overwhelmingly patriarchal society largely relegates women to domestic roles, in the northern Hunza valley, where most people follow the Ismaili sect of Islam, a more liberal attitude has long prevailed. Now the women of the region are breaking more taboos and training for jobs traditionally done by men, including as carpenters and climbing guides on the Himalayan peaks. “You have to be careful, check your equipment and the rope, any slight damage can result in death,” Niamat Karim, the climbing instructor warns the students. Karim is giving last-minute advice to the eight young women who are about to embark on a practical demonstration of climbing class. They are the first batch of women to train as high altitude guides at the Shimshal Mountaineering School, set up in 2009 with support of Italian climber Simone Moro. Isolated community: The women have spent the last four years learning ice and rock climbing techniques, rescue skills and tourism management. At 3,100 meters above sea level, Shimshal is the highest settlement in the Hunza valley, connected to the rest of the world by a rough jeep-only road just 11 years ago. The narrow, unpaved road twists through high mountains, over wooden bridges and dangerous turns with the constant risk of landslides to reach the small village of 250 households. There is no running water and electricity is available only through solar panels the locals buy from China, but despite the isolation, the literacy rate in the village is 98 per cent — around twice the Pakistani national average. It has produced some world

famous climbers including Samina Baig, the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest. The people of Shimshal depend on tourism for their income and the village has produced an average of one mountaineer in every household. The eight women training as guides have scaled four local peaks, including Minglik Sar and Julio Sar, both over 6,000 meters. For aspiring mountaineer Takht Bika, 23, the school is a “dream come true”. “My uncle and brother are mountaineers and I always used to wait for their return whenever they went for a summit”, Bika told AFP. “I used to play with their climbing gear, they were my childhood toys — I never had a doll.“ For Duor Begum, mountaineering is a family tradition — and a way of honoring her husband, killed while climbing in the Hunza Valley. “I have two kids to look after and I don’t have a proper means of income, “she said. Begum joined the mountaineering school with the aim of continuing the legacy of her late husband and to make a living. “I am taking all the risks for the future of my children, to give them good education so that they can have a better future”, she said. But while the women are challenging tradition by training as guides, there is still a long way to go to change attitudes, and so far Begum has not been able to turn professional. “I know it’s difficult and it will take a long time to make it a profession for females but my kids are my hope,” she said. ‘I had to support my kids’: Lower down in the valley, away from the snowy peaks, Bibi Gulshan, another mother-of-two whose late husband died while fighting in the army has a similar tale of battling to change minds. She trained as a carpenter under the Women Social Enterprise (WSE), a project set up in the area by the Aga Khan Development Network to provide income opportunities for poor families and advocate women’s empowerment at the same time.

Set up in 2003, the WSE now employs over 110 women, between 19 and 35 years of age. “I want to give the best education to my kids so that they don’t feel the absence of their father,” Gulshan told AFP. “I started my job just 10 days after my husband was martyred, my friends mocked me saying instead of mourning my husband I had started the job of a men but I had no choice — I had to support my kids.” With the 8,000 rupees ($80) a month she earns in the carpentry workshop, Gulshan pays for her children to go through school, and she has also used her skills to build and furnish a new house for her family. As well as giving poor and marginalized women a chance to earn a living, the WSE project, funded by the Norwegian embassy, also aims to modernize local skills. Project head Safiullah Baig said traditionally, male carpenters worked to a mental plan of houses they were building — a somewhat unscientific approach. “These girls are using scientific knowledge at every step right from mapping and design and their work is more feasible and sustainable,” Baig said.

13 Die in Fresh Violence in Quetta Quetta: A barrage of shootings and bombings shook Quetta on Thursday, leaving at least 13 people dead in three separate attacks that each reflected a different facet of the violence afflicting Baluchistan Province. In the first, at least eight men were killed and two others wounded when gunmen opened fire on a bus, the police and rescue officials said. The victims were ethnic Hazaras, a Shiite Muslim minority group that has been repeatedly targeted by Sunni extremists in a wave of violence that has killed hundreds in recent years and left Hazaras feeling that the police cannot, or will not, protect them. In an assault with political overtones, Maulana Fazalur Rehman, an influential religious figure who leads the fundamentalist party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F, was attacked after addressing a rally at a stadium in Quetta. The police said that the Maulana was leaving the venue when a suicide bomber ran up to his bulletproof vehicle. Mr Rehman and the other passengers were unhurt, but at least three people were reported killed in the attack, responsibility for which was claimed by Jundallah, a militant group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban. Separately, a bomb planted on a motorcycle exploded near a security forces convoy, killing two people and wounding 12. The blast occurred as security forces were conducting a search after the attack on the Hazaras. But the authorities said that Baluch separatists, who are fighting an insurgent war against the Pakistani military, were possibly behind the attack. In the attack on the Hazaras, officials said that four to six gunmen opened fire on the bus on the outskirts of Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan. The victims were vegetable sellers who were returning to a Hazara enclave from a market, the police said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion fell on Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a banned Sunni militant group with strong links to the Taliban that has targeted Shiites in a campaign of violence. Hazara leaders expressed frustration and anguish over the latest attack after the gunmen appeared to have escaped easily. “In the last decade, at least 2,000 of our people have

Maulana Fazlur Rehman survives attack

been killed, and yet the killers remain unpunished,” Abdul Khaliq Hazara, the Quetta-based leader of the Hazara Democratic Party, said. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Baluchistan chief minister Abdul Malik Baluch condemned the killings and ordered the law enforcement authorities to ensure that Hazaras are protected. But Mr Hazara said that protection had long been elusive. “No action has been taken against the culprits. No arrests have been made over past acts of violence,” Mr Hazara said. “It seems the killers have been given a free hand.” Mr Hazara said the community would observe a three-day mourning period for the victims. He said the group had been “paralyzed” by recurrent violence. “We cannot organize any protests,” he said. “If we go out, we fear being targeted again.” Following the attack against Mr Rehman, the religious party leader told local news outlets that even though the suicide attack destroyed one side of his vehicle, “I did not receive any injuries, but felt the impact of the explosion.” In addition to the three reported dead, at least 12 people were hurt in the attack. Mr Rehman has escaped two assassination attempts in the past. The last attempt in 2011 was believed to have been orchestrated by some Taliban factions, working in partnership with mainstream political parties. An ally of the Taliban claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack on Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Demand Pushes Dollar to Six-month High

Karachi: The US dollar rose to a sixmonth high on Friday at Rs103.45, crossing the barrier set by the central bank. “The dollar was below or around Rs103 since March,” said Atif Ahmed, a currency dealer in the inter-bank market. “But pressure mounted on the market on Friday that pushed up the greenback to cross the level.” Although the dollar slipped slightly below Rs103 in the second half, most of the trading was done at Rs103.20. Eman Khan of Aerari, an application which tracks market rates, believed that the price action was purely based on strong demand for dollars. “There was an oil payment which stretched the rupee and the situation eased as soon as the payment was covered.” Dollar’s demand from importers has been rising, but the State Bank was

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defending the value of the rupee. Prices of all commodities including oil and its by-products have declined sharply in the last three months. Crude oil, which was $112 per barrel in the beginning of this fiscal year, has now slumped to around $81 per barrel. The fall has influenced the entire

international market, particularly the oil by-products which have declined between 25 and 30 per cent in the last three months. “The importers who bought costly products during the three months are now trying to average out the cost by importing cheaper products available in the market. It created extra pressure for dollar demand,” said Anwar Jamal, a currency expert. Bankers said the local currency is overvalued against the US dollar. It may see a sharp devaluation if the central bank stops influencing the market. Since March this year, the dollar started depreciating against the local currency and touched as low as Rs97, but then settled below Rs100 for a longer period. However, with the beginning of the new fiscal year and political agitation in the country, the situation turned in favor of the greenback.

P14 – PAKISTAN LINK – OCTOBER 31, 2014

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PAKISTAN

OCTOBER 31, 2014 – PAKISTAN LINK – P15

Flaws in Vaccination Campaign Contribute to Worrying Polio Spike

A vaccinator (2nd L) administers polio vaccine drops to a boy while a colleague takes notes

Karachi: Taliban militants have long been the scourge of Pakistan’s polio vaccination campaign, attacking aid workers and the police who protect them as they distribute doses to children. But experts say there is another reason for the sharp spike in cases of the crippling disease in Pakistan this year — government mismanagement. The prime minister’s polio cell was disbanded during 2013 elections, the new government delayed reconstituting it, and in recent months the prime minister has been consumed with protests in the capital that have only just ended. “It’s frustrating. Eradicating polio is not rocket science,” said Elias Durry, head of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) polio campaign in Pakistan. “If we could have three to five months to have really good campaigns, then we could get rid of this disease,” he said. “We have been doing half-baked campaigns in high risk areas.” Polio was meant be a thing of the past. A global campaign came tantalizingly close to wiping out the disease altogether. Now polio, which can kill or paralyze a child in hours, is endemic only in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. So far this year, Pakistan has had 217 polio cases, a 14-year high accounting for 85 per cent of instances around the world. The disease spreads easily from person to person, and Pakistan has already exported the virus to Syria, China, Israel and Egypt. Experts say complacency is not an option and the government has called the situation an “emergency”. Yet as the latest vaccination cam-

paign kicked off this week in the broiling, garbage-strewn alleys of Karachi, vaccination workers said they had not received stipends from the provincial government for months. Some have dropped out of the campaign in Karachi, a teeming city of 18 million people where the disease is entrenched. As teams prepared to venture out on vaccination missions into some of Karachi’s most dangerous streets, police deployed to protect them showed up late. Vaccinators must wait, meaning they miss children. Sometimes only a third of children in an area are vaccinated, the WHO said, and low coverage fuels new outbreaks. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took six months to appoint an official responsible for polio, and the government approved a funding plan only last month. That meant provinces did not pay workers their stipends of USD2.5 a day on time, said Shahnaz Wazir Ali, a polio adviser to Sindh province of which Karachi is the capital. “We had a loss of about nine to 10 months, which is a very big setback,” Ali said. Ayesha Farooq, the prime minister’s appointee on polio, admitted there were problems, but said that payment arrears were down to provincial, not central government. Most new cases were in areas where security was poor so children had not been vaccinated, she said, and denied that Sharif was not taking the issue seriously. “We have got to take responsibility for our weaknesses,” Farooq told Reuters. “The quality of campaigns is

something we will be paying close attention to.” For frontline polio workers, late pay is less worrying than lack of protection. Sixty-four people have been killed in attacks on polio teams and their security escorts since 2012, when the Taliban banned vaccinations in areas they controlled. Their targets are women like 19-year-old medical student Asma Nizam, who received a death threat for taking part in the program. “A man came on a motorbike and said, ‘if you want to save your life, you should go from here’,” she said. The next day, militants killed five of her colleagues. As she prepared to visit Karachi slums on a vaccination mission last Monday, police sent to protect Nizam were three hours late. Pakistan’s police are thinly spread, especially in crime-ridden Karachi where only 26,000 police watch over the huge city. Some are seconded as bodyguards for politicians. “I have seen six police taking a VIP’s teenager to the salon but they cannot spare any officers to protect the poor children of Pakistan,” one health official burst out in exasperation. Karachi police spokesman Atiq Shaikh said the force was severely understaffed. “Polio campaigns take 2,000 officers. But we always provide them with security even though we have some time constraints,” he said. A further hurdle is caution among families offered the treatment. Some believe Taliban propaganda that says vaccinations are a Western plot to sterilize children. Aiding polio’s spread has been this year’s military offensive in the tribal region of North Waziristan, which drove nearly a million people out of the conflict zone. The mass movement allowed workers to vaccinate children previously unreachable. POLIO, P12

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MQM, PPP Trade Barbs in Sindh Assembly Karachi: A heated debate took place in the Sindh Assembly on Monday between Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Khawaja Izharul Hassan and Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon over recruitment in the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), DawnNews reported. Memon had claimed that in the past ‘terrorists’ had been recruited in the water board. The statement caused MQM members to erupt in anger and engage in sloganeering during the assembly session. Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani tried to pacify the opposing members of the House but to no avail as the ruckus continued even during the recess for Zuhr prayers and until provincial Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah stood up to address the assembly. Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza presided over the day’s session after the recess. In his address, Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that political point-scoring was taking place over the Thar issue. The Sindh chief minister further said that the provincial government is constantly providing assistance to the residents of Thar, and that Mithi is comparable to any other city of Sindh. “Wheat worth Rs2 billion was provided to 1.6 million residents of Thar; it is not easy to feed 1.6 million people in a single sitting,” Shah

added. “We did every possible thing for Thar. Not even a single child died of hunger; rather they died of disease. If anyone died of hunger, then name any single one of them,” the veteran PPP leader said. Addressing the House, MQM leader Izharul Hassan said members of the Provincial Assembly (MPAs) were concerned over reports circulating in the media related to Thar. He questioned if the media was lying on TV.

Aitzaz Is Khursheed’s ‘Defense Lawyer’: Sattar Karachi: Muttahida Qaumi Move-

ment (MQM) leader Farooq Sattar on Monday criticized Aitzaz Ahsan’s statements, terming them “discriminating and mocking Muhajirs,”Express News reported. “Ahsan has twisted facts in his statement today and it seems like Khurseed Shah has made Aitzaz Ahsan his defense lawyer,” Sattar said in a press conference on Monday evening. Earlier on Monday, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senator showed his disapproval of MQM’s decision of protesting against Shah’s statement and accused MQM of using religion for political gain. “Concealing crime of a criminal is also a crime and Ahsan, by not saying anything against Khurseed AITZAZ, P29

P16 – PAKISTAN LINK – OCTOBER 31, 2014

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P18 – PAKISTAN LINK – OCTOBER 31, 2014

Candidate for Eastvale City Council

What the Pakistani-American Community Can Do for Anwer A. Khan

nwer A. Khan, a Pakistani American running for Eastvale City Council in Riverside, was interviewed by Pakistan Link. His answers to questions about his candidacy were convincing and reassuring. Here is an opportunity for the community to have a Pakistani in public office. Anwer needs your support and vote.

PL: Could you tell us something about your family background AAK: My mother and father both came from Pakistan. My father came to the US in January, 1966, and my mother joined him in 1969 after marriage to him. My father was an engineering executive and is now retired from a regular job. Presently, he is on the Faculty of University of Phoenix Graduate School of Management, and is the Associate Dean for the School of Business of American Heritage University. I was born in Houston, TX and have been raised in Placentia and Yorba Linda, where my family presently resides. I am the youngest of the three children of a very loving family. My family has always been supportive of my activities and decisions. PL: Your academic attainments and acquisitions AAK: I earned my Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where I majored in Political Science and Sociology and minored in Public Policy. I earned Chancellor’s Student Honors, Provost’s Honors for eleven quarters, was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Kappa Delta, and Golden Key honor societies, and graduated cum laude. I then attended and graduated with a JD degree from the Arizona State University College of Law (subsequently renamed the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law). There, I received Pro Bono Distinction for assisting poor and underserved individuals and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers Award, among other awards. PL: Your professional background and milestones in life so far AAK: I am an attorney for the government and a member of one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the nation, targeting transnational gangs, drug traffickers, human traffickers, foreign fugitives, and human rights violators. I previously worked for the United States Department of Justice and then various civil litigation firms, where I represented individuals with matters in district court, in circuit courts of appeals, and before federal administrative agencies. PL: What office are you running for and when will the elections be held? AAK: I am running for a council member seat in the city of Eastvale. Eastvale is located in Riverside County, California. Council members in Eastvale serve fou- year terms that are staggered so that either two or three seats are up for election every two years. This year, three seats are being contested. The election will be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. PL: Give details about what this position entails in layman’s language AAK: The city council is the decision-making body of the city. This means that council members pass city laws or ordinances, decide how the city will spend its money, and set

the policy directions for the city staff to follow, including what projects the city should undertake to help the city’s residents. Council decisions influence several aspects of life within a city, including police and fire protection, code enforcement, traffic, and how land can be used, among other things. As a result of this, though people may not realize it, the decisions of council members affect the

nia. Though we have become more politically sophisticated, with more South Asian lobbyists and political actions committees than ever before, we remain grossly under-represented. Pakistani-Americans, as a subset of this group, have fared even worse than our Indian-American counterparts so it is important that we be involved politically and seek public offices. Eastvale has a large

has also failed to assist the school district in addressing the capacity issues in the city’s schools. In addition, a city councilman, who recently resigned, alleged collusion and insider politics among the councilmen. I believe that my service as an attorney for the government and as a member of the law enforcement community will restore honesty and integrity to the city council. I also want to create

residents of a city every day. Council members also serve on various commissions or boards that make recommendations to the county on issues that impact people throughout the area such as traffic and public transportation. PL: Why did you decide to run for this office? AAK: Several factors contributed to my decision to run. Based on data from the 2010 census, there are a minimum of 3.1 million South Asians in the United States, with the greatest number residing in Califor-

number of South Asians. I believe, with my professional background, I could successfully attract voters from both within and outside of the South Asian community and win a council seat in this election. I am also running for local office because I do not believe that the current city council is adequately addressing the issues currently facing the city. For example, it has not taken action to address the budget shortfalls that are projected to appear as early as 2018, threatening the city’s police and fire services. The council

a city council that seeks out and considers public opinion as opposed to the current council’s practice of often ignoring public comments or of responding negatively to speakers who are critical of them. City government must by inclusive in order to create a sense of ownership and pride among the city’s residents. Eastvale deserves better. I have dedicated my every day to serving this community, state, and country, and I am the only candidate offering specific plans as to how I intend to address the city’s issues. PL: What will you do if you get

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elected? AAK: I am running for the residents of Eastvale and their children, as well my own. I want people to feel safe and to actually be safe. I want their children to have places to go to school within the city. I want their voices to be heard in the decisionmaking process. I want to create a city government that is open, honest, and fair. I want to build a city that is worthy of its citizens. I have laid out plans to expand Eastvale’s revenue base, shore up city services, and to enhance public safety through the development of business space for employers to locate within the city and to drive the sales tax revenue on which the city relies for services including police protection. We must do our part to address the capacity problems in the city’s schools through zoning, for improving the accessibility of city government through expansion of our online presence and permitting public comments to be submitted online, and for increasing transparency by reforming the city commission system and the institution of term limits for council members. If elected, I also intend to make use of my position to help promote the next set of Pakistani-Americans who seek office within Southern California in the way that Ali Sajjad Taj, a council member from the city of Artesia, was willing to do for me. PL: What can the PakistaniAmerican community do for you? AAK: On a broader scale that benefits not only me but all Pakistani-Americans, our community can begin by voting. By becoming a voting bloc, candidates and politicians will be forced to recognize the needs and opinions of our community. More specific to my campaign, I would appreciate the vote of anyone living Eastvale. If you know someone who lives in Eastvale, it would be helpful if you contact them and encourage them to support me. Regardless of where you live, you can always volunteer your time or contribute financially so that I can make a final push before the election. Your vote, your time, or your contribution may be the difference in winning this council race. If anyone would like to contact me or learn more about my campaign, they can visit my website at www.EastvaleUnited.com or my Facebook page at www.facebook. com/AnwerKhanEastvale. PL: What is your message or advice for the other members of our community who may wish to follow in your footsteps - especially our youth? AAK: Whether or not I am successful in this campaign, I hope the fact that I dared to try encourages others. Campaigning is not easy or inexpensive, but if you believe you have something to offer, if people can believe in your message, and if you are willing to put in the time and effort, then you have the basic components to run. The mere fact that we are running and engaging our communities can change public perception. Finally, even if you experience things like me, such as the targeted vandalism of signs, that you suspect to be racially or religiously motivated, do not be deterred. Interpret it as one of the reasons that it is so important for you to run for public office.

COMMUNITY

Community Link

OCTOBER 31, 2014 – PAKISTAN LINK – P19

Friday, October 31, 2014

VOL. 24/44 PAGE 20

PAGE PAGE22 17

egum PAGE 21

Honda to Work for Equal Treatment of Every American

7 Muharram 1436 H

Asma Shirazi Wins 2014 Peter Mackler Award

We Are Good Muslims, but Americans Too

For news, updated round the clock, visit

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Islamic Relief USA Holds Fundraiser for Flood Victims

Besides its role in flood relief, projects that IR has taken on include well construction, health care for widows, assistance to families displaced by violence, supporting agriculture -related businesses and eye care, which includes restoring sight to the elderly

n A Pakistan Link Report

he Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) organization is very active, both here in the US and overseas in many countries. Where there is a need Islamic Relief is there and since none of the work that it does can be carried out without resources, its fundraisings have become a part of many social calendars in major cities in America.

On October 18th at the Chandni Restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Newark, California just over 100 invited guests of IR-USA gathered to help victims of the devastating floods that have recently hit Pakistan and Kashmir. It is good to note that the momentum started in Sacramento last month (in which IR-USA was one of the participants), is being continued by the community, said Ras Siddiqui. Discussing the issue,

Raana Faiz, one of the main people to assist IR-USA in this effort at Chandni, said that not enough emphasis has been placed on this tragedy in either the mainstream or ethnic media that reflects the magnitude of the need that these floods have created. And that observation is not off the mark. There has been a great deal more attention paid to political protests (dharnas) in Pakistan recently than IDPs or flood victims recently and that emphasis needs to change, said Siddiqui. Going back to the fundraiser, the formalities started off with a recitation from the Holy Qur’an by Hamayoun Jamali, Regional Head of IR-USA. Shaista Khan, Pakistan campaign Lead and Development Coordinator IR-USA, next took the podium and proceeded with detailed information about the flood tragedy which has unfolded in Pakistan, Kashmir and India due to heavy rains in September. Major

rivers such as the Chenab, Indus, Jhelum, Ravi and Sutlej have overflowed, killing hundreds, making tens of thousands homeless and impacting many more. Tens of thousands of houses have been damaged, she said. Over 1.7 million acres of crops were damaged and more than 2.2 million people are affected. Shaista Khan continued by explaining how Islamic Relief is responding to this tragedy and supporting flood relief in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir in particular. Local IR teams in the region are supplying tents and cooking supplies and distribution of these items has begun in Azad Kashmir and is planning to expand this into Punjab for which it needs additional resources for which it is appealing to USbased donors. Khan explained that Islamic Relief has been working in the region since 1992 and has been

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providing a variety of services from more than a dozen offices and field units in Pakistan and India. Besides its role in flood relief, projects that IR has taken on include well construction, health care for widows, assistance to families displaced by violence, supporting agriculture related businesses and eye care, which includes restoring sight to the elderly. She said that in the past five years, Islamic Relief USA has provided more than $15 million in aid to Pakistan. It helped thousands of people during the 2010 floods in Pakistan and helped rebuild communities for years af-

terwards. To conclude, the humanitarian crisis caused by this flooding is very real. Pakistani Americans need to shift their attention here too even though there are other headline-grabbing events taking place in the country of origin. It is time to continue this effort to help.

COMMUNITY

P20 – PAKISTAN LINK – OCTOBER 31, 2014

Honda Pledges to Work for Equal Treatment of Every American

n By Lisette B. Poole

San Jose, CA: Congressman Mike Honda on Tuesday vowed to continue to fight for privacy rights and seek ways to balance the civil rights and liberties of Americans, including Muslim Americans, with national security needs. “You can count on me,” said the Congressman, a Democratic Party member, who is running for re-election in a district that encompasses all or part of the cities of Cupertino, Fremont, Milpitas, Newark, Santa Clara, San Jose and Sunnyvale. His constituency, also known as Silicon Valley, is heavily populated with Arabs and Muslims and is statistically the only Asian American-majority district in the continental United States. “I will continue to work with my colleagues to enact [the End Racial Profiling Act] this important legislation that will ensure the basic respect and equal treatment that is the right of every American,” Honda wrote in exclusive, e-mail interview remarks to Pakistan Link. The wide-ranging interview also dealt with e-mail privacy, and government surveillance. Ro Khanna, a democratic candidate has criticized Honda as “old school” liberal. The political race between the young patent attorney and the seven-term, civil liberties icon is being watched closely. Honda’s comments come at a time when the rise of ISIS and its beheading of several Westerners appears to accentuate, yet again, a sentiment of Islamophobia in America. This round has been sparked by political comedian Bill Maher who argued that there is a “connecting tissue” that binds the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims to ISIS. His off the cuff remarks were criticized by several Muslims including Reza Aslan, a UC professor who wrote in the New York Times that “making a blanket judgment about the world’s second largest religion — is simply bigotry.” That confrontation comes on the heels of a poll

illustrating the growing distrust of Arabs and Muslims. The Zogby study which polled 1,110 Americans found that most, 45 percent, hold an “unfavorable view” of Muslims while only 27 percent espouse a “favorable view.” “With powerful media personalities like Maher perpetuating the notion that Americans should associate the horrible atrocities committed by ISIS with their Muslim-American neighbors, it shouldn’t be surprising if anti-Islamic sentiment continues to grow,” said a commentary in The Nation the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. Honda is on record for fighting against all forms of discrimination. “I am an original cosponsor of the End Racial Profiling Act. This legislation represents a comprehensive federal commitment to healing the rift caused by racial profiling and restoring public confidence in the criminal justice system at-large,” he said. “This legislation is designed to enforce the constitutional right to equal protection of the laws by changing the policies and procedures underlying the practice of profiling and prohibiting racial profiling,” he said. Honda is a third generation Jap-

anese American, who spent much of his early childhood with his family in an internment camp in Colorado during World War II. He is 73. He played a prominent role in bringing about the end of mosque surveillance in New York City earlier this year. “Unfortunately, there are many in our country and in our government who want to target people because of the way they look or where they are from. We must always be vigilant to ensure that their civil liberties are preserved,” he wrote. “For example, the New York Police Department and the Central Intelligence Agency were spying on Muslim Americans, engaging in activities that violated their civil and constitutional rights. I called for an investigation of these actions and repeatedly questioned Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller about them, and I believe that this scrutiny contributed to the disbanding of the NYPD unit in question. Such actions undermine the sanctity of our Constitution and the security of our homeland,” Honda said. The Zogby report pointed out that a significant number of Americans support the use of profiling by law enforcement against Arab

Americans and American Muslims. “Republicans and Democrats show a deep divide on whether or not profiling of these communities by law enforcement is justified. A majority of Democrats (54%) do not find profiling justifiable, while a majority of Republicans (59%) believe it is,” the report said. Asked about reports that the FBI and NSA targeted, among others, three top American Muslims including a civil rights leader, Honda promised he would continue to question authorities. “As a member of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the FBI, I will question the FBI director about these reports as I have done about similar reports in the past. We must remain vigilant in the protection of our civil liberties, especially in difficult times when it is too easy to justify eroding them in the name of security, and I will continue to be a prominent voice against such overreach and in support of stronger laws to protect privacy,” he said. (Lisette B. Poole is a freelance journalist in the San Francisco Bay area. She also lectures in journalism at California State University, East Bay)

Meekal Hassan Band and Haroon to Perform at US Music Festival

eekal Hassan Band, Haroon, Khumariyan from Peshawar, Lahore’s Poor Rich Boy, Thar’s Mai Dhai, and Sialkot’s Sain Tanveer Brothers will all be heading off to the United States coming March to represent Pakistan at one of the largest music festivals in the world, South by Southwest (SXSW), to be held in Austin, Texas in March 2015.

These six artistes will be exhibiting Pakistan’s rich culture through music and will offer diverse melodies as they would be playing Punjabi, Pushto and Sindhi music. More than 100 bands and singers are participating in the festival which caters to art forms in music and film. Meekal Hasan Band which recently launched their new album Andholan will be playing their soulful songs which fall in the Sufi-rock category. Aaron Haroon Rashid, a well-known singer and creator of the animated series Burka Avenger who recently lent his vocals for the show, will also be participating in the mega festival. Apart from these two artistes, Khumariyaan, a Peshawar based band comprising four men will play

Bay Area Muslim-Americans Endorse Mike Honda for Congress San Francisco, CA: Dr Agha Saeed, Chairman of the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections-Political Action Committee (AMT-PAC), has announced in a message a resounding endorsement of Congressman Mike Honda in the 17th CD of California. Recalling the full-fledged presence of Honorable Mike Honda at the AMA Convention, the first major event held after the unfortunate events of 9/11, Dr Agha Saeed said: “A friend in need is a friend indeed. Those who are trying to get us to trade-in the time-tested old friends for seemingly new but utterly unknown faces are actually suggesting a devil’s bargain.” Citing his genuine concern for the safety of Muslim Americans, Dr Agha Saeed, applauded the lively presence of Congressman Mike Honda, whereby in response to the self-deprecating remark by Dr Mahjabeen Islam, How could I run for Congress now: Can you imagine a billboard on your front porch reading ‘Islam for Congress’, the genial congressman intervened by saying “With the last name Honda, I don’t have to imagine... But let me tell you, how I dealt with it. I assured my voters that “this Honda is made in the United States”. Later, Dr Shabbir Safdar had sagaciously added: Thanks Congressman Honda: Ms Islam’s billboard has a new subtext now: “This is American Islam, Not Americanized Islam but American Islam”. Thanks, Congressman Honda, for your friendship during the period of immense adversity. And thanks Dr Safdar for positing a pivotal distinction that continues to guide the choice by authentic Muslims, the message concluded.

the Music Mela Conference held in May at Islamabad by The PakistanUs Alumni Network and Foundation for Arts, Culture and Education (FACE). He decided to hold a workshop which aimed at music marketing in the US for such singers and bands. SXSW, known to be a grand music festival, invites musicians from all over the world and gives them a platform to come together and play music by embracing cultural diversity.

Saad Haroon Is the Second Funniest Person in the World!

P instruments rubab, Pashtun sitar and the zerbaghali hand drum to play distinct musical notes. Poor Rich Boy, a band popular in Lahore’s underground music scene and famous for its live performances of

their English songs, is also taking part in SXSW. The only female and extremely diverse artist, Mai Dhai and her band will be representing the Sindhi folk music and Sain Tanveer, known

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for playing dhol, will be giving the attendees the taste of dhol beats. This is the first time that Pakistanis are participating in the festival after its booker, Todd Puckhaber, saw many talented musicians in

akistan’s very own standup comedian Saad Haroon managed to bag the second position in the finals of Laugh Factory’s Funniest Person in the World competition.

The winners were determined via an online voting system. Voting started on October 24 and continued until October 27, during which Ismo Leikola from Finland managed to HAROON, P29

COMMUNITY

OCTOBER 31, 2014 – PAKISTAN LINK – P21

Woodland Peace Picnic Brings All Communities Together

Not much is heard about Woodland but one aspect one cannot overlook is that it is a spiritual community, one which hosted a “Peace Picnic” on October 18th arranged jointly by the Woodland Mosque and the Woodland Ecumenical Ministries (with the blessings of the American Muslim Voice Foundation) to foster goodwill amongst the area’s religious diversity

n By Ras H. Siddiqui

he City of Woodland, California is just 20 miles outside of Sacramento and a stone’s throw north of Davis, famous for its University of California campus. Not much is heard about Woodland but one aspect one cannot overlook is that it is a spiritual community, one which hosted a “Peace Picnic” on October 18th arranged jointly by the Woodland Mosque and Woodland Ecumenical Ministries (with the blessings of the American Muslim Voice Foundation) to foster goodwill amongst the area’s religious diversity. And it turned out to be quite an afternoon as live music, various outdoor games (the weather was perfect) and servings of Pakistani food, together with representation from the local police K-9 unit and the Woodland Fire Department. As I walked into the picnic venue at Ferns Park a Christian Rock Band by the name of “The Last Minute” was playing and singing a moving song “Met a man on the street last night...” while families in varying attire slowly arrived. This was where blue jeans and skirts merged with the Pakistani shalwaar-kameez outfits and head coverings of various types were represented (hats, hijabs and dupattas). Due to the large number of Muslims present, the event reflect-

ed an almost Eid-like flavor being shared with the local mainstream. In attendance was Woodland Mayor Tom Stallard whom I had an opportunity to speak with. Tom explained that Woodland was an agriculture-based economy (mainly fruit) which was coming out of the national recession quite nicely. With over 150 related businesses, about 25 fruit processors and one of (if not) the largest tomato canning operations in the world, Pacific Coast Producers or PCP, and the headquarters of The Morning Star Company, a huge operation with canneries around the world including in Turkey. With a population of 57,000 people more or less, Woodland is growing. It also has its own Mosque now on North Street, said the Mayor. “Everybody is welcome. This is a very diverse community. Forty-six percent of our people are Hispanic,” said the Mayor. I also took the opportunity to speak with Officer Olson of the local police K-9 unit who along with his dog Mondo was a big hit with the community kids. I asked him how long a trained dog like Mondo could stay in service and he said that it varies not just by breed but by individual dogs but on its health. The average age he said was around 5 to 7 years of working life but that Mondo was nine-and-a-half and still extremely healthy. He added that the decision on whether a dog should retire is a

joint one by the command staff, veterinarians, the accompanying officer and the trainer. He said that they look for sociability in dogs for police work. A bit later after several parachute ball tosses, area luminary and President of the American Muslim Voice Foundation Khalid Saeed took the opportunity to address the picnic gathering on behalf of the Muslim community. Khalid described the community as a “salad bowl” and not a melting pot. Everybody should appear as they are, everybody should get along and we should love each other and we should get together like this and have fun, he said. He added that he appreciated everybody that came here that day, especially those who brought and set up the games and especially the band (The Last Minute). He recognized some people in the gathering, especially Larry Love, and called Mayor Tom Stallard to formally address the event.

Mayor Stallard thanked everybody for coming out and talked about three main points: Transparency, Sustainability and Community. He said that decision making should be inclusive of everybody, we should treat our environment like we do ourselves and we should want to help one another. The Mayor revisited his campaign slogan “Let’s put the unity in community” and added that he could not be happier with an event like today. Whatever name we use for God, he said that we have to unlearn our differences and learn to live in peace. Before jointly breaking bread (naan and rice in this case) Reverend Bill Schroeder blessed the gathering and offered a prayer for peace everywhere. He said that we thank God for this beautiful day and the sharing of our lives together and that we are grateful to all the people who strive for peace throughout our world. He asked God to bless our food and a continuance of our sharing this

beautiful life together. Food catered from the Kabab Corner Restaurant in West Sacramento was served to the hundreds in attendance and this reporter can vouch for the fact that it was all gone in very little time. The City of Woodland Fire Department also arrived with their truck, an added attraction for the kids present. Fire Captain Chris Delcour was there with his team to answer any questions. It was good to see that some of the Muslim community kids are now possibly looking at careers with the local Fire Department and Police units because the level of interest at this picnic in the two was high. Imam Aamir Hussain of the Woodland Mosque was busy throughout the afternoon answering questions and meeting friends. On his direction I made it to the Mosque on 1023 North Street and took some pictures both inside and outside of this relatively new place of worship in the area.

Asma Shirazi Wins 2014 Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism Washington, DC: Asma Shirazi, the Pakistani journalist hon-

ored for courageous reporting on Thursday spoke out against “brutality” against reporters in her country as she expressed hope for greater freedom for the news media. Shirazi, Pakistan’s first female war correspondent and host of popular TV talk show “Faisla Awam Ka” on DawnNews, made the comments as she accepted the 2014 Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism. Shirazi said she was encouraged by the recognition but noted that the country remains one of the most dangerous in the world for news reporters, with 99 journalists killed in the line of duty since 2000. Journalists in Pakistan “are working in an environment where they could be killed anytime,” she told the award ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington. “I dedicate this award to the unsung heroes of journalism in Pakistan who sacrificed their lives for the cause of their profession.”

She said this includes many working in remote areas who “are endangering their lives on every spur of the moment.” The situation is one of “extreme gravity,” she said, noting that report-

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ers have been beheaded, tortured, and killed in suicide bombings. “Despite these dangers and difficulties, Pakistani journalists continue unabated with the task at hand, to give voice to the voiceless, to speak truth to power and to tell everybody the everyday story of our life,” she said. She added that the prize offers “an opportunity to raise my voice against the brutality that journalists in Pakistan are subjected to.” “I expect this award to promote the true meaning of courage and ethical journalism in Pakistan.” Pamela Constable, the Washington Post journalist who introduced Shirazi, praised the recipient for her dedication. “It’s not easy to be a woman in Pakistan, and it’s not easy to be a journalist who is committed to speaking or writing the truth,” she said. “It’s especially hard to be both.” The award, named for the late AFP journalist Peter Mackler, is administered by Global Media Forum in partnership with AFP and Reporters Without Borders.

P22 – PAKISTAN LINK – OCTOBER 31, 2014

n By Anwar Iqbal

‘We Are Good Muslims, but Americans Too’

he annual congregations of the Islamic Society of North America and the Islamic Circle of North America, two umbrella organisations, attract tens of thousands of people, mostly young.

These are people who pray, or at least try to, five times a day, read the Holy Qur’an and observe other religious obligations. As a journalist, I often attended their meetings, particularly after 9/11, when I was working for the mainstream US media and was assigned to cover their activities. In the very first such meeting that I attended, I noticed that Islam had a new dress code in America: scarves over short shirts and tight jeans. That’s for women. The men were a little more American. The trousers were tighter, some slipping down the waist, and the shirts funkier. But their clothes and their American manners did not prevent those US Muslims from meeting their religious obligations. When called to prayers, they hurried along to a huge hall and prostrate before God, turning their heads toward Makkah. This was the scene at Chicago’s McCormick Center where an estimated 35,000 Muslims gathered over the Labour Day weekend for the annual ISNA congregation in 2003. I attended at least half a dozen such meetings after that and did not notice any change in the dress code or in their eagerness to say the prayers. I also noticed that the scarves, and the prayers, did not prevent these American-Muslim girls from mingling with their male peers. They were like typical American teenagers, fun-loving, frank, stubborn, and sometimes, loud-mouthed. Throughout the four-day event, there was an obvious tension between them and the older Muslims worried at the American manners of their progeny. Half of the estimated 35,000 participants were between 15 and 30. Many came from other cities and stayed at nearby hotels. Some partied all night, though without alcohol. The older participants complained that the youngsters had turned an Islamic convention into a dating game. The youngsters said they were not dating but saw nothing wrong in meeting “and even in finding someone interesting as a prospective partner,” as one of them, Yasmin Shah of Ohio, said. Her mother agreed. “What’s wrong if they find someone interesting and marry? After all, they have to marry someone and we cannot have a typical arranged marriage as they do back home,” said Rabia Shah. But marriage was not what Yasmin had on her mind. “You do not marry someone in four days. It’s a once in a lifetime thing and you need time for making such decisions,” she said. Such statements, of course, scared the elders, who feared that if allowed together, their boys and girls might commit the ultimate sin — sex without wedlock. “Meeting someone is fine but do so with the intention to get married and pray to God that He protects you from sins,” said Rabia. Youngsters also spent a lot of time at the little bazaar the organizers had set up inside the McCormick Center. The bazaar, which offered a variety of Middle Eastern and South Asian goods – besides a host of books on Islam – also, was a major attraction for those not so young.

During the wrap-up session on the fourth day, an elderly participant pointed out that the bazaar was a distraction and kept people away from the prayers. “If the bazaar was a distraction who were those thousands of people who filled the hall at every prayer?” asked Khalid Khan, a young Chicago Muslim. “We are as good Muslims as others but we are different. We are Americans, too.” And the visitors did not need to go far to see how American this Muslim congregation was. Halal hot dogs and halal Kentucky Fried Chicken drew more crowds than the Middle Eastern snacks, Indian curry or Pakistani kebabs. “Please also try this,” a mother begged her two daughters, Sara, 9, and Isra, 5, offering them Indian chicken curry. But their heart was somewhere else. They wanted pizza and that’s what they ate. After the convention, some Chicago teenagers took their outof-town Muslim guests to lunch at a restaurant that served “real Italian pizza in Chicago.” And when a newlywed couple walked into a hotel, where some of the visitors were staying, they clapped instead of greeting them with “marhaba or mubarak” as leaders of the congregation asked them to. “He is a good speaker, listen to him,” said another mother to her teenage daughter, asking her to a seminar where a physician spoke on health science. Like many Muslim parents she wanted her daughter to become a doctor. “But mom, I do not want to listen to him. I like another speaker,” said the girl and walked away to another room where second generation Muslim journalists were talking about the media and filmmaking. “This is as American as you can get,” said Ziad Abdallah, an Iraqi-American from Detroit with a big grin on his face when asked to comment on the scene. Some of these youngsters got very upset when their American identity was questioned. “It is as upsetting as to hear that we are not Muslims,” said Salman Ahmad of New York who complained that after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, some of his American friends told him he was a foreigner. “I was born and brought up here and I am as American as any Joe, Elizabeth or Tom. My name or the color of my skin does not take away my national identity,” he said. And they felt as strongly about terrorists and their activities as

Horror of Canadian Parliament Shooting

he Muslim Public Affairs Council condemns the criminal behavior and actions committed by Michael Zehaf-Bibeau on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada. MPAC offers its condolences to the family members of Cpl. Nathan Cirrillo and victims who were injured during the heinous attack by Zehaf-Bibeau. We stand in solidarity with the Canadian people who are horrified by the vicious attacks.

This tragedy presents an opportunity for North American Muslim communities to take leadership in ensuring continued education about Islam, especially for the most impressionable and vulnerable in our communities: young people and converts. Young people who are fed misinformation online by violent extremists must be engaged in healthy conversations in safe spaces within our schools and mosques to minimize any chance of being lured into false promises of glory. As far as converts are concerned, Dr. Maher Hathout said: “It is paradoxical because most who convert to Islam have a positive change in their life that makes them compassionate, calming, contributors to society. However, the aggregation of these few cases are a cause for alarm and create a false impression about Islam

and Muslims.” Zehaf-Bibeau was a known troubled individual with a criminal history who recently converted to Islam. We must continue to educate the community and others who are interested in Islam that while this and other incidents are isolated, there is no justification within the faith that would allow such immoral and criminal behavior. Further, ZehafBibeau’s troubled history highlights the

need for communities to have structured education, prevention, intervention and rehabilitation programs that focus on mental health, religious and counseling services. It is imperative that communities work in close coordination with law enforcement and government agencies to address some of these challenges faced by communities to ensure the public safety for all.

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COMMUNITY

did other American citizens. “The perpetrators of 9/11 were keys to the door to evil. Think of all the evils that came out of this single act,” said Muslim scholar and orator Mohammed Omar Farooq, addressing a large group of Muslim students at the McCormick Center. “I cannot think of a single good that came out of that evil deed.” The message was received with cheers and applause by the crowd, which included several thousand teenagers born or brought up in the United States. “Evil it was but it is important to remember that it pained us as much as it did other Americans. I know many Muslims who cried when they saw the planes hit the twin towers,” says Mural Toor, a young Chicago resident. And this was how most of the people who attended the fourday annual conference felt about terrorist attacks across the world. The fact that most of those terrorists were Muslims upset them but they were not willing to go on a guilt trip for something they had nothing to do with. “You cannot expect an entire community of more than a billion people to feel guilty about evil deeds of a few demented people,” said Adam Carroll, an Irish-American Muslim who came from New York to attend the conference. A little more than a year after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, American Muslims – at least the young among them – were already prepared to leave the tragedy behind and re-establish themselves as true Americans, albeit with a different faith. Their message was loud and clear: they were Americans and they were here to stay. And the message was heard, both by other Americans and by their elders, who came to America from the Muslim world and remained divided between their past and present. And people of other faiths helped those Muslims in reintegrating with greater American society. Soon after 9/11, the American Jewish Congress sent a letter to the Islamic Circle of North America, expressing their support to American Muslims. “We are most interested in the careful pursuit of possible areas of agreement and common ground – not because we think agreement will be easy to achieve but because continued tensions and hostility threaten both communities,” said the letter sent to the ICNA. Young Muslims welcomed such gestures but also complained that after terrorist attacks some people blame the entire Muslim community and demand a collective apology from them. “Why don’t they ask Christians to apologize for Timothy McVeigh? He was a Christian too,” asked Toor. This indignation stemmed from the feeling that terrorism had delayed the integration of American Muslims with other Americans. While the demand for a collective apology or hints that Muslims were lesser Americans upset all Muslims, those born and brought up here hurt more than others. “We are Americans and we know no other identity,” one of them told this correspondent at a recent gathering in Washington. “We are here to stay.” At another gathering of young Muslim women, also in Washington, participants pointed out that a distinct American Muslim culture was being born here: being both American and Muslim. - Courtesy Dawn

Ammar R. Pasta Receives National Honor Atlanta, GA: According to an announcement of T he National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS), Ammar R Pasta, a North High School student from Torrance, CA, has been selected to become a member of the esteemed organization. The Society recognizes top scholars who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, scholarship, and community commitment. The announcement was made by NSHSS Founder and Chairman Claes Nobel, a senior member of the family that established the Nobel Prizes. “On behalf of NSHSS, I am honored to recognize the hard work, sacrifice, and commitment that Ammar has demonstrated to achieve this exceptional level of academic excellence,” said Mr Nobel. “Ammar is now a member of a unique community of scholars – a community that represents our very best hope for the future.” “Our vision is to build a dynamic international organization that connects members with meaningful content, resources, and opportunities,” stated NSHSS President James W. Lewis. “We aim to help students like

Ammar build on their academic successes and enhance the skills and desires to have a positive impact on the global community.” Membership in NSHSS entitles qualified students to enjoy a wide variety of benefits, including scholarship opportunities, academic competitions, free events, member- only resources, publications, participation in programs offered by educational partners, personalized recognition items, and publicity honors.

COMMENTARY

OCTOBER 31, 2014 – PAKISTAN LINK – P23

Sending Pakistan to Mars

n By Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy

Islamabad, Pakistan

hen spacecraft Mangalyaan successfully entered the Martian orbit in late September after a 10-month journey, India erupted in joy. Costing more than an F-16 but less than a Rafale, Mangalyaan’s meticulous planning and execution established India as a space-faring country. Although Indians had falsely celebrated their five nuclear tests of 1998 — which were based upon well-known physics of the 1940s — the Mars mission is a true accomplishment.

Pakistanis may well ask: can we do it too? What will it take? Seen in the proper spirit, India’s foray into the solar system could be Pakistan’s sputnik moment — an opportunity to reflect upon what’s important. Let’s see how India did it: First, space travel is all about science and India’s young ones are a huge reservoir of enthusiasm for science. Surveys show that 12-16 year olds practically worship Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, are fascinated by black holes and Schrödinger cats, and most want a career in science. They see more prestige in this than becoming doctors, lawyers, financial managers, or army officers. Although most eventually settle for more conventional professions, this eagerness leads India’s very best students towards science. Ten years ago, I had personally experienced this youthful enthusiasm during a fourweek lecture tour across seven Indian cities that took me to all sorts of schools, colleges, and universities. In places, hundreds turned up for my talks on scientific subjects. Every city had at least one much-visited science museum, and sometimes two or three. Student scientific societies, which appeared active, were everywhere. Second, Indian universities have created the necessary backbone for advanced scientific projects. University quality goes from moderately bad to very good, with the median lying around fair. Many mediocre ones produce rotten science PhDs and publications prodigiously, suffocating growth. On the positive side, research in the theoretical sciences carried out in India’s very best universities — as well as institutes such as TIFR and IMSC — compares favorably with that in the world’s top universities.

n By Zara Hafeez

f you have been following the recent clash between Maher and Affleck, then let’s give a high five to Affleck for standing up against Islamophobia. Generalizing an entire population is, in truth, leaning towards bigotry and even hard core liberals like Maher are deemed guilty.

Recently, Affleck was on the Real Time with Bill Maher show to promote his new film, Gone Girl. However, the film didn’t get much attention as Affleck found himself in a rather furious debate with Maher and the other guest on the show, Sam Harris, who has written a few books on religion. Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times columnist and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, was also present. The entire debate kicked off after Maher made his usual Islamophobic views in an episode that was aired prior to this particular one. Maher claimed that “Vast numbers of Muslims want humans to die for holding a different idea… and share too much in common with ISIS”. In the episode with Affleck, Maher again resorted to making his usual comments against Islam. He clearly labeled Islam as “the only religion that acts like the mafia, that will kill you if you say the wrong thing”.

Rigorous entry standards for students, and a careful selection of faculty, have been important ingredients for this relative success. National examinations for entrance into the Indian Institutes of Technology would make the best students anywhere in the world sweat. Third, India values — nay, venerates — its top mathematicians and scientists. There is scarcely an Indian I’ve met who doesn’t know the story of Srinivasa Ramanujan, the child prodigy from Madras who astonished the world of high mathematics but tragically died at the age of 32. India is dotted with institutes bearing such names as S.N. Bose, C.V. Raman, M. Saha, and Homi Bhabha. Back to space: a developing country looking at faraway Mars can take either the Arab way or the Chinese-Indian way. The first needs a ticket. Petrodollars paid for Prince Salman ibn Saud, the first Arab in space, and put him aloft an American space shuttle in 1985. Recently the UAE announced plans for a Mars mission within 18 years. Just as cash and foreign experts built Dubai and its mega-sized airport, they will also put sheikhs on planets. But how can we cash-strapped Pakistanis get to our bit of the solar system? Or establish a presence — which we so far lack — in the

world of science? The process will be slow, but here is how to do it. First, create enthusiasm in our young people for science. Space exploration is only a

Ten years ago, I had personally experienced this youthful enthusiasm during a four-week lecture tour across seven Indian cities that took me to all sorts of schools, colleges, and universities. In places, hundreds turned up for my talks on scientific subjects. Every city had at least one muchvisited science museum, and sometimes two or three part of the larger whole. Instead of TV channels saturated with dharna news and random political “experts”, have good educational programs. Standards of English in Pakistan must improve; they have fallen so low that Englishlanguage TV channels no longer exist. Sadly, the world of science is closed to those who can

only read or understand Urdu. Second, we must re-educate ourselves to know the difference between science and “cargo science”. This phrase, borrowed from anthropology, was introduced by the physicist Richard Feynman during his 1974 commencement address at the California Institute of Technology. Feynman said: “In the South Seas there is a cargo cult of people. During [the Second World War] they saw airplanes land with lots of good materials, and they want the same thing to happen now. So they’ve arranged to imitate things like runways, to put fires along the sides of the runways, to make a wooden hut for a man to sit in, with two wooden pieces on his head like headphones and bars of bamboo sticking out like antennas — he’s the controller — and they wait for the airplanes to land. They’re doing everything right. The form is perfect. But it doesn’t work. No airplanes land. So I call these things cargo cult science, because they follow all the apparent precepts and forms of scientific investigation, but they’re missing something essential, because the planes don’t land.” We must stop teaching a kind of science in Pakistani schools which is science only in name but which bypasses its essence — evidence and reasoning. Students experience mathematics as a bunch of cookbook prescriptions, physics and chemistry are mountains of formulae, and experimental science has been almost totally banished. Our universities need even more drastic reform. Desperate to show evidence of improvement, government organizations such as the Higher Education Commission and Pakistan Council for Science and Technology have institutionalized a reward system that has led to armies of cargo PhDs — with wooden pieces sticking out of their heads — as well as mountains of cargo publications. Serious deweeding is needed else academic fakes will crowd out the few genuine academic scientists around. Third, and last, individual scientific achievement must be recognized while narrow prejudices, both religious and ethnic, must be firmly rejected. India has had many, but Pakistan has had only one great scientist — Abdus Salam. His tragic marginalization must be reversed. This will be a strong signal that the country is finally prepared to move into the future. (The author teaches physics in Lahore and Islamabad)

Ben Affleck, Islamophobia and the Western Media Harris backed this up by calling Islam “the mother-load of bad ideas”. Finally, it seemed as though it was left to Affleck to denounce their opinions by calling them “gross” and “racist”. Kristof also stated that criticizing Islam was akin to “a tinge of how white racists talk about African-Americans and define blacks”. While Affleck has been lauded by people across the globe for standing up to Maher, who is well known as being one of the loudest and certainly the most outspoken media personality in his bigotry towards Muslims, I personally felt that there is a growing, subtler, invasive and dangerous Islamophobia creeping into the international news coverage that we are seeing and reading about. Maher is critically conflating extremists as a whole. He, like many others, is carrying on with the assumption that, by default, all Muslims share inherent traits of violence, extremism and terrorism, and that they are all just a bunch of warmongering, illiterate, stone-aged fanatics. CNN is one of those news channels that I think sets Islamophobia as default. Last month, the channel invited the Iranian scholar

of religions, Reza Aslan, to respond to some of Maher’s earlier views. If you look at the clip, it is indeed an impeccable example of the bizarre notions about Islam that are spreading into international mainstream coverage. During the exchange of arguments between the two anchors of CNN and Aslan, the latter pointed out that Muslims are not defined just by extremism. He duly pointed out that Muslim majority countries have elected female heads of state seven times. Don Lemon, the cohost of the show, interrupted him and said, “Reza, be honest though.

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For the most part, it is not a free and open society for women in those

Generalizing an entire population is, in truth, leaning towards bigotry and even hard core liberals like Maher are deemed guilty states”. The anchors literally appeared and talked back to Aslan in a woefully daft comparison. The sheer

ignorance and imbecilic views of the anchors in the clip is painful to watch. Since 9/11, the American media has discussed Islam in a negative light. It is interesting to note that in recent weeks, with the rise of the atrocious activities by ISIS, Islamophobia is once again being heightened. But that is still no excuse for anchors, reporters, journalists and all those representing the media to spread negative, and many times vile, views on Islam – or any other religion for that matter. Coming back to the Affleck episode, while I applaud him for putting some sense into this maddening episode, I disagreed with the term “race” that Affleck used. Islam is not a race. It is a religion. You can’t condemn someone as being “racist” upon disliking a religion, for religion has no race. Nevertheless, thank you Affleck for lending some sanity. I personally would’ve been more excited to watch the entire episode had another religious scholar been present. But alas, for the likes of Maher, he might not have digested a sensible debate on his show. (Zara Hafeez is a writer by profession, a history buff, volunteer for humanitarian causes for The James Caan Foundation, UNICEF Promise for Children, among others and a tea-aholic. )

COMMENTARY

P24 – PAKISTAN LINK – OCTOBER 31, 2014

In Turbulent Times, Words of Wisdom from a “Warrior for Peace” n By C. Naseer Ahmad

Washington, DC

isturbing news is coming almost every day from many parts of the world in which Pakistan is no exception. Stormy relations with neighbors on borders east and west of Pakistan are not only causing loss of life but also worries about what lies ahead. So in these turbulent times, one can find words of wisdom from those who sailed through the troubled and unchartered waters in the past.

“How 2014 is strikingly similar to 1914,” an interesting recent article authored by John McLaughlin, former CIA Deputy Director, reminds us about the perils confronting the world. McLaughlin outlines key factors - such as the tinderbox, the geopolitical punches between great powers, growth in trade and technology boom - that played a part, directly or indirectly, in the War to end all wars – more commonly known as World War I. Patrick Cockburn’s June 29, 2014 article in British newspaper The Independent - “Iraq crisis: John Kerry’s search for moderates is five years late” - shows the kind of challenges diplomacy faces these days. But, in the end, it is the diplomats to whom the world looks to for settling disputes and thorny issues. And, in his article McLaughlin ominously quoted Mark Twain: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme.” So in these challenging times and in the hope of preventing history from repeating miserable events, it is useful to seek some pearls of wisdom in “Mr. Ambassador – Warrior for Peace,” an autobiographical account by Ambassador Edward J. Perkins. Contrary to what critics claim – or assail – US diplomacy has been effective, provided it is backed up with the right people who are provided sufficient leeway to achieve the desired goals. A vivid example of effective US Diplomacy is in “Fire with Fire”,the introductory chapter, which starts with “Apartheid South Africa was on fire around me.” When Ambassador Perkins was appointed as the first Black ambassador to South Africa by President Ronald Reagan, the decision was widely criticized. “They will eat him alive,” someone told the press. “The black South African revolutionaries disdained the United States as unsympathetic

to their cause and considered me President Ronald Reagan’s

“Mr. Ambassador – Warrior for Peace,” is a book that should be on the desk of every aspiring diplomat who seeks to achieve ambitions for success in their career, as it contains many words of wisdom from someone who has been there and done it. Reading a few pages every night can help bring inner peace as well `house nigger`,” he remembers.

Ambassador Perkins was not a potted plant but a courageous diplomat whose goal was to bring an end to apartheid in South Africa. “Now the time had come to stand and declare myself and the new policy of the United States. I wanted to capture the attention of not only South Africa but the world… I chose the time and place for that declaration with great care,” he notes in this chapter with a riveting account of the Delmas Treason Trial – the longest in South African history lasting for several years. He attributed his success to the confidence President Reagan entrusted him with and asking him to report every few months. The absence of micromanaging gave him the freedom to chart his own course and helped him achieve the goals President Reagan desired. The book describes the long journey of a young black man from very humble beginnings in the segregated South to being appointed as the UN Ambassador - with several high level appointments along the way. From these pages, one learns that the path to success, in life as in diplomacy, is paved with a disciplined effort to increase knowledge through education – formal as well as informal – and persistence. Ambassador Perkins is a towering figure, both physically and intellectually. But, he is a gentle giant in person with whom lunch can be a very pleasant experience. The pages describing ‘The way of the Warrior’ in the chapter ‘Japan, Land of the Rising Sun,’ illuminate how as a young soldier stationed in Japan after World War II he developed the skills that methodically helped him achieve his ambitions later in life. He describes the books that he read during the formative time in his career that help him navigate unchartered waters. Recognizing that success is often a team effort, Ambassador Perkins goes at great length in mentioning who and how different people took care in his efforts to achieve his ambitions. He provides photographs as well as names of these kind hearts, whom the readers might recognize strikingly familiar through their own life experiences. “Mr. Ambassador – Warrior for Peace,” is a book that should be on the desk of every aspiring diplomat who seeks to achieve ambitions for success in their career, as it contains many words of wisdom from someone who has been there and done it. Reading a few pages every night can help bring inner peace as well. It might also help the leaders in not only Russia and Ukraine but also - close to home – India and Pakistan find a peaceful solution to the festering problems that have resulted in bloody conflicts.

Youth Depression a ‘Tough Pill’ for Parents to Swallow

n By Viji Sundaram Editor’s Note: As in other immigrant communities, open discussion of mental health issues is taboo for many Indian American families, despite the fact that incidences of depression and similar disorders are on the rise. For one young woman, that stigma led to years of hidden suffering and missed opportunities at treatment, all in the name of maintaining her family’s “model minority” image. Leela (not her real name) spoke to NAM Health Editor Viji Sundaram about her experience. It started in middle school, when I was around 11 years old. I started feeling weak, had memory lapses and had no motivation to do anything. I felt sad most of the time. I thought the sadness was a normal part of pre-teen angst. I often starved myself for attention from my parents and friends. Most days, I cried myself to sleep. Often, I didn’t finish my homework or turn it in. How could I? My thought processes were so chaotic. My grades slipped, and I felt guilty about it. I knew I was letting down my parents. My dad had done well in Silicon Valley. How I wish they understood what was going on inside of me. Whenever they asked me why I looked so exhausted, I just told them I was fine. And they didn’t press me further. I tried to pull myself together, to work through my issues. I hid my pain, plunging myself into Indian classical music and South Indian classical dancing. Many people told

me I was a good singer, but I didn’t recognize it as a skill I possessed and I had no confidence to sing before a gathering. At school, my teachers didn’t understand me, either, but that may have been because I couldn’t articulate what I was going through. But even so my counselor sensed something was not well with me. My classmates began kind of bullying me, telling me I was dumb. It made me feel awful because I had always been a high achiever. My self-esteem hit rock bottom. My social life all but disappeared. When I was in middle school, the principal told my parents to have me checked. They took me to an occupational therapist/educational strategist, who diagnosed me with Attention Deficit Disorder. While she treated my depression as a mere footnote, I was relieved to know that whatever it was that had been troubling me had a name. But it was a tough pill for my parents to swallow. We South Asians are a model minority community and children are not supposed to have mental health issues. Sympathetic as my mom was toward me, she told me I wasn’t to tell my relatives or people in the community about my problem. I was trapped inside a ball of depression and heartache. I felt so alone. Nevertheless, I was determined not to let that come in the way of my academics. At my parents’ insistence, I enrolled in some advanced placement courses like math, even though I wasn’t good at it.

Then my grades began to slip again. In my second year of high school, I grew anorexic. I dropped from 110 pounds to 84 pounds. For months, I kept slipping between binging and starving. I frequently flirted with the thought of committing suicide.

networks I had built growing up. One day, while in my freshman year, someone whom I knew sexually assaulted me. I was traumatized and I went into deep depression. I shut down completely and barricaded myself in my room. I stopped going to class. When my parents found

We South Asians are a model minority community and children are not supposed to have mental health issues. Sympathetic as my mom was toward me, she told me I wasn’t to tell my relatives or people in the community about my problem When I got accepted to the UC system, my parents were thrilled. With continued medication and therapy, I did well in school, although I didn’t have many friends. This was the first time I was living away from home and away from the

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out, they were angry. I continued having panic attacks into the next year because the guy who raped me was still around. I kept retracting into myself and binging. I put on almost 50 pounds. My attendance was so poor that at

the end of my sophomore year, I got kicked out of school and went back home. I confided in my mom and told her about the rape. She was sympathetic. I enrolled in a nearby community college and isolated myself from my community because I didn’t want to be judged. I developed social anxiety. More recently, I have been opening up to my mom and my dad, especially to my mom. They are doing their best to help me cope with what I am going through. But my mom still can’t read me because I still hide things from her. Until recently, I didn’t know depression was treatable. I wish my teachers had recognized what was happening to me, and had not treated it as a passing phase. I also wish Indian American parents realize how prevalent mental depression is and recognize it in their children so we won’t have to suffer in silence. I know other kids in my community who have mental health issues. Recognition is the first step in the healing process. Accepting as my parents have been of late of what I’m going through, they have still not told anyone outside the family. That’s why as I share my story, I have to hide under the pseudonym, Leela. (This story was produced as part of New America Media’s #FeelBetter project, a storytelling campaign about depression in young people of diverse backgrounds. To explore the story collection, visit the #FeelBetter page and follow the campaign on Facebook.)

SPORTS

OCTOBER 31, 2014 - PAKISTAN LINK

SPORTS

Unchanged Squad Travels to Abu Dhabi For Match Two

DUBAI: The Pakistan team left for Abu Dhabi yesterday but chose to take the day off and will resume practice recently ahead of their second Test against Australia, which is to be played at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium starting October 30. Meanwhile, the selectors have confirmed that no changes will be made to the squad for the first Test, although the playing XI is yet to be decided. "The selectors have decided to retain the same 16 players for the second Test, though the playing lineup will be finalised only after inspecting the pitch," said chief selector and manager Moin Khan. "There were notable performances from Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah, while Misbahul Haq marshalled his troops as well as he has ever done in the past." Interestingly, all 16 players travelled to Abu Dhabi, despite earlier claims from the team management that one of the four openers will be sent back to Pakistan to compete in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Moin was also quick to warn the side of an Australian backlash in the second match. "Coach Waqar Younis has been emphasising on staying focused," he said. "Australia are a dangerous side and have all the potential to bounce back, and we need to avoid complacency and over-confidence." Australian skipper Michael Clarke has also fired a warning shot at the Pakistani side. "Any time we lose a game, it breeds fire in your belly, you don't like losing," Clarke told reporters in Dubai. "We know we can play a lot better and we look forward to showing that in the second Test match." A win for Pakistan would not only go a long way to make up for the ODI whitewash but will also propel Pakistan into third position in the ICC Test rankings ahead of Sri Lanka and England, having already overtaken

DUBAI: High on confidence, Pakistan go into the second Test against Australia with the same squad that played in the first Test

India into fifth courtesy of the first win. Moin said the players are motivated by the chance to do so. "There is an added incentive for the players in Abu Dhabi; if they win, then they will jump to third behind South Africa and Australia in Test rankings," said Moin. "This will be Pakistan's highest ranking for some time but it will not be easy and we will have to play really hard and well to earn it." The loss in the first match also means that Australia will not be able to reclaim top spot in the rankings by the end of this series, regardless of the result in the second match. The team rankings are not the only ones to be affected by the first match as all four century-makers climbed positions in the latest Test rankings. Younus Khan, who scored centuries in both innings to become Pakistan's record century-maker, has climbed four places into seventh. With Misbah slipping one place to 11th, Younus is now Pakistan's high-

est-ranked batsman. Wicketkeeper Sarfraz and opener Shehzad, who scored 109 and 131 respectively, have also made impressive jumps. Sarfraz, whose 109 helped Pakistan score 454 in the first innings, has risen 12 places to 38th, while Shehzad's 131 in the second innings means he is now 52nd, an improvement of 14 places. Meanwhile Australian opener David Warner, who scored 133 in the first innings, has moved up one place to a career-high fourth. He now has West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul firmly within his sights as only 12 points separate the two left-handers. In the Test bowlers' rankings, Pakistan's spin duo of Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah have stormed up the charts. Zulfiqar, who had match figures of 155-7, has jumped 46 places to 51st, while debutant Yasir claimed 62nd place after match figures of 116-7. J

Pakistan Beat Australia in First Test

DUBAI: Pakistan celebrate a 221-run victory, Pakistan v Australia

DUBAI: Skipper Michael Clarke says Australia's 221-run loss to Pakistan wasn't like India all over again. Clarke says Australia have made key improvements since their disastrous 4-0 series defeat in India in 2013. "As a team in general we've improved out of sight since that series," Clarke said. "Unfortunately the result is the same as what it was in India." The scoresheet of the first Test against Pakistan in Dubai tells a tale

of poor batting against slow bowlers on a turning pitch. Pakistan's debutant leggie Yasir Shah and three-Test spinner Zulfiqar Babar took seven wickets each in the match, which ended an hour after tea on Sunday's fifth day of play. Set a world-record target of 438 to win, Australia made 216 in their second innings. Resuming on 4-59, Australia appeared headed for an early swim in the pool under the Arabian desert sun, slumping to be 7-117 at lunch.

However Steve Smith (55) and tailender Mitchell Johnson (61) added 65 for the eighth wicket in gutsy performances. Johnson's stumping by the slimmest of margins, given out by TV umpire Nigel Llong, came at 9213 and Peter Siddle was out three runs later. Australia will head to Abu Dhabi for Thursday's second and final Test of the series with an interest in seeing more video footage of their opponents. No.3 Alex Doolan and No.4 Clarke contributed five runs each for the match. Debutant left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe (4-219) and pace spearhead Johnson (3-73) were the only Australia bowlers to take more than two wickets in the match. "We've got to keep trying to find a way to take wickets, keep looking at footage of Pakistan players," Clarke said. "I think we can know their players a little bit better. "We probably didn't have as much footage on a couple of the players as we would have liked because we hadn't seen them play before. "You've got to find a way to adjust and adapt once you're out there." Clarke said he was very disappointed with the result which leaves Pakistan within sight of their first Test-series win over Australia since 1994. J

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OCTOBER 31, 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; PAKISTAN LINK â&#x20AC;&#x201C; P25

Record-Breaker Younis Considered Sitting Out Australia Tests DUBAI: Record breaking century maker Younis Khan on Saturday said he considered skipping the Test series against Australia after being left out of the preceding one-day series. The 36-year-old right-hander smashed an unbeaten 103 as Pakistan reached 286-2 declared in their second innings in the first Test, a lead of 437 before Australia slumped to at 594 at close on the fourth day. Australia still need another 379 to win or bat throughout 90 overs recently. Younis's 26th hundred and his second in the match helped him overhaul Inzamam-ul Haq's record of most centuries by a Pakistani batsman. He also became only the seventh Pakistan player to score twin hundreds in a Test and the first to do so against Australia. But it would not have happened at all had Younis decided not to play the Tests after being snubbed for the oneday series which Pakistan lost 3-0. "I had thought that it was easy to quit, it was an easy option but I have never chosen the easier option in my life," said Younis after his twin hundreds. Younis said his family and friends motivated him to

play the Tests. "Everyone backed me. It was a bad episode but my friends and family motivated me saying that this is the time you can have a hundred and beat Inzi's record and I didn't have a hundred against Australia so I took that challenge," said Younis. J

PSB Approves Contingent For Asian Beach Games

KARACHI: Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) recently formally approved a 65-member national contingent for the fourth Asian Beach Games, to be held at Phuket, Thailand, from November 14-23. The decision was taken in the Board's Executive Committee meeting in Islamabad. A member of the committee told 'The News' that Pakistan would feature in eight disciplines in the Bangkok affair. However, he said that the PSB would not sponsor volleyball, which was expected to get financial assistance from Pakistan Olympic Association (POA). "It is 90 percent confirmed that POA will sponsor the volleyball team," the official said.

PSB will support the squads of handball (10 players, 3 officials), kabaddi (6 players, 2 officials), wrestling (3 players, 2 officials), bodybuilding (3 players, 2 officials), sailing (4 players, 2 officials), jujitsu (11 players, 3 officials) and squash (4 players, 2 officials). Seven contingent officials will also be part of the touring party. Patron-in-Chief of Pakistan Handball Federation (PHF) Abid Qadri will leave with the contingent as chiefde-mission. The squads will proceed to Thailand in phases, according to the competition schedules of different disciplines.The POA had forwarded an 86-member list to the PSB for approval. J

Sania Mirza Reveals She Had Plans to Quit Tennis in 2010

NEW DELHI: Sania Mirza revealed recently that she had planned to retire from tennis in 2010. The 27-year-old, however, said that she is currently playing the "best tennis ever" and that she is past recent political remarks which questioned her patriotism. Sania won the WTA Finals in Singapore with her Zimbabwean partner Cara Black. Speaking to the media in

Hyderabad on Tuesday, the veteran doubles player said that while thoughts of hanging up her boots had crossed her mind, she is glad to have chosen against it. (Sania dedicates WTA triumph to "My India") "In 2010, I thought I was going to retire. And here I am in 2014, playing the best tennis of my life," she said. "You never know what's going to happen in an athlete's life. J

COMMENTARY

P26 – PAKISTAN LINK – OCTOBER 31, 2014

The Man Most Scholars Turned to on Urdu Orthography and Word Origins

n By Rauf Parekh

aba-i-Urdu Moulvi Abdul Haq (1870-1961) was, and is still, considered an authority on the Urdu language. But who did he turn to when he got stuck in the matters of Urdu orthography, lexicography or the origins of words?

Syed Sulaiman Nadvi (1884-1953) was among the few scholars of his times who were expert in tracing the origins of words and their histories. He had a command of the oriental languages such as Arabic, Persian and Urdu. But who corrected him when he made, albeit rarely, a mistake? Vaheeduddin Saleem Panipati (1859-1938) was a scholar who had a profound knowledge of linguistics and a knack for coining terms. Many of his coinages, included in his book Vaz-iistelahaat and published by Moulvi Abdul Haq, gained currency. Who could have written a critical review of the book, pinpointing some errors and suggesting invaluable corrections and additions? Dr Syed Abdullah (1906-1986) still commands the respect as a researcher, critic and scholar of classical Urdu and Persian literature. He also knew Arabic quite well. Who did he ask for help and guidance when he was editing Navaadirul-alfaaz, Urdu’s earliest dictionary? The answer to all these questions is one: Dr Abdus Sattar Siddiqi. What made Dr Siddiqi so erudite that even scholars of such statures looked to him for guidance? Well, he was one of those

rare scholars who had this rare combination of knowledge about modern linguistics, orthography, word origins, research techniques, history and ancient and modern languages. He knew Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, Sanskrit, English, Latin, German, Avesta and Pahlavi, or Middle Persian, very well. In addition, he knew Hebrew, Turkish and Suryani (Aramaic). His knowledge of historical linguistics and ancient forms of words of several languages was amazing even for scholars. Having lived in Europe, especially in Germany, between 1912 and 1919, and having written his doctoral dissertation in the German language, he had become quite well-versed with some other European languages, too. Dr Siddiqi was one of the few scholars who had the ability to do what they did: he had written a book in German that traced the Arabisation of Persian words. He researched the Persian words that had found their way into classical Arabic even before the advent of Islam. Dr Siddiqi once wrote in a letter to Imtiaz Ali Khan Arshi that “in 1919 my book was published from German city of Gottingen. It was written in German and I must translate its name: Studies in Persian loanwords in classical Arabic”. Dr Siddiqi’s articles published in Urdu journals such as Hindustani deliberated on Urdu orthography and his suggestions to the Anjuman Taraqqi-iUrdu Hind in 1944 for rationalization and standardization of Urdu orthography was truly a remarkable work. But it is quite painful that a great

scholar like him has been forgotten. He is so little-known that even some students doing PhD in Urdu or Persian give a blank stare when Dr Siddiqi’s work is mentioned. Hardly any article is written on him. An exception is Dr Tehseen Firaqi’s recently published article in Bunyad, Lahore. One of the reasons for Dr Siddiqi’s being ignored is that the topics he wrote on are of not of much interest to the common people. Secondly, he was not a prolific writer and did not write more than a few books and a few dozen articles. Only 18 of his research articles and reviews were collected in book form by his son Muslim Siddiqi. Titled Maqalat-i-Siddiqi, it was published by Lucknow’s Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy in 1983. Two more such collections could be published with the remaining articles. His two research works Divan-i-Bayan and Maakhaz-i-Ghalib still remain unpublished. Another of his invaluable research work was published some 30 years after his death when Mushfiq Khwaja managed to get published Muarrabaat-i-Rasheedi from Idara-i-Yadgar-iGhalib in 2003. But this needs a bit of details. Muarrabaat-i-Rasheedi, a research work, discusses the Arabic words that had been borrowed from other languages, especially Persian. Originally in Persian, it was written by Abdur Rasheed Thattavi, a 17th century scholar who belonged to Thatta. Thattavi was a well-known scholar of Persian and Arabic and also a lexicographer. His two dictionaries, Muntakhab-ul-Lughaat (Arabic) and Fa r h a n g - e - R a sheedi (Persian) are considered authentic works. But Muarrabaat was only heard of and no scholar had ever seen its manuscript. Dr Siddiqi discovered its manuscript in 1921 in Hyderabad Deccan. In 1946, he discovered another manuscript in Rampur State Library. Later, other manuscripts, too, were discovered by different scholars. Earlier, Dr Siddiqi had published his research work, in English, on Arabic loanwords under the title Ibn-i-Duraid and his treatment of loanwords. It was his favourite subject. So he began editing Muarrabaat. The book was printed in 1955 but could not be distributed for a number of reasons, one of which was the discovery and publication of another manuscript from Iran. Dr Siddiqi wanted to make some changes after the collation with the Iranian manuscript. (To be continued)

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RELIGION

OCTOBER 31, 2014 – PAKISTAN LINK – P27

The New Year of Hijrah 1436: Some Lessons from the Hijrah n By Dr Muzammil H. Siddiqi

Gems from the Holy Qur’an

(Khutbah at ISOC – Dhul Hijjah 30, 1435/ October 24, 2014)

omorrow by the grace of Allah we shall begin our new year of Hijrah, the year 1436. I pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to make the coming year the year of many blessings for us, for our families and our communities, here and around the world. May He protect us and keep us on the right path. May He remove the difficulties of all people. May He continue to guide us and guide the humanity to the ways of justice and peace.

Muslims count their calendar from the Hijrah of the Prophet – peace be upon him- from Makkah to Madinah. It took place in the year 622 CE. This date was chosen later by the consensus of the Sahabah during the Caliphate of Sayyidna ‘Umar (634-644 CE). Hijrah was a very significant event. Before the Hijrah, Islam was preached as a message, after Hijrah it became a community, a society, a government and a civilization. The word ‘hijrah’ has two meanings: it means to emigrate, to move from one location to another location. It also means to leave and renounce. Sometime we have to move from one place to another place to protect our faith, our lives, our families, etc. But the Hijrah that we need all the time is to leave everything that Allah has forbidden and to do what Allah has commanded and allowed. The Prophet –peace be upon him- said in his sermon during his Farewell Hajj: Should I tell you about the Mu’min (believer)? He is a person whom people can trust with their money and their lives. Muslim is a person from whose tongue and hand others are safe. Mujahid is a person who struggles with his self to obey Allah. Muhajir is the person who leaves the wrong things and sins. (Musnad of Imam Ahmad) The Hijrah of the Prophet and his companions was a very humble moment. It began under a lot of difficulties, but it was the mercy of Allah as well as the faith and righteous conduct of the Prophet and his followers that made it a historic mo-

ment, a moment of universal significance. We should study the Hijrah of the Prophet and learn lessons from it. The story of Hijrah strengthens faith, revives the spirit, inspires hope and gives courage and confidence in the Islamic message and mission. It reminds us that we must remain steadfast and must always do right things for the right objectives. No one can achieve Islamic objectives by doing wrong things. In Islam the ends do not justify the means. The ends must be good and the means must be good. This requires a lot of patience, even suffering and hardship. Let us look at some of the events of Hijrah: The enemies of the Prophet in Makkah did not like his message of Tawhid and righteousness. They opposed him for 13 years and finally they decided to kill him. They sent a group of people to surround his home during the night and assassinate him in the morning. The Prophet learnt about their plot and saw their movements around his home. He decided to leave the house quietly when he saw that his assassins were in deep sleep. He did not care much about his house and his property, but he had in his possession few things that belonged to some people of Makkah. The Proph-

et’s concern was that those valuables must be returned to their owners. Before leaving the Prophet asked his cousin ‘Ali to stay in his home, take care of those valuables and return them to their owners. The Prophet told him that he should not worry because the enemies were not after him. This is a beautiful example of the honesty and trustworthiness at a most difficult time. The Prophet always emphasized that Iman (faith) is not just beliefs; it is also honesty and trustworthiness. Anas ibn Malik says that whenever the Prophet gave a speech he said, ‘He has no faith who has no quality of honesty; and there is no religion in a person who does not keep his words. (Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal 12324) The Prophet –peace be upon him- then went to his fried Abu Bakr’s home and told him that Allah granted him permission to leave Makkah. Abu Bakr requested to be his companion in this blessed journey. They both left Makkah during the night and hid themselves in a cave outside the city of Makkah for a few days, before proceeding to Madinah. The enemies announced a big reward for anyone who would capture him alive or dead. Many parties went to different directions of the city of Makkah to pursue him. One party came all the way to the Mountain of Thaur where the Prophet and his companion were in a cave. Abu Bakr –may Allah be pleased with him- was worried. He himself reported: “I said to the Prophet and I was in the cave (with him), ‘If any one of them looks down toward his feet, he will see us.’ The Prophet said, ‘Abu Bakr, what do you think about the two

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with whom the third is Allah?’ ” (AlBukhari, 3380) Allah Himself has described that moment in the Qur’an, If you help him (the Prophet) not, (know that) Allah did indeed help him, when the Unbelievers drove him out: he had no more than one companion: they two were in the Cave, and he said to his companion, “Grieve not, indeed Allah is with us.” Then Allah sent down His peace upon him, and strengthened him with forces which you saw not, and humbled to the depths the word of the Unbelievers. But the word of Allah is exalted to the heights: for Allah is Mighty and Wise. (Al-Tawbah 9:40) As humans we do have our worries and anxieties, but we must have faith and confidence in Allah. “Allah is with us.” This assurance comes from the ‘sakinah’ (calm and tranquility) in the hearts of the believers. Allah bestows it on those who are righteous and do good deeds. Allah already told His Prophet in the last two verse of Surah al-Nahl: So be steadfast: your steadfastness comes only from Allah. Do not grieve over them; do not be distressed by their scheming. Indeed Allah is with those who are mindful of Him and who do good deeds. (Al-Nahl 16:127-128) As soon as the Prophet –peace be upon him- arrived in Madinah, he started working on three projects: 1. Promoting brotherhood between the Muhajirun (migrants of Makkah) and the Ansar (Muslims of Madinah) to foster community harmony and peace. 2. Building a Masjid for daily prayers, meeting and learning. From this institution came the greatest leaders of Islam. 3. Prepared a covenant of peace and good relations between Muslims and non-Muslims of Madinah known as Mithaq al-Madinah. This became the Constitution of the new state and a guide for generations to come. The Islamic life in Madinah began with these three main programs: Internal Unity, Devotion to Allah and external peace. These were the main ingredients for the progress of early Islamic community.

From the translation by Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss) (Recently, a media talk show host, well known for his anti-Muslim bias, saw it fit to make scornful remarks against the Qur’an on TV. In these columns, selections from this Holy Book will be published, so that unacquainted readers of the Pakistan Link may be able to judge for themselves.) About the translator: Muhammad Asad, Leopold Weiss, was born in Livow, Austria (later Poland) in 1900, and at the age of 22 made his first visit to the Middle East. He later became an outstanding foreign correspondent for the Franfurter Zeitung, and after his conversion to Islam travelled and worked throughout the Muslim world, from North Africa to as far East as Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. After years of devoted study he became one of the leading Muslim scholars of our age. His translation of the Holy Qur’an is one of the most lucid and well-referenced works in this category. Chapter 18, Verses 54-56 Thus, indeed, have We given in this Qur’an many facets to every kind of lesson [designed] for [the benefit of] mankind. However, man is, above all else, always given to contention: for, what is there to keep people from attaining to faith now that guidance has come unto them, and from asking their Sustainer to forgive them their sins – unless it be [their wish] that the fate of the [sinful] people of ancient times should befall them [as well], or that the [ultimate] suffering should befall them in the hereafter? But We send [Our] messagebearers only as heralds of glad tidings and as warners – whereas those who are bent on denying the truth contend [against them] with fallacious arguments, so as to render void the truth thereby, and to make My messages and warnings a target of their mockery. Chapter 18, Verses 58-59 Yet, [withal,] thy Sustainer is the Truly-Forgiving One, limitless in His grace. Were He to take to them [at once] to task for whatever [wrong] they commit, He would indeed bring about their speedy punishment [then and there]: but nay, they have a time-limit beyond which they shall find no redemption – as [was the case with all] those communities that we destroyed when they went on and on doing wrong: for We had set a time limit for their destruction. Chapter 18, Verse 110 Say, [O Prophet]: “I am but a mortal man like all of you. It has been revealed unto me that your God is the One and Only God. Hence, whoever looks forward [with hope and awe] to meeting his Sustainer [on Judgment Day], let him do righteous deeds. And le him not ascribe unto anyone or anything a share in the worship due to his Sustainer!”

CLASSIFIED & MATRIMONIAL

P28 – PAKISTAN LINK – OCTOBER 31, 2014

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Matrimonial Link We are looking for a suitable match for our sister. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1986. Cast UP, India, Urdu Speaking, Sunni -Hanafi - Deobandi. Fair complexion, height 5’-2” - Master’s Degree Holder, Canadian Citizen. Contact phone # (647) 779-1765. We are looking for a suitable match for our 35 year old MD daughter. She is born/raised/ educated in USA. Works as a clinical faculty at a prestigious university on East Coast. She is slim, fair complexioned and moderately religious. Never married. Serious inquiries from US residents only. Please contact us with personal, professional and family details in full confidence at

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PAKISTAN TRANSITION FROM P4

Imran Khan’s core demand is the checking of election results followed by fresh elections (which he is confident of winning) if the rigging charges are proven. Dr Tahirul Qadri’s demands are more far-reaching and far-sighted, seeking a system change which would provide a durable solution to the illness in our body politic. To meet Imran Khan’s demands, the task of the interim government would be to investigate and adjudicate on the alleged rigging in the last general elections. If Dr Qadri’s demands are to be implemented, the interim government will need to be tasked with carrying out ruthless accountability and then working out the details of the new system, and getting them approved through a public referendum, prior to the elections. However, with either approach, the formation of a tooth-less, weak, interim government would be disastrous and leave the country vulnerable, which is just what Pakistan’s hostile neighbors to the north and south would want. We are fortunate that, in Parvez Musharraf, we have an honest, patriotic leader with a proven track record of always having put Pakistan first, of putting Pakistan on track for unprecedented economic growth, of introducing and implementing democracy at the grassroots level – the cradle of democracy in all truly democratic countries – through the Nazim system, and of freeing up the electronic media, which has made the dawning of a new dawn in Pakistan possible, Insha Allah. Musharraf has never minced words in dealing with Pakistan’s scheming neighbors who have taken advantage of the dormancy of his so-called ‘democratic’ successors to foment increased insurgencies and terrorism in Pakistan. He knows the exterior and interior problems of Pakistan like the palm of his hand. Members of his team are still around, and many of them have aligned themselves with Imran Khan or with Tahirul Qadri. I feel that, for the betterment of Pakistan, it is imperative that the interim set-up be headed by Parvez Musharraf. This change will need to have the backing of the army, which has always supported the country whenever its political leaders have brought it close to economic bankruptcy, and which the same political leaders are now trying to discredit and defame, cheer-led by Pakistan’s enemies abroad. This backing is also required because a first step would be the withdrawal of the ridiculous, baseless charges against Musharraf, which were started at the behest of a controversial, now widely-discredited, Chief Justice and his appointees. When France had similarly become a laughing stock of the world, with parliamentary governments toppling every now and then, General Charles de Gaulle had come to its rescue in 1958 and introduced a stable, presidential form of government, approved by 79.2% votes in a public referendum, which led to France’s emergence as a world power. Incidentally, the Quaid-i-Azam himself, in a hand-written note on his vision for the future constitution of Pakistan dated 10th July 1947 (available in the National Archives of Pakistan, Cabinet Division, Govt. of Pakistan, Islamabad) had stated that the presidential form of government is more suited for Pakistan. Under a heading of “Dangers of Parliamentary form of Govt.” he wrote that “It has worked satisfactorily so far in England, no-

OCTOBER 31, 2014 – PAKISTAN LINK – P29 where else.” In my opinion, the interim government should not be a care-taker government, which would leave the corrupt, feudalism-based system intact and, as in the past, would make it very difficult for honest outsiders to come into power, once the forces of the status quo unleash their dirtytricks brigade. The care-taker government for conducting elections should come after system reforms, to be validated by a nation-wide referendum. The most important part of the change would be a presidential system of government, with complete separation of the executive and legislative arms of government, where contenders to the highest office will need to stand before the public in face to face TV debates, anchored by respected media persons. With such a system, the false, patwaribased leaders would melt away like ice cream, and a truly democratic, progressive Pakistan would emerge, in accordance with the dreams of its founding father. AITZAZ FROM P15

Shah’s use of word ‘Muhajir in a pejorative way, has committed a crime,” Sattar said. “Ahsan’s bias towards Muhajirs is evident in this statement,” said Sattar. “I strongly condemn his statement and he has hurt the sentiments of all Pakistanis.” “Shah compared word ‘Muhajir’ to a pejorative word four times in his statement and Ahsan is proving that Shah has not said anything hurtful to Muhajirs,” added Sattar. “Why use word ‘Muhajir’ in a pejorative way for every single Muhajir in the world?” asked Sattar,“Ahsan has made an immoral and intolerable statement against Muhajirs today and he should consider MQM’s current political status before making such a statement.” Sattar said that Ahsan should rather concentrate on PPP’s illegal land grabbing in Sindh rather than pointing fingers at MQM. He was of the view that after Muharram, MQM would launch a movement for 22 administrative units in Pakistan. HAROON FROM P20

secure 158,945 votes, making him the competition’s winner, whereas Haroon was the runner-up with 59,213 votes. There were five finalists who included Mustapha El Atrassi from France who came in third, Nitin Mirani from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who came in fourth and lastly, Archie from Spain. Saad has been behind many of the firsts in Pakistan: the first ever Pakistani improvisational comedy troupe ‘BlackFish’, his show The Real News being Pakistan’s first ever English language comedy show and Saad Haroon: Very Live was Pakistan’s first ever solo English language stand-up comedy tour which was also adapted into a television series of the same name. ARMY FROM P1

tons (146 tons) of explosives, thousands of weapons and a large cache of ammunition. KHYBER OPERATION: At least 21 suspected terrorists were killed and several others injured during a major clearance operation in Spin Qamar area of Khyber Agency, Pakistan military claimed on Wednesday. “Eight soldiers embraced shahdat (martyrdom) during fierce fight-

ing and exchange of fire with terrorists,” said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Khyber is among Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts near the Afghan border, rife with homegrown insurgents and foreign militants. These are also home to religious extremist organisations including Al Qaeda. The plains of Bara hold strategic significance for militant groups as they connect the agency to the outskirts of Peshawar. The area was being used by militants to put pressure on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capital. In recent weeks, police and military posts in and around Peshawar have come under attack. The key area also straddles the Nato supply line into Afghanistan. Bajwa said the results of the operation would have been even better if Afghan authorities had provided assistance. He said Pakistan informed Afghan authorities that militants and their leadership fled across the border and were camped out in Afghan territory from where they were launching attacks against Pakistani troops. “Afghan authorities have not taken any action,” he said. “They have not killed or arrested and handed over any militants to Pakistan.” RESIGNATIONS FROM P1

stood by their resignations. “We obeyed our constitutional responsibility by coming for the verification,” he added. Shah Mehmood Qureshi lamented the attitude of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government and said, “They have learnt nothing from the past and continue to practice the politics of horse trading.” He claimed that PTI lawmakers were individually approached by the government and were offered ministries and money as bribe. A disgruntled PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he and his party members waited for over two hours outside the speaker’s chamber, and will not come to the assembly anymore but will go to the public. Despite earlier reports of PTI members refusing to meet the speaker individually for the verification of the resignations, Qureshi said, “I told the deputy speaker if the speaker wishes to meet us individually, he should do so.” “The deputy speaker asked us to keep waiting for the speaker,” he said. “We do not know why the speaker was refraining from meeting us.” “Decisions are being made outside Parliament. It is no longer being used as a platform for debate,” he said. He added that the government is doing politics of Changa Manga, adding that the government offered PTI members ministries. As the lawmakers stood outside the speaker’s chamber, PTI leader Naz Baloch lamented Sadiq’s role on the issue, saying he had “wasted everyone’s time and did not come out of

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his office”. She added that the NA Speaker was violating Article 64 of the Constitution which states that “a member of Majlisi-Shoora (Parliament) may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker or, as the case may be, the Chairman resign his seat, and thereupon his seat shall become vacant”. Baloch questioned as to “why the resignations of those members who were present in the Speaker’s chamber not accepted”. VIOLATION FROM P1

according to Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) officials, at around 11:00am, few local farmers were in their fields at Zero Line in Shakargarh Sector. The BSF, without giving any warning, opened fire when one of the farmers went close to the Zero Line. ENVOY FROM P1

comes days before Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif ’s week-long visit to the US. High-level political contact between the two countries is also expected to resume in January next year, sources told Dawn. After concluding his visit to Pakistan, Feldman will leave for Beijing on Oct 30 for a two-day visit to China. In Beijing, Feldman will be joining a senior US delegation to participate in the ‘Heart of Asia’ conference. “The conference is an important opportunity to discuss efforts by many in the region to expand political, security and economic support for Afghanistan,” the State Department said, Special Representative Feldman will also conduct bilateral meetings with key Chinese counterparts to exchange views on the situation in Afghanistan. CYCLONE FROM P1

strong gusty winds and modest to heavy rains with thunderstorm are expected.” According to the Met office, the sea conditions along Pakistan coast would be rough to very rough from Wednesday to Friday. Fishermen in Sindh and Balochistan have been advised not to venture in open sea from Wednesday to Friday while those who were already in the open sea were advised to return to coastal areas. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned local agencies to take precautionary measures ahead of the cyclone. “We have instructed our provincial chapter to warn fishermen

that they should refrain from fishing in the sea in the upcoming days,” NDMA spokesman Ahmed Kamal told AFP. The Director General of Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Balochistan, Noor Mohammad Jogezai, claimed that necessary arrangements have been made to tackle any emergency-like situation in the Makran division. “Our relief goods are already kept in stores in Makran division and we are ready to deal with any emergency-like situation caused by heavy rains,” he said. Meanwhile, the Karachi and provincial administrations claimed to have prepared a contingency plan to handle the post-cyclone situation. The Sindh government has declared an emergency in districts facing the threat of cyclone while the Karachi municipal administration has made arrangements to evacuate people from Mubarak village and Ibrahim Hyderi — fishermen’s neighborhoods along the city’s coastline. DG PDMA Sindh Syed Salman Shah said around 300,000 people are to be affected in case of the cyclone impact at the coastal belt. He added that Section 144 has been imposed in Karachi, Thatta, Sujawal and Badin and all the concerned departments have been put on high alert. A state of emergency has also been declared at all the hospitals in the districts along the coastal belt and the leave of staff has been cancelled, Shah said, adding that measures have been discussed for immediate shifting of fishermen from coastal areas to safer places in case of an emergency. It has been decided that dwellers of coastal areas will be accommodated in government buildings instead of camps to protect them against rains and gusty winds. PETITIONS FROM P1

Pakistan Afzal Khan also appeared before the court. The petitioners had pleaded before the court to order fresh elections and had argued that the magnetic ink used in last year’s polls was defective. They had asked that action be initiated against ECP officials and others involved in the purchase of the ink. The petitions also accused ECP members, Returning Officers and Presiding Officers of not following the statutory prerequisites during the electoral process. The Supreme Court’s decision comes at a time when opposition parties have been carrying on anti-government demonstrations to protest rigging in the 2013 polls.

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ome of Lollywood's mindboggling mysteries and tragedies created quite a stir at the time they first occurred but with the passage of time the hype died down and the memory of these ill-fated celebrities whose lives were unceremoniously cut short abruptly faded away into the murky annals of time. Here, Images on Sunday revives their luster and presents a concise list of Lollywood superstars who suffered unfortunate circumstances and succumbed to mysterious deaths. Niggo Niggo was an attractive young woman who impressed all those she came across with her excellent dancing skills. She was chosen by all the Punjabi filmmakers of her time to perform classic mujra dance numbers in their films which were equivalent to the 'item' numbers in present-day films. Niggo, thus, was the first and foremost choice for the mujra girl. Like other successful film industries around the world, Lollywood too is plagued by mysterious deaths, unsolved

Lahore on June 2, 1986. However, the actual circumstances leading to Nannah's death remain a mystery to this day. Rafi Khawar aka Nannah's performance was widely appreciated in the first PTV comedy series, Alif Noon with Kamal Ahmed Rizvi. Early in the career, he used to play minor roles in Punjabi movies since in the presence of Munawwar Zareef and Rangeela it was difficult for him to make place for himself in Lollywood. However, all that changed after the film Ziddi (1973) and later on with the Urdu film Naukar (1975). He began to be paired more frequently in comic roles with Tammana Begum in Urdu movies, playing the role of a father, grandfather or servant. He then landed a chance to play the male lead in Tehka Pehlwan (1979) the same year his film Dubai Chalo directed by Haidar Chaudhry became a superhit. Despite the dominance of Sultan Rahi and action films, the mostly comic act of Nannah and Ali Ejaz (of Dubai Chalo fame) gained immense populari-

murders and unexplained tragedies! While working in the film Qasu (1972) produced by Khawaja Mazhar, she fell in love with the producer and they got married soon after. The marriage sparked fury in Niggo's family (according to the old tradition of Lahore's Shahi Mohalla no girl can marry or travel without her family being compensated financially). When all attempts to bring her back proved futile, Niggo's mother pretended to be terminally ill and begged Niggo to come and see her one last time. Upon her visit, the mother and some close family members brainwashed Niggo into believing that her husband was not right for her and her family. She succumbed to family pressure and refused to return to her husband's home. An unsuspecting and utterly confused Khawaja Mazhar dispatched his production controller, called Mamma, to bring the situation under control and pave the way for Niggo's return. Even music director Manzoor Ashraf, who had Niggo's ear at the time when the love affair was in full bloom, could not convince her to return to her husband's home. After Nannah started delivering flops and fell on hard times financially, Nazli started to lose interest in him as well. He allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with a shotgun in

ty in the first half of the '80s, and were seen in more than 50 movies in the main lead. In the films of that era, Sultan Rahi was usually paired with Anjuman, Ali Ejaz with Mumtaz and Rani, and Nannah with Nazli. Nannah and Nazli became romantically involved and were often seen together in public. The best proof of their love on film can be seen in the song Vekh meri baanh tap di mundia, Aakhian rehndiyan mast mast, Mera kar le koi bandobast, and also in Ve yari tori na, Ve mukh methon moree na (Tehka Pehlwan). According to an inside source, money was never an issue with Nannah during his love affair with Nazli. His celebrity status was at an all-time high and he was delivering hits left, right and centre. He even forced his producers to cast Nazli with him in all his films. Nazli made the most of the opportunity and the two became inseparable. But after Nannah started delivering flops and fell on hard times financially, Nazli started to lose interest in him as well. Nannah allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with a shotgun in Lahore on June 2, 1986. A witness, producer Jamshaid Zafar, narrates that there was a pool of blood in the room and it was a truly horrific scene, something that appeared to be right out of a mystery crime film. However, the actu-

al circumstances leading to Nannah's death remain a mystery to this day. There were also rumours that he had decided to give away all his property to actress Nazli which sent alarm bells ringing within his family. Sultan Rahi The legendarily prolific Sultan Rahi worked in over 703-plus Punjabi films and 100 Urdu films. I personally witnessed him working on three film sets in a single day. After shooting one scene at Evernew Studios, he would hurriedly move to Bari Studios adjacent to Evernew for the next film shot. After spending almost three to four hours on different sets, he would then move to Shahnoor Studios where another shooting crew would be anxiously waiting for him. The best thing about Rahi was his immense commitment to work and his pleasant demeanor when dealing with the low-paid production crew. Above everything else, he was a sure thing, someone who could recover the producer's investment. During the span of his film career, he won almost 160 awards. Some of his major films include Maula Jatt, Sher Khan, Chan Veryam, Babul Sadqay Tere, Sharif Badmash, Basheera and Wehsi Gujjar. Among other works of charity, he is also accredited of having a mosque built in Bari Studios and also financing a film for junior artists. Some of his best pairing in films was with actresses such as Aasiya, Anjuman and Saima. On January 9, 1996, he was returning late at night from Islamabad when his car's tyre deflated near Samanabad Chungi close to Gujranwala on Main G.T. Road. Taking advantage of the darkness and deserted surroundings, some men approached the vehicle and opened fire on him. Rahi sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the DHQ Hospital in Gujranwala where he breathed his last. Nadra She had a sparkling element to her dazzling beauty coupled with brilliant acting skills. She dominated the Lollywood screen for eight years, acting in both Punjabi and Urdu movies. Besides acting she was a woman of gentle demeanour and was respected widely among colleagues. She was often found making generous charity donations to film technicians and their families. Besides films, she also used to perform at private functions and it is rumoured that she once earned Rs5.2 million (52 lacs) for a single night's mujra. Uptill then, film star Naina was rumored to have made Rs5.6million (56 lacs) likewise. Like Nadra, she also succumbed to a similar fate. "Jiss waqt Nadra ne studio main pehla qadam rakha, to woh uss time ki mehngi tareen car mein studios aaye thi. Warna to zyada tar adakarain dosron ki cars ya rickshaw/taxi mein studio pohonchti theen," (When Nadra first entered the studios, she arrived in the most expensive car at that time which she personally owned. Back then aspiring actresses usually arrived at the studios in other people's cars or by rickshaws/taxis) remembers Guddu of Guddu Film Archive. Due to Nadra's ethereal good looks, a lot of affluent and well-connected people were also quite eager to find favour with her. Someone close to Nadra at the time told this writer that once during a trip to London, she had withdrawn money from a bank which was transferred from the Emirates. She also started a property buying business with her husband which led to a misunderstanding and conflict between them. In 1995, she was gunned down while leaving a restaurant, and while some suspicion did fall on her

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husband the police investigation gave no results. No arrests were ever made by the authorities in connection to her murder. Nadra's death dealt a severe blow to Lollywood producers who had signed her in their forthcoming movies. She left a definite and lasting impact on the industry during her brief career span. Yasmeen Khan: Shamshad alias Yasmeen Khan was born in Peshawar in 1950 and she shifted to Karachi in the early '60s where she launched her film career by playing a lead role in the first ever hit Pashto movie Yousaf Khan Sherbano released in December 1970. When the Urdu action film Dulhan Ek Raat Ki was released in 1975, it made the Pushto actors in the cast overnight stars, including Yasmeen Khan who was featured in the excellently choreographed dance number, Aaja aaja karle pyar, kehti hai suhani shaam. It made her into a superstar and she was later cast in Punjabi movies as well, such as Hathkari (1976) where she appeared in the song, Jawani meri bijli toofan mera nakhra. However, Yasmeen Khan distanced herself from the film industry when vulgarity and obscenity crept into Pushto cinema, tarnishing the image of true Pukhtun culture and identity. Yasmeen's first marriage to film star Saqi ended in divorce. Later, she married Khurram Bari, the owner of Bari Studios. Unfortunately, the union also could not last long. A young man called Arifullah from an affluent family had eyes only for Yasmeen and they got married and shifted to Peshawar. Yasmeen isolated herself from all kinds of showbiz activity and turned to religion and charity. But Arif's parents refused to accept Yasmeen as a daughter-in-law and disinherited Arif who was prone to gambling, among other vices, and already had a first wife, something which Yasmeen found out much later. She tried her best to make him alter his ways but only ended up making him furious. Sick of Yasmeen's attempts to reform him, on April 15, 1999 he killed her and locked the door from outside. After two days, Yasmeen's body was found and given a decent burial. It shocked everyone, especially those in Lollywood, as they had great admiration for the lady. Later, Arifullah was murdered while trying to get married a third time.

His parents didn't accept his dead body and his friends buried him. Andaleeb She was picked up by Shahzad

Rafiq for his film Goonghat (1996) directed by Syed Noor which became a super hit. "I had seen her act in a drama on PTV and was impressed by her acting skills," says Shahzad. According to Syed Noor she was quite professional and it's not amazing that she had relationship with Hanif Ghuman, an industrialist from Sialkot. Marvi She belonged to the rare breed of actresses who made it to Lollywood despite her Sindhi background and within a very short span of time secured her place in tinsel town. Marvi featured in just three or four films but impressed viewers and filmmakers alike with her boundless acting talent. Cashing in on her good fortune, a film producer cast her as the female lead in his production titled Marvi with actor Faisal Qureshi. However, fate had something else in store for this fledgling and she had hardly taken flight when her wings were clipped by a jealous lover who fatally shot her near a traffic signal near Tariq Road, Karachi, on August 25, 1998. Courtesy Dawn

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