Pakistan link january 15, 2016 pages 1 32 reduced

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Friday, January 15, 2016

VOL. 26/3 - 4 Rabi ‘u-thani 1437 H

Govt. to Take Parliamentarians into Confidence Pakistan Will Not Send Troops to Saudi Arabia Islamabad: Adviser to the Prime

Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Tuesday said Pakistan will not send ground troops to Saudi Arabia or any other country after having joined the Saudi Arabia-led 34-state Islamic military alliance against terrorism and extremism.

In a briefing to the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee at the Parliament House, Aziz said all matters between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been settled. He said Pakistan will be sharing intelligence with Saudi Arabia to counter terrorism.

Aziz told the committee that Pakistan is playing its role to defuse tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. “An emergency meeting of OIC foreign ministers has been summoned in Jeddah where Pakistan would present important proposals to reduce Iran-Saudi tensions.”

The adviser said Pakistan wishes for a peaceful settlement of the Syrian conflict and supports all efforts for resumption of dialogue.

Chairman of the committee Awais Leghari told reporters after

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US & Canada $1.00

Ten Muslim Women that Ruled 2015

Qaim Accuses Center of Political Victimization

Pakistan Hosts Four-Nation Peace Talks

From left: Richard Olson, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan; Sartaj Aziz, Adviser to Pakistani Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs; and Afghanistan Deputy Foreign Minister, Hekmat Khalil Karzai, prior to the four-nation peace talks in Islamabad, January 11, 2016

Islamabad: Four countries - Af-

But in the end, the biggest decision that appeared to be reached was to meet again.

Still an Afghan official, who was in the meeting but did not want to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said, “some good progress” was

made during what turned out to be a marathon session.

The Taliban were not invited to the talks and a Taliban official, in a rare face-to-face meeting with The Associated Press, said there would be no direct talks with the Afghan

TROOPS, P28

ghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States - were cloistered away late into the night Monday trying to lay a foundation they hope will eventually lead to peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban fighters.

Pakistan Ready to Complete LNG Pipeline Link to Iran

14 CPEC Projects to Produce 10,400 MW of Electricity

Islamabad: Pakistan is ready to

Lahore: China and Pakistan held a ceremony on January

complete the short final pipeline spur that would enable it to import natural gas from Iran once sanctions are lifted, according to the head of one of Pakistan’s state energy companies.

“In the very near future we expect delegations from the two countries to meet,” said Zahid Muzzafar, the chairman of Oil and Gas Development Company, which is government-controlled, but has publicly traded shares on the Karachi and London exchanges.

“Once we get the right signals from the international community and our own government’s decision we are all set to build that pipeline,” Mr Muzzafar said, referring to the expected lifting of international sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program that have restricted its oil and gas exports since 2011. Final clearance is expected this month.

The pipeline spur would run

PIPELINE, P28

TALKS, P28

www.PakistanLink.com Special Investigation Team May Be Sent to India Islamabad: Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday said the government wants to send a team of special investigators to the Pathankot air base in India for further investigation.

In a statement, the PMO also confirmed the arrests of several members of the Jaish-i-Mohammad militant group, which India suspects of involvement in what was nearly a week-long siege of the Pathankot air base earlier this month.

A Reuters report later cited unnamed Pakistani officials as saying head of the Jaish-i-Mohammad group, Masood Azhar, was among those arrested along with his brother and brother-in-law. This could not be independently verified by Dawn.com.

The Pathankot airbase attack was claimed by separatist group United Jihad Council, an alliance of Kashmiri militants.

The statement was issued after a high-level meeting was chaired

by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss the country’s security situation.

ARRESTS, P28

Youtube Launches Local Homepage for Pakistan Islamabad: A respite for Pakistanis:

10 to mark the beginning of construction on the Karot hydropower plant, according to a report by Shannon Tiezzi in The Diplomat.

The $1.65 billion hydropower plant, spearheaded by China’s Three Gorges Corporation, was the first project to receive funding from China’s Silk Road Fund. Upon completion (scheduled for 2020), the Karot plant will provide 720 MW of energy harnessed from the Jhelum River.

The Karot plant is part of the broader China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, which itself is part of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative to link China with Europe (and all the regions in between). Though the CPEC is often understood solely in terms of transportation infrastructure – developing the Chinese-controlled port at Gwadar and linking it to China via rail and road – that’s not the only aspect of the project. Under the “1+4” cooperation framework unveiled during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s April 2015 visit to Pakistan, the CPEC is the “1,” with the “4” representing key areas of the larger strategy. Energy is one of those four areas, along with Gwadar Port, transport infrastructure, and industrial cooperation.

In fact, China and Pakistan officially broke ground on five new energy projects, all of them considered part of the CPEC, during Xi’s visit to Pakistan last year.

Along with the Karot hydropower project, the CPEC also includes Chinese construction of the world’s largest solar plant ELECTRICITY, P28

For news, updated round the clock, visit

Google introduced on Tuesday the local version of YouTube for Pakistan which will deliver country-specific content.

If you’re in Nepal, Pakistan or Sri Lanka, you’ll see a new YouTube homepage that’s customized in your local language and domain, a post on Google Asia Pacific blog read.

YouTube is already available in Nepali, Sinhalese and Urdu, and now having country-specific homepages means we can bring you the most relevant videos in a YouTube experience tailored for you, said the post written by Gautam Anand, Director of Operations and Content, YouTube Asia Pacific.

“With these launches, we hope to pave the way for the work of more local creators, personalities and musicians to shine on the world’s largest and most vibrant video community.

To all our YouTube viewers and creators from South Asia and around

Image Credit: Pakistan energy concept image via Shutterstock.com

Periodical postage paid at Newport Beach, CA and additional mailing offices

YOUTUBE, P28

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OPINION

P4 – PAKISTAN LINK – JANUARY 15, 2016

What Do We Do When Tested by Friends?

Pakistan Link

n By Karamatullah K. Ghori President

Arif Zaffar Mansuri

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here was a time, back in the 1980s, when we were tested as never before by our closest friend and—in some ways— mentor, Saudi Arabia.

Every government in Pakistan has since professed an abiding commitment to the inviolability of Saudi Arabia as a cornerstone of our foreign policy. But that period, of the 1980s, was of particular closeness— in more senses than one—to the Saudi monarchy because of General Ziaul Haq at the helm of Pakistan.

Zia had the reputation of being a bosom friend of the Saudis; his attachment to the House of Saud was beyond any shade of doubt.

The Saudis knew better than anybody else how committed their ‘brother’ Zia was to them, their interests and their concerns. They had been given a sterling evidence of Zia’s fidelity to them when, on the heels of the 1979 incursion into the Haram-e-Kaaba by Wahabi hotheads and radicals, he’d readily endorsed their request that two brigades of the Pakistan Army be stationed on the Saudi soil for the protection of the royals.

The Saudis had Saddam Hussain of Iraq on board as well; or, rather, they had hitched their wagon to Saddam’s grossly miscalculated adventure against Iran’s nascent Islamic Revolution. Over-indulgence in generosity was the name of the game for the Saudis to have given virtually a blank check to Saddam to invade Iran.

But when the Iranians—after initially reeling under the impact of Saddam’s massive military incursion into their land—hit back Saddam cried uncle and sought not just more petro-dollars but military muscles too from his Saudi mentors.

That put the Saudi royals into a pickle. They were ready to open up their bulging purse-strings wider than before but fighting a war wasn’t their cup of tea. So they asked their Pakistani protégé and minion, Zia, to chip in with his men-power. They wanted to deploy their two Pakistani guest-brigades on the side of Saddam to bail him out of the tight corner where his ill-adventure had painted him.

The Saudis must have been knocked out of their wits when Zia gave a flat no to their ‘request.’ He may’ve had the rightly or wrongly earned reputation of being ‘their man’ but he was first and foremost the leader of Pakistan. Giving primacy to Pakistan’s national interest was an obligation higher than whatever soft corner he may’ve had for the Saudis. He was willing to pay the price in Saudi wrath for his temerity but knew exactly what he was supposed to do: stand firm on safeguarding Pakistan’s interest and refuse to bargain on his conviction that Pakistani soldiers weren’t mercenaries.

It isn’t fashionable in Pakistan to quote Zia as a role-model. However, the incumbent civil and military leaders of Pakistan will be doing themselves an immense service, as well as the people of Pakistan, by remembering the paradigm Zia—

otherwise a Saudi aficionado—set in the teeth of a situation which has come back to test Pakistan and its leaders in a new calling.

The Saudis obviously didn’t draw any intelligent lesson from the Zia paradigm. Or it could be that, in their clouded perception, they have a more redoubtable minion than Zia in their current Pakistani protégé, Nawaz Sharif. And the other Sharif on the Pakistani firmament, General Raheel, couldn’t be far behind Nawaz in this calling, if the frequency of the general’s visits to the Custodians of the Two Holiest Places of Islam is any guide.

Armed with that knowledge,

Reason and past precedent says Pakistan should steer clear of taking any partisan position in this row between two combatants each one of whom happens to have a special status in our regional and over-arching Muslim calculus. Given the delicacy and sensitivity of our relations with both Iran and Saudi Arabia it would be an extremely unsavory development for us in Pakistan if we were even remotely seen to be tilting in favor of either of the two perhaps, the Saudis first tried to rope us into their own ill-advised and ill-thought-out adventure in Yemen. Like Saddam against Iran they may be guilty of over-estimating their prowess and under-estimating the Yemeni resolve to resist the invader. And they may have estimated that Pakistani military muscles, in reserve, or actual boots on ground, would be a good insurance against the Yemenis doing to them what the Iranians did to Saddam.

That our military leadership— but not necessarily our elected leaders, too—refused to swallow the bait on Yemen was reassuring to those who had Zia’s legacy in a similar situation in mind.

But it seems the Saudis don’t believe in taking ‘no’ for an answer.

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So testing Pakistan has acquired the panache of a favorite Saudi sport.

Putting an old friend on the knife’s edge seems to be the Saudi way of measuring the resilience of their formidable ties with Pakistan.

Riyadh had the audacity of naming Pakistan as a key component of the latest ‘surprise’ sprung on us. The announcement that Pakistan was also a member of the 34-nation, so-called Islamic Alliance to fight the chimera of terrorism caught our Foreign Office Mandarins and Brahmins completely off-guard. They dismissed it as a bad joke. But the very next day the poor FO factotums were made to look as helpless and clueless as the man on the street when they meekly admitted that Pakistan was on board the latest Saudi bandwagon.

It’s no riddle that the political and military leaders had given an undertaking to their Saudi mentors and deemed it unnecessary to share it with the FO—whose glorified babus are, in any case, used to taking such rebuffs in their stride while putting on a bold and unruffled demeanor.

But that wasn’t the end of the surprise; the Saudis are apparently inclined to be relentless in their testing of Pakistan to see how far we may be prepared to go to measure up to the royal expectations as proof of our fidelity and fealty to them.

The latest, cruel and insensitive, Saudi salvo of beheading Sheikh Nimer Al-Nimer—a Shiite cleric of charisma who had acquired an iconic appeal for his followers across a vast swathe of the Shiite world—has been roundly condemned by so many for its apparent barbarity. It has enraged Iran and precipitated a diplomatic crisis of ugly portents. However, the fallout from this grisly episode puts Pakistan to an instant test.

Reason and past precedent says Pakistan should steer clear of taking any partisan position in this row between two combatants each one of whom happens to have a special status in our regional and over-arching Muslim calculus. Given the delicacy and sensitivity of our relations with both Iran and Saudi Arabia it would be an extremely unsavory development for us in Pakistan if we were even remotely seen to be tilting in favor of either of the two.

It’s not only that common sense dictates to us not to tilt this or that way between the two, because that would be proof of our being naïve in foreign affairs. But much more than our concern for correctness of posture and policy in terms of foreign

relations, our domestic constraints are such that taking sides would be tantamount to virtual Harakiri.

We have been straining at all the windmills for well over a year to banish the demons of terrorism from our soil. The task is still undone and far from over. Our military efforts have cleansed our urban areas a great deal of the menace of terrorism. But the overall scenario on the terrorism front is still fragile and susceptible to a quick upsurge if the applecart arranged by the antiterrorism campaign were to be disturbed. We are still on thin ice, so to speak and must tip-toe around very, very, gingerly.

That’s where the government could land itself into trouble if the sectarian equilibrium between the majority Sunnis and minority Shiites of Pakistan were disturbed by any real or perceived tilt in favor of Saudi Arabia. The sectarian fault lines in Pakistan run deep and disturbing them could spell disaster on our home front.

Why Saudi Arabia is no brain-teaser or riddle. Our civil and military leaders are on record for proclaiming from their house tops—nauseatingly at times—that they will not allow Saudi Arabia to get under harm’s way and will ensure its integrity and security at all cost. There’s no such commitment ever given or insinuated as far as Iran is concerned although we share a long common border with Iran and any trouble there would spill on to our side as well, whether we liked it or not.

The Saudis could easily put us up to the litmus test of guaranteeing their security by picking up a bloody quarrel with Iran the way Saddam did. On top of it, we have lately shackled ourselves—like one committing a crime while sleepwalking—to the so-called Islamic Alliance without knowing much about this hare pulled out of their hat by our Saudi friends. Many of the ‘allies’ in this Saudi-cobbled contraption—such as Benin, Gabon, Uganda et al.—don’t even have a Muslim majority in their population mix.

Unwittingly, no doubt, we seem to have bitten more than we could chew, thanks, largely, to an overdose of friendship and camaraderie tentatively put on display by our media-savvy leaders with their old habit of not straining their mental faculties more than absolutely necessary. A course-correction is badly called for in such a bind. Dithering on it would be costly and spell disaster for the country. We may be prisoners of our geography but imaginative policies can still bail us out of trouble.

- K_K_ghori@hotmail.com

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OPINION

P6 – PAKISTAN LINK – JANUARY 15, 2016

To Counter Islam’s Critics, Imam Says Muslims Need to Relearn Faith n By Umar Farooq Religion News Service

Istanbul; In the bustling conservative Fatih

district, Fadel Solimon looks at the floor and nods as a young woman asks him for advice on how to respond to criticism of Islam on Twitter.

“Ever since these Paris attacks, people have been tweeting at me with all these verses in the Qur’an saying to conquer land, expand borders, force everyone to convert or pay the jizya,” she said, referring to a tax levied on non-Muslims.

“No, that’s not true, that’s not true,” interjected Solimon.

“But the verses are there,” continued the woman. “They are in the Qur’an. Didn’t empires like the Ottoman Empire spread like that?”

“Defending Islam is not defending Islamic history,” Solimon replied. “The Ottomans were not angels. The Umayyads were not angels. The Abbasids were not angels. You shouldn’t defend Islamic history,” he said, recounting three historical Muslim empires.

Solimon then returned to the verses under examination in the Qur’an and offered his own view. “The Qur’an simply says if a neighboring country violates a peace agreement, or they attack you, you can defend yourself. ... It does not teach you to conquer for wealth, but to remove oppression, to defend the weak.”

A former imam at American University in Washington, DC, the now London-based Solimon has spent more than a decade training Muslims on interfaith outreach. He is a member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, rubbed elbows with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and spent time advising the group’s members during the short-lived government of Mohammed Morsi.

Solimon is among a growing number of Muslim preachers seeking to change the understanding of Islam and modernity. While much of this internal dialogue is taking place in con-

ferences in Western countries, Solimon is one of a handful of preachers targeting the rank and file, reaching more than 19,000 students seeking the tools to counter Muslim critics, and in the process, relearning the traditional precepts of their faith.

Like other reformers, Solimon’s views draw criticism not only from those outside the faith who say he does not go far enough in denouncing some Islamic teachings, but also from Muslims who find it difficult to reconcile his pragmatic interpretations with what they consider traditional teachings.

The workshop in Istanbul was organized by the Turkey-based Center for Cross-Cultural Communication, a nonprofit that reaches out to the 30 million tourists that visit the country annually. The woman who questioned Solimon is one of scores of volunteers being trained on how to respond to questions tourists ask at Istanbul’s most famous landmarks, such as the ancient Suleymaniye Mosque. The workshop is supported by Turkey’s Department of Religious Affairs.

With their long history with secularism, and recent rekindling of interest with Islam, Muslims in Turkey are at a rare juncture for reassessing Islam, said Solimon.

But challenging widespread narratives among Muslims is not an easy task.

For example, the idea that the Prophet Muhammad and his followers saw it as their duty to conquer lands, with the eventual aim of converting everyone, is found in textbooks in many majority-Muslim countries, including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. It is a narrative that makes it difficult for Muslims to argue against movements such as the Islamic State, which aims to pick up where the Ottoman Empire left off a century ago.

Kubra Somaz, a law student who attended Solimon’s workshop, said a number of her assumptions were challenged in the debate.

“I know the answer sometimes, but I cannot explain it,” said Somaz, “and that shows me maybe I don’t know the issues deeply.”

For example, she said, when Danish newspapers published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, many Turks felt Muslims were obligated to kill the cartoonists because tradition held that the Prophet Muhammad ordered the execution of a poet.

But Somaz was surprised to learn some traditional scholars say the poet in Muhammad’s day was killed because he persecuted the nascent Muslim community and posed an existential threat.

“People think I do this just to enlighten non-Muslims, but actually my hidden goal is to enlighten Muslim youth and strengthen their faith,” Solimon said. “If you tell them come to a workshop to strengthen your faith, they will not come, but if you tell them to come to a workshop and learn how to talk about Islam to non-Muslims, they come.”

But while Solimon is a reformer, he is far from liberal. Homosexuals can be Muslims, he said, but to actually act on their desires by committing sodomy is a sin. Stoning and amputation are valid punishments under Shariah, or Islamic law, he added, but for most of Islamic history they were never applied because rulers and scholars understood the judicial system to be flawed, and the risk of punishing innocents was too great.

In 2010, Solimon rebutted former alQaida spokesman Anwar al-Awlaki, whom he knew from their time in the US together. Awlaki, a Yemeni-American, was a senior recruiter for al-Qaida and had issued a video calling for Muslims to kill all Americans, anywhere.

“He justified terrorism,” said Solimon.

“And I couldn’t stay silent.”

But whether Islam needs a reformation is a subject of hot debate.

H.A. Hellyer, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution and a research associate

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at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Kennedy School of Harvard University, said that more than a reformation, the faith needs a revival of past scholarship.

“The (previous) ‘reformations’ that took place were more like the birth of the Salafi movement in the 18th century, which was not exactly very positive or progressive,” Hellyer said. “Indeed, it resulted in opening a ‘Pandora’s box’ that led to many perverted interpretations of religion in the Muslim world later on.”

He said that any meaningful change in Islamic thinking will require more scholars like Solimon, who are willing to reach further back, before movements like the Salafi “reformation,” which taught Muslims to disregard centuries of scholarship considered flawed.

The aloofness to traditional Islamic scholarship helps extremist groups recruit, said David H. Schanzer, an adviser to the US government on counterterrorism policy and an associate professor at Duke University. Extremists, he said, “aren’t well-versed in Islamic theology or jurisprudence.”

For Solimon, correcting misinterpretations goes beyond addressing terrorism. “Extremism,” he said, “is usually the first step toward leaving the religion.”

H e gives the example of a Danish convert who confronted him at a 2005 lecture about why 9/11 was not justified in Islam.

Years later, Solimon learned the man was Murad Storm, a former extremist who abandoned Islam and then helped US and European intelligence agencies track down Awlaki in Yemen, where the cleric was killed by a drone strike.

“When people like (Storm) hear criticism of Islam for the first time, they are not able to handle it,” said Solimon. “They become violent and try to defend what they think is Islam.

(Eventually) they actually leave Islam.” - The Washington Post

OPINION

JANUARY 15, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P7

Saudi Arabia Must Take Steps to Make Hajj Safer for Muslims

n By Dr Mahjabeen Islam

I

Toledo, Ohio

t has become clear that thousands of hajj pilgrims died Sept. 24 in Mina, Saudi Arabia, but the Saudi government is sticking to its story of 769 fatalities — the number released two days after the disaster. The combined numbers reported by various Muslim governments far surpass this total — Iran alone reported more than 460 deaths — and counts made by the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse news agencies exceed 2,000, with hundreds more unaccounted for.

Less than a week after the tragedy, the Saudi vice minister of health stated that the death toll had reached 4,173, but the figure was later retracted.

An inquiry was promised, but the prognosis for a speedy and fair investigation is poor. Transparency and accountability are not Saudi strong suits. Still, more than enough is known to draw one important conclusion: Muslims planning to take part in the annual five-day pilgrimage to Mecca should be aware that until better crowd-control measures are put in place, they will be putting their lives at risk.

The hajj is a journey of a lifetime for Muslims and a transformative experience for many people. I, too, had some dramatic

experiences during my one hajj and two umrahs (minor pilgrimages), and I treasure those memories. But I wouldn’t go again. Saudi arrogance and hostility toward visitors, especially women, are too great.

Poor preparations of the pilgrims, along with a language barrier, are significant problems. Far too many of the Saudi boy scouts and soldiers who monitor and guide pilgrims speak only Arabic, so the majority of pilgrims from the Muslim world are out of luck. Travel agencies in the various countries are supposed to guide their clients through the steps of the hajj. But a handful of people cannot accompany hundreds each step of the way. And instructions can be misunderstood or forgotten.

During my hajj in 2004, we had been repeatedly admonished to avoid attempting to retrieve lost sandals during the stoning of the devil, or Jamarat, ritual, but I saw my friend do exactly that. She was being swallowed up by a vortex of people, and we extricated her just in time from a deadly crush. The death toll was more than 240, and the moment is forever stamped in my memory. Two years later, during the same ritual, 345 people were killed in a similar stampede.

Afterward, international outrage forced the Saudis to reconstruct the entrance and exit to the area, and there were no more incidents.

Until September’s catastrophe.

What’s known about what happened is that a panic broke

out on narrow streets near the entrance to the Jamarat site, about three miles from Mecca, but reports have been contradictory.

Iran and many other countries blamed Saudi mismanagement.

The Lebanon-based newspaper Ad-Diyar, citing witnesses, reported that a convoy escorting Prince Mohammed bin Salman played a role in the incident by making some pilgrims turn against the flow of the crowd. Saudi authorities denied this report and instead blamed pilgrims for not following instructions. Other witnesses said closed exits touched off the panic.

It’s clear that some simple, workable steps need to be taken.

The administration of the hajj should be a fully international effort. All Muslim countries should send a large contingent of guides to Saudi Arabia months in advance. These guides should receive

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ground training at each of the sites where the hajj rituals occur, especially with regard to crowd control. During the hajj, they could then be stationed at important locations wearing colored jackets denoting the country they represent or the language they speak.

Each Muslim country should be responsible for training its pilgrims. A training course on hajj rituals and crowd responsibility should be created by Saudi Arabia and translated into the various necessary languages. Formal hajj training sites should be established in all countries with significant Muslim populations, and a hajj visa should be issued only if a certificate of training is attached to the passport.

The hajj is a pillar of Islam and must be completed once in our lives. But why would any Muslims make the pilgrimage knowing that

they risk injury or death? Muslims will not announce that they are boycotting the hajj, for that seems blasphemous and could invite retribution. But as parents and breadwinners with responsibilities to their families, they simply will refrain from making travel plans.

The Saudis have a strong incentive to act. It would be naive for them to think that Muslims won’t think twice before making the hajj until definite, credible arrangements are made to ensure their safety. According to the AlHayat newspaper, Saudi Arabia received $16.5 billion from Muslim pilgrimages in hajj in 2012. Saudi Arabia’s main source of revenue is oil. Falling oil prices have contributed to a Saudi budget deficit of $98 billion this year, with a projected shortfall next year of $87 billion. The Saudi intervention in Yemen is costly. Discontent in the royal family and rumors of a possible palace coup have been reported. High unemployment remains a problem. And now a horrific tragedy has struck the hajj. Riyadh can no longer afford complacency.

Muslim countries and Saudi Arabia badly need to conduct a transparent inquiry into the cause of September’s hajj crowd collapse and make swift arrangements for a detailed, international orchestration of hajj for the future. The survival of pilgrims is not all that is at stake. The Saudi monarchy may be as well. (Mahjabeen Islam is former president of the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo)

OPINION

P8 – PAKISTAN LINK – JANUARY 15, 2016

n By Anjum Niaz

A

Enlightened Moderation, but Not the Phony Kind

New Jersey

wiseacre advised General (retd) Musharraf to jazz up religion with the catchphrase ‘enlightened moderation’ and fool the West. Nobody got fooled. Instead, jihadi nurseries hatched scores of suicide bombers during the dictator’s decade in power.

Because it was phony and, the term eventually got dumped. Today, more than ever, Muslims around the world need to engage with the real meaning of enlightened moderation to impact their daily lives.

Clerics, especially, need to rethink their sermons. Blissfully oblivious of how Islam is viewed in the US after the San Bernardino killings carried out by a jihadi couple with Pakistani origins, the preachers are fixated on paradise: “You’ll go to Jannah if you…,” hollers the imam to a congregation at a mosque in New Jersey. I hear the same sermon, by different imams, aimed to lure the faithful to follow the yellers’ hidebound rules if we want ‘palaces’ in paradise. Intimidation and threat are their twin weapons.

Only if I can walk up to the clerics and ask them to also focus on showcasing Islam as a progressive religion by modelling themselves and their congregation on practical everyday life teachings of the Holy Qur’an.

Teach us to be humane — kind, generous and caring towards all, no matter what faith people belong to. Teach us to respect the rules and laws of our adopted country and not treat with disdain its value systems or clash with its culture. This question I put to the director of the Islamic center where I go.

“I fully endorse your views, but sadly, most consider worship as a reward or punish-

ment by Allah — more transactional than spiritual,” the director tells me.

I go to another makeshift mosque closer to our home for Friday prayers. I am

ful who just sit and wait for prayers to begin. I miss my old imam in South Florida who never missed a Friday without giving us something to take away and mull over it.

Teach us to be humane — kind, generous and caring towards all, no matter what faith people belong to. Teach us to respect the rules and laws of our adopted country and not treat with disdain its value systems or clash with its culture. This question I put to the director of the Islamic center where I go. “I fully endorse your views, but sadly, most consider worship as a reward or punishment by Allah — more transactional than spiritual,” the director tells me the only woman there barricaded by a row of chairs holding straw mats to screen the women’s section. The whole sermon is in Arabic! I can’t understand a word of what the imam says. Nor can most of the faith-

Brother Basheer was a great orator. His sermons were in English; his message always leading to some soul-searing. There was neither rhetoric nor scaremongering about hellfire and God’s wrath.

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The radicalized couple that killed 14 people now lie in unmarked and undisclosed graves somewhere in California, but their heinous crime has set up red flags against Islam. Pakistani-Americans, especially, are under the law enforcement spotlight. When flying in from Pakistan, males of a certain age spend six to eight hours in ‘secondary questioning’ at airports, getting their credentials checked. We can’t blame the US immigration authorities for their intensive interrogation and grilling. They don’t want another Tashfeen Malik-like IS supporter sneaking into their country.

Donald Trump’s hateful statements banning Muslims from America can become a reality.

I don’t think any of these preachers or their followers consider the acts of the IS or the couple’s act to be un-Islamic. While they may not engender extreme political, social or religious ideals and aspirations that reject 21st century ideas and expressions of freedom of choice, most imams don’t spurn them forcefully enough. In a town in New Jersey which has a heavy South Asian population, I see Muslim men and women wear their religion on their sleeves, obviously attracting more revulsion and anger from the bigots who want them out of America.

“Why wear your religion on your sleeves?” says a Pakistani who adds, “If you want to parade your beliefs in public, better for you to go back from where you’ve come.” Aftab Khan, a partner at the law firm of Surridge & Beecheno in Lahore visits the US each year to be with his children. “I can imagine in the coming days life for Muslims, particularly for Pakistanis, who have migrated to America, is going to be very difficult. I blame them partly because most won’t venture out of their Muslim/Pakistani diaspora.” (The writer is a journalist with over 30 years of experience)

OPINION

n By Dr Akbar S. Ahmed

JANUARY 15, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P9

The Heroes Who Made Jinnah

Chair of Islamic Studies at American University Washington, DC

“

I have been sent here,” said the man in the dark shalwar kameez, as he stood framed in the door of my hotel room in Karachi. It was in the early days of the shooting of the Jinnah film in 1997, and there were widespread reports in the media, attacking the film, its cast, and crew.

“From now on, I will be by your side and will escort you to your plane when the film is completed.

You will succeed despite the opposition.”

I had not met him before, but this was Jimmy Engineer, one of Pakistan’s most famous painters and social activists. He was known to be a passionate Pakistani patriot and his Zoroastrian religion served to enhance it.

He did not elaborate on who had sent him, but he hinted it was a “transcendental power”. He insisted that I watch a video, and pushed the cassette into the video player. It was a strange darkly lit film sequence shot by a handheld camera, depicting Jimmy entering a cave, and then showing a cage with two lions in it.

There was palpable danger to his life, as the lions were agitated, but they eventually calmed down.

“Your position is quite similar to what has been shown in the film.

You too are facing ferocious lions in a cage. But I have been sent to be by your side, and in the end, you will accomplish your mission.”

When the government reneged on its agreement to fund a part of the budget for Jinnah, Jimmy launched a one-man crusade to raise funds.

He even walked from Karachi to Lahore for this purpose.

True to his word, Jimmy was by my side throughout the long and difficult shooting in Karachi and Lahore, and then finally saw me off at the airport too.

Another Jimmy, this time my class fellow from Burn Hall, Abbotabad – actually named Jamil Hamdani – and his wife rallied in support of Jinnah. They not only invested in it but also held a grand dinner in

n By Syed Kamran Hashmi

L

Westfield, IN

et us walk into a modern house located in an affluent neighborhood of Pakistan.

Its modular contemporary design catches your attention at the first sight: walls plastered with greybrown rocks, shiny pieces of marble punctuated in between, an arch running across the facade, and a terrace on the first floor looking over the street.

The combination of dark and light tones, neat and clean surrounding, and the manicured yards enhance the beauty of the house while the stillness and silence of the colony adds to its mystery, making you wonder about the people living inside. The whole structure is covered by a boundary wall that con-

A scene from the film - depicting Lord Mountbatten, Gandhi and Nehru

Karachi, which played a big role in cheering up Shashi Kapoor.

Shashi had been down in the dumps ever since he arrived, and became the target of some vicious attacks in newspapers. These accused him – and his family – of being enemies of Pakistan, who were “out to destroy the country through this film”. Isolated in his hotel room after the day’s shoot, he confided that perhaps he had made a mistake in coming to Pakistan. His aim was to act as a goodwill ambassador between India and Pakistan. Ironically Bal Thackeray, the Hindu nationalist, had warned him that if he went to “enemy” Pakistan, there was no need for him to come back. “I wonder whether I have made a mistake in coming,” he would say to me as I tried to assure him that Pakistanis had big hearts and appreciated him for what he was doing.

I requested Jimmy, my class fellow, to host a dinner in which I could bring Shashi. But Shashi was reluctant to appear in public, finally relenting and agreeing to come for a few minutes only. On arrival, he was surrounded by several dozen Pakistani begums, whose imagination had taken them back several decades to a time when they were younger and much more carefree.

They talked of his popular films and hummed some of their favorite songs that had picturized him. The enthusiasm of his newfound fans began to cheer him up. Every time I came to take him away, as we had

arranged, he would plead with me, saying, “Just a few more minutes Akbar sahib and then we will go.”

In Karachi, Jamy Rahim his wife Iran, Amir Chinoy and his wife Almas, and renowned Pakistani historian of Jinnah, Professor Shariful Mujahid, all gave me unstinting support in every possible way: both before and after the shoot. In Lahore, the people of the city opened their

Jinnah was a struggle, from its conception to its making. Akbar Ahmed remembers two Jimmy’s, Shashi Kapoor and all those who made it possible in the end hearts in support. Shahid Hamid, the governor, allowed us to film at the Governor’s House for several days, giving us some memorable scenes in the film. His father Hamid Nawaz, a distinguished Pakistani diplomat, joined us for the shoot. He was a family friend from the time he was posted as Pakistan’s ambassador to Bangkok, Thailand, where my father worked for the United Nations and I visited from my boarding school in Abbottabad. His love and

support during those difficult days meant a great deal to me. He would come early in the day to the hotel and ask me sweetly, as if I was his commanding officer, “What are my instructions for today?”

Other Lahore stalwarts like SM Zafar and Malik Miraj Khalid also showed their warm support. SM Zafar invited us to his home for a glittering dinner. On his request, I brought James Fox, who was playing Lord Mountbatten, fully dressed in his Viceroy’s costume to the dinner, where he became a sensation. Malik Miraj, who had been interim prime minister, turned up at the shoot and thanked Christopher Lee for his great contribution to the Pakistani nation while expressing his disgust at the nasty attacks on us in the media.

There was my friend and wife’s relative, Shamsher Ali Khan, the secretary to the president of Pakistan, and my batch mate Azmat Hassan, who worked with the prime minister of Pakistan. And then there was Moeen Qureshi, the acting prime minister himself. They initiated the Jinnah film project long before it took its final shape. There were many other such Pakistani heroes who helped in one way or another and I wish I could name each and every one of them, just to show my appreciation for what they did.

Let me end by naming several special Jinnah supporters in England who were with me over the decade that I was working on Jin-

Change Can Be Dangerous verges at a large garage door, the metallic beast built by local craftsmen after spending hours to figure out its design, its color, and its compatibility with the rest of the architecture.

Walking past the covered yet open garage, let us get into the house. Press the entry door with a gentle push of your little finger and it will swing open without a screech, squeak or a squawk as if it is not made up of solid wood fixed with metallic hinges but soft rubber. Step into the foyer and watch its neat imported tile floor shining like a mirror, a chandelier hanging on top. Look at the drawing room on one side, tufted formal sofas covered with luxuries cushions, walls embellished with hand-textured paints, a hand-woven rug stretched from one corner to the other. The

drawing room sits across a giant television lounge where a large flat screen monster faces you, it is surrounded by a casual sectional, their colors coordinated. Get inside the family room and turn again where a European design kitchen awaits you with its imported stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, tiled back splash and rust-proof German faucets.

At the farther end of the kitchen, there is a door, a small flimsy figure, which allows you to step out into the back alley of the house.

There, you will see a narrow, old and rusted spiral stairs. Climb it up.

With every movement it will cry so hard and sway so much that you will feel it is going to crumble down any moment. If you are able to make it to the top, at the second floor a dirty metal door mocks your presence. As

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opposed to the main entrance, this one opens with a loud thud followed by a shrilling yelp which continues till the door stops moving. The room inside is dirty, small, dark and crammed with children. There are not as many pieces of furniture in this places as many kids rolling on the floor, their clothes dirty, their nose runny, their hair rusty and tousled.

A small burner stands on its corner, an old Indian style bathroom is tucked behind it, a tube light flickering on the wall. Technically speaking, the walls are painted but instead of white they look gray, or yellow, both because of low quality and poor maintenance. The floors too are plastered with cement, cheap marble chips embedded inside. The room gets hotter from the outside temperature in summer and colder

nah. Their support for my Jinnah projects was unwavering. A largerthan-life figure with a big heart, Mohsin Akhtar, owner of the Heydon Grange Golf Course and Farm, was a devoted friend and generous supporter from the time we met on my arrival in Cambridge in the late 1980s. Not only did he put his establishment at my disposal, but accompanied me to Pakistan for the shoot.

I always appreciated his humor as we did the rounds, meeting Pakistanis to chase up the Jinnah project.

Nadir Rahim, the younger brother of Jamy Rahim, admired Jinnah and understood his importance in defining the identity of Pakistan. He had been insistent that I leave the civil service of Pakistan and focus my efforts on scholarship to contribute to the global debate that was forming around Islam. As a matter of record the Quaid Project Limited, which was formed to make the Jinnah film, was created in his flat near Marble Arch in London. He would receive us with impeccable hospitality and insist on dropping us off afterwards at Kings Cross Station, where I would catch the train back to Cambridge. Mumtaz Khan was another loyal and staunch supporter of the project.

And last but not least was James Shera, the former mayor of Rugby. A Christian Pakistani, he was perhaps one of the most passionate Pakistanis I have ever met. His love for humanity – and especially Jinnah and Pakistan – was exemplary. To me, he was Saint James.

James would accompany me from the early 1990s on my tours to raise consciousness on the Jinnah project, long before we began to shoot the film. He would become visibly agitated if anyone said anything negative about the great Quaid.

Despite having been settled in England for many decades, James retained his sharp Punjabi sense of humor. In private, he was fond of joking with me. “The Quaid gave the white in the Pakistan flag for the Christian minorities,” he would say with a twinkle in his eye. “Today too, the Pakistan flag has something for the minorities. Unfortunately it is only the danda (stick).”

(Professor Akbar Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University, Washington DC) in winter. In other words, it burns in summer like an oven and freezes like a refrigerator in winter. How else do you think a servant quarter should be finished?

Although, it’s the same house it portrays the picture of two different worlds stacked upon each other, and even though their physical distance is minimal the two of them are poles apart. Their difference is so stark that you feel as if you have a travelled in time, entered a new universe and are looking at aliens, not humans. It’s a world of ignorance and poverty, where good food only means what has been left over by the people downstairs and good education means the ability to read the newspaper, write names and count basic numbers.

If you talk to the owners, people like you and me, professionals, middle class, educated, they will tell CHANGE, P28

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JANUARY 15, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P11

Pakistan Offers to Defuse Saudi-Iran Tensions

Saudi Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman meets COAS General Raheel Sharif

Islamabad: Pakistan on Sunday offered its ‘good offices’ to defuse tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran as it supported the Saudi initiative to establish a coalition of likeminded Islamic states to counter terrorism and extremism.

The offer came from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his meeting with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who visited Islamabad as part of the Kingdom’s efforts to seek Pakistan’s backing for the recently formed Saudi-led coalition.

Mohammad bin Salman, who was the second high-level official from Saudi Arabia to visit Pakistan in three days, also held talks with army chief General Raheel Sharif at the GHQ in Rawalpindi. Earlier last week, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed al Jubeir visited Islamabad.

The focus of the Saudi defense minister’s discussions both at the PM Office and GHQ was on securing Pakistan’s support for the Saudi move to

cobble together a coalition of 34-nation Islamic countries as well as current tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

An official statement said the premier recalled how Pakistan had historically pursued the policy of promoting brotherhood among member states of OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries).

“Pakistan has also always expressed its readiness to offer its good offices to brotherly Muslim countries for resolution of their differences through peaceful dialogue and reconciliation,” Nawaz added.

A senior official privy to the meeting between the Saudi prince and the prime minister said Islamabad voiced its deep concerns over the Saudi-Iran row and warned that the situation could have serious implications for Pakistan.

“That is why the prime minister has offered Pakistan’s good offices to defuse tensions,” added the official, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak

to the media. However, it is not clear if Riyadh and Tehran are willing to accept Pakistan as a mediator.

Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran have been on the rise ever since the former executed a prominent Shia cleric in early January. Angry protesters had then stormed the Saudi Embassy in Tehran before setting it on fire.

The incident caused a cascading effect with Gulf countries cutting off diplomatic ties with Tehran.

The war of words coupled with retaliatory actions against each other by Saudi Arabia and Iran had left Pakistan in a fix on making a decisive call about the Saudi coalition.

Despite the fact that its role remains vague, Pakistan on Sunday extended its backing to the coalition.

“The prime minister welcomed the Saudi initiative to establish a coalition of likeminded Islamic countries to counter terrorism and militancy and informed the deputy crown prince that Pakistan supports efforts to counter terrorism and extremism,” said the official statement.

The term ‘likeminded Islamic countries’ appears to address crucial questions regarding the exclusion of certain countries such as Iran, Iraq and Syria from the coalition.

But with details about the coalition scarce, there is little clarity on the extent of involvement which Saudi Arabia is seeking from Pakistan. Officials in Islamabad have privately made it clear that Pakistan will not spare troops for the coalition and at the same time will not become part of any action that is against any specific country. However, a second visit by a senior Saudi official within a span of three days suggests that Riyadh may have secured some sort of commitment from Islamabad.

Government to Take Parliamentarians into Confidence over Talks with Saudi Arabia Islamabad: The Government has

decided to take parliamentarians into confidence over high-level contacts that have taken place recently between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia following a diplomatic row between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

“A joint meeting of the Senate and the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs has been summoned tomorrow at Parliament House,” Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed told media personnel on the sidelines of Islamabad quadrilateral dialogue on Afghanistan reconciliation on Sunday.

He said the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz would take the joint committees into confidence over all negotiations held with Saudi foreign Minister and defense minister during their visits to Islamabad. The session would be incamera, he said.

Mushahid Hussain, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Defense Committee, said Pakistan would not be sending its troops to fight in the Saudi-led anti-terror alliance and that Pakistan’s cooperation would be confined to counter-terrorism only.

The execution this month of Saudi Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir Al Nimr and the subsequent reaction from Iran, including storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran, sparked the crisis exacerbating the tense relation-

The opposition attacked the government in the National Assembly last week for not coming up with a clear stance on the situation because of the tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran and called for a parliamentary briefing on the issue.

Islamabad to Identify ‘Reconcilable’ Afghan Taliban

ship between the two countries. Saudi Arabia responded by cutting off its diplomatic relations with Iran and many of its Arab allies followed suit.

During Saudi Foreign Minister Dr Adel Al-Jubeir’s visit to Islamabad last week, Pakistan assured Saudi Arabia of its unconditional support.

This was followed by the visit of Saudi Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman on Sunday. While Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif assured Prince Mohammad of “strong response” to threats to his country’s territorial integrity, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called for resolving the Kingdom’s crisis with Iran through diplomacy and offered Pakistan’s good offices in this regard, reported Dawn newspaper.

Islamabad: Top officials from Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the United States were to meet in Islamabad this week to finalize a roadmap for resurrecting a stalled peace process in Afghanistan, the Foreign Office said on Sunday. Afghan officials say Islamabad will identify ‘reconcilable’ Taliban at the meeting of the Quadrilateral Coordination Committee.

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will chair the meeting where attendees will include Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Khalil Hekmat Karzai and the special representatives of the United States and China for Afghanistan.

The meeting was announced after quadrilateral talks during the ministerial meeting of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process in Islamabad in early December, but the date was confirmed by officials on Sunday.

TALIBAN, P24

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Opposition Wrong-foots Government over Middle East Crisis

A view of the National Assembly

Islamabad: Thanks mainly to the lack of a clear stance on the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the government came under attack once again in the National Assembly on Wednesday.

Instead of putting up a defense, the treasury benches beat a retreat, forcing the opposition to call quorum and embarrassing the government for its failure to keep the house in order.

While the house is in session, it is the responsibility of the government to keep at least a quarter of lawmakers — at least 86 — present on their seats. After quorum was called, the house lacked the mandatory numbers, which forced the speaker to adjourn the session until Thursday morning.

Since the PML-N came to power, shortage of attendance has become a serious issue in the National Assembly, where the party holds a two-thirds majority. Hardly, any sitting of the National Assembly passes without the government being embarrassed due to a lack of quorum.

The tone of Wednesday’s sitting was set by Leader of the Opposition Syed Khurhseed Shah who said the government’s increasingly indifferent attitude towards parliament was a matter of grave concern.

“The way the government is treating parliament, people are losing confidence in democracy,” he said.

The veteran PPP lawmaker reminded the government that this parliament provided it breathing space and would continue to do so when it faced challenges.

However, “the treasury benches are ignoring this house,” he said.

He said that all parliamentary opposition parties had asked the government for its course of action on the Riyadh-Tehran feud, but it seemed the government had been waiting for the Saudi foreign minister before making up its mind.

Repeatedly highlighting the prime minister’s lack of interest in the National Assembly, Mr Shah also underlined how — by not convening a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) — the government was in violation of the Constitution.

“The government is not calling a meeting of CCI out of fear that Sindh and KP will demand their due rights,” remarked the opposition leader.

PTI MNA from Lahore, Shafqat Mehmood, who is a regular in the house, questioned the vision of the government on key issues. “Population explosion, water scarcity and ever deteriorating civil services are three areas where the government is paying no attention. As a result, more

and more people are suffering,” he said.

He claimed that if current trends continued, they would only lead to anarchy and called upon the government to put its house in order. He also demanded the government to take the house into confidence about the prime minister’s telephonic conversation with his Indian counterpart in the aftermath of the Pathankot attack.

“If India has provided some leads to Pakistan about the terrorists who struck the airbase, they must be shared with us,” he said, adding that the government’s ambiguous stance over the ongoing Iran-Saudi rift was only adding to the confusion.

Nafisa Shah of the PPP and Dr Arif Alvi of PTI also had some tough questions for the government. Both asked if the much-touted Orange Line Metro Train Project in Lahore was part of the CPEC. Ms Shah felt the “house must be taken into confidence over the exact contours [of the Rs200 billion project]”, for which the federal government had provided a sovereign guarantee.

She also said that the ruling party was most non-transparent in carrying out projects. PTI’s Dr Alvi and Asad Umar had even moved a privilege motion in the National Assembly against Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who they claimed, on different occasions, had put the project under the CPEC and separately classified it as an initiative of the Punjab government that had nothing to do with the corridor. Such misinformation about the CPEC will only create misgivings among smaller provinces, said Mr Alvi.

Only Awais Leghari, chairperson of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, made an attempt to defend the government. “I think this is the best the government can do at the moment because not only Pakistan, but all international and regional powers have expressed their concerns over the impasse.”

Assuring the house that his government would take the best possible course of action, Mr Leghari, who joined the ruling party only before the last general elections, said, “As chairman of the standing committee I have already asked for an in-camera meeting with the adviser on the matter.”

After Mr Leghari’s speech, a PTI lawmaker quipped, “I don’t think you (Mr Leghari) will be able to play any role in influencing the foreign policymaking of the country because the foreign office is too crowded at the moment.”

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JANUARY 15, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P13

Sindh Chief Minister Accuses Center of Political Victimization

Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah is seen speaking to reporters at the Chief Minister’s House in Karachi

Karachi: Sindh Chief Minister Qaim

Ali Shah said on Sunday the federal government worked democratically for a year and half but has now unleashed a policy of ‘confrontation and political victimization’.

“The federal government was working democratically in the beginning and gave space to provincial governments to work freely in the implementation of their policies and manifestoes,” he said while speaking to reporters at the Chief Minister’s House. “But I am sorry to say, it has started a policy of victimization.”

“Without any solid or tangible evidence, it [the federal government] has started harassing our ministers, government officers and elected representatives,” Shah said, adding that the center has failed to find any proof of corruption against them.

He gave example of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker Mir Munawar Talpur who had never held any government office at the federal or provincial levels during the PPP government tenures. “Despite this, a baseless reference has been filed

against Talpur, who is an extremely polite person and mostly lives in his village to serve his people.”

To a question, Shah said he was thankful to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for inviting him along with his delegation to Islamabad and listening to him patiently. He said the premier agreed with him on most issues.

“Pointing to [Interior Minister] Chaudhry Nisar, the prime minister said he [Nisar] would visit me within a week to redress all our grievances,” the chief minister said. “However, I have been waiting since and he has not contacted me directly.”

Shah claimed his government restored law and order in the province through the joint efforts and sacrifices of police and paramilitary Rangers. Enumerating his government’s achievements, he said the PPP-led Sindh government created more than 150,000 job opportunities, developed road network all over the province and established nine universities.

“We also introduced publicprivate partnership concept and

launched mega-projects. We are also going to celebrate Sindh government-Engro Coal-fired Power Plant,” he said.

Shah said his government did not need ‘certificates’ from our opponents. “But we are answerable to the Almighty, our people and to our leadership,” he claimed.

To a question about the antigovernment grand alliance announced on Saturday by Sindh opposition parties, he said it was not a new thing and that similar alliances had always been formed against the PPP. “But people of this province have always rejected them.”

He said he had not expected such an opposition from Pir Sahab Pagara, the head of the alliance. “He calls me ‘uncle’ and then leads such alliances without any solid argument to criticize my government,” he said.

Responding to Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) leader and Karachi’s mayor-elect Waseem Akhtar’s comment regarding shifting of funds from Karachi to Dubai, he said he was surprised by this ‘absurd statement’.

“If I retaliate to him in the same coin, he will not be able to answer.

His statement is baseless and we have served Karachi and its people selflessly,” he said.

He said Sindh government was paying salaries to a huge number of Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) and water board employees, appointed during the MQM’s tenure.

Shah said his government constructed flyovers in Karachi and had always financially supported the local bodies without any discrimination.

“Presently, more than Rs42 billion worth development works are going on in Karachi but even then those who [MQM] have always been in government are criticizing the Sindh government,” he added.

Allama Iqbal’s First Residence in Lahore Identified Lahore: Government College University (GCU) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Hassan Amir Shah announced on Saturday the discovery of a boarding room used by poet philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal during his student life. Allama Iqbal’s grandson, Muneeb Iqbal, was present on the occasion.

A committee, comprising distinguished professors and experts, had earlier been constituted to determine in which room Iqbal had stayed on arriving from Sialkot to Lahore in 1895. He had spent five years there.

The cubicle, located at the then Boarding House (now Allama Iqbal Hostel) of the GCU, Lahore is in its original condition.

The committee comprised Prof Dr Khursheed Rizvi, Prof Dr Zaheer Ahmed Siddique and Iqbal Hostel Superintendent Dr Khalid Mahmood Sanjarani, who had a PhD on Iqbal from Germany. The committee searched and reviewed all available literary and historical references to identify the room where Iqbal had lived.

The committee members said that the most authentic evidence which helped them trace the room was an article by Iqbal’s contemporary at GCU and close friend, Ghulam Bhik Nairang (September 26,

A view of Allama Iqbal Hostel at Government College University (GCU)

1876 – October 16, 1952).

Addressing the ceremony, Muneeb Iqbal said that it was one of the last wishes of his father (late Justice Javeed Iqbal) that the room be identified and preserved. “This room became Allama Iqbal’s first residence in Lahore. It was here that his journey to becoming the Poet of the East started,” he said.

Muneeb said no other residence of Iqbal from that time period was in such good condition.

“It has been well preserved. Not a single brick has been replaced,” he said. He expressed the desire to spend sometime in the room.

Dr Shah said that it was an obligation on the part of the university administration to discover and preserve the national heritage site.

The committee has recommended that instead of converting the room into a museum, it should be maintained in its original condition and that top students be given the opportunity to stay there for short periods.

A list of poems written by Allama Iqbal during his stay at the GCU was placed in the room along with some manuscripts of his poetry. Excerpts from the Ghulam IQBAL, P24

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‘COAS Green-lighted NAB Action in DHA Valley Scam’

Islamabad: Chief of Army Staff

(COAS) Gen Raheel Sharif had green-lighted stern action against retired military officers and civilians involved in the Rs62 billion Defense Housing Authority (DHA) Valley scam around six months ago, sources in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) have told Dawn.

A top NAB officer said on condition of anonymity that a senior military official had called on NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry in July last year and assured him of the army’s full support to the Bureau in investigating the matter.

The NAB chief was informed that the COAS was determined that no one should be spared in the investigation, even army officials.

“The message Gen Sharif conveyed to the NAB chairman was that no-one involved in the scam should be spared and action should be taken, even if his own brothers are found to have links to the scam,” an official privy to the meeting said.

NAB has recently started flexing its muscles against Bahria Town chief Malik Riaz, brothers of former army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and some DHA officials. Now, it is looking into irregularities in the construction of the DHA Valley scheme -- meant for families of military personnel who were killed in the line of duty -- which was to be built on Punjab government land at the site of the Dadhocha Dam, near Rawat.

When contacted, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) declined to comment on the matter. However, it has been widely reported that the management of DHA has formally filed a complaint with NAB, asking it to investigate the matter.

The NAB source said that during their meeting, the military official had inquired about an NAB investigation into a complaint, submitted by retired Lt-Col Mohammad Tariq Kamal in Sept 2010. The complaint alleged that the DHA Valley real estate project was being developed on an area reserved for the proposed Dadhocha Dam. Following the verification of the complaint on June 13, 2011, the Bureau had authorized an inquiry on July 3, 2012.

The NAB chairman had, at the time, indicated that former army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s brothers and other retired army officials were impli-

cated. At this, the military officer told the NAB chief that Gen Sharif wanted a just investigation and that no one should be spared.

The case was later tried by the Supreme Court and a two-judge bench headed by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja heard the petition on July 16, 2015. In addition to demanding an explanation from NAB, the court also asked the Punjab government to respond to the petitioner’s allegations.

The petition claimed that DHA, Bahria Town and a private construction firm Habib Rafique had entered into a contract to develop various housing schemes including DHA Valley, DHA Phase II Extension, DHA Expressway and DHA Villas in Rawalpindi, as a joint venture (JV).

According to the petitioner’s evaluation, DHA Valley was valued at Rs110 billion, DHA Phase II Extension at Rs70 billion, DHA Expressway at Rs50 billion and DHA Villas at Rs100 billion.

DHA-I and DHA-II are alreadydeveloped housing societies, but DHA Valley is yet to be developed.

According to NAB investigation, those who had paid for plots in DHA Valley found themselves in an awkward position when in 2009 DHA transferred all the funds it had been paid (Rs62 billion) to the accounts of Bahria Town, which eventually failed to develop the scheme. Those cheated out of their money included 110,000 civilians, 41,000 serving and retired military officers, jawans and families of martyrs.

Gen Kiyani’s brothers respond: On Sunday, retired Brig Amjad Parvez Kayani issued a statement, claiming that the former army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani had nothing to do with the actions and business interests of his brothers.

“Rather than talking about us as individuals, a reference is always made to Gen Kayani, as if he sponsored and facilitated us in everything we did or did not do. Everything under the sun is attributed to us without a shred of lawful or even raw evidence, departmental records or proof. These allegations are baseless. Gen Kayani never, in any way, sponsored or facilitated our business interests,” the statement said.

Brig Amjad claimed that his brother Kamran Kayani, an accused in the DHA City Lahore scam, was not a partner in the JV between DHA Lahore and Eden Private Limited, nor did he facilitate a deal between the two in favor of EDEN City. “In this JV, DHA Lahore is the senior partner and all plots/files which were marketed would have been issued

by DHA and no one else (including Kamran Kayani),” he said.

Kamran Kayani also has no connections with another JV, signed in 2009 between DHA Islamabad and Elysium. “Ownership of the Elysium was clearly established in a Supreme Court’s decision, which ordered EOBI to return 50 plots to Elysium and the company to pay back Rs1 billion to EOBI. The decision of the Supreme Court was implemented,” he said.

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PAKISTAN

JANUARY 15, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P15

Deadlock Persists over Issues of CPEC Implementation

Ex-CJP’s First Political Outing

Islamabad: The country’s political

leadership extended support to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project on Sunday, but remained deadlocked over details and the way forward.

As a multi-party conference (MPC) convened by the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) concluded, it was clear that differences over the implementation of the flagship program continued to persist.

Representatives of over 20 political and nationalist parties rejected the presentations made by two federal ministers in an effort to address the concerns of smaller provinces over the execution of the CPEC project, and decided to seek Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s direct intervention.

The MPC titled “CPEC and Gwadar: Future prospects for Balochistan” was attended by leaders of more than 20 political parties, including the PML-N. A declaration comprising 13 resolutions adopted at the conference asked the government to implement the decisions taken at the MPC held on May 28 last year in which the prime minister had committed that the western route of the CPEC would be built first.

In his closing remarks, BNPM president Akhtar Mengal said their case had been presented before the national leaders and now it was their responsibility to come to the aid of the province.

“If you again put dust on this quagmire, it will be difficult for you to invite the people or the parties of Balochistan again to Islamabad in future,” he warned.

Mr Mengal said there would have been no need for convening the MPCs had the country’s institutions been strong enough to deal with the matter. In an apparent reference to the army, he said there was only one strong institution in the country, which “uses stick” against politicians and judges and

Islamabad: Prime Minister Nawaz

Islamabad: At Sunday’s multi-party

“fires bullets on people”.

He asked the participants to look at the events which forced the people of Balochistan to either go abroad or on mountains. He said the country had carried out its nuclear tests in Chaghi district in 1998, but since then no one had gone there to see the conditions in which the people of the area were living.

He said that while Balochistan was not getting its due share in the CPEC and revenues, the provincial government was spending Rs25 billion on the security of Chinese workers.

“If the Constitution can be amended to make the army chief the chief executive and then president of the country why it could not give our rights to us?” he questioned.

“Have you not established military courts by amending the Constitution and after cutting your democratic hands? It’s up to you to decide, whether you want the Constitution or the country?

Remember that the Constitution can be changed or amended, but a country can be created or broken

only once,” he said, in his reference to Railways Minister Saad Rafiq’s remarks that nationalist parties should keep themselves confined to the Constitution.

“Please take us along and do not drag us as we know how to walk,” he said. “Now it depends on you. Do you want Pakistan to become a country or a graveyard?”

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said people who talked about their rights should not be dubbed “traitors”. Mr Khattak, who belongs to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, complained that he had never been consulted

by Islamabad on the CPEC project.

Referring to one of his meetings with the Chinese ambassador, the KP chief minister claimed that he had received some “information” which he could not disclose.

PkMAP president Mehmood Khan Achakzai said the CPEC would not be a viable project without good relations with India and Afghanistan. He stressed the need for unity between the Baloch and Pashtoons living in Balochistan so that they could jointly fight for their rights.

UAE Eyes Pakistan’s Dasht River Water n By Riaz Haq San Jose, CA: A top UAE businessman has proposed building a 500 kilometer long pipeline to bring Pakistan’s Dasht River water from the Makran coast to Fujaira for his United Arab Emirates’ water security.

Water-scarce Pakistan itself needs to store and use the Dasht River water for development of Balochistan, particularly Gwadar and other related projects as part of the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Abdullah Al Shehi, the CEO of GeoWash, has argued that the Dasht River floods annually, which has prompted the Pakistani government to empty the excess water through channels leading to the sea. That excess water, said Mr Al Shehi, could be put to use in the UAE, according to a report in the UAE’s newspaper “The National”.

Dasht River is located in Makran region and Gwadar District, in the southwestern section of Balochistan Province, in southwestern Pakistan.

The Kech River, a seasonal intermittent river, is a tributary of the Dasht

JIT to Probe Pathankot Attackers’ Pakistan Ties

Mirani Dam

River which flows southeast through the Central Makran Range in the Gwadar District of Balochistan into the Gulf of Oman in the Arabian Sea. Mirani Dam was completed on Dasht River in 2006 to store over 300,000 acre-feet of fresh water to meet the needs of southern Balochistan. This water reservoir is essential for the development of a deep sea port and a major new metropolis in Gawadar as part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. In addition to

supplying fresh water to Turbat, Jiwani and Gwadar cities, it has sufficient capacity to irrigate over 33,000 acres of farm land.

The United Arab Emirates uses 80% of its fresh water for agriculture in its arid desert and the rest of the 20% for urban needs, according to The National. Here’s the key question: Does it make more sense for the UAE to import food rather than grow its own food by importing fresh water?

The second question is: Can the UAE

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conference – hosted by the BNPMengal – all eyes were on former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who made his first political appearance since he launched his own political party in December.

While Mr Chaudhry did not say anything that could be construed as being controversial, he remained a target of jibes, both direct and indirect attacks by some speakers.

The harshest and most direct attack came from the host, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, who criticized former Justice Chaudhry for not giving due consideration to the six-point formula, which he had presented before the Supreme Court in September 2012.

“Had there been justice in the country, people would not have been naming their party ‘justice’ parties,” Mr Mengal said, in a direct reference to the former chief justice’s newly formed Pakistan Justice Democratic Critic Party (PJDCP).

In his speech, PkMAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai said that all institutions, including the judiciary, should function within their constitutional limits and should be subservient to parliament, which was seen as a jibe against judicial activism that was a hallmark of Justice Chaudhry’s tenure as CJP. In his speech, former Chief Justice Chaudhry warned that the country could face a dangerous situation if the people of Balochistan were not given their rights. He was of the view that the MPC should have been held in Gwadar to apprise the political leadership about the poor conditions that people there had to face. focus on desalination for the water it needs for urban use?

Gwadar port was first conceived in late 1950s when Pakistan purchased the region from the Sultanate of Oman. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been talked about since early 1990s. But nothing was done to develop until President Pervez Musharraf allocated time, money and focus to build first several berths at Gwadar deep sea port, Coastal Highway to connect it with Karachi and Mirani Dam in Balochistan to supply water on his watch.

Now water-stressed Pakistan needs to focus on building greater water storage capacity if it’s really serious about developing Gwadar, Southwestern Balochistan and the Makran coast.

It must not agree to export the Dasht River water to any state, including the UAE. Instead, it should offer to export food to meet UAE’s needs.

Sharif has asked the chief of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to form a joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate the alleged links of the Pathankot air base attackers with Pakistan, sources in the Prime Minister’s House said on Sunday.

The decision to form a JIT, comprising officials from IB, InterServices Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI), was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by the premier a few days ago.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, National Security Adviser Lt-Gen (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar attended the meeting.

“Prime Minister Nawaz is taking an active role in getting to the bottom of the Pathankot incident,” a Prime Minister’s House source said. “He also discussed the issue with army chief Gen Raheel Sharif and took him on board about the decision to form a JIT.” “This investigation will be a major test of the prime minister to move Pakistan-India relationship forward and to break the cycle of off-again-on-again talks between the two neighbors,” the source added.

New Delhi has shared with Islamabad some evidence of the Pathankot attackers’ purported links to Pakistan. The evidence is said to include some voice recordings and the cellular phone numbers of the attackers’ handlers which were allegedly traced to Pakistan.

PM Nawaz has assured his Indian counterpart that Pakistan will investigate the matter and make the results public.

Refineries Continue to Enjoy ‘Healthy Margins’

Karachi: Pakistan’s oil refineries are

enjoying “healthy margins” despite the steep drop in crude price, which has shaken strong economies and pushed other players in the oil supply chain to the brink, a top industry official said.

“Refineries process crude to make consumer-end petroleum products like petrol and furnace oil, which have not seen a decline in demand,” said Pakistan Refinery Limited CEO Aftab Husain.

“Some of the country’s peculiar economic factors like increase in sale of vehicles on the back of a growing population have also fuelled demand for petroleum products,” he added.

“Surely, oil price has come down. Price of petroleum products has also declined in tandem. But the difference between the two continues to be in our favor,” said Husain, referring to the refining margin.

Three of the four refineries in Pakistan announced losses in JulySeptember quarter of 2015-16. But that has not subdued hopes for a recovery in the following months.

(Financial results for October-December quarter are due) Husain said the shortage of alternate auto fuel – compressed

REFINERIES, P24

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䜀刀䄀一䐀 伀倀䔀一䤀一䜀℀ 䌀漀洀攀 椀渀 ㄀⼀㄀㘀 愀渀搀 最攀琀 ㈀㔀─ 漀昀昀 礀漀甀爀 攀渀琀椀爀攀 瀀甀爀挀栀愀猀攀℀ 䜀甀攀猀琀猀 椀渀 愀琀琀攀渀搀愀渀挀攀 眀椀氀氀 戀攀 攀渀琀攀爀攀搀 椀渀 愀 爀愀昀昀氀攀 琀漀 眀椀渀 一椀猀栀愀 最椀昀琀 挀攀爀琀椀昀椀挀愀琀攀猀℀ ㄀㠀㜀㈀㔀 倀椀漀渀攀攀爀 䈀氀瘀搀⸀ 䄀爀琀攀猀椀愀Ⰰ 䌀䄀 㤀 㜀 ㄀

䄀挀爀漀猀猀 昀爀漀洀 琀栀攀 昀漀漀搀 挀漀甀爀琀℀

攀砀瀀椀爀攀猀 ㄀⼀㄀㘀⼀㈀ ㄀㘀

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COMMUNITY

JANUARY 15, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P17

Community Link Friday, January 15, 2016

VOL. 26/3 PAGE 21

PAGE 23 egum PAGE

Rahmat Ali: The Condemned Hero

An Enjoyable and Purposeful Endeavor

4 Rabi ‘u-thani 1437 H

PAGE PAGE27 17

Umar Gul Ready to Take Flight to New Zealand

For news, updated round the clock, visit

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Fourth Joint Masjid Basketball Tournament Organized by SCMCO

Glimpses of the tournament

3

50 players representing 26 mosques from all over Southern California gathered at the American Sports Center on December 26th to participate in the “Fourth Joint Masjid Basketball Tournament” organized by

the Southern California Muslim Community Organization (SCMCO).

The tournament was a mega event organized by SCMCO, an umbrella organization of mosques in SoCal, that aims to bring the Mus-

lim community together through social activities.

At the outset, the Rules and Regulation Committee lead Hafiz Azeem Syed explained the rules of engagement to the participating players. He also acted as the Event

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spokesman. He extended a heartfelt welcome to the players and the audience.

SCMCO’s mission is to organize activities and mobilize the community in a manner that forges unity in the community, stated the

event’s core executive organizers Abdul Aziz Hafeez. It was a rare delight to see over 400 players and spectators performing salah together. Hafiz Anas Amla led the prayer.

Executive Member of Islamic Shura

TOURNAMENT, P19

COMMUNITY

P18 – PAKISTAN LINK – JANUARY 15, 2016

T

Oldest Mosque in America Invites Donald Trump to Visit

he day that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump released his first television ad in Iowa—marketing himself as America’s savior against “radical Islamic terrorism”—a leading Iowa imam responded not in fear of increased anti-Muslim backlash but with an invitation for Trump himself.

“As an imam and director of the first mosque of North America, I, Imam Tawil, declare that we would love to have our candidate Donald Trump to come and talk to his fellow citizens who have been born here, whose parents were born here, as Americans, to come talk to us about his plans, to come to tell us his philosophy, and to tell us how he can help us out as American citizens,” Tawil tells TIME. It is an ironic historical twist that Iowa, where Trump is pushing antiMuslim fervor to increase his presidential appeal, is also home to one of America’s most established Muslim communities. Tawil leads the Mother Mosque of America in Cedar Rapids, which is the oldest surviving mosque not just in the United States but also in North America. The community dates to Syrians who settled in the Cedar Rapids area in the late 1800s, and Mother Mosque formally opened in 1934 in the midst of the Great Depression. The area is also home to the Muslim National Cemetery, whose land in honor of military servicemen who fought in World War II. Today Cedar Rapids is home to three mosques. Mother Mosque operates more as a cultural center for non-Muslims, while the nearby Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids is main center for prayer and religious services some 2,000 Muslim families in the Cedar Rapids area, Tawil explains.

Only about 1% of Iowans are Muslim, mirroring the national average, according to the Pew Research Center.

“[Candidates] say things to market themselves, and get votes … it is their job to make us look bad,” Tawil says. “Unfortunately, they are wasting their money, they are not gaining anything, because the community knows who you are, and we are dealing with the fourth generation [of Muslims in Iowa].”

Mother Mosque’s own Iowa pride runs deep. A photo caption on the group’s website reads, “Is this heaven? No, it is Cedar Rapids, Iowa!” At times its welcome page

seems more about Iowa than about Islam: “The Mother Mosque is in IOWA, the hearth-land of America, Cedar Rapids, Iowa where hospitality, generosity, and tolerance is well known facts,” a history section on its website reads. “From fields of tulips … to the field of dreams … From covered bridges … to covered wagon … From America’s castles … to classic barns … From fields of corns … to Quaker Oat … From Czech Museum … to the Mother Mosque of America … IOWA welcomes you.”

Khatam e Qur’an for the Late Mr Qutubuddin Aziz

Dr Muzammil Siddiqi led the prayers and supplications and introduced Adam Aziz, the grandson, who shared memories of his grandfather, the late Mr Qutubuddin Aziz

A Qur’an Qatam was held to pray for the departed soul of Mr Qutubuddin Aziz, a distinguished journalist, author, diplomat, Pakistan Movement Leader, and intellectual at the Islamic Society of Orange County, on Saturday, January 2nd, 2016.

Mr Aziz’s daughter, Anila Ali, and his son, Farhan Aziz, were joined by their families in prayers.

Peoples from all faiths attended the prayers and many remembered meeting Mr Aziz on his tours to Southern California, when he had also visited the Pakistan Link offices.

Dr Muzammil Siddiqi led the

prayers and supplications. He acknowledged the great work that Mr Aziz’s daughter, Anila Ali, was doing for the community and introduced the grandson, Adam Aziz, who shared memories of his grandfather. The oldest granddaughter, Said Qasim, recalled her life with her loving and highly supportive grandfather. Mr Aziz’s grandchildren, Saima Asfandayar Qasim and Adam Aziz shared their memories of their illustrious grandfather.

The deceased leaves many close family members in California: Anila and Karim Ali, Farhan and Sumara Aziz, and Saima Qasim and Asfandyar Bashir.

Tawil, a U.S. citizen and a Palestinian Muslim originally from Jerusalem, is confident that Trump’s comments and advertising will not damage Islam’s place in the broader Cedar Rapids community. He cites strong relationship with law enforcement and local political leaders, his role as a community chaplain, and his prayers that have opened Cedar Rapids City Council meetings. Interfaith engagement has also expanded since the 1990s. “We are part of the fabric,” Tawil says. “I don’t know what they want, what end results Mr. Trump is asking for? Concentration camps? …

That is why the community will not back them up.”

It is a long shot that Trump will take Tawil up on his offer to speak to Muslim citizens at the Mother Mosque, especially if it means coming alongside them to show how he can support their needs. But Tawil wants to give it a try. The Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids held an open house on Dec. 30 with Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim in Congress, who was campaigning on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders.

Whether or not Trump accepts his offer, Tawil believes Trump’s new ad is just one more way he is undercutting possible support from Iowa’s citizens. Tawil says that he, like most of his community, is a registered Republican, and GOP anti-Muslim rhetoric only makes him feel more trapped. “I cannot deny that the comments of Mr. Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson have been very hurtful and very damaging,” he says, saying he will have to pray to discern which candidates are close to God’s will.

“We are shaken….Right now I am sure I will not vote for him, that is 100%, but as a religious leader I cannot tell people what to do.” – Courtesy TIME

Partnering with YouTube to Bring You ‘iMPACt: Real Issues...Real Talk’

S

n By Maha Awad

o much is happening around the world today and much of it is associated with Islam and Muslims in some way or another.

Mainstream media will certainly report on what’s going on around the world, but often with a limited perspective.

As a leading voice for American Muslims on inclusion, dialogue and partnership, MPAC has always been keen on honest and real conversations about the issues that pertain to Muslims here in the US and abroad.

This is why we have partnered up with YouTube to produce MPAC’s new YouTube series called ‘iMPACt: Real Issues…Real Talk.’ With each

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episode, our goal is to tackle a timely issue and offer meaningful and informative perspectives in easily digestible segments that give young people of all faith backgrounds a clearer understanding of topics that are trending in the news and on social media.

As the host, it is my promise that we will not shy away from the difficult and uncomfortable issues, nor the unpopular or unconventional viewpoints. We will be honest with ourselves and our viewers about what’s going on in the world of Islam. We’ll keep it real.

We invite you to watch our first few special episodes and engage us in conversations about the issues—ask MPAC, P28

Shehla Jawaid Passes away A very courageous and caring community member, Sr. Shehla Jawaid, passed away on Tuesday, January 5, 2016. She was a cancer survivor, but died of other multiple causes. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’oon.

May Allah rest her soul in eternal peace in Jannat alFirdaus and give her family fortitude and courage to bear the monumental loss. My heartfelt condolences and sincere prayers are with the family. Sr. Shehla is survived by her loving husband of 37 years, Haider Jawaid, and three beautiful and handsome children, Naveen Jawaid, Amber Jawaid and Emraan Jawaid. May Allah make it easy for all of them to bear the loss with sabr jameel.

I have known Br. Haider Jawaid very well for the last four decades. His wife, Sr. Shehla, was an active and supportive member of the Muslim and Pakistani community of Southern California. Her unconditional love, active participation, strong community support and generosity were manifestly evident on many occasions over the years. Her kindness, jovial spirit, sense of humor and pliability will be deeply missed by all and sundry.

She earned my respect more than ten years ago after her bout with cancer. I was at a doctor’s office reading magazines as usual and waiting for my wife, Shahana, to get done with her appointment. It was there that I came across a big, fancy and very professional looking book published by one of the medical organizations in the US. The book had real stories of survivors of chronic illnesses together with their pictures. Out of curiosity, I started flipping over pages to see if there were any Muslim survivors in the book. I went through the entire book and came across only one Muslim survivor and that turned out to be Sr. Shehla Jawaid. There she was in a full-page beautiful picture smiling in gorgeous Pakistani dress but completely bald. I was stunned by her outstanding courage exposing her medical history in order to encourage humanity at large not to give up, keep fighting and get treatment for any chronic illness. I salute her for her exceptional courage to this day.

She was an ardent reader of all my emails. Whenever she started a new treatment, she used to email me information about it saying, “Rafique Bhai, please pray for me”. I unfailingly prayed for her, and most sincerely. Now that my considerate sister is gone, I will keep her and her entire family in my prayers, Insha’Allah indefinitely. May Allah bless her and her family.

Sr. Shehla Jawaid was laid to rest in the Rose Hills Memorial Park. May her soul rest in peace. - Rafique Ahmed

COMMUNITY

JANUARY 15, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P19

SCMCO Joint Masjid Basketball Tournament, 2015 RESULTS

Champion

Runner Up

Final MVP

Semi Final MVP

39 & U

Islamic Center of Irvine, ICOI

Samir Pepic (ICOI)

Samir Pepic (ICOI)

19 & U

Al Noor Foundation, Fountain Valley Islamic Society of Orange County (ISOC) Islamic Center of Northridge (ICN) Islamic Center of Northridge (ICN)

Institute of Knowledge (IOK) Islamic Center of Irvine , ICOI

Khalid Mohamed

Khalid Mohamed

Islamic Institute of Torrance Islamic Center of San Gabriel Valley (ICSGV) Freelancers

Sheraz Kazi (ISOC) , Adnan Abdeh (ISOC) Omar Molai (ICN)

Amir Ellahi (IIT)

16 & U 13 & U

TOURNAMENT FROM P17

Council Dr Ahmed Soboh said, “I have no words to describe my feelings. May Allah always gather us all for the benefit of this Ummah.” He applauded the efforts of the Organizing Committee for organizing the event.

The competition began at 9:30 AM and ended at 7:00 PM with a great display of team spirit and com-

petition in the air. Professional referees were at hand to perform their duties. The prizes were presented by SCMCO Organization Committee members Abdul Aziz Hafiz, Hafiz Azeem Syed, Adil Nyear and Dawar Naqvi.

At the concluding ceremony, SCMCO Chairperson Dawar Naqvi

thanked everyone for their contribution. He thanked ALLAH for making this program successful. He admired the hard work of his teammates. He said without their efforts the event could not have been possible. He especially thanked the team of youth volunteers who ran the enrollment process successfully.

SCMCO presented the Humanitarian Award to Dr Faisal Qazi for launching the campaign to collect $215,000 for the San Bernardino victims. SCMCO also presented the best Supportive Masjid award to the Chino Valley Islamic Center. SCMCO also extended felicitations to the Basketball Champions.

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10 & U

Adiba Aziz

Laila Issa Iman Naqvi Zainab Sabrina Rafiya Kulsoom Javeria Elina

ICN ICIE IECOC OCIF ICYL ISCN ICYL ICYL ICPL ISCN

Brothers Alam Akthar Amjad Naqvi Hameed Kabeer David Williams Abdulhafeez Amiri

Samir Zayyad Nedal Zayyad

Akbar Khawaja (IIT)

Ahmed Khan (ICSGV)

List of Volunteers: Sisters Mrs. Aziz Molai

Sportsmanship award, Coach “K” Farhan Zubairi (IOK)

ISCN OCIF ICIE ICIE ICIE AUCSC AUCSC

SCMCO Organizing Committee: Abdul Aziz Hafeez (ICIE), Hafiz Azeem Syed (IOK), Adil Nyear (ISOC) and Dawar Naqvi.

COMMENTARY

P20 – PAKISTAN LINK – JANUARY 15, 2016 n By Jasper Reid New Delhi, India

“

A Delhi-Based Expat Crosses the Border

I think I’ll go visit Pakistan,” I announced.

“One hundred percent terrorist,” proclaimed Victor William, my driver, with utter conviction and summing up a widely held take in India. “Don’t go,” he added.

“You’re off to that ‘Homeland’ place?” squeaked friends newly boned up on Islamabad (as imagined by HBO).

Their reactions alone seemed reason to go. I likened it to certain people’s prejudice about America, which, in my mind, is closely correlated to their never having been.

Pakistan, so close to Delhi and so very far away. A land less visited, the bugbear of India, an expat wilderness, the last refuge of Osama Bin Laden. But also: home to the Khyber Pass, the Indus Valley, the Northwest Frontier; a country of almost 200 million and, reservations notwithstanding, too hard to resist when living 320 miles from the Pakistan border.

First step, a visa. Not hard with a UK passport, but the brooding presence of a Pakistan stamp might mean an Indian immigration grilling—a bit like having an Israeli visa on arrival at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport. What does the enterprising expat need in times of tricky travel? Friends in high places? Jedi border-crossing powers?

No, what the expat really needs is the coveted second passport, preferably something Swiss, or Scandinavian, or, in my case, Irish.

Ah, Ireland, you green and happy place; country of tolerance and welcome with a history of rebellion, oppression and emigration.

The Republic of Ireland, possibly a rainier sort of Pakistan (with substantially more Guinness).

My second-passport thesis seemed proven by securing a visa in a mere 24 hours after a relaxing morning filling forms at the Pakistan High Commission, a large and rather soulful compound in the depths of diplomatic Delhi. Even Mr William was impressed, coming away with a favorable opinion of his first encounter with Pakistani citizens. “Just like us, boss,” he declared in a rare outburst of bilateral detente.

Next, the logistics. At this stage the deci-

S

sion to take Latin over Geography at O Level proved unfortunate as I booked Delhi-Abu Dhabi-Lahore over the more logical DelhiAmritsar and a walk across the border. My Indian business partners, too polite or perplexed by the escapade, refrained from pointing out the error and so I boarded my flight to Abu Dhabi (a 3,000-mile dog leg to Lahore). Quod erat demonstrandum, as a geography student might like to say.

The flight was a riot of construction workers en route to their expat jobs in the Gulf, and me. But what a contrast with the passengers at the Abu Dhabi departure gate for Lahore. It could have been JFK—vibrant, international, fashion-conscious; all iPads and Tory Burch.

Dawn the next day at Fort Lahore. Heavens, what a place and reason alone to visit Pakistan! A glorious morning, no one there and standing at the foot of Shah Jahan’s Elephant Steps to his magnificent palace. What a thing, what a thought—a stairway for your favorite pachyderm and its very big strides. Something to inspire a man on a gray morning commute and an action item to be more like the Mughals.

Later I toured the hip, up-and-coming city boroughs and saw an outbreak of US

burger joints and burgeoning mall developments. Pretty girls, blue skies, ancient places, modern ways, few traffic jams and no trash.

Later I toured the hip, up-andcoming city boroughs and saw an outbreak of US burger joints and burgeoning mall developments. Pretty girls, blue skies, ancient places, modern ways, few traffic jams and no trash. Quite a place, and a pleasant contrast to the hard-knock life of Delhi with its press of 25 million people.

Surprisingly, it turned out that doing business was easier than India Quite a place, and a pleasant contrast to the hard-knock life of Delhi with its press of 25

million people. Surprisingly, it turned out that doing business was easier than India—less regulation and more free trade. This was borne out by an out-of-body hour spent cruising the aisles of a Rawalpindi supermarket as good as Whole Foods WFM +0.39% or Waitrose.

And so on to Islamabad and the charming Serena Hotel. Old expat hands would recognize its type in comparable hotels of the day— the places to meet in an era when knowing the right people mattered: the Mandarin, Hong Kong of the ’80s, the Grand Hotel Europe in St. Petersburg, the King David in 1960s’ Jerusalem, the Okura in Tokyo. At the Serena, the local political crowd mixed with South Asia journalists, Chinese businessmen and the odd Westerner of uncertain provenance.

On the final day. Islamabad sparkling with views of the surrounding green hills: I set off to explore the city through the universal medium of jogging, much to the surprise of the Serena’s security team and their adorable black Labrador sniffer dog. After detouring through a dusty park, I emerged on to Constitution Avenue (think Champs-Élysées) and ran the length of the road past sandbagged machine-gun posts and slow-driving, tintedwindow Chevrolet Suburbans bound for the highly defended diplomatic compound.

As the plane took off from Benazir Bhutto International, I felt privileged to see Pakistan before it becomes, in all likelihood, less like itself and more like a modern Middle East or Asian city. When this happens there’ll be no time to wander up Elephant Steps or jog alone on Constitution Ave. Back in New Delhi I spoke to my young team about the trip. Reassuringly, they were intrigued and asked questions, and many wanted to visit their neighbor. Perhaps the passing of years may lessen the pain of partition and cross-border traffic will increase, surely to the benefit of both these splendid, complex countries.

In the meantime, my wife and I shall take our children to Pakistan for one big reason: to show them they’re able to visit this remarkable land. In the end, providing this permission to travel (the ultimate visa stamp) may be the biggest benefit of being a family abroad. Kids may or may not travel later in life, but they’ll know they can.

(Jasper Reid is a British expat, entrepreneur, husband, and father of twins based in Delhi. The Wall Street Journal)

Syed Mushtaq Ali Scored the Subcontinent’s First Test 100 Overseas

yed Mushtaq Ali, a dashing batsman and a colorful personality, was the first Indian cricketer to score a century abroad, against England at Old Trafford, in 1936.

He made his Test debut, also against England, led by Douglas Jardine, in 1933-4, when he took the wicket of Jardine himself. He had batted at No 7, but by the time of the 1936 Test, had been promoted to become an opener.

England were set to take a 2-0 lead as India were chasing 368 runs in the second innings. But Vijay Merchant and Mushtaq Ali, the “prose and poetry”, in the words of the celebrated cricket writer Sir Neville Cardus, had other ideas. When they started the innings after tea, nobody, including bowlers such as Alf Gover, Hedley Verity, Gubby Allen and Walter Hammond, expected such an onslaught from the Indian opening pair. Such was the strength of the attack from Mushtaq Ali that he completed the century in just one session.

Vijay Merchant also scored a century, but next morning Ali repeatedly hammered all the bowlers, leaving the crowd stunned.

His ton, for which he was presented with a gold watch by his captain, Vizzy (Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram), was voted 18th in the list of all-time greatest centuries by cricketers and cricket writers in a poll conducted by Wisden Asia Cricket in December 2004.

Mushtaq Ali was immensely popular, especially in Calcutta, where he scored another majestic ton against Lord Tennyson’s side at Eden Gardens in 1937. But even in those days, politics was evident and Ali was not considered for the national side. When the Australian Services team toured India just after the Second World War, he was left out of the Indian XI for the second unofficial Test at Calcutta.

The decision drew crowds of protesters, bearing banners and placards declaring: “No Mushtaq Ali, no Test, bring back Mushtaq.” And when Duleepsinhji, then chairman of the selection committee, came to Calcutta and was surrounded by protesters, it was Mushtaq Ali who saved him; and Duleep in

Vijay Merchant and Mushtaq Ali (right), the “prose and poetry”, in the words of the celebrated cricket writer Sir Neville Cardus, had other ideas

the end gave in.

Though Mushtaq Ali was a prolific and consistent player, he never became a regular in the Indian team. Nevertheless, whenever he was selected, his playing bolstered his reputation.

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Opening with Merchant again some years later, he added 124 at Old Trafford and 94 at the Oval. He opened the innings with Vijay Merchant in just four Tests but scored an average of 83.4.

His biggest regret was that he never played against Sir Don Bradman. He actually was selected as vice-captain for an Australian tour in 1947. But he withdrew his name, and later said it was the most difficult decision he ever took.

It was the time of partition, and he was undecided whether to live in India or Pakistan. It was also a time of personal sadness. His brother had recently died and he decided his family was more important than the tour. “My brother’s demise had left me heartbroken. Mentally I was not up to the challenge of travelling to Australia. I knew I had lost the opportunity of playing against and learning from the legendary Don Bradman.

And as vice-captain I did not want to let my country down. But forced to assume the responsibilities of the head of the family, I was left with little option.”

He was selected again against the mighty West Indies team and scored 53 and a brilliant hundred.

His century at Old Trafford was a great memory for him but he considered a win over England at Chepauk Madras in 1952 as something special.

His career spanned nearly two decades, and although he played only 11 Tests, he had a high-profile career in first-class cricket. He played 226 matches and scored more than 13,000 runs, with 30 centuries. He also picked up 162 wickets with his slow, left-arm spin. He played for Central India, Gujarat, Holkar, Madhya Bharat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Muslims and Uttar Pradesh.

Sam Loxton, the Australian fast bowler, was so impressed with Mushtaq that he said if he could bat like this consistently he had to be the best opener in the world. He was a fearless hooker of the ball, and would step forward to play the shot against the fast bowlers. He was an attacking batsman from MUSHTAQ, P22

COMMENTARY n By Dr Asif Javed

T

Williamsport, PA

he other day, I asked three Pakistani physicians about Rahmat Ali (RA).

One thought he had written the national anthem; another claimed he had designed the national flag; and only the third knew he had coined the word Pakistan!

Now, this is what K.K. Aziz writes of RA: His distinction lies in that he was the first to argue, in detail, in favor of the Two-Nation Theory, to offer a concreate scheme, to give a name to the proposed state, and to establish a movement to achieve the ideal. Some others had made suggestions and then forgotten them or passed on to other things. He alone devoted his life to it and stood like a rock in its cause. He had no material resources to lighten his labors. No crowds applauded him.

No public deification buoyed him up in dark hours. No party advanced his name or his plans, or fought for his principles. With none to cheer his lonely exile, not even a wife to share his solitary existence, he literally lived and died with the idea which he had made the sole justification of his life.

RA’s was an extraordinary life. Born in a low middle-class family in East Punjab, he came to Lahore in 1918. Having spent twelve years in Lahore, during which he graduated from Islamia College, taught at Atchison College and worked as private secretary to Mazari Chief, Dost Mohammad, he proceeded to England in 1930. He was to remain in Cambridge for the rest of his life, barring a few short breaks.

Interestingly, those who helped RA in his life included Sir Umar Hayat Tiwana, a landlord from Sargodha, and father of Khizar Hayat Tiwana, later Prime Minister of Punjab. Mr Tiwana kept a house in London that was open to visitors from back home. RA was not only allowed to stay there, but also received a favorable letter of reference from his host that helped him get in to Emmanuel College in Cambridge, an institution where Pitras Bokhari had once been a student. Tiwanas were Unionists and opposed the Muslim League but the man who was to win the first Nobel Prize and the one who coined the name Pakistan, were both helped by them along the way.

RA’s odyssey began on January 28, 1933 when he wrote the pamphlet, Now or Never, from 3 Humberstone Rd, Cambridge. This was followed by the launch of the Pakistan National Movement and a grandiose plan that envisioned ten independent Muslim states in India; he was to spend the rest of his life in the relentless pursuit of this ideal.

There is an interesting version of how RA came up with the word Pakistan: while he had been thinking of this for a while, RA claims to have had a moment of inspiration, while atop a double-decker bus in London when the word PAKSTAN (without I) flashed in his mind. It was later that I – taken from Indus -was added to make it PAKISTAN. Ironically, the original demand for Pakistan did not include Bengal.

RA travelled often to plead his case.

There is evidence that he met Adolf Hitler; the German Chancellor, it may be recalled, had also granted audience to Allama Mashraqi and gifted him a car that can still be seen in Ichra, Lahore; Halide Adeeb, the famous Turkish journalist had been to India, and was about to write a book on India; RA met her in Paris and persuaded her to include a chapter in her book on Pakistan. At her suggestion, he not only wrote the entire chapter himself, but ensured that 500 copies of her book Inside India were purchased by his fellow students in England.

“Those who have read HA’s book,” writes Aziz, “are impressed by richness of RA’s argument. There is hardly any point in favor of partition of India which he does not make.

The case for Pakistan is argued in such detail that all the ML statements of the years 19401947 did not go beyond repeating, elaborating and clarifying what he told HA. In some cases, the very words and phrases have been borrowed from him.”

RA visited London frequently and met

JANUARY 15, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P21

Rahmat Ali: The Condemned Hero

RA is seen sitting second from right with his friends

Muslim dignitaries who used to come from India for various conferences. At various times, he met and tried to influence Jinnah, Agha Khan, Iqbal, Khaliq-uz-Zaman among others. KZ has left this account of his meeting with RA: I took a sincere liking for this tall graceful and well cut figure. When we started talking about the scheme of Pakistan I found that not only had he thought deeply over the question but was earnest about its realization.

Many Muslim students were influenced

by RA: Mahbub Murshid, who rose to become CJ of East Pak High Court--and incidentally was also the CEC for 1970 elections--was among them. M. Anwar, later a brilliant lawyer, worked closely with RA; Anwar-ul-Haq, the future Chief Justice of Supreme Court, had also been an acquaintance of RA. Aslam Khattak was one of the four original signatories of Now or Never. Anwar and some other students would go to the famous Hyde Park speaker’s corner to propagate their cause. This was years before Jinnah and Muslim League took up the case of Pakistan.

RA was not a statesman; he was an idealist, a perfectionist, who failed to see the weakness in his complicated plan. He felt let down

house on Jail Road, Lahore was allotted to him. RA found it full of expensive furniture and decorations that he promptly sent to the

“RA occupies the same place in the Pak ideology as does Karl Marx in Communism. If there is any difference in their positions, it is this that while the people who profited from Marx’s intellectual labors remembered him, those who gained from RA’s intellectual exertions have forgotten him” treasury.

The Muslim League government was wary of RA and his life was made miserable:

RA’s grave in Cambridge

when Jinnah accepted a much smaller Pakistan than RA had proposed. A deeply hurt RA exercised poor judgement at that point and berated QA; his scathing, and most unfortunate, remarks included derogatory terms like Quisling-e-Azam, and Judas. This colossal mistake was to be his undoing and denied him the sympathies of many.

RA did come to Pakistan in April 1948, quite oblivious to the hostility that awaited him. He intended to enter politics, pursue law practice and bring out a journal. In Lahore, his friends prevailed upon him to apply for a house since he was a refugee and had left property in India. RA agreed and a spacious

he was followed by CID; his host, a respected medical professor, was threatened and his application for Pakistani passport was denied. It had finally dawned upon RA that he had become a pariah in Pakistan. In October 1948, a disillusioned RA, physically exhausted and broken in spirit, left for Cambridge; he was never to return.

On a bitterly cold rainy day in January 1951, RA walked to the house of his former landlady Miss Watson. He had forgotten his overcoat and umbrella at home, was soaked wet and was visibly shivering. Having collected his letters, he left in a hurry. Within days, he came down with a chill, was admitted in

www.PakistanLink.com

a NH, and three days later was dead; he was fifty-three.

In personal life, RA was a bohemian: he attached great value to time; worked hard and for long hours, often worked late in to the night, was addicted to tea and a chain smoker. His obsession with cleanliness, taboos in food often created difficulties with his land-ladies. His contemporaries describe him as a sensitive and restless soul. He changed his residence often; in Cambridge, he moved through at least five addresses. He never married, never had a girlfriend and never had a female visitor. It seems that he had suppressed the need for female companionship by intense devotion to the one and only cause that was dear to his heart. Those who met him were impressed by his confidence and power of persuasion. Having moved in educated circles in Lahore, he came across as an aristocrat to some.

Financially, he was often in dire straits: while at Islamia College, he had to suspend his studies at times for lack of funds; he supported himself by part-time work in Paisa Akhbar.

Only a generous payment from Mazari Sardar enabled him to proceed to the United Kingdom. He was in heavy debt at death.

Sixty-five years have passed since RA passed away in exile. Since then, we have tolerated Ahrars, Khaksars, Jamat i Islami, JUI, Red Shirts and the like; they all had opposed Pakistan. We have made heroes of many corrupt, incompetent politicians and generals.

And yet, RA’s role remains unacknowledged in the freedom struggle. There is no sign that the remains of one of our real heroes are coming back any time soon. There have been demands over the years for reburial, the last one by Ch. Shujaat Hussain. We condemned RA years ago for his criticism of QA which, though harsh, was based on principle. QA was and should remain the undisputed leader and founding father of our nation. But that should not deter us from carefully studying the history and giving credit where it is due.

QA, writes Aziz, “is to be put on a pedestal and revered, to examine his career is to utter a blasphemy. This line of thought has been given the name of national ideology.”

We are a strange people: when Awami League was denied the right to form government in 1970, hardly anyone spoke. When RA was hounded out of Pakistan, there was virtually no public reaction. When he died, the only sympathetic obituary came from Nawai-Waqt. Today, Subash Chandar Bose’s role in the freedom struggle is accepted in India, despite his serious differences with Nehru and Gandhi; Nixon has been rehabilitated in the USA but in Pakistan, RA’s name remains in oblivion.

“He died in neglect, indifference and apathy,” writes K.K. Aziz. “No Pakistani brought him to the hospital, or sat near his bedside, or called to inquire about him, or prayed for him, or mourned him, or took his dead body away.” Aziz laments that the hospital expenses were paid by RA’s former tutor at Emmanuel College, only a few English friends were present at burial and that Pak High Commission in London, though informed had not responded. Here is the description of RA’s last resting place: “It is a mere piece of vacant land, the size of a grave….a nameless, flowerless, cheerless six feet of earth covering a box that contains the bones of a body which suffered much during its mortal span.”

Back to my friends; perhaps, I should have quoted Pir Ali Mohammad Rashdi to them who wrote, “RA occupies the same place in the Pak ideology as does Karl Marx in Communism. If there is any difference in their positions, it is this that while the people who profited from Marx’s intellectual labors remembered him, those who gained from RA’s intellectual exertions have forgotten him.”

This writer, for one, is willing to offer a sincere and humble apology to RA’s memory.

As for the rest of our nation, his soul demands, and deserves, an explanation for a glaring injustice. It is long overdue.

(The writer is a physician in Williamsport, PA, and may be reached at asifjaved@ comcast.net)

COMMENTARY

P22 – PAKISTAN LINK – JANUARY 15, 2016 n By Azher Quader

2

Chicago, IL

015 has been a tough one for Muslims in America as well as around the globe. The deadly terror attack in San Bernadino claiming 14 lives was a flas point domestically for heightened hate and increased Islamophobia.

Over 60 mosques were torched or vandalized in 2015, said CAIR, many more than in prior years . Globally the rise of ISIS with their video beheadings of western civilian victims and the massacres in Paris which left over 130 dead along with the Charlie Hebdo killings earlier in the year, gave enough reason for Muslim hate mongers to promote their agenda of hate against all Muslims.

Many polls now show our love level within ordinary American circles is at an all-time low.

So where do we go from here in 2016?

Our previous plans appear not to have delivered on their promises thus far. Here is what we were told to do and we did before.

Plan A: We broke our alleged code of silence to repeatedly and vociferously denounce terror incidents whenever and wherever they took place. We hugged and kissed every pastor, priest and rabbi we could find willing to join our interfaith dialogues and dinners. We fought our way through countless zoning wars to build our sacred spaces, within quiet neighborhoods and on busy street corners. We rolled out dozens of ‘huffaz’ from every major mosque, to lead our prayers and thrill us with their recitations during Ramadan. We packed every prayer hall to capacity each Friday for Jumah. We gave millions in charity to help relieve the sufferings of grief-stricken communities in far off lands. We sported beards, we wrapped scarfs, we ate halal, we fasted, we prayed, we refrained from alcohol and drugs.

All this and more we did with little benefit, as the hate has mounted, the rage has grown.

When we reached the shores of America as new immigrants half a century ago, determined to find our rightful place in the country that was to be our new home, this was our game plan, this was the ‘Prophetic Way’. So why are we still hated? Why do they want us to stay out of the country? Why do they want to burn down our mosques? Why do they want to kill us? Can we blame it all on bigotry? Can we pin it all on ISIS? Is this the traditional route to mainstream in America?

Every community, new to the country we were told, endures it. Must we too? If not, is there a Plan B? Clearly, reasonable people would look at the facts and question the approach, if our outcomes do not match our desires. If Plan A is failing us, should there not be a Plan B to follow?

Our faith demands to reflect and to act with reason. May be it is time for us to stop playing the blame game and come to terms with our reality. If our future is to be any different, then our present needs to change. Consider our selfindulgent lifestyles living for the day, as if there is no tomorrow. Consider our choice to remain isolated from the society we live in, unacquainted with the problems that trouble it. Consider our lip service for the blessings of unity when we segregate in mosques by language and culture.

Consider the toxic environment within our religious institutions where our women’s voices are not heard, their demands are unmet, where egos are high, where trust is low and accountability lower still. Consider our claims for piety when our mosque employees are put behind bars for financial fraud. Consider our indifference to the plight of the homeless, the underserved, the undocumented the uninsured as we go about our daily lives too busy to learn or to care. Consider our search for guts and glory on one hand and our scare to cross a line, risk a loss, take a fall, leave a friend, embrace a foe. Consider our desire to serve the other with the time and talent we have, yet abstain from doing so, from paralyzing fears of liability concerns. Consider our claims for lack of time when asked to do the uncomfortable, when there is always time we can find, to do the comfortable.

It all begins with us. The problem is not with Islam or its teachings, it is the way we have

In 2016 Let Us Try Plan B

understood it and the way we practice it. Plan B, if we had one, would be different. It would begin with a new vision of our mission and our purpose in life. A vision which tells us that the highest form of worship is to serve fellow man. That we cannot serve the other without compassion in our hearts. That we are our brothers’ keepers.

A mission which reminds us that without justice there can be no peace, no security, no happiness. It would require us to practice our faith in ways we have not practiced it for a long time.

Not through meditation but through action. Not through indifference but through involvement.

It would make us honest and humble discarding that heavy garment of arrogance we have been wearing so long, to cover our ignorance. It will make us engaged and involved in the communities we live in, forcing us to enter the field, not to watch from the sidelines. It will demand a level of courage that will mock the fears of the faint hearted, giving us the audacity to risk failure and rise from every fall. It will require a degree of sacrifice so great that it will sometimes become hurtful enough, to cross the thresholds of pain.

It will necessitate discipline that will allow us to practice what we preach, deliver on promises we make, show patience when angered.

With the dawn of a new day and the start of a new year, can we become ready and willing to embark upon this awesome journey called Plan B? Here could be the beginning steps. First we reform ourselves taking on His colors so that we practice what we preach: compassion, justice, education, engagement, patience, humility, charity, chastity, courage. That could be the short list for our essential self-improvement. Then we engage with our societal institutions to promote the acceptance of these values, starting with our families, where we become better role models to love and be loved, as parents, as spouses, as siblings. This much is a must and an important imperative to pursue if we are to preserve as a viable community in the future.

Today the institution of family in America is under assault from many directions. The landmark decision just a few months ago from the Supreme Court, legalizing same sex marriages, is the most recent one of this. We have redefined marriage, denying the wisdom of ages. More than 50 percent of the kids are born out of wedlock. Less than 14 percent of them are growing up in a traditional family unit anymore, with two parents. Pew research shows these alarming trends and we need to pay attention, if we are not to become a statistic too.

Then our social, educational, financial, religious, civic and political organizations should come into our circle of interest and influence.

Not all of us can impact all of these societal systems individually, but each one of us has the potential capacity to get involved with at least one of these systems based on our interest or education, to make a difference.

Our community has already made a huge investment in making sure our youth get the best

education they can obtain. Without question the major determinant for breaking the cycle of poverty or to assure financial security for the future, remains education. So it is a wise investment. But when we look under the hood, things are not so good. The cost of a college education makes our youth sometimes debtors for life! Is that just? Is that reasonable? In a country so rich and affluent, with so many struggling to break the shackles of poverty, should college not be more affordable or even free? As a community of faith promoting justice, should we not advocate for justice in our educational system as well?

When establishing our own educational institutions should we not lead with examples that reflect our own better values? Sadly the pre-college education we are providing has a price tag today that adds to the overall educational bill of a child planning to go to college. We can and should do better by revisiting and revamping our weekend

Why are we still hated?

Why do they want us to stay out of the country?

Why do they want to burn down our mosques? Can we blame it all on bigotry?

Can we pin it all on ISIS? Is this the traditional route to mainstream in America?

Every community, new to the country we were told, endures it. Must we too? If not, is there a Plan B? educational programs and investing in online education that could be free. Healthcare: . How just and equitable is our system in which some 30 million have little or no access to affordable healthcare? And we are not even counting the 11 million more who are undocumented and have no access either. As professionals belonging to a community of faith, can we and should we not do more, to help the underserved and the uninsured? What does it take? We can open our private clinics to at least see a few of these on a discounted fee schedule, so they do not wind up going to the Emergency Room for every time they fall sick. How much does it cost in time and money? Our doctors practicing in small towns and big cities can stay in their own offices and use their own resources without losing much time nor money. Imagine the power of goodwill created, not to mention the compassion practiced.

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Refugee Service: Take a look at the refugee crisis that has become center-stage these days in our nation’s politics. For a number of years now Iraqi, Bangladeshi and Somali refugees have been coming to our country and placed in the custody of Christian agencies and ministries.

Our mosques have remained uninvolved thus far. Can we and should we not do better? Often times these refugees have language barriers to overcome and know nothing about the system in which they are thrown in. By becoming their partners we can mentor them and show them the way. Is that not the Prophetic Way again? Muslims helping Muslims, ‘muhajireen’ and ‘ansaar’.

Civic Engagement: Let us talk about civic engagement, step one for political empowerment. In less than a year we will go to the polls to elect a new President. How many of us will take the trouble to vote? How many of us are even registered to vote? Does it matter? Yes it does if we want to be visible and be heard. Both Democrats and Republicans may pursue similar military ambitions abroad, but there is much to gain and lose domestically by who gets elected and gets to nominate the next one or two judges to the Supreme Court. The Congress and the Supreme Court exercise enormous influence over our lives locally by the laws they pass and enforce. Here again the ‘Prophetic Way’ is clearly pointing towards engagement with the system, requiring us to participate.

Our mosques could become hubs for voter registration, voter education and voter mobilization. Only when we are sufficiently engaged will we become undeniably relevant to the politicians and the policy makers in Washington and City Hall. This then could be the time to organize.

So this is but a small glimpse of what Plan B could look like. Of course there is much more to it than what has been written here. Each one of us equipped with the right desire and motivated with the vision to serve can add what they believe will enhance the quality of life for all our neighbors. In doing so, we can transform the society we live in to be more just, more peaceful, more secure and more compassionate. Only then would we know if our insistence to be called Americans is sincere. Only then would we know if we are truly at home. As we stand on the threshold of another new year, let us not waste any time. Have a great 2016 and may He bless your work and reward you with good health and much success!

MUSHTAQ FROM P20

the word go. He was also a thorough gentleman.

Mushtaq Ali was a fine hockey player, too, but cricket was his first love. His son and grandson also played first class cricket. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government in 1964; the MCC made him an honorary life-member; and Wisden recognized him with a special award in England in 2002. He visited Lord’s three years ago and could not recognize it. He went on to say that it was “very different” 60 years ago.

Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Merchant were India’s first notable and fairly successful opening pair. While Mushtaq Ali was an entertainer par excellence, Merchant was a stonewaller who, like Geoffrey Boycott was to say years later, believed that if you stayed at the wicket, runs would come automatically.

So bored was India’s captain, the Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram, better known as Vizzy,

by Merchant’s slow batting on the 1936 tour of England that he was said to have promised Mushtaq Ali a gold watch to run out Merchant in the first Test at Lord’s.

Vizzy had obviously approached the wrong man. A gentleman to the core on and off the field, Mushtaq Ali politely refused to obey his captain’s command. In the very next Test, at Old Trafford, Manchester, India started the second innings 368 runs behind. But, as if to convey a message to the spiteful Vizzy, Mushtaq (112) and Merchant (114) made history by putting on 203 runs for the first wicket in less than 160 minutes.

For a change, Merchant returned fire with fire and Mushtaq Ali, batting in cavalier fashion, repeatedly went down the track to upset the rhythm and confidence of fast bowlers, driving and pulling with lightening reflexes, and elan.

COMMENTARY

JANUARY 15, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P23

Film Review

Ho Mann Jahan: An Enjoyable and Purposeful Endeavor n By Rafiq Ebrahim Winfield, IL

I

t seems that Lollywood has at last been revived. Ho Mann Jahan is the third praiseworthy movie that has been released internationally; and again it is because of the cast and crew of TV in Pakistan who deserve the credit.

Our regular film ‘wallahs’ are in deep slumber, and they need to be there, because it is they who were responsible for the downward fall of the industry by making trash after trash.

Shoaib Mansoor, TV wizard, took a bold step years ago by making Khuda Ke Liye; and earned international acclaim; then he came up with Bol, another meaningful movie which also proved a hit. Unwittingly, he opened up a wide platform for more TV producers to come to the fore and revive the film industry. The talented and bold people from TV industry took up the challenge and are now making worthwhile movies.

Ho Mann Jahan, produced under the banner of ARY Films,

by Asim Raza, a noted TV director and commercials- maker, Jamal Shah and Sheryar Munnawar, who has also acted in the movie, is an enjoyable and purposeful film that focuses on a strong story-line. ‘While choos-

I

ing a profession follow your dream and your heart’s dictate’ is the theme which has been deftly woven into appealing scenarios, resulting in neat imaginative direction. The story revolves around three college mates, Mahira Khan, Adeel Hussain and Sheryar Munnawar. They are close friends, each devoted to music, which is the passion of their lives. Mahira and Adeel fall in love with each other, while Sheryar becomes the third side

n By Maariyaah Shaheen

t has certainly been one of the most difficult decisions to elect the top 10 Muslim Women of 2015: with success not far from revolutionary, Muslim women have not failed to prove themselves successful. But I guess 2015 has been the biggest run around for Muslim women. From the depths of the West across the deserts of the Middle East, Muslim women have begun to express what it means to be a real Muslim woman, standing up for what they believe in and being the first for many to follow. It’s these women who’ve set 2016 up for us to take the lead and make a change. Let’s take a look at our top 10 Muslim women.

1. Dalia Mogahed The US’ first Muslim woman in the White House back in 2009, Dalia Mogahed is one of Barack Obama’s ‘closest advisors’ advocating the views and opinions of Muslims across the US in the most simplistic, recognizable and agreeable way. The Egyptian born advisor holds her title as a renowned speaker and writer, objective and credible in her speech and actions.

What puts her in the top 10 of 2015 is her competitive passion even until this day. With the current events regarding western involvement in the Middle Eastern conflicts, governmental influence on our lives is now bigger than it has ever been and to have a Muslim woman influence a part of this is an achievement.

2. Nadiya Hussain Ready, set, bake!

Nadiya sets up the highlight of TV entertainment of 2015, conquering cakes and tough competition at “The Great British Bake Off ”.

Her bright and exciting personality as well as her colorful cakes and chocolate sculptures inspired by her exciting sense of culture has won over the hearts of millions. What puts Nadiya as one of the top 10 is her flying success throughout this year and her ambition to continue to do so in 2016. Having signed a publishing deal with Michael Joseph and hoping to start a cooking show with Bake Off Finalist Tamil Ray, the Bake Off would certainly not be the last thing we hear from Nadiya.

of the triangle, an unsuccessful lover but a sincere friend, who keeps on failing in his studies and is looked down upon by his father. There are obstacles and parental objections in their ways, but they struggle to achieve their goal.

Asim Raza has proved his mettle by cleverly handling the theme, focusing on it and not bringing in unnecessary actions or comedy (as happened in Dilwale). Because of this, the movie

outshines some of the other Indian films screened at the same time in different auditoriums in the same Cinema House. The director is amply supported by the main lead and also by others in the movie.

Mahira Khan once again has given a memorable performance, looks stunning and acts like a true professional. Adeel Hussain and Sheryar (the two goodlooking guys, referred as ‘ghar ke murghey’ by Mahira in a BBC

10 Muslim Women that Ruled 2015

interview) have given a noteworthy account of themselves, and so has Nirma Buchha who plays Mahira’s mother. Jamal Shah is impressive as Mahira’s strongwilled father. The guest artiste Hamza Ali Abbasi, made up as an old fakir, proves his versatility. A lot was expected of Bushra Ansari, but either too many layers of make-up or Botox mars her appearance, and it seems clear that she is a misfit in the role assigned to her as Adeel’s mother deadly against his son mixing with his music-minded friends.

The movie has a pleasant musical score and songs, imaginative photography, and lovable locales. Watch it, for it is definitely a four-star movie.

Overheard in the Cinema lobby: ‘Yaar yeh TV stars kitne ache lagte hain. Purane film stars kaha gaye?’

‘Woh bakwas filme bana bana ker ab so rahe hain.’

‘Suna hain ke Syed Noor or Sangeeta Begum nai filme bana rahe hain, Syed Noor ne Amir Liaquat ko hero sign kiya hae. Woh ek scholar ka part karte hain aur Saima se romance karte hain. Aur Sangeeta ‘Tum Hi To Ho’ bana rahi hain.’

‘Berra gharak! Allah Khair Kare.’

-rafiq.ebrahim@gmail.com

of designer turban hijabs. In the light of current events, Iman Aldebe, with her confidence to hit across the western market as well as achieving great success along the way, deserves a definite title as one of the top Muslim women of 2015.

8. Salma bint Hizab al-Oteibi 2015 is the most historical year for Saudi Women across the country: in this year, they had their first ever ability to vote and hold seats in the Saudi parliament. It would be incomplete not to include Salma bint Hizab al-Oteibi, the first female councilor of Saudi Arabia, one of the eightteen who had won seats in the governmental elections. This very step has enchanted the world to see Saudi Arabia in a completely new light and to perceive the future of Muslim women as more prosperous in one of the most influential Muslim countries in the world!

3. Ibtihaj Muhammad Who thought Muslim women would take their turn in fencing? Meet Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first female Muslim American fencer in the world. Her achievement seems to extend beyond her muslim identity: she is also ranked as one of the best female fencers in the world, reserving her place as an Olympian in the upcoming Olympics; “It’s always been my dream,” Muhammad remarks. Just this year she has gathered several awards for her performance and skill, and also an award as one of the top 10 Muslim women of 2015. En garde!

4. Tawakkul Karman Meet the Iron woman; Tawakkul Karman: a journalist, politician, and a human rights activist as well as one of the 10 Muslims that has won a Nobel Peace Prize. Her face is stapled to the 2011 Yemeni Uprising and is also known to have co-founded “Muslim Journalists Without Chains”. She became the first Arab woman and the second Muslim woman to win a Nobel Prize and the second youngest Nobel Peace Laureate

to date. No bad, don’t you think?

5. Malala Yousafzai It’s young women like her who deserve the highest rank, even those who aren’t as recogniéed for their activism as Malaila. As an activist at the age of 16, she was the youngest holder of the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 17, standing up for the right of education and freedom.

6. Carolyn Walker Aside from Donald Trump’s comments on stopping Muslims from entering the US, the US judiciary system seems to welcome more acceptance thanks to Judge Carolyn Walker: the first judge to swear upon the Quran rather than the Bible whilst wearing a hijab! Congratulations, your honor!

7. Imaan Aldebe From camel coats designer to designer turban hijabs. A daughter of a retired Imam, Imaan Aldebe breaks through the Western frame of the fashion industry across the UK and France with her stylish and artistic fashion line

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9. Aseel Shaheen From judging in a court to officiating on a tennis court, Muslim women seem to be ruling the courts! Meet Aseel Shaheen: the first Arab Muslim woman to have officiated in Wimbledon deserves her place in the top 10. Just this year, Aseel Shaheen was given yet another role as an officiate at Wimbledon. What is so inspirational about this, is the fact that despite the spectators’ initial remarks, her presence has been well accepted across the tennis court and amongst the viewers, It’s this sense of agreeability and open-mindedness to see Muslim women as capable as any other officiate that open many more opportunities for Muslim Women across any field.

10. Noor Tagouri All eyes on Noor! Meet Noor Tagouri, an aspiring anchor on US Commercial Television.

Having gained masses of support and coverage, Noor continues to strive towards achieving her goal to be showcased on US Commercial Television. Yet what seems to restrict her from this large media landscape is her hijab. “It empowers me,” Noor remarks, “It helps me do what I do”. But for her it’s either her and her hijab, or nothing. What adds her to this list is her perseverance, her motivation, and drive to achieve her ultimate goal.

COMMENTARY

P24 – PAKISTAN LINK – JANUARY 15, 2016

Estate Planning Is Job Best Tackled with the Help of Pros n By Saghir Aslam Rawalpindi, Pakistan

(The following information is provided solely to educate the Muslim community about investing and financial planning.

It is hoped that the Ummah will benefit from this effort through greater financial empowerment, enabling the community to live in security and dignity and fulfill their religious and moral obligations towards charitable activities) Some people believe patience and a good do-it-yourself book will get them through any project. This may be true if you want to add a deck to your house or rebuild a car motor. But estate planning, like a root canal, is a procedure that is best left to the pros.

I believe laymen should attempt only the simplest estate-planning procedures, such as drawing up a simple, uncomplicated will.

If you have a spouse and children and you want to leave each of them shares according to Shariah, with no other contingencies, a doit-yourself book, if it’s accurate and well-researched, might help. The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) has booklets available which can be directly purchased from them or from Islamic bookstores for small donations. But if you have a large estate and attempt a more complicated will, you most likely will create a problem rather than solve one.

Why? Books, software programs and do-it-yourself guides can teach you the basics, but they can’t cover the complex issues related to the lawful disposition of property. What’s worse, some of these materials are inaccurate, outof-date or incomplete.

The states have different signing and execution requirements for wills. For example, if your state now requires two witnesses to sign a will, but if you use an old selfhelp book that says just one is required, there will be problems.

A will that lacks the proper TALIBAN FROM P11

Pakistan had brokered a rare face-to-face meeting between Afghan officials and Taliban representatives in July last year, The initiative, officially called Murree Peace Process, however, fell apart after news emerged that Taliban’s long-time leader Mullah Omar had died two years ago.

However, after China and the US encouraged both Islamabad and Kabul, the two sides agreed to pursue the reconciliation process. Army chief General Raheel Sharif then travelled to Kabul as part of efforts to expedite the peace process.

While Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will address the opening session of the quadrilateral meeting, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry will represent Pakistan in formal talks.

Diplomatic sources told The Express Tribune that Hekmat Karzai arrived in Islamabad Sunday evening at the head of a four-member delegation to represent Kabul at the talks.

He was one of the senior members of the Afghan team that had taken part in the Murree talks with the Taliban.

signatures can only be corrected through costly court appearances.

A poorly drawn will is also more likely to be contested by disgruntled heirs.

The worst-case scenario: People who take the do-it-yourself route and make a mess of it can completely reverse their last wishes.

Even those who write do-ityourself books and software programs admit that complex wills, trusts and estate issues should be handled by professionals.

I believe even simple do-ityourself estate planning efforts should be reviewed by a lawyer.

There is no such thing as a simple trust, and I am not so sure there is such a thing as simple will.

People start with simple wills, then they think of conditions they want to add, and the will gets complicated.

I have suggested during my formal and informal sessions the importance of estate planning and most importantly having a will is a must. A task that must be done right now.

I have worked with an attorney who has studied and understands the Islamic inheritance laws. Make sure you seek professional help.

What’s a Trust? Knowing Terms can Simplify Process Wills and trusts are the nuts and bolts of estate planning. With them, you create the framework for carrying out your wishes after you die. Without them, protecting and passing on your wealth to heirs and beneficiaries becomes much more difficult.

The Afghan Taliban have dismissed reports that some of their leaders could participate in the quadrilateral meeting.

Two Taliban leaders, who spoke to The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity, warned their comrades that unsanctioned participation in the meeting would result in expulsion from the group.

Earlier reports suggested that the Taliban deputy chief Sirajudin Haqqani could join the talks. “There is no truth in these reports. Siraj has no time to take part in any meeting,” one Taliban leader said, but warned that some ‘fake’ people could attend the meeting posing as Taliban leaders.

IQBAL FROM P13

Bhik Nairang article are also exhibited in the room.

According to the committee, the wooden chair and table placed in the room is also from the hostel’s furniture stock of 1890s. Sanjarani said it had always been evident from college records that Allama Iqbal had stayed at the GC Boarding House.

“However, nobody knew about the

Most people know what a will is. But many folks don’t have the foggiest idea what a trust is. To clear up the confusion, with the help of an attorney, I have put together a glossary of key estateplanning tools.

Wills. Few of us would be without a will if we knew how much trouble that might cause our heirs. Without one, state law dictates who gets your assets. Loved ones could lose out to estranged family members. Still many of us don’t have a will.

A will is a relatively simple document. It should name an executor to oversee carrying out your wishes. If you have children, it must name a guardian. And it must be specific on how you want your assets-cash, stocks, real estate, family antiques-distributed to your heirs and beneficiaries. We are blessed that Allah (SWT) has spelled out the inheritance laws in the Holy Book of the Quran. We simply need to put it on paper according to the laws of the state.

A will’s coverage is limited to property you own individually and that does not have a named beneficiary. That means joint property with rights of survivorship goes to the other owner no matter what your will says. Life insurance, retirement accounts and taxdeferred annuities go by law to the named beneficiaries. So none need be included in your will. (To be continued) (Saghir A. Aslam only explains strategies and formulas that he has been using. He is merely providing information, and NO ADVICE is given. Mr Aslam does not endorse or recommend any broker, brokerage firm, or any investment at all, nor does he suggest that anyone will earn a profit when or if they purchase stocks, bonds or any other investments.

All stocks or investment vehicles mentioned are for illustrative purposes only. Mr Aslam is not an attorney, accountant, real estate broker, stockbroker, investment advisor, or certified financial planner. Mr Aslam does not have anything for sale.) exact room. Earlier, the whole hostel was declared a National Heritage Site by the Pakistan Archeology Department,” he said.

Prof Rizvi said Nairang had given a “crystal-clear” location of Iqbal’s room. “Without his article, it would have been impossible to locate the national heritage,” he said.

Later, Shah and Iqbal inaugurated the 125-year celebrations of the Boarding House which was established in 1891 and named after Allama Iqbal in 1967.

REFINERIES FROM P15

natural gas – and lower hydro power generation in winter meant petrol and furnace oil demand would not be affected. “If you look at the trend of petrol price in Pakistan, it has been price inelastic. Demand was growing in double digits when petrol was priced at over hundred rupees a liter.”

Petrol consumption continues to grow at a rate of 11% to 12% a year.

The fall in crude oil price has also been a blessing for refineries as far as their financial expenses are concerned.

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106.35 155.45 28.30 0.90 116.20 29.15

(*13 January, 2016) US VISA BULLETIN ON JANUARY 2016 For Pakistan, Bangladesh & India Compiled by Hasan Chishti FAMILY SPONSORED PREFERENCES

Pakistan/Bangladesh

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RELIGION

JANUARY 15, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P25

Zakat: The Meaning and Purpose

n By Dr Muzammil H. Siddiqi

Gems from the Holy Qur’an

S

o keep up the prayer, give Zakat and hold fast to Allah: He is your Protector – an excellent protector and an excellent helper. (Al-Hajj 22:78)

Receive (O Prophet) from their wealth some charity in order to cleanse them and purify them and pray for them – indeed your prayer will be a comfort for them- Allah is all hearing and all knowing. Do they not know that it is Allah Himself who accepts repentance from His servants and receives what is given freely for His sake? Indeed Allah is always ready to accept repentance, most merciful. Say (Prophet), ‘Take action! Allah will see your action – as will His Messenger and the believers – and then you will be returned to Him who knows what is seen and unseen, and He will tell you what you have been doing. (AlTawbah 9:103-105) Zakat is the third Pillar (rukn) of Islam. After declaring faith (shahadah) the first duty is to pray daily, the Salat, and then to give the prescribed charity, the Zakat.

Salat is obligatory on every Muslim whether rich or poor (except for children and women during their monthly period and postnatal bleeding). Zakat is, however, obligatory on every person who has certain amount of wealth, whether male or female, old or young, even sane or insane. In the case of young children or insane persons, if they have wealth, it must be given by their guardians.

Zakat is the command of Allah, the right of the poor in the wealth of the rich and it brings many blessings.

The word ‘zakat’ itself is chosen by Allah to give us the sense that this is not a burden, but a blessing. It has the meanings of purification, increase and sweetening. Those who are blessed by Allah with enough means, they should help those who are poor and in need. By this giving they bring happiness in the society, purify their hearts from greed and selfishness and entitle themselves to receive more blessings from Allah in this life and in the life to

From the translation by Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss) About the translator: Muhammad Asad, Leopold Weiss, was born of Jewish parents 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 years of devoted study 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, dedicated to “li-qawmin yatafakkaroon” (people who think).

come.

Allah has promised His mercy on those who give Zakat: … My mercy encompasses everything: I shall ordain it for those who are mindful (of Me) and give the Zakat and those who believe in our Revelations. (Al-A’raf 7:156) Those who do not give Zakat they are considered as polytheists and hypocrites according to the Qur’an: Say (Prophet), ‘I am only a mortal like you, but it has been revealed to me that your God is One. Take the straight path to Him and seek His forgiveness. Woe to the idolaters who do not pay the Zakat and who refuse to believe in the Hereafter. (Fussilat 41:6-7) The hypocrites, both men and women, are all the same: they order what is wrong and forbid what is right and close their hands (from spending). They have ignored Allah and Allah has ignored them. The hypocrites are the disobedient ones.

(Al-Tawbah 9:67) Zakat is not like other charities (sadaqat or khairat) that one can give as much and whenever

one feels like giving and to whomever one likes to give. Zakat has specific rules, just like Salat. It should be carefully calculated, it should be given on time and it should be given only to those who are its lawful recipients. If you give less than what you are supposed to give, your Zakat is not paid. If you did not pay one year or for some years, you still have to pay it.

Zakat is obligatory on every Muslim whose wealth has reached or exceeded a certain minimum threshold (nisab) and a lunar year has passed while one has sustained that minimum amount. Zakat is obligatory on personal wealth, commercial merchandise, agricultural produce, and livestock for commercial purpose and on treasure troves. Zakat is not a tax but it is an act of worship (‘ibadah).

Unlike taxes it is not taken without considering one’s personal needs.

Taxes are taken on income; Zakat is taken after deducting personal and dependants’ expenses. Taxes could be as much as 50% or more; Zakat in most cases does not go beyond 2.5%. On gold, silver, cash, stocks, bonds, savings, retirement accounts etc. The ratio of Zakat is 2.5%, if the wealth meets the Nisab which is the value of 3 ounces (or 85 grams) of gold.

On personal wealth, commercial merchandise, Zakat should be paid every year. On agricultural produce Zakat is paid at the time of harvest.

Zakat is not obligatory on one’s residential home, car, clothes and

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other household goods. Zakat is not obligatory on those who have outstanding loans; but the basic rule is what the Third Caliph ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan said, “Let one in debt repay his debt, then pay Zakat on his remaining assets.”

Those who do not pay off their debt and keep money they have to pay Zakat, if their wealth meets the Nisab and a year has passed on it. Those who need more information should learn or consult those who know the rules.

Muslims must organize the Zakat collection so that it can reach to those who deserve it in time. It is to be given to those whom Allah has prescribed in the Qur’an: Indeed the (prescribed) charitable offerings are for the poor, the indigent, those who administer it, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, to (free) those in bondage, to the debt-ridden, for the cause of Allah and to the wayfarer. This is an obligation from Allah. And Allah is all knowing, all wise. (Al-Tawbah 9:60) Zakat is taken from the well to do Muslims and it is should be spent on the welfare of those who are in need among them. The rich, those who are capable to work but refuse to work, children, parents and wives of Zakat payers are not eligible for Zakat.

Sadaqatul Fitr or Zakatul Fitr: This is a special charity for the month of Ramadan. All those who are supposed to give the Zakat must give Sadaqatul Fitr in Ramadan for themselves as well as on behalf of their dependents. It is estimated about $10.00 per person. This charity should be given during Ramadan or before the Idul Fitr prayer. It is to be given to the poor and needy people so that they can enjoy the happiness of Idul Fitr with other Muslims.

(Khutbah at ISOC – Ramadan 18, 1434/ July 26, 2013)

Chapter 75, Al-Qiyaamah, Verses 1 – 15 Nay! I call to witness the Day of Resurrection!

But Nay! I call to witness the accusing voice of man’s own conscience!

Does man think that We cannot [resurrect him and] bring his bones together again? Yea indeed, We are able to make whole his very finger-tips!

None the less, man chooses to deny what lies ahead of him, asking [derisively], When is that resurrection day to be?

But [on that Day,] when the eyesight by fear is confounded, and the moon is darkened, and the sun and the moon are brought together [ 1 ]- on that Day, the journey’s end will be!

Man will be apprised, on that Day, of what he has done and what he has left undone: nay, but man shall against himself be an eye-witness, even though he may veil himself in excuses.

Chapter 75, Al-Qiyaamah, Verses 20 – 40 Nay, but [most of] you love this fleeting life, and give no thought to the life to come [and to Judgment Day]!

Some faces will on that Day be bright with happiness, looking up to their Sustainer; and some faces will on that Day be overcast with despair, knowing that a crushing calamity is about to befall them.

Nay, but when [the last breath] comes up to the throat [of a dying man], and people ask, “Is there any wizard [that could save him]? – the while he [himself] knows that this is the parting, and is enwrapped in the pangs of death -: at that time towards thy Sustainer does he feel impelled to turn!

[Useless, though, will be his repentance:] for [as long as he was alive] he did not accept the truth, nor did he pray [for enlightenment], but on the contrary, he gave the lie to the truth and turned away [from it], and then he went arrogantly back to what he had come from.

[And yet, O man, thine end comes hourly] nearer unto thee, and GEMS, P28

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P26 – PAKISTAN LINK – JANUARY 15, 2016

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JANUARY 15, 2016 - PAKISTAN LINK

SPORTS

SPORTS

JANUARY 15, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P27

Top T20 Ranking at Stake For Pakistan, New Zealand

WELLINGTON: New Zealand and Pakistan both have the opportunity to vault to the top of the Twenty20 world standings over the next 10 days, according to the congested rankings released recently.

Although they start their threematch series in Auckland on Friday with Pakistan ranked sixth and New

Zealand seventh, they are equal on 114 points. But with only four points separating the top seven teams, if either side can win all three matches they will replace the West Indies at the head of the table, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement. If the series is settled 2-1, then the winner will leapfrog South Africa

to fifth position.

The New Zealand-Pakistan series features the return to international cricket of convicted Pakistani spotfixer Mohammad Amir who has served a jail term and five-year ban from the game. However, the New Zealanders, fresh from a 2-0 Twenty20 series win over Sri Lanka, maintained that the appearance of Amir was not an issue.

"That is not something that worries us," all-rounder Grant Elliott said.

"All we are concerned about is how good someone is on the cricket field.

"What I do know about Mohammad Amir is I played him in 2009 in the Test series and he was a very quick bowler then. It will be interesting to see how he comes back from what has happened.

"As a cricketer you need to focus on what is in front of you whether you are bowling or batting without that mentality it is very difficult to perform under pressure."

With a number of Twenty20 Internationals to be played in the lead up to the ICC World Twenty20 India in March, there is likely to be plenty of reshuffling at the top of the world rankings. J

Butt Continues Impressive Run as Waqar Hints at Opportunity LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt on Tuesday continued his impressive form and scored an unbeaten 99 against Karachi in the domestic National One-Day Cup. The left-handed opening batsman was playing his second match on his return from a five-year ban after he was proven guilty of involvement in infamous spot-fixing scandal in 2010.

Butt, 31, announced his return to the cricketing fold with a blistering 135 off 143 balls playing for the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) against Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) two days ago.

Mohammad Asif, Butt's aide in

the spot-fixing episode, also made his comeback in the same match by claiming two wickets. Both the players were representing Wapda.

The left-handed batsman's latest innings comes right after Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis's comments that the duo deserved to come back in contention for the national squad if they perform well enough.

Waqar believed the duo deserved a second chance as they have already completed their punishment.

"The way I see it if Butt and Asif perform well in their comeback in domestic cricket why can't they be considered for a second chance to play international cricket," said Waqar while talking to local media.

Move over Ronaldo, Messi Back on Top of the World MADRID: Lionel Messi deposed eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo to take back his crown as the undisputed king of world football by lifting a record fifth Ballon d'Or on Monday.

Much has changed since, just 12 months ago, a disgruntled Messi, fresh from losing a World Cup final and disillusioned with coach Luis Enrique's regime at Barcelona, sat in stony silence as Ronaldo announced his intention to hunt down the Argentine's then-record four Ballon d'Or haul.

A year on, the roles were reversed, Messi's record now even further beyond Ronaldo's reach in the personal duel between the two men who have taken standards to unseen heights in their domination of the sport during the past decade.

Rarely has there been such little debate over who was the deserving winner. Even in the Spanish capital, unlike in previous years, there was no campaign for Ronaldo in the year he became Real Madrid's all-time leading goalscorer.

In Zurich last year, Messi had even

cast doubt on his future at Barcelona.

His benching for a 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad the most ignominious start to what would turn out to be the second most successful in Barca's 116-year history. Messi missed an open training session with the club's fans, Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta was sacked and club legend Carles Puyol walked. Enrique would have followed suit had Messi demanded it.

Instead, he used the fuel of the most disappointing year of his career in 2014 to fire Barca to a treble of Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey trophies.

Messi widely tipped to regain Ballon d'Or His partnership with Neymar and Luis Suarez suddenly kicked into gear, between them hitting 137 of Barca's record 180 goals in 2015, making the South American trio one of the most frightening frontlines the game has ever seen. Even a two-month injury layoff due to knee ligament damage couldn't derail Messi's case as he also scored in the UEFA Super Cup and Club World

Cup finals to take Barca's total trophy haul for the year to five.

There was still disappointment at international level. Another final defeat - this time on penalties to Chile at the Copa America - means Messi has still to deliver a major trophy for La Albiceleste.

However, whilst others may use his record with Argentina to doubt his candidacy as the best player ever, in Barcelona 2015 enshrined his legacy as the greatest.

He scored the goal that sealed a fifth La Liga title in seven years and maybe even his best ever goal in the Copa del Rey final.

Yet, his signature moment came with the return of an old mentor in Pep Guardiola when Bayern Munich visited in the Champions League semi-finals in May. Guardiola had made his longawaited return to the Camp Nou as a fan in the earlier rounds, unable to hide his admiration as Messi's repertoire of outrageous skill tore Manchester City to shreds in the last-16. J

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Misbah's England Prep Cut Short by Injury ISLAMABAD: A calf injury to Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has ruled him out of the ongoing National One-Day cup, which had been one of his final opportunities for competitive cricket before the tour to England in July 2016. He may yet get the chance to find form with the Pakistan Super League, where he plays for Islamabad United, scheduled for February.

Misbah was due to play his second match for Sui Northern Gas Private Limited against Peshawar on Tuesday, but now he is travelling back

home to Lahore to gauge the extent of the damage. "I am not sure how serious the injury is, but I have been advised at least two weeks rest," he told ESPNcricinfo. "I am undergoing an MRI scan and the result will further reveal the level of injury. I am disappointed that I won't be able to carry on with the ongoing one-day tournament." Injuries have been rare in the 41-year old Misbah's career.

The most recent occurrence was in December 2014, when he missed the third, fourth and fifth ODIs against New Zealand in the UAE. J

Umar Gul Ready to Take Flight KARACHI: Fit again fast-bowler Umar Gul is keen to have the same impact on the tour of New Zealand that he once had for Pakistan before a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The right-arm pacer has been drafted in for the T20I series by the selectors but was not included in the ODI line-up to ensure he slowly gets into the groove of international cricket. Before joining the side, Gul had a good season for his department HBL in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and remained injury-free throughout. He also impressed fellow players and the team management with his athleticism and fitness during the physical conditioning camp before the team's departure to New Zealand.

"It's been a long time [since I last played]. I have had to wait on the sidelines. Now that I'm fully fit, I want to have the same impact for Pakistan," Gul told The Express Tribune. "It's never nice to be nursing injuries while your team is playing in important assignments."

The experienced paceman knew he needed to get back to his best physically before thinking of making a return. "For me it was important to get that feeling of being a 100% fit

because the last time I came back, I got injured again quickly," he said.

"But this time around, I have played almost a full season so the confidence is back mentally, and my body and head are working in one direction."

The 31-year-old has played 47 Tests for Pakistan with 163 wickets to his name, while he has captured 173 scalps in 126 ODIs. But it is in the T20I format that Gul is rated as one of the most lethal proponents of fast-bowling, especially in the death overs when his yorkers prove both economical and wickettaking.

In 58 T20Is, Gul has claimed 83 wickets at an average of 16.71, while his 5-6 against New Zealand in 2009 and against South Africa in 2013 remain the best bowling figures by a fast-bowler in the format.

"Before my career was hampered by injury, I was one of the leading bowlers in limited overs cricket, especially in the T20I format," said Gul. "I want to regain that reputation through my performance."

The leading wicket-taker of the 2009 World T20 that Pakistan won, Gul now has his sights set on the upcoming edition in India. J

PAKISTAN

P28 – PAKISTAN LINK – JANUARY 15, 2016 GEMS FROM P25

nearer – and ever nearer unto thee, and nearer! ________ Translator’s Notes: [ 1 ] I.e., in their loss of light, or in the moon’s colliding with the sun.

MPAC FROM P18

your questions, express your opinions, give us your feedback and tell us what you want to see and hear!

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CHANGE FROM P9

you, on a serious note how they help the whole family by allowing them to stay in the same house. They say the ‘help’ does not have to pay the rent or the electricity bills, no expenditures for gas or water either. On top, most of the times the whole family eats from our groceries. They are protected and well cared for. Can a job provide more perks than these?

To me, it’s like asking a circus animal how carefree his or her life is in the studio, a life full of luxuries and privileges where one does not have to worry about being hunted down by the beasts.

Furthermore, they will tell you how important it is for the state to provide justice to everyone. That the ideals of education and social welfare cannot be ignored. However, the welfare of people living in the same house carries an entirely different meaning for them. Similarly, with equality and justice, they mean they should get the same rights as the Prime Minister, but somehow the rights of the servants are not included in this transformation. The picture of better Pakistan is selfishly focused to cater their needs, their shortcomings and their insecurities. It’s a picture in which the ultra-rich and powerful are stripped of their current privileges and are either tried for corruption or sent to jail, their powers transferred to the middle class only.

They cannot imagine a little improvement in our justice system, a step towards economic independence, will be detrimental to their lifestyles. People who they treat as slaves, the circus animals, will be first set free to get education and political representation. So, if they want their maid to wash their clothes, clean their house, iron their shirts, make their bed, feed their kids and bathe their dog, they must pray things never change.

TALKS FROM P1

government without first talking to the United States.

The final communique, however, seemed to rule that out.

“The participants emphasized the immediate need for direct talks between representatives of the Government of Afghanistan and representatives from Taliban groups in a peace process that aims to preserve Afghanistan’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said the communique.

A small breakaway Taliban group said Monday it was ready for talks. The faction, which emerged following the revelation last year that the Taliban leader and founder Mullah Mohammed Omar had died two years ago, is believed to be relatively small and its absence from the battlefield is unlikely to be a game changer.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks across the country and while they have been unable to hold urban centers, the religious militia has operated in rural areas, often dispensing justice and challenging the government’s authority. Afghan security forces have taken heavy casualties, particularly since the withdrawal of NATO-led forces from Afghanistan last year. They complain bitterly about inadequate supplies and still rely heavily on US airpower.

The presence of the US and China together at the table reflects the urgency of getting talks started.

China has historically close ties with Pakistan and while there were four countries represented at Monday’s talks, Pakistan — which is often accused of harboring Taliban leaders, including the fierce Haqqani group, a US-declared terrorist group — is seen as the key to getting the largest contingent of Taliban fighters to the table.

Imtiaz Gul, whose Center for Research and Security Studies has delved deeply into the Afghan conflict and Pakistan’s decades-old involvement, says Pakistan has significant leverage with the Taliban, led by Omar’s replacement Mullah Akhtar Mansoor.

Militants in both countries are allied, and getting rid of the Haqqanis, for example, could unleash a violent backlash inside Pakistan where the army has been fighting for several years to defeat a coalition of militant groups largely based in its border areas with Afghanistan, Gul said.

That battle has been brutal with thousands of Pakistani soldiers killed and wounded and thousands more Pakistani civilians killed in deadly retaliatory suicide attacks by the militants.

Gul said last month’s trip by Pakistan’s army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif, who travelled to Afghanistan unaccompanied by the country’s powerful ISI intelligence agency, long considered the force behind the Taliban, was a signal the military was ready to move away from past practices and center future policy decisions only at the army headquarters.

Changes won’t come quickly, says Gul, “but important for us is to turn the page (from supporting militants) and I think Gen. Raheel Sharif has turned that page.”

• Though the Taliban were not invited to Monday’s talks, a senior Taliban official, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing exposure and capture, told the AP that two Taliban delegates, currently headquartered in Qatar, will meet “soon” with China’s representatives. The meeting, which will also include Pakistan, is to be held in Islamabad, said the official.

– Courtesy Associated Press PIPELINE FROM P1

from Pakistan’s port city of Gwadar, where it has nearly completed its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) intake plant, to Iran’s border 80 kilometer away. Pakistan has a rapidly growing need for natural gas and is also building a pipeline from Gwadar to the middle of the country as part of a network of pipelines that will include supply via Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline,

or Tapi.

Pakistan has long-term aims to be an energy transit country such as Turkey, which connects central Asian oil and gas supplies to Europe and the rest of the world via pipelines that include the one that terminates at the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Pakistan’s strategy would link supplies in central Asia, including Turkmenistan, as well as Iran – which rivals Russia as the world’s largest holder of gas reserves, to the huge markets in China and India, as well as serving its own growing demand.

Mr Muzzafar said additional supplies from Iran can be linked into the system that is being developed currently, which includes a US$2.5 billion project to complete the LNG terminal at Gwadar and pipeline it 700km to Pakistan’s mid-country, terminating at Nawabasah.

ELECTRICITY FROM P1

in Punjab Province. The first section began providing electricity in August 2015; the second portion is currently under construction by Chinese firm Zonergy. When completed by the end of this year, the entire solar plant is expected to produce up to 1,000 MW of power.

Another project is a coal power plant at Port Qasim, which was in fact the first energy project included under the CPEC framework. According to China Daily, the plant, being constructed by Powerchina Resources Ltd., will cost $2 billion and should be finished by the end of 2017. The project will consist of two 660 MW coal plants, for a total energy generation of 1320 MW. All told, 14 Chinese-constructed energy projects in Pakistan tied to the CPEC are supposed to provide an additional 10,400 MW of electricity by March 2018 – more than enough to make up for Pakistan’s 2015 energy shortfall of 4,500 MW. And that’s only part of the story. According to China Daily, there are a total of 21 planned energy projects in the works under the CPEC framework. Altogether, these projects should eventually produce 16,400 MW of power, roughly the same as Pakistan’s current capacity.

As they say, the best-laid plans often go awry, so it’s likely not every project will be completed on schedule (or even at all).

But the sheer scale of China’s energy plans for the CPEC ensures that it has a chance to be a game-changer for Pakistan, where rolling blackouts are common due to energy shortages. - The Diplomat. Image Credit: Pakistan energy concept image via Shutterstock.com YOUTUBE FROM P1

the world, we can’t wait to see what you share,” he added.

YouTube has officially been banned in Pakistan since September 2012 after a low-budget movie containing sacrilegious content sparked furious protests around the world.

At the time, the country’s top court ruled the site should be banned until a way is found to block all blasphemous material. Google had removed the blasphemous movie following a US court order but its shorter versions are still available online.

YouTube’s local version will present popular country-specific content on its home page. While announcing the launch, Google also presented some of their favorite examples of the South Asian content that’s already available on YouTube.

“Pakistanis love YouTube’s diverse music offerings. One of the country’s most popular YouTube channels is Coke Studio, a series of live studio-recorded music performances by artists from across Pakistan. Atif Aslam’s tribute to the

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magnum opus of the Sabri brothers, Tajdar-e-Haram is one of their mostwatched videos, clocking over 11 million views to date,” the post read.

However, it is not yet known whether this localized version will lead to the removal of the government ban on YouTube. IT Minister Anusha Rahman could not be reached for comment.

In March last year, the state minister for information technology (IT) said YouTube will only be accessible in Pakistan after Google allows the country to manage the video-sharing website locally for proper monitoring. Anusha Rehman had said that the legislation to localize YouTube in Pakistan was under way.

ARRESTS FROM P1

The PMO statement further elaborated that Jaish-i-Mohammad offices in the country were being traced and sealed.

These developments come two days before a meeting between the foreign secretaries is scheduled to take place.

“The meeting expressed national resolve not to allow our territory to be used for acts of terrorism anywhere,” the statement said.

It was also noted that “considerable progress” has been made in the investigations, being carried out against terrorist elements reportedly linked to the Pathankot incident.

TROOPS FROM P1

the briefing that the committee lauded Pakistan’s balanced stance on the Saudi-Iran conflict.

The announcement comes just a day after Saudi Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman visited Pakistan and held meetings with army chief General Raheel Sharif and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

While Gen Raheel assured Prince Mohammad bin Salman of a ‘strong response’ to threats to his country’s territorial integrity, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called for resolving the crisis through diplomacy and offered Pakistan’s good offices in this regard.

“Pakistan has historically pursued the policy of promoting brotherhood among member states of the OIC. Pakistan has also always expressed its readiness to offer its good offices to brotherly Muslim countries for resolution of their differences,” the prime minister was quoted by his office as having told the Saudi deputy crown prince.

The Saudi Defence minister’s Islamabad visit had come just three days after Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir held meetings with PM Nawaz Sharif and army chief Gen Raheel Sharif to discuss Pakistan’s role in the 34-nation military alliance.

NYPD Officer of Pakistan Origin Invited to Obama’s Address

New York: A New York Police Department (NYPD) officer of Pakistani origin was invited to be among the guests at President Barack Obama final State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday.

US Congresswoman Grace Meng, a Democrat from New York, said in a statement Monday that Lieutenant Adeel Rana will be her guest at the historic event.

Rana, a naturalized American citizen, immigrated to the US from Pakistan in the 1980s. He is a US Army veteran and served at Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks as a member of the New York Army National Guard.

He is presently the commanding officer of NYPD’s Community Affairs Immigrant Outreach Unit.

“It will be an honor to have Lt Rana at State of the Union and I look forward to welcoming him to the president’s address to Congress,” Meng said.

“His attendance will be a tremendous show of solidarity against the increased Islamophobia that has disgracefully spread across our country, and hopefully his presence can help combat it. I thank him for accepting my invitation, and for his commitment to standing against hate and fear. I will make sure the White House and Congressional leadership are aware of his attendance,” she added.

“I am greatly honored to be invited to President Obama’s State of the Union Address as a guest of Representative Meng,” Lt Rana said.

“I feel extremely proud for having received this invitation. As an American Muslim who has always been dedicated to serving my country and my fellow Americans, I see this as a wonderful opportunity to represent all great Muslim Americans.”

“There are many patriotic Muslim Americans from all walks of life who love and serve the United States of America, including nurses and doctors who save lives of Americans, teachers who educate America’s next generation and last but not least, the men and women of our armed forces and law enforcement who protect this great country. God Bless America!” he added.

Congresswoman Meng said the one extra ticket she was given would allow Lt Rana to sit in the House of Representatives gallery for the president’s speech, which will be televised live. ”The event will also be historic since it will be President Obama’s last State of the Union address before he leaves office,” she said.

There are about 800 Muslim uniformed police officers out of about 35,000, according to the NYPD Muslim Officers Society. Of those, about 20 are higher ranked officials.

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JANUARY 15, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P29

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P30 – PAKISTAN LINK – JANUARY 15, 2016

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JANUARY 15, 2016 - PAKISTAN LINK

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

ENTERTAINMENT

abeel Qureshi and Fiza Ali Meerza, the team behind one of Pakistani cinema's greatest hits Na Maloom Afraad, are set to tickle our funny bone once again.

But they won't tell us how.

At the launch of their second film titled Actor In Law, both director Nabeel and producer Fiza kept mum about the subject matter of their next film, but luckily their cast members let slip a few hints.

Lead actor Mehwish Hayat called Actor In Law "a social comedy" and said "it has emotions, love and plenty of surprises." And Bollywood veteran Om Puri pointed out that the film's title is a give-away: the film explores the idea that actors have some things in common with lawyers.

The cast is stoked to be a part of the film.

Fahad Mustafa, who plays the lead with Mehwish Hayat, said, "Na Maloom Afraad was the ice breaker and now this movie is going to be a hit again in Pakistani cinema. It's a very important film for my career."

When Mehwish was asked if she would emerge as a sherni (lioness) after having played the billi (cat) in Na Maloom Afraad, she said, "All I can say is that I'm playing a very challenging role, different from all the characters I have previously played. I'm very grateful to the team for casting me in such a unique role."

One of the main attractions of the film is that Om Puri, who is making his debut in Pakistani cinema with Actor In Law.

JANUARY 15, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P31

N

Om Puri was full of funny witticisms at the Actor In Law launch - Photo courtesy Actor In Law's Facebook page Here's six things to know about his participation:

1) Casting Om Puri took some doing Casting Om Puri took some determination on producer Fiza's part. When she first reached out to him, her manager had bad news: Om Puri had damaged his spine and wasn't open to acting offers. He was also away on vacation, and "nobody could convince him" for a role at the time. She was told to "take this thought [of casting him] back."

But Fiza was undeterred. She got hold of his personal number and had the script hand-delivered to his home. The extra effort worked. "I didn't need to call Puri sahib after that," Fiza shared, "He called me to accept the offer to act in our film."

2) Om Puri isn't the only cast surprise Fiza Ali Meerza disclosed that the film has an ensemble cast, which also includes Rehan Sheikh, Saifee and Rashid Khawaja. She said that many more actors will feature in the film for "just one scene or just one dialogue" and that she was very grateful that they agreed to these brief appearances.

"This shows that people now have faith in film. They understand that one scene can give an actor a lot of push."

3) Will Om Puri do an item number?! Okay, no, that was a joke.

The Shani Arshad duo are making a four-song soundtrack for Actor In Law, and one of those songs is an item number!

Nabeel Qureshi with Shani Arshad (centre) and title track singer Junaid Younus - Photo courtesy Nabeel Qureshi But Nabeel Qureshi insisted on keeping its details a surprise.

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He did joke, however, that it's Om Puri who's performing the item song.

"That's what he liked about the script!" quipped Nabeel ."We called him over from India just for that. He hasn't had the opportunity to perform an item song in his 22 years in Bollywood."

4) He's not concerned about a backlash about working in Pakistan Saying that he's previously staged a play in Lahore, Om Puri added, "I'm an apolitical person. I say what I feel like. No one has responded 'Why are you in Pakistan?' If they do, I will give them a befitting reply."

Om Puri isn't concerned about what people make of his decision to act in a Pakistan film - Photo courtesy Actor In Law's Facebook page 5) Om Puri thinks Nabeel's a tough boss "Nabeel troubles me a lot, but does great work," he shared. "He tries to get the maximum out of everything, which is a great quality. He neither eats nor lets others do so. That's my only complaint."

He complimented the cinematographer on his expertise and

efficiency, and said that the art directors have blown him away.

"We've been shooting in a court and church and when I arrived, I amazed to discover that the location was in fact a constructed set.

6) He's loving it here in Pakistan "I really like working in Pakistan, because I'm pampered a lot here. I keep responding to people's salaams from morning to night. So many people want to throw me a dinner party at their house. And everyone wants a selfie."

He also said that he's not surprised by the hospitality he has received: "I've known Pakistanis abroad for about 20 years. I have always received love from them, so much so that it's hard to believe that there are conflicts between our two countries. I pray that we find our way to peace and both countries work towards progress, friendship and trade."

Actor In Law is being shot entirely in Pakistan. The film has wrapped up its first spell of shooting and will release on Eidul-Adha.

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P32 – PAKISTAN LINK – JANUARY 15, 2016

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