Red Mosque: Some Unanswered Questions.

In London review of Books, Tariq Ali (website), an astute observer, blasts the myth of extremists taking over Pakistan.

He says that the European and North American papers give the impression that the main, if not the only, problem confronting Pakistan is the power of the bearded fanatics skulking in the Hindu Kush, who as the papers see it are on the verge of taking over the country. In this account, all that stops a jihadi finger finding the nuclear trigger is Musharraf. Alas, it now seems he might drown in a sea of troubles and so the helpful State Department has pushed out an over-inflated raft in the shape of Benazir Bhutto.

In fact, the threat of a jihadi takeover of Pakistan is remote. There is no possibility of a takeover by religious extremists unless the army wants one, as in the 1980s, when General Zia-ul-Haq handed over the Ministries of Education and Information to the Jamaat-e-Islami, with dire results.

He explains the details of the saga of Lal Masjid and then remind the readers that following questions are still unanswered:

1. Why did the government not act in January?
2. How did the clerics manage to accumulate such a large store of weapons without the knowledge of the government?
3. Was the ISI aware that an arsenal was concealed inside the mosque? If so, why did they keep quiet? What was the relationship between the clerics and government agencies?
4. Why was Aziz released and allowed to return to his village without being charged?
5. Has the state decided to relinquish its monopoly of violence?
full article

BBC- Lal Masjid in pictures click here
NY times on Red Mosque - click here
Pervez Hoodbhoy on Lal Masjid - click here

Ahmadiyya Community: Innocents Killed because of their Faith.

Oct 30, 2000 - in a village near Sialkot, Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmed was among 5 dead and seven injured when un-identified men opened fire on members of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community when they were offering Fajr (morning) prayers inside their Mosque.

The motive for the attack is not yet known but human rights groups have constantly highlighted the persecution suffered by the Ahmedis in Pakistan.

A 1974 constitutional amendment during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's government had declared the sect outside Islam after a countrywide movement against them.

A 1984 decree by military ruler General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq banned it from using Islamic forms of worship or describing its places of worship as mosques. Ahmedis are reviled by Muslims as heretics who believe that Holy Prophet Mohammed (Pbuh) is the last prophet.



Sources also speculate involvement of a feared underground outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, in the killing. "LJ has a history of attacking Ahmedis and their involvement is a possibility," a police source said quoting the kidnapping-cum-murder of a Qadiani in Chiniot last year. Three LJ activists including Ijaz alias Jaji were killed in a police shootout after they had kidnapped and killed a Qadiani.

Complete Press report of the incident. click here

Who is responsible for the persecution. The rabid mullah bend upon using religion as "political capital" or the civil society which tolerates the persecution of innocents.

These issues needs to be discussed and laws like Blasphemy, Hudood Ordinance, Qisas and Diyat have no place if we want to see a modern progressive Pakistan.

Brief History of Ahmadiya community click here

List of Ahmedis persecuted in Pakistan click here

Amnesty on Religious Freedom in Pakistan click here

2006: US state Department on Religious Freedom in Pakistan click here

Peoples' Right to Self Rule by Peoples' Mobilization alone

Dawn - Oct 6 : I. A . Rehman, of HRCP, sum it up so beautifully, "Quite a few people believe that on the fourth of October, in the year 2007, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s party was stabbed in the back by none other than his daughter and that the injury may prove fatal. Did the 40-year-old party that had begun by holding up the promise of people’s empowerment deserve to spend its adult years as the bonded maid of a praetorian consul?"

He further writes, PPP had three concerns on the top of its agenda: the people’s right to democracy, the party’s prospects in the coming general election, and the possibility of its chairperson’s rehabilitation in active politics — in that order.

The chairperson seems to have chosen to read the priorities upside down. As she bargained for reprieve for herself, she rendered the party more vulnerable than before and the prospect for democratic revival bleaker.

He warns rightly, "Benazir Bhutto was right when she identified quasi-religious militancy as the most serious threat to Pakistan and argued that the country could be saved only by the people, backed by civilian democratic government. But the regime with which she has pawned her soul is capable neither of preventing Pakistan’s Talibanisation nor of establishing a popular democracy. The threat to the state has increased."

He writes that the lawyers’ courage out in the open helped them win people’s support and by July 20 the regime seemed to have been routed. But then the streets were emptied of the democrats and the gendarmes moved in. They had a dry run on September 10 when Nawaz Sharif was cheated out of his birthright, contrary to everything contained in the Constitution, laws and rules of decency, and the people watched passively while their half-baked leaders sulked under detention.

He concludes beautifully, "All this constitutional and legal quibble apart, the essential fact is that the battle for the people’s right to self-rule will be won neither in courts nor in assemblies of doubtful origins; this battle will be won by people’s mobilisation alone." full article

BBC archive of pictures of lawyers' movement click here

Extremism and Pakistan's Education system?

Christian Fair (her work), Senior research associate at USIP, looks at the connections between Pakistan’s religious schools (madaris) and militancy in Pakistan.

She writes that contrary to popular belief, madrasah students are not all poor and madaris are not categorically tied to militancy. Madaris—along with mosques and public proselytizing events (tabligh)—are, however, “gathering” places where militant groups, religious ideologues, and potential recruits can interact. Religious leaders of some madaris issue edicts (fatwas) that justify the use of violence, and a small number of madaris are used for militant training. Limited evidence suggests that madrasah students more strongly support jihad than those of public or private schools—but public school students, who comprise 70% of Pakistan’s enrolled students, also have high levels of support for violence.

She rightly concludes that Pakistan’s entire education system requires comprehensive reform; such reform may be beyond Pakistan’s capability and there may be only limited scope for the United States to help. Increased participation by multinational organizations and demand for accountability by all partners are required to complete this daunting task. The costs of failure
are too high to countenance.

She further adds, Madaris merit continual observation as they may contribute both to the demand for terrorism and to the limited supply of militants. For the same reasons, Pakistan’s public school sector deserves much more attention than it currently enjoys. full report

Pakistan: Peoples' movement and deals "elites" make

Dr. Manzur Ejaz while examining the support of Burma's people by US and the military by China focuses attention on increase in sectarian violence in Pakistan. He traces the funding of Jamaat-e-islami by Saudis government to de-stabilise Zulfiqaar Ali Bhutto.

Dr. Ejaz writes, "by aggressively interjecting Wahabi Islam into Pakistan, Saudis have aided the communalisation of Pakistani society; sectarian violence has been closely associated with Saudi supported madrassas."

Supporting the movement of people he said that the movement will re-emerge in a few months under another guise. It is typical of mass movements, like the economic markets, that they fool most of their players. Pro-status quo forces get false boosts when the movements go into temporary retreat.

He further adds that whatever the other nations do, the politics of a country changes due to its internal dynamics. If the democratic movement has its legs, it will stand up and change the scenario. Otherwise, the status-quo will prevail. full article



Another wonderful tribute to peoples' movement from Ayaz Amir in Dawn.

Mr Amir writes, So what do we have? Dictatorship on the retreat, Musharraf’s military trappings about to be mothballed, a ruling party in ferment, Benazir feeling ditched and therefore fuming (hell hath no fury…etc, although I am almost certain the deal will come through and she will get the amnesty ordinance she is dying for), an army trying to gain lost respect, lawyers on the march, a media conscious of its power, a judiciary finally waking up to its responsibilities, and Justice Chaudhry still Chief Justice. A weakened presidency, an assertive judiciary: not bad at all.Pray, one more thing.
Everyone knows Wajihuddin will not be president. Then why are people rooting for him? Why is he receiving so many plaudits? Are the people of Pakistan finally coming to realise that true respect comes from integrity not authority? click here

Dawn Report next day Oct 5 2007 giving amnesty to Benazir and other politicians.
MQM cases withdrawn click here

Musharraf, Benazir & Extremists: What Do they seek?

Sept 20, 2007 - CSIS- Vikram Gupta and Teresita C Schaffer, analyses the political situation in Pakistan. General Musharraf faces 3 challenges: new energised judiciary backed by vibrant civil society, Nawaz & Benazir and finally extremists breaking the law and directly attacking army.

Musharraf basic constituency is Pakistan army.

Judiciary: President election on Oct6 and then Parliament election before 15 Jan 2008. President if elected from the (out going) parliament that was elected in 2002, many Pakistanis think, will be against the spirit of the constitution.

Political Parties: Musharraf is seeking 3 things: Benazir to at least give tacit support, maximize Presidential powers and retain control of army at least till he is elected as President. Benazir is seeking 4 things: corruption cases withdrawn, Musharraf retire from army before being elected as President, eligibility to run again as Prime minister that means a legislation allowing a third term and repeal of 58 (2b) so President cannot dissolve parliament. Musharraf is OK with withdrawing corruption cases but not with the last 2 demands. Nawaz wants to return to Pakistan and start a movement to oust Musharraf.

Dawn report Oct 5, 2007 - Military and Benazir "power sharing deal".

Report blames MQM for May 12 violence in Karachi that left 40 people dead. MQM thuggish track record hurts Musharraf more than their capacity to mobilise people. MQM opposes any deal with Benazir as PPP is their rival in Sindh.

3 factors could trigger to impose a State of Emergency: court disallowing Musharraf to run for President, major trouble in the streets and political parties resigning such that quorum or moral legitimacy is absent from Presidential election.

Looking into sources of extremism authors asks a pertinent question that who controls tribal area (FATA)? . 2 groups are sources of extremist violence, one that sees Pakistan government efforts to integrate the areas into Pakistan. The other group is the one who are challenging the army and law enforcement. These are the perpetrators of suicide attack on military and those that want to establish themselves as Islamic oriented power.

full report

Govt minister confirms that cases againt Benazir to be dropped. Daily time 2 Oct 2007

Hayatullah Khan: a Media Hero

UPDATE:
Nov 17, 2007: Wife of Hyatullah died in bomb explosion at their house. (full report)

June 16, 2006: Hayatullah Khan's, freelance journalist, body was found by villagers in the North Waziristan town of Mir Ali, from where he was abducted on December 5, 2005.

Khan disappeared after reporting that an al-Qaeda commander had been killed by a U.S. missile, contradicting official Pakistani accounts of the death. Local government officials and family members told journalists that Khan had been shot in the back of the head, probably on June 15, and was in handcuffs.

Front line movie - In Search of Al-Qaeda click here - producer, Martin Smith, hired Hyatullah in 2002 and writes "Hayat was a dedicated journalist who gave outsiders some of the first glimpses of Waziristan," recalls Smith. "From the moment we met him, we recognized his intelligence and talent."

On Dec. 5, 2005, Hayat Ullah was riding in a car with his brother when he was abducted by unknown assailants. Four days earlier, in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, he had taken photos of the aftermath of what Pakistani officials had said was an accidental bomb-making explosion that killed Abu Hamza Rabia, an Egyptian believed to be a senior Al Qaeda operative. Hayat Ullah's photos, which showed clearly identifiable fragments of U.S. Hellfire missiles in the rubble, directly contradicted the government's story.

Though no one knows who kidnapped Hayat Ullah, his family suspects the government: "We believe that the government is involved in the kidnapping of Hayat Ullah because Hayat said to my mother, 'When I published the pictures of the guided missile, that I know that the government will harm me,'" his brother, Haseen Ullah, explained to FRONTLINE. full story

Photo that allegedly killed Hayatullah

CPJ Report click here , 2nd report
Reporters without borders Report click here
Amnesty Report click here , 2nd report - 2007

ANAA elects new President

ANAA Press Release

1st October 2007

Dr. Amna Buttar has joined Pakistan People's party (PPP). She has resigned as president of ANAA. Dr. Zaffar Iqbal has been elected as new ANAA President.

ANAA is a non-partisan advocacy group for people of Pakistan. Our vision is of a progressive and enlightened Pakistan where there is no room for discrimination and injustice.

ANAA believes in justice for all, gender equality, and human rights for all as enshrined in the principles of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, CEDAW - The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women and all other charters, covenants and protocols of the United Nations Organization on human rights.