RAWALPINDI: The Quaid of Millat-e-Jafariya, Agha Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moosavi has demanded of the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take note of of Balochistan situation and help resolve the issue.
This he stated by while talking to a delegation from Hazara community of Quetta that called on him here on Sunday, says a press statement issued here on Sunday.
He said the governments in the past did nothing for Balochistan while the present government also not fulfilled wishes of the people. Moosavi said that in the recent massacre of innocent people of Quetta not only Hazara community is being targeted but people belonging to every tribe are also targeted.
He said there is no racial, linguistic, grouping or Maktabi issue rather the enemy desires to target every institution, tribe and Maslak so as to weaken Balochistan and by doing so destabilising Pakistan.
Agha Moosavi called upon the government and opposition to give priority to the restoration of peace in Balochistan. He said innocent people are kidnapped and the bodies are found along side the roads.
He said the enemy desires to destabilise Pakistan by targeting people without any discrimination. He said the 13 resolutions adopted at the APC have not yet been submitted in the National Assembly and earlier resolution of the Parliament had not been implemented. He also criticized the criminal silence of the opposition on this issue.
OINN
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Balochistan’s plight: Protest march in Quetta over rights violations
By Shehzad Baloch
Published: October 16, 2011
Discovery of mutilated bodies of Baloch missing persons and sectarian killings have become the norm.
QUETTA:
Human Rights Commission Pakistan (HRCP), Balochistan chapter, took out a march in Quetta on Saturday to raise concerns over violation of human rights in the province.
According to HRCP, discovery of mutilated bodies of Baloch missing persons, sectarian killings as well as kidnapping for ransom of Hindus are on the rise in Balochistan. The rights group regrets that the issues receive little attention from both the government and the judiciary.
Only 30 people participated in the rally with 15 of them hailing from Hazara community.
“HRCP invited all political parties, traders, minorities, teachers as well as people from different walks of life to present a united front against lawlessness but majority of them did not take part due to decadent law and order situation, “said Chairman HRCP Balochistan chapter, Tahir Hussain.
The march began from Jinnay Road and culminated at the Quetta Press Club. Merely two policemen were deputed to provide security cover to the demonstrators.
The protestors were carrying placards inscribed with slogans such as ‘Stop the killing of innocent people’ and ‘Everyone has the right to live.’
Addressing the gathering, Tahir Hussain asserted that HRCP had published four reports about the grave human rights situation in Balochistan.
“It was shameful that the government is claiming that 70 per cent missing persons have been recovered. If they consider the discovery of mutilated body as safe recovery then indeed they are correct,” he said sarcastically.
Hussain highlighted that people in Khuzdar, Mastung and Makuran divisions are not coming forward for registering their complaints. According to him, the reason lay in their sense of insecurity with the threat of enforced disappearances and targeted killing looming over them
Chairman of Hazara Jarga, Abdul Qayyum Changezi pointed out that over 600 people from Hazara community have been killed in sectarian violence since 2000. “I have not met with the Prime Minister in protest because we do not need assurance but practical steps for stopping these killings,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2011.
Published: October 16, 2011
QUETTA:
Human Rights Commission Pakistan (HRCP), Balochistan chapter, took out a march in Quetta on Saturday to raise concerns over violation of human rights in the province.
According to HRCP, discovery of mutilated bodies of Baloch missing persons, sectarian killings as well as kidnapping for ransom of Hindus are on the rise in Balochistan. The rights group regrets that the issues receive little attention from both the government and the judiciary.
Only 30 people participated in the rally with 15 of them hailing from Hazara community.
“HRCP invited all political parties, traders, minorities, teachers as well as people from different walks of life to present a united front against lawlessness but majority of them did not take part due to decadent law and order situation, “said Chairman HRCP Balochistan chapter, Tahir Hussain.
The march began from Jinnay Road and culminated at the Quetta Press Club. Merely two policemen were deputed to provide security cover to the demonstrators.
The protestors were carrying placards inscribed with slogans such as ‘Stop the killing of innocent people’ and ‘Everyone has the right to live.’
Addressing the gathering, Tahir Hussain asserted that HRCP had published four reports about the grave human rights situation in Balochistan.
“It was shameful that the government is claiming that 70 per cent missing persons have been recovered. If they consider the discovery of mutilated body as safe recovery then indeed they are correct,” he said sarcastically.
Hussain highlighted that people in Khuzdar, Mastung and Makuran divisions are not coming forward for registering their complaints. According to him, the reason lay in their sense of insecurity with the threat of enforced disappearances and targeted killing looming over them
Chairman of Hazara Jarga, Abdul Qayyum Changezi pointed out that over 600 people from Hazara community have been killed in sectarian violence since 2000. “I have not met with the Prime Minister in protest because we do not need assurance but practical steps for stopping these killings,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2011.
Sectarian violence: Hazara victims remembered at Liberty vigil
Published: October 16, 2011
Participants vow to continue pressing govt to tackle sectarian violence . PHOTO: ABID NAWAZ/EXPRESS
LAHORE:
Students of the University of Engineering and Technology and the National College of Arts staged a small vigil at Liberty Roundabout last night in memory of Hazaras killed recently in sectarian attacks in Quetta.
The vigil was organised by Saeeda Diep, chairwoman of the Institute for Peace and Secular Studies, through social networking site Facebook. Though over 300 people on a Facebook page for the vigil said they would attend, only about 25 showed up.
Diep said that sectarian violence had now become so common in Pakistan that it did not register with the public, even civil society. She said that the Institute of Peace and Secular Studies would continue arranging protests against incidents of violence against minorities until all government authorities committed themselves to rooting out the elements behind sectarian violence.
“We need to take violence against minorities, particularly the Hazaras in Quetta, very seriously and pressure the government to address it,” she said.
Seven people of Hazara origin enrolled in colleges in Lahore also attended the vigil. Karrar Hassan, who has lived in Lahore for 12 years now, showed up with his son and wife.
“I am here and probably safe, but I worry about my parents and my siblings back in Quetta,” said Hassan, who earlier this week attended a protest on the same subject at the Lahore Press Club.
“We are here to give a message for the youth. They are the future and have to realise that Pakistan cannot grow in the right direction unless the minorities of the country are treated equally,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2011.
LAHORE:
Students of the University of Engineering and Technology and the National College of Arts staged a small vigil at Liberty Roundabout last night in memory of Hazaras killed recently in sectarian attacks in Quetta.
The vigil was organised by Saeeda Diep, chairwoman of the Institute for Peace and Secular Studies, through social networking site Facebook. Though over 300 people on a Facebook page for the vigil said they would attend, only about 25 showed up.
Diep said that sectarian violence had now become so common in Pakistan that it did not register with the public, even civil society. She said that the Institute of Peace and Secular Studies would continue arranging protests against incidents of violence against minorities until all government authorities committed themselves to rooting out the elements behind sectarian violence.
“We need to take violence against minorities, particularly the Hazaras in Quetta, very seriously and pressure the government to address it,” she said.
Seven people of Hazara origin enrolled in colleges in Lahore also attended the vigil. Karrar Hassan, who has lived in Lahore for 12 years now, showed up with his son and wife.
“I am here and probably safe, but I worry about my parents and my siblings back in Quetta,” said Hassan, who earlier this week attended a protest on the same subject at the Lahore Press Club.
“We are here to give a message for the youth. They are the future and have to realise that Pakistan cannot grow in the right direction unless the minorities of the country are treated equally,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2011.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
The Women of Bamyan: A Progress Report
October 5, 2011 by Zareen Taj ·
Last Wednesday I reached Bamyan province in Afghanistan. It was a sunny, windy day, and Bamyan looked beautiful and clean. When our small, nine-person plane got close to landing, I saw a group of girls on the road going to school. I saw police with professional and neat uniforms, without beards. I saw so many new buildings and many foreigners–none of which I saw the last time I was here in 2004. I felt so relieved and joyful to see progress in Bamyan.
Bamyan province, with a population of nearly 400,000, is located in the center of Afghanistan. A place that has six months of winter, it used to be the poorest province, with mainly potatoes growing there. It’s most famous for being the site of two remarkable 6th century sculptures of the Buddha built into a rocky hillside, which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
In 2004, the situation there shocked my soul. I saw only destruction–of the Buddhas, houses, the bazaar. I heard so much misery about the Taliban’s cruelty in the province. I was crying as I looked around, feeling helpless and hopeless. And I met so many women whose lives were shattered. Time had collapsed for them–the past was so painful to remember, the future too uncertain to talk about. They were just struggling in the present.
But Wednesday felt like the happiest day of my life. I saw development. I saw hope in the faces of people, and hope about the administration of the governor–a woman! This time, I hear more stories of success than misery. Women talk about the future because they can see a future for themselves! Last time, I had only tears to share with the women of Bamyan; this time we share smiles.
I am eager to visit more places in Bamyan and meet more women. I have come here on a fact-finding research trip, just as I did in 2004 when I traveled around and made a video. I’m focusing on Bamyan primarily because it is the center of the Hazarajat–the Hazara ethnic group, to which I belong. I will visit the University of Bamyan, the orphanage run by Dr. Sima Samar, the women’s ministry, the women’s shura (community council), a women’s shelter, a women’s prison and two girls schools. I will find out more about the life of the people here; I am sure they are still facing challenges and obstacles, but overall Bamyan is moving in positive direction.
Right now, Bamyan has many success stories to tell to the world. The governor’s adviser says that their message to the international community, especially the American people is that “your money is not wasted in Bamyan.” She says they have carefully spent international assistance on improvement of the province. Right now Bamyan has 320 schools, with nearly 80,000 students in elementary (up to grade 5) and nearly 35,000 in middle- and high school. The province also maintains a strong literacy program for adults. I can see a revolutionary change in education in Bamyan: It now has no barriers because of age, gender, location or economic status. People have full confidence that they are able to keep learning at any age; there are many literacy courses for the elderly. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and the Shuhada Organization have so many programs in Bamyan, many to bring awareness about domestic violence and human rights violations.
I also visited Mazar-e-Sharif and could see huge differences from Bamyan. The Balkh province, where Mazar-e-Sharif is, has a male governor and receives more government money. When I visited, the governor had 12 guests in the house and we were served all kinds of delicious food. The poorer province, Bamiyan, is run by the only female governor in Afghanistan, Habiba Sarabi, who was the minister of women’s affairs back in 2004. There are much less trappings of power and politics on display in her government, and government resources seem to be spent more on the people and the communities themselves.
Sarabi is in direct daily contact with the average citizen. She wears very simple dress; people love her. For dinner, she served her guests very simple food–okra cooked with Bamyani potatoes and homemade yogurt. I got to spend a few hours with her, watching her work. She is very friendly with people. The work hours are from 8 to 3:30 p.m., but she didn’t leave the office that day until 5:30; she said she never leaves until she has finished her work. When she left her office she went on a 30-minute walk and I went along. I was breathing so hard, but she was walking without any difficulty. There was only one police officer with us–something governors in other provinces could not do because of security fears. Bamyan, though, is now a peaceful place.
I saw the governor come out of a meeting with the United Nations World Food Program, which wants to distribute wheat to people who are affected so badly from poverty. The governor told them that they should give the wheat in exchange for those people promising to work cleaning snow off the streets and roads in winter time. Sarabi said she wants to teach Bamyan people to learn how to catch fish, not just how to eat fish. She said, “I want to teach the Bamyan people that nothing can come free. You have to work hard.”
Photo of Hazara girls in Bamyan by ISAF Headquarters Public Affairs Office from Kabul, Afghanistan under Creative Commons 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
MS Magazine
Bamyan province, with a population of nearly 400,000, is located in the center of Afghanistan. A place that has six months of winter, it used to be the poorest province, with mainly potatoes growing there. It’s most famous for being the site of two remarkable 6th century sculptures of the Buddha built into a rocky hillside, which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
In 2004, the situation there shocked my soul. I saw only destruction–of the Buddhas, houses, the bazaar. I heard so much misery about the Taliban’s cruelty in the province. I was crying as I looked around, feeling helpless and hopeless. And I met so many women whose lives were shattered. Time had collapsed for them–the past was so painful to remember, the future too uncertain to talk about. They were just struggling in the present.
But Wednesday felt like the happiest day of my life. I saw development. I saw hope in the faces of people, and hope about the administration of the governor–a woman! This time, I hear more stories of success than misery. Women talk about the future because they can see a future for themselves! Last time, I had only tears to share with the women of Bamyan; this time we share smiles.
I am eager to visit more places in Bamyan and meet more women. I have come here on a fact-finding research trip, just as I did in 2004 when I traveled around and made a video. I’m focusing on Bamyan primarily because it is the center of the Hazarajat–the Hazara ethnic group, to which I belong. I will visit the University of Bamyan, the orphanage run by Dr. Sima Samar, the women’s ministry, the women’s shura (community council), a women’s shelter, a women’s prison and two girls schools. I will find out more about the life of the people here; I am sure they are still facing challenges and obstacles, but overall Bamyan is moving in positive direction.
Right now, Bamyan has many success stories to tell to the world. The governor’s adviser says that their message to the international community, especially the American people is that “your money is not wasted in Bamyan.” She says they have carefully spent international assistance on improvement of the province. Right now Bamyan has 320 schools, with nearly 80,000 students in elementary (up to grade 5) and nearly 35,000 in middle- and high school. The province also maintains a strong literacy program for adults. I can see a revolutionary change in education in Bamyan: It now has no barriers because of age, gender, location or economic status. People have full confidence that they are able to keep learning at any age; there are many literacy courses for the elderly. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and the Shuhada Organization have so many programs in Bamyan, many to bring awareness about domestic violence and human rights violations.
I also visited Mazar-e-Sharif and could see huge differences from Bamyan. The Balkh province, where Mazar-e-Sharif is, has a male governor and receives more government money. When I visited, the governor had 12 guests in the house and we were served all kinds of delicious food. The poorer province, Bamiyan, is run by the only female governor in Afghanistan, Habiba Sarabi, who was the minister of women’s affairs back in 2004. There are much less trappings of power and politics on display in her government, and government resources seem to be spent more on the people and the communities themselves.
Sarabi is in direct daily contact with the average citizen. She wears very simple dress; people love her. For dinner, she served her guests very simple food–okra cooked with Bamyani potatoes and homemade yogurt. I got to spend a few hours with her, watching her work. She is very friendly with people. The work hours are from 8 to 3:30 p.m., but she didn’t leave the office that day until 5:30; she said she never leaves until she has finished her work. When she left her office she went on a 30-minute walk and I went along. I was breathing so hard, but she was walking without any difficulty. There was only one police officer with us–something governors in other provinces could not do because of security fears. Bamyan, though, is now a peaceful place.
I saw the governor come out of a meeting with the United Nations World Food Program, which wants to distribute wheat to people who are affected so badly from poverty. The governor told them that they should give the wheat in exchange for those people promising to work cleaning snow off the streets and roads in winter time. Sarabi said she wants to teach Bamyan people to learn how to catch fish, not just how to eat fish. She said, “I want to teach the Bamyan people that nothing can come free. You have to work hard.”
Photo of Hazara girls in Bamyan by ISAF Headquarters Public Affairs Office from Kabul, Afghanistan under Creative Commons 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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