Monday, October 31, 2011
Indian firms may land iron ore mining contract in Afghanistan
Sachin Parashar, TNN | Oct 31, 2011, 02.12AM IST
NEW DELHI: Shortly after it signed a strategic partnership pact with Afghanistan, India's engagement with Kabul is all set to blossom further with two Indian companies, one of them a government-backed consortium led by SAIL, likely to win the contract for iron ore mining at Hajigak in Bamiyan province.
In a country where -- according to US government estimates - there are untapped mineral resources worth $1 trillion, the Hajigak iron ore mining entails the single largest foreign investment by any country for such a project in the war-torn country.
SAIL and NMDC are heading a consortium of seven companies which has bid for the contract as a part of the Manmohan Singh-led government's initiative to further enhance India's role in Afghanistan, a country in which India has pledged investment worth $2 billion. Another Indian company which has bid separately is corporate Ispat Alloys.
According to Afghanistan's minister of mines Wahidullah Shahrani, the two Indian entities have "emerged as the most potential companies for Hajigak''. The final decision is likely to be taken by Afghan authorities in early November. Other companies from Canada, US and Iran too are in the fray. Foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai had met Shahrani during his visit to Afghanistan last month during which he is said to have pushed the case for Indian firms.
If the SAIL-led consortium does indeed win the contract, the deal will surpass the $4 billion contract signed by China for copper mining in the Logar province four years ago. In fact, the contract can help India dispel the notion that it is reduced to playing catch-up with China which has won most of the major mining contracts in Afghanistan.
The SAIL-led consortium has bid for all four Hajigak mining blocks. Government authorities have backed the bid maintaining that it makes strategic as well commercial sense to have a presence in mining in Afghanistan.
India has, so far, focused mainly on infrastructure development in Afghanistan, building roads, schools, power lines and hospitals. The Hajigak contract, which involves investment of $6 billion, will also establish India's presence in the country, which is gearing up to face security challenges on its own after 2014, for a very long time to come.
US geologists and government officials estimated last year that Afghanistan was sitting on unexploited mineral reserves such as copper, iron ore, lithium, gold and cobalt worth over $1 trillion.
According to Shahrani, however, another major contract for oil and gas exploration in northern Afghanistan Amu Darya is likely to go China's way.
The Times of India
NEW DELHI: Shortly after it signed a strategic partnership pact with Afghanistan, India's engagement with Kabul is all set to blossom further with two Indian companies, one of them a government-backed consortium led by SAIL, likely to win the contract for iron ore mining at Hajigak in Bamiyan province.
In a country where -- according to US government estimates - there are untapped mineral resources worth $1 trillion, the Hajigak iron ore mining entails the single largest foreign investment by any country for such a project in the war-torn country.
SAIL and NMDC are heading a consortium of seven companies which has bid for the contract as a part of the Manmohan Singh-led government's initiative to further enhance India's role in Afghanistan, a country in which India has pledged investment worth $2 billion. Another Indian company which has bid separately is corporate Ispat Alloys.
According to Afghanistan's minister of mines Wahidullah Shahrani, the two Indian entities have "emerged as the most potential companies for Hajigak''. The final decision is likely to be taken by Afghan authorities in early November. Other companies from Canada, US and Iran too are in the fray. Foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai had met Shahrani during his visit to Afghanistan last month during which he is said to have pushed the case for Indian firms.
If the SAIL-led consortium does indeed win the contract, the deal will surpass the $4 billion contract signed by China for copper mining in the Logar province four years ago. In fact, the contract can help India dispel the notion that it is reduced to playing catch-up with China which has won most of the major mining contracts in Afghanistan.
The SAIL-led consortium has bid for all four Hajigak mining blocks. Government authorities have backed the bid maintaining that it makes strategic as well commercial sense to have a presence in mining in Afghanistan.
India has, so far, focused mainly on infrastructure development in Afghanistan, building roads, schools, power lines and hospitals. The Hajigak contract, which involves investment of $6 billion, will also establish India's presence in the country, which is gearing up to face security challenges on its own after 2014, for a very long time to come.
US geologists and government officials estimated last year that Afghanistan was sitting on unexploited mineral reserves such as copper, iron ore, lithium, gold and cobalt worth over $1 trillion.
According to Shahrani, however, another major contract for oil and gas exploration in northern Afghanistan Amu Darya is likely to go China's way.
The Times of India
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Mongolia: Afghanistan’s Minority Hazara Students Find Peace in Ulaanbaatar
October 28, 2011 - 12:00pm, by Pearly Jacob
Ulaanbaatar hardly registers as dream destination for study-abroad scholars. But for a handful of Afghan students, all-expenses-paid undergraduate scholarships to study in Mongolia's capital city present a pragmatic alternative to life in war-torn Kabul.
In the bustling canteen of Mongolia International University (MIU), 21-year-old Nasim Sahel, an ethnic Hazara from Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Province, admits that before his arrival the only image he had of Mongolia was of people riding horses -- "and of course Genghis Khan.” Currently, Sahel and at least 22 other Hazaras study in Mongolia, most of them the recipients of scholarships specifically designed for members of the oft-persecuted minority group back home.
In Afghanistan, Hazaras are believed to be descended from Genghis Khan's marauding forces as they swept through during the Mongol conquests of the 13th century. The name “Hazara” is thought to come from the Persian “hazar,” or thousand, a reference to the hordes. Mostly Shi’a Islam believers and Asian in appearance, Hazaras have endured frequent persecution from their Sunni neighbors. The ethnically Pashtun Taliban singled out the group for mass executions and forced deportations, most notably in Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998, and attacks on their settlements in highland towns like Bamiyan, the provincial capital.
In 2009, Davaabat Sainbayar, director of an online, non-profit networking initiative for Mongolians worldwide -- Tsahim Urtuu, or “Electronic Station” -- was producing a local TV series tracking Mongolians around the globe when he visited a Hazara community in Kabul. Eyewitness accounts of discrimination, "just because they were regarded as Mongols," shocked him. Three months later, with Mongolian government support, he announced the Tsahim Urtuu scholarship program. "Our goal was to help these students, who we view as ethnic Mongolians, and see where it leads," he says.
The three students chosen for the first round underwent nine months of preparatory language lessons before enrolling in undergraduate classes at the government-run National University of Mongolia (NUM) in 2009. Despite the crash course, language is still “the biggest challenge,” says Zahra Baksh, a second-year business management student. “We often have to translate words from Mongolian into English and if we still don't get it, into Persian."
For most Hazara students, many of whom experienced life as refugees in Iran and Pakistan, their time in Mongolia offers their first taste of prolonged peace and relative stability. Meqdad Salehi, a Tsahim Urtuu scholarship awardee studying international relations at NUM, spent his entire childhood as a displaced person. He was born in Iran to Hazara refugees who had moved there hoping to escape persecution in Afghanistan. Hazaras speak a dialect of Persian. With their Shi’a beliefs, many seek sanctuary in Shi'a Iran, rather than Sunni Pakistan.
Unfortunately for Salehi and many like him, discrimination followed the Hazaras to Iran. "Tajiks and Uzbeks refugees from Afghanistan look more like Iranians. It is more difficult for Hazaras to be accepted because of our Mongolian features," said Salehi. Unable to find easy access to jobs and schooling in Iran, his family moved back to Afghanistan -- just as the Taliban gained control over much of the country in the mid-1990s. Taliban repression forced his family to return to Iran, but they found the environment so unwelcoming that they opted to return to Kabul prior to the 9/11 terrorism tragedy and the subsequent US-led blitz on Afghanistan. "The second time we came back to Afghanistan and then 9/11 happened. We heard Americans would attack so we ran to Pakistan,” Salehi said. The family has since returned to Kabul.
For Sahel, the student from Bamiyan, Mongolia is the opportunity he had always hoped for. "At least there is a country that's supporting me, a country that says, ‘Yes, you belong to me,’ after I've been exiled from Afghanistan and called a slave,” he said. An outspoken student, his hair dyed a reddish blonde, Sahel says the individual freedom he enjoys in Mongolia has been the best part of his experience. Yet he still yearns to return to a peaceful Afghanistan. "I like the idea of being descended from Mongolians, but I belong to Afghanistan."
For Hazara students in Ulaanbaatar, thoughts of home are sobering reminders of the uncertainty that loved ones continue to grapple with. "Each time I hear news of gunfire or bomb blasts in Kabul, I have to fight the urge to panic and think the worst," says Meqdad Salehi.
When asked to describe the situation at home, Zahra Bakhsh, the business management student, mulled the question for a minute. "Afghanistan is like...” she said before pausing. “I don't know how you say it in English …" After a quick Google search she finds a satisfactory way to express her sentiments: "Afghanistan is like a spell no one can break.”
Editor's Note: Pearly Jacob is a freelance journalist based in Ulaanbaatar.
EurasiaNet
Ulaanbaatar hardly registers as dream destination for study-abroad scholars. But for a handful of Afghan students, all-expenses-paid undergraduate scholarships to study in Mongolia's capital city present a pragmatic alternative to life in war-torn Kabul.
In the bustling canteen of Mongolia International University (MIU), 21-year-old Nasim Sahel, an ethnic Hazara from Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Province, admits that before his arrival the only image he had of Mongolia was of people riding horses -- "and of course Genghis Khan.” Currently, Sahel and at least 22 other Hazaras study in Mongolia, most of them the recipients of scholarships specifically designed for members of the oft-persecuted minority group back home.
In Afghanistan, Hazaras are believed to be descended from Genghis Khan's marauding forces as they swept through during the Mongol conquests of the 13th century. The name “Hazara” is thought to come from the Persian “hazar,” or thousand, a reference to the hordes. Mostly Shi’a Islam believers and Asian in appearance, Hazaras have endured frequent persecution from their Sunni neighbors. The ethnically Pashtun Taliban singled out the group for mass executions and forced deportations, most notably in Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998, and attacks on their settlements in highland towns like Bamiyan, the provincial capital.
In 2009, Davaabat Sainbayar, director of an online, non-profit networking initiative for Mongolians worldwide -- Tsahim Urtuu, or “Electronic Station” -- was producing a local TV series tracking Mongolians around the globe when he visited a Hazara community in Kabul. Eyewitness accounts of discrimination, "just because they were regarded as Mongols," shocked him. Three months later, with Mongolian government support, he announced the Tsahim Urtuu scholarship program. "Our goal was to help these students, who we view as ethnic Mongolians, and see where it leads," he says.
The three students chosen for the first round underwent nine months of preparatory language lessons before enrolling in undergraduate classes at the government-run National University of Mongolia (NUM) in 2009. Despite the crash course, language is still “the biggest challenge,” says Zahra Baksh, a second-year business management student. “We often have to translate words from Mongolian into English and if we still don't get it, into Persian."
For most Hazara students, many of whom experienced life as refugees in Iran and Pakistan, their time in Mongolia offers their first taste of prolonged peace and relative stability. Meqdad Salehi, a Tsahim Urtuu scholarship awardee studying international relations at NUM, spent his entire childhood as a displaced person. He was born in Iran to Hazara refugees who had moved there hoping to escape persecution in Afghanistan. Hazaras speak a dialect of Persian. With their Shi’a beliefs, many seek sanctuary in Shi'a Iran, rather than Sunni Pakistan.
Unfortunately for Salehi and many like him, discrimination followed the Hazaras to Iran. "Tajiks and Uzbeks refugees from Afghanistan look more like Iranians. It is more difficult for Hazaras to be accepted because of our Mongolian features," said Salehi. Unable to find easy access to jobs and schooling in Iran, his family moved back to Afghanistan -- just as the Taliban gained control over much of the country in the mid-1990s. Taliban repression forced his family to return to Iran, but they found the environment so unwelcoming that they opted to return to Kabul prior to the 9/11 terrorism tragedy and the subsequent US-led blitz on Afghanistan. "The second time we came back to Afghanistan and then 9/11 happened. We heard Americans would attack so we ran to Pakistan,” Salehi said. The family has since returned to Kabul.
For Sahel, the student from Bamiyan, Mongolia is the opportunity he had always hoped for. "At least there is a country that's supporting me, a country that says, ‘Yes, you belong to me,’ after I've been exiled from Afghanistan and called a slave,” he said. An outspoken student, his hair dyed a reddish blonde, Sahel says the individual freedom he enjoys in Mongolia has been the best part of his experience. Yet he still yearns to return to a peaceful Afghanistan. "I like the idea of being descended from Mongolians, but I belong to Afghanistan."
For Hazara students in Ulaanbaatar, thoughts of home are sobering reminders of the uncertainty that loved ones continue to grapple with. "Each time I hear news of gunfire or bomb blasts in Kabul, I have to fight the urge to panic and think the worst," says Meqdad Salehi.
When asked to describe the situation at home, Zahra Bakhsh, the business management student, mulled the question for a minute. "Afghanistan is like...” she said before pausing. “I don't know how you say it in English …" After a quick Google search she finds a satisfactory way to express her sentiments: "Afghanistan is like a spell no one can break.”
Editor's Note: Pearly Jacob is a freelance journalist based in Ulaanbaatar.
EurasiaNet
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Many Daikundi schools without buildings
"A high traffic noise and dust don't allow us to focus on our lessons."
By Syed Ghulam
With almost 76 percent of schools across Daikundi province having proper buildings, more than 100,000 students are still studying under tents, officials said on Friday.
A total of 334 schools are operating in the province, Director of Education Sardar Ali Jafri told Pajhwok Afghan News. As many as 118,104 students are taught under trees, in mosques and rented houses.
Nazar Panahi, the director of planning at the education department, acknowledged many schools had no buildings and faced problems, including non-availability of clean drinking water.
As a result, students do not have access to a healthy learning environment, he said, urging donors to help the education department tackle the problems.
Students and teachers also complained of the space problem. "To us, the biggest issue is a lack of school buildings," said Khaliq Nazar, a teacher at the Muhammadia School in Sharistan district.
A student of the school, Yasin, said: "A high traffic noise and dust don't allow us to focus on our lessons."
Across the central province, 155,400 students, 40 pc of them girls, are being taught by 2,909 male and female teachers.
Read more: http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2011/10/21/many-daikundi-schools-without-buildings.html#ixzz1bwhCG8uu
By Syed Ghulam
With almost 76 percent of schools across Daikundi province having proper buildings, more than 100,000 students are still studying under tents, officials said on Friday.
A total of 334 schools are operating in the province, Director of Education Sardar Ali Jafri told Pajhwok Afghan News. As many as 118,104 students are taught under trees, in mosques and rented houses.
Nazar Panahi, the director of planning at the education department, acknowledged many schools had no buildings and faced problems, including non-availability of clean drinking water.
As a result, students do not have access to a healthy learning environment, he said, urging donors to help the education department tackle the problems.
Students and teachers also complained of the space problem. "To us, the biggest issue is a lack of school buildings," said Khaliq Nazar, a teacher at the Muhammadia School in Sharistan district.
A student of the school, Yasin, said: "A high traffic noise and dust don't allow us to focus on our lessons."
Across the central province, 155,400 students, 40 pc of them girls, are being taught by 2,909 male and female teachers.
Read more: http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2011/10/21/many-daikundi-schools-without-buildings.html#ixzz1bwhCG8uu
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Taliban gone, but Bamiyan still fearful
By Aisha Chowdhry, Special for USA TODAY
BAMIYAN, Afghanistan – The massive Buddhas that were carved into the sandstone cliffs here 15 centuries ago are gone, and so too are those who dynamited them into oblivion.
American troops have cleared out the Taliban from this valley. But the people of Bamiyan live in fear that the strict Muslim clerics and their ruthless brand of Islam are not gone for good.
"We need the Americans," says Haji Hussain, 40, the owner of a grocery store who says he was shot by the Taliban. "When they leave, it will be very difficult and the Taliban will come back."
This province in eastern Afghanistan is known for spectacular mountain scenery of the Hindu Kush and deep-blue lakes that change hue as the sun moves over the sky. It is an ancient land that lies on the Silk Road, the trade route that caravans once took from China.
The people here are Hazaras, Shiite Muslims who descend from Mongols and who for years has been discriminated against by the more numerous Sunnis in the south, known as Pashtuns.
It was the Pashtuns who gave birth to the Taliban. Its adherents prevailed in a civil war in 1996 and made news periodically for edicts it said were rooted in Quran: public executions of adulterous women, bans on music, kites, and men marrying 9-year-old girls.
Bamiyan resisted, and close to 600 of its people died at the hands of the Taliban.
But it was not until March of 2001 that the Taliban made world headlines, shocking archeologists and awakening governments to the unique nature of the regime. Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar ordered the destruction of a treasure of the ancient world, the Bamiyan Buddhas, carved in the 6th century by monks who meditated in the caves of what was an early Hindu-Buddhist monastery.
The larger of the two statues at 175 feet was the tallest standing Buddha in existence. Omar deemed them un-Islamic idols, and when machine guns failed to destroy them they were erased by dynamite despite cries from the world community that they be spared.
Six months later the Taliban refused another request — to turn over to the USA the architect of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Osama bin Laden. The refusal led to a U.S.-led invasion that dislodged the Taliban from the capital of Kabul but began a war that continues to this day.
More than 100 miles west of Kabul, Bamiyan in July was the first province to be handed to the Afghan security forces by NATO forces.
Today construction abounds in the region, and new stores can be seen in a bustling downtown. A map outside the office of Bamiyan governor, Habiba Sarabi, the only female governor in Afghanistan, displays what Bamiyan might look like one day. It details plans to boost tourism by improving ground and air transport.
Sarabi condemns the destruction of the statues and has been a target of the Taliban, she says. "It was not only the Taliban but other hands behind that too, to destroy the identities of the Bamiyan people," she says.
Life has changed dramatically since the Taliban was forced out by NATO. Schooling is better and more open. There are 125,000 children attending classes and close to half are female. Under the Taliban girls were forbidden from getting an education.
On this day women are seen walking the streets of Bamiyan, books in hand. Hussain Noori, 28, says that is a change from life under the Taliban, which banned women from going outside without a burqa.
"They are not forced to cover themselves," he says. "It is up to them."
Foreign archeologists have flocked here in recent years and have unearthed artifacts that could become a major tourist draw. In 2008, what may be the first known use of oil paint was found in Buddhist images inside some of the thousands of caves here.
Yet the road from Kabul to Bamiyan can be a dangerous route. Better security could make it a caravan route of a different sort, one that brings tourists, income and jobs, Sarabi says.
With U.S. forces scheduled to withdraw by 2014, Afghans here are skeptical of what the future holds. Col. Hafizallah Payman, the local police Regional Training Center commander, insists that if people support the police, the police can protect them. He says the real danger is if foreign nations abandon them financially.
"If financial support stops, people will start to fight each other, there will be a civil war as illiteracy spreads," he says.
Tahir, 18, an interpreter who says his father was killed under the Taliban, says tourism is not good.
"We don't have much tourists now in Bamiyan because not too many people are interested in seeing the destroyed Buddhas, also the security situation is bad," says Tahir, who would give only his first name. "If the Taliban come back, we cannot live over here."
Capt. James DeCann, a U.S. military adviser at the training center, believes that with proper training of the police force, the people here can lead secure lives. But they will have to do it themselves. "At the end of the day, they are going to have to win this fight," he says.
USA TODAY
BAMIYAN, Afghanistan – The massive Buddhas that were carved into the sandstone cliffs here 15 centuries ago are gone, and so too are those who dynamited them into oblivion.
American troops have cleared out the Taliban from this valley. But the people of Bamiyan live in fear that the strict Muslim clerics and their ruthless brand of Islam are not gone for good.
"We need the Americans," says Haji Hussain, 40, the owner of a grocery store who says he was shot by the Taliban. "When they leave, it will be very difficult and the Taliban will come back."
This province in eastern Afghanistan is known for spectacular mountain scenery of the Hindu Kush and deep-blue lakes that change hue as the sun moves over the sky. It is an ancient land that lies on the Silk Road, the trade route that caravans once took from China.
The people here are Hazaras, Shiite Muslims who descend from Mongols and who for years has been discriminated against by the more numerous Sunnis in the south, known as Pashtuns.
It was the Pashtuns who gave birth to the Taliban. Its adherents prevailed in a civil war in 1996 and made news periodically for edicts it said were rooted in Quran: public executions of adulterous women, bans on music, kites, and men marrying 9-year-old girls.
Bamiyan resisted, and close to 600 of its people died at the hands of the Taliban.
But it was not until March of 2001 that the Taliban made world headlines, shocking archeologists and awakening governments to the unique nature of the regime. Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar ordered the destruction of a treasure of the ancient world, the Bamiyan Buddhas, carved in the 6th century by monks who meditated in the caves of what was an early Hindu-Buddhist monastery.
The larger of the two statues at 175 feet was the tallest standing Buddha in existence. Omar deemed them un-Islamic idols, and when machine guns failed to destroy them they were erased by dynamite despite cries from the world community that they be spared.
Six months later the Taliban refused another request — to turn over to the USA the architect of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Osama bin Laden. The refusal led to a U.S.-led invasion that dislodged the Taliban from the capital of Kabul but began a war that continues to this day.
More than 100 miles west of Kabul, Bamiyan in July was the first province to be handed to the Afghan security forces by NATO forces.
Today construction abounds in the region, and new stores can be seen in a bustling downtown. A map outside the office of Bamiyan governor, Habiba Sarabi, the only female governor in Afghanistan, displays what Bamiyan might look like one day. It details plans to boost tourism by improving ground and air transport.
Sarabi condemns the destruction of the statues and has been a target of the Taliban, she says. "It was not only the Taliban but other hands behind that too, to destroy the identities of the Bamiyan people," she says.
Life has changed dramatically since the Taliban was forced out by NATO. Schooling is better and more open. There are 125,000 children attending classes and close to half are female. Under the Taliban girls were forbidden from getting an education.
On this day women are seen walking the streets of Bamiyan, books in hand. Hussain Noori, 28, says that is a change from life under the Taliban, which banned women from going outside without a burqa.
"They are not forced to cover themselves," he says. "It is up to them."
Foreign archeologists have flocked here in recent years and have unearthed artifacts that could become a major tourist draw. In 2008, what may be the first known use of oil paint was found in Buddhist images inside some of the thousands of caves here.
Yet the road from Kabul to Bamiyan can be a dangerous route. Better security could make it a caravan route of a different sort, one that brings tourists, income and jobs, Sarabi says.
With U.S. forces scheduled to withdraw by 2014, Afghans here are skeptical of what the future holds. Col. Hafizallah Payman, the local police Regional Training Center commander, insists that if people support the police, the police can protect them. He says the real danger is if foreign nations abandon them financially.
"If financial support stops, people will start to fight each other, there will be a civil war as illiteracy spreads," he says.
Tahir, 18, an interpreter who says his father was killed under the Taliban, says tourism is not good.
"We don't have much tourists now in Bamiyan because not too many people are interested in seeing the destroyed Buddhas, also the security situation is bad," says Tahir, who would give only his first name. "If the Taliban come back, we cannot live over here."
Capt. James DeCann, a U.S. military adviser at the training center, believes that with proper training of the police force, the people here can lead secure lives. But they will have to do it themselves. "At the end of the day, they are going to have to win this fight," he says.
USA TODAY
Monday, October 24, 2011
Refugee leaky boat billboard anger
JANE HAMMOND, The West Australian
October 25, 2011, 12:45 pm
Human rights and refugee advocates have slammed as callous billboards in the Pakistan city of Quetta warning people not to come to Australia by leaky boat.
One of the billboards is seen clearly in the background of pictures shot in the aftermath of a September 3 attack on a Shia Muslim rally that killed 42 people and injured another 80.
Jack Smit, from the WA group Project Safecom, said Hazaras who had escaped persecution in Afghanistan by fleeing to Pakistan were being targeted.
“Recent and reported examples provide evidence of a sharp increase in targeted killings of Hazara in Quetta,” Mr Smit said.
He said photos of a recent incident in Quetta showed people cleaning up the bodies of others killed in a suicide bomb with an Australian Government billboard in the background warning people not to come to Australia in “the illegal way”.
He said getting to Australia legally was almost impossible.
“Australia’s callousness is made larger when you realise that you won’t get anywhere with the Australian Embassy in Pakistan or Afghanistan, that the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR is under resourced, overworked and often inadequate, if not inappropriate,” Mr Smit said.
A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection said the poster was part of a campaign that ended in mid 2010 but many of the billboards had remained in place.
“On behalf of the Australian government, Customs and Border Protection leads and refines the implementation of counter people smuggling communications campaigns in source and transit countries.
“In 2010-2011, we implemented campaigns in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia to discourage and deter potential irregular immigrants and crew from becoming involved in people smuggling activities,” the spokesman said.
“Customs and Border Protection conducted this advertising campaign immediately after an April 2010 policy announcement by the Australian government regarding the temporary suspension of the processing of Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum claims.
“The aim of the campaign, which lasted for three months, was to ensure that the government’s policy announcement reached source communities. Although the campaign ceased in mid-2010 some of the campaign posters are still in place.
“To deter and dissuade potential irregular immigrant communities in source and transit countries from embarking on a maritime voyage to Australia, this banner advertising also conveyed messages about the dangers and risks of such a voyage.”
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
October 25, 2011, 12:45 pm
One of the billboards is seen clearly in the background of pictures shot in the aftermath of a September 3 attack on a Shia Muslim rally that killed 42 people and injured another 80.
Jack Smit, from the WA group Project Safecom, said Hazaras who had escaped persecution in Afghanistan by fleeing to Pakistan were being targeted.
“Recent and reported examples provide evidence of a sharp increase in targeted killings of Hazara in Quetta,” Mr Smit said.
He said photos of a recent incident in Quetta showed people cleaning up the bodies of others killed in a suicide bomb with an Australian Government billboard in the background warning people not to come to Australia in “the illegal way”.
He said getting to Australia legally was almost impossible.
“Australia’s callousness is made larger when you realise that you won’t get anywhere with the Australian Embassy in Pakistan or Afghanistan, that the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR is under resourced, overworked and often inadequate, if not inappropriate,” Mr Smit said.
A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection said the poster was part of a campaign that ended in mid 2010 but many of the billboards had remained in place.
“On behalf of the Australian government, Customs and Border Protection leads and refines the implementation of counter people smuggling communications campaigns in source and transit countries.
“In 2010-2011, we implemented campaigns in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia to discourage and deter potential irregular immigrants and crew from becoming involved in people smuggling activities,” the spokesman said.
“Customs and Border Protection conducted this advertising campaign immediately after an April 2010 policy announcement by the Australian government regarding the temporary suspension of the processing of Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum claims.
“The aim of the campaign, which lasted for three months, was to ensure that the government’s policy announcement reached source communities. Although the campaign ceased in mid-2010 some of the campaign posters are still in place.
“To deter and dissuade potential irregular immigrant communities in source and transit countries from embarking on a maritime voyage to Australia, this banner advertising also conveyed messages about the dangers and risks of such a voyage.”
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
Threat to Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline
By Syed Fazl-e-Haider | InpaperMagzine
By pressing Pakistan to shelve IP project, Washington can deprive Iran of the economic bonanza associated with its gas exports to Pakistan, India or China through pipelines, as without Pakistan’s participation, all the proposed pipeline projects from Iran via Pakistan, whether it be the IP, IPI or IPC (Iran-Pakistan-China) would not be feasible. - File photo
The recent surge in target killings of Hazara community is apparently an attempt to subvert the move for building Iran-Pakistan and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India energy pipelines.
Currently, Islamabad and Tehran are undertaking their gas pipeline project despite the US opposition and without India’s participation.
The attacks on Hazara community have been stepped up since Islamabad and Tehran committed to expedite efforts to implement the $7.5 billion IP gas pipeline project, the greater part of which will traverse the restive Balochistan province. In the latest sectarian attack this month, at least 14 Hazara people were dragged out from a bus, lined up and shot dead in Quetta.
This was the third attack after two major attacks on Hazaras last month in which at least 42 people were killed.
All the attacks have been claimed by militant outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which, many believe, has close association with Jundallah group, a Sunni Muslim militant group fighting for the rights of Baloch population of Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province, bordering Balochistan.
Instead of IP pipeline, the US has supported the construction of an alternative pipeline from Central Asia through Afghanistan to Pakistan and the Indian Ocean. Iran accuses the US of supporting Jundallah, which is believed to have bases somewhere in Balochistan.
So far, Jundallah has been involved in launching terror attacks in Sistan-Balochistan. Now Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is emerging as a new destabilising factor in Balochistan, where from the IP pipeline will make its first entry into Pakistan.
They intend to scare away potential investors in the IP pipeline.
A surge in Hazars’ killings came in the backdrop of US-Pakistan energy dialogue and Pakistan-Iran Joint Economic Commission (JEC) talks held in Islamabad last month and in both talks, the IP gas pipeline project was key agenda item.
Washington hardened its opposition to IP project and warned Pakistan of the possible impact of US and UN sanctions against Iran during the two-day US-Pakistan strategic dialogue on energy last month. The US instead offered Pakistan the assistance in TAPI gas pipeline project as alternate to IP pipeline.
Islamabad and Tehran signed a $7.5 billion agreement in Tehran on May 23, 2009, finalising the deal to transfer gas from Iran to Pakistan Exactly after five days on May 28, 2009, Iran closed its border with Pakistan following a suicide bomber attack on a mosque in Zahidan that killed 20 people. Jundallah had claimed responsibility for the blast. The diplomatic tension between the two countries mounted at a time when there was no outstanding issue impeding the project for laying a gas pipeline between the two countries.
By pressing Pakistan to shelve IP project, Washington can deprive Iran of the economic bonanza associated with its gas exports to Pakistan, India or China through pipelines, as without Pakistan’s participation, all the proposed pipeline projects from Iran via Pakistan, whether it be the IP, IPI or IPC (Iran-Pakistan-China) would not be feasible.
DAWN
The recent surge in target killings of Hazara community is apparently an attempt to subvert the move for building Iran-Pakistan and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India energy pipelines.
Currently, Islamabad and Tehran are undertaking their gas pipeline project despite the US opposition and without India’s participation.
The attacks on Hazara community have been stepped up since Islamabad and Tehran committed to expedite efforts to implement the $7.5 billion IP gas pipeline project, the greater part of which will traverse the restive Balochistan province. In the latest sectarian attack this month, at least 14 Hazara people were dragged out from a bus, lined up and shot dead in Quetta.
This was the third attack after two major attacks on Hazaras last month in which at least 42 people were killed.
All the attacks have been claimed by militant outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which, many believe, has close association with Jundallah group, a Sunni Muslim militant group fighting for the rights of Baloch population of Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province, bordering Balochistan.
Instead of IP pipeline, the US has supported the construction of an alternative pipeline from Central Asia through Afghanistan to Pakistan and the Indian Ocean. Iran accuses the US of supporting Jundallah, which is believed to have bases somewhere in Balochistan.
So far, Jundallah has been involved in launching terror attacks in Sistan-Balochistan. Now Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is emerging as a new destabilising factor in Balochistan, where from the IP pipeline will make its first entry into Pakistan.
They intend to scare away potential investors in the IP pipeline.
A surge in Hazars’ killings came in the backdrop of US-Pakistan energy dialogue and Pakistan-Iran Joint Economic Commission (JEC) talks held in Islamabad last month and in both talks, the IP gas pipeline project was key agenda item.
Washington hardened its opposition to IP project and warned Pakistan of the possible impact of US and UN sanctions against Iran during the two-day US-Pakistan strategic dialogue on energy last month. The US instead offered Pakistan the assistance in TAPI gas pipeline project as alternate to IP pipeline.
Islamabad and Tehran signed a $7.5 billion agreement in Tehran on May 23, 2009, finalising the deal to transfer gas from Iran to Pakistan Exactly after five days on May 28, 2009, Iran closed its border with Pakistan following a suicide bomber attack on a mosque in Zahidan that killed 20 people. Jundallah had claimed responsibility for the blast. The diplomatic tension between the two countries mounted at a time when there was no outstanding issue impeding the project for laying a gas pipeline between the two countries.
By pressing Pakistan to shelve IP project, Washington can deprive Iran of the economic bonanza associated with its gas exports to Pakistan, India or China through pipelines, as without Pakistan’s participation, all the proposed pipeline projects from Iran via Pakistan, whether it be the IP, IPI or IPC (Iran-Pakistan-China) would not be feasible.
DAWN
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Steel consortium asks PMO for financial help in Hajigak project
Expressindia » Story
Priyadarshi Siddhanta,priyadarshi siddhanta
Posted: Oct 24, 2011 at 0020 hrs IST
New Delhi The consortium of Indian companies, which has bid for the Hajigak iron ore mine in Afghanistan, has appealed to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for financial assistance in executing the ambitious project. The move comes amid a growing realisation among the companies that they may not be able to mobilise adequate money to explore the mine and build infrastructure to evacuate the produce.
In a recent letter to the steel ministry, consortium chief and chairman of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) CS Verma approached the steel ministry to apprise the PMO of the need for providing money in the event of the consortium winning the bid for the Hajigak mines, for which it put out a bid on September 3.
While SAIL officials refused to comment on this issue, steel ministry officials indicated that the consortium wants financial assistance of about at least Rs 3,000 crore. “The consortium has few major players apart from SAIL and mineral giant NMDC. While the Tatas opted out of it, Essar Steel was kept out,” steel ministry sources told The Indian Express.
They said that the matter will be discussed threadbare with the consortium partners before the ministry forms its opinion on the issue.
The consortium is led by maharatna SAIL with 18 per cent shareholding while NMDC and RINL hold 17 per cent each. Among private players JSW and JSPL hold 16 per cent each, while JSW Ispat and Monnet Ispat & Energy hold 8 per cent and 4 per cent stake respectively. The announcement of preferred and reserved bidders was expected to be made by the Afghan mines ministry by October 4 but has been deferred by a month.
The consortium has planned to develop the Hajigak mines located in Afghanistan’s mountainous Bamiyan province, 130 km west of Kabul. The mines have an estimated reserves of about 1.8 billion tonnes of high-grade iron ore.
Knowing that the investments needed will be enormous in case Indian consortium won the bid and given the generally depressed financial performance of the steel companies, the consortium has sought the PMO’s approval for monetary support, sources said.
As per the bid conditions of the Hamid Karzai government, the bidders had to submit a refundable bid bond of Rs 2.5 crore each and all royalties, cess and duties will have to be paid by them. Considering that the annual investment needed would be to the tune of Rs 22.5 crore or more, the total estimated investment required would be nearly Rs 700 crore alone for setting up exploration facilities besides a huge spend to be incurred on developing the evacuation infrastructure, including setting up a railway line and setting up a steel making facility.
Rising input costs have exerted high pressures on the margins of the steel firms. SAIL registered a 29 per cent in its net profits, while Naveen Jindal promoted Jindal Steel and Power Ltd posted a 3 per cent dip in its profit margins. Similarly, Sajjan Jindal promoted JSW Steel did comparatively much better.
Express India
Priyadarshi Siddhanta,priyadarshi siddhanta
Posted: Oct 24, 2011 at 0020 hrs IST
New Delhi The consortium of Indian companies, which has bid for the Hajigak iron ore mine in Afghanistan, has appealed to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for financial assistance in executing the ambitious project. The move comes amid a growing realisation among the companies that they may not be able to mobilise adequate money to explore the mine and build infrastructure to evacuate the produce.
In a recent letter to the steel ministry, consortium chief and chairman of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) CS Verma approached the steel ministry to apprise the PMO of the need for providing money in the event of the consortium winning the bid for the Hajigak mines, for which it put out a bid on September 3.
While SAIL officials refused to comment on this issue, steel ministry officials indicated that the consortium wants financial assistance of about at least Rs 3,000 crore. “The consortium has few major players apart from SAIL and mineral giant NMDC. While the Tatas opted out of it, Essar Steel was kept out,” steel ministry sources told The Indian Express.
They said that the matter will be discussed threadbare with the consortium partners before the ministry forms its opinion on the issue.
The consortium is led by maharatna SAIL with 18 per cent shareholding while NMDC and RINL hold 17 per cent each. Among private players JSW and JSPL hold 16 per cent each, while JSW Ispat and Monnet Ispat & Energy hold 8 per cent and 4 per cent stake respectively. The announcement of preferred and reserved bidders was expected to be made by the Afghan mines ministry by October 4 but has been deferred by a month.
The consortium has planned to develop the Hajigak mines located in Afghanistan’s mountainous Bamiyan province, 130 km west of Kabul. The mines have an estimated reserves of about 1.8 billion tonnes of high-grade iron ore.
Knowing that the investments needed will be enormous in case Indian consortium won the bid and given the generally depressed financial performance of the steel companies, the consortium has sought the PMO’s approval for monetary support, sources said.
As per the bid conditions of the Hamid Karzai government, the bidders had to submit a refundable bid bond of Rs 2.5 crore each and all royalties, cess and duties will have to be paid by them. Considering that the annual investment needed would be to the tune of Rs 22.5 crore or more, the total estimated investment required would be nearly Rs 700 crore alone for setting up exploration facilities besides a huge spend to be incurred on developing the evacuation infrastructure, including setting up a railway line and setting up a steel making facility.
Rising input costs have exerted high pressures on the margins of the steel firms. SAIL registered a 29 per cent in its net profits, while Naveen Jindal promoted Jindal Steel and Power Ltd posted a 3 per cent dip in its profit margins. Similarly, Sajjan Jindal promoted JSW Steel did comparatively much better.
Express India
Taliban not ready for dialogues with Karzai govt. Muhaqiq
South Asian News Agency (SANA) ⋅ October 23, 2011 ⋅
QUETTA (SANA): Leader of Hizb-e-Wehdat-e-Islami, Member Afghan Parliament and Chairman Law and Justice of National Commission for Afghanistan Ustad Muhammad Muhaqiq has admitted that Taliban are not agree for dialogues despite of Karzai desire and efforts, adding that Pakistan and Afghanistan bilaterally can meet the challenge of terrorism.
Addressing to a press conference here on Sunday Muhaqiq said that it is a state responsibility to control armed groups, adding that withdrawal of NATO forces would be beneficial for US, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Target killing of Hazara community is regrettable, he added.
He said that Afghanistan wants strong and close relations with Pakistan, adding that both brother countries have to fight against terror instead of blaming to each other.
He said that it is unfair to involve Pakistan in the killing of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani, adding that Pakistan and Afghanistan should jointly carry out investigations of the killing of Rabbani instead of leveling allegations against each other.
He said that the exchange of parliamentary delegations of both countries could result in improvement of relations between the two countries.
He said that it is not right to divide Afghanistan into north and south, adding that Afghans are one nation and they should be given the right to establish relations with the countries of world according to their interest.
Regretting at the target killing of Hazara community he said that there should be no murder on sectarian basis. I have talked prime minister about this problem.
Earlier Ustad Muhaqiq said in an interview with a private TV channel, that reconciliation process is being forwarded for peace in Afghanistan.
He said that Afghanistan wants better relationship with Pakistan despite of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabani murder.
Ustad Muhaqiq said about his visit in Quetta that he has arrived here for showing solidarity with Hazara community.
Replying to a question about Indian influence in Afghanistan, he said that Afghanistan wants good relations with neighboring countries.
QUETTA (SANA): Leader of Hizb-e-Wehdat-e-Islami, Member Afghan Parliament and Chairman Law and Justice of National Commission for Afghanistan Ustad Muhammad Muhaqiq has admitted that Taliban are not agree for dialogues despite of Karzai desire and efforts, adding that Pakistan and Afghanistan bilaterally can meet the challenge of terrorism.
Addressing to a press conference here on Sunday Muhaqiq said that it is a state responsibility to control armed groups, adding that withdrawal of NATO forces would be beneficial for US, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Target killing of Hazara community is regrettable, he added.
He said that Afghanistan wants strong and close relations with Pakistan, adding that both brother countries have to fight against terror instead of blaming to each other.
He said that it is unfair to involve Pakistan in the killing of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani, adding that Pakistan and Afghanistan should jointly carry out investigations of the killing of Rabbani instead of leveling allegations against each other.
He said that the exchange of parliamentary delegations of both countries could result in improvement of relations between the two countries.
He said that it is not right to divide Afghanistan into north and south, adding that Afghans are one nation and they should be given the right to establish relations with the countries of world according to their interest.
Regretting at the target killing of Hazara community he said that there should be no murder on sectarian basis. I have talked prime minister about this problem.
Earlier Ustad Muhaqiq said in an interview with a private TV channel, that reconciliation process is being forwarded for peace in Afghanistan.
He said that Afghanistan wants better relationship with Pakistan despite of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabani murder.
Ustad Muhaqiq said about his visit in Quetta that he has arrived here for showing solidarity with Hazara community.
Replying to a question about Indian influence in Afghanistan, he said that Afghanistan wants good relations with neighboring countries.
Tracing the lost world
It studies Hindu-Buddhist sculptural and other art traditions of the country and its neighbourhood, writes BB Kumar
Bamiyan, Hariti and Kindred Iconics
Author: Nirmala Sharma (ed)
Publisher: Aditya Prakashan
Price:Rs 1800
The book, Bamiyan, Hariti and Kindred Iconics, edited by Prof Nirmala Sharma, is an important addition to the study of the Hindu-Buddhist sculptural and other art traditions of India and its neighbourhood. The book contains 26 papers, including five on Bamiyan. It also includes a long paper on Hariti, “the mother of demons”, by N Peri.
Hsuan Tsang, who reached Bamiyan in 632 AD after an epic 10,000 mile trek along the Silk Road, gave the first historical account of the tallest Buddha: “To the north-east of the royal city there is a mountain, on the declivity of which is placed a stone figure of the Buddha, erect in length 140 or 150 feet. Its golden hues sparkle in every side and its precious ornaments dazzle the eyes by their brightness.”
Needless to say, the dazzle of colossal Buddhas was never dim throughout the centuries, and it will continue to be so even after their destruction. The Buddhas of Bamiyan influenced Buddhist sculpture elsewhere. J Hackin outlines the same in his paper — ‘The colossal Buddhas at Bamiyan and their influence on Buddhist sculpture’. Prof Ronald M Bernier’s paper — ‘Bamiyan and the international Gandhara tradition’ — deals with the importance of Bamiyan due to its trade route linkages. Bamiyan — like Ajanta in India and Dunhuang in China — “was a major pilgrimage site on a caravan route that attracted a constant stream of visitors”. Also, a famous monastery-cum-Buddhist centre of learning was located at Fondukistan, about 128 km west of Bamiyan.
From Bamiyan, the book goes on to study the Hariti phenomenon. Hariti, due to Lord Buddha’s grace, was transformed from demoness eating children’s flesh to a benevolent matron Goddess. Tracking the vast Indian and Chinese literature, Peri traces her evolution from an ogress to Yaksheshwari (queen of yakshas). But the work of Peri, as the editor rightly points out, “has not taken into account her role as giver of life, destroyer of pain throughout the universe, devoted to the happiness of the humankind”.
This study is important in a way that it hints towards superimposing legends and super-adding beliefs crossing the barriers of language, time-depth and geography. The linkages of the legends — from ritual offerings to the living beings and the spirits/protective divinities to the tantric cults — point towards the need of deeper studies. Peri writes: “It seems that to Buddhism and its personages were simply superadded the beliefs, the practices of other origin and they could not be uprooted. In fact, a number of technical terms and observances betray the persistent influence of ancient Hindu ideas. And, the Mahamayuri Sutra eulogises the maharshis who composed the Vedas and made use of mantras and magic formulae.”
The book then moves on to iconics, dealing with the Buddhist iconography of Indonesia. The study of the iconics confined to the geographical region of India includes iconography of the Hindu deities — Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Krishna, etc. The book also talks about dance and music in Jaina paintings, along with the works of Nicholas Roerich and his son, Svetoslav.
The reviewer is the author of the book, India and Central Asia
The Pioneer
Bamiyan, Hariti and Kindred Iconics
Author: Nirmala Sharma (ed)
Publisher: Aditya Prakashan
Price:Rs 1800
The book, Bamiyan, Hariti and Kindred Iconics, edited by Prof Nirmala Sharma, is an important addition to the study of the Hindu-Buddhist sculptural and other art traditions of India and its neighbourhood. The book contains 26 papers, including five on Bamiyan. It also includes a long paper on Hariti, “the mother of demons”, by N Peri.
Hsuan Tsang, who reached Bamiyan in 632 AD after an epic 10,000 mile trek along the Silk Road, gave the first historical account of the tallest Buddha: “To the north-east of the royal city there is a mountain, on the declivity of which is placed a stone figure of the Buddha, erect in length 140 or 150 feet. Its golden hues sparkle in every side and its precious ornaments dazzle the eyes by their brightness.”
Needless to say, the dazzle of colossal Buddhas was never dim throughout the centuries, and it will continue to be so even after their destruction. The Buddhas of Bamiyan influenced Buddhist sculpture elsewhere. J Hackin outlines the same in his paper — ‘The colossal Buddhas at Bamiyan and their influence on Buddhist sculpture’. Prof Ronald M Bernier’s paper — ‘Bamiyan and the international Gandhara tradition’ — deals with the importance of Bamiyan due to its trade route linkages. Bamiyan — like Ajanta in India and Dunhuang in China — “was a major pilgrimage site on a caravan route that attracted a constant stream of visitors”. Also, a famous monastery-cum-Buddhist centre of learning was located at Fondukistan, about 128 km west of Bamiyan.
From Bamiyan, the book goes on to study the Hariti phenomenon. Hariti, due to Lord Buddha’s grace, was transformed from demoness eating children’s flesh to a benevolent matron Goddess. Tracking the vast Indian and Chinese literature, Peri traces her evolution from an ogress to Yaksheshwari (queen of yakshas). But the work of Peri, as the editor rightly points out, “has not taken into account her role as giver of life, destroyer of pain throughout the universe, devoted to the happiness of the humankind”.
This study is important in a way that it hints towards superimposing legends and super-adding beliefs crossing the barriers of language, time-depth and geography. The linkages of the legends — from ritual offerings to the living beings and the spirits/protective divinities to the tantric cults — point towards the need of deeper studies. Peri writes: “It seems that to Buddhism and its personages were simply superadded the beliefs, the practices of other origin and they could not be uprooted. In fact, a number of technical terms and observances betray the persistent influence of ancient Hindu ideas. And, the Mahamayuri Sutra eulogises the maharshis who composed the Vedas and made use of mantras and magic formulae.”
The book then moves on to iconics, dealing with the Buddhist iconography of Indonesia. The study of the iconics confined to the geographical region of India includes iconography of the Hindu deities — Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Krishna, etc. The book also talks about dance and music in Jaina paintings, along with the works of Nicholas Roerich and his son, Svetoslav.
The reviewer is the author of the book, India and Central Asia
The Pioneer
Murder, by any other name
By Saroop Ijaz
Published: October 22, 2011
The writer is a lawyer and partner at Ijaz and Ijaz Co in Lahore saroop.ijaz@tribune.com.pk
It seems to be a season of protests and vigils in Pakistan. In recent days, we have seen people take to streets for assorted reasons ranging from electricity, loadshedding, Mumtaz Qadri, presumably Steve Jobs and now potentially Muammar Qaddafi. Amidst the news of the active population exerting their democratic right, there was one particular news item in this newspaper that perhaps was the most harrowing. It was a brief report of a vigil held last week in Lahore, in memory of the members of the Hazara community brutally being murdered in Quetta and the rest of Balochistan. Twenty-five people showed up, out of which seven were of Hazara origin. The display of utter lack of moral seriousness and even of the basic human emotion of empathy is shameful.
When Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was martyred, Lahore remained unmoved. In the case of the Hazaras, I doubt that a few outside the circle of the educated intellectuals (both real and pseudo) have any meaningful realisation of the extent of the barbarism being perpetrated upon the Hazaras. Even within those who at least acknowledge the existence of the violence, there is ambivalence in unequivocally condemning the violence. The principal debate it seems is on semantics and nomenclature, e.g. if the killing spree should be termed as ‘sectarian conflict’, ‘ethnic strife’ or the more graphic ‘genocide’, as if language and not murder is the primary issue here. The careful and meticulous usage of language is admittedly very significant in situations like this. Sectarian conflict is a hopelessly inexact term in the particular context. ‘Conflict’ summons to mind the existence of at least two opposing factions fighting it out, which is simply not true here. It is similar to using hollow terms currently en vogue such as extremists and fascists, both liberal and religious. The impetuous to using such gibberish is provided by the desire to remain ‘objective’ and not come out as an ideologue. I am afraid the luxury of maintaining a pretence of neutrality is no longer available to us. When one side is bullying, intimidating and murdering the other, it is not a conflict. It is an assault, and in cases of ethnic groups, the only appropriate terminology is either ‘cleansing’ or ‘genocide’. In the case of the Hazaras, there is clearly and unambiguously one side that is doing all the killing and the state establishment is either unbelievably incompetent or more likely complicit.
Christopher Hitchens, writing about the Armenia genocide, quotes the US ambassador in Constantinople in 1915, Henry Morgenthau. The term ‘genocide’ had not been coined yet in 1915, but Ambassador Morgenthau wrote to his government, describing the systematic slaughter of the Armenians as a ‘race murder’. At some level, ‘race murder’ is a more vivid and intense term than the now legally neutralised and objectified ‘genocide’. The precise connotation of what constitutes ‘genocide’ is important at a policy level, but that still does not explain why 25 people would show up at a vigil held at the Liberty Roundabout in Lahore. The rest are certainly not waiting for it to become genocide in the strictly legal sense before they decide to protest, at least I dearly hope not.
The intellectual elite presumably maintain their ‘objectivity’ because they do not have a dog in this hunt. Speaking for the Hazaras is not the cause currently deemed fashionable enough. The primary reason for that seems to be that they are too far away to make us really agitated as opposed to loadshedding, which is here and now. Let me assure you that if we are worried about descending into the prehistoric Dark Ages, it is not the electricity that we need to really fret about, it is the cowardly, criminal silence on the ‘race murder’ of the Hazaras. Earlier this month, the anniversary of the October 2005 earthquake passed. I know this seems outrageously callous and cruel, but the collapsing of the Margalla Tower in Islamabad probably helped millions in Kashmir and the north (not for long though). Margalla Tower and the infinitely tragic loss of innocent lives there immediately brought the stinging realisation that this not a calamity on other people, it is a disaster for us. Hazara and Balochistan unfortunately do not have that quality, yet. I quiver to think of a similar scenario happening in Islamabad and Lahore which would wake us up from our abysmal, apathetic slumber.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 23rd, 2011.
Published: October 22, 2011
It seems to be a season of protests and vigils in Pakistan. In recent days, we have seen people take to streets for assorted reasons ranging from electricity, loadshedding, Mumtaz Qadri, presumably Steve Jobs and now potentially Muammar Qaddafi. Amidst the news of the active population exerting their democratic right, there was one particular news item in this newspaper that perhaps was the most harrowing. It was a brief report of a vigil held last week in Lahore, in memory of the members of the Hazara community brutally being murdered in Quetta and the rest of Balochistan. Twenty-five people showed up, out of which seven were of Hazara origin. The display of utter lack of moral seriousness and even of the basic human emotion of empathy is shameful.
When Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was martyred, Lahore remained unmoved. In the case of the Hazaras, I doubt that a few outside the circle of the educated intellectuals (both real and pseudo) have any meaningful realisation of the extent of the barbarism being perpetrated upon the Hazaras. Even within those who at least acknowledge the existence of the violence, there is ambivalence in unequivocally condemning the violence. The principal debate it seems is on semantics and nomenclature, e.g. if the killing spree should be termed as ‘sectarian conflict’, ‘ethnic strife’ or the more graphic ‘genocide’, as if language and not murder is the primary issue here. The careful and meticulous usage of language is admittedly very significant in situations like this. Sectarian conflict is a hopelessly inexact term in the particular context. ‘Conflict’ summons to mind the existence of at least two opposing factions fighting it out, which is simply not true here. It is similar to using hollow terms currently en vogue such as extremists and fascists, both liberal and religious. The impetuous to using such gibberish is provided by the desire to remain ‘objective’ and not come out as an ideologue. I am afraid the luxury of maintaining a pretence of neutrality is no longer available to us. When one side is bullying, intimidating and murdering the other, it is not a conflict. It is an assault, and in cases of ethnic groups, the only appropriate terminology is either ‘cleansing’ or ‘genocide’. In the case of the Hazaras, there is clearly and unambiguously one side that is doing all the killing and the state establishment is either unbelievably incompetent or more likely complicit.
Christopher Hitchens, writing about the Armenia genocide, quotes the US ambassador in Constantinople in 1915, Henry Morgenthau. The term ‘genocide’ had not been coined yet in 1915, but Ambassador Morgenthau wrote to his government, describing the systematic slaughter of the Armenians as a ‘race murder’. At some level, ‘race murder’ is a more vivid and intense term than the now legally neutralised and objectified ‘genocide’. The precise connotation of what constitutes ‘genocide’ is important at a policy level, but that still does not explain why 25 people would show up at a vigil held at the Liberty Roundabout in Lahore. The rest are certainly not waiting for it to become genocide in the strictly legal sense before they decide to protest, at least I dearly hope not.
The intellectual elite presumably maintain their ‘objectivity’ because they do not have a dog in this hunt. Speaking for the Hazaras is not the cause currently deemed fashionable enough. The primary reason for that seems to be that they are too far away to make us really agitated as opposed to loadshedding, which is here and now. Let me assure you that if we are worried about descending into the prehistoric Dark Ages, it is not the electricity that we need to really fret about, it is the cowardly, criminal silence on the ‘race murder’ of the Hazaras. Earlier this month, the anniversary of the October 2005 earthquake passed. I know this seems outrageously callous and cruel, but the collapsing of the Margalla Tower in Islamabad probably helped millions in Kashmir and the north (not for long though). Margalla Tower and the infinitely tragic loss of innocent lives there immediately brought the stinging realisation that this not a calamity on other people, it is a disaster for us. Hazara and Balochistan unfortunately do not have that quality, yet. I quiver to think of a similar scenario happening in Islamabad and Lahore which would wake us up from our abysmal, apathetic slumber.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 23rd, 2011.
Taliban regrouping in Pakistan's violence-hit province
Updated: 2011-10-22 18:11
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Taliban and other militant outfits are regrouping in Pakistan's violence-hit Southwestern Balochistan province, two intelligence agencies have said in their reports, local media said Saturday.
The reports said militant outfits regrouped after the replacement of regular police with the community-based force known as "Levis," who are recruited from the locals and are not well- trained and well-equipped to deal with organized groups.
The two agencies in their separate reports requested the prime minister and the concerned government departments to intervene and persuade the provincial government not to pursue political objectives, Dawn newspaper reported.
A Taliban-linked banned Sunni groups carried out several sectarian-motivated attacks on Shiite Muslims in Balochistan in recent weeks, killing dozens of them. Afghan officials also claim that senior members of Taliban are hiding in Balochistan and that the plot to kill peace envoy Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani was also prepared in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
Pakistan army arrested a senior al-Qaeda leader and his two associates on the outskirts of Quetta last month.
The crux of the reports was that the rolling back of police force in most areas had encouraged the militant outfits, including the Taliban, to re-organize themselves, taking advantage of loose policing by the Levies which did not have the required training and the will to address such challenges, the report said.
The Prime Minister Secretariat was against interfering in provincial matters because it would be against the constitutional provisions which granted autonomy to provinces, the daily reported.
The sources said more than half of the allocated funds had already been used for the construction of police stations, many of them yet to be completed. The completed structures had since been handed over to the Levies and other provincial government departments.
The report said that ground realities had changed owing to higher population and increased activities of subversive elements supported by certain foreign hands, making it practically impossible for "Levies" who had been raised and managed in most of the cases by local tribal elders to investigate such situations without proper knowledge of relevant laws to register cases and prosecute criminals.
The newspaper reported that the provincial police chief had also reported to the federal government about a growing unease among police officers who were expecting promotions and fresh postings in newly-created police stations.
China Daily
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Taliban and other militant outfits are regrouping in Pakistan's violence-hit Southwestern Balochistan province, two intelligence agencies have said in their reports, local media said Saturday.
The reports said militant outfits regrouped after the replacement of regular police with the community-based force known as "Levis," who are recruited from the locals and are not well- trained and well-equipped to deal with organized groups.
The two agencies in their separate reports requested the prime minister and the concerned government departments to intervene and persuade the provincial government not to pursue political objectives, Dawn newspaper reported.
A Taliban-linked banned Sunni groups carried out several sectarian-motivated attacks on Shiite Muslims in Balochistan in recent weeks, killing dozens of them. Afghan officials also claim that senior members of Taliban are hiding in Balochistan and that the plot to kill peace envoy Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani was also prepared in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
Pakistan army arrested a senior al-Qaeda leader and his two associates on the outskirts of Quetta last month.
The crux of the reports was that the rolling back of police force in most areas had encouraged the militant outfits, including the Taliban, to re-organize themselves, taking advantage of loose policing by the Levies which did not have the required training and the will to address such challenges, the report said.
The Prime Minister Secretariat was against interfering in provincial matters because it would be against the constitutional provisions which granted autonomy to provinces, the daily reported.
The sources said more than half of the allocated funds had already been used for the construction of police stations, many of them yet to be completed. The completed structures had since been handed over to the Levies and other provincial government departments.
The report said that ground realities had changed owing to higher population and increased activities of subversive elements supported by certain foreign hands, making it practically impossible for "Levies" who had been raised and managed in most of the cases by local tribal elders to investigate such situations without proper knowledge of relevant laws to register cases and prosecute criminals.
The newspaper reported that the provincial police chief had also reported to the federal government about a growing unease among police officers who were expecting promotions and fresh postings in newly-created police stations.
China Daily
Saturday, October 22, 2011
No peace in region with unstable Afghanistan: PM talking to Mohaqiq
* Gilani says Pakistan is ready to train Afghan security forces and administration to cope with situation after withdrawal of foreign troops
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, on Friday, said there could be no peace in the region without peace in Afghanistan.
Talking to Ustad Mohaqiq, member of Wolesi Jirga and Commission on Law and Justice of Wolesi Jirga chairman at the PM House, Gilani said Pakistan was ready to train the Afghan army, police and administration to cope with the aftermath of withdrawal of foreign troops by 2014.
Gilani said he shared his views about peace in Afghanistan with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and said friendship and animosity could not co-exist, as was the case with reconciliation and brinkmanship.
The prime minister said that All-Parties Conference’s resolution stood for giving peace a chance, and it was conveyed to the US secretary of state and to the world in a very candid manner.
The prime minister urged the need for frequent exchanges of parliamentarians between the two countries, adding people to people contact was the best diplomacy to build bridges among people.
Gilani said it was his vision to develop good neighbourly relations with countries of the region, saying this paradigm shift in the foreign policy best served the national interests. “It was in accordance with this vision that I have embarked upon diplomacy aimed at enhancing cooperation among the countries located in this part of the world,” the prime minister said.
Gilani said he had met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Karzai, Iranian president and leaders of other countries of Central Asia to further the cause of friendly relations with the countries situated in close proximity to Pakistan. He said such a shift in foreign policy was critical to establishing connectivity among peoples of the countries, promoting intra-regional trade, and laying the foundation for sustainable bonds, a prelude to social development of people.
The prime minister said he had visited Afghanistan twice and met President Karzai along with Pakistan’s military leadership. He said Pakistan supported an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process of reconciliation. “We want to see independent, prosperous and stable Afghanistan. My government supports any solution which will not destabilise Pakistan as was the case last time when this country had to host three million Afghan refugees,” Gilani stated.
The prime minister said he went to Quetta and expressed his deep condolences over the brutal killings of members of the Hazara community and directed the administration to take all steps to ensure safety of their lives and properties.
“Interior Minister Rehman Malik recently visited Quetta on my instructions to assure the community that the government would bring the culprits to justice,” the prime minister said. The prime minister said Pakistan had contributed $350 million to the rehabilitation of people of Afghanistan and awarded 2,000 scholarships to the Afghan students who were now studying in various universities of Pakistan.
Gilani thanked Ustad Mohaqiq for giving land to build Jinnah Hospital in Afghanistan with the assistance of Pakistan, including a number of basic health units and primary schools.
Ustad Mohaqiq said both the countries shared common traditions, culture and history.
He paid tributes to the leadership of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan by saying that he was a man of peace.
He advocated the kind of reconciliation in which Taliban could be included provided they accepted the Afghan constitution.
He thanked the Gilani for taking effective measures to protect the Hazara community.
He strongly rejected the practice of blaming each other and instead underscored the need for working closely against the common enemy.
He said both Afghanistan and Pakistan should work to accomplish the mission of Professor Burhanuddin who wanted to see both the countries as good neighbours and good friends. app
Daily Times
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, on Friday, said there could be no peace in the region without peace in Afghanistan.
Talking to Ustad Mohaqiq, member of Wolesi Jirga and Commission on Law and Justice of Wolesi Jirga chairman at the PM House, Gilani said Pakistan was ready to train the Afghan army, police and administration to cope with the aftermath of withdrawal of foreign troops by 2014.
Gilani said he shared his views about peace in Afghanistan with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and said friendship and animosity could not co-exist, as was the case with reconciliation and brinkmanship.
The prime minister said that All-Parties Conference’s resolution stood for giving peace a chance, and it was conveyed to the US secretary of state and to the world in a very candid manner.
The prime minister urged the need for frequent exchanges of parliamentarians between the two countries, adding people to people contact was the best diplomacy to build bridges among people.
Gilani said it was his vision to develop good neighbourly relations with countries of the region, saying this paradigm shift in the foreign policy best served the national interests. “It was in accordance with this vision that I have embarked upon diplomacy aimed at enhancing cooperation among the countries located in this part of the world,” the prime minister said.
Gilani said he had met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Karzai, Iranian president and leaders of other countries of Central Asia to further the cause of friendly relations with the countries situated in close proximity to Pakistan. He said such a shift in foreign policy was critical to establishing connectivity among peoples of the countries, promoting intra-regional trade, and laying the foundation for sustainable bonds, a prelude to social development of people.
The prime minister said he had visited Afghanistan twice and met President Karzai along with Pakistan’s military leadership. He said Pakistan supported an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process of reconciliation. “We want to see independent, prosperous and stable Afghanistan. My government supports any solution which will not destabilise Pakistan as was the case last time when this country had to host three million Afghan refugees,” Gilani stated.
The prime minister said he went to Quetta and expressed his deep condolences over the brutal killings of members of the Hazara community and directed the administration to take all steps to ensure safety of their lives and properties.
“Interior Minister Rehman Malik recently visited Quetta on my instructions to assure the community that the government would bring the culprits to justice,” the prime minister said. The prime minister said Pakistan had contributed $350 million to the rehabilitation of people of Afghanistan and awarded 2,000 scholarships to the Afghan students who were now studying in various universities of Pakistan.
Gilani thanked Ustad Mohaqiq for giving land to build Jinnah Hospital in Afghanistan with the assistance of Pakistan, including a number of basic health units and primary schools.
Ustad Mohaqiq said both the countries shared common traditions, culture and history.
He paid tributes to the leadership of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan by saying that he was a man of peace.
He advocated the kind of reconciliation in which Taliban could be included provided they accepted the Afghan constitution.
He thanked the Gilani for taking effective measures to protect the Hazara community.
He strongly rejected the practice of blaming each other and instead underscored the need for working closely against the common enemy.
He said both Afghanistan and Pakistan should work to accomplish the mission of Professor Burhanuddin who wanted to see both the countries as good neighbours and good friends. app
Daily Times
Friday, October 21, 2011
Shia Hazaras: Guilty of being a minority in establishment’s Pakistan – by Hafsa Khawaja
Originally published on her blog
The Pakistan of today has found itself to be nothing but a wreckage of a country, a carcass of a state and an international outcast.
A tragedy brought upon itself by both; the sharp functioning muscle of the unofficial institutional dictatorship that aggrandized itself under four decades of military authoritarians and the Pakistani nation’s obscene obsession with easy acceptance of the exacerbation, denialism, dogmatism and preposterousness.
The very characteristics have been manifest in wake of the recent unleashing of organized and systematic bloodletting of the peaceful, educated and civilized community of Shia Hazaras in Balochistan by the associates of the Establishment’s ‘Assets’.
Carrying a history replete with persecution and torment, the Shia Hazaras have found little relief and difference between their past in Afghanistan and present in Pakistan; where they are the victims of various sectarian militant groups such as Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, that deem and decry Shi’ites as Non-Muslims. ‘Impure’ creatures that they are determined to completely exterminate from ‘The Land of Pure.’
A question might arise, why is it that blame for this bloodshed is ascribed as such to them.
Amir Mir writes in one excellent article of his on the predicament the Hazara Shia have been placed in and the militant sectarian groups:
‘The SSP and the LeJ, which is considered to be the military wing of the SSP, were once the strategic assets of the state of Pakistan and have linked with al-Qaeda as its ancillary warriors, killing Pakistani citizens and targeting the security forces to dissuade Pakistan from fighting the “war against terror” as a United States ally.
The LeJ today has deep links with al-Qaeda and the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban and is considered to be the most violent terrorist organization operating in Pakistan, with the help of its suicide squad. As with most Sunni Deobandi sectarian and militant groups, almost the entire LeJ leadership is made up of people who have fought in Afghanistan with the backing of the Pakistani security establishment and most of its cadre are drawn from the numerous Sunni madrassas (seminaries) in Pakistan.’
The fact that these terrorist organizations are the ‘ancillary warriors’ of the ‘elements’ that the Establishment cherishes and avails in pursuit of its detrimental ‘Strategic Depth’ policy in Afghanistan (The Policy, to put it simply, is constructed on the Establishment’s compulsive obsession with the theme and idea of India as the arch enemy of Pakistan and envisages a Pro-Pakistan Government in Post-Troop-Withdrawal Afghanistan that counters the Indian influence there and protects ‘Pakistani interests’.) naturally transforms their position to being ‘untouchable’, considering they are part and parcel of the deal – thus the ‘failure of intelligence and the forces’ when it comes to sectarian killings similar to that happening in Balochistan of the Hazaras.
While much has been excellently chosen, written about and posted about the grave issue on LUBP and a few other sites that have proven to challenge the distortions of the mainstream media and welcoming to topics that they either ignore or willingly twist and feed to the people with their vulpine cunning – this post aims to focus on the collective, institutional and national conspiracy of silence that was concocted after the slayings of the Hazara Shias based solely on a sectarian footing.
One can only wonder where the conveniently-free-media is when fatwas, pamphlets and declarations of hate and instigation of murders are circulated around in different parts of the country?
Where does their self-proclaimed ‘patriotism’ and professional magnificence vanish to when it comes to the intentional misrepresentation of the massacres that only helps to reinforce, what those under whose patronage the groups act, want the people to believe?
Why is it that only outrageuously sparse coverage is provided to the victims and their plight but hours of talk shows are wasted on futile discussions?
And the ever-eager-to-take-suo-moto judges? Are the Shia Hazaras Children of a Lesser God in the eyes of a so-called judiciary that is anything but independent, rather just another instrument of the Establishment for furthering their goals and ambitions?
Afterall, what can be expected of judiciary that releases butchers like Malik Ishaq on grounds of ‘lack of evidence’
The Government too, brazenly watches over the the whole community being pulled down into pools of blood of their own while the Punjab Government gives the very butcher, a montly stipendand their Law Minister proudly courts extremists to garner votes for elections.
Hundreds from amongst the ordinary came marching on the streets and roads against Raymond Davis gunning down two Pakistani citizens and for a dubious ‘Daughter of the Motherland’ but as corpses over corpses pile of the Hazaras, none speak up nor the ‘activists’ hold their famed vigils.
Is the nation only moved and it’s compassion and anger only evoked when America is the proposed guilty party?
It must be public knowledge to the citizens of Pakistan that these incidents of carnage aimed at the Shia Hazaras are not sporadic as they seem but part of an entire crusade (Note: The Shia Tooris of Parachinar, often slaughtered by the Haqqani Network members and other ‘Assets’ given refuge there) waged by sectarian militant outfits that are best-described as the subsidiaries of major terrorist organizations (in whose name and due to whom, the entire country has been struck by sheer devastation) and are under the auspices of the Establishment.
Which other nation should hold the importance of the lives, security, liberty and interests of the minorities highly than that of a country whose history bears witness that the threats to the interests and protection of the Muslim minority of Pre-Partition India was a central factor in fostering the struggle for its creation?
And today when the generations of that minority are a majority of the country – other minorities: the Shias, Christians, Hindus and Ahmedis are fraught with peril.
It is about time, that the proponents of Jinnah’s vision in this country, if any, come forward against the Establishment on all fronts and also fight for the rights of those whose only crime is being guilty of being a minority.
- Hafsa Khawaja
*Ironically, much of the non-controversial content in this post that concentrated on the lack of attention that the Shia Hazara murders deserved, was sent as three separate letters to the ‘News Post’ of ‘The News’ which they decided not to publish. So much for a free media
Let Us Build Pakistan
The Pakistan of today has found itself to be nothing but a wreckage of a country, a carcass of a state and an international outcast.
A tragedy brought upon itself by both; the sharp functioning muscle of the unofficial institutional dictatorship that aggrandized itself under four decades of military authoritarians and the Pakistani nation’s obscene obsession with easy acceptance of the exacerbation, denialism, dogmatism and preposterousness.
The very characteristics have been manifest in wake of the recent unleashing of organized and systematic bloodletting of the peaceful, educated and civilized community of Shia Hazaras in Balochistan by the associates of the Establishment’s ‘Assets’.
Carrying a history replete with persecution and torment, the Shia Hazaras have found little relief and difference between their past in Afghanistan and present in Pakistan; where they are the victims of various sectarian militant groups such as Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, that deem and decry Shi’ites as Non-Muslims. ‘Impure’ creatures that they are determined to completely exterminate from ‘The Land of Pure.’
A question might arise, why is it that blame for this bloodshed is ascribed as such to them.
Amir Mir writes in one excellent article of his on the predicament the Hazara Shia have been placed in and the militant sectarian groups:
‘The SSP and the LeJ, which is considered to be the military wing of the SSP, were once the strategic assets of the state of Pakistan and have linked with al-Qaeda as its ancillary warriors, killing Pakistani citizens and targeting the security forces to dissuade Pakistan from fighting the “war against terror” as a United States ally.
The LeJ today has deep links with al-Qaeda and the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban and is considered to be the most violent terrorist organization operating in Pakistan, with the help of its suicide squad. As with most Sunni Deobandi sectarian and militant groups, almost the entire LeJ leadership is made up of people who have fought in Afghanistan with the backing of the Pakistani security establishment and most of its cadre are drawn from the numerous Sunni madrassas (seminaries) in Pakistan.’
The fact that these terrorist organizations are the ‘ancillary warriors’ of the ‘elements’ that the Establishment cherishes and avails in pursuit of its detrimental ‘Strategic Depth’ policy in Afghanistan (The Policy, to put it simply, is constructed on the Establishment’s compulsive obsession with the theme and idea of India as the arch enemy of Pakistan and envisages a Pro-Pakistan Government in Post-Troop-Withdrawal Afghanistan that counters the Indian influence there and protects ‘Pakistani interests’.) naturally transforms their position to being ‘untouchable’, considering they are part and parcel of the deal – thus the ‘failure of intelligence and the forces’ when it comes to sectarian killings similar to that happening in Balochistan of the Hazaras.
While much has been excellently chosen, written about and posted about the grave issue on LUBP and a few other sites that have proven to challenge the distortions of the mainstream media and welcoming to topics that they either ignore or willingly twist and feed to the people with their vulpine cunning – this post aims to focus on the collective, institutional and national conspiracy of silence that was concocted after the slayings of the Hazara Shias based solely on a sectarian footing.
One can only wonder where the conveniently-free-media is when fatwas, pamphlets and declarations of hate and instigation of murders are circulated around in different parts of the country?
Where does their self-proclaimed ‘patriotism’ and professional magnificence vanish to when it comes to the intentional misrepresentation of the massacres that only helps to reinforce, what those under whose patronage the groups act, want the people to believe?
Why is it that only outrageuously sparse coverage is provided to the victims and their plight but hours of talk shows are wasted on futile discussions?
And the ever-eager-to-take-suo-moto judges? Are the Shia Hazaras Children of a Lesser God in the eyes of a so-called judiciary that is anything but independent, rather just another instrument of the Establishment for furthering their goals and ambitions?
Afterall, what can be expected of judiciary that releases butchers like Malik Ishaq on grounds of ‘lack of evidence’
The Government too, brazenly watches over the the whole community being pulled down into pools of blood of their own while the Punjab Government gives the very butcher, a montly stipendand their Law Minister proudly courts extremists to garner votes for elections.
Hundreds from amongst the ordinary came marching on the streets and roads against Raymond Davis gunning down two Pakistani citizens and for a dubious ‘Daughter of the Motherland’ but as corpses over corpses pile of the Hazaras, none speak up nor the ‘activists’ hold their famed vigils.
Is the nation only moved and it’s compassion and anger only evoked when America is the proposed guilty party?
It must be public knowledge to the citizens of Pakistan that these incidents of carnage aimed at the Shia Hazaras are not sporadic as they seem but part of an entire crusade (Note: The Shia Tooris of Parachinar, often slaughtered by the Haqqani Network members and other ‘Assets’ given refuge there) waged by sectarian militant outfits that are best-described as the subsidiaries of major terrorist organizations (in whose name and due to whom, the entire country has been struck by sheer devastation) and are under the auspices of the Establishment.
Which other nation should hold the importance of the lives, security, liberty and interests of the minorities highly than that of a country whose history bears witness that the threats to the interests and protection of the Muslim minority of Pre-Partition India was a central factor in fostering the struggle for its creation?
And today when the generations of that minority are a majority of the country – other minorities: the Shias, Christians, Hindus and Ahmedis are fraught with peril.
It is about time, that the proponents of Jinnah’s vision in this country, if any, come forward against the Establishment on all fronts and also fight for the rights of those whose only crime is being guilty of being a minority.
- Hafsa Khawaja
*Ironically, much of the non-controversial content in this post that concentrated on the lack of attention that the Shia Hazara murders deserved, was sent as three separate letters to the ‘News Post’ of ‘The News’ which they decided not to publish. So much for a free media
Let Us Build Pakistan
Hazara: another 'abandoned' community
Analysis By Khaled Ahmed
Tentacles of terror
If there ever was a sign of the demise of the Pakistani state, it is the killing of the Hazara community of Quetta
On 20 September 2011, at least 26 Hazaras were shot dead execution style in a Baloch-dominated area of Mastung/Luk-Pass near Quetta. Armed terrorists intercepted a bus en route to Taftan, border town near the Iran border, singled out all Hazara men, and shot them dead. Terrorists stayed at the scene for 10 minutes firing with AK-47's to ensure no one survived. Terrorists ambushed and killed several Hazaras rushing to the scene to ferry their loved ones to the hospital. The Hazara travel far and wide looking for employment and that includes Mashad and Tehran.
If Pakistan succeeds once again in controlling Afghanistan, the Hazara of Central Afghanistan should expect genocide
A few weeks before the massacre, a sectarian organisation had circulated an open letter addressed to Hazaras in Quetta. Written in the Urdu language, the letter stated:
All Shi'ites are worthy of killing. We will rid Pakistan of unclean people. Pakistan means land of the pure and the Shi'ites have no right to live in this country. We have the edict and signatures of revered scholars, declaring Shi'ites infidels. Just as our fighters have waged a successful jihad against the Shi'ite Hazaras in Afghanistan, our mission in Pakistan is the abolition of this impure sect and its followers from every city, every village and every nook and corner of Pakistan.
Like in the past, our successful jihad against the Hazaras in Pakistan and, in particular, in Quetta, is ongoing and will continue in the future. We will make Pakistan the graveyard of the Shi'ite Hazaras and their houses will be destroyed by bombs and suicide bombers. We will only rest when we will be able to fly the flag of true Islam on this land of the pure. Jihad against the Shi'ite Hazaras has now become our duty.
If there ever was a sign of the demise of the Pakistani state it is the killing of the Hazara community of Quetta. The Hazaras, after getting killed like flies, are asking a question that no one busy rebuking the world for finding fault with Pakistan can answer. The extremism of blasphemy law and the killing of Ahmadis is a national death-wish, but what is the killing of the Hazaras? In Punjab, the government is scared of losing vote, and its leaders fear personal attack from the erstwhile non state actors killing Christians and Ahmadis. In Quetta everyone including the executive is scared of protecting this luckless community numbering nearly 600,000.
What Pakistan is doing to the Hazara of Quetta is nothing short of ethnic-cleansing
Their fault is that they are Shia and their historical origin is Central Afghanistan known as Bamyan, but they have lived in Quetta for centuries. Their other fault is that that they are businessmen and shopkeepers which makes them more elevated in intellect than their Pashtun tormentors. In Kurram they are known are Turis and have been there for centuries. They have some capacity to fight back there but the state of Pakistan has abandoned them to the Taliban and local Sunni rivals, turning a blind eye to the fact that their road connection with Pakistan is no longer free of hazard.
The Turis of Pakistan's Kurram Agency also took no part in the Pak-sponsored jihad and were attacked in 1983, marking the starting-point of the sectarian conflict in Pakistan. Today Turis of Parachinar in Kurram Agency and the Hazaras of Quetta are bearing the brunt of Sunni-Pashtun reprisal. And if Pakistan succeeds once again in controlling Afghanistan, the Hazara of Central Afghanistan should expect genocide. What Pakistan is doing to the Hazara of Quetta is nothing short of ethnic-cleansing. The killers announce loudly that they are killing them because they want to exterminate them to earn Paradise.
This is the underside of Pakistan's military vision. It sees Afghanistan through the Pashtun goggle and that means letting the Shia be put to the sword. This is how Pakistan has survived in the past and this is how it is going to survive with the doctrine of strategic depth. The Hazaras are the burnt offering Pakistan's military thinkers are offering to the holy investors of jihad sitting in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. This is the small print in the contract under which Pak Army and Saudi Army have been exercising in Jhelum. The Saudi aid that will rescue the state of Pakistan from collapsing is running parallel to the private Arab funds that flow into the coffers of the Taliban and their master Al Qaeda so that they can hurt Iran by killing the Hazaras of Pakistan.
Pakistan is in denial about there being an Afghan Shura under Mullah Umar in Quetta and it doesn't matter if this denial is proved false on a daily basis. The Hazara have to pay for the acts of omission and commission of their co-ethnics in Central Afghanistan in the recent past. Organised under their militia Hezb-e-Wahdat, the Hazaras allied with the Jumbish militia of Dostam and Hezb-e-Islami militia of Hekmatyar. In 1995, the Taliban conquered Kabul and captured and murdered the great Hazara leader, Mazari. The Hazaras then fought on the side of the Northern Alliance against the Taliban who visited on them the cruelty to forget the scourge of Mongol hordes.
Because of persecution, the Hazaras of Quetta allowed themselves to be ghettoised, which is a step in the direction of easy killing. All of them moved to Hazara Town which is divided into nine blocks, and almost all the houses are made of concrete. They can speak Urdu but they are originally Persian-speaking. They have, in contrast to other Afghan groups, actively invested in education. The Hazara community is the most educated community in Balochistan. Some 50 percent of the position holders in the matriculation and FA/BA exams are from among them. Hence the visible presence of Hazaras in the civil services, police, the IT market, small businesses and other professional sectors in Balochistan.
In 2003, in one of the worst sectarian assaults in the history of Pakistan, some 58 people, most of them Hazara Shias, were killed while around 200 were injured when suicide bombers attacked Imambargah-e-Kalan in Quetta. Another 38 persons, mostly Hazara Shias, were killed in a sectarian assault on March 2, 2004 on the day of the Ashura. The incident left 200 people injured. Just before the 2003 attack, Quetta city was flooded with leaflets containing fatwas from the country's top-most ulema, declaring the Shia an apostate community. The 2003 massacre was preceded by widespread circulation of anti-Shia fatwas in Quetta, branding them murtad or apostate, a designation normally deserving death in the eyes of the pious Sunni Muslims.
GEO TV (12 September 2003) had TV host Hamid Mir interviewing the imam of the Hazara Imambargah at Quetta where the Shia community had been blown up by suicide bombers. The imam said the attack was carried out by sectarian terrorist groups and this information had been given to the administration in Quetta.
The All Parties Conference (APC) which recently handed over a rapidly Islamising Pakistan to the Army did not have a clue what it was doing except purging itself of its rage against the United States, India and the West. The politician had no idea that the Army was India-centric and was incapable of tackling the problem of extremism started by it under General Zia. General Kayani should have stood up and refused to take the responsibility to tackle a problem he has no inclination to confront. Indeed, he is disinterested in taking power and toppling governments but he should have stated clearly that problems such as Hazara-killing would continue as a part of anti-Americanism and the doctrine of strategic depth.
The Hazara leaders of Quetta claim that nearly 600 members of their community have been killed since 1999.
The News of 7 October 2011, reported that over 13,000 members of the community lived in Karachi, 600 in Hussain Hazara Goth, where the imambargah is located. Rickety roads and mud-plastered houses surrounded the slum while increasingly the inhabitants feared for their lives. One said, 'We are being targeted because extremists want to eliminate Shias. Also, our community, especially in Balochistan, is among the most literate and educated. They envy us. Our people are in the police, government and everywhere. Out of the four female pilots, one is from our community'.
Friday Times
Tentacles of terror
If there ever was a sign of the demise of the Pakistani state, it is the killing of the Hazara community of Quetta
On 20 September 2011, at least 26 Hazaras were shot dead execution style in a Baloch-dominated area of Mastung/Luk-Pass near Quetta. Armed terrorists intercepted a bus en route to Taftan, border town near the Iran border, singled out all Hazara men, and shot them dead. Terrorists stayed at the scene for 10 minutes firing with AK-47's to ensure no one survived. Terrorists ambushed and killed several Hazaras rushing to the scene to ferry their loved ones to the hospital. The Hazara travel far and wide looking for employment and that includes Mashad and Tehran.
If Pakistan succeeds once again in controlling Afghanistan, the Hazara of Central Afghanistan should expect genocide
A few weeks before the massacre, a sectarian organisation had circulated an open letter addressed to Hazaras in Quetta. Written in the Urdu language, the letter stated:
All Shi'ites are worthy of killing. We will rid Pakistan of unclean people. Pakistan means land of the pure and the Shi'ites have no right to live in this country. We have the edict and signatures of revered scholars, declaring Shi'ites infidels. Just as our fighters have waged a successful jihad against the Shi'ite Hazaras in Afghanistan, our mission in Pakistan is the abolition of this impure sect and its followers from every city, every village and every nook and corner of Pakistan.
Like in the past, our successful jihad against the Hazaras in Pakistan and, in particular, in Quetta, is ongoing and will continue in the future. We will make Pakistan the graveyard of the Shi'ite Hazaras and their houses will be destroyed by bombs and suicide bombers. We will only rest when we will be able to fly the flag of true Islam on this land of the pure. Jihad against the Shi'ite Hazaras has now become our duty.
If there ever was a sign of the demise of the Pakistani state it is the killing of the Hazara community of Quetta. The Hazaras, after getting killed like flies, are asking a question that no one busy rebuking the world for finding fault with Pakistan can answer. The extremism of blasphemy law and the killing of Ahmadis is a national death-wish, but what is the killing of the Hazaras? In Punjab, the government is scared of losing vote, and its leaders fear personal attack from the erstwhile non state actors killing Christians and Ahmadis. In Quetta everyone including the executive is scared of protecting this luckless community numbering nearly 600,000.
What Pakistan is doing to the Hazara of Quetta is nothing short of ethnic-cleansing
Their fault is that they are Shia and their historical origin is Central Afghanistan known as Bamyan, but they have lived in Quetta for centuries. Their other fault is that that they are businessmen and shopkeepers which makes them more elevated in intellect than their Pashtun tormentors. In Kurram they are known are Turis and have been there for centuries. They have some capacity to fight back there but the state of Pakistan has abandoned them to the Taliban and local Sunni rivals, turning a blind eye to the fact that their road connection with Pakistan is no longer free of hazard.
The Turis of Pakistan's Kurram Agency also took no part in the Pak-sponsored jihad and were attacked in 1983, marking the starting-point of the sectarian conflict in Pakistan. Today Turis of Parachinar in Kurram Agency and the Hazaras of Quetta are bearing the brunt of Sunni-Pashtun reprisal. And if Pakistan succeeds once again in controlling Afghanistan, the Hazara of Central Afghanistan should expect genocide. What Pakistan is doing to the Hazara of Quetta is nothing short of ethnic-cleansing. The killers announce loudly that they are killing them because they want to exterminate them to earn Paradise.
This is the underside of Pakistan's military vision. It sees Afghanistan through the Pashtun goggle and that means letting the Shia be put to the sword. This is how Pakistan has survived in the past and this is how it is going to survive with the doctrine of strategic depth. The Hazaras are the burnt offering Pakistan's military thinkers are offering to the holy investors of jihad sitting in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. This is the small print in the contract under which Pak Army and Saudi Army have been exercising in Jhelum. The Saudi aid that will rescue the state of Pakistan from collapsing is running parallel to the private Arab funds that flow into the coffers of the Taliban and their master Al Qaeda so that they can hurt Iran by killing the Hazaras of Pakistan.
Pakistan is in denial about there being an Afghan Shura under Mullah Umar in Quetta and it doesn't matter if this denial is proved false on a daily basis. The Hazara have to pay for the acts of omission and commission of their co-ethnics in Central Afghanistan in the recent past. Organised under their militia Hezb-e-Wahdat, the Hazaras allied with the Jumbish militia of Dostam and Hezb-e-Islami militia of Hekmatyar. In 1995, the Taliban conquered Kabul and captured and murdered the great Hazara leader, Mazari. The Hazaras then fought on the side of the Northern Alliance against the Taliban who visited on them the cruelty to forget the scourge of Mongol hordes.
Because of persecution, the Hazaras of Quetta allowed themselves to be ghettoised, which is a step in the direction of easy killing. All of them moved to Hazara Town which is divided into nine blocks, and almost all the houses are made of concrete. They can speak Urdu but they are originally Persian-speaking. They have, in contrast to other Afghan groups, actively invested in education. The Hazara community is the most educated community in Balochistan. Some 50 percent of the position holders in the matriculation and FA/BA exams are from among them. Hence the visible presence of Hazaras in the civil services, police, the IT market, small businesses and other professional sectors in Balochistan.
In 2003, in one of the worst sectarian assaults in the history of Pakistan, some 58 people, most of them Hazara Shias, were killed while around 200 were injured when suicide bombers attacked Imambargah-e-Kalan in Quetta. Another 38 persons, mostly Hazara Shias, were killed in a sectarian assault on March 2, 2004 on the day of the Ashura. The incident left 200 people injured. Just before the 2003 attack, Quetta city was flooded with leaflets containing fatwas from the country's top-most ulema, declaring the Shia an apostate community. The 2003 massacre was preceded by widespread circulation of anti-Shia fatwas in Quetta, branding them murtad or apostate, a designation normally deserving death in the eyes of the pious Sunni Muslims.
GEO TV (12 September 2003) had TV host Hamid Mir interviewing the imam of the Hazara Imambargah at Quetta where the Shia community had been blown up by suicide bombers. The imam said the attack was carried out by sectarian terrorist groups and this information had been given to the administration in Quetta.
The All Parties Conference (APC) which recently handed over a rapidly Islamising Pakistan to the Army did not have a clue what it was doing except purging itself of its rage against the United States, India and the West. The politician had no idea that the Army was India-centric and was incapable of tackling the problem of extremism started by it under General Zia. General Kayani should have stood up and refused to take the responsibility to tackle a problem he has no inclination to confront. Indeed, he is disinterested in taking power and toppling governments but he should have stated clearly that problems such as Hazara-killing would continue as a part of anti-Americanism and the doctrine of strategic depth.
The Hazara leaders of Quetta claim that nearly 600 members of their community have been killed since 1999.
The News of 7 October 2011, reported that over 13,000 members of the community lived in Karachi, 600 in Hussain Hazara Goth, where the imambargah is located. Rickety roads and mud-plastered houses surrounded the slum while increasingly the inhabitants feared for their lives. One said, 'We are being targeted because extremists want to eliminate Shias. Also, our community, especially in Balochistan, is among the most literate and educated. They envy us. Our people are in the police, government and everywhere. Out of the four female pilots, one is from our community'.
Friday Times
٧٦فیصد مکاتب دایکندی فاقد تعمیر است
by سید غلام on Oct 21, 2011 - 11:11
نیلی (پژواک، ٢٩میزان٩٠): از مجموع مکاتب ولایت دایکندی،٧٦فیصد آنها فاقد تعمیر بوده و بیش از صدهزار شاگرد در خارج از صنف درس می خوانند.
شاگردانی که مکاتب آنها تعمیر ندارند در فضاهای باز، زیر درختان، تکایا، مساجد و خانه های مخروبه مشغول تدریس هستند.
سردار علی جعفری مدیر استخدام ریاست معارف دایکندی به آژانس خبری پژواک گفت که در مجموع ٣٣٤مکتب در این ولایت فعالیت دارد.
به گفته وی، از مجموع این مکاتب، ٨٠ باب آن دارای تعمیر بوده و مابقی یا تعمیر ندارند یا اینکه کار ساخت آنها جریان دارد.
جعفری افزود که 118104 تن از شاگردان آنها در فضاهای باز، زیر درختان، تکایا، مساجد و خانه های مخروبه مشغول آموزش می باشند.
ناظر پناهی مدیر پلان ریاست معارف دایکندی نیز در گفتگو با پژواک ضمن تائید بی سرپناه بودن بیش از صدهزار شاگرد در مکاتب این ولایت، نبود آب آشامیدنی صحی را نیز از جمله مشکلات دیگر عنوان داشت.
وی گفت که این مشکلات روند درس را مختل کرده و به شاگردان اجازه نمی دهد تا در فضایی آرام درس را فرا گیرند.
منبع از ارگانها و نهادهای کمک کننده خواست تا در این راستا ریاست معارف دایکندی را حمایت کنند.
شاگردان و معلمین ولایت دایکندی نیز از نبود صنوف درسی شکایت داشته و می گویند که فضای مناسب درسی برای آنها مهیا نیست.
خالق نظر یکتن از معلمین مکتب محمدیه ولسوالی شهرستان به پژواک گفت :«عدم موجودیت تعمیر مکتب یک مشکل جدی بره ماست.»
به گفته وی، شاگردان این مکتب در حال حاضر در سایه درخت و یا تکیه خانه مسجد ولسوالی مصروف درس هستند که این امر درسهای آنها را مختل کرده است.
یاسین یکتن از شاگردان این مکتب نیز با شکایت از وضع موجود به پژواک گفت :«هیچ درسه نمی فامم، صدای موترها و گرد و خاک نمی مانه که درس ره خوب یاد بگیرم.»
وی از مسوولین خواست تا در این راستا اقدامات جدی انجام دهند.
مرضیه یکتن از شاگردان لیسه مرکزی ولسوالی کیتی به پژواک گفت :«حالی ده مسجد درس می خوانیم چون مکتب ما تعمیر نداره.»
به گفته وی، زمانی که مراسم فاتحه در مسجد باشد، درسهای آنها نیز تعطیل بوده و نمی توانند بدرستی درسها را مرور نمایند.
گفتنی است که 155400 شاگرد که ٤٠فیصد آنها را دختران تشکیل می دهند، تحت نظر ٢٩٠٩ معلم مرد و زن مصروف تعلیم می باشند
Pajhwok
شاگردانی که مکاتب آنها تعمیر ندارند در فضاهای باز، زیر درختان، تکایا، مساجد و خانه های مخروبه مشغول تدریس هستند.
سردار علی جعفری مدیر استخدام ریاست معارف دایکندی به آژانس خبری پژواک گفت که در مجموع ٣٣٤مکتب در این ولایت فعالیت دارد.
به گفته وی، از مجموع این مکاتب، ٨٠ باب آن دارای تعمیر بوده و مابقی یا تعمیر ندارند یا اینکه کار ساخت آنها جریان دارد.
جعفری افزود که 118104 تن از شاگردان آنها در فضاهای باز، زیر درختان، تکایا، مساجد و خانه های مخروبه مشغول آموزش می باشند.
ناظر پناهی مدیر پلان ریاست معارف دایکندی نیز در گفتگو با پژواک ضمن تائید بی سرپناه بودن بیش از صدهزار شاگرد در مکاتب این ولایت، نبود آب آشامیدنی صحی را نیز از جمله مشکلات دیگر عنوان داشت.
وی گفت که این مشکلات روند درس را مختل کرده و به شاگردان اجازه نمی دهد تا در فضایی آرام درس را فرا گیرند.
منبع از ارگانها و نهادهای کمک کننده خواست تا در این راستا ریاست معارف دایکندی را حمایت کنند.
شاگردان و معلمین ولایت دایکندی نیز از نبود صنوف درسی شکایت داشته و می گویند که فضای مناسب درسی برای آنها مهیا نیست.
خالق نظر یکتن از معلمین مکتب محمدیه ولسوالی شهرستان به پژواک گفت :«عدم موجودیت تعمیر مکتب یک مشکل جدی بره ماست.»
به گفته وی، شاگردان این مکتب در حال حاضر در سایه درخت و یا تکیه خانه مسجد ولسوالی مصروف درس هستند که این امر درسهای آنها را مختل کرده است.
یاسین یکتن از شاگردان این مکتب نیز با شکایت از وضع موجود به پژواک گفت :«هیچ درسه نمی فامم، صدای موترها و گرد و خاک نمی مانه که درس ره خوب یاد بگیرم.»
وی از مسوولین خواست تا در این راستا اقدامات جدی انجام دهند.
مرضیه یکتن از شاگردان لیسه مرکزی ولسوالی کیتی به پژواک گفت :«حالی ده مسجد درس می خوانیم چون مکتب ما تعمیر نداره.»
به گفته وی، زمانی که مراسم فاتحه در مسجد باشد، درسهای آنها نیز تعطیل بوده و نمی توانند بدرستی درسها را مرور نمایند.
گفتنی است که 155400 شاگرد که ٤٠فیصد آنها را دختران تشکیل می دهند، تحت نظر ٢٩٠٩ معلم مرد و زن مصروف تعلیم می باشند
Pajhwok
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Balochistan PA condemns Mastung incident
By: Bari Baloch | Published: October 21, 2011
QUETTA - The Balochistan Assembly while condemning Mastung incident in which 26 Shiite Muslims of Hazara community were brutally killed has demanded of the govt to take practical steps to bring the culprits to justice.
The Balochistan Assembly adopted a condemnation resolution in its session which met with Deputy Speaker Matiullah Agha in the chair on Thursday.
Speaking on the admissibility of resolution, Chengezai said previously high profile members of Hazara community were being targeted but the current year witnessed more heinous incidents of mass killing of people belonging to the community.
Citing the details of attacks, he said terrorists on Eid-ul-Fitr day carried out blast in Quetta killing several people belong to Hazara community.
‘If volunteers were not deputed near prayers place the terrorists could have approached the congregation and more casualties could have occured’, he said,adding, 27 Shiite pilgrims were brutally murdered in Mastung district on September 20th.
He said when injured were being shifted to Quetta the terrorists attacked the vehicles killing three more Shiite people ,adding, that merely three day after Mastung incident three more members of Hazara community were dismounted from a mini bus near Machh and were shot dead.
He further said more than one dozen Hazara people were held at gun-point near fruit market in the outskirts of Quetta and after confirming their identity as Hazaras assailants brutally killed them. Chengezai regretted over lack of arrest of culprits, saying despite repeated attacks on Shia Muslims none of the culprits were brought to justice ,adding, that they should be told that why they were being treated like this whether they were not human beings.
He said it was the responsibility of the provincial government to ensure security to people and asked the chair to summon high-ups of law-enforcement agencies at the Assembly and the matter should be discussed. Supporting the condemnation resolution, Tariq Massuri Bugti said govt had failed to control law and order as such incidents were even not taking place in the dictatorial regime of Pervez Musharraf. ‘Innocent people were being killed and abducted but government is doing nothing’, he remarked.
Debating on the resolution, Provincial Minister and leader of PPP Ali Madad Jattak criticised his party member Jan Ali Chengezai, saying it was absolutely wrong conception that only members of Shiite Muslims were being targeted. ‘Terrorists do not belong to any religion or nationality as their sole aim is to create differences amongst the people living in Quetta’, he remarked and ,added, terrorists also targeted Sunni scholars including that of Maulana Abdul Karim and son of Maulana Hafiz Hussain Sharrodi.
He said Rehman Malik had visited Quetta on the special directives of President Zardari to meet members of Hazara community and visited Imambargah.
Due to hard hitting remarks of Ali Madad Jattak, Jan Ali Chengezai took the floor and said the Minister was threatening us in polite manner and he should not speak like this.
However, Mir Sadiq Umrani, PPP Balochistan President rushed to Jattak and calmed him down.
However, when the chair put the resolution for vote the House adopted it unanimously.
The House witnessed uproar when Mir Sadiq Umrani on a point of order strongly criticised PML-N President Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif for using hard words against PPP in public meeting in Dera Ghazi Khan.
‘Nawaz Sharif has committed contempt of the democratic institutions by using bad language against PPP leader’, he remarked and used unparliamentarily remarks for Nawaz Sharif.
At this, the chair stopped Umrani for passing objectionable remarks and ruled twice for getting the Umrani out of the House and expunged his remarks.
However, other members controlled the situation before a clash.
Ali Madad Jattak, on a point of order said they condemn the speech of Nawaz Sharif and general election of 2013 would decide to whom people would vote into power ,adding, that they would not be frightened of sit-ins and rallies.
THE NATION
QUETTA - The Balochistan Assembly while condemning Mastung incident in which 26 Shiite Muslims of Hazara community were brutally killed has demanded of the govt to take practical steps to bring the culprits to justice.
The Balochistan Assembly adopted a condemnation resolution in its session which met with Deputy Speaker Matiullah Agha in the chair on Thursday.
Speaking on the admissibility of resolution, Chengezai said previously high profile members of Hazara community were being targeted but the current year witnessed more heinous incidents of mass killing of people belonging to the community.
Citing the details of attacks, he said terrorists on Eid-ul-Fitr day carried out blast in Quetta killing several people belong to Hazara community.
‘If volunteers were not deputed near prayers place the terrorists could have approached the congregation and more casualties could have occured’, he said,adding, 27 Shiite pilgrims were brutally murdered in Mastung district on September 20th.
He said when injured were being shifted to Quetta the terrorists attacked the vehicles killing three more Shiite people ,adding, that merely three day after Mastung incident three more members of Hazara community were dismounted from a mini bus near Machh and were shot dead.
He further said more than one dozen Hazara people were held at gun-point near fruit market in the outskirts of Quetta and after confirming their identity as Hazaras assailants brutally killed them. Chengezai regretted over lack of arrest of culprits, saying despite repeated attacks on Shia Muslims none of the culprits were brought to justice ,adding, that they should be told that why they were being treated like this whether they were not human beings.
He said it was the responsibility of the provincial government to ensure security to people and asked the chair to summon high-ups of law-enforcement agencies at the Assembly and the matter should be discussed. Supporting the condemnation resolution, Tariq Massuri Bugti said govt had failed to control law and order as such incidents were even not taking place in the dictatorial regime of Pervez Musharraf. ‘Innocent people were being killed and abducted but government is doing nothing’, he remarked.
Debating on the resolution, Provincial Minister and leader of PPP Ali Madad Jattak criticised his party member Jan Ali Chengezai, saying it was absolutely wrong conception that only members of Shiite Muslims were being targeted. ‘Terrorists do not belong to any religion or nationality as their sole aim is to create differences amongst the people living in Quetta’, he remarked and ,added, terrorists also targeted Sunni scholars including that of Maulana Abdul Karim and son of Maulana Hafiz Hussain Sharrodi.
He said Rehman Malik had visited Quetta on the special directives of President Zardari to meet members of Hazara community and visited Imambargah.
Due to hard hitting remarks of Ali Madad Jattak, Jan Ali Chengezai took the floor and said the Minister was threatening us in polite manner and he should not speak like this.
However, Mir Sadiq Umrani, PPP Balochistan President rushed to Jattak and calmed him down.
However, when the chair put the resolution for vote the House adopted it unanimously.
The House witnessed uproar when Mir Sadiq Umrani on a point of order strongly criticised PML-N President Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif for using hard words against PPP in public meeting in Dera Ghazi Khan.
‘Nawaz Sharif has committed contempt of the democratic institutions by using bad language against PPP leader’, he remarked and used unparliamentarily remarks for Nawaz Sharif.
At this, the chair stopped Umrani for passing objectionable remarks and ruled twice for getting the Umrani out of the House and expunged his remarks.
However, other members controlled the situation before a clash.
Ali Madad Jattak, on a point of order said they condemn the speech of Nawaz Sharif and general election of 2013 would decide to whom people would vote into power ,adding, that they would not be frightened of sit-ins and rallies.
THE NATION
Malik was wrongly briefed on law and order situation, says Balochistan minister
By Shehzad Baloch
Published: October 20, 2011
Malik claimed that Balochistan’s situation is comparatively better than other provinces. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
QUETTA: Contrary to Interior Minister Rehman Malik statement, Provincial Minister for Quality Education Jan Ali Changezi of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said the law and order situation in Balochistan is worse than other provinces.
“Malik may have been given wrong briefing about law and order situation in Balochistan,” Changezi told the reporters outside Balochistan Assembly.
He was referring to the statement in which Malik lauded the role of provincial government in overcoming law and order issues. Malik claimed that Balochistan’s situation is comparatively better than other provinces.
Changezi said that the provincial government did play a role in addressing other issues but as far as the law and order situation is concerned, the government is not sincere nor taking any serious steps.
Changezi, while highlighting the insincerity of the government, quoted Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab Aslam Raisani as saying “We will send a truck loaded with tissues to wipe the tears of the people weeping over increase in targeted killing.”
The Express Tribune
Published: October 20, 2011
QUETTA: Contrary to Interior Minister Rehman Malik statement, Provincial Minister for Quality Education Jan Ali Changezi of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said the law and order situation in Balochistan is worse than other provinces.
“Malik may have been given wrong briefing about law and order situation in Balochistan,” Changezi told the reporters outside Balochistan Assembly.
He was referring to the statement in which Malik lauded the role of provincial government in overcoming law and order issues. Malik claimed that Balochistan’s situation is comparatively better than other provinces.
Changezi said that the provincial government did play a role in addressing other issues but as far as the law and order situation is concerned, the government is not sincere nor taking any serious steps.
Changezi, while highlighting the insincerity of the government, quoted Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab Aslam Raisani as saying “We will send a truck loaded with tissues to wipe the tears of the people weeping over increase in targeted killing.”
The Express Tribune
Extremists from Punjab involved in Balochistan unrest, says Malik
By: Bari Baloch | Published: October 20, 2011
QUETTA - Pakistan will next month reactivate a biometric computerised system to monitor movement of people crossing Pak-Afghan border, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference at CM Secretariat here, Malik said the government was going to revive immigration system, by restoring biometric system at Chaman and Torkham borders from November 30 to monitor movement of people through Pak-Afghan border from both sides. He said the government would convene a peace conference in Quetta, adding that a third party was involved in sectarian violence in Balochistan. “We are ready to hold dialogue with the disgruntled people who have climbed up mountains if they are ready to honour Pakistani flag,” he told the press conference.
Balochistan Home Minister Mir Zafarullah Zehri was also present on the occasion.
Malik said on the special directives of Prime Minister, he met with the people of Hazara community and Sunni scholars and discussed with them the issue of sectarian violence. “I got positive response from both sides. Thus we have decided to call a peace conference in Quetta next month inviting scholars from across the world including Imam Kaba’a to get rid of sectarian violence,” he informed.
He said a third party was involved in the incidents of sectarian violence and they were committing crimes for the sake of money. However, he vowed that they would be chased and punished. Referring to the security of Hazara community, he said police and Frontier Corps would provide security to the vehicles of Hazara pilgrims. It’s a temporary solution but the government is working on long-term plan to curb incidents of terrorism, he informed.
Malik said intelligence agencies had provided phone data which proved that some prisoners were involved in carrying out anti-peace activities in Quetta and other areas of Balochistan from jails. He said the law personnel conducted a raid last night in Quetta jail and recovered mobile phones from some prisoners.
“After complete investigation, action will be taken in accordance with the record of these phones.” Police have been directed to separate high-profile criminals in jails so that they could not operate, he said adding that he had ordered the reinvestigation of escaping of Usman Kurd from ATF sub-jail.
Responding to a question, he said President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani wanted to bring Baloch nationalists into mainstream . To a question, he said if party allows he is ready to expose corruption committed by the Sharif brothers.
and added that Governor, Chief Minister and Home Minister of Balochistan had been playing an active role for maintaining peace in the province.
Citing Ireland and Sri Lanka’s insurgencies, Malik said government was making progress in holding dialogue with the disgruntled elements but it would take time.
He said three districts including Quetta were sensitive.
Agencies add: Malik said members of some banned outfits of Punjab were also involved in anti-peace activities in Balochistan.
Referring to the missing persons issue, the Interior Minister said the total number of missing hailing from Balochistan was 54 and not 6,000. He said the commission set up to track the missing persons was active and discharging its services effectively. He said the PPP-led government was aware of Balochistan’s conditions and wanted to put it on the track of progress and prosperity.
He announced to grant arms licences to every member of Quetta Press Club so that they could keep licensed weapon for their safety and security.
THE NATION
QUETTA - Pakistan will next month reactivate a biometric computerised system to monitor movement of people crossing Pak-Afghan border, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference at CM Secretariat here, Malik said the government was going to revive immigration system, by restoring biometric system at Chaman and Torkham borders from November 30 to monitor movement of people through Pak-Afghan border from both sides. He said the government would convene a peace conference in Quetta, adding that a third party was involved in sectarian violence in Balochistan. “We are ready to hold dialogue with the disgruntled people who have climbed up mountains if they are ready to honour Pakistani flag,” he told the press conference.
Balochistan Home Minister Mir Zafarullah Zehri was also present on the occasion.
Malik said on the special directives of Prime Minister, he met with the people of Hazara community and Sunni scholars and discussed with them the issue of sectarian violence. “I got positive response from both sides. Thus we have decided to call a peace conference in Quetta next month inviting scholars from across the world including Imam Kaba’a to get rid of sectarian violence,” he informed.
He said a third party was involved in the incidents of sectarian violence and they were committing crimes for the sake of money. However, he vowed that they would be chased and punished. Referring to the security of Hazara community, he said police and Frontier Corps would provide security to the vehicles of Hazara pilgrims. It’s a temporary solution but the government is working on long-term plan to curb incidents of terrorism, he informed.
Malik said intelligence agencies had provided phone data which proved that some prisoners were involved in carrying out anti-peace activities in Quetta and other areas of Balochistan from jails. He said the law personnel conducted a raid last night in Quetta jail and recovered mobile phones from some prisoners.
“After complete investigation, action will be taken in accordance with the record of these phones.” Police have been directed to separate high-profile criminals in jails so that they could not operate, he said adding that he had ordered the reinvestigation of escaping of Usman Kurd from ATF sub-jail.
Responding to a question, he said President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani wanted to bring Baloch nationalists into mainstream . To a question, he said if party allows he is ready to expose corruption committed by the Sharif brothers.
and added that Governor, Chief Minister and Home Minister of Balochistan had been playing an active role for maintaining peace in the province.
Citing Ireland and Sri Lanka’s insurgencies, Malik said government was making progress in holding dialogue with the disgruntled elements but it would take time.
He said three districts including Quetta were sensitive.
Agencies add: Malik said members of some banned outfits of Punjab were also involved in anti-peace activities in Balochistan.
Referring to the missing persons issue, the Interior Minister said the total number of missing hailing from Balochistan was 54 and not 6,000. He said the commission set up to track the missing persons was active and discharging its services effectively. He said the PPP-led government was aware of Balochistan’s conditions and wanted to put it on the track of progress and prosperity.
He announced to grant arms licences to every member of Quetta Press Club so that they could keep licensed weapon for their safety and security.
THE NATION
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
COMMENT: Killings of Hazaras: makings of genocide? — Mohammad Taqi
“War doesn’t negate decency. It demands it, even more than in times of peace” — The Kite Runner.
Anyone who has read Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, or watched its heart-rending film adaptation need not be reminded that the above quote was an Afghan man’s response to a Russian soldier on the verge of a war crime claiming, “This is war. There is no shame in war.” The man’s son tried to stop him from standing up to the Russian. The Kite Runner remains a poignant parable of what has gone wrong with Afghanistan and Pakistan. That war has ravaged both countries is obvious but the hit that common decency has taken goes almost unnoticed.
Hosseini’s character Amir and his decision, first to not do anything when his friend and half-brother Hassan is subjected to an atrocity and then to keep his father from intervening to stop violence, is a stark reminder that the perpetrators’ strength is compounded by the inaction of the bystanders. In the allegorical work, the epithets and slurs thrown at Hassan — the jovial, loyal and young representation of decency and more importantly Afghanistan itself — are the abyss staring us in the eye.
Unfortunately, the disaster and slurs are not limited to fiction any longer. After the recent massacre of the Shiite Hazaras near Mastung, the parliamentarian from the area — Ayatullah Durrani — suggested on a television show that the victim community benefits by getting Australian asylum. Aslam Raisani, the chief minister of Balochistan, where more than 500 Hazaras — over 90 in the past four months — have been killed, offered to send a truckload of tissue papers to the bereaving families. Many seasoned human rights campaigners have either remained mum or have issued subdued statements literally sanitising the premeditated mass murder underway in and around Quetta. Terms like ‘sectarian killings’, with connotations of a tit-for-tat warfare between equal groups for similar motives, have been deployed.
Mass murders do not happen in a vacuum or out of the blue. There are always indicators of the disasters in the making, which are ignored by the bystanders, euphemised by the enablers and denied by the perpetrators. Prevention of such catastrophes has been a subject of serious scholarship and among the warning signs the most important one is a history of similar atrocities. Professor Barbara Harff had aptly noted: “Perpetrators of genocide are often repeat offenders, because elites and security forces may become habituated to mass killing as a strategic response to challenges to state security.”
The Hazaras first came to the Quetta cantonment in the then British Balochistan from central Afghanistan after the Afghan ruler, Abdur Rahman Khan, prompted by clergymen from Kandahar, issued a decree in 1892 declaring the Hazaras infidels. He ordered them to convert to the Sunni faith and when they refused he followed up on his pledge to exterminate them. A similar edict was issued by the Taliban regime of Mullah Omar in 1998 followed by extermination campaigns such as Mazar-i-Sharif (1998), Robatak Pass (2000) and Yakaolang (2001). The Hazaras have lived in peace and relative prosperity in Quetta and have been considered model citizens of Pakistan. But that was until another series of edicts was unleashed against them by the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) — the Pakistani affiliate of the al Qaeda-Taliban combine.
It is in this very specific context that recognising the vulnerability of the Pakistani Hazaras takes on an urgency that no human and civil rights activist can ignore. Over 600,000 members of an easy-to-profile community, largely residing in the Marriabad area near Alamdar Road and the Hazara Town off the old Brewery Road in Quetta have become sitting ducks given the callous government attitude and a determined and well-armed perpetrator. The responsibility of bearing witness, raising concern and proactive advocacy rests now with the media and human rights activists.
Within the human rights community there is reluctance to use the term genocide and a departure from the confines of the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, which provides a legal definition of the crime, is considered almost a judicial heresy. In a situation where the legal framework has not kept pace with time and the intervention and prevention of a disaster cannot wait, a working definition provided by John Thomson and Gail Quets may provide a useful start. They had stated: “Genocide is the extent of destruction of a social collectivity by whatever agents, with whatever intentions, by purposive actions which fall outside the recognised conventions of legitimate warfare.”
Even within the confines of the UN definition — based on the efforts of Raphael Lemkin — the atrocities do not have to be state-sanctioned, happen only in war or in peace, or a certain number of the target population have to die before the invocation of the term could be considered. Extermination of the last member of a community does not have to happen — in fact not one person has to be killed — for the crime to become genocide. Any ‘stable and permanent group’ (which can be national, ethnic, racial or religious) is considered a protected group. The responsibility for protection, of course, rests squarely with the state. In its 2007 judgement in the Bosnia vs Serbia case, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the first time defined the scope of the state responsibility under the UN convention. The ICJ has set strenuous evidence standards for a state to be held responsible for direct commission of genocide. But it also imposed an equally strict onus upon the states to rein in the non-state perpetrators to prevent genocide.
Nadezhda Mandelstam, a survivor of the Stalinist gulags herself, writes in Hope against Hope, “The relentless keepers of the truth are the genocide’s most powerful opponents...those who fail to witness honestly — who turn away, distort, and deny — are reliable allies of the génocidaires.” Interestingly, Nadezhda means hope in Russian. One remains hopeful that the international and Pakistani human rights organisations and activists would help bear witness, chronicle and report what appear to be the makings of genocide. The Pakistani state, on its part, must remember that failure to avert an imminent catastrophe would land it in very dubious company.
The writer can be reached at mazdaki@me.com. He tweets at http://twitter.com/mazdaki
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
CID report on Hazaras’ killing submitted in court
By Amanullah Kasi | From the Newspaper
Ethnic Hazara Shia women hold placards during a demonstration in Quetta to condemn the shootout in Mastung by unidentified gunmen. – Photo by Reuters
QUETTA: The advocate general submitted before a bench of the Balochistan High Court on Tuesday a report of the Crimes Investigation Department (CID) which stated that an important clue had been found in the Mastung massacre, but said that details could not be disclosed because that would affect further investigation.
Twenty-nine members of the Shia Hazara community were killed by gunmen near Mastung on Sept 20.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Abdul Qadir Mengal accepted the counsel’s request that due to sensitivity of the matter the report be kept under wraps.
A report prepared by the Frontier Corps was also submitted which said the Levies Force did not coordinate with them in the investigation.
The court noted that although the government had restored the Levies Force, it was not properly trained to combat terrorism and other crimes and directed the government to take steps to improve the force’s performance.
The court also called for measures aimed at better coordination among different law-enforcement agencies to stop terrorist incidents and other heinous crimes. The hearing was adjourned till Nov 23.
DAWN
QUETTA: The advocate general submitted before a bench of the Balochistan High Court on Tuesday a report of the Crimes Investigation Department (CID) which stated that an important clue had been found in the Mastung massacre, but said that details could not be disclosed because that would affect further investigation.
Twenty-nine members of the Shia Hazara community were killed by gunmen near Mastung on Sept 20.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Abdul Qadir Mengal accepted the counsel’s request that due to sensitivity of the matter the report be kept under wraps.
A report prepared by the Frontier Corps was also submitted which said the Levies Force did not coordinate with them in the investigation.
The court noted that although the government had restored the Levies Force, it was not properly trained to combat terrorism and other crimes and directed the government to take steps to improve the force’s performance.
The court also called for measures aimed at better coordination among different law-enforcement agencies to stop terrorist incidents and other heinous crimes. The hearing was adjourned till Nov 23.
DAWN
PAKISTAN: Re-reading the conflict in Balochistan
October 18, 2011
Dear friends,
We wish to share with you the following article from Jinnah Institute, written by Madeeha Ansari.
Asian Human Rights Commission
Hong Kong
-------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-FAT-053-2011
October 18, 2011
An article from Jinnah Institute forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission
PAKISTAN: Re-reading the conflict in Balochistan
Madeeha Ansari
In a world characterized by violence and volatility, this year’s message for International Literacy Day was ''Literacy for Peace''. In Pakistan, the policy response to the idea would be lukewarm at best; despite the attention received by the ''Education Emergency'' earlier in the year, the national agenda is dominated by other, seemingly more immediate issues. There is little realization of the true transformative power of literacy in regions riddled with conflict and uncertainty. However, the story of KarrarHussainJaffar -- the young Harvard scholar from a minority community in Balochistan– could inspire a new kind of discourse.
Within the bleak context of political turmoil and lack of social development in Balochistan, Karrar’s background as a Shi’ite Hazara placed him at a unique disadvantage.Hailing from a remote valley near Quetta where matriculation is a rarity, he described his hometown as a place where ''nobody wants to see the dream of higher education, because they know that it is impossible.'' His personal journey from Marree Abad, to the Lahore University of Management Sciences, to the Harvard campus in Massachusetts cannot be measured in terms of distance – it is a leap across cultural, traditional and societal barriers. As he put it, the first step was for him to overcome his reservations about English being a ''colonial remnant'', and accepting it as a tool to facilitate progress. After completing his fully funded MPA and PhD in the USA, he plans to return to Balochistan to raise awareness about the importance – and possibility – of education among his people.
Karrar’s decision is based on first-hand experience of what it is to bridge the chasm between Balochistan and the rest of the world. The province stands in isolation within Pakistan itself; there is a clear disconnect between the population there and the rest of the country, particularly in the urban centres. The gap can be illustrated in terms of education; qualitative standards aside, the literacy rate in Balochistan is more than 20 per cent lower than the national average of 57 per cent. While the Balochistan government has pledged 13% of the provincial budget to the education sector, statistics mean little in the context of a province notorious for the phenomenon of “ghost schools”. Effective disbursement of funds also remains a problem – for instance, it has recently been reported that the largest school in Gwadar has not received a single rupee for maintenance and rehabilitation. This level of misgovernance and neglect is particularly dangerous given the complex political situation in the province, in which the absence of alternate narratives makes it vulnerable to forces fuelling cyclical violence.
Amid ominous talk of separatism, Balochistanhas been described by human rights organizations as ''an active volcano that may erupt anytime''. The description is drawn from the examination of a history of grievances harbored by the province against the central government; festering wounds that are renewed by an increasing number of missing persons whose absence is attributed to state agencies.The strong presence of the army and the ISI in the region aims to stamp out separatist forces, only to stoke Baloch nationalism. As a result, the young Baloch nationalist views his (or her) interests to be diametrically opposed to those of Pakistan as a nation and will not concede that secession is not a viable option; that an independent Baloch state cannot be sustained by untapped natural resources and underdeveloped human resources. This mindset makes the youth of the province susceptible to the kind of violent prejudice that has triggered a rise in brutal targeted attacks against non-Baloch teachers and laborers, as well as minority communities like the Shi’ite Hazaras.
UNESCO calls education and armed conflict ''the deadly spirals'', each affecting the other in multiple ways. Apart from the retarding effect of war on social development, educational institutions themselves can become nuclei for the concentration of ''attitudes, beliefs and grievances that fuel violent conflict''. This is evident from the militarization of student groups in Balochistan, including the Baloch Students’ Organization. BSO members now make up an alarmingly large proportion of the ''missing person'' whose cases are pending in national courts. If this is the situation regarding the more educated segment of society, it is a worrisome indicator not only of endemic conflict, but also future instability. The generation on whom it falls to build and create is instead contributing to fragmentation, and the state response is to further exacerbate the situation.
Karrar stands out as an exception among the youth of Balochistan – indeed, among the youth of Pakistan. As an individual, what he will take back to his hometown is not only a nuanced understanding of the greater world, but a sense of belonging to a nation that provided him with opportunity. Expansion and improvement of the existing educational infrastructure in Balochistan is therefore a crucial means of addressing the longstanding grievances and sense of exclusion of the Balochi people. While only an outstanding few can aspire to Ivy League schooling, the right to basic, quality education cannot be limited to a privileged minority. In addition, strengthening scholarship schemes, exchange programs and links with national institutions would help bridge the gaps in communication and trust, between Balochistan and the rest of the country.
''Literacy for Peace'' is not a new concept, but is one that is easily displaced by short-term political tactics. It needs to be recognized that there can be no shortcut for the permanent erasure of long-term resentment and separatist sentiment. Only by opening the channels of communication with the next generation, and providing opportunities to access equal representation, can the young Baloch be integrated as a proud citizen within the federation of Pakistan.
Document Type :Forwarded Article
Document ID :AHRC-FAT-053-2011
Countries : Pakistan
Issues : Freedom of religion
Asian Human Rights Commission
Dear friends,
We wish to share with you the following article from Jinnah Institute, written by Madeeha Ansari.
Asian Human Rights Commission
Hong Kong
-------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-FAT-053-2011
October 18, 2011
An article from Jinnah Institute forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission
PAKISTAN: Re-reading the conflict in Balochistan
Madeeha Ansari
Within the bleak context of political turmoil and lack of social development in Balochistan, Karrar’s background as a Shi’ite Hazara placed him at a unique disadvantage.Hailing from a remote valley near Quetta where matriculation is a rarity, he described his hometown as a place where ''nobody wants to see the dream of higher education, because they know that it is impossible.'' His personal journey from Marree Abad, to the Lahore University of Management Sciences, to the Harvard campus in Massachusetts cannot be measured in terms of distance – it is a leap across cultural, traditional and societal barriers. As he put it, the first step was for him to overcome his reservations about English being a ''colonial remnant'', and accepting it as a tool to facilitate progress. After completing his fully funded MPA and PhD in the USA, he plans to return to Balochistan to raise awareness about the importance – and possibility – of education among his people.
Karrar’s decision is based on first-hand experience of what it is to bridge the chasm between Balochistan and the rest of the world. The province stands in isolation within Pakistan itself; there is a clear disconnect between the population there and the rest of the country, particularly in the urban centres. The gap can be illustrated in terms of education; qualitative standards aside, the literacy rate in Balochistan is more than 20 per cent lower than the national average of 57 per cent. While the Balochistan government has pledged 13% of the provincial budget to the education sector, statistics mean little in the context of a province notorious for the phenomenon of “ghost schools”. Effective disbursement of funds also remains a problem – for instance, it has recently been reported that the largest school in Gwadar has not received a single rupee for maintenance and rehabilitation. This level of misgovernance and neglect is particularly dangerous given the complex political situation in the province, in which the absence of alternate narratives makes it vulnerable to forces fuelling cyclical violence.
Amid ominous talk of separatism, Balochistanhas been described by human rights organizations as ''an active volcano that may erupt anytime''. The description is drawn from the examination of a history of grievances harbored by the province against the central government; festering wounds that are renewed by an increasing number of missing persons whose absence is attributed to state agencies.The strong presence of the army and the ISI in the region aims to stamp out separatist forces, only to stoke Baloch nationalism. As a result, the young Baloch nationalist views his (or her) interests to be diametrically opposed to those of Pakistan as a nation and will not concede that secession is not a viable option; that an independent Baloch state cannot be sustained by untapped natural resources and underdeveloped human resources. This mindset makes the youth of the province susceptible to the kind of violent prejudice that has triggered a rise in brutal targeted attacks against non-Baloch teachers and laborers, as well as minority communities like the Shi’ite Hazaras.
UNESCO calls education and armed conflict ''the deadly spirals'', each affecting the other in multiple ways. Apart from the retarding effect of war on social development, educational institutions themselves can become nuclei for the concentration of ''attitudes, beliefs and grievances that fuel violent conflict''. This is evident from the militarization of student groups in Balochistan, including the Baloch Students’ Organization. BSO members now make up an alarmingly large proportion of the ''missing person'' whose cases are pending in national courts. If this is the situation regarding the more educated segment of society, it is a worrisome indicator not only of endemic conflict, but also future instability. The generation on whom it falls to build and create is instead contributing to fragmentation, and the state response is to further exacerbate the situation.
Karrar stands out as an exception among the youth of Balochistan – indeed, among the youth of Pakistan. As an individual, what he will take back to his hometown is not only a nuanced understanding of the greater world, but a sense of belonging to a nation that provided him with opportunity. Expansion and improvement of the existing educational infrastructure in Balochistan is therefore a crucial means of addressing the longstanding grievances and sense of exclusion of the Balochi people. While only an outstanding few can aspire to Ivy League schooling, the right to basic, quality education cannot be limited to a privileged minority. In addition, strengthening scholarship schemes, exchange programs and links with national institutions would help bridge the gaps in communication and trust, between Balochistan and the rest of the country.
''Literacy for Peace'' is not a new concept, but is one that is easily displaced by short-term political tactics. It needs to be recognized that there can be no shortcut for the permanent erasure of long-term resentment and separatist sentiment. Only by opening the channels of communication with the next generation, and providing opportunities to access equal representation, can the young Baloch be integrated as a proud citizen within the federation of Pakistan.
Document Type :Forwarded Article
Document ID :AHRC-FAT-053-2011
Countries : Pakistan
Issues : Freedom of religion
Asian Human Rights Commission
Govt has received messages for talks from extremist elements: Malik
QUETTA, Oct 18 (APP): Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that the government had received some messages dispatched from extremist elements for peace talks and dialogue.Replying to a question about a news story published in the US daily Washinton Post, he said: “The government has received messages from extremist elements,” however, dialogues would start when they disarmed themselves.He was talking to mediapersons at Quetta Airport soon after his arrival here on Tuesday.He said the government was serious for progress in dialogue with militants for the cause of peace in the country and added no talks would be held if extremists continued holding arms in their hands.He said some anti-peace forces were involved in hatching conspiracies and activities to destabilize the country.
To another question, he said he had written a letter to Chief Secretary Punjab to detain Ishaq Malik of a banned organization and arrest his nine associates.
He said now Ishaq Malik had been detained and further action was being taken in this regard.
He said the government was aware about reported flying of NATO jets over Pakistani areas bordering Afghanistan and added violation of Pakistani space was being noted with observation of International Set Proceedure.
He said no one would be allowed to cast an evil eye on Pakistan and reaction would be given to any action carried out while violating sovereignty of the country.
He said that he was visiting Quetta on the instructions of the Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani. “Issues of pilgrims travel to Iran, sectarianism, border surveillance and other law and order related matters would be reviewed during my Quetta visit,” the Interior Minister said and added today (Tuesday) he would be meeting with representatives of Hazara Community and different religious sects.
He said that Afghanistan Militia damaged Pakistan checkpost on border in Chaman, and said steps were being taken to enhance surveillance in border areas.
He said crimes were not only being reported from across the country but also from abroad adding that strategy was being evolved to check thses incidents.
He said that target killing of citizens in Quetta had been decreased with effective measures taken by the government.
He said that masses had given mandate to the Pakistan Peoples’ Party to govern the country and added the PPP-led government would complete its tenure.
He said the Federal Government was responsible to maintain its writ and the provincial governments to maintain law and order within their jurisdiction.
He emphasized the need to promote community policing for securing peace.
Associated Press of Pakistan
To another question, he said he had written a letter to Chief Secretary Punjab to detain Ishaq Malik of a banned organization and arrest his nine associates.
He said now Ishaq Malik had been detained and further action was being taken in this regard.
He said the government was aware about reported flying of NATO jets over Pakistani areas bordering Afghanistan and added violation of Pakistani space was being noted with observation of International Set Proceedure.
He said no one would be allowed to cast an evil eye on Pakistan and reaction would be given to any action carried out while violating sovereignty of the country.
He said that he was visiting Quetta on the instructions of the Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani. “Issues of pilgrims travel to Iran, sectarianism, border surveillance and other law and order related matters would be reviewed during my Quetta visit,” the Interior Minister said and added today (Tuesday) he would be meeting with representatives of Hazara Community and different religious sects.
He said that Afghanistan Militia damaged Pakistan checkpost on border in Chaman, and said steps were being taken to enhance surveillance in border areas.
He said crimes were not only being reported from across the country but also from abroad adding that strategy was being evolved to check thses incidents.
He said that target killing of citizens in Quetta had been decreased with effective measures taken by the government.
He said that masses had given mandate to the Pakistan Peoples’ Party to govern the country and added the PPP-led government would complete its tenure.
He said the Federal Government was responsible to maintain its writ and the provincial governments to maintain law and order within their jurisdiction.
He emphasized the need to promote community policing for securing peace.
Associated Press of Pakistan
Monday, October 17, 2011
MPs worried about Balochistan unrest
By: Bari Baloch | Published: October 18, 2011
QUETTA - Legislators raised their concerns over violence across the province at the Balochistan Assembly Monday, calling for stepping up efforts to maintain law and order.
The Balochistan Assembly session started with its Deputy Speaker Matiullah Agha in the chair. The lawmakers warned that the situation would deteriorate if practical steps were not taken to maintain the government’s writ. A legislator criticised the violation of Pakistani airspace by Nato in Qila Abdul district of Balochistan and demanded the federal government take notice. Speaking on a point of order, Agriculture Minister Asad Baloch condemned the murder of PMA Balochistan chapter president Mazar Khan Baloch in Quetta. “Our people are being targeted but the culprits are at large,” he added.
Supporting his point, PPP provincial minister Jan Ali Chengezai condemned the killing of members of Hazara community, saying the police were playing the role of a silent spectator. “Several people of Hazara community fell prey to targeted killings and bomb blast on Eidul Fitr but no culprit has been arrested so far” he said, adding that police had handed over the city to killers. He said they had met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and apprised him about the situation but this was the responsibility of provincial government to ensure peace.
Other lawmakers, including Ali Madad Jattak, Syed Ehsan Shah Perven Magsi, Shah Nawaz Marri, Mir Sadiq Umrani, Jaffar Khan Mandokhail and Engineer Zamrak Khan condemned the attack on the convoy of PML-N minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, saying targeting tribal chieftains was against the local traditions.
They expressed their concerns over the targeted killing of Shias and recovery of decomposed bodies, saying that the government was paying millions of rupees to law enforcement agencies for the security of people but to no avail.
They rapped the law enforcement agencies for, what they called, their failure in maintaining the government’s writ across the province. “There is no sectarian violence. Some forces are trying to fan hatred by such acts,” they said and called for holding public meetings of political and nationalist parties at divisional level to thwart such plots.
Concluding debate on law and order, senior provincial minister from JUI-F Maulana Abdul Wasay said people from every walk of life were being targeted, posing a question mark on the performance of law enforcement agencies.
He pointed to foreign hand in escalating unrest across the province, saying that his party had already shown their concerns over interference of America in Pakistan’s affair some 10 years ago but they were criticised and declared supporters of Taliban. “Now the US is hurling blames on our army and agencies,” he said, adding that his party rejected the plan to open the US consulate in Quetta. He asked the chief minister to devise a comprehensive strategy to maintain law and order.
Speaking on another point of order, provincial minister and leader of Awami National Party Engineer Zamarak Khan said Nato helicopters and jets were continuously violating Pakistani airspace by making flights inside Balochistan.
Citing the recent violation, he said a Nato helicopter Sunday made very low flight for about 20 minutes in Qila Abdullah district, creating panic among the people. “Nato and America through different tactics want to carry out attacks,” he added.
He asked the provincial government to contact the federal government to take up the issue with Nato authorities. The issue confronting a private TV channel and cattle smuggling also came under discussion during the session.
THE NATION
QUETTA - Legislators raised their concerns over violence across the province at the Balochistan Assembly Monday, calling for stepping up efforts to maintain law and order.
The Balochistan Assembly session started with its Deputy Speaker Matiullah Agha in the chair. The lawmakers warned that the situation would deteriorate if practical steps were not taken to maintain the government’s writ. A legislator criticised the violation of Pakistani airspace by Nato in Qila Abdul district of Balochistan and demanded the federal government take notice. Speaking on a point of order, Agriculture Minister Asad Baloch condemned the murder of PMA Balochistan chapter president Mazar Khan Baloch in Quetta. “Our people are being targeted but the culprits are at large,” he added.
Supporting his point, PPP provincial minister Jan Ali Chengezai condemned the killing of members of Hazara community, saying the police were playing the role of a silent spectator. “Several people of Hazara community fell prey to targeted killings and bomb blast on Eidul Fitr but no culprit has been arrested so far” he said, adding that police had handed over the city to killers. He said they had met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and apprised him about the situation but this was the responsibility of provincial government to ensure peace.
Other lawmakers, including Ali Madad Jattak, Syed Ehsan Shah Perven Magsi, Shah Nawaz Marri, Mir Sadiq Umrani, Jaffar Khan Mandokhail and Engineer Zamrak Khan condemned the attack on the convoy of PML-N minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, saying targeting tribal chieftains was against the local traditions.
They expressed their concerns over the targeted killing of Shias and recovery of decomposed bodies, saying that the government was paying millions of rupees to law enforcement agencies for the security of people but to no avail.
They rapped the law enforcement agencies for, what they called, their failure in maintaining the government’s writ across the province. “There is no sectarian violence. Some forces are trying to fan hatred by such acts,” they said and called for holding public meetings of political and nationalist parties at divisional level to thwart such plots.
Concluding debate on law and order, senior provincial minister from JUI-F Maulana Abdul Wasay said people from every walk of life were being targeted, posing a question mark on the performance of law enforcement agencies.
He pointed to foreign hand in escalating unrest across the province, saying that his party had already shown their concerns over interference of America in Pakistan’s affair some 10 years ago but they were criticised and declared supporters of Taliban. “Now the US is hurling blames on our army and agencies,” he said, adding that his party rejected the plan to open the US consulate in Quetta. He asked the chief minister to devise a comprehensive strategy to maintain law and order.
Speaking on another point of order, provincial minister and leader of Awami National Party Engineer Zamarak Khan said Nato helicopters and jets were continuously violating Pakistani airspace by making flights inside Balochistan.
Citing the recent violation, he said a Nato helicopter Sunday made very low flight for about 20 minutes in Qila Abdullah district, creating panic among the people. “Nato and America through different tactics want to carry out attacks,” he added.
He asked the provincial government to contact the federal government to take up the issue with Nato authorities. The issue confronting a private TV channel and cattle smuggling also came under discussion during the session.
THE NATION
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