BY: PAUL MALEY, NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT From: The Australian November 07, 2011 12:00AM
THE Australian government has conducted more than 6000 one-on-one interviews in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the largest research project on prospective asylum-seekers ever undertaken.
Working through locally engaged contractors, the research -- commissioned by Customs and Border Protection and conducted throughout last year -- profiled would-be asylum-seekers and studied how they obtained information.
The findings were used to run a large public information campaign aimed at deterring asylum-seekers from trying to travel to Australia by boat.
Most of the research was conducted in and around the Pakistani city of Quetta -- a reflection of the fact that most of the Afghan Hazaras coming to Australia by boat do not start their journey in Afghanistan.
In fact, many are the children of Afghan Hazara refugees and have never been to Afghanistan.
The survey investigated literacy levels, demographic information, the degree of internet access and the reach of television and radio around the Afghan-Pakistan border.
"People consume information, predominantly it seems, from family members and community leaders," a government source familiar with the survey's findings told The Australian.
In an effort to "counter-message" the people-smugglers' sales pitch -- that a boat trip to Australia was a "guaranteed migration outcome" -- the government funded radio and television spots in Pakistan, and brochures warning of the dangers, as well as visual advertising.
"We were able to identify a bus that goes up and down the main road in Quetta, so we put advertising material on the bus," the source said.
The research mirrors similar campaigns undertaken in Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
Details of the contracts published on the government's AusTender website indicate the scale of the project.
One contractor, whom The Australian has agreed not to name so as not to endanger local staff in the field, was paid $397,600 for the survey work.
Another was paid $142,125.
The contractors who carried out the survey were chosen because they were former employees of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, The Australian has been told. "They were used to working with governments and had the capacity to operate in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan without getting themselves into serious trouble and without embarrassing the Australian government," the source said.
"That's probably the key sensitivity here: we don't want to talk in too much detail about what we're up to, essentially for fear of endangering the contractors."
The research was sometimes dangerous, with staff in Afghanistan accosted by the Taliban, or in once case briefly kidnapped by local bandits.
Despite the sensitivities of the issue, the campaign was conducted with the consent of the host governments.
As a result of the research, the Australian government formed relationships with community leaders in the hope of discouraging asylum-seekers from journeying to Australian by boat.
"These are people who have a small-p pastoral care for the local community," the source said of those chosen to participate in the campaign.
The strategy was similar to one adopted in Sri Lanka, where Catholic priests in the coastal town of Negombo were recruited.
"Catholic priests are not too keen on their parishioners drowning, so they were quite a useful means to communicate a message," the source said.
The Australian
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
The Mongol Empire Its Rise & Legacy
Sunday, November 06, 2011
A banker by profession, Salim Ansar has a passion for history and historic books. His personal library already boasts a treasure trove of over 7,000 rare and unique books.
Every week, we shall take a leaf from one such book and treat you to a little taste of history.
BOOK NAME: The Mongol Empire Its Rise & Legacy
AUTHOR: Michael Prawdin
PUBLISHER: George Allen & Unwin Ltd - London
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 1941
The following excerpt has been taken from Pages: 171 — 176
“Seven hundred years ago a man almost conquered to earth. He made himself master of half the known world, and inspired humankind with a fear that lasted for generations. In the course of his life he was given many names — the Mighty Manslayer, the Scourge of God, the Perfect Warrior, and the Master of Thrones and Crowns. He is better known to us as Genghis Khan.”
THE BATTLE ON THE INDUS IN THE YEAR 1220
“There was little time for anything except action that eventful autumn. Herat and the other cities rose against the conquerors. Jelal-ed-Din was mustering an army in the east — so messages from the corps of observation along the Hindu Kush reported. Genghis Khan was planning to send Tuli, his most dependable leader, after the Kharesmian prince, when he heard of the rising in Herat. Instead, he sent Tuli west into Khorassan with several divisions.
“Genghis Khan took the field with 60,000 men to find and destroy the new Kharesmian army. He found in his path the strong city of Bamiyan in the Koh-i-Baba ranges. He settled down to invest it, sending the greater part of his forces under another Orkhon to meet Jelal-ed-Din.
“In due course couriers arrived at Bamiyan with word that Jelal-ed-Din had 60,000 men with him — that the Mongol general had come in contact with him, and had avoided several attempts of the Kharesmians to ambush him. Scouts were watching the movements of the redoubtable prince.
“What had happened was that an Afghan army had joined Jelal-ed-Din in this crisis, doubling his strength. Word came in not long after that the Turks and Afghans had defeated the Mongol Orkhon, driving his men into the mountains.
“Genghis Khan turned with new fury to the city before him. The defenders had laid bare all the district, even removing the large stones that could be used in siege engines. The Mongols had not the usual equipment with them, and their wooden towers, raised against the walls, were fired by arrows and flaming naphtha — until the cattle were slaughtered and their hides used to cover the wood frames. The Khan ordered an assault-the storm that is not to be abandoned until the city is taken. At this point one of his grandsons, who had followed him under the walls, was killed. The old Mongol ordered the body of the child-that he had liked for his courage-to be carried back to the tents.
“He urged on the assault, and, throwing off his helmet, pushed through his ranks until he was the head of a storming party. They gained footing in a breach, and Bamiyan fell to them not long after. Every living being was slain within its walls, and mosques and palaces pulled down. Even the Mongols spoke of Bamiyas as Mou-baligh, the City of Sorrow.
“But Genghis Khan left it at once to assemble his scattered divisions. They were feeling their way toward him through the hills, not much the worse for their drubbing. The Khan rallied them, and praised their devotion. Instead of blaming the unhappy Orkhon who had been worsted by Jeal-ed-Din, he rode back with him over the scene of the action, asking what had happened and pointing out the mistakes he had made.
“The Kharesmian prince did not prove himself as able in victory as he had been sturdy in defeat. He had his moment of exultation when his men tortured to death the Mongol prisoners and divided up the captured horses and weapons; but the Afghans quarreled with his officers and left him.
“Genghis Khan was on the march against him, after detaching an army to watch the movements of the Afghans. Jelal-ed-Din retreated east to Ghazna, but the Mongols were hard after him. He sent messengers to summon new allies, but these found that the Mongols had guarded the mountain passes. With his thirty thousand men Jelal-ed-Din hurried down through the foothills and out upon the valley of the Indus.
“His hope was to cross the river and league himself with the sultans of Delhi. But the Mongols, who had been five days behind him at Ghazna, were now within half a day’s ride. Genghis Khan had barely allowed his men to dismount to cook their food.
“Desperate now, the Kharesmian prince hastened to the river, found that he had come to a place where the Indus was too swift and deep for the crossing, and turned at bay, his left flank protected by a mountain ridge, his right by a bend of the river. The chivalry of Islam, hunted out of its own lands, prepared to measure its strength against the inexorable Mongol. Jelal-ed-Din ordered all the boats along the bank to be destroyed, so his men would not think of fleeing. His position was strong, but he must hold it or be annihilated.
“At dawn the Mongols advanced all along the line. They had emerged out of the darkness in formation, Genghis Khan with his standard, and the ten thousand cavalry of the imperial guard in reserve behind the center. These, at first, were not engaged.
“The impetuous Kharesmian prince was the first to send his men forward. His right wing-always the strongest division in a Muhammadan army of that day — under Emir Malik skirmished with the left of the Khan, and drove home a charge along the bank of the Indus that forced the Mongols back at this point. They scattered into squadrons as usual, reformed under one of the Khan’s sons, and were forced back again.
“On their right, the Mongols had been checked by the barrier of the lofty and barren ridges, and here they halted. Jelal-ed-Din detached forces from this part of his line to aid the advancing right wing of Emir Malik. And later in the day he, withdrew still more squadrons from the defenders of the mountain to strengthen his center.
“Determined to risk everything in one cast of fortune, he charged with the elite of his host, straight into the Mongol center, cutting through to the standard, seeking the Khan. The old Mongol was not there. His horse had been killed under him and he had mounted another and gone elsewhere.
“It was a moment of apparent victory for the Kharesmian, and the ululation of the Muhammadans rose above the din of beating hoops, the grinding of steel and the cries of the wounded.
“The Mongol center, badly shaken by the charge, kept on fighting stubbornly. Genghis Khan had noticed the withdrawal of nearly all the Kharesmian left wing, posted on the heights. He ordered a tuman commander, Bela Noyon, to go with the guides he had been questioning and to cross the mountain at all costs. It was the old turning movement of the Mongols, the standard-sweep.
“The Noyon with his men followed the guides into sheer gorges and ascended cliff paths that seemed impassable. Some of the warriors fell into the chasms, but the greater part gained the ridge late in the day and descended on the remnant of men left by Jela-ed-Din to protect this point. Over the mountain barrier the Kharesmian flank was turned. Bela Noyon charged into the enemy camp.
“Meanwhile Genghis Khan had taken the leadership of his ten thousand heavy cavalry, and had gone-not to the menaced center, but to the defeated left wing. His charge against Emir Malik’s forces routed them. Wasting no time in following them up, the Khan swung his squadrons about the drove them against the flank of Jelal-ed-Din’s troops of the center. He had cut off the wing by the river from the Kharesmian prince.
“The stout hearted but wearying Muhammadans had been rendered helpless by the sagacity of the old Mongol, and by maneuvering as perfect as the final moves of a check-mate. And the end came swiftly, inexorably. Jelal-ed-Din made a last and hopeless charge against the horsemen of the guard, and tried to withdraw his men toward the river. He was followed up, his squadrons, broken; Bela Noyon pressed in upon him, and when he gained the steep bank of the Indus at last, he had around him no more than seven hundred followers.
“Realizing that the end had come, he mounted a fresh horse, rid himself of his armor, and with only his sword and bow and a quiver of arrows, he forced his charger over the edge of the bank, plunging into the swift current, and making for the distant shore.
“Genghis Khan had given orders that the prince was to be taken alive. The Mongols had drawn in upon the last Kharesmians and the Khan lashed his horse through the fighting to watch the rider he had seen leap from the twenty-foot bank. For a while he gazed in silence at Jelal-ed-Din. Putting his finger to his lips he uttered an ungrudged exclamation of praise.
“‘Fortunate should be the father of such a son!’
“Though he could admire the daring of the Kharesmian prince, he did not intend to spare Jelal-ed-Din. Some of his Mongols wished to try to swim after their foeman, but the Khan would not allow this. He watched Jelal-ed-Din reach the far bank, in spite of current and waves. The next day he sent a tuman in pursuit where the river could be crossed, giving this task to Bela Noyon, the same officers who had led a division over the cliff paths to the Kharesmian camp.
“Bela Noyon ravaged Multan and Lahore, picked up the trail of the fugitive, but lost him among the multitudes upon the way to Delhi. The oppressive heat astonished the men from the Gobi plateau and the noyon turned back at length, saying to the Khan:
“‘The heat of this place slays men, and the water is neither fresh nor clear.’
“So India-all except this northern segment-was spared the Mongol conquest. Jelal-ed-Din survived, but his moment had passed. He fought against the horde again, but as a partisan, an adventurer without a country.
salimansar52@gmail.com
THE NEWS
A banker by profession, Salim Ansar has a passion for history and historic books. His personal library already boasts a treasure trove of over 7,000 rare and unique books.
Every week, we shall take a leaf from one such book and treat you to a little taste of history.
BOOK NAME: The Mongol Empire Its Rise & Legacy
AUTHOR: Michael Prawdin
PUBLISHER: George Allen & Unwin Ltd - London
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 1941
The following excerpt has been taken from Pages: 171 — 176
“Seven hundred years ago a man almost conquered to earth. He made himself master of half the known world, and inspired humankind with a fear that lasted for generations. In the course of his life he was given many names — the Mighty Manslayer, the Scourge of God, the Perfect Warrior, and the Master of Thrones and Crowns. He is better known to us as Genghis Khan.”
THE BATTLE ON THE INDUS IN THE YEAR 1220
“There was little time for anything except action that eventful autumn. Herat and the other cities rose against the conquerors. Jelal-ed-Din was mustering an army in the east — so messages from the corps of observation along the Hindu Kush reported. Genghis Khan was planning to send Tuli, his most dependable leader, after the Kharesmian prince, when he heard of the rising in Herat. Instead, he sent Tuli west into Khorassan with several divisions.
“Genghis Khan took the field with 60,000 men to find and destroy the new Kharesmian army. He found in his path the strong city of Bamiyan in the Koh-i-Baba ranges. He settled down to invest it, sending the greater part of his forces under another Orkhon to meet Jelal-ed-Din.
“In due course couriers arrived at Bamiyan with word that Jelal-ed-Din had 60,000 men with him — that the Mongol general had come in contact with him, and had avoided several attempts of the Kharesmians to ambush him. Scouts were watching the movements of the redoubtable prince.
“What had happened was that an Afghan army had joined Jelal-ed-Din in this crisis, doubling his strength. Word came in not long after that the Turks and Afghans had defeated the Mongol Orkhon, driving his men into the mountains.
“Genghis Khan turned with new fury to the city before him. The defenders had laid bare all the district, even removing the large stones that could be used in siege engines. The Mongols had not the usual equipment with them, and their wooden towers, raised against the walls, were fired by arrows and flaming naphtha — until the cattle were slaughtered and their hides used to cover the wood frames. The Khan ordered an assault-the storm that is not to be abandoned until the city is taken. At this point one of his grandsons, who had followed him under the walls, was killed. The old Mongol ordered the body of the child-that he had liked for his courage-to be carried back to the tents.
“He urged on the assault, and, throwing off his helmet, pushed through his ranks until he was the head of a storming party. They gained footing in a breach, and Bamiyan fell to them not long after. Every living being was slain within its walls, and mosques and palaces pulled down. Even the Mongols spoke of Bamiyas as Mou-baligh, the City of Sorrow.
“But Genghis Khan left it at once to assemble his scattered divisions. They were feeling their way toward him through the hills, not much the worse for their drubbing. The Khan rallied them, and praised their devotion. Instead of blaming the unhappy Orkhon who had been worsted by Jeal-ed-Din, he rode back with him over the scene of the action, asking what had happened and pointing out the mistakes he had made.
“The Kharesmian prince did not prove himself as able in victory as he had been sturdy in defeat. He had his moment of exultation when his men tortured to death the Mongol prisoners and divided up the captured horses and weapons; but the Afghans quarreled with his officers and left him.
“Genghis Khan was on the march against him, after detaching an army to watch the movements of the Afghans. Jelal-ed-Din retreated east to Ghazna, but the Mongols were hard after him. He sent messengers to summon new allies, but these found that the Mongols had guarded the mountain passes. With his thirty thousand men Jelal-ed-Din hurried down through the foothills and out upon the valley of the Indus.
“His hope was to cross the river and league himself with the sultans of Delhi. But the Mongols, who had been five days behind him at Ghazna, were now within half a day’s ride. Genghis Khan had barely allowed his men to dismount to cook their food.
“Desperate now, the Kharesmian prince hastened to the river, found that he had come to a place where the Indus was too swift and deep for the crossing, and turned at bay, his left flank protected by a mountain ridge, his right by a bend of the river. The chivalry of Islam, hunted out of its own lands, prepared to measure its strength against the inexorable Mongol. Jelal-ed-Din ordered all the boats along the bank to be destroyed, so his men would not think of fleeing. His position was strong, but he must hold it or be annihilated.
“At dawn the Mongols advanced all along the line. They had emerged out of the darkness in formation, Genghis Khan with his standard, and the ten thousand cavalry of the imperial guard in reserve behind the center. These, at first, were not engaged.
“The impetuous Kharesmian prince was the first to send his men forward. His right wing-always the strongest division in a Muhammadan army of that day — under Emir Malik skirmished with the left of the Khan, and drove home a charge along the bank of the Indus that forced the Mongols back at this point. They scattered into squadrons as usual, reformed under one of the Khan’s sons, and were forced back again.
“On their right, the Mongols had been checked by the barrier of the lofty and barren ridges, and here they halted. Jelal-ed-Din detached forces from this part of his line to aid the advancing right wing of Emir Malik. And later in the day he, withdrew still more squadrons from the defenders of the mountain to strengthen his center.
“Determined to risk everything in one cast of fortune, he charged with the elite of his host, straight into the Mongol center, cutting through to the standard, seeking the Khan. The old Mongol was not there. His horse had been killed under him and he had mounted another and gone elsewhere.
“It was a moment of apparent victory for the Kharesmian, and the ululation of the Muhammadans rose above the din of beating hoops, the grinding of steel and the cries of the wounded.
“The Mongol center, badly shaken by the charge, kept on fighting stubbornly. Genghis Khan had noticed the withdrawal of nearly all the Kharesmian left wing, posted on the heights. He ordered a tuman commander, Bela Noyon, to go with the guides he had been questioning and to cross the mountain at all costs. It was the old turning movement of the Mongols, the standard-sweep.
“The Noyon with his men followed the guides into sheer gorges and ascended cliff paths that seemed impassable. Some of the warriors fell into the chasms, but the greater part gained the ridge late in the day and descended on the remnant of men left by Jela-ed-Din to protect this point. Over the mountain barrier the Kharesmian flank was turned. Bela Noyon charged into the enemy camp.
“Meanwhile Genghis Khan had taken the leadership of his ten thousand heavy cavalry, and had gone-not to the menaced center, but to the defeated left wing. His charge against Emir Malik’s forces routed them. Wasting no time in following them up, the Khan swung his squadrons about the drove them against the flank of Jelal-ed-Din’s troops of the center. He had cut off the wing by the river from the Kharesmian prince.
“The stout hearted but wearying Muhammadans had been rendered helpless by the sagacity of the old Mongol, and by maneuvering as perfect as the final moves of a check-mate. And the end came swiftly, inexorably. Jelal-ed-Din made a last and hopeless charge against the horsemen of the guard, and tried to withdraw his men toward the river. He was followed up, his squadrons, broken; Bela Noyon pressed in upon him, and when he gained the steep bank of the Indus at last, he had around him no more than seven hundred followers.
“Realizing that the end had come, he mounted a fresh horse, rid himself of his armor, and with only his sword and bow and a quiver of arrows, he forced his charger over the edge of the bank, plunging into the swift current, and making for the distant shore.
“Genghis Khan had given orders that the prince was to be taken alive. The Mongols had drawn in upon the last Kharesmians and the Khan lashed his horse through the fighting to watch the rider he had seen leap from the twenty-foot bank. For a while he gazed in silence at Jelal-ed-Din. Putting his finger to his lips he uttered an ungrudged exclamation of praise.
“‘Fortunate should be the father of such a son!’
“Though he could admire the daring of the Kharesmian prince, he did not intend to spare Jelal-ed-Din. Some of his Mongols wished to try to swim after their foeman, but the Khan would not allow this. He watched Jelal-ed-Din reach the far bank, in spite of current and waves. The next day he sent a tuman in pursuit where the river could be crossed, giving this task to Bela Noyon, the same officers who had led a division over the cliff paths to the Kharesmian camp.
“Bela Noyon ravaged Multan and Lahore, picked up the trail of the fugitive, but lost him among the multitudes upon the way to Delhi. The oppressive heat astonished the men from the Gobi plateau and the noyon turned back at length, saying to the Khan:
“‘The heat of this place slays men, and the water is neither fresh nor clear.’
“So India-all except this northern segment-was spared the Mongol conquest. Jelal-ed-Din survived, but his moment had passed. He fought against the horde again, but as a partisan, an adventurer without a country.
salimansar52@gmail.com
THE NEWS
Seminar against killing of Hazara people in Balochistan
Govt urged to carry out targeted operation against religious extremists
By Hussain Kashif
LAHORE: Progressive people of Punjab and Hazara passed a joint resolution demanding the government carry out a ‘targeted operation’ like Karachi against the religious extremists involved in killing of Hazara Shiites in Balochistan, which is the only way to resolve this problem in the province.
Punjab Lok Sangat (PLS) in cooperation with Awami Party Pakistan and Institute for Peace & Secular Studies organized a seminar against the brutal killing and massacres of Hazara Shiites living in Balochistan since hundreds of years here at Lahore Press Club on Thursday. Senior journalist (Daily Times’ Editor) Rashed Rahman presided over the seminar while a representative of the Hazara community from Balochistan Muhammmad Ahmad Kohzar and PLS patron Amjad Saleem Minhas were the chief guests. Activists and workers of different non-governmental organizations, political parties including Communist Mazdoor Kisan Party, Awami Jamhoori Forum, Labour Party Pakistan, Anjuman-e-Taraqi Pasand Musanafeen and others also participated in the seminar in a large number.
The participants passed a resolution demanding the government to establish its writ in the province and carry out a targeted operation against religious extremists to stop the brutal killing of Hazara Shiites in Balochistan where more than 0.6 million citizens belonging to the Hazara community were facing a horrible situation since 2001 and hundreds of their members had been killed and burned.
The resolution further demanded the government end the insecurity among the Hazaras by taking action against the religious extremists in Balochistan and that the Pakistani establishment should stop its backing to these extremists (sectarian), who are totally anti-society and humanity, for using them for their own purposes of continuing the power-game in the country in general and in Balochistan specifically.
Earlier, addressing the gathering in his key speech, Rashed Rahman said that the Hazara community in Balochistan was one of the most peaceful and hardworking and was being targeted for the only purpose of strengthening Mullahism there. He said that the Hazara people were living in Balochistan since hundreds of years so they should be treated on equal basis as they were also the sons of the same soil like the Baloch and the Pashtuns.
Talking about the Afghan war and the Balochistan issue, Rashed Rahman said that politicians like Imran Khan who were saying that the war against terror was an American-imposed war were wrong as Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the first person who directed General Naseerullah Babar at that time to prepare the Mujahiddin against Afghan President Sardar Muhammad Daoud Khan in 1973 because he (Bhutto) had a fear of his (Daoud) support to insurgents in Balochistan resisting the military operation. Later, some of these Pakistani-promoted Afghan leaders like Rabbani, Mujaddadi, Hekmatyar played prominent roles in the Afghan wars, he added.
Rashed Rehman further said that Tehreek-e-Taliban in Pakistan was the result of the Pakistani military’s policy of exporting jihad to Afghanistan. He clarified that ‘good’ Taliban and ‘bad’ Taliban were meaningless terms as all Taliban factions had a nexus and were linked to al Qaeda. He said that Punjab was a power centre of the establishment, representing 62 percent of the population of the country but unfortunately they were unaware about the affairs of Balochistan so there was a need to educate them on the issues, which was the only way to bring change in policies, politics or in the social order.
Hazara representative Muhammad Ahmad Kohzar while addressing the gathering clarified that the Hazara community of Balochistan had no link with the Hazara region (Abbottabad area). They (the Hazara people) are Turk-Mongol and were living in Balochistan since the age of Chengiz Khan, a Mongol Emperor, and most of them are religiously Shia Muslims, he confirmed. He also informed that more than 0.6 million Hazara people were living in Quetta city alone, while a good number of his community was in Afghanistan and Iran.
Kohzar told the audience that the Hazara people were being victimized in Balochistan since 2001 but they were peaceful people so would not want any clash with anyone or bloodshed on the streets of Quetta. He said that the Pakistani establishment was involved in the sectarian war in Balochistan and using extremists against the peaceful people of the area. He confirmed that the Baloch or Pashtuns of Balochistan had no problem with the Hazara people. He alleged that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a sectarian extremist organization backed by the establishment was directly involved in the killings of Hazara people and due to such victimisation, thousands of his people (Hazara) had left the country.
He emphasized that the government should establish its writ in Balochistan starting a ‘targeted operation’ against the sectarian culprits in Quetta, Mastung, Kharotabad and other districts. He further urged the government to change its foreign policy, avoiding considering Afghanistan as its province and should maintain good relations with Afghanistan and other neighbouring countries.
Amjad Saleem of PLS said that religious victimisation was increasing in Balochistan because of the neglect of the government and extremists had become more powerful against the state there. He assured the Hazara people that all progressive elements in Punjab and other parts of the country were fully in support so they should not consider themselves as alone. Syeda Deep, Shazia Khan, Irfan Comrade, Yousuf Punjabi, Zahid Hassan, Tahir Malik, Rafi Jamal were also present in the seminar while Khalid Mehmood of Awami Jamhoori Forum hosted the seminar.
Daily Times
By Hussain Kashif
LAHORE: Progressive people of Punjab and Hazara passed a joint resolution demanding the government carry out a ‘targeted operation’ like Karachi against the religious extremists involved in killing of Hazara Shiites in Balochistan, which is the only way to resolve this problem in the province.
Punjab Lok Sangat (PLS) in cooperation with Awami Party Pakistan and Institute for Peace & Secular Studies organized a seminar against the brutal killing and massacres of Hazara Shiites living in Balochistan since hundreds of years here at Lahore Press Club on Thursday. Senior journalist (Daily Times’ Editor) Rashed Rahman presided over the seminar while a representative of the Hazara community from Balochistan Muhammmad Ahmad Kohzar and PLS patron Amjad Saleem Minhas were the chief guests. Activists and workers of different non-governmental organizations, political parties including Communist Mazdoor Kisan Party, Awami Jamhoori Forum, Labour Party Pakistan, Anjuman-e-Taraqi Pasand Musanafeen and others also participated in the seminar in a large number.
The participants passed a resolution demanding the government to establish its writ in the province and carry out a targeted operation against religious extremists to stop the brutal killing of Hazara Shiites in Balochistan where more than 0.6 million citizens belonging to the Hazara community were facing a horrible situation since 2001 and hundreds of their members had been killed and burned.
The resolution further demanded the government end the insecurity among the Hazaras by taking action against the religious extremists in Balochistan and that the Pakistani establishment should stop its backing to these extremists (sectarian), who are totally anti-society and humanity, for using them for their own purposes of continuing the power-game in the country in general and in Balochistan specifically.
Earlier, addressing the gathering in his key speech, Rashed Rahman said that the Hazara community in Balochistan was one of the most peaceful and hardworking and was being targeted for the only purpose of strengthening Mullahism there. He said that the Hazara people were living in Balochistan since hundreds of years so they should be treated on equal basis as they were also the sons of the same soil like the Baloch and the Pashtuns.
Talking about the Afghan war and the Balochistan issue, Rashed Rahman said that politicians like Imran Khan who were saying that the war against terror was an American-imposed war were wrong as Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the first person who directed General Naseerullah Babar at that time to prepare the Mujahiddin against Afghan President Sardar Muhammad Daoud Khan in 1973 because he (Bhutto) had a fear of his (Daoud) support to insurgents in Balochistan resisting the military operation. Later, some of these Pakistani-promoted Afghan leaders like Rabbani, Mujaddadi, Hekmatyar played prominent roles in the Afghan wars, he added.
Rashed Rehman further said that Tehreek-e-Taliban in Pakistan was the result of the Pakistani military’s policy of exporting jihad to Afghanistan. He clarified that ‘good’ Taliban and ‘bad’ Taliban were meaningless terms as all Taliban factions had a nexus and were linked to al Qaeda. He said that Punjab was a power centre of the establishment, representing 62 percent of the population of the country but unfortunately they were unaware about the affairs of Balochistan so there was a need to educate them on the issues, which was the only way to bring change in policies, politics or in the social order.
Hazara representative Muhammad Ahmad Kohzar while addressing the gathering clarified that the Hazara community of Balochistan had no link with the Hazara region (Abbottabad area). They (the Hazara people) are Turk-Mongol and were living in Balochistan since the age of Chengiz Khan, a Mongol Emperor, and most of them are religiously Shia Muslims, he confirmed. He also informed that more than 0.6 million Hazara people were living in Quetta city alone, while a good number of his community was in Afghanistan and Iran.
Kohzar told the audience that the Hazara people were being victimized in Balochistan since 2001 but they were peaceful people so would not want any clash with anyone or bloodshed on the streets of Quetta. He said that the Pakistani establishment was involved in the sectarian war in Balochistan and using extremists against the peaceful people of the area. He confirmed that the Baloch or Pashtuns of Balochistan had no problem with the Hazara people. He alleged that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a sectarian extremist organization backed by the establishment was directly involved in the killings of Hazara people and due to such victimisation, thousands of his people (Hazara) had left the country.
He emphasized that the government should establish its writ in Balochistan starting a ‘targeted operation’ against the sectarian culprits in Quetta, Mastung, Kharotabad and other districts. He further urged the government to change its foreign policy, avoiding considering Afghanistan as its province and should maintain good relations with Afghanistan and other neighbouring countries.
Amjad Saleem of PLS said that religious victimisation was increasing in Balochistan because of the neglect of the government and extremists had become more powerful against the state there. He assured the Hazara people that all progressive elements in Punjab and other parts of the country were fully in support so they should not consider themselves as alone. Syeda Deep, Shazia Khan, Irfan Comrade, Yousuf Punjabi, Zahid Hassan, Tahir Malik, Rafi Jamal were also present in the seminar while Khalid Mehmood of Awami Jamhoori Forum hosted the seminar.
Daily Times
Would-be suicide bomber killed in Quetta
By: Bari Baloch | Published: November 06, 2011
QUETTA - A would-be suicide bomber was killed when his suicide vest exploded near an Imambargah in Hazara town of Quetta on Saturday while a convoy of Frontier Corps narrowly escaped a remote controlled bomb attack in the outskirts of provincial metropolis.
According to police sources, a suspected militant who was heading towards Imambargah Baqir located near Kirani Road of Hazara town, skidded and a huge blast occurred that rocked entire locality. As a result, the suspected terrorist was killed and his body parts scattered around the area. Luckily, no other person was hurt in the blast.
“It was a suicide blast as bomber was heading towards Imambargah to target it when his suicide vest exploded prematurely,” DIG police Quetta Hamid Shakeel told reporters.
Another police official seeking anonymity said the accused wanted to plant explosives to Imambargah when these went off. “The upper portion of the accused body has not been distorted,” he added.
Police and other law enforcement agencies rushed to the site soon after the incident and cordoned off the area.
Sources said the body parts of alleged suicide bomber were gathered and he was identified as Pervez Elahi, a resident of Dera Murad Jamali.
Bomb Disposal Squad sources said about 3 Kg explosives were used in the blast adding, that no material such as ball bearing, often used in suicide blast, were found in the vest.
Police and other law enforcement agencies were investigation the incident.
In another incident, a convoy of Frontier Corps Balochistan narrowly escaped a bomb attack at Mian Gundi area, in the outskirts of Quetta.
Sources said miscreants had planted explosives along the road which were detonated through a remote controlled device when FC convoy were passing through. No loss of life was reported except minor damage to a vehicle.
THE NATION
QUETTA - A would-be suicide bomber was killed when his suicide vest exploded near an Imambargah in Hazara town of Quetta on Saturday while a convoy of Frontier Corps narrowly escaped a remote controlled bomb attack in the outskirts of provincial metropolis.
According to police sources, a suspected militant who was heading towards Imambargah Baqir located near Kirani Road of Hazara town, skidded and a huge blast occurred that rocked entire locality. As a result, the suspected terrorist was killed and his body parts scattered around the area. Luckily, no other person was hurt in the blast.
“It was a suicide blast as bomber was heading towards Imambargah to target it when his suicide vest exploded prematurely,” DIG police Quetta Hamid Shakeel told reporters.
Another police official seeking anonymity said the accused wanted to plant explosives to Imambargah when these went off. “The upper portion of the accused body has not been distorted,” he added.
Police and other law enforcement agencies rushed to the site soon after the incident and cordoned off the area.
Sources said the body parts of alleged suicide bomber were gathered and he was identified as Pervez Elahi, a resident of Dera Murad Jamali.
Bomb Disposal Squad sources said about 3 Kg explosives were used in the blast adding, that no material such as ball bearing, often used in suicide blast, were found in the vest.
Police and other law enforcement agencies were investigation the incident.
In another incident, a convoy of Frontier Corps Balochistan narrowly escaped a bomb attack at Mian Gundi area, in the outskirts of Quetta.
Sources said miscreants had planted explosives along the road which were detonated through a remote controlled device when FC convoy were passing through. No loss of life was reported except minor damage to a vehicle.
THE NATION
MNA calls for fresh elections in Balochistan
Mumtaz Alvi
Sunday, November 06, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Nasir Ali Shah, a treasury bench legislator on Saturday called for fresh elections in Balochistan after the imposition of governor’s rule there, alleging the PPP-led coalition provincial government had miserably failed to deliver.
Adopting a unique way of protest against the provincial government, the lawmaker from Quetta linked his return to the National Assembly to the removal of the govt of Chief Minister Muhammad Aslam Raisani’s, whom he labelled as a king. He said that he sits outside parliament House, when the assembly is in session.
“Raisani is heading a province that faces multiple challenges, and on the top of all, is law and order and terrorism. But he spends most of his time in Islamabad. This shows how committed and serious he is towards provincial matters,” he said.
Shah also proposed to this correspondent to study the statements of the chief minister, which he had been issuing after the occurrence of terrorist acts in the province.
He expressed the resolve to continue his agitation as long as the incumbent set-up remained imposed on the troubled Balochistan province.
When asked if there was any positive signal from Islamabad in the wake of his boycott, he replied in the negative. However, he added Interior Minister A Rehman Malik recently paid a visit to Quetta, which he said was uncalled for.
“My demand is removal of the present provincial government, imposition of governor’s rule and holding of fresh election in Balochistan and I will stick to it. People are being killed and terrorists are free to get away with it, as and when it pleases them,” Shah lamented.
He strongly believed the only solution to fighting compounding problems in the province was to hold fresh elections. He pointed out Balochistan-based political parties had also started endorsing his demand and in this context, he referred to the Balochistan National Party’s stance.
Replying to a question whether it would be prudent to hold a provincial assembly election, when there was a talk of general elections sometime next year, he counter-questioned, “Should we let innocent people being killed till that time. There is a serious governance problem, which must be addressed through polls.”
He noted only the other day, eight mutilated bodies were found from interior Balochistan, whereas the situation in Quetta and elsewhere was also alarming.
Shah contended the killing of Hazara people has continued unabated since 2001 and it intensified in recent years but the provincial government lacked political will to take this challenge head on.
THE NEWS
Sunday, November 06, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Nasir Ali Shah, a treasury bench legislator on Saturday called for fresh elections in Balochistan after the imposition of governor’s rule there, alleging the PPP-led coalition provincial government had miserably failed to deliver.
Adopting a unique way of protest against the provincial government, the lawmaker from Quetta linked his return to the National Assembly to the removal of the govt of Chief Minister Muhammad Aslam Raisani’s, whom he labelled as a king. He said that he sits outside parliament House, when the assembly is in session.
“Raisani is heading a province that faces multiple challenges, and on the top of all, is law and order and terrorism. But he spends most of his time in Islamabad. This shows how committed and serious he is towards provincial matters,” he said.
Shah also proposed to this correspondent to study the statements of the chief minister, which he had been issuing after the occurrence of terrorist acts in the province.
He expressed the resolve to continue his agitation as long as the incumbent set-up remained imposed on the troubled Balochistan province.
When asked if there was any positive signal from Islamabad in the wake of his boycott, he replied in the negative. However, he added Interior Minister A Rehman Malik recently paid a visit to Quetta, which he said was uncalled for.
“My demand is removal of the present provincial government, imposition of governor’s rule and holding of fresh election in Balochistan and I will stick to it. People are being killed and terrorists are free to get away with it, as and when it pleases them,” Shah lamented.
He strongly believed the only solution to fighting compounding problems in the province was to hold fresh elections. He pointed out Balochistan-based political parties had also started endorsing his demand and in this context, he referred to the Balochistan National Party’s stance.
Replying to a question whether it would be prudent to hold a provincial assembly election, when there was a talk of general elections sometime next year, he counter-questioned, “Should we let innocent people being killed till that time. There is a serious governance problem, which must be addressed through polls.”
He noted only the other day, eight mutilated bodies were found from interior Balochistan, whereas the situation in Quetta and elsewhere was also alarming.
Shah contended the killing of Hazara people has continued unabated since 2001 and it intensified in recent years but the provincial government lacked political will to take this challenge head on.
THE NEWS
کوئٹہ ،’خود کش حملہ آور‘ ہلاک
آخری وقت اشاعت: ہفتہ 5 نومبر 2011 , 12:06 GMT 17:06 PST
کوئٹہ میں ہزارہ ٹاؤن میں ایک امام بارگاہ پر حملہ کرنے کی کوشش میں خود کش حملہ آور ہلاک ہو گیا ہے۔
کوئٹہ سے بی بی سی کے نامہ نگار ایوب ترین کےمطابق سنیچر کو کوئٹہ کے ہزارہ ٹاؤ ن میں ایک امام بارگاہ کے قریب دھماکہ ہوا ہے جس میں اب تک کی اطلاعات کے مطابق ایک شخص ہلاک ہوا ہے۔
ڈپٹی انسپکٹرجنر ل پولیس (آپریشن ) کوئٹہ حامد شکیل کےمطابق دھماکے میں ہلاک ہونے والا خود کش حملہ آور تھا جس کو امام بارگاہ پہنچنے سے قبل سیکورٹی فورسز نے روکنے کی کوشش کی تو اس نے تواس خود کو دھماکے سے اڑا لیا۔
تاہم ابھی تک دھماکے میں زخمی ہونے والوں کی تعداد کے بارے میں کوئی معلومات سامنے نہیں آئی ہیں۔
یاد رہے کہ عید الفطر کے دن بھی مری آباد علمدار روڈ پر ایک خودکش حملہ آور نے اس وقت خود کو اڑایا لیا تھا جب لوگ نماز عید پڑنے کے بعد واپس گھروں کی طرف جا رہے تھے۔
دھماکے میں تیرہ افراد ہلاک ہوئے تھے جن میں بچے اور خواتین بھی شامل تھیں۔ جن میں سے اکثرکا تعلق شعیہ مسلک اور ہزارہ قوم سے تھا۔
BBC URDU
کوئٹہ میں ہزارہ ٹاؤن میں ایک امام بارگاہ پر حملہ کرنے کی کوشش میں خود کش حملہ آور ہلاک ہو گیا ہے۔
کوئٹہ سے بی بی سی کے نامہ نگار ایوب ترین کےمطابق سنیچر کو کوئٹہ کے ہزارہ ٹاؤ ن میں ایک امام بارگاہ کے قریب دھماکہ ہوا ہے جس میں اب تک کی اطلاعات کے مطابق ایک شخص ہلاک ہوا ہے۔
ڈپٹی انسپکٹرجنر ل پولیس (آپریشن ) کوئٹہ حامد شکیل کےمطابق دھماکے میں ہلاک ہونے والا خود کش حملہ آور تھا جس کو امام بارگاہ پہنچنے سے قبل سیکورٹی فورسز نے روکنے کی کوشش کی تو اس نے تواس خود کو دھماکے سے اڑا لیا۔
تاہم ابھی تک دھماکے میں زخمی ہونے والوں کی تعداد کے بارے میں کوئی معلومات سامنے نہیں آئی ہیں۔
یاد رہے کہ عید الفطر کے دن بھی مری آباد علمدار روڈ پر ایک خودکش حملہ آور نے اس وقت خود کو اڑایا لیا تھا جب لوگ نماز عید پڑنے کے بعد واپس گھروں کی طرف جا رہے تھے۔
دھماکے میں تیرہ افراد ہلاک ہوئے تھے جن میں بچے اور خواتین بھی شامل تھیں۔ جن میں سے اکثرکا تعلق شعیہ مسلک اور ہزارہ قوم سے تھا۔
BBC URDU
Pictures of Failed Suicide Bomber (Warning: Contain disturbing pictures)
Suicide Bomber who wanted to bomb Hazara Town, blew himself prematurely killing himself...
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