Thursday, January 30, 2014
Balochistan bleeding
Dr Mohammad Taqi
January 30, 2014
Is the chief minister not aware that the Hazaras cannot move freely between Hazara Town and Mariabad, Quetta without risking executions? That a people are being ghettoised in the 21st century on his watch seems completely lost on Dr Baloch
The beleaguered ShiaHazara community of Quetta has dug yet another mass grave for its loved ones slaughtered in the Mastung bombing by the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) as they were returning from a pilgrimage in Iraq and Iran. The Hazaras, one of the most peaceful people in Pakistan, had just commemorated the anniversary of the massacre perpetrated on them by the LeJvia twin suicide bombings last January in Quetta. A hundred HazaraShias died in that attack. Before thatthe LeJ had executed 26 HazaraShias in an ambush in Mastung in September 2011 and another 15 in Quetta in June 2012 as they were returning from a pilgrimage. It seems nothing has changed for the hapless Hazaras. The then provincial and federal governments led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had promised action against the LeJ just as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) has done now. One will have to see it to believe it. Till then, the HazaraShias are on their own.
The cavalier attitude of the Balochistan chief ministers has perhaps also remained the same. When asked about the plight of the HazaraShias, the former chief ministerAslamRaisani offered to send them a truckload of tissue papers. The current chief minister, DrMalikBaloch, was not as callous as MrRaisani and did show up at the peaceful protest organised by the HazaraShias. However, his proposed — and later enforced — solution to the ongoing tragedy was just as inconsiderate. DrBaloch said that the pilgrim buses should stop using the land route through Mastung and go to Karachi instead. He suggested a ferry service between Pakistan and Iran with the voyage starting preferably from Karachi. The television anchor asking him the question might not have known but it is just not possible that DrBaloch is not aware that the shortest route from Quetta to Karachi also goes through Mastung. Whatever the easiest way to Karachi may be, DrBaloch, a supposedly enlightened and progressive leader, was clearly taking a detour around responsibility. What does he have to say about the ShiaHazara vendors getting killed in Quetta? Is the chief minister not aware that the Hazaras cannot move freely betweenHazara Town and Mariabad, Quetta without risking executions? That a people are being ghettoised in the 21st century on his watch seems completely lost on DrBaloch.....Continue Reading...
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
The boy who lived: Mastung attack survivors find solace in unexpected compatriot
By Rabia Ali
Published: January 29, 2014
Eleven-year-old boy lifts the spirits of survivors at hospital.
KARACHI: It is at times of severe distress that a person’s true substance really comes to the fore. It is at these times too that events happen that inspire us to believe there is still hope for this world. One such tale is that of one of the survivors of the Mastung bus bombing, Muhammad Ibtihaj, who has taken up the task of lifting the spirits of the other injured.
The 11-year-old chubby faced with a cute smile can hardly be found at his bed in the children’s ward at the Aga Khan Hospital where he is being treated for scars on his right side of his face – courtesy of the explosion. Rather, the boy takes slow steps, climbs up the stairs and walks up to the ward where seven adult pilgrims are being treated for their burns and other crippling injuries. Unaware of the loved ones he has lost in the incident, Ibtihaj has become a source of welcome relief for the other injured.
“I want to help them because they are in trouble,” smiles the boy shyly, as he shows the thumbs up sign to one patient and then hugs him tight.
“He is more than a brother. His strength keeps us alive,” whispers Hussain Saadat, one of those injured in the explosion, as his eyes fill with tears.
Clad in a blue patient’s shirt, white trousers, and a muffler he was wearing when the attack occurred, Ibtihaj, whose name means happiness in Arabic, has certainly become a source of joy for those battling for their lives. He sits with them, laughs and jokes and even complains to his father when they don’t eat.
Zakir Hussain, who has lost both his legs, shakes his hands and smiles, “We became friends on the bus and now we are here together.”
The boy does not show signs of being traumatised by the tragic incident, and only says this about it: “They should be punished – those who did bad things to us.”
A student of fifth grade at the APSC Seven Streams School in Quetta, the boy and his sister came into the limelight after their picture in school uniforms, winking and rolling out their tongues, was shared and circulated by many on the social media, including Pakistan Peoples Party’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Looking at the picture now in his elder brother’s phone, Ibtihaj, who is a Barcelona football fan, and has four Karate belts, recalls, “I like this picture. It was taken five months ago.”
Also present at the hospital is Ibtihaj’s father, Jawad Hazara, who had stayed behind while his family had gone for the pilgrimage. A businessman by profession, Hazara is visibly traumatised by the tragedy he has faced. “Imagine a man’s condition when he can’t recognise his own family. I could not discern the burnt bodies of my loved ones.”
Ibtihaj’s elder brother, Mairaj, was one of the other lucky survivors of the incident. They had both been sitting at the back of the bus when the explosion occurred. This is probably what saved their life.
“He is very brave. I’m more scared than him. He wants to join the air force when he grows up, but now impressed by his behaviour, I want him to work for humanity.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2014.
Published: January 29, 2014
Eleven-year-old boy lifts the spirits of survivors at hospital.
KARACHI: It is at times of severe distress that a person’s true substance really comes to the fore. It is at these times too that events happen that inspire us to believe there is still hope for this world. One such tale is that of one of the survivors of the Mastung bus bombing, Muhammad Ibtihaj, who has taken up the task of lifting the spirits of the other injured.
The 11-year-old chubby faced with a cute smile can hardly be found at his bed in the children’s ward at the Aga Khan Hospital where he is being treated for scars on his right side of his face – courtesy of the explosion. Rather, the boy takes slow steps, climbs up the stairs and walks up to the ward where seven adult pilgrims are being treated for their burns and other crippling injuries. Unaware of the loved ones he has lost in the incident, Ibtihaj has become a source of welcome relief for the other injured.
“I want to help them because they are in trouble,” smiles the boy shyly, as he shows the thumbs up sign to one patient and then hugs him tight.
“He is more than a brother. His strength keeps us alive,” whispers Hussain Saadat, one of those injured in the explosion, as his eyes fill with tears.
Clad in a blue patient’s shirt, white trousers, and a muffler he was wearing when the attack occurred, Ibtihaj, whose name means happiness in Arabic, has certainly become a source of joy for those battling for their lives. He sits with them, laughs and jokes and even complains to his father when they don’t eat.
Zakir Hussain, who has lost both his legs, shakes his hands and smiles, “We became friends on the bus and now we are here together.”
The boy does not show signs of being traumatised by the tragic incident, and only says this about it: “They should be punished – those who did bad things to us.”
A student of fifth grade at the APSC Seven Streams School in Quetta, the boy and his sister came into the limelight after their picture in school uniforms, winking and rolling out their tongues, was shared and circulated by many on the social media, including Pakistan Peoples Party’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Looking at the picture now in his elder brother’s phone, Ibtihaj, who is a Barcelona football fan, and has four Karate belts, recalls, “I like this picture. It was taken five months ago.”
Also present at the hospital is Ibtihaj’s father, Jawad Hazara, who had stayed behind while his family had gone for the pilgrimage. A businessman by profession, Hazara is visibly traumatised by the tragedy he has faced. “Imagine a man’s condition when he can’t recognise his own family. I could not discern the burnt bodies of my loved ones.”
Ibtihaj’s elder brother, Mairaj, was one of the other lucky survivors of the incident. They had both been sitting at the back of the bus when the explosion occurred. This is probably what saved their life.
“He is very brave. I’m more scared than him. He wants to join the air force when he grows up, but now impressed by his behaviour, I want him to work for humanity.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2014.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Letter to LEJ by a Young Kafir
January 26, 2014 · by shahwar hasan · in Editorial
Assalam-0-alaikum and good morning MUSALMAN. It’s me. Do you recognize me? My name is Kafar. I hope by now you do know who I am. It’s been a while that i wanted to write to you and share with you what I am feeling right now, and probably give you some advise as well, just in case you’ve become lesser and lesser conscious about me due to army’s recent (Dramatic) tanning of your’s and by dramatic I mean to say FAKE but nevertheless it looked real and therefore i felt compelled to write to you.
Let me give you a recall. You’ve already killed 2000+ members of my family ranging from a 3 year old kid to 60-70 year olds, but I haven’t acted seriously yet and therefore i think you owe me your life for that. I have been patient, I’ve been tolerant. I’ve gulped all my anger. You know why? Because I don’t think you deserve my wrath. You are just too pathetic. You come and kill in the name of Islam. What Islam is this? Is this Islam, which you so heroically represent even a religion? Does Islam tell or show you how to blow yourself up and kill a dozen more along with you as well? Does Islam command you to chop off the heads of un-armed civilians? Does Islam teach you to kill women? Does Islam teach you how to torture a captive? Does Islam teach you how to incite violence? Does Islam teach you how to demolish a Mosque with bombs and rockets? NO you ignorant fool. Islam teaches brotherhood. Islam shows how to help someone who’s in need. Islam shows you how to respect each other. Islam teaches you Manliness. Islam teaches you bravery. Islam teaches you how to treat a woman. Islam teaches you to take care of an orphan if you can, not try to turn an innocent into an orphan by killing his/her parents.... Continue Reading ....
Assalam-0-alaikum and good morning MUSALMAN. It’s me. Do you recognize me? My name is Kafar. I hope by now you do know who I am. It’s been a while that i wanted to write to you and share with you what I am feeling right now, and probably give you some advise as well, just in case you’ve become lesser and lesser conscious about me due to army’s recent (Dramatic) tanning of your’s and by dramatic I mean to say FAKE but nevertheless it looked real and therefore i felt compelled to write to you.
Let me give you a recall. You’ve already killed 2000+ members of my family ranging from a 3 year old kid to 60-70 year olds, but I haven’t acted seriously yet and therefore i think you owe me your life for that. I have been patient, I’ve been tolerant. I’ve gulped all my anger. You know why? Because I don’t think you deserve my wrath. You are just too pathetic. You come and kill in the name of Islam. What Islam is this? Is this Islam, which you so heroically represent even a religion? Does Islam tell or show you how to blow yourself up and kill a dozen more along with you as well? Does Islam command you to chop off the heads of un-armed civilians? Does Islam teach you to kill women? Does Islam teach you how to torture a captive? Does Islam teach you how to incite violence? Does Islam teach you how to demolish a Mosque with bombs and rockets? NO you ignorant fool. Islam teaches brotherhood. Islam shows how to help someone who’s in need. Islam shows you how to respect each other. Islam teaches you Manliness. Islam teaches you bravery. Islam teaches you how to treat a woman. Islam teaches you to take care of an orphan if you can, not try to turn an innocent into an orphan by killing his/her parents.... Continue Reading ....
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