Tag Archives: Fundamentalism

Media, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion

Pakistan: Silence has become the mother of all blasphemies. Pakistan’s mullahs and muftis have managed to blur the line between what God says and what they say

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by Mohammed Hanif

Two months ago, after Governor Salmaan Taseer’s murder and the jubilant support for the policeman who killed him, religious scholars in Pakistan told us that since common people don’t know enough about religion they should leave it to those who do – basically anyone with a beard.

Everyone thought it made a cruel kind of sense. So everyone decided to shut up: the Pakistan Peoples party (PPP) government because it wanted to cling to power, liberals in the media because they didn’t want to be the next Taseer. The move to amend the blasphemy law was shelved.

It was an unprecedented victory for Pakistan’s mullah minority. They had told a very noisy and diverse people to shut up and they heard back nothing but silence. After Pakistan’s only Christian federal minister, Shahbaz Bhatti – the bravest man in Islamabad – was murdered on Tuesday, they were back on TV, this time condemning the killing, claiming it was a conspiracy against them, against Islam and against Pakistan. The same folk who had celebrated one murder and told us how not to get murdered were wallowing in self pity. …

Read more : Guardian.co.uk

Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion

An Army Without a Country – by Ahmed Rashid

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Excerpt:

….. As leaders worldwide—from the Pope to Hillary Clinton to Nicolas Sarkozy—strongly condemn Bhatti’s murder, the reaction of the Pakistani government has been vapid. No action has been taken or promises made to curb the freedom of violent extremist groups, who have hailed both murders and who have meanwhile been staging daily street demonstrations in Lahore to demand the death sentence for Raymond Davis, the American CIA agent who is now in Pakistani custody after killing two Pakistani men believed to be agents for the army’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). (Davis was part of a secret team working in the country; the exposure of his activities puts further strain on the uneasy alliance between the US and Pakistan.)

For its part, the army has so far failed to express regret about either Bhatti’s murder or Taseer’s. The army chief General Ashfaq Kayani declined to publicly condemn Taseer’s death or even to issue a public condolence to his family. He told Western ambassadors in January in Islamabad that there were too many soldiers in the ranks who sympathize with the killer, and showed them a scrapbook of photographs of Taseer’s killer being hailed as a hero by fellow police officers. Any public statement, he hinted, could endanger the army’s unity.

Behind this silence lies something more sinister. For decades the army and the ISI have controlled the extremist groups, arming and training them in exchange for their continuing to serve as proxy forces in Afghanistan and Kashmir. But in recent years, the army has lost control of them and they are striking targets of their own. Yet the army has refused to help crack down on its rogue protégés—despite the fact that extremists have increasingly attacked the army and the ISI itself, and at least 2,000 military personnel have died at their hands in the past five years. This is all the more ominous in view of the resources the military commands: half a million men, another half a million reserves, 110 nuclear weapons (according to US media estimates) and one of the largest intelligence agencies in the world, the ISI, which has an estimated 100,000 employees.

If the army has now surrendered any willingness to take on the extremists, the political establishment had already given up long ago. ….

Read more : The New York Review of Book

Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion

When Gen. Zia imposed Arabic

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by Dr. Masood Ashraf

The role of national languages in defining and articulating national identities is a hackneyed subject, but, somehow, the privileging of learning a sacred language has not been explored much in the debates on nationalism. In this brief article, I intend to draw attention to the rise of Arabic studies in Pakistan and its long-term consequences for the Pakistani public sphere.

In his 1983 book Imagined Communities, Benedict Anderson provides three major causes for the waning of the pre-national empires and the rise of modern nation-states. One of the reasons, according to Anderson, was the rise of vernacular languages in place of what were considered the sacred languages, Latin and Arabic included. I have long maintained that Anderson misses the point as he only looks at the official use of these languages and not about the symbolic aspects of their power. In case of Arabic, for example, while it never was the official language of Muslim India, it still remains a language that wields immense symbolic power. …

Read more : ViewPoint

Media, Pakistan, Politics, Religion, Video

Forces of darkness, extremism and intolerance are on the rise in Pakistan. If not curtailed, these forces can soon be threatening the very existence of Pakistan?

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Forces of extremism and intolerance are on the rise in Pakistan. If not curtailed, these forces can soon be threatening the very existence of the state. In this episode of Reporter, Arshad Sharif tries to understand if there can be any permanent solution to this problem, and whether the Bangladesh Model could be a possible solution. Guests: Nazar Mohammad Gondal (Former Federal Minister, PPP), Haroon Rasheed (Political Analyst/Columnist), Zafarullah Khan (Executive Director Centre for Civic Education) and Mushahidullah Khan (Senator, PML-N).

Courtesy: DAWN News (Reporter with Arshad Sharif)

via – ZemTV – You Tube

News, Pakistan, Politics, Sindh

Rally in Hyderabad against the murder of Shahbaz Bhatti

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Sindh – Hyderabad : A large number of concerned citizens, civil society activists, lawyers, peace and human rights activists, writers, thinkers, academics and workers of political parties and think tanks gathered on March 3rd, 2011 for a public protest marches in Hyderabad to condemn the brutal murder of Shahbaz Bhatti.

They were raising slogans against fundamentalism, religious, ethnic and communal hatred and extremism and called upon the government to ensure writ of the state, rule of the law and constitutionalism in Pakistan.

Rally was jointly organised by Movement for Peace and Tolerance (MPT) and Pakistan Peace Coalition (PPC)

 

Media, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion, Video

This is not a PPP of Bhuttos, this is a Majlis Shura group of Zia

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The language of the program is urdu/ Hindi.

Courtesy: Aaj TV (Bolta Pakistan with Nusrat Javed & Mushtaq Minhas, 2nd March 2011, part 2)

via – Sisasat – You Tube

News, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion

Salute to this Martyr of Humanity Murdered by the Dark forces of Theocracy

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– Pakistan minister Bhatti predicts own assassination

BBC News has received a video of the murdered Pakistani minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, in which he talks about his own assassination.

Mr Bhatti, a Christian, who was shot dead in the capital, Islamabad, had been calling for the abolishment of Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws.

To watch the video : BBC

Pakistan, Personalities

George ka khuda hafiz

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By George Fulton

For the past nine years, I have been in a dysfunctional relationship. My liaison started somewhat unexpectedly, quickly becoming an all-consuming passionate love affair. My partner reciprocated strongly, bestowing deep affection and adoration upon me. Blinded by love, I was naive to her failings. Yes, at times she was self-destructive, irrational and grossly irresponsible, but I hoped by appealing to her nature’s better angles she could change. Instead, as the years progressed, and, supported by her ‘friends’ in the media, she corroded, simultaneously displaying signs of megalomania and paranoia. Once the relationship turned abusive and I feared for my life, I decide to call it quits. Today, the divorce comes through. Her name is Pakistan. And today, I am leaving her for good.

This was not a difficult decision to make. In fact, I didn’t make the decision. It was made for me. You do not chart your own destiny in Pakistan; Pakistan charts it for you. …

Read more : The Express Tribune

News, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion

Youths protest against democracy in Punjab!?

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Youths protest against democracy

By Rameez Khan

LAHORE: Some 150 youths gathered at the Liberty roundabout on Sunday in a protest organised via social networking site Facebook, to demand that Pakistan scrap its democratic political system and replace it with an “Islamic” system of governance. …

Read more : The Express Tribune

News, Pakistan, Politics, Sindh

Sindh calls for separation of mosque and state

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Call for separation of religion from state

SINDH – HYDERABAD, Feb 20: Leaders of nationalist and left-wing parties and prominent poets and writers have called for concrete efforts to curb fundamentalism and demanded separation of religion from state and equal rights for minorities.

Speaking at a seminar on ‘Religious extremism and black laws of Zia’s regime’ organised by the “Left Unity” at the press club here on Sunday, they stressed the need for a united front comprising all secular, nationalist and progressive forces for combating fundamentalism and promoting secularism.

Renowned intellectual Mohammad Ibrahim Joyo said that after independence the Quaid-i-Azam had unequivocally declared that religion would be the personal concern of the individual and every citizen of Pakistan would have equal rights. But successive governments in the country violated this principle.

Mr Joyo called upon the working class and oppressed people to unite to protect their rights.

He said Sindhis, Balochs and Pakhtuns were oppressed nations. He said that not only “black laws of the Zia regime” but all discriminatory laws should be repealed.

Left Unity secretary Buxal Thallo said that religious extremism was a threat for the country’s progress and called upon all political parties to launch a joint struggle against fundamentalism. …

Read more : DAWN

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, News, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion

Sources claim colonel Imam killed by his own trained Taliban

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The former ISI officer Colonel (r) Imam known as the ‘godfather of the Taliban’ has been killed by his abductors in North Waziristan, Dunya News reported on Sunday.

Imam was abducted in March, 2010, who said in a video footage released by his captors that his life was in danger unless the authorities meet his kidnappers demand to free a number of prisoners held for terrorism.

Imam, whose real name was Sultan Amir Tarar, worked alongside Afghanistan’s mujahideen to defeat the Soviet occupation. In the mid-1990s, as an ISI agent in the country, he spotted the potential of the then emerging Taliban movement and helped nurture it. After 2001 he was forcibly retired from the ISI after being considers too radical.

Courtesy: ARY News – You Tube

Pakistan, Personalities, Politics, Punjab

Shah Mahmood Qureshi Shaheed, Nishan e Haider

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By: Hakim Hazik

Excerpt:

……  As Shah Mahmood has pointed out, our national honour is at stake. The spirit of 1965 has come alive once again. The nation stands united when the national honour is involved. We will eat grass but defend the national honour. By the grace of God, half of the nation is already eating grass. The other half will soon join them. Classy restaurants will soon be serving grass, a la carte.

If you ask us, the case has already been decided in the court of public opinion. The Ummah has taken great strides in law and jurisprudence. We have the example of Sialkot and Dera Ghazi Khan where public trial by lynch mob has been pioneered. This inspires international confidence in our fair, transparent and equitable justice system. Undue interference in these judicial proceedings would be a breach of our sovereignty and will be resisted with our minimal strategic deterrent.

Read more : Justice Denied

Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion, Video

The battle over blasphemy – Riz Khan

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Has Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law become a political tool in the hands of religious conservatives?

We will be discussing Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law with journalist Shehrbano Taseer whose father – Punjab governor Salman Taseer – was killed for speaking out against it.

The killing ignited a debate in Pakistan with many critics calling for the law to be amended or scrapped, saying it was being used to victimise liberal politicians and religious minorities.

But extremist groups have celebrated Taseer’s killer, calling him a hero who is defending Islam.

So has the blasphemy law become a political tool and should it have a place in today’s Pakistan?

Also joining the discussion will be Asma Jahangir, a well-known human rights activist, and Amjad Waheed, an Islamic scholar.

Read more : ALJAZEERA

History, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion

The Spy Who Knew Everything

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by Louise Roug

Former CIA officer and advisor to President Obama Bruce Riedel talks about his new book, what the protests in Egypt mean, and the lessons of Pakistan.

The most important skill that a CIA officer can have is the ability to be at the right place at the right time—and to recognize the moment. By that taxing measure, Bruce Riedel has been extraordinarily successful.

His first country assignment for the agency was the Iran desk, where he arrived in 1978 during the twilight of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi’s reign. The Iranian revolution the following year irrevocably changed how the United States could operate in the Middle East—a reality borne out by the 444-day hostage crisis that followed.

Riedel then became the CIA desk officer for Egypt, authoring an intelligence report in the fall of 1981 that warned of the high risk of Anwar Sadat’s assassination following the peace treaty with Israel. The briefing, in which Riedel predicted the rise of then–vice president Hosni Mubarak, proved stunningly prescient: during an Oct. 6 military parade that year, a group of soldiers, for whom peace with Israel was anathema, assassinated the Egyptian president.

“That was one hell of a day,” Riedel recalls in a NEWSWEEK interview, during a week when an uprising in Egypt has once more thrown the region into turmoil.

Serving four successive presidents, Riedel went on to work at the Pentagon, the White House, and at CIA headquarters in Langley, getting to know the most important players in Washington and the Middle East. But it is his last assignment—Pakistan—that keeps him awake at night.

“In Pakistan, we now have, for the first time, the possibility of a jihadist state emerging,” Riedel tells NEWSWEEK. “And a jihadist state in Pakistan would be America’s worst nightmare in the 21st century.”

His book Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America, and the Future of Global Jihad was recently published by the Brookings Institution Press. Intended as a primer on Pakistan’s turbulent history, the book sets out to explain, as he writes, “why successive U.S. administrations have undermined civil government in Pakistan, aided military dictators, and encouraged the rise of extremist Islamic movements that now threaten the United States at home and abroad.” …

Read more : The Daily Beast

Economy, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion

Pakistan : Not revolution but anarchy

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– Not revolution but anarchy

by Waseem Altaf

Revolution refers to drastic change in thinking and behaving in the cultural, economic and socio-political context.

Socio-economic deprivation or gross disparity or conflict of interest among competing groups causes frustration which leads to aggression. The aggression so caused is channelized by leaders who symbolize an ideology. A critical mass of the population is necessary who are supportive of this ideology.

Today people in Pakistan are frustrated. This has caused aggression. The manifestations of this aggression are visible everywhere. The irritability of the common men, show of force and inflammatory speeches in public rallies, ever increasing crime rate, intolerance and impatience are all indicative of this aggression. However there is no such leader who has an ideology and who enjoys the support of a critical mass of the population which can bring about a revolution in this country. Hence the thought of revolution becomes even more irrelevant in a country where there are so many ethnic, social, political and religious divides with no leader enjoying mass support at the national level.

However this country is fast drifting towards a change. Let us see what the present state of the nation is:

Today it is not the government, the parliament, the media, the judiciary or even the army which calls the shots but the firebrand mullah in the streets who determines the tone and tenor of the statements and initiatives emanating from all the so called pillars of the State. Sherry Rahman has withdrawn the blasphemy bill, informed the Prime Minister on Wednesday 2nd of Feb. Sitting ministers either support the stance taken by the mullah or remain silent. While it is Mumtaz Qadri versus the State, the case has been shifted to Adiala jail for proceedings as the State does not feel secure in an open court in Islamabad. Last time the public prosecutor could not attend the court as the jail premises was thronged by Sunni Tehrik supporters of Mumtaz Qadri.Today the conduct of the Parliament is determined by the mullah as in the Senate, it was not allowed to say fateha for Salman Taseer in response to a resolution moved by Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar. Even the liberal MQM members refused and not a single member of PPP rose to support the resolution. …

Read more : View Point

Pakistan, Politics, Religion

Sunni Tehreek : Mullahs fighting each other for political gains

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by Wichaar Analysis

Sunni Tehreek, that includes the Brailvi sect of Indian Muslims, was the last straw that broke the religious tolerance’s camel’s back. Now, it can be safely said that there is no tolerant Islami sect among Pakistani Muslims: they have all become ritualistic and part of Mullah Shahi.

The Sunnis, particularly Brailvis were the least politicized by political Islam. Following the Sufi traditions faith was purely personal belief for them. However, the temptation of power and fame (or notoriety) of political Islam was hard to resist for Mullahs even of Brailvi sect. When they saw JI and JUI leaders like Liqat Baluch and Fazalur Rehman regularly appearing on the TV talk shows and rubbing shoulders with most powerful people they thought that they were majority and yet ignored. Therefore, they had to venture into political Islam and TNR was a perfect excuse for them.

As a matter of fact the Brailvis had abandoned the Sufi tradition long ago. They had become a ritualistic sect who took ‘khatam, drood’ as their basic distinction. The Sufi shrines had become the jagirs (estates) of sajjada nashins who were running them like feudal dynasties. The trend had started much earlier in the history. Baba Farid and his nominated leader of Chishtia sect, Nizamud Din Aulia had refused to see kings and their men. However, great grand sons of Baba Farid joined the Tugliq’s and were awarded a huge estate in Pakpattan. It was a noteworthy estate when Ranjeet Singh conquered Punjab and he had to negotiate with the then sajjada nasheen.

Read more : Wichaar

India, International, Media, Pakistan, Politics

Pakistan’s nukes: How many are enough?

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By Pervez Hoodbhoy

The latest news from America must have thrilled many: Pakistan probably has more nuclear weapons than India. A recent Washington Post article, quoting various nuclear experts, suggests that Pakistan is primed to “surge ahead in the production of nuclear-weapons material, putting it on a path to overtake Britain as the world’s fifth largest nuclear weapons power”.

Some may shrug off this report as alarmist anti-Pakistan propaganda, while others will question the accuracy of such claims. Indeed, given the highly secret nature of nuclear programmes everywhere, at best one can only make educated guesses on weapons and their materials. For Pakistan, it is well known that the Kahuta complex has been producing highly enriched uranium for a quarter century, and that there are two operational un-safeguarded plutonium-producing reactors at Khushab (with a third one under construction). Still, the exact amounts of bomb-grade material and weapons are closely held secrets.

But for argument’s sake, let’s assume that the claims made are correct. Indeed, let us suppose that Pakistan surpasses India in numbers – say by 50 per cent or even 100 per cent. Will that really make Pakistan more secure? Make it more capable of facing current existential challenges?

The answer is, no. Pakistan’s basic security problems lie within its borders: growing internal discord and militancy, a collapsing economy, and a belief among most citizens that the state cannot govern effectively. These are deep and serious problems that cannot be solved by more or better weapons. Therefore the way forward lies in building a sustainable and active democracy, an economy for peace rather than war, a federation in which provincial grievances can be effectively resolved, elimination of the feudal order and creating a tolerant society that respects the rule of law. …

Read more : THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE

Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion

Governor Salman Taseer’s assassination & the rising tide of fanaticism in Pakistan

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By Ahmed Chandio

The assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer has spread fear and terror among people. A killer has been made hero and the victim as a villain in the name of blasphemy law. Religious parties of the country have intensified their activities in the wake of the Governor’s assassination. They don’t care about the country’s image abroad and the cost anyway. People are not ready to discuss the issue of blasphemy saying it’s a sensitive issue.

Lawyers of Rawalpindi forced a judge of an anti-terrorism court not to leave for the capital to hear the case. Finally, police shifted the accused to Rawalpindi to present him before the judge. Lawyers and activists of some religious parties placed garlands of roses around the killer’s neck. They showered him with flower petals and kissed him. According to a PPP minister, lawyers who garlanded the killer belonged to the PML-N.

Over 300 lawyers signed legal documents expressing their willingness to defend the killer. But no public prosecutor came forward to plead the case of the assassinated governor because of fear.

One newspaper reported that Qadri was a mercenary killer and paid to carry out the murder. He was given an assurance that his family would be looked after if anything happened to him or if he was convicted. Sources said announcements had been made about bounty to be paid to the killer and the amount offered totaled Rs40 million.

The Punjab governor’s murder is seen as an act of religious fanaticism. The roots of the menace can be traced back to the Zia era. Earlier it was considered that madressahs (religious seminaries) served as breeding grounds for producing fanatics. But profiles of 9/11 terrorists, Times Square bomber, the killer of journalist Daniel Pearl proved that all of them had not studied in madressahs. The killer of Punjab governor had also not studied in madressah.

Can we hold curriculum being taught from primary to university-level education in Pakistan responsible for terrorism? No. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the killer of Daniel Pearl, had studied in the London School of Economics.

Then what instigated them to be a fanatic? What are sources and forces of hate in Pakistan?

There has been no doubt that hate missions are very much institutionalized and billions of rupees are spent on them. Some foreign countries are also funding millions of rupees to groups involved in acts of militancy. …

Read more : Indus Herald

Pakistan, Politics

Is Egypt Going To Become Pakistan?

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by K. Ashraf

We credited Pakistani analysts; commentators and anchormen with the habit of getting carried away with lofty notions like replication of Egyptian events in Pakistan. Now we see some western analysts also expressing identical views. None other than the US Vice President Joe Biden is included among them. Few days ago, he voiced similar concerns. Can events like Cairo repeat in Pakistan ?

There is a remote possibility that Egyptian events will repeat in Pakistan. Pakistan is not following Egypt it is Egypt that is following Pakistan . Pakistan witnessed similar events three years ago. Those events gave birth to present day political set-up—a negotiated democracy.

Continue reading Is Egypt Going To Become Pakistan? →

History, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion

Blasphemy Law: Mullahs fighting each other for political gains

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Blasphemy Law: Mullahs fighting each other for political gains (2 JI) – Wichaar Analysis

The prime mover of TNR is Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), the mother of most theocratic and extremist religious trends. JI is another case of fake contender of ideology of Pakistan. The party opposed the creation of Pakistan tooth and nail and issued fatwas against Mohammad Ali Jinnah. By the way it got foothold in Punjab courtesy of Allama Mohammad Iqbal. A landlord Chauhdry Barkat Ali had asked Allama Iqbal to recommend a suitable Islamic organization who can take his estate in Pathankot. Allama Iqbal recommended Maulana Maudodi and this is how JI expanded its base in Punjab. This one of the reason that I feel that JI cadres and Taliban are Iqbal’s ‘Shaheens.’

Presently, JI is competing for influence for itself but that is its secondary goal versus Fazalur Rehman whose main goal is political power. For JI, TNR is a vehicle to keep religious parties united and to slowly dismantle what is left of the secular institutions of the state. Taliban and other jihadi groups very well fit in its strategy to undo the system. Therefore, while Taliban and other jihadis keep the state engaged with guns JI provides a political cover to them. …

Read more : Wichaar