Tag Archives: free

International, News

Obama proposes 2 years of free community college

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President Barack Obama said Thursday that he will propose offering Americans two years of community college for free if they are “willing to work for it.”

Obama made the announcement in a short video from Air Force One, saying his plan will make community college accessible for everybody.The news came as part of a three-state tour to preview his State of the Union Address. Obama will make a more formal announcement in Tennessee on Friday.

“Put simply, what I’d like to do is to see the first two years of community college free for anybody who’s willing to work for it,” he said. “It’s something we can accomplish, and it’s something that will train our workforce so that we can compete with anyone in the world.”

Read more » http://rt.com/usa/221015-obama-free-community-college/

International, News, Science

GravityLight: a revolutionary new approach

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GravityLight: lighting for developing countries.

We have developed a realistic alternative to Kerosene lamps by harnessing the power of gravity. We need your help to make it happen.

GravityLight is a revolutionary new approach to storing energy and creating illumination. It takes only 3 seconds to lift the weight which powers GravityLight, creating 30 minutes of light on its descent. For free.

Following the initial inspiration of using gravity, and years of perspiration, we have refined the design and it is now ready for production. We need your help to fund the tooling, manufacture and distribution of at least 1000 gravity powered lights. We will gift them to villagers in both Africa and India to use regularly. The follow-up research will tell us how well the lights met their needs, and enable us to refine the design for a more efficient MK2 version. Once we have proved the design, we will be looking to link with NGOs and partners to distribute it as widely as possible. When mass produced the target cost for this light is less than $5.

Why GravityLight?

Did you know that there are currently over 1.5 billion people in the World who have no reliable access to mains electricity? These people rely, instead, on biomass fuels (mostly kerosene) for lighting once the sun goes down.

Continue reading GravityLight: a revolutionary new approach →

International, News, Pakistan, Religion

Free speech values not yet standard in Greece either!

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27-Year Old In Greece Arrested For Blaspheming A Monk On Facebook

By: Joe Weisenthal

Evidently in Greece, blaspheming a monk on Facebook is an arrestable offense.

Via @lolgreece and Peter Dimitrakos, here’s the Google Translated version of the arrest announcement for a 27-year old who blasphemed a famous Greek monk (Elder Paisios) using the mocking name Geron Pastitsios.

Pastitsios is a Greek pasta dish (hence the picture from the Facebook page showing the monk with a big plate of pasta)

Unconfirmed, but according to twittererers, his arrest was agitated by Golden Dawn nationalist types, and the government apparently complied.

Continue reading Free speech values not yet standard in Greece either! →

Islamabad, Media, News, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion

YouTube ban restricts rights of Pakistanis: Human rights organisation

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KARACHI: Condemning hate speech on the internet in general and the anti-Islam film “Innocence of Muslims” in particular, the Bytes for All (B4A) Pakistan said it believes that banning “channels of communication [YouTube], limiting access to information platforms and steps to curtail free expression only serve to pave the way for politics-based control systems that curb the voices of individuals.”

The B4A, a human rights organisation with a focus on Information and Communication Technologies, commented on the recent ban imposed on video sharing website YouTube as per the order of Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.

The organisation stressed that the film should not be allowed to form the basis of systematic censorship and filtering of internet in the country.

It further stated that the blanket ban restricted the rights of Pakistani citizens, who wish to use the platform for counter-argument, expression and other educational and developmental purposes.

“This extreme step ignores the alternative, more conservative actions that were available to the government, including the issuing of a take-down notice to YouTube for the removal of specific content in Pakistan,” the B4A remarked.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

Human Rights, Life, Pakistan, Punjab, Video

Free Rimsha Masih

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The latest victim of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, is an 11 year old girl suffering from Downs Syndrome. Rimshah Masih screamed pitifully as she was brutally snatched from her mother by an angry mob intent on killing her. Burnt religious texts had been mischievously planted in a bag she was carrying. We call on the Pakistani Government to take action to stop the ongoing discrimination, persecution and hatred towards minorities living there. We call on the Britisha Government the EU and the Un to intervene on behalf of this poor child and to bring about her freedom.

To bring an end to hatred towards minority faiths in conservative Pakistan and to defend otherwise helpless victims like Rimsha please sign the petition below:

This petition will be sent to the Pakistan High Commission and 10 Downing Street.

Here our song for Rimsha here:

Read more » Petition Buzz

» To Sign a Petition to Free Rimsha Masih

Human Rights, International, Politics

CPPC on Quebec Students Movement – We stand in solidarity with the students in Québec!

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The Québec Student Strike – Why we support it and why we condemn Bill 78

The Committee of Progressive Pakistani Canadians (CPPC) believes the right to an education is one all citizens of the world must have access to. Moreover, that access should be without financial cost. Only by having an educated population can a country truly be free.

Continue reading CPPC on Quebec Students Movement – We stand in solidarity with the students in Québec! →

Current Issues, Islamabad, News, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Sindh, Sindhi, Video

Through the freedom March on 23 March 2012 in Sindh’s capital, Karachi, Sindhis conveyed a strong message to the security establishment of Pakistan/Punjab that even fighting for democratic rights as per the 1940 resolution is now meaningless for Sindhis.

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By: M. Memon

We had a discussion session on 1940 resolution on 31 march and consensus was that it is no more, morel or legal binding on Sindhi’s to abide by our decision to join Pakistan in the past. Reviewing the Sindhi Media and listening to people (specially after freedom March on 23 in Sindh’s capital Karachi) conveys strong message that Sindhi people at large are getting convinced that even fighting for democratic rights as per 1940 resolution is meaningless now. Here is the link to one of the video of session in Calgary. please follow the links to watch all the sections of speeches(unfortunately it is in parts on You tube).

Courtesy: SANAList e-group, April 15, 2012.

Current Issues, News, Pakistan, Politics, Sindh, Sindhi

Complete shutter-down strike observed in Sindh

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By South Asian News Agency (SANA)

Excerpt;

SINDH – KARACHI, (SANA): A complete shutter-down strike has been observed in Sindh following the call by Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) on Wednesday. The strike, which was supported by other nationalist parties, was called against the government delay in the chemical examination of viscera taken from the body of JSQM leader Bashir Qureshi. ….

…. The Jeay Sindh workers staged protest in Daharki where all the business centers remain closed while complete shutter down strike is being observed in all parts of the city including Bhutta Market, Railway Road. Several JSQM activists staged a sit-in protest at National Highway while police arrested 8 people. Situation has turned tense in the city while a heavy number of police force has been deployed in the city.

Meanwhile, shutter down strike is being observed in several cities and towns of the province including Jacobabad, Sukkur, Kashmore, Kandhkot and other cities. Incidents of firing and rumpus by the protesters were also reported in some areas of the province.

The JSQM leadership suspects that Bashir Qureshi was allegedly poisoned to death and doubts that the chemical examination reports at any government could be changed. They demanded that the post mortem (autopsy) reports should be got tested from Agha Khan Hospital or any other reputed facility.

Party leaders had demanded the government that the autopsy examination be obtained from a private hospital in order to determine the actual cause of death of Bashir Qureshi but the officials have failed to meet the demand as yet.

…. in Safora Goath in Karachi, leading to forced closure of business in the area. Also, some unidentified outlaws pelted traffic with stones on Maripur Road and blocked the same for traffic. …

Arsonists burnt tires on Minarah Road to block the flow of traffic in Sukkur and also resorted to aerial firing in many areas of the city to alarm people.

…. strike by JSQM, and the provincial government has put police force on high alert all over Sindh. …..

Read more » http://www.sananews.net/english/complete-shutter-down-strike-observed-in-sindh/

– / – / – / – /

More details » DAWN.COM

Human Rights, Islamabad, News, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Sindh

DAWN NEWS TV – Sindh’s Nationalist leader Bashir Qureshi was poisoned to death – MLO Chandka Safiullah Abbasi

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Dawn News Tv confirmed the first post-mortem (Autopsy) report by Dr. Safi… that JSQM leader Bashir Qureshi was poisoned. Further investigation will be done to clarify which chemical (poison)was used. Sources reported that postmortem (Autopsy) report has so far been kept secret by the authorities. The News clip is in urdu (Hindi).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXNbEYo8FxQ

» YouTube

Islamabad, News, Pakistan, Politics, Sindh, Sindhi

23rd March 2012 Freedom March Rally in Karachi JSQM Chairmen Bashir Qureshi’s Speech – English Version

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Long live Sindh Long live Sain GM Syed − The heirs of Sindh, My dear sisters and brethren! − I welcome you all cordially who came here from nook and corner for gathering in the capital city Karachi which is not only capital city but the heart of Sindh. − − عمر يست ڪه آواز منصور ڪهن شد − من از سرنو جلوه دهم دارو رسن را − (Time has elapsed that the voice of Mansoor has been obsolete; I want to re-embellish ropes and hang) − Sons of Sindh! − Pakistan has never been a country in any episode of history but the Sindh has remained such a motherland since thousands of years and has been bestowed with bounty of natural resources including fertile agricultural lands, roaring Indus River and coastal belt. Therefore the populace of Sindh has been the custodians of civilization when it was newly evolving elsewhere. − Out of excavation of Moen-Jo-Daro it reveals that the Sindh has traversed the different periods of olden civilizations since the period of Euphrates, Samaritans and Babylons. Comparative it was more civilized and prosperous then the contemporary civilizations of that period.

Continue reading 23rd March 2012 Freedom March Rally in Karachi JSQM Chairmen Bashir Qureshi’s Speech – English Version →

News, Pakistan, Personalities, Politics, Sindh, Sindhi

Bashir Qureshi – it is the cause, and not the death, that makes the martyr

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(Desk News/ Analysis) Our dear friend, our guide, and great leader Chairman Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), Bashir Qureshi passed away and left the Sindhi nation crying behind. The people of Sindh wish he could have lived many more years to lead the nation towards a prosperous and developed Sindh.

The flooding of tweets and comments at social media and e-mails at Sindhi e-lists suspect that he has been poisoned because only a few days ago on the 23rd of March 2012 through the successful Freedom March/ rally in Karachi, he caused the deep security establishment of the country to lose its sleep forever. Many suspect he was martyred as Shah Nawaz Bhutto was martyred and his death was not his natural death. According to the statement of JSQM General Secretary Asif Baladi, “Bashir Qureshi didn’t have any heart-related disease. We see a conspiracy behind his sudden death.”  But as the regime being involved, chances of a fair investigation are less than slim.

Bashir Qureshi  was a great human being and a leader. He was a true disciple of Saeen GM Syed. He was a down to earth and a very caring and humble person. He was actually the continuation of the struggle of G.M. Syed for the independence of Sindh. Therefore, the deep security establishment could not digest his party’s successful freedom march in the capital of Sindh, Karachi; thus the establishment played its dirty role to remove him from the scene and as a result Sindh had lost her valuable son. On Facebook his party workers express that they will continue resistance against the slavery of the deep state and they will continue to go forward with his path of freedom of Sindh.

Napoleon had said, “It is the cause, and not the death, that makes the martyr.” Basheer Khan Qureshi fought for a noble cause. He is a martyr. And, martyrs never die.

Courtesy: Sindhi e-lists/ e-groups, twitter, social media, April 6, 2012.

News, Pakistan, Personalities, Politics, Sindh, Sindhi

Saparatist Sindhi nationalist leader & JSQM chairman Bashir Qureshi passes away

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By: Amar Guriro

KARACHI – SINDH: Rrenowned Sindhi nationalist leader, chairman Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) Bashir Kahn Qureshi has died on late Friday night. He was 54.

Qureshi was on his way to a small village Dari Magsi in Sakrand, district Benazirabad (Nawabshah) at the time.

Urdu television channels reported quoting initial reports that he died of fatal cardiac arrest, but despite several attempts the cause of the death was not confirmed.

Qureshi was a brave leader and spent all his life spreading the message of Great Leader Saeen G. M. Syed throughout Sindh and also struggling for Independent Sindhudesh.

In his last mammoth rally of an estimation of 0.7 million people chanting slogans of “Na Khapae na khapae, Pakistan Na Khapae” (We don’t want Pakistan) on M.A Jinnah Road of provincial capital city of Karachi-Sindh, he demanded international powers to help Sindhis to get their independent country—the Sindhudesh.

Political analysts are of the view that Qureshi’s death is great loose of nationalists who wants their independent country, the Sindhudesh.

Continue reading Saparatist Sindhi nationalist leader & JSQM chairman Bashir Qureshi passes away →

Balochistan, Current Issues, Islamabad, News, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab

Dialogue only on Freedom Agenda, Pakistan is an Occupier, Intervention Continuing Since 1948! Hyrbeyar Marri & Khan Kalat

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By Archen Baloch 30/03/2012

Baloch national leader Waja HyrBeyar Marri said that there would be no dialogue on anything except freedom, speaking in a private TV program, the patriotic Baloch leader said that foreign interference in Balochistan started the day one when Pakistan occupied it! Pakistan is the occupier! On a desperate remark of the anchorperson that Zardari would not give you

Freedom, HyrBeyar said that they would knock every door of international community for support, and pledge that every Baloch would work hard to regain the freedom!

HyrBeyar Marri, exiled in London, said that the name of Islam is manipulated to serve morbid interests. He said that the attitude of Punjabi elite has never been friendly, he added that Pakistani oligarch has always plundered and looted Balochistan.

Read more » http://www.twitlonger.com/show/gnsdep

History, Human Rights, International, News, Pakistan, Politics, Sindh, Sindhi

Pakistan: Demand for Independence of Sindh

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By Aamir Raz Soomro

It was not long ago that a bill was tabled in the US Congress in support of giving Balochistan – the land of the Baloch – the right to self-determination against their ‘forced accession’ into Pakistan on March 27, 1948. The day is still mourned as a Black Day throughout the Baloch land, including parts of the provincial capital, Quetta.

In the year 1971, the erstwhile East Pakistan had already witnessed a bloody independence war with Pakistan, which culminated in the creation of the country now known as Bangladesh – it was a real bloody war since hundreds of thousands of people were massacred in this ‘genocide’ to crush the Bengali freedom-fighters.

In the present times, however, it is not just Balochistan which has the separatist sentiments, but Sindh under the leadership of Mr. G.M. Syed, has also been fighting for independence soon after the creation of Pakistan. From the platform of various nationalist political parties, Sindhis demand separation from Pakistan and creation of proposed, Sindhudesh, the Land of Sindhu (River Indus). They support their demand with the arguments that, 1., the British had invaded the independent Sindh and, 2. that they have a distinct rich history and secular culture which dates back to 5000 years. ….

Read more » Global Voices Online

Current Issues, News, Pakistan, Politics, Sindh

Goodbye Pakistan Resolution, says JSQM chief

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By Ammar Shahbazi

Karachi – As the nation celebrated the 72nd Pakistan Day with much enthusiasm across the country, Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz chairman Bashir Qureshi bade “farewell” to the 1940’s Pakistan Resolution and demanded independence for Sindh.

Speaking at a rally, which was, ironically, organised on M A Jinnah Road close to the mausoleum of the founder of Pakistan, Qureshi said that Sindh contributed 80 percent of revenue to the federal budget and the Sindhis had therefore the right to make their own decisions.

He said that “Punjab has usurped the resources of Sindh in the name of Pakistan [and Islam]” and that there was no country named Pakistan in history. “Pakistan is not a country and Pakistanis are not a nation.” The JSQM leader said that for the past 65 years “the Punjabis have usurped the resources of Sindh.”

The party had announced an “Azadi March” on the 8th of this month and since Friday morning activists of the party, carrying their red party flags on motorbikes, private cars and trucks, had been reaching the rally site from various part of the city.

The activists were shouting the party slogan: “Tunjho Desh, Munjho Desh, Sindhu Desh Sindhu Desh” on their way to the rally. The rally caused a major traffic jam on Sharea Faisal bringing vehicles to a standstill.

Addressing a crowd holding the party flags, the JSQM chief said that the he believed that the Urdu-speaking people were part of the Sindh nation and that “their future lies in Sindhu Desh”.

On the issue of Balochistan, he said that the largest province of the country deserved freedom from Punjab’s hegemony as did the province of Sindh. He said his party did not believe in violence.

Delving into history, he said that the British merged Sindh with Bombay. Warning the people of Sindh, he said that the “enemies always have had an eye on Sindh’s quota”. Qureshi also warned that projects like Zulfikarabad City were a conspiracy hatched against the people of Sindh to turn them into a minority in their own province.

Courtesy: The News

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-99166-Goodbye-Pakistan-Resolution-says-JSQM-chief

Current Issues, News, Pakistan, Politics, Sindh, Sindhi

Pakistan Day: JSQM leader demands freedom for Sindh and Balochistan

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KARACHI: As the people across the country celebrated Pakistan Day, hundreds of thousand people from Sindh gathered in Karachi on Friday and demanded freedom for Sindh and an independent status for Balochistan. This demand came in a ‘Freedom March’ rally organised by the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), a Sindhi nationalist party, led by Bashir Qureshi. ….

Read more » The Express Tribune

Islamabad, News, Pakistan, Politics, Sindh, Sindhi

JSQM Calls For Independent Sindh

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Hundreds of thousands attend JSQM ‘Freedom March’

* Demonstrators denounce Pakistan Resolution of 1940 and chant slogans in favour of ‘Sindhu Desh’

By Asghar Azad

Excerpts;

…. JSQM Calls For Independent Sindh: “We Sindhis now disown the Pakistan Resolution, say it good bye and demand independence of Sindh according to historical status”.

Hundreds of thousands attend JSQM ‘Freedom March’ in Karachi, Sindh.

Demonstrators denounce Pakistan Resolution of 1940 and chant slogans in favour of ‘Sindhu Desh’

Addressing the participants, Jeay Sindh Qaumi Muhaz Chairman, Bashir Qureshi said that Sindh had voluntarily merged itself into the country under 1940’s Pakistan Resolution but now its people were disowning it as the resolution had failed to protect rights and autonomy of the province during last 65 years.

The Sindhi nationalist leader announced that his party accepted Urdu speaking population in Sindh during the partition and considered them part of Sindh, adding, the Urdu speaking population would have to take steps for Sindh and its people sincerely and would prove their attachment with Sindh. …..

To read complete report » Daily Times

http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20123\24\story_24-3-2012_pg12_5

Balochistan, News, Pakistan, Politics, Sindh, Sindhi

JST leader demands referendum on independence of Sindh

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Dr Sarki wants referendum on independence of Sindh

KARACHI: Chief of Jiaye Sindh Tehreek (JST), Dr. Safdar Sarki addressing a rally in Karachi on Sunday called for holding a referendum on independence of Sindh, Geo News reported.

Addressing the workers and supporters of JST carrying red party flags here at Tibet Center, Dr. Sardki said Sindh suffered historic plunders and the resources of Sindhi nation their honour and national dignity had been delt a great blow.

“Through a pre-planned conspiracy people of other ethnicities were settled in Sindh,” he maintained, warning Sindhis and Balochs were speedily heading towards independence.

Sindh was put under slavery of Lahore through imposition of ‘one-unit’, adding ‘we reject slavery under Punjab, and now Punjab will have to accept Sindhi and Baloch movements’.

He said Punjab should co-exist as a good neighbour.

Sindh province, Dr Sarki continue, was turned into a desert through introduction of so-called amendments in the Constitution.

“The future of our Urdu-speaking Sindhi brothers does not lie with MQM (Muttahida Qaumi Movement), we will ensure protection to their rights,” he asserted.

However, he added that the followers of G.M. Syed had no issues with Urdu-speaking Sindhis.

Courtesy: The News

http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-40498-Dr-Sarki-wants-referendum-on-Sindh

Balochistan, International, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab

Balochistan is an occupied land, Balochs don’t allow IPI on its soil – Hyrbyair Marri

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The Baloch nation will not allow IPI gas pipeline to pass through Balochistan: Hyrbyair Marri

Excerpts;

….Mr Marri said “we would like to make it clear to all international companies that we consider Pakistan as an occupying state that is why until regaining their independence the Baloch will not accept any agreement made with Pakistan about the fate of Balochistan. Neither can the Baloch give any guarantee for the protection of anyone’s wealth in the occupied land of Balochistan that helps make Pakistan and Iran’s strategy stronger but weakens the Baloch liberation struggle.” However, after freedom the Baloch state, for the Baloch interest, will be willing to allow and guarantee all International Companies in a competitive environment to spend their wealth in Balochistan, he added.

Hyrbyair Marri said that Pakistan cannot hoist it’s flag in Balochistan and the so called national anthem of Pakistan is not played in schools, in these circumstances how Pakistan can guarantee the protection of the wealth of other countries. He has also categorically rejected Pakistan’s claim that Pakistani top officials had contacted the Baloch pro-freedom leaders to join the so called mainstream Pakistani politics. Mr Marri said “Our stance is crystal clear to the world and to the Baloch Nation that we have no historical, linguistic and cultural ties with this state [Pakistan]. We have not accepted this state since its coming into being, similarly the state by its violent actions have proved that Balochistan is an occupied territory.” ….

Read more » BALOCHWARNA

Human Rights, International, Life, News, Pakistan, Religion, Sindh

Women’s Day and Rinkle Kumari

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The Sindh High Court Chief Justice, Mushir Alam, has ordered by March 12, the production of 19-year-old Rinkle Kumari, a girl kidnapped from Mirpur Mathelo in Sindh’s Ghotki district. She is said to have been subsequently forcibly converted to Islam and married off to a Muslim man — or that’s the version of her family members. The judge was outraged by the event and pledged that law would no longer tolerate such crimes.

Continue reading Women’s Day and Rinkle Kumari →

Balochistan, Current Issues, Human Rights, International, Life, News, Pakistan, Politics, Sindh

Baloch solidarity rally paid gratification to US Government and Congressmen

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London, 5 March 2012 – According to the press Release issued by Samad Baloch, General Secretary, Baloch Human Rights Council (UK);  A Baloch solidarity protest rally was held in front of US embassy in London on Sunday 4 March 2012. Rally was organised by Baloch Human Rights Council (UK), Balochistan Raaji Zrombesh, Balochistan Libration Organisation and World Sindhi Congress. A large number of the Baloch and Sindhis despite of cold and severe rainy weather attended the rally.

Rally was organized to express gratefulness of the Baloch to congressional representatives Dana Rohrabacher, Louie Gohmert and Steve king and the US government for their support for human rights of the Baloch and the right of self-determination of Balochistan ie Free Balochistan. Speakers requested the congressional representatives to continue their efforts in this respect in order to save the Baloch from the brutalities of Iran and Pakistan. They requested the US government to support the bill asking for the right of self-determination of the Baloch including free sovereign Balochistan.

Participants of the rally expressed their solidarity with the Baloch and Sindhi national struggles. They condemned the state crimes against humanity being committed against the Baloch and Sindhi people.

Speakers condemned disappearances, torture and extra-judicial killings of innocent Baloch and Sindhi people by Pakistani security agencies. They termed this as a systematic genocide of Baloch nation. They requested the international community, the USA and the UK to intervene in Balochistan. They urged UN to put stringent sanctions on Pakistan … and pressurize these governments to end heinous crimes against Baloch and Sindhi people.

Rahim Bandovi, Mir Ghulam Hussain (Mir of UK), Mustafa Baloch, Faiz Baloch, Hassan Hamdam, Abdullah Baloch, Mir Ometan Baloch and Samad Baloch were among those who spoke on the occasion.

Balochistan, Current Issues, Human Rights, Life, Media, News, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Sindh, Sindhi

Pakistan Today – Sindhi separatists announce comeback

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BY AAMIR MAJEED

Excerpts;

KARACHI – Taking strength from the Baloch freedom movement, the Sindhi separatists have also started their own struggle for the eventual separation of Sindh province from Pakistan, starting off by planting several bombs along the railway tracks in the province.

Railway tracks at around 14 different locations across Sindh were damaged in a series of bomb blasts in the wee hours of Saturday by presumably politically motivated miscreants.

When a team of Pakistan Railways engineering department arrived at the Bin Qasim Railway Station to repair the tracks damaged by two minor blasts, they found a pamphlet from the site.

The paper printed on both sides, carried the name of “Sindhu Desh Liberation Army (SDLA)” at the top. The pamphlet was later forwarded to the Pakistan Railways Karachi Division SSP Muzzaffar Sheikh.

Talking with Pakistan Today, Sheikh said the pamphlet was issued by SDLA Chief Commander Darya Khan Marri. …..

….. “Marri claims that the Centre was exploiting the natural resources of Sindh against a very low royalty to facilitate Punjab,” the SSP said, adding that the government’s pro-Punjab policies have also been criticised.

“Terming the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) as ‘opportunists’, the SDLA blamed the party for using the Sindh card for attaining power, trying to impress upon the nationalists that Sindh is the country’s most poor province,” Sheikh said. “In the pamphlet, the SDLA has requested the Sindhis to stand up against the government, Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence.”…..

Read more » Pakistan Today

Balochistan, Current Issues, History, News, Pakistan, Politics

Bloody Fridays and Sundays – Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

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Excerpts;

Demographic changes sustained ‘with a dagger at their throat’ since 1542 brought about the partition of Ireland. The Pakistani state envisages the same solution for Balochistan by holding the Baloch nation hostage with ‘a dagger at their throat’. However, the Baloch have not acquiesced and continue to resist at a great price of Baloch blood

“Should a robber break into my house, and, with a dagger at my throat, make me seal deeds to convey my estate to him, would this give him any title? Just such a title by his sword has an unjust conqueror who forces me into submission. The injury and the crime is equal, whether committed by the wearer of a crown or some petty villain” — John Locke.

The Baloch fears of the lethal impact of demographic changes being overtly and covertly engineered by the state are certainly not unfounded. There has been a consistent effort on part of Pakistan to undo the Baloch majority to undermine the support for those resisting Pakistan’s attempts to exploit Balochistan’s natural resources and its large land mass. The so-called development programmes like the Gwadar port or infrastructures like the Mirani Dam, highways, etc, are just a fig leaf for engineering demographic changes that are now supplemented by slow track genocide; the cantonments and naval bases being the ‘sword to force them into submission’.

Read more » Daily Times

Balochistan, Current Issues, Human Rights, International, Life, Media, News, Pakistan, Politics

Freedom for Balochistan – Protest against Pakistan’s barbarism in Balochistan

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London: The barbarism of Pakistani security agencies in Balochistan continues to infuriate the Baloch people. A Human Rights Watch report titled “We can Torture, Kill, or Keep You for Years’: Enforced Disappearances by Pakistan Security Forces in Balochistan” exposes the fact that Pakistani agencies are responsible for widespread disappearances of Baloch political activists. The 32-page report slams Pakistan authorities for taking people into custody and then denying all responsibility or knowledge of their fate or whereabouts. The rights group investigated several cases in which uniformed personnel of the Frontier Corps, an Interior Ministry paramilitary force, and the police were involved in abducting Baloch nationalists.

Courtesy: South Asia News » YouTube

Human Rights, Pakistan, Politics, Religion

STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST PAKISTAN’S RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES

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We urge you to intervene and stop the killing of Pakistan’s religious communities, including Sunni (Barelvi), Shia (including Hazara) and Ahmedi communities that are facing a virtual genocide simply for following their religious beliefs and practices.

You are no doubt familiar with Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s speech to the Constituent Assembly on Aug 11, 1947, in which he said: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste or creed –that has nothing to do with the business of the State.”

The recent attacks on the 12 Rabiul Awal processions in various cities around Pakistan (including Gujranwala, Mansehra, Gojar Khan, Mirpur, Khairpur, Mustang and Karachi) are evidence of the menace of bigotry and intolerance. The government must act with all of its might to put a stop to this. It needs to be done NOW.

The evil lurks in the belly of the so-called Diffa-e-Pakistan Council, a coalition comprising several ‘religious parties’ including some banned organsiations whose views dont resonate with the majority but are able to use their armed status and street power to attack others with impunity. The activities of this coalition need to be curtailed before it becomes the Destroy Pakistan Council. ….

Read more » CHANGE

Life, News, Pakistan, Politics, Religion

India polio free? Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria still to go

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By Omar Ali

Almost certainly, yes!

That leaves three countries with active endemic polio: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.
All three are also infected with Islamist fanatics who claim that oral polio drops are an anti-viagra produced by the CIA to decrease Muslim population (I am not making this up). That propaganda, and the difficulty of organizing a vaccination campaign in the middle of a civil war, makes it hard to totally eliminate polio in these countries. ….

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International, Movies, News, Religion

How a Paris Mosque Sheltered Jews from the Nazis during the Holocaust

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– Heroic Tale of Holocaust, With a Twist

By ELAINE SCIOLINO

PARIS — The stories of the Holocaust have been documented, distorted, clarified and filtered through memory. Yet new stories keep coming, occasionally altering the grand, incomplete mosaic of Holocaust history.

One of them, dramatized in a French film released here last week, focuses on an unlikely savior of Jews during the Nazi occupation of France: the rector of a Paris mosque.

Muslims, it seems, rescued Jews from the Nazis.

“Les Hommes Libres” (“Free Men”) is a tale of courage not found in French textbooks. According to the story, Si Kaddour Benghabrit, the founder and rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, provided refuge and certificates of Muslim identity to a small number of Jews to allow them to evade arrest and deportation.

It was simpler than it sounds. In the early 1940s France was home to a large population of North Africans, including thousands of Sephardic Jews. The Jews spoke Arabic and shared many of the same traditions and everyday habits as the Arabs. Neither Muslims nor Jews ate pork. Both Muslim and Jewish men were circumcised. Muslim and Jewish names were often similar.

The mosque, a tiled, walled fortress the size of a city block on the Left Bank, served as a place to pray, certainly, but also as an oasis of calm where visitors were fed and clothed and could bathe, and where they could talk freely and rest in the garden. …

Read more → The New York Times

Media, News, Pakistan, Politics

The rise of people’s media

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– By Manzoor Chandio, Karachi, Sindh

A piece of news or information is no more the property of the so-called ministries of information or media barons. New technologies have set free the information from official controls and ‘mainstream media’ newsrooms.

Often called liberating technologies, the cell phone, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. have assumed the role of new modes of disseminating information. They have allowed every citizen to become a publisher or a journalist. Today the first source of information is a mobile, instead of newspapers or TV channels, where one receives breaking news. ….

Read more → Manzoor Chandio’s Blog