Another accused in Bhatti murder case set free

RAWALPINDI:
A trial court in Rawalpindi on Saturday exonerated yet another suspect who was arrested for his role in the murder of former minister for minorities Shahbaz Bhatti.
The accused, Ziaur Rehman, withdrew his bail plea from the court of Special Judge anti-terrorism court II, Rana Masood Akhtar, after an SHO Industrial Area police said he was no longer wanted in the case due to lack of evidence.
Rehman, along with former suspect Abid Malik, was suspected by the family of the deceased minister in the case. The family cited business disputes as their reason for suspicion. Police had already exonerated Malik from the case in February, after finding no evidence against him.
Earlier, when police had arrested Malik from Lahore Airport, Zia managed to escape arrest. Similarly, last June, the trial court released a man arrested who was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murder case after the police could not bring any evidence against him.
Hafiz Nazar Muhammad was arrested last June for making threatening calls to the minorities MPA from Sargodha, but police did not manage to find any evidence against him.
At the scene of Bhatti’s murder in 2011, Islamabad police had recovered a leaflet left there, presumably by the attackers, who claimed they killed the minorities minister for raising his voice against blasphemy laws in the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2012.

Minority MPs to protest rights violations in parliament

ISLAMABAD / PESHAWAR:
Lawmakers representing minorities have decided to take a firm stance and lodge a protest in parliament against what they say is the government’s lax attitude towards protecting their rights.
“We are all set to record protest in parliament if the government does not safeguard the places of worship of minorities, particularly the Hindu community,” Minister of National Harmony Dr Paul Bhatti told The Express Tribune on Sunday. “Minorities in Pakistan are in deep trouble,” he added.
“The government should be committed to safeguarding the places of worship of the minorities in the country and all possible steps should be taken for the care and maintenance of these places,” said Bhatti. Lawmakers from Sindh have already conveyed their concerns to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani over the enforced marriages of girls from the Hindu community in the province. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Dr Azra Fazl has also raised the issue in the National Assembly, saying that Hindu girls were being forced to live in madrassas in Sindh.
Taking notice of the protest of members of the Hindu community in front of the National Press Club in Islamabad on Friday for the repossession of their temple in Narowal district, the minister said that no one should be allowed to occupy minorities’ places of worship. He also directed the authorities concerned to take up the matter and resolve it at the earliest.
“Interfaith harmony can only be achieved through interfaith relationship … we should have interactions to understand each other’s point of views,” Bhatti told The Express Tribune.
Peshawar’s minorities
Meanwhile, All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement Chairperson Haroon Sarb Diyal emphasised the same message of interfaith harmony on Sunday. Diyal, who is also a member of the World Minority Parliament, visited Peshawar in an effort to promote interfaith harmony between the Muslim and Hindu communities residing in the provincial metropolis. He also met Syed Muhammad Sabtain Gilani, son of well known religious figure the late Maulvi Jee and provincial Ameer of Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (Noorani).
Talking to The Express Tribune, Haroon said: “We are Pakistanis irrespective of our different religions and cultural backgrounds and I believe that we should work together for the peace, welfare and prosperity of the both communities and Pakistan, which is our only true identity”. Speaking on the occasion, Sabtain Gilani said that being a majority group, it is the responsibility of the Muslim community in the country to protect the lives and property of minorities.
A total of 1,225 Hindu and 500 Sikh families reside in Peshawar, according to a survey conducted by the National Peace Committee for Interfaith Harmony.
The survey revealed there are around 47,000 Hindus, 5,000 Sikhs and 125,000 Christians in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Demolition of CARITAS Property Pakistan.

LAHORE: The National Commission of Justice and Peace (NCPJ) has accused the Punjab government of illegally demolishing a welfare centre allegedly without a notice.
The centre, Gosha-e-Aman, on Allama Iqbal Road, Garhi Shahu, was a property of the Catholic Church. Father Emmanuel Yousuf Mani, the NCPJ national director, told a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Tuesday that the demolished compound was home to three families and worth billions of rupees. He said the property was registered as the Lahore Charitable Association and was managed by CARITAS Pakistan.
Father Emmanuel said litigation concerning the property was in court, and a stay order had been issued against its demolition.
Father Emmanuel told The Express Tribune that he found District Coordination Officer Ahad Khan Cheema with policemen and demolition machines when he went to the centre in the morning. He said they demolished the building despite his efforts to stop them. The Christian community representatives said that the DCO informed them that the property had been transferred to the government. They said the property was a Catholic Church property and could not be transferred without permission.
Tariq Zaman, a staff officer at the district coordination office, told The Express Tribune that the land was declared state land by the district collector in 2007. Since then, he said, the government representative had several times notified the owners of the centre. Zaman said if the Catholic Church claimed that they owned the land, then they should present papers and court orders to explain their position to the government. The Christian community have announced a protest today.

Muslim, Hindu and Christian students join forces to spread the season’s cheer

SUKKUR:
The annual Christmas event at the St Mary’s school came with a pleasant twist this year – not only did the Christian students put on a great show on Tuesday, but their Hindu and Muslim peers also got into the mix and simultaneously celebrated Diwali and Eid.
The idea to have a single event for the three religious occasions was the brainchild of the principal of the school, Sister Rosy. “We, as the elders, are hypocrites because we express solidarity for the sake of photo sessions only. But these children are innocent and we have to teach them to respect all religions,” she said.
The event kicked off with the National anthem. Clad in an eclectic variety of dresses, students from class I to class X participated in tableaus, skits and songs. Muslim students were in white with caps bearing the moon and star, the Hindu students were clad in colourful kurtas and dhotis and the Christian students were wearing coats, ties and Santa Claus caps. At one point during the event, they danced to the tune of the popular Sindhi folk song ‘Ho Jamalo’. The food stalls, which were offering different snacks including, biscuits, chocolates, toffees and cotton candy were particularly popular.
The students and the audience were equally pleased at the fact that the interfaith event had been organised. “I feel really happy to be participating in such an event. Today it seems as if there are no Muslims, Hindus or Christians – just human beings. All these religions have one thing in common – they all preach humanity,” said a student of class IX, Khizar Tariq.
“I am happy because it is the first time that such great event has been organised by our school. I now know how Muslims and Christians celebrate their religious occasions,” said a little girl called Prerna. For her the festival was extra special as she had received a prize for her outstanding results in the school’s examinations.
A fourth grader, Nimra, said that her favourite part of the event was the camel dance, which is a part of Islamic celebrations. Munching potato chips, she said that it felt like Eid had arrived because every body was wearing new and colourful dresses. “Today I have learnt to be happy and let others be happy,” said another student, Mariam. Wajiha, a student of class I, was running excitedly from one stall to another. “She could not sleep properly last night because of the excitement,” her mother told The Express Tribune. “The celebrations have momentarily relieved my tensions. It reminds me of Indian movie ‘Amar, Akbar, Anthony’,” she added.

A School Student is accused of Blasphemy for Declaring Muslim.

LAHORE:
Blasphemy allegations continue to haunt minorities in Pakistan.
Aalmi Majlis Tahafuz Khatm-e-Nabuwat (AMTKN) activists alleged that 16-year-old Sajeel committed blasphemy by making derogatory remarks against the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his father, Rana Hakim Jameel, had done the same by portraying Sajeel as a Muslim in his school admission form.Denying that he ever put down Islam as Sajeel’s religion and all other allegations levelled against his son, Jameel’s was a different tale.According to him, the allegations stemmed from a school fight.The school principal overheard some students abusing Sajeel and beat them up. The students later accused Sajeel of telling on them and beat him up. When Sajeel actually went to the principal to complain, he learnt that the students had “made up a story, telling the principal they had attacked him because he had made blasphemous remarks”.
Later, Haji Aslam, the school principal, expelled Sajeel.
Fearing their safety, the two have been on the run ever since the charges emerged.
While the police have yet to register an FIR against the accused, they have already started conducting raids for their arrests.A member of the accused family, Rana Asfandyar, 18, was arrested by the police, who allegedly pressurised the young student to reveal his brother’s whereabouts, Asfandyar’s older brother, Rana Mujahid told The Express Tribune.
At local mosques, various religious scholars were fuelling a hate campaign against Ahmadis, Mujahid alleged, adding that evoking such hatred among the public could prove dire for his family.
However, Khushab police station SHO Raja Arshad told The Express Tribune that since the family refused to tell them about Sajeel’s whereabouts, the police had brought Asfandyar in to record his statement at the DPO’s office. Arshad denied that they had detained the boy.
Mujahid alleged that religious scholars Qari Saeed and Waqas Ahmed were producing “false witnesses” before the police.SHO Arshad said that they were still in the process of recording the statements of witnesses, and hence, were unable to conclude their investigations.
Meanwhile, Jameel alleged that a property dispute could also be a reason behind the accusations.

When men and mountain meet Pakistan

They don’t even sound like they belong in Pakistan, these strange and exotic place names that are popping up in my inbox. Immit, Mithramdan, Wargoth glacier, Sokhtarabad, Chitti Boi. With some trepidation, I sign up for this latest travel expedition and agree to pay Rs10,000 in advance to the travel guide who e-mailed this odd-sounding itinerary to me. Feeling the need for a travel partner as I depart to these uncharted territories, I call my just-returned-from-the US friend, Adeel. He gamely agrees to tag along, though he does wonder out loud if good food will be available in these places.
A few days later, we find ourselves munching breakfast in Gilgit, having got here from Rawalpindi via the breathtaking Babussar pass. We’re waiting for the wagon that will take us on to Immit and, while we wait, I keep asking our tour guide, Tanweer babu, if it’s really such a good idea to travel to the Northern tip of Pakistan in the rainy month of September.
Scoffing at my fears, he paints a picture of chirping birds and multi-coloured flowers waving in the breeze … all under a cloudless sky. This is the North, I am reminded, and in any case, September is not the rainy season. Of course, at this time half of lower Sindh is submerged under floodwaters and Karachi is experiencing its heaviest rains in a decade.
I’m reassured, and we proceed on the rather bumpy road to Immit. On the way, we cross a flooded nullah, and a little voice in my head whispers, ‘Turn back…it’s not too late!’ But I pay no heed and then we’re there. Immit is the last outpost of civilisation on this side of the border, the last major town before you enter Afghanistan. This is where the road ends, literally. For us, this means that this is the last chance to buy whatever we may need before entering the wild.
Of course, our tour operator ‘forgets’ to purchase extra oil, wheat and rice and all we have is his vague assurance that we’re well-stocked for the 12-day trek that awaits us.
It’s dusk when we reach our Mithramdan, our first campsite, and there’s just enough sun for us to glimpse the jagged peaks of the mountains against the dying light. It’s freezing cold, and we sleep in a government-run school rather than camp out. Even Tanweer babu looks a little worried as he zips himself into his sleeping bag.
The next day is just as advertised: crystal clear air, beautiful mountains and a veritable aura of happiness. Awaiting us at the school gate is an army of locals, all vigorously bargaining with Tanweer babu. They know the next lot of visitors will only come in June and this is their last chance to make some tourist cash. Eventually one lucky local wins our custom and we head out at 9 am.
As we move on, the stark beauty becomes starker, the water becomes colder the gloves start to come out, and the grumblers (a necessary part of every trek) start grumbling a little louder. At 2 pm, after crossing many beautiful but potentially deadly paths, we reach Chota Yasin. This is the place I really wanted to visit and finally being here is like a dream come true. Ancient Sanober trees dot the landscape,and a single herdsman remains here with his family. the rest having left for warmer climes.
To me, it’s heaven on earth. Imagine a place surrounded by mountains, heavily forested with magnificent Sanober trees and dotted with streams of pure, clean water. Here, the formidable-looking Yak roams free along with the herdsman’s other animals and the conversation revolves around fodder, kids and more fodder. Life is good and all blood pressure patients should come here and stay for a while to sort things out.
The next day we reluctantly pack up and move towards the promised Wargoth glacier. Despite its dangerous sounding name, it is not as formidable a glacier as Baltoro or Hispar but is nevertheless treacherous enough. This is not a place to lose your footing, because falling into one of its numerous crevices won’t just be potentially fatal, but also deeply insulting to someone who considers himself a bonafide trekker. Luckily, no one falls. We soon reach the Wargoth campsite, light a bonfire, and celebrate our first glacier crossing with some warm, salty tea. But it seems the rain gods frown upon our victory as this is when the first (and very heavy) rains begin to fall. All eyes turn towards our sheepish tour operator, who had been insisting ever since we left that rains would not be a problem. We drag ourselves along on slick and slippery paths, cursing him under our breath but still in awe of the landscape.
Twelve soggy hours later, we finally reach Sokhtarabad. It is eerily dark and the rains have resumed after a short break. The sound is so thunderous that it is just impossible to think about anything except how to keep yourself warm and dry. Soon our tents start to leak and we are all wading in cold water, fending for ourselves as our tour operator inexplicably remains fast asleep in his tent, his snores somehow still audible through the sound of the rain.
The next morning, the rain is gone but the clouds remain, hovering around the jagged mountain peaks towards the northwest. I get my first glimpse of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. As a traveler, I am constantly in awe of border regions. I don’t know why, but there’s something about political borders which compels me to visit them. However, I really don’t like visiting Mummy-Daddy-Burger-Baby borders like Wagah, which everyone can get to. I like these tough borders. Rugged places like the one I can see from the Sokhtarabad campsite. Places with names that give you an adrenaline rush.
The next day our tour operator gets sick (or is he fooling?) and we cancel our trek. I give a last, longing look to that now snow-capped peak from where you can hop across into Afghanistan, and return after photographing local yak walking across the landscape. Although we ultimately failed to reach Karomber lake we did manage to see what few Pakistanis ever will in their lifetimes. Leaving the border areas I recalled that remarkable verse by William Blake,
‘Great things are done when men and mountain meet
This is not done by jostling in the street’

Cooperation Starts with Respect for Minorities Pakistan.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has declared that it will hold its December 25 rally in Karachi even if the government does not cooperate with it. But it simultaneously admits that it will need government security as it expects half a million people to show up.

The government has currently banned political gatherings under a law called Section 144 of the Pakistan Penal Code. “We don’t need government permission for this rally as it is being held in a public place,” said the party’s chief in Sindh, Naeem-ul Haq. “But we have sent a letter to the government informing it of the rally.” But for their part, home department adviser Sharafuddin Memon said that if a letter had been sent to them, he wasn’t aware of it yet.
PTI members went around Bagh-e-Quaid on Saturday to survey the spot and briefed journalists on their preparations. PTI Sindh General Secretary Dr Alvi couldn’t hold back comment. “This land was supposed to be made into a park but it is filled with rocks. The few trees that were planted have dried up and there is open sewerage and garbage everywhere. There is no reason we shouldn’t be able to hold the rally here.”Party workers have been ordered to start cleaning the plot two days before the rally. “The empty plot’s condition will actually improve because of the rally, as we will clean and possibly even level it.” A confident Dr Alvi went on to say that perhaps the government did not want to cooperate with the PTI as it was becoming a big power in the country.
The plot is located directly across Mazaar-e-Quaid near Numaish Chowrangi, a popular spot for political gatherings in the city. It is fenced off from all sides and is surrounded by roads on three. The party claims that the rally will not cause any major traffic jams but it expects more people to turn up than the Lahore rally. Party supporters are expecte to be bussing in from across Sindh.
Haq described the spot as perfect for the rally. “We are expecting at least half a million people and there is no other place in Karachi that can hold this many people,” he said. “It is more secure than the open road.”
The rally is taking place on Christmas Day and Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s birth anniversary. This had led Sindh Information Minister Shazia Marri to earlier question the PTI’s timing as it could make it difficult for Karachi’s Christians to commute. The PTI’s response was that no churches were located in the vicinity, they were not shutting down any roads and Christmas celebrations wouldn’t be taking place at the time of the rally.

Imran Khan urged to reschedule Karachi rally in respect of Christmas Spirit

LAHORE: A rights organisation has asked Imran Khan to reschedule Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) rally in Karachi on December 25 so as not to disturb Christmas celebrations.The Centre for Human Rights Education Pakistan wrote to the PTI chief stating that by holding a rally on December 25, he would deprive his Christian supporters of the chance to participate.
The letter said that large gatherings would disturb the festivities. “It is also likely to deprive the Christians of the chance to participate in the political process,” it said. “Since PTI is being seen as an emerging mainstream party, it should consider and recognise the multireligious, multiethnic and multilinguistic nature of Pakistani society.” The letter said changing the date of the rally would send a positive message to religious minorities. “PTI should also announce its policy … to arrest discrimination and persecution of minorities”, said the Centre’s letter.

Don’t Arrest Parents in front of their "Child"

Abdullah Khoso, the National Programme Manager at SPARC said till June 2011 there were as many as 180 children in different prisons across the country, last year there were 234. Khoso, who recently participated in a consultation by the Commission on the Rights of the Child in Geneva, said Rule 326 of the Pakistan Prison Rules states that in the provinces of Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a woman offender can keep her child with her till the child is six while in Balochistan the provision is for children up to the age of three.SP Shahida from the Police Department said that police should be trained to ensure that no parent is arrested in front of their child. She said police officials should make a personal effort in trying to ascertain whether there are any children present in the house when an arrest is being made. “It is unfortunate that not infrequently the entire family of the accused, including the children, is brought in for questioning,” she said.She added that if an investigation requires questioning a child, it should be conducted in the presence of a social welfare officer.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan director IA Rehman said that it was generally in the best interest of the child that it not be kept in prison along with its parents. Rehman added that bail should be made mandatory for women who are pregnant or are mothering an infant. He stressed on the need for incorporating non-custodial methods in the judicial system to ensure that rights of children whose parents are imprisoned are not violated.
Law Department Deputy Secretary Abid Reza said the core issue was the violation of the rights of the child. Reza said the Home Department and the Social Welfare Department should send their recommendation to the Law Department for policy making.

Rao Khalil from the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau said the willingness of the imprisoned mother to give up her child to alternate care is a matter of great concern which requires both counselling for mothers and suitable alternative child care. He said pre-arrest and post-arrest data should also be collected and analysed.
SPARC Executive Director Arshad Mehmood said despite Pakistan being the first Islamic country and the sixth in the world to have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children are highly neglected in the country. Mehmood said currently there are between 1,200 and 1,300 women in various prisons in Pakistan out of which almost 850 are in the Punjab. He added that it was unfortunate that these were only four female probation officers in Punjab for women offenders.
MPAs including Arifa Khalid and Deeba Mirza were present at the meeting. Khalid said there was a need to train politicians so they can take into account the technical details of issues pertaining to children of incarcerated parents.