ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly adopted a resolution on Tuesday demanding that what is regarded by many as a secular vision of the Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah about the status of religious minorities in Pakistan be adopted as the country’s roadmap for the future.

Some supporters of the resolution, moved by Ports and Shipping Minister Kamran Michael to mark Minorities’ Day, wanted the Quaid’s famous speech to Pakistan’s first Constituent Assembly on Aug 11, 1947, containing that vision, be made part of school and college curriculum to make the country’s youth aware of what its founder had visualised the new state to be like.

“The text of the historic Aug 11 speech is a beacon of light for us … and be regarded as a roadmap for the future,” said an opposition amendment to the Urdu text of the official resolution that recalled what it called the Quaid-i-Azam’s promise of “rights of equality” for all minorities living in Pakistan.

Also read: Minister tells NA of laws being made for child rights

There was no opposition to the resolution in the depleted house, though hardline religious scholars, like those in the government-allied Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) and the opposition Jamaat-i-Islam, have in the past disputed a secular interpretation of the Quaid’s vision, which they say was actually of an Islamic state.

Leader of the Opposition Khursheed Ahmed Shah of the PPP, as well as his party colleague Nafeesa Shah and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) member Shirin Mazari, had insisted on the inclusion of a reference in the resolution to the Quaid-i-Azam’s speech to the Constituent Assembly before becoming the first governor general of the new state created with the partition of the British India.

Some key portions of the speech, which were allegedly blacked out by some previous regimes, were recalled in the house, such as: “You may belong to any religion or caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the business of the state.” He had also said in that speech: “You will find in course of time that Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state.”

Some speakers from the minority communities as well as others complained of forced conversions of Hindu girls in Sindh to be married with Muslims and misuse of the controversial blasphemy law against Christians in Punjab forcing many members of the Hindu community to migrate to India and of Christian community to Western countries.

However, JUI-F member Asiya Nasir informed the house that a National Commission on Minorities set up by an executive order two years ago with representation of all parties was functioning “quite actively” as part of the present government’s efforts to bring the minorities in the mainstream and that a draft bill would come to parliament soon to give the commission a legal status.

In its resolution, the house saluted the minority communities for their contribution to national development, particularly in the fields of education, health, defence, constitution-framing and the war against terrorism and vowed to “continue to play our comprehensive role to uphold and ensure the rights of all religious minorities living in the country”.

Khursheed Shah thanked the government for maintaining the tradition of observing the Minorities Day started by the previous PPP government.

FOR AND AGAINST KALABAGH DAM: Earlier, the house saw the controversy over the proposed Kalabagh dam over the Indus revived during a lengthy inconclusive debate on a resolution tabled by a Muttahida Qaumi Movement member, Mohammad Muzammil Qureshi, calling for the construction of new water reservoirs to control water shortage.

Water and Power Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif described the issue of water shortages as more important than that of power shortages and persuaded the chair to extend the debate to the next private members’ day to allow more lawmakers to speak before his response to their proposals.

Most opposition members demanded construction of dams on alternative sites and building small dams rather than going for Kalabagh dam which, they noted, had been opposed by three of the four provincial assemblies.

“Kalabagh can be built over our dead bodies,” a PPP member from Sindh, Abdul Sattar Bachani, said while his party colleague from the same province, Nawab Yusuf Talpur, said the dam’s rejection by three provincial assemblies should be considered a national consensus.

But Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh of the ruling PML-N, like some other party colleagues, in effect favoured the Kalabagh dam project, saying that factors like climate change due to global warming had altered the situation and necessitated a fresh look on the issue by experts.

Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai proposed an alternative dam at Khushal Garh in the south of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Some PML-N members proposed that the government refer the controversy over Kalaabagh dam to a judicial commission whose decision should be accepted by all parties as had happened with PTI allegations of massive rigging in the 2013 general elections.

But Khawaja Asif shot down the proposal, saying parliament should not abdicate its power over what he called a “life and death” question.

FEMALE ANGER: Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmed faced a hard time against angry female members of opposition parties after he told the house that development funds had not been allocated to female members elected on reserved seats because of funds allocated to elected members from the same constituencies.

However, after much protest, he promised to arrange their meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to find a way out.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: PPP MNA Alizeh Iqbal Haider submitted on Wednesday her resignation from the National Assembly, citing "personal reasons".

Haider, who is the daughter of the late PPP leader and human rights activist Iqbal Haider, became a Member of National Assembly through the Pakistan Peoples Party quota of reserved seats for women.

Haider also served as the spokesperson for Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Her membership in the National Assembly was twice suspended because of her failure to declare her assets in a timely manner, in 2013 and 2014

However, Haider, who describes herself as a human rights activist, has also spoken out strongly in the past about controversial issues, stating that the Hudood and blasphemy laws should be amended.

QUETTA: A tribal elder, Ali Muhammad Hassani, was killed along with his son and two other colleagues in Balochistan's Kalat district on Wednesday. Three persons were also injured in the attack.

Levies sources told DawnNews that unknown armed men opened indiscriminate fire at the convoy of tribal elder Ali Muhammad Hassani in Jorri Cross area of Kalat's Surab Tehsil.

Hassani was travelling from Kalat to Kharan district when his convoy came under attack.

Also read: Tribal elder killed in Kalat

The bodies were rushed to District Headquarters Hospital Kalat whereas the injured were shifted to a nearby basic health unit for treatment.

Levies personnel reached the site and cordoned off the area as a probe into the incident went under way.

Motive behind the attack could not be ascertained. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Also read: IED blast in Bajaur kills pro-govt tribal elder, five others

Pakistani dramas have a reputation for following typical storylines with the same old run-of-the-mill characters. Right?

Well, not always. While watching Bin Roye, something dawned on me: although it makes sense that we've become immune to the quintessential momster-in-laws and the "baechari" who lets everyone treat her like a doormat, when did we become so accepting of first cousins getting married? Or a woman marrying her former brother-in-law in the event of her sister's death?

Certain relationship dynamics just make you feel uneasy, make you do a double take. Five such couples I spotted on television are:

1) Mahira Khan and Adnan Malik in Sadqay Tumhare

Relationship status: First cousins hopelessly in love, without really knowing anything about each other

Funnily enough, it was Mahira Khan's Bin Roye that kick-started this discussion; this seems to be a pattern. A classic tale of forbidden love, Mahira and Adnan play the roles of Shanno and Khalil who are first cousins, "promised" to each other since they were toddlers.

As if that wasn't weird enough, Khalil goes off to live in a different city. No Facebook, no Whatsapp - the two don't keep in touch yet Shanno is madly in love with the idea of him.

It gets even weirder when they see each other at a family function and instantly fall in love with one another. Are these characters genetically programmed to find their significant other from within extended family only? Have they forgotten that their mothers are sisters?

I guess we'll never know.

2) Aamina Sheikh and Adnan Siddiqui in Maat

Relationship status: Ex-brother in law turned husband turned divorcee turned brother-in-law AGAIN

This whole show was a web of inappropriate relationships: Saba Qamar played Adnan Siddiqui's first wife, Saman, who leaves him after a whirlwind affair for his business partner. She was also Aamina Sheikh's sister, who was initially engaged to Siddiqui's character. Wait, what? Confused? I was too!

While Saman abandons her husband and her child, Aiman (Aamina Sheikh) has to step in and take over her responsibilities and before you know it, she's married to the guy who was once her brother-in-law -- let those words just sink in. Like that wasn't odd enough, he leaves her AGAIN to go back to Saman.

Adnan Siddiqui's character, Faisal, took the four marriages allowed in Islam bit too seriously in this serial; the only thing is he just keeps remarrying the same two women! Also, those two are sisters!

3) Alishba Yousuf and Babar Ali in Ek Nazar Meri Taraf

Relationship status: Widow and former brother-in-law get married

Yet another bizarre television couple that made me go, "What? Uh, why?"

You'd think that any woman's worst nightmare would be to become a young widow. The makers of Ek Nazar Meri Taraf take it up a notch so we've got the death of a husband in the story, coupled with the fact that after he dies, the wife, Siffat (Yousuf) discovers he had a mistress.

Like mourning a cheater wasn't bad enough, Siffat's life falls apart at the seams so much so that her brother-in-law, Raza (Babar Ali) feels the only way he can help her is by marrying her. Initially, the idea is dismissed and I was relieved but in true Pakistani drama fashion, it is revisited and they end up together. Uneasy factor on a scale of 1 to 10? 9!

To be fair, Raza's intentions are in the right place but he paints Siffat like way too much of a victim — could he be any more cliche?

4) Fawad Khan and Sania Saeed in Numm

Relationship status:Spouses married off as toddlers with a considerable age difference

Did I mention the two were married through the Vani custom? Since it's typical for every character that Fawad plays to be educated from an Ivy League or Oxford/Cambridge, the story picks up from the time when he comes back after finishing his education.

Upon his return he marries another, much younger girl, Neelum (Kanza Wayne) while older wife Mahjabeen (Sania Saeed) is more or less relegated to a housekeeping role.The fact that Wali is a jerk isn't what irks me; what's interesting about this duo is the way their interactions bring forward how women are still exploited by men with wealth and power.

It just goes to show that no matter how well-educated you are and even if you intend to be different, there are some shackles you can't escape and oppressing women is rooted in tradition in many cultures and families in the country.

One thing's for sure — Numm shed light on the feudalistic rituals that are more commonplace in Pakistan than we'd like to admit. I mean, it's not very nice when the dad's idea of fatherly advice is to say, "Zindagi mein aurto ka aana jana laga rehta."

That being said, in this day and age, is this really something that should be glorified on television?

5) Adnan Siddiqui and Sanam Jung in Mere Hum Dum Mere Dost

Relationship status: An older man who falls for his friend's estranged young daughter

To be fair, Aimen's (Sanam Jung) actual father (Farhan Ali Agha) wasn't even much of a parent to her, much less his friend but it's still pretty odd. Haider (Adnan Siddiqui) doesn't seduce her or corner her into anything which keeps it from being completely creepy like Chup Raho. Instead, he acts like a guide, helping her through a tumultuous time in her life, much like a father figure would do.

The age gap wasn't so much an issue; after all, age is just a number and just like we eventually got used to Richard Burke and Monica Geller from Friends, you will start warming up to this couple too. Even so, the ick factor remains — Dad's friends are just off limits!

Gao, Suno, Badlo, the joint musical-social project of Aawaaz and Mishermayl, concluded its six-month series of songs on National Minorities Day with ‘Aao Karain Sab Ko Salaam,’ which salutes respected figures from different minority communities.

The video starts off with a child tuning into a radio station as the broadcaster names famous individuals like author Bapsi Sidhwa, singer A. Nayyer, intellectual Sobho Gianchandani, child activist Iqbal Masih and many others. The list stops abruptly as the song asks about the countless individuals who would have served the nation.

Screengrab from video shows the child trying to tune in the radio

As the child rides his bicycle with a tiny flag and origami bird on its handle, the song sung by Khawar Javed tells listeners to pay their respects to each and every member of the minority community and make it a daily habit to remember them in thoughts and wishes.

The lyrics penned by Salman Haider credit all those people who have contributed in various fields, including education, medical, arts, sports and the armed forces.

Kaheen khel k maidaanon me

Kaheen adl k aiwanon me

Koi mehnat kash ka saathi

Koi sarhad pe de pehra

Koi dard ka daru thehra

Koi kaanon me ras gholay

Koi lafz ki girhen kholay

Symbols, efforts and response

This isn’t the first time that GSB has highlighted the pressing issue of the mistreatment of minorities in the country. Their previous single ‘Kithay Reh Gaye’ had eerie but similar overtones.

Screengrab from the video shows Benjamin Sisters

Ali Aftab Saeed, who has produced GSB, said that both songs cater to the same topic in different ways: “'Kithay Reh Gaye' was to highlight the plight of minorities and a plea for peaceful coexistence. 'Aao Karain Sab Ko Salam' is to celebrate the white in our flag and their contributions to this society.”

Read more: In Gao Suno Badlo’s new song, a parrot and a donkey mock the education system

In all the songs produced under GSB the symbolism stands out; in this one, the origami bird which flies away in the end takes center stage.

Explaining the idea, Ali said: “It symbolises peace and we used it to show that within our society there are people who are in favor of peaceful coexistence. The origami bird represents this crowd.They might not be as loud or have multiple forums as the people who spread hate speech, but they exist. The video shows that the little boy is stopping everywhere he finds the origami bird to meet those who are saluting the efforts of the minorities. It is as if he is being guided by these individuals to a certain place.”

Screengrab shows origami birds on a tree symbolising peace

Out of all the previous songs which had a chirpy, solemn or an uncanny melody, ‘Sab Ko Salam’ sounds like an anthem.

Also: Gao Suno Badlo releases first song on National Women's Day

Ali believes that the composition was done to create an impact as it will be the last song in the series: “From the song to the video, we tried to leave a powerful impact since it was our last. In the video too the boy chases the sound on his radio and finds us where we are playing our song and the core team of GSB, Farhan Adeel, Saad Sultan, Madiha Gul and myself, we hand him over the origami bird to carry the peace torch forward to the next generation and we leave.”

Sharing his experience working on GSB, Ali said that it was a great experience and the response was amazing: “Honestly, the number of people we wanted to reach through this when we developed the concept, we beat that target with the first two songs. After that it has been a bonus and we are truly overwhelmed.”

KARACHI/LAHORE: PPP MPA Sharmila Farooqi on Wednesday submitted a resolution in the Sindh Assembly condemning the Kasur child abuse scandal.

The resolution was unanimously passed in the assembly with the PML-N, PML-F, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) supporting the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) resolution.

No member of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) attended the Sindh Assembly session today.

Later, MQM MPAs presented their written resignations to the Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani. The MQM has also resigned from the National Assembly and Senate.

Take a look: Child abuse case: Accused says children abused in his presence

Reports of the sexual abuse of about 280 children have shocked the country. Most of the victims who are from Husain Khanwala village near Kasur are less than 14-years-old. The victims were sexually abused and filmed by members of a gang. Their families had also been blackmailed by the gang since 2009.

Also read: Kasur scandal: 'I thought of killing myself everyday'

A property dispute allegedly brought the issue to the surface.

Seven more suspects presented in ATC

After five suspects that were presented in Lahore's ATC-IV yesterday, seven more accused were presented in court today.

Suspects presented in court today were sent on 27-day physical remand.

KARACHI: Security forces busted a foreign-sponsored gang, in intelligence based operations conducted in Karachi and Hyderabad, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Wednesday.

The statement added that security forces averted a major terrorist attack which was planned by the gang to sabotage Independence Day celebrations in Karachi.

The apprehended suspects include deputy emir of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Swat chapter, Bakhat Zaman.

According to details by ISPR, the militant gang has been planning the attack since some time and had prepared an explosive-laden vehicle and motorcycle, which they planned to use on August 14.

Security forces also claimed to have recovered the explosive-laden vehicles along with arms and ammunition from the arrested men.

During interrogation, the suspects confessed that the vehicles were arranged in Karachi and the gang was waiting for suicide bombers to arrive from Afghanistan. They revealed that Bakhat Zaman had traveled to Afghanistan to arranger for the bombers.

Following a tip off, security agencies carried out surveillance of the group for weeks before the operation was launched on August 9 in Hyderabad and Karachi to arrest the culprits.

Police and government paramilitary forces have been mounting an operation against militants and criminals in Karachi since September 2013. The city of around 20 million people and Pakistan's economic capital has been racked in recent years by criminal, ethnic, political and religious violence.

In June last year the military launched a major operation against TTP strongholds in the tribal northwest aimed at ending the bloody insurgency that has plagued the country for more than a decade.

The offensive intensified after December last year when TTP militants attacked a school in Peshawar and killed over 150 people — mostly children.

ISLAMABAD: During a special committee meeting of the Senate on Wednesday, serious questions were raised pertaining to the implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project's western route on priority basis.

Voicing their concerns, parliamentarians stated that the government is not clear on the matter of implementing the decisions reached during an all-party conference (APC) on May 28 and raised several questions in this regard.

Read: Parties pledge to take full political ownership of CPEC

During the APC in May, participants from all parties reached a consensus on the CPEC project and had pledged to take full political ownership.

In the Senate's meeting today, PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar said that in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2015-16, it was claimed that projects part of the western route are in fact ongoing highway and road projects that have been under way since years and are not part of the CPEC project.

Also read: ‘Govt violating APC decision on China corridor’

He added that even if these projects are completed, they will not be the same as the envisaged Gawadar-Kashgar corridor, in the CPEC project, which can be used by heavy 24-wheeler vehicles.

Babar further said that in order to develop the western route, the Gawadar-Kashgar road must be designed for heavy transportation so that in can be used for international connectivity and not mere patch work of links which will be used by locals only.

He said that compared to this route, the eastern route comprised of motorways from Gawadar to Sukkur to Multan and then to Lahore and further. He explained that the different specifications of the two routes will automatically dictate the transporters' first choice, resulting in the use of eastern route as the only use.

Discussing the budget, Babar said that Rs359 billion were allocated for the CPEC project in the 2015-16 budget. Out of the amount, Rs185 billion have been allocated for highways and motorways that come under the corridor project.

The amount is to be spent on the Karachi-Lahore Motorway, the road connecting Gawadar with the coastal highway and the Havelian-Thakot-Islamabad section which is common to both western and eastern routes.

Spokesperson for former president and Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari further said that a clear cut and formal reply to the questions raised will help resolve the issue of whether the government was sincere in implementing the western route on priority basis.

Also read: Economic corridor in focus as Pakistan, China sign 51 MoUs

During Chinese President Xi Jinping's much talked-about visit to Pakistan earlier this year, Pakistani and Chinese officials signed a series of more than 50 accords to inaugurate the multi-billion dollar CPEC, which will create a network of roads, railways and pipelines linking China's restive west to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan.

Unrest has been a major source of concern for the project. The military soon after the inauguration of the project during President Xi’s visit had announced setting up a 10,000-strong special force for protecting the projects to be carried out under the CPEC and the Chinese workers associated with them.

The Chinese have been seriously following the security situation in the province. Chinese Vice-Minister for Security Dong Haizhou visited Pakistan in June for security-related briefings.

Read more: Raheel vows to complete CPEC at all costs

During his visit to Balochistan, Gen Sharif said the overall security situation in the province had noticeably improved.

KARACHI: At least four policeman were killed on Wednesday when unidentified armed persons opened fire on a police mobile van in the Zaman Town locality of Karachi's Korangi area, DawnNews reported.

DawnNews quoted SSP Korangi Naeem Ahmed Sheikh as saying that Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Aqeel and three other cops died on the spot.

Local news channels quoted witnesses as saying that the policemen were having lunch at a roadside hotel when unidentified motorcycle-riding armed men opened indiscriminate fire on them.

The attackers managed to escape from the site and took away the policemen's official weapons.

All victims were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah took strong notice of the policemen's murders.

PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday claimed the arrest of ex-director general (DG) of Fata Disaster Management Authority (FDMA), Arshad Khan, and Irfanullah Khan, ex-assistant director FDMA over charges of misuse of authority and embezzlement in compensation payments according to a press release.

Arshad Khan was posted as Additional Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs Department with the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The two arrested men are allegedly involved in embezzlement of funds in Housing Uniform Assistance Subsidy Project (HUASP) for Bajaur Agency and are accused of looting and embezzling more than Rs300 million fraudulently.

Under the HUASP, the Government of Pakistan, with the assistance of USAID paid compensation to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) whose houses had been damaged during Operation Sherdil conducted against insurgents in Bajaur tribal agency in 2008.

Under a planned fund disbursement, Rs400,000 were paid to each individual whose house had been completely damaged, while Rs160,000 were paid to owners of the partially damaged houses.

Total payment of almost Rs2.5 billion was made under the project to almost 10,000 affectees of Bajaur Agency.

Read more: KP NAB fears Rs500m fraud in IDPs compensation fund

According to the press release, during the course of the inquiry it was revealed that the accused Arshad Khan, being Director General FDMA at the time, in connivance with Assistant Director Irfanullah Khan and others managed to embezzle millions of rupees in compensation payment meant for affectees of terrorism after the military operation in Bajaur Agency.

The accused Irfanullah Khan in connivance with other officials prepared hundreds of counterfeit survey forms of fake or ineligible affectees and included the same in the payment lists in order to embezzle public money.

Read more: NAB arrests KP additional home sec, two others in Rs50 millon scam

Arshad Khan illegally granted approval to ghost affectees and misled the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the Provincial Reconstruction Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority (PaRRSA).

Arshad Khan was already in judicial custody, following his earlier arrest by NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for embezzling Rs60 million in the name of ghost affectees of Mohmand Agency, a major portion of which has already been recovered.

The accused will be produced before the accountability court in Peshawar for obtaining of their physical remand.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1199997/tehmina-durrani-a-rebel-with-a-cause

KARACHI: The resignations by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement parliamentarians did not take Islamabad by surprise.

A last-minute decision, it was not planned or well-thought out by those who turned up in the speaker’s office yesterday afternoon.

In fact, none of the National or Sindh assembly members had even discussed the option in private.

Also read: Rabita committee to decide MQM participation in by-polls: Altaf

On late Tuesday night the national and provincial level parliamentarians (in Karachi and in Islamabad) gathered for a meeting along with members of the coordination committee and some participants from the US. In their various locations, they were addressed by the party chief from London.

Some senior MQM leaders joined the meeting from the US while the MQM members of the National Assembly and the Senate were listening from the Parliament Lodges in Islamabad. Members of the coordination committee were present in Karachi and London.

And a severe dressing down followed.

MQM chief Altaf Hussain lashed out at them for their cowardice and betrayal. Unclear on how to placate their party leader, the elected members offered to resign and to the shock and surprise of some of them, he agreed before banging the phone on them.

Sources said Mr Hussain was fuming because he felt that his parliamentarians had failed to defend him in the National Assembly. In a speech on August 10, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had described Altaf Hussain as the root cause of the problem.

During his address on Tuesday night Mr Hussain especially criticised Senator Dr Faroogh Nasim, Rauf Siddiqui and Faisal Sabzwari for “deceiving” him; he named them individually.

He repeatedly told the legislators that they were of no use if they could not raise their voice against the “oppression and atrocities being carried out against the MQM”.

More than one MQM activist, who is privy to the development, told Dawn that at this point a participant of the meeting, who is not an elected representative, said that the MQM lawmakers should resign from NA, the Senate and the Sindh Assembly.

Dr Farooq Sattar seconded the view.

Mr Hussain who had worked himself up into a state of rage by then said that the parliamentarians could do whatever they wanted and hung up.

The MQM parliamentarians were left with no choice but to draft their resignation letters, while members of the coordination committee in Karachi, London and the US began an emergency session to review their options in case the resignations were accepted.

On Wednesday morning, Mr Hussain endorsed the decision to hand in the resignations and instructed the MQM parliamentarians to submit them.

However, several MQM leaders privately believed that quitting the parliament is not a right decision at the moment, especially because Mr Hussain had himself conceded that he should have not boycotted the 1993 general elections.

Even Farooq Sattar’s statement on Wednesday was seen by some as reflecting this reluctance – after some news channels reported that the MQM resignations had been accepted, he is quoted to have said that the government had a different policy to deal with the PTI resignations compared to how it handled the MQM’s.

However, it is important to note that this was an interpretation because publicly, Mr Sattar as well as others stood by the resignations.

“He [Mr Hussain] took the decision and everyone now owns it,” said a senior MQM lawmaker who had attended the meeting on Tuesday night.

“There was talk of a minus-Altaf formula and that we would not be allowed to contest the local government election,” the MQM leader said.

Now, he said, the local government elections would have to be delayed if the resignations were accepted and by-elections held.

“For Altaf Bhai this is a win-win situation...he told them [the establishment] that he is still in control,” said another MQM leader, requesting anonymity.

Meanwhile, Mr Hussain paid rich tributes to the MQM parliamentarians for submitting their resignations.

“You have made the whole nation proud,” he told them over phone from London, according to a press release issued on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Farhatullah Babar said today that permitting proscribed outfits operating in the country under different names undermines the state’s credibility in the fight against terrorism and militancy.

“Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) was a reincarnation of Lashkar-i-Taiba (LT), and they were allowed to function due to a court order that was given,” said Babar while answering a query in the senate.

“The government has not yet provided me a copy of the court order that allowed JuD to operate, despite the passage of one month and an order by the chairman of the senate,” added Babar.

“This issue has again come to the forefront due to the recent comments made by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, in which he alleged that Pakistan has allowed some select groups to operate freely in the country,” said Babar.

Read: No evidence about JuD’s links with LeT: minister

“This has raised serious questions and misgivings about our intent and designs,” stated the senator.

The senator added further that questions were bound to arise when proscribed organisations are run under the guise of charity organisations.

“Are these so called charities allowed to function and serve as pressure groups which try to influence the elected government and the parliament, or are they meant to advance certain security and foreign policy goals as non-state actors,” questioned Babar.

Babar also said that given the impunity that is enjoyed by some of these groups, gives rise to the suspicion that they are protected by certain powerful forces.

Under Section 11-B, an organisation is proscribed if the federal government has reasons to believe that it is linked to terrorism. Under the law, the government can place an organisation under observation for six months if it is suspected of being involved in terrorist activities. The period can be extended only after providing the organisation an opportunity of being heard.

Earlier in July, the government had ruled out the possibility of proscribing Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) in the near future and said there was no evidence of the charity organisation having been formed in place of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

HYDERABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Hyderabad issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain in a sedition case, after police submitted a final challan on Wednesday.

Altaf was booked under sections 124-A (sedition), 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot), and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code, section 25 of the Telegraph Act, and sections 6/7 of the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997.

Also read: Police declares Altaf Hussain absconder

The case was lodged on the complaint of one Mohammad Usman Jokhio, who said in the FIR on July 11, 2015, that he heard a televised speech of Altaf Hussain on different television channels, adding that the speech was provocative and fanned hatred against the government, the army and other state institutions.

The complainant also handed over the recorded speech on a compact disk (CD) to police.

It was also alleged that Altaf Hussain had incited people for rioting and terrorism in the country.

Police today submitted the challan of the case under section 512 Cr.PC (Code of Criminal Procedure) before the Hyderabad ATC, after which the non-bailable warrants were issued.

It is now the court’s discretion to proceed against the accused in absentia.

Also read: Rangers file case against MQM Chief Altaf Hussain

In July, FIRs were registered in different parts of the country against Altaf Hussain for remarks made by him against the chief of Rangers in Sindh and the paramilitary force in recent speeches.

In the FIRs, Hussain was accused of involvement in cases of criminal conspiracy, waging or attempting or abetting the waging of war against Pakistan and committing acts of terrorism.

In April, Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations Major-General Asim Bajwa had said that earlier statements made by the MQM chief regarding the Pakistan Army would be legally pursued.

LAHORE: Indian High Commissioner Dr T.C.A. Raghavan urged Pakistan on Wednesday to understand his country’s perspective on terrorism instead of coming up with a “defensive stance” whenever the issue is raised.

“There is a need to understand why we are raising this issue,” he said, adding that the two countries should candidly discuss the issue of terrorism.

He said that Pakistan had faced a lot of terrorism which, he added, would have to be looked into from different angles so that the two countries could move forward.

He was delivering a lecture on “The Peace Dividends” at the Human Rights of Commission of Pakistan office. The lecture was attended by a large number of rights, peace and civil society activists and academicians, including I.A. Rehman, Hina Jilani and Dr Mubarak Ali.

“There is a need to understand why we are raising this issue”

Mr Raghavan said that though the two countries had made a lot of progress in developing good relations, mainly through technology (internet and satellite television) and travel facilities, they were required to develop trust in each other. “Without this, issues like the Kashmir dispute cannot be resolved.”

He said India wanted peace with its neighbours to strengthen its economy. Its major achievement has been the attainment of six per cent GDP growth despite its diversity and huge population. And it wants to raise it further to seven to eight per cent in 25 years in order to meet challenges like poverty.

He said Indian (presumed) aspirations about its regional and global approaches as discussed by defence experts did not match its top priority of raising its GDP growth rate. It was important to heed this priority, he added.

He said historically relations between Pakistan and India had been complex. But they were not bad before the 1965 war when they signed the Indus Basin Water Treaty. It was a landmark achievement and both the countries have been remarkably sticking to it.

The diplomat said neighbours did have historical legacies which should not influence their policies to each other.

He said the dividends of peace would enable India and Pakistan to focus on their domestic challenges. “We have a huge challenge of development and transferring its benefit to our people.”

He said no relations were without contests and competitions, but that did not mean conflict. “We need to move ahead despite the issues.”

Against general perception, he said, relations between the two countries had been getting better over the past 10 to 15 years mainly due to technology (means of communication) and travel. “There has been more travel and communication through internet and satellite television network than in the past, helping peoples of the two countries to better understand each other without the filter of the governments,” he said. “Technology and travel also raise humanitarian issues and help the governments of the two countries to quickly resolve them.”

He said the pace (of developing good relations) might be slow but there had been more interaction and trade between the two countries. There has been interaction on different formidable issues on the agenda of the two countries.

Their prime ministers recently met in Russia and there have been border flag meetings. Replying to questions, Mr Raghavan said relations between the two countries before 1965 were better because then politicians, establishments and bureaucrats knew each other and there was an understanding that the two sovereign countries should move forward. “This part of the history should be studied.”

As in Pakistan, he said, people in India too held a passionate point of view on Kashmir and the presence of such cross-border passions would not allow any improvement in the relations between the two countries. The issues could be resolved only after building trust in each other, he added. “Lack of trust multiplies doubts.”

He said those creating tensions on the borders were not hidden and the solution was more flag meetings.

He said visa regime had been eased by the two countries over the years. The two countries had talked of group tourism three years ago but later Pakistan did not agree to it. Now prime ministers of the two countries have talked of religious tourism.

He said it was not correct to say that Indian politicians ran their election campaigns on anti-Pakistan sentiment. “Our election campaigns are not based on foreign policy. In fact, the media in the two countries amplifies issues but we should try to understand the issues in a wider perspective,” he said.

The diplomat said people in India blamed Pakistan for cross-border violations (of ceasefire). “Both of the countries indulge in cross-border shelling. There is a need to sit and talk on the issue.”

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2015

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Following the resignation of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) lawmakers from both houses of parliament, party chief Altaf Hussain said that the MQM Rabita (Coordination) Committee will decide the further course of action regarding participation in by-polls to be held on the vacated seats.

Altaf Hussain in an interview with Geo television's Hamid Mir on Wednesday, also said that he will not issue any statement which would hurt the integrity of the country's institutions.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan tweeted on country's current political situation and said, "A tale of 2 resignations: One to investigate an election where all parties claimed election was rigged; & the other to save target killers."

Earlier during the day, MQM leader Farooq Sattar had also alleged that his party was being targeted in the Karachi operation to create political space for PTI and the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi.

Kanwar Dilshad, a former secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan who also oversaw the 2008 general elections, said that after the NA Speaker's notification regarding the acceptance of MQM parliamentarians' resignations is received by the ECP, it is obligatory on the commission to conduct by-elections in the constituencies vacated by the lawmakers within 60 days.

Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj, while talking to DawnNews later in the day, said he will not accept the MQM resignations in a haste.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that the government has not issued a notification accepting resignations by MQM's legislators. He stated that if MQM takes back their resignations, the government would work towards resolving their grievances.

Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahidullah Khan, belonging to the ruling PML-N, said that for the sake of democracy's survival in the country the government will try to stop the MQM lawmakers from resigning.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that although the MQM legislators had tendered their resignations he did not consider the move as a good omen. He added that the resignations of the MQM legislators would create a crisis situation in the country.

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Senator Sirajul Haq has said that the MQM's sudden and unexpected decision to quit from the assemblies was both surprising and sentimental. He added that in Pakistan, political parties were weak but the leaders were comparatively stronger, and politics revolved around the interests of personalities instead of principles.

Earlier during the day, prior to the submission of the resignations by the MQM lawmakers, Awami Muslim League chief Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad said that presence of Muttahida legislators in the National Assembly was important.

He was of the view that in the prevailing situation in Karachi, MQM lawmakers should not tender their resignations.

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday visited the front lines in Waziristan, where he directed operation commanders to ensure that terrorists remain cut off from their “friends and their outside support,” a statement released by the army’s media wing said.

“These enemies of state and their financiers will not find a place in the country and will ultimately meet their justified ends,” said the army chief.

Reviewing the progress of ongoing operations, Gen Sharif expressed satisfaction over gains made by forces thus far and appreciated the troops’ high morale, which he said was at display while they fought terrorists in the most rugged terrain, said the statement released by Inter Services Public Relations on Wednesday.

Speaking to troops, the army chief said operation Zarb-i-Azb in North Waziristan was in its final stages, adding that remaining terrorists had been squeezed into “penny pockets” that will also be cleared soon, according to the statement. He said the successes of operation Zarb-i-Azb and the sacrifices of our officers and men have been acknowledged by the entire nation.

Gen Sharif also oversaw strategy on future operations, including the one planned in Shawal.

Military operation Zarb-i-Azb was launched in North Waziristan on June 15, 2014, following a brazen militant attack on Karachi's international airport and the failure of peace talks between the government and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) negotiators.

North Waziristan is one of the seven regions in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) governed by tribal laws which is situated along the Pak-Afghan border.

Last month, the army said it is finalising plans to launch the final phase of Operation Zarb-i-Azb in mid-July to flush out Taliban terrorists from their remaining strongholds along the border with Afghanistan.

Read: Conclusive phase of Zarb-i-Azb next month.

“Preliminary preparations for the final push have started, which will begin next month,” a senior military official had told Dawn during a background briefing on the eve of the first anniversary of the commencement of Zarb-i-Azb.

The final drive was planned in south of Dattakhel towards the border through the forested and mountainous Shawal Valley.

A large number of militants fleeing the operation in other parts of North Waziristan are believed to have taken refuge in Shawal Valley, which is considered to be an Al Qaeda sanctuary and a stronghold of Gul Bahadur, a warlord once considered pro-government.

Shawal has also been the focus of US drone attacks this year with multiple strikes hitting targets in the valley in which dozens of suspected militants were killed.

QUETTA: An anti-terrorism court indicted on Wednesday all the suspects nominated in the attack on the Quaid-i-Azam Residency in Ziarat and directed the prosecution to produce the witnesses at the next hearing.

ATC-II judge Nauroz Khan indicted Pukar Khan who was produced before the court. The police have nominated 15 persons in the case. The suspects included Nawabzada Hairbiyar Marri, who is abroad.

The hearing was adjourned to Aug 20.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2015

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AT long last, and with one resounding voice, the representatives of the Pakistani people have spoken for the minorities of this country. In so doing, they may have taken a historic step towards a course correction for Pakistan’s future.

On Tuesday, the National Assembly passed a resolution demanding that the views of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah about the status of minorities in Pakistan, as articulated in his famous speech of Aug 11, 1947, be “regarded as a road map” in the years ahead. Moved by Kamran Michael, minister for ports and shipping, the resolution referred to Mr Jinnah’s speech as “a beacon of light”.

Know more NA adopts Quaid’s vision about minorities

Portions of that address, which were suppressed by some of the right-wing governments that followed, were recalled in the assembly including the unequivocal assurance by the nation’s founder: “You may belong to any caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the state.” The resolution also reiterated the minorities’ status as equal citizens.

In countries with a different past, the resolution may read like an assertion of the obvious; in Pakistan it is difficult to overplay its significance, both from the point of view of content and timing.

After independence, contrary to Mr Jinnah’s words, the state lost little time in recasting faith — specifically the faith of the majority — as its raison d’être, and later, as the cornerstone of its foreign policy. A triumphalist narrative, especially from the ’80s onwards, was deliberately nurtured through means both subtle and overt, and the minds of entire generations poisoned for short-sighted objectives.

The fallout within the country has been devastating, as witnessed in the lynching of blasphemy suspects, sectarian killings, the sacking of localities with minority populations, and the bombing of religious processions and places of worship, etc.

Although religious extremism has disproportionately affected minority communities, it has over time morphed into the bedrock of a vast terrorist network that the state is now battling to destroy. Efforts are being made to rein in some of the more reactionary elements in society.

The parliamentarians, to their credit, have taken the cue to push through the much-needed endorsement of Jinnah’s speech from 68 years ago. The lack of opposition by members of religious parties in the assembly to what was clearly promotion of a secular point of view — unthinkable even a year ago — indicates that they too have picked up on the prevailing mood.

Nevertheless, for Aug 11, 2015 to be a defining moment, the resolution must form the basis for action. Politicians and the establishment need to take a far more categorical stand against religious extremists of all shades. For enduring change, school curricula should be purged of divisive, prejudiced material, the country’s pluralistic heritage celebrated, and the blasphemy law revisited.

Only then perhaps will the words spoken by the founder of this nation so many years ago have any meaning.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The dust had barely settled from the controversy over the PTI resignations and National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq is still being berated for having delayed accepting the PTI resignations when he has decided once again to “process” the resignations handed in by the MQM lot, instead of accepting them straightaway.

Ironically, it was August 2014, when the PML-N government faced the dharna and resignations of the PTI and a year later on Wednesday, it confronted another political party that chose to express its unhappiness by resigning from the parliament.

This time around the MQM rocked the capital by handing in its resignations from the National Assembly, the Senate and the Sindh provincial assembly.

Speaker Ayaz Sadiq examined the resignations individually and asked every MNA whether he or she had resigned voluntarily or under duress

At least this time around the ‘revolt’ within the parliament house was limited to resignations and not street protests.

And this time around, the MQM parliamentarians made the effort to first announce their decision in the house and then troop into the speaker’s office to hand in their resignations.

Though the MQM’s elected representatives announced their decision in the National Assembly at around one, by then the news had spread through the parliament house building and the city.

In fact, it had been reported on some news channels during the early hours of Wednesday and when the MQM parliamentarians did not show up when the National Assembly session began, no one was surprised.

They stayed in the parliamentary lodges in the meantime.

Neither was anyone taken aback when they finally turned up and Farooq Sattar announced the decision. He said the decision to quit had been made “against the excesses of the law-enforcement agencies which they are, day in day out committing on party workers in the name of Karachi law and order operation”.

It appears as if even the Speaker was prepared. Waiting for the MQM in his chambers, he ensured that the resignations were examined by him individually and he was able to ask each of them if they had submitted the resignations voluntarily and not under duress.

All this was done under the full glare of the television cameras that had been allowed into the Speaker’s office along with the MQM members.

Once this step was complete, the speaker came out of his office and individually shook hands with the MQM legislators and bid them goodbye.

He did not seem to leave much doubt about what his intentions were. But it seems as if he is also capable of last-minute u-turns.

Because after all this, he did not announce a final decision – a move that was hailed by experts who excitedly pointed out that sanity had prevailed.

The National Assembly secretariat issued a statement that, “the resignations of 24 members of MQM were handed over to the Speaker in his office at about 3pm today - August 12, 2015. The Speaker after receiving these resignations directed the National Assembly Secretariat in writing to process these resignations. The resignations are under process in the relevant branch of the secretariat.” 

With these bureaucratic words, the Speaker has now provided some room for politicians to jump in and find a resolution short of the MQM’s departure from Constitution Avenue.

The MQM has 24 MNAs—19 MNAs on general seats, four on reserved seats for women and one on seats reserved for minorities. Except for Samar Sultana Jafri, who is out of the country, the rest of the 23 MQM legislators did turn up in the Speaker’s chamber. In addition, the party’s eight Senators as well as its 51 provincial assembly members also handed in their resignations.

When they left the parliament house, Dr Sattar said that the entire party leadership had discussed the issue on late Tuesday night before “we reached this decision, because, we were left with no other options, after the military leadership, federal and PPP government in Sindh refused to listen to our grievances”.

“A few of the MQM MNAs who were in Karachi reached Islamabad on Wednesday morning, after whose arrival, we had another meeting to collect our signed resignations and hand them to Dr Sattar,” a MQM leader said.

In his detailed statement before the media later, Dr Sattar explained the party’s decision.

His entire argument boiled down to the fact that military-led Sindh Rangers had singled out the MQM in the name of its ongoing law and order Karachi operation and that as a result, the party had decided to quit the national and provincial legislatures in protest.

Perhaps this is where the MQM situation differs from the PTI one – where the PTI grievances (whether real or imagined) were linked to the government’s lack of interest in pursuing the rigging charges, the MQM is upset about the Karachi operation that is not entirely under the control of the PML-N government.

However, as with the PTI, it seemed the MQM’s resignations were not a done deal.

Apart from the Speaker’s delaying tactic, by the evening the PML-N leadership had hit the talk show circuit to explain how the resignations had so far not been accepted and how efforts would be made to stop the MQM. From Khawaja Asif to Ishaq Dar to younger members like Talal Chaudhry, everyone was quoting the relevant law and clauses to press home the point.

All of this, however, ensured that the MQM’ resignations were the issue of the day in the federal capital. Be it Kasur and child abuse, or the Afghan president’s outburst – everything was relegated to the back burner.

It is noteworthy that the issue of PTI’s resignations was settled merely last Thursday, when, the MQM and JUI-F withdrew their resolutions against the party for skipping the house for more than 40 days.

It is too soon to predict how long the latest resignation saga will last.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2015

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