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blasts MOOD
STREET Town
Talk ramzan Keeping
an issue alive By Arshad Shafiq Nizami The United Nations has declared floods in Pakistan the worst natural disaster in recent times which have affected more than 13.8 million people and took over 1,800 lives. Every Pakistani is saddened by this devastating tragedy. A market survey conducted by The News on Sunday (TNS) suggests that people are in no mood to celebrate Eid and they want to show solidarity with the flood affectees by at least celebrating it with simplicity.
blasts Panic attacks The same group which attacked Data Darbar is suspected for attack on Gamay Shah procession By Aoun Sahi It was around quarter to seven in the evening on Sep 1.
Thousands of tired Shia mourners, who fasted and thumped their chests the
whole day to observe martyrdom of Imam Ali, were looking forward to relax and
break the fast as the procession had reached its destination Karbala Gamay
Shah when a blast took place. "Many of the people were getting prepared to offer Maghrib prayer. Police officials seemed relieved at having seen the rally through peacefully and had dispersed to find eatables to break the fast as well when I heard the sound of a moderate blast only a couple of hundred feet away from me," Muhammad Amjad, 37, resident of Shah Alami, who spent the whole day with the procession, tells The News on Sunday (TNS). The first blast disturbed the symmetry of the procession and panic engulfed thousands of people. "Most of the people including police officials were running here and there to save their lives. After five minutes there was another blast, this was louder and resulted in more blood and panic. But the third and the last one which occurred after 20 minutes of the second blast, was the loudest and deadliest. There was chaos, blood, and bodies everywhere," Amjad recalls the scene of the blasts that killed at least 40 and injured more than 200 others. According to Amjad, the security situation at the procession was not good. "There were no metal detectors and walk-through gates at the entrance and people from several openings were joining the procession without thorough body search." Angry mourners reacted violently to the explosions. Police officials and security installations in the area became the first victims of their wrath. They tortured badly some police officials and attacked the nearby police station, set police vehicles and public property on fire. It took police more than an hour to control them. District Coordination Officer Sajjad Bhutta has admitted
the security lapses but it is not easy to ensure foolproof security of a
moving procession of thousands. It passes through the small alleys of the
walled city and also because most of the people don't cooperate with security
officials in such processions. "In such processions we protect the
venue, destination, and the way. There were hundreds of openings on the way
of procession, if we tried to close them all, people create problems. Then
roofs of thousands of houses in the Walled city join one another. It is more
than difficult to clear all these roofs. Then no department has the original
maps of these streets, so it was not easy to secure all the openings of the
procession," Muntazir Mehdi, SP Mujahid Force Lahore tells TNS. He admits that after the first blast 50 percent of security officials dispersed while after the second people started attacking police. "It made things worst for the police but friendly for terrorists, so they managed to penetrate," he says. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Almi, a well known Sunni sectarian terrorist organisation took no time to claim the responsibility of the attacks. But many of the Pakistanis including Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif don't think that some Muslims can carry out such terrorist attacks in the holy month of Ramzan. He has not further explained his statement. Does he mean that people who have carried out these attacks are not Muslims or such people are expelled from Islam? There is also another argument prevailing in our society that Muslims can't attack religious gathering. For those who believe this argument, the attack at Karbala Gamay Shah was the 24th major attack on mosques and other Islamic institutions in Pakistan since December 2007, killing hundreds of practicing Muslims, according to the information compiled by The Long War Journal. Taliban has claimed the responsibility of most of these attacks. Police authorities confirm TNS that all three blasts were carried out by suicide bombers. "They all were young between the ages 18 to 22 years. We have found the heads and body parts of all three suicide bombers and have sent them for DNA tests. Fingerprints of two of them have also been provided to NADRA for further information. We have also arrested some suspects from Lahore and other areas of the country," a senior member of the investigation team formed to probe these attacks tells TNS on condition of anonymity. He says that the investigation team has also been examining the similarities between these attacks and July 1 attack on Data Darbar. The modus operandi adopted in both attacks, apart exactly by two months, was almost similar. "At the Data Darbar, the first bomber blew himself up in the basement and when people tried to flee towards the main entrance in a bid to escape in panic the second bomber blew himself among the people causing maximum damage. Similarly, the first bomber at Karbala Gamay Shah blew himself at one end of the procession, forcing people to flee towards Bhatti Gate and then the two bombers blew themselves in panicked crowd within 20 minutes causing maximum damage. We strongly suspect that both attacks are carried out by the same groups, that is why we have also started investigating again the people arrested after the Data Darbar attack," he says that ensuring foolproof security of such processions and shrines is not possible because of their inclusive nature. So, what is the solution? Should we voluntarily ban such religious activities for some period of time? "This is not a solution at all. This will, in fact, be a victory for terrorists," says Raghib Naeemi, prominent Sunni Braelvi scholar and Principal Jamia Naeemia Lahore. He believes that we as a nation need to stand against terrorists. "They want us to stay away from shrines and such religious gatherings. They are anti shrines and religious gatherings because they are a symbol of tolerance and acceptance in our society. Today, we need more attendance in our religious institution to defy them instead of staying away and letting them allow to force their ideology on majority of people," he says. Senior Shiite leader Allama AlSyed Alam Zaidi, Chairman All Pakistan Edara Mehfil Hussaini condemns this idea even more strongly. "This is a ridiculous suggestion. Mourning is in our blood. It is our identity. Martyrdom is our heritage. We can sacrifice our lives but cannot allow mourning procession to end. The terrorists want to stop them because they know that these processions are the most significant symbols of protest against the terrorism of their mentors." He believes that government should focus on security of religious gatherings and institutions instead of paying heed to such nonsense suggestions, he says.
Living through the 20s By Sarah Sikandar Embrace your 20s. But how? Someone once said "Enjoy yourself. That's what the 20s are for; the 30s are to learn the lesson and the 40s are to pay for the drinks." Yes! It was Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. I say twenties are for believing you have time, mid twenties for thinking you still have time and the late twenties for seeing the time fly away while you switch to "let's take it one at a time." Like it is going to work for all of us. It has finally come to what I dreaded. Not still 30
(staring me in the face though) I sit and think of what I could have done.
And I thought 50 is when you do that. Twenty is welcomed with a sigh of relief. People will finally start taking me seriously. I am not a teenager anymore and may have a say in everything. I am going to be a post-grad soon. It's all good while you are enjoying the newly-acquired status. You want to rub shoulders with the elder cousins and bully the younger one, ostracising them for being 'out of the league.' You finally get to say "when I was your age I enjoyed this, yeah when I was your age I could do that but not anymore, at your age it sounds good." The post-grad is over time to get some more independence. Get a job and tell your parents you can do it on your own. What they have been doing for over twenty years is no big deal and can be accomplished with a post-grad degree. You get a job – if you are lucky that is – and things perk up. The better is yet to come. You like the job and you have no idea how time flies. Marriage is not on the charts because, come on, you get one life and I can't afford to ruin it with the wrong guy. So you wait for the wrong to get right. A jolt and you hit 25. Time for a family intervention. You look for nooks to bury the whole shadi drama because, as a friend says, the perfect guy might be round the corner and he'll probably be hit by a truck. By this time you have learnt to shun the family as well as the unwanted suitors another attempt at the smooth sailing and things work out for some more time. Thirties are staring in the face and the younger cousins (who now look older than you, are more qualified than you and have a life) wonder if you realise you are on a clock. Now you don't tell your cousins what you felt when you were their age. Age is a taboo, like sex, you don't talk about it in public. To say someone doesn't ask why you are still single is like forgetting to take a pill. It makes you feel you did something wrong. You start hanging out with the single friends – you can count them on fingers. You also hang out with the married ones but only when you manage to learn to compulsively cajole their kids. Those who are not married can't help talking about it, those who are can't help talking about it. At the end of the day it all comes down to this – marriage is the only problem which is the only solution to all your problems. Stepping away from a responsibility combats the pressures as well as the risk of failure. That is until one finds a space to relocate oneself; a space where you snug and become passive. The 30s are ready to embrace you – unfortunately the feeling isn't mutual – but you need more time. Everyone does. The best thing is you finally realise what the secret ingredient is – effort.
*Eid Bazaar at Pearl Continental today from 10:00 am to
10:00 pm.
*Art works to go on sale till Eid at the Alhamra Art Gallery. All the proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Pakistan Red Crescent Society fund. The exhibition can be viewed virtually on www.retoarts.com.pk. Works by over 100 artists are on display to raise funds for the flood affectees. The prices of artworks have been reduced by 60 percent.
*Yoga classes at Aliance Francaise to start after Eid.
*Tea Party at Café Bol every Tuesday at 8:00 pm. There is herbal tea from the Himalayas, mint cawa, Sindhi cawa and Afghan cawa in addition to Café Bol's regular Cawa. Call: 03453998155 for information and direction.
Spiritual retreat Hundreds of thousands of people perform Aitekaf all over the country. This year,some have devoted themselves to the service of mankind By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed Waqas Arshad, 28, of Shadbagh, Lahore has dropped the idea
of sitting in Aitekaf this year. He has been performing this ritual for the
last five years in the local mosque where he takes spiritual retreat during
the last ten days of Ramzan. The inspiration, he says, he derived from the religious organisation Tehreek Minhaj-ul-Quran who called off its plan to set up Shehr-e-Aitekaf at its headquarters in Model Town. The organisation deposited Rs 30 million likely to spent on this count in its flood relief fund and directed the aspirants of Aitekaf to leave for flood-affected areas and serve the people. Waqas buys the argument that it is a need of the time to go out in the field and serve the humanity suffering from the devastating effects of the recent floods. Otherwise, he says, no other engagement, however luring, has ever deterred him from observing Aitekaf. Every year hundreds of thousands of people perform Aitekaf all over the country. For them it is the annual ten day seclusion which takes place in the last ten days of Ramzan and can be performed alone or collectively. A person observing or performing Aitekaf is called Mo'takif and he spends his days and nights in a secluded part of his house or a mosque, devoting his or her time to worship and reading the Qur'an. Aitekaf is a sunnah and can be observed all along the year but the most preferred time is the holy month of Ramzan. The very act of escorting an aspiring Mo'takif to the mosque on the 20th of Ramzan or to bring them back after the sighting of Sha'ban moon is very colourful indeed. This activity has taken the form of a ritual, especially in the Walled City, where the Mo'takifs are loaded with garlands and showered with rose petals on their way to the mosque or their house on Chaand Raat. The situation is changing fast mainly due to the security hazards facing the country, says Mushtaq Ahmed of Lohari Gate whose plans to observe Aitekaf at Data Darbar were opposed strongly by his family members. Earlier, he says, all of them would encourage him to do the same but now they are obviously scared after the recent terrorist attack at the shrine. Mushtaq, who was adamant to join Aitekaf at Data Darbar at any cost, decided against it only after he was advised by the imam of the mosque in their locality. His point was that he (Mushtaq) should not take this step at the cost of straining relationship with his parents and hurting their sentiments. "If you need your parents' permission before leaving for Jehad, how can you ignore them for Aitekaf?" was the argument he gave. However, despite the looming threats not less than 2,000 people have joined Aitekaf at Data Darbar. But before they could occupy their cabins at the shrine they had to go through a long security clearance process involving local police authorities and the fellow residents of the locality they inhabit. This secularity clearance was also required for the people who wanted to perform Aitekaf in local mosques. Special mosque committees were formed to look into the aspirants' credentials including their identity documents and residential addresses. "Personal guarantees were also required in sensitive areas with a history of violence," says Muhammad Arif, a mosque committee member in Township. There are those also who have resources and the passion to spend the last ten days of Ramzan in Masjid-e-Nabvi, Madina, Saudi Arabia. The traders of Lahore's wholesale markets are probably the largest in number among those who perform Aitekaf at Masjid-e-Nabvi, says Tariq Iqbal, a sales executive with a leading Haj and Umra operator group based in Lahore. These people enjoy Aitekaf the most as they are exposed to the highly spiritual environment of Masjid-e-Nabvi free of any security threats. However, they face difficulty in ensuring return ticket on the eve of Eid as every other Pakistani in Saudia Arabia tries to join his or her family on the occasion, Tariq adds. Iftikhar Shah Bukhari, Director Welfare, Minhaj Welfare Foundation (MWF) tells TNS that Tehreek Minhaj-ul-Quran cancelled its plan of setting up Shehr-e-Aitekaf, a regular yearly feature -- to spare funds and volunteers for flood relief activities. As many of the regular Mo'takifs at Shehr-e-Aitekaf are doctors, engineers, psychologists and professionals from other fields. It is hoped their services to the flood affectees would be of immense value, Iftikhar concludes.
Protests are a way of creating awareness in the masses against violence and injustice, two major issues in our society By Minahil Zafar Our country is undoubtedly going through the worst of
times; a new issue sprouts up even before we are able to devise a solution to
the previous one. Amidst natural calamities are significant issues of
violence and injustice rampant all over Pakistan, be it in metropolitan
Karachi, or a small town like Gojra. Our major predicament has been the
failure to deliver justice to the victims. But then, delivering justice isn't
the duty of the civil society, but ensuring that the issue isn't hushed up by
the authorities, or lost in the pages of history, is the responsibility of
the citizens of the state. In a society like ours with unbridled lawlessness, it is imperative that the civil society patronises any issue where fundamental rights are being violated, not by beating up teenagers in broad daylight to death, but standing up for the very rights of those two brothers. This is the first step towards social change. Lahore has seen a multitude of protests in recent times for various issues. They have brought together several disparate civil society groups and institutions under a single umbrella to create an effective bloc of protestors which can put pressure on the government authorities to deliver justice. For me, the purpose of a protest has been to attract media attention and win public support over an issue that has caused widespread consternation. But this is not why people go out on the streets to voice their opinions. Shazia Khan, head of Youth Commission for Human Rights and working for the Awami Jamhoori Forum said, "The first and foremost purpose of a protest is to register discontentment over an issue and to record that there is a section of the society that isn't agreeing to a particular set of affairs." The protest picks up momentum with media attention thereby increasing public pressure. Taimoor Rahman, a political activist, academic and musician said that "protests are important because they help win the solidarity of the people which helps to keep the issue alive." This he said with reference to the recent Sialkot incident and the civil society's response to it. "Protests are the best means of following up on an issue which may become stagnant with time," says Taimoor. Danish Javaid, a student of NCA along with a couple of friends from Punjab University, organised a protest at Liberty Chowk on August 26, condemning the lynching at Sialkot. They managed to gather huge support of students and removed all political party banners that were raised during the protest to show that it was a completely civil society movement. "This protest was absolutely necessary," he said. He is planning another one this week because "people are so busy denouncing our cricket team these days that they have forgotten Mughees and Muneeb." Taimoor Rahman said that the protests against the lynching
were a proof that there was some humanity left in people today and only
helped build the reputation of the society. Taimoor Rahman also talked about the nature of the protests which ranged from small gatherings outside the Lahore Press Club, highlighting issues of land disputes, load shedding, women rights abuse etc to large demonstrations like the Lawyers Movement which included blocking the Mall Road. Demonstrations on May Day for the workers for example, are held outside the Governor's House and assembly and rallies have become common at Liberty Chowk too, primarily including areas which attract most attention. Shazia Khan said that the rally on August 11, 2010 highlighting the constituent assembly speech of Quaid-e-Azam that talked about the ideology behind Pakistan as that of a secular state was held at an unconventional location. The rally had about 2500 attendees but instead of blocking the Mall Road, the protestors marched 7-8 kms from Data Sahib to Mian Mir Bridge. The location was chosen primarily to condemn the attacks on the shrine and highlight the message of the Sufiya of peace and harmony. I have always contemplated on the outcome of these protests, and whether there is a follow up or not. Taimoor Rahman states that the onus of the follow up is on the party that is demonstrating. Either there are follow-up rallies like in the case of Lawyers' Movement or the issue is kept alive through signing of petitions and distribution of leaflets. Shazia Khan also said that many meetings prior to the actual gathering take place to ensure that people will attend the protest and meetings are held post protests to review if the targets have been achieved, if volunteers showed up and what further step can be taken to highlight those demands. From all these protests it becomes evident that our government overlooks what is not in their interest. Therefore, the civil society has to take responsibility to denounce the injustices and bring to the limelight issues of utmost importance. Coming out on the streets is significant and has an impact which is precisely the reason for the numerous protests in Lahore. But a protest only has an impact if people in thousands come together, advocating for a single cause. Sialkot is a city of 0.5 million people, at least a hundred thousand people should be willing to register the heinous crime that has happened, to leave a powerful impact.
No buyers Bazaars await customers close to Eid The United Nations has declared floods in Pakistan the worst natural disaster in recent times which have affected more than 13.8 million people and took over 1,800 lives. Every Pakistani is saddened by this devastating tragedy. A market survey conducted by The News on Sunday (TNS) suggests that people are in no mood to celebrate Eid and they want to show solidarity with the flood affectees by at least celebrating it with simplicity. "Customers start thronging the Anarkali Bazaar as
Ramzan sets in, but this time Eid shopping has not yet picked momentum even
after the lapse of 22 days of Ramzan. Besides the locals, people from small
cities and villages also do Eid shopping in this bazaar. But they have not
yet started pouring in due to devastating floods in the country," says
Dalhousie shoes salesman Athar. A string of suicide blasts near Karbala Gamay Shah is a big blow to business activities in the city because shoppers have enough reason to stay away from bazaars. Anarkali and The Mall are the oldest shopping areas of the city. Anarkali Bazaar's Dalhousie shoes, Sheikh Anaytullah & Sons ready-made garments and Babar Market artificial jewelleries are popular among the Lahorites. Kiosks along the Punjab University's (Old Campus) wall in the beginning of the bazaar have a lot to attract the poor. There always remains a rush of youths at these stalls ahead of Eid, but this time till Ramzan 22 the business at these small shops seems very slow. "Actually these small shops are viewed as a great relief from skyrocketing prices. We make scanty profit from selling our goods. We just want to run the business to meet our daily expenditure, more importantly the rent, which we have to pay the university administration," said Dilber Khan while talking to TNS. "Flood in the country has slowed down Eid shopping. Many outlets are selling garments and shoes in sale to attract more and more consumers. The Lahorites are used to shopping late night, particularly for Eid, but loadshedding and early closure of shops is affecting the business. Moreover, protests and rallies on The Mall slow down business in the area," said a manager at a big store not wanting to be named. Al-Fajar boutique owner Adil said: "We keep our shops open till late night, hoping people will come, but they don't turn up. Ultimately, we close our shops before 11 pm. People living in urban areas would shop for their relatives residing in rural areas on this occasion but they are neither doing so nor their relatives are coming to Lahore for shopping due to floods." "Prices of garments are the same as were last year. The manufacturers tried their level best not to put extra burden on consumers," said Muhammad Saleem, owner of Saleem Garments at Panorama Centre. A customer on the contrary says, "Every thing is being sold at a high price here. I see 75 percent rise in prices as compared to last year, that is why it is becoming difficult for people to do Eid shopping this year," said a customer. Natural catastrophe in the form of floods, worsening law and order situation and high rates of things may hit Chand Raat shopping, on which shopkeepers rely a lot to sell their commodities.
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