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issue Radical
message Taal
Matol issue Differences
indeed RIPPLE EFFECT
The government plans to deal with the uprising in Swat by setting up Qazi courts which may make matters worse By Raza Khan A quick and efficient system of justice is a panacea for social unrest. However, the judicial and legal processes in Pakistan are so cumbersome that attainment of justice remains a far cry. This is a common problem throughout the country. There has been a demand for
the establishment of the so-called Qazi courts or Islamic courts in the The government had already constituted Qazi courts in Malakand area in 1999 under duress but TNSM and other clerics termed it a mere eyewash. Their demand was imposition of complete Shariah in Malakand division. After the Swat uprising led by Maulana Fazlullah, son-in-law of Sufi Mohammad, which claimed hundreds of civilian lives in fighting between Fazlullah's militants and security forces, the NWFP government reviewed the whole situation. It was, reportedly, of the opinion that the insurgency in Swat could be tackled by setting up Qazi courts there. The premise of this proposal being that people supported clerics like Fazlullah due to utter frustration with the existing dispensation of justice in Malakand. The provincial government, headed by Chief Minister Shamsul Mulk, has thus expressed its intention to establish Qazi courts and, in this connection, may promulgate Shar'i Nizam-e-Adl Regulation of 2008. There has been severe criticism of the proposal from various legal and human rights quarters, who have termed it as unconstitutional and illegal. Some of the salient features of the proposed Shar'i Nizam-e-Adl Regulation of 2008 include that laws applicable to the area will apply subject to established principles of Sharia, and all cases shall be decided in accordance with the Sharia; in the regulation area a District and Sessions Judge will become Zilla Qazi, an Additional District and Session Judge will be Izafi Zilla Qazi, a Senior Civil Judge-cum-Magistrate will be Aa'la Illaqa Qazi and Civil-Judge-Judicial Magistrate will be Illaqa Qazi; a Qazi will try his best to dispose of a civil case in six months and a criminal case in three months; the Qazis will be appointed from among the existing judicial officers in the province who hold the LLM (Sharia) degree or an equivalent degree or have completed Sharia course of at least three months duration from a recognised institution; appeals and revisions against decisions by Qazi courts shall lie with the Federal Shariat Court which will enjoy the appellate and revisional jurisdiction of the High Court under the Civil and Criminal Procedure Codes; a Qazi will be bound to refer matters requiring interpretation of Islamic injunctions to a Muavin-e-Qazi (helper to a Qazi). The foremost criticism of the proposed policy is that if the judicial procedures are dilatory everywhere, why change the system only in a few districts of NWFP? This is like setting up a parallel judicial system. The very nature of the proposal envisages a discriminatory judicial dispensation; thus it cannot be termed a judicial system at all. Yet another point of concern regarding Qazi courts is that the Qazi (a judge in this case) will be under the direction of a Muavin Qazi, who could be a cleric. This has invited great criticism. A leader of the National Party and noted lawyer, intellectual, and human rights activist, Mukhtar Baacha, who also hails from the area, told TNS about the 'real' purpose of the proposed regulation. He said, that maulvis have been demanding that instead of judges as Qazis, 'ulema' (their description) should be appointed as judges and this has become an issue. He said that another demand of clerics has been to withdraw the jurisdiction of Peshawar High Court and Supreme Court from the Malakand-Swat area. Baacha said even if the government proposes Qazi courts, this would not solve the problem as the issue is profoundly political. Whatever the government intend to do is not going to be acceptable to the maulvis and the matter would end in a compromise. "The regulation indicates this," he said. When asked how he considered it a 'political stunt', he said, "The people of erstwhile Malakand division have the option of choosing from three legal processes including Rivaj (custom), Qazi courts and normal judicial procedures. So there is no need of any such Qazi courts." The Qazi may be otherwise competent enough to make judgements. But if he is under a sort of check (Muavin) and has only three months' study of Islamic laws, he would depend upon the Muavin to propose decisions which, in a sense, would be binding on him. A noted Supreme Court lawyer and ex Speaker NWFP Assembly, Masud Kausar, while talking to TNS about the formation and constitutionality of the proposed Qazi courts said, "People don't realise that even before partition, in the areas comprising Pakistan, civilian matters were decided according to Islamic law. Of late, even in criminal matters, a large body of Islamic laws like Hudood laws have been incorporated. Qazi courts have also been functioning in Malakand area since long. "Now the setting up of such courts would give rise to new questions; whether their structure are in conformity with the demands of legal procedures, civilized structures and human rights or not?. Whether they fulfil the international standards of administration of justice or not?" Explaining the frustration of people, Kausar said, "They are fed up of the people running these institutions; there is nothing wrong with these institutions. The normal procedures of administration of justice are as efficient as any other system, only if rules are followed. I don't understand how the system of Qazi courts could bring any change or become a success story when this system is already in place in Malakand." He said he wasn't sure if the government wanted to please the Taliban in the area by establishing these courts. "Because in such a system the mullah is not only the law-giver but also executes these laws." Under the proposed Shar'i Nizam-e-Adl Regulation of 2008, the appeal against the decision of Qazi courts could be made in Federal Shariat Court. This is a departure from the early experiment of Qazi courts in Malakand. It may be mentioned that under the existing system of Qazi courts, in Malakand, the appellate jurisdiction against Qazi courts rests with the High Court. The proposed provision of the regulation would lead to a profound discrimination in the process of access to justice and thus would infringe upon basic human rights. Moreover, as the regulation envisages a procedure of collective responsibility and thus punishment, it is against all norms of decency and justice. Legal and political analysts are terming the proposed scheme of re-introducing Qazi courts as nothing but a 'political gimmick'. Some call it appeasement of the radicals. In this context the proposed Shar'i Nizam-e-Adl Regulation of 2008 may make matters worse in Swat -- by placing the whole area under a discriminatory judicial system.
By Raza Rumi The immortal words of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishty epitomize the reverence and devotion of Muslims towards Imam Hussain (AS): Shah ast Hussain, Badshah ast Hussain Deen ast Hussain, Deen
Panah ast Hussain Sardad na dad dast, dar dast-e-yazeed, Haqaa key binaey La ila ast Hussain Ruler is Hussain, Emperor is Hussain, Faith is Hussain, guardian of faith is Hussain . Offered his head, and not the hand to Yazid. Indeed, Hussain is the foundation of La-ilah (the declaration that none but God is absolute and almighty) Moharram reminds us of the Kerbala tragedy; and Imam Hussain's (AS) refusal to submit to the autocracy of Yazid. This episode is laden with deep symbolism. Imam Husain and his faithful companions preferred to die on the banks of river Euphrates but did not submit to what was wrong. And what was wrong beyond the theological discourses. Hussain (AS) raised the voice of dissent against the emergence of the Empire and the Church in Islam. Hussain (AS) offered his life and that of his family and associates to resist the confiscation of the right of the Muslims to select their leader, to resist the emergence of the Empire and preserve Islam's tribal egalitarianism against an emergent iniquitous economy. The ruling classes had to undo a tribal republic created by the Prophet (pbuh) where blacks, the poor, non-Arabs and minorities co-existed with Arab Muslims. Hussain (AS) died helpless, calling for support, not just to the treacherous residents of Kufa but for the generations to come. This is why Iqbal cried years later that the blood of Hussain (AS) had created a garden [of liberation] challenging tyranny for all times to come. When Islam found an Empire, a Clergy was born that in the first place had no room in the radical faith evolved in Makkah and Medina. The leading scholars later were coerced or co-opted by the Empire. The horrific treatments meted out to the scholars such as Imam Malik and Abu Hanifa testify to this distortion. The clerics who compiled Islamic Law under the Abbasids made a firm alliance with the Kings and added the 'apostasy Fatwa' against any movement that challenged the Abbasid kingdom. Sufis, philosophers, and scholars all got their share of killings at the hands of the monarchial state that Hussain (AS) challenged at Kerbala. The tragedy in Kerbala also contributed to the intellectual discourse on the freedom-determinism debates. Abu Sa'id ibn Abi al-Hasan Yasar al-Basri declared that man was totally responsible for his actions. He argued this position in a letter addressed to the Umayyad caliph -- Abd al-Malik. This famous letter attacked the widely held acceptance of determinism; and reiterated that early theological disputes were largely related to the struggles against despotism and oppression. The debate which started after the Kerbala tragedy matured in to the intellectual wrangling among Mu'tazila -- trying to give a rationally coherent account of Islamic beliefs -- and Ash'ariyya -- reacting against the excessive rationalism of the Mu'tazila. Thus the anti-monarchy debates ensued within the faith. In the words of Ali Shariati, "martyrdom is a death which is..., selected with all of the awareness, logic, reasoning, intelligence, understanding, consciousness and alertness that a human being has." It is a shame that the clergy, over the centuries, trivialised this epic struggle and reduced it to the present day provenance of present day sectarian conflicts. Over time these differences have become bloodier and un-holier. The ugly face of sectarianism is now haunting the entire Islamic world. Pakistan has been a battle ground for over a decade where regressive interests use the occasion of Moharram to kill innocent believers and create divisions. And, at the global level, the imperial games around sectarianism have shown how the institution of Clergy of any brand can only obfuscate the message of Islam and becloud the sacrifice of Hussain (RA) and his associates. This Moharram comes in the wake of Pakistan's move towards democracy and re-establishing the culture of dissent. The brutal murder of Benazir Bhutto weeks before the advent of this historic marker becomes most relevant; and re-affirms the message of I. Hussain (AS). Perhaps this is why she is now widely referred to as a Shaheed. And, how can we forget the hundreds who have died in suicide bomb blasts and Eidgahs in the recent months. The new-age manifestations of Yazid are at work and there are countless who are resisting it. It is true that there are fears of blood-baths and the scare that the usual miscreants will be at work in the coming days. How unfortunate, that we have become victims of man-made dictums that the Clergy loves to reiterate; and militancy espouses as the Divine truth. But nothing can be static. Change is the only eternal and immortal reality. Moharram is therefore also the time when Iqbal and Shariati's calls for ijtehad and transformation resonate. Moharram, for this reason, cannot be a mere package of localised rituals in the Islamic world. It is also the time to restate the radical message of change at the core of which lies social and political justice. The martyrdom at Karbala was not the end. Hazrat Zainab's struggles indicate the way forward. In Shariati's words: "Those who died committed a Husaynic act. Those who remain must perform a Zainabic act. Otherwise, they are Yazids" Therein lies the challenge of transforming the mourning for Imam Husain (AS) into action that would truly make us his followers. Raza Rumi blogs at http://razarumi.com and edits Pak Tea House blog-zine http://pakteahouse.wordpress.com By Shoaib Hashmi Someone has to take responsibility and put a stop to this nonsense! Here we are living in the living tropics with its famed balmy weather, and the first queer fact we are told in general knowledge, is that Jacobabad is the hottest place on earth and it is right here for us to be proud of -- and we have been freezing our butts off for weeks! Them weather wallahs have no shame, telling us each day that the temperature last night was Minus so many degrees, and even more shamelessly tell us that it's going to stay there for some time! Minus temperatures are for
the Poles not here right next door to the Equator ! I've even forgotten It gets worse at night, and you have to pace the floor for half an hour before you can gird up your loins and gather enough courage to venture into the ice-cold bed. It doesn't end there, all night long when you have to turn over, you cringe because at least one arm and a leg end up in the unwarmed part of the mattress. I know I have been going on a bit about how cold it used to be in the past, but I withdraw my words -- it was never as cold as this. And the thing is that no one is doing anything about it, or even accepting the blame. All are busy making the lame excuse that it is a cold wave from Siberia! That is ridiculous. Siberia is a thousand miles away with the Himalayas in between and there is no way a cold wave could have sneaked over them. At least the Karachi wallahs have the decency to blame their neighbours, the Quetta wallahs, when they get a cold-wave. It is cheap to blame a foreign hand. Of course stuff can fly over here from Siberia. In my boyhood, one annual adventure was the great Tilliyar shoot and we were always told that the hordes of Tilliyar came from Siberia on their annual flight south for the winter. And I remember the details well; the family would get together, dish out the shotguns and brush them out and set out with us youngsters in twos to carry the cartridges and learn our ropes as he-men. The Tilliyar would fly over in bunches of what seemed like a few hundreds, or thousands at regular intervals and always from the same direction. The elders would bang away at them almost without having to aim. I remember we were told to take the cartridges, whatever their number was, with the smallest pellets because it was a really small bird. And that's not all. Each time someone shot something, half a dozen of the lot would drop out of the sky and scramble about in the bushes. Us kids were supposed to find them, and clean and dress them for the grown-ups evening shindig. And there was a cute little legend attached which was that we were also supposed to find the pellet that had done the deed as we cleaned each bird, it was wisdom that no matter how hard and keen we tried, we would always find some of the birds which had no wound and no pellet! The story was that it was not only a small bird, it was also a rank coward, and each time it heard a bang, and saw some of its companions give up the ghost and drop down, it too simply decided to drop. I do not mean to be mean to the dead, but I will swear before any forum, that in each chunk we found at least one or two which had obviously not been hit! Ask any experienced hunter. I guess a place which can breed such queer birds can also breed a vicious wind!
By Afnan Khan "I don't have any
friends and I don't like to make friends." Mohammad Saeed, 10, is the
youngest Mohammed Saeed is one of the eight remaining camel jockeys who have no claimants or relatives in Pakistan. In a breakthrough agreement, the United Arab Emirates, in consultation with UNICEF, banned the use of underage camel jockeys. Since November 2004, the UAE government has been sending the boys back to their home countries. According to Pakistan government, 2,500 to 3,000 children were used in camel races in the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. 80 per cent of these are from Pakistan. Zubair Ahmed, Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) director and Unicef programme manager said that since 2005, 750 child camel jockeys have been brought back. Once the boys arrive in Pakistan they are received at a child protection centre in Lahore. Here they are given psychological and social support, medical check ups, vocational training and a chance to once again play like normal children. Most of them don't like to interact with others and tend to be left alone; yet all of them share the single dream of going back to UAE and rejoin the profession they were in or at least live in the land they think is theirs. Mohammad Aslam, 15, is learning how to stitch clothes. "I have stitched more than two dozen shalwar suits so far and they are going to pay me Rs 50 for each, which means I am making money along with learning," Aslam stated, adding that he was more actively involved in the process of learning how to read and write along with what he was doing. "I have no relative here in this country, I feel my like a stranger here because I was taken to UAE when I was just a kid, maybe 5, and I was brought back when I was 14," Aslam explained, asserting that he was more acquainted with Arab culture and believes that it is is home. Aslam's best friend is Hamza, who is five years old and was rescued by CPWB inspectors a few months ago. More active, wise and helpful than others, Aslam has got a special bond with Hamza and takes care of him like an elder brother. Tariq, 16, is the eldest among the camel jockeys being taught in the first government made child care facility. "We have got no relative here in this country and when we were brought back, we were told that our parents are waiting for us in Pakistan. We are not even sure of being fortunate or unfortunate for not finding our parents as it would have been pointless to see those who gave us birth and sold us to the foreigners for better houses, television or more bread than they could earn by their hands," Tariq said with wet eyes. CPWB officials have engaged the UAE government in a discussion to award working visas to these children after the age of 18. Tariq said that he would be leaving for UAE in two years Mohammad Shafiq doesn't exactly know how old he is, but guesses that he might be thirteen and does not remember when he was smuggled out of Pakistan. Sajjad is also 13, and likes to read and write but he is more interested in learning the crafts so that he would be able to go back to UAE as soon as possible. Both Sajjad and Shafiq shared a common love for cars as they were both hovered around in luxury cars in the UAE. Similarly, many of them miss the cinemas and bazaars of Dubai and talked about their favourite film actors and actresses along with the variety of international brands they used to wear while serving as camel jockeys and how they used to spend the amount they earned on monthly basis or the special prizes they won in different races Ironically, some of them used to send money, supposedly to the people who purchased them from their parents and sold them to serve as camel jockeys who in turn pretended to be their parents. Zubair Ahmad told TNS that CPWB handed over all the remaining children to their parents or families.He said that the department has given a bicycle and six hundred rupees monthly stipend to all child camel jockeys while they have also developed groups among the jockeys living in similar localities. Ahmed mentioned that most of these children had birth records or some other details, which proved their relations to the claimants and the department handed them over but in more than one dozen cases more than one claimant appeared as a relative to a single child and the department had to take DNA tests to confirm the original relatives. He said that a lot of people had sold their children to agents who kept earning from them kids by pretending to be their parents but disappeared after these children landed in Pakistan. The CPWB director added that the bureau was keeping all these children in their centre; they were given the best available facilities while the government was trying to sign a pact with UAE government to take all of them back as skilled labourers as soon as they turn 18.
The friction in the JUI-F and boycott of the polls by the Pashtoons and Baloch nationalists would definitely help support their respective rivals By Muhammad Ejaz Khan As the elections approach, so do the division and merger of political groups. The division in the ranks of politico-nationalist groups have always benefited the religious parties, particularly Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) in the past in Balochistan. When political parties were finalising their strategies for elections 2008 in Balochistan, the differences surfaced in the provincial leadership of JUI-F and a large number of senior office bearers filed their nomination papers who have been even granted tickets by the high command of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam. Hafiz Fazal Muhammad Baraich, ex-Amir, district Quetta was one of them. Subsequently, the JUI-F leadership withdrew the tickets which led up to resentment. Conspicuously, the
differences in JUI-F surfaced in the allotment of election tickets which the Hafiz Fazal Muhammad Baraich said that Maulvi Asmatullah's followers had decided on Jan 16, 2008 to come out publicly against the corruption by the party's ministers in the previous PML-Q led coalition government in Balochistan that had tarnished JUI's image. The dissidents expressed their lack of trust on the leadership of provincial Amir, Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani, holding him responsible for tarnishing the JUI-F's image in the province. Sensing the gravity of the situation, the top leader of JUI-F, Maulana Fazalur Rehman constituted a four-member committee to remove the differences between the groups. But the efforts proved to be futile. The dissidents refused to surrender after the central committee asked their group to accept the decision of the provincial leadership of JUI-F and withdraw its candidates from the elections. After the failure of the committee which met with the dissident group in Zhob district, the hometown of the provincial chief of JUI-F, Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani, on January 15 and 16 and held marathon talks with them, the party chief expelled over four dozen dissidents, including many districts presidents of the JUI-F from the Jamiat, -- asking them not to use the party flag and symbol i.e. 'Book' in the elections. The ideological group in the JUI claims they will 'reform' the party in the province, rejecting the notion of an armed struggle against the state and says that a change in society is possible through parliament. The dissident faction's provincial convener, Maulana Asmatullah has announced that the group would contest the election against JUI candidates led by Maulana Sherani, the party's provincial chief. Now the situation is that the JUI-F candidates are contesting elections with the symbol of 'Book' while the ideological group is in the election run with the symbol of Takhti (Slate). Now, a red hot contest is expected in NA-264 (Zhob-cum-Sherani-cum-Killa Saifullah) where JUI Ideological group's Maulvi Asmatullah is flexing his muscles against the provincial chief of JUI-F, Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani. While Hafiz Fazal Muhammad Baraich, is contesting the elections from NA-259 Quetta, and is facing the JUI-F's Maulana Abdul Aziz. Since the 1970s the vote bank of the JUI has progressively increased in Balochistan. The Jamiat had secured two seats in the 1970 elections and with the passage of time and with a hardline on issues like the US invasion in Afghanistan after 9/11, the vote bank of JUI shot up and as a result the religious group bagged 18 seats in the house of 65 in the 2002 elections. Its victory, however, has been generally confined to areas bordering Afghanistan and the religious belt, though for the first time it made inroads in the Kharan-Panjgoor districts where a Jamiat stalwart, Maulvi Rahmatullah, was elected to the National Assembly. "We don't believe or hope that the dissident of JUI-F would harm the vote bank and the JUI-F would emerge as single largest party in Balochistan if the polls were held fair and free," said Hafiz Hamdullah, the new Amir of JUI-F, Quetta. On the other hand, a new faction had already emerged in the National Party when one of its central office bearers, Chief of Jhalawan, Sardar Sanaullah Zehri had announced to participate in the elections from the platform of the NP Parliamentarian differing with the party President, Dr. Abdul Hayee Baloch's decision of boycotting the election in line with the decision of the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM). Talking to TNS, Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri, who heads the NP Parliamentarian said, "I preferred to continue my struggle for securing the rights of Balochistan from the parliament instead of boycotting the polls." Under the given situation, people are uncertain whether to use their right of franchise in favour of any candidate considering it their national obligation, even though they are still uncertain about the holding of the elections. But political observers say that the friction in the JUI-F and boycott of the polls by the Pashtoons and Baloch nationalists would definitely help support their respective rivals on election day; the major beneficiary would be the PML-Q, NP Parliamentarian and BNP-Awami.
RIPPLE
EFFECT By Omar R. Quraishi It's time we stand up for our own. Rauf Klasra did a good job of highlighting a story this past week in the Daily Telegraph whose diplomatic editor wrote a good piece on a particularly distasteful incident that took place in London during the recent visit of President Pervez Musharraf. During a question and answer session with journalists, the president was asked by M. Ziauddin, Dawn's London correspondent and a former resident editor of the paper for its Islamabad edition, that who was responsible for the escape of Rashid Rauf. This was a perfectly plausible question given the fact the gravity of allegations levelled against Mr Rauf. Arrested in Bahawalpur in August 2006, he has been accused by then interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao of being the ringleader of a plot by al-Qaeda to bomb several aircrafts while they were flying across the Atlantic. According to the reports of the plot, several people were arrested in Britain and this led American and British airlines to impose stringent guidelines on the inclusion of liquids in carry-on hand luggage brought on aircraft by passengers. Rashid Rauf is said to be a relative of Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder of the Jaish-e-Mohammad, who was released by India after one of its aircraft was hijacked in 1999 and flown to Kabul. Given his alleged role, it was particularly shocking for many people to find that while being taken from jail to a court hearing, he was being escorted only by two policemen. From the many reports on his alleged escape, the police guards allowed him to stop on the way and go inside a mosque to pray from where he allegedly fled. It also was reported in some newspapers that this wasn't the first time that such a security lapse had happened and that in the past as well policemen accompanying Mr Rauf had allowed him to be driven in his uncle's car. It is also known that he was wanted by the British authorities for his alleged role in the plot to bomb aircrafts leaving London en route for American cities and in fact, America wanted him extradited as well, given that the plot resembled in some ways -- at least as far as the use of aircrafts were concerned -- the attacks of 9/11. Given all this background and context, questions would have to be inevitably asked if Rashid Rauf escaped from police custody. The obvious ones would have to deal with the fact that security was clearly inadequate. How could an individual wanted by a close ally of the Pakistani government have been guarded by two policemen? Did they not realise the importance of keeping him in custody and if so why did they allow him to go inside a mosque unaccompanied? Are there some people in the police forces who are sympathetic to the cause of the extremists? Some other questions following from this will be even more controversial and not to the liking of the government but they need to be raised. For instance, given the link in the past between the government's intelligence agencies and Maulana Azhar's Jaish-e-Mohammad (the militant group was operating in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir), and the Maulana's relations with Rashid Rauf, is it possible that the government may itself be involved in his so-called 'escape.' The latter question is not all that outlandish given the past involvement of our intelligence agencies with such elements and the fact that it borders on the unbelievable that someone like Mr Rauf would be so poorly guarded. So the question was asked in this context -- and what answer did the journalist receive from the president? He bristled, got visibly upset and instead questioned the journalist's integrity and patriotism saying that he had not been asked such questions till now and that by doing so the journalist was trying to undermine the country. That this was coming from someone who himself had at least on two occasions suspended the constitution and who had single-handedly dealt the superior judiciary a death blow, all that one could say in response would be utter disbelief and perhaps a bit of revulsion. As it turns out the president is also reported to have told supporters in London that perhaps the journalist in question should be taught a 'lesson' or two. To say that this is all in very poor taste and most unbecoming of a country's head of state is an understatement. It also showed that those in position of high authority in the country do not seem to be very tolerant of listening to views that challenge them or the government line on a particular issue. This has been amply shown in the way the electronic media has been muzzled -- with the information ministry all along, in a brazen display of being economical with the truth, insisting that there are no restrictions on the electronic media in the country -- if that be the case, then pray tell us why some of the leading TV channels have been forced to take some of their most popular journalists off air? The very journalists who would host lively and entertaining talk shows and panel discussions on issues of topical interest but often with the government coming in for a bit of stick -- though much of it is deserved. This kind of mindset against the media -- a different face, if you will (the other being the pleasant benevolent face reserved mostly for the foreign media) -- explains several of the restrictions imposed on TV channels, particularly forcing them to sign an insidious and one-sided 'code of conduct' and imposing wholly unreasonable restrictions that prohibit TV channels from having hosts and anchors who are 'biased'. The fact that strong opinions are perhaps a key essential ingredient in the success/popularity of a TV anchor/host is obviously lost on those who came up with this absurd and draconian proposal in the first place except perhaps for them, the best TV channel in the whole wide world is PTV and their aim in life is to transform all independent TV channels into PTV clones. The British journalist who wrote about this whole incident in the Daily Telegraph also could not miss noticing that the president had one demeanour and way of talking with the foreign media and an entirely opposite one for the Pakistani media, which as the exchange with Ziauddin showed was often lectured to and treated with contempt and derision. One point for dictatorship, zero for democracy and decency. The writer is Op-ed Pages Editor of The News. Email: omarq@cyber.net.pk
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area that formerly comprised the Malakand Division, including the now
troubled Swat. The movement for the establishment of such courts was started
by Maulana Sufi Mohammad, through his organisation Tehrike Nifaze Shariate
Muhammadi (TNSM), in early 1990s.
whether Equator is with an 'O' or an 'E'. The gas company is still printing
its stupid ads telling us it is all our fault and we must stop using gas
heaters and put on warm clothes. I've tried it and it doesn't work. Sure, the
bright Lahori winter sun is blazing out of an azure sky, and I've tried
standing in it wearing two sweaters and a jacket and wrapped in a chaddar,
and the sun is warm and cozy on the chest, and the bloody chill wind is still
climbing up my legs and freezing up the family jewels!
camel jockey who was recovered and brought back by Unicef and the government
of Pakistan. Saeed, who is studying in preparatory class, was smuggled to
United Arab Emirates to participate in camel racing when he was merely two or
three years old and he had no memories of his parents or about ever being in
Pakistan. He has no interest in studying or working. Saeed says that the only
thing he missed in the world was being a camel jockey and believed that it
was the only job he could do.
provincial leadership of JUI-F also endorsed. But a large number of
dissidents of JUI dispelled the impression by saying that the differences
within the JUI-F have existed for about 10 years.