WAR HYSTERIA FROM INDIA

Instead of heeding the counsel of rational voices in and outside the country, the Indian authorities have unfortunately preferred playing to the gallery in the post-Pulwama attack situation. When serving Indian military officers are cautioning that such high quantities of explosives could not have been transported from across the Line of Control (LoC), New Delhi really could have avoided needless jingoism and instead pay more attention to investigations. This is all the more important given Pakistan has unequivocally condemned the attack and expressed its desire to cooperate with the investigation.

 

With the Modi administration pointing fingers towards Pakistan without providing any evidence, the ratings-driven corporate media across the border has found an opportunity to stir war hysteria. Bollywood and Indian cricket celebrities have been quick to jump the bandwagon, with highly irresponsible statements which will only damage the cause of peace and further the designs of hate-mongers and hawks on both sides.

In this situation, the worst affected have been Kashmiri Muslims who are being harassed by Hindutva goons. There have been multiple reports about Kashmiris, particularly in the states of Uttarkhand and Haryana, are being forced to vacate rented properties and to leave towns where they live for education and employment. While New Delhi has issued a public safety alert in view of the situation, more would be needed on its part to ensure protection of Kashmiris living in India.

The authorities must realise that it is simply impossible for them to stir war hysteria, on the one hand, by accusing Pakistan without any evidence to the effect, and to keep the Hindutva brigade in check at the same time. The latter feeds on the anti-Muslim, anti-Pakistan rhetoric, and the Modi administration has provided it with an open field by opting for shortsighted jingoism instead of a rational approach. The Modi administration as well as the state institutions in New Delhi know fully well that a war is desirable to neither side given the economic cost it will entail; both countries have a lot at stake in terms of their economic performance indicators.

 

In this situation, India’s shortsighted approach, merely directed at improving its chances in the upcoming election, is having disastrous consequences for the people on both sides. The authorities in New Delhi will be well advised to tone down on the jingoist rhetoric and control the Hindutva brigade and its attacks on innocent civilians.

Enough blood has been shed in Indian-occupied Kashmir, and it has only served vested interests away from the Valley. It’s about time all sides start pondering upon a peaceful resolution to the dispute. 

Courtesy Daily Times

RIP ROOHI BANO

TV actor par excellence Roohi Bano, who ruled the hearts of drama fans for years for her incredible performances in the early years of the state television channel, is no more. She was 68 when she died following renal failure at a hospital in Istanbul, with her sister and a nephew by her side. She is survived by her sister, extended family members, and countless fans who will continue to remember her timeless performances. Her roles
in ‘Qila Kahani’, ‘Hairatkada’, ‘Zard Gulab’, ‘Darwaza’, and ‘Kiran Kahani’, refuse to lose their appeal among performing arts lovers.

That is the beauty of art, which makes people’s lives and memories refreshing and gives them a purpose to reflect on their lives and society.

Away from the TV screen, Roohi’s life was a bumpy ride, including an attempt on her life. However, a tragedy that changed her life for the worse was the cold-blooded murder of only son Ali, in 2005. She couldn’t fully recover from the shock of losing her son. The incident took a heavy toll on her health, especially her mental wellbeing.

However, her mental health issues had not grown overnight. Her colleagues of the 70s and 80s have recalled that she would often suffer prolonged fits of rage and laughter at work, and in personal life but the limelight of her glamour, fame, and persona did not allow her or her family members to take the symptoms seriously. Herself a psychology graduate from the Government College University, Lahore, Roohi remained unable to read her symptoms to move to treatment in a timely manner.

While Roohi’s death is a loss for the TV drama industry, the suffering during her life must also serve as a reminder to the authorities of the need for a well-functioning mental health infrastructure in the society.

Coincidentally, this January has been marked as the month to raise awareness about mental health issues across the country by the Pakistan Association for Mental Health. However, the events held for the purpose have remained far from media glare and government’s interest. According to the association, 20 percent of the Pakistani population is suffering from mental health issues. The need of the hour is to accept this reality and come up with measures for a stress-free environment and more treatment facilities.

Some mental health issues are the byproduct of stress factors, while many are linked to genetic and physical causes. With just 75 in-patient facilities, the enormity of the figures demands more such clinics across the country.

Roohi Bano was buried in Turkey. Though, her sister wants to bring her body back to Lahore to bury her next to the grave of her son. She has appealed to the government to help the family pay for the air transport. That’s a cost the state must readily incur to honour the memory of the legendary actor.

Courtesy: Daily Times 

KOT DIJI FORT- FROM RISE TO FALL

Mahtab Bashir
mahtabbashir@gmail.com

Islamabad

 

The three prized possessions people of Sindh elegantly flaunt are Ajrak on their chests, Sindhi Topi on their heads and smile on their faces while every individual can raise a full throated slogan- “Kal bhi Bhutto Zinda tha- Aaj bhi Bhutto Zinda hay” for the reasons best known to them.

During educational excursion of journalists from Islamabad and Lahore to the Province of Sindh, we have chanced to visit few of educational institutions recently upgraded/ set up by the Higher Education Commission which we found amazingly designed with having state of the art technology.

Other than visiting historical Lang lake (resort), one of the largest settlement of the oldest civilization Mohenjodaro, the pride of Pakistan’s Irrigation system- Sukkur Barrage and the majestic Kot Diji Fort were few of our stopover places.      

Riazul Haq from Express Tribune contributes: One of the victims of the much-hyped devolution post-18th amendment is cultural heritage. The subject may not seem important enough for decision-makers to dwell upon, but a single glimpse of these invaluable relics tells that they are screaming for attention.

The Fort of Kot Diji, a glory of the past built in the heart of Sindh – Khairpur – is in ruins and nobody bothers to even talk about it, maybe because it is not the top priority or will ever be.

A visit to this epic masterpiece of the Talpur dynasty shows a sadistic picture which triggers feelings of gloominess and gives a prime example of how a state’s neglect can cost the nation to this extent.

The fort was built in 1785 by Mir Sohrab Khan Talpur, also the founder of the Kingdom in northern Sindh. The fort is situated in the Kot Diji town which is a few miles east of the Indus River and at the edge of Nara-Rajasthan desert.

At the entrance of the main gate to the fort, a drug addict is begging for a few rupees and a middle-aged man is selling plastic toys on his wooden cart.

“A few years back there used to be traditional dresses and replicas of antiques but now the number of visitors to the fort has gone down so nothing sells here,” said a local shopkeeper, sitting in his shop a few yards away.

The entrance to the main 18 feet gate is through a small four feet gate. Both the gates have huge (two feet) pointed edges made of iron probably to stop elephants as during the era when the fort was built elephants were used in war.

The plaque inside the fort reads that it was constructed on a limestone hill with kiln-baked bricks. The hill is about 110 feet high and the fort has walls 30 feet higher. It has three strategically placed towers about 50 feet tall.

 

The fort is divided by three elephant-proof gates into as many overlapping levels with walls segmenting about 50 bastions and an 18 kilometres boundary wall, easily witnessed from the highway. All the walls and bastions have arrow-slits allowing defenders to attack their enemy from a decent height.

Besides the bastions and towers, an ammunition depot, water reservoir, the harem, probably for Mir(s), a prison, a place for holding court and cells for accommodation of guards and sepoys are also part of the fort.

The fort was never attacked due to its strategic location and well-planned construction, but the march of aging, coupled with the apathy of the Sindh and federal governments, has aged the beautiful building.

Before devolution, the federal government had the possession of this fort while in 2011 it was handed over to the Sindh province as part of the devolution of Ministry of Culture.

Scattered and broken bricks, deteriorating bastions, and absence of caretakers or anyone from the management tells the tale of the colossal neglect.

Altaf Aseem is a member of the consultative committee on Mohen-jo-Daro and a former anthropology teacher at Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur.

He lamented that in 2007 when the then minister for culture arrived at the fort and asked him how much had been allocated in this budget for the fort, the reply that Rs5,000 had been allocated for the renovation and conservation, surprised him.

In the same breath, he said, “The Sindh government, after 2011, could have done better.”Another aspect he highlighted is that the government gives renovation work to contractors with no experience of handling and working on such buildings which spoils the existing vibes.*

TRAIL OR TRIAL: COUNTDOWN FOR PM NAWAZ SHARIF

Whatever the law may permit, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif must do the right thing by democracy and step aside, at least temporarily.The JIT report submitted to the Supreme Court has now been pored over by experts, politicians and citizens alike. It is not a perfect report and the PML-N has already raised some important objections that will eventually have to be addressed by the court.

 

But the JIT report has laid out a number of very serious and specific allegations against Prime Minister Sharif and his children. Simply, no democratic order ought to have a prime minister operating under such a dark cloud of suspicion.

The PML-N may urge Mr Sharif to stay in office and Mr Sharif may be tempted to hunker down and fight, but the toll on democracy would be too great. The prime minister has a clear alternative: step aside, fight whatever charges are brought against him or his children in court and, if he is eventually cleared of the charges, he can seek a return to office as the law permits.

To be sure, stepping aside now would not be an admission of guilt. It would, in fact, be a necessary sacrifice for the protection and strengthening of the democratic order. The country does not need and cannot afford the distraction of an incumbent prime minister fighting corruption charges in the courts.

Moreover, with the JIT report now public, the principal PML-N allegation that the Panama Papers investigation is nothing more than a witch-hunt stands significantly diminished. Anti-democratic forces may exist in the country and they may wish Mr Sharif ill, but none of that prevented Mr Sharif and his family from providing evidence to the JIT that would corroborate the family’s claims.

The JIT conducted its entire investigation while the political stakes were crystal clear to the country and to the Sharifs themselves. Surely, the Sharif family should have gone the extra mile to provide evidence and explanations to the satisfaction of a reasonable investigation. As the JIT report makes clear, the Sharifs have not done so.

 

The other option would be for Mr Sharif to call a snap election. If Mr Sharif’s case is sent to the National Accountability Bureau, the presence of a caretaker government would dispel concerns of a manipulated process, NAB being prone to intense interference by the executive.

A fair but expedited accountability process would allow Mr Sharif to contest the next election without a cloud of suspicion hanging over him and his family, assuming a NAB process clears the family. Whichever option Mr Sharif chooses, it should be clear that the status quo is not an option. A prime minister preoccupied with fighting corruption charges is a prime minister no democratic polity deserves.

Mr Sharif may have his doubts about the fairness of the system, but the system has doubts about him. The system must prevail over the personal.

Courtesy dawn

WHO LET THE MUSH OUT? WHO WHO WHO?

Pakistan’s former military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf has left for Dubai on Friday morning (March 18) to ostensibly seek medical treatment for a “decade-old illness”, after the interior ministry removed his name from the Exit Control List (ECL). Musharraf’s departure all but brings to an end the saga of his treason trial after nearly three years. On Wednesday (March 16), the Supreme Court (SC), ordered the removal of Musharraf’s name from the ECL, but this did not preclude the government from reinstating restrictions on the movement of the former president. However, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan addressed a press conference and informed that his ministry would follow through with the court’s order after receiving assurances from Musharraf’s lawyers that he would eventually return to Pakistan after seeking his required treatment to face his charges. Many observers, however, view this assurance with skepticism and the consensus view is that the treason trial has whimpered to a close.

Back in 2013, Pervez Musharraf returned to Pakistan after a period of self-imposed exile in order to participate and lead his nascent political party in the then-upcoming elections. However, he was disqualified from standing in the elections; moreover, in an unprecedented move in the country’s history, the former dictator found himself facing arrest, after a warrant was issued by the Islamabad High Court in April 2013, over charges of suspending the constitution, dismissing judges and placing them under house arrest, and imposing an emergency. In addition to these charges, he was also charged with the failure to provide adequate security to former Prime Minister (PM) Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in December 2007. After winning the May elections, a confident PML-N’s federal government took the extraordinary step of bringing fiver charges of high treason against the former dictator in a special court. Predictions and assertions were made in December 2013 that the trial would be speedily concluded. There was an unquestionable amount of hype around the treason trial, as it was being touted as a historic occurrence that would reshape the contours of democracy, redefine the civil-military relationship, and set a positive precedent that would inhibit any future imposition of martial law.

But putting a former dictator and chief of the country’s most powerful institution on trial for treason was never going to pan out the way the government desired. The investigation and trial of Pervez Musharraf for imposing the 2007 Emergency was always underlined by perceptions that this was a matter of personal vendetta for PM Nawaz Sharif, whose government was overthrown in 1999 by the then Chief Of Army Staff. As a result of this desire of the Sharifs to get back at the man who forced them into exile, the proceedings exclusively targeted Musharraf, while no case was built against any of his alleged co-conspirators. The choice of focusing on the 2007 emergency was also a curious one when the much graver original sin of the 1999 coup d’état made for a more logical case of treason. The 1999 coup, like all previous coups, was ratified by the SC and hence there exists a dire need to rectify this harmful precedent. Principles of justice and democracy demanded that an example be set so that in the future overthrowing an elected government and abrogating the constitution is not hailed as ‘saving the country’ but treated like the treasonous act it is. But to avoid risking drudging up its own past sins, the Nawaz government focused on the 2007 case due to its perceived straightforwardness, thereby compromising the integrity of the proceedings. It soon became clear however that the case was poorly and hastily prepared and that Musharraf still enjoyed the support of his former institution.

The trial played out farcically, as the former president easily avoided appearing in court by pleading ill health while the government and prosecutors manifestly lost their will to see the case through when faced with the possibility of drawing the military’s ire.

The entire saga reeks of a missed opportunity. Had the government’s prosecution covered all of its bases, perhaps we could have witnessed a historic trial that would have done the unthinkable: holding someone accountable in this country. The only kinds of accountability drives we witness in Pakistan are politically motivated as they are lopsided and transparently designed to fulfill vendettas against specific individuals and political parties. Whether it is the case against Musharraf or the various campaigns undertaken by the National Accountability Bureau, what is missing from all of the above is a rational, transparent and objective methodology that respects principles of justice. 

Courtesy: Daily Times 

IN MEMORY OF BASHIR HUSSAIN NAZIM

SC DECLARES HOUBARA BUSTARD AS HOUBARA 'BASTARD"

ISLAMABAD: A recent verdict by the Supreme Court has made a mockery of conservation efforts in Pakistan. Despite outcry by protection organizations over hunting of the endangered houbara bustard, they have lifted a ban on it- claiming that controlled hunting was a tool for preservation and should be allowed. Only one of the judges opposed the court’s decision to conditionally allow hunting. Continuing to let moneyed foreigners indulge in the blood sport killing hundreds per trip only proves that we are more concerned with maintaining lopsided foreign relations, than protecting our diverse wildlife.

This remains a classic case of the government mishandling a simple issue- a complete ban to conserve what desperately needs attention. It is not far from the truth that the government is driven by a fear of falling out with Arab dignitaries, but what is the life of a rare bird in the face of an Arab with money? In early 2014 a Saudi prince hunted 2,100 houbaras during the course of 21 days, whereas the permit limits the holder to a maximum of 100 birds over a 10-day period. The argument then for sustainable hunting of these birds is senseless as this will happen again. This removal of the ban will probably make it harder for another ban to be put in place and signals the end of the species.
 
Successive governments have granted special permits to Arab dignitaries to hunt the bird on diplomatic grounds as they bring investment to the social sector. Though hunting for sport indeed is a pastime for some in Pakistan, it is morally distasteful and extremely cruel. Killing for fun, whether a bird of any other animal is one of the worst activities that men can engage in. It seems most of these men are Arabs. Our esteemed Supreme Court has lowered itself by lifting the ban.

Will the Supreme Court and Sindh Government also make sure that the proceeds from killing the birds will go to something beneficial for the people of Sindh? There is no hope for this. The same Government is also presiding over mass deaths of children in Thar due to malnutrition and starvation. For a leadership that is okay with children dying needlessly, birds must be a strange thing for them to protect.

In the context of the moral decline of a leadership that has no regards for the dignity of life as long as its not their own, the lifting of the ban makes perfect sense.

 Courtesy: The Nation