“JUST THE BEGINNING”: UAE OPENS EMBASSY IN ISRAEL

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become the first Gulf state to open an embassy in Israel, as its envoy hailed the trade and investment opportunities that closer ties would bring at a flag-raising ceremony also attended by Israel's president. That is not to say that everybody has abandoned the Palestinians. Saudi Arabia, despite all the predictions in the international press, hasn’t yet gone the way of the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. And Pakistan, the self-professed Fort of Islam and the only Muslim nuclear power, has also refused to entertain such thoughts till the Palestinians get their stolen lands back.

The formal opening of the UAE embassy in Israel, which they did on Wednesday (July 14, 2021), is a tacit acceptance of the fact, if one was still needed, that the dispossessed Palestinians are no longer the conscience of the Arab world. And also that the Star of David fluttering over the Mosque of Omar no longer evokes visceral passions among Bedouin statesmen whose oil bonanza catapulted them to the top of the hierarchy of Muslim nations. It also drives the final nail in the coffin of the so called two-state solution and pretty much leaves the Palestinians on their own if they still wish to pursue the dream of return. It was, after all, the Gulf states’ petrodollars, along with generous dole outs from the European Union (EU), that made Chairman Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) the world’s best funded revolutionary movement.

To say that things have changed a little over the years would most probably be the biggest understatement of this entire freedom struggle. The Arabs didn’t like it at all when Hamas won the election and took over the Gaza Strip in 2006, because of its ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, and they liked it even less when Hamas and Fatah (PLO’s political offspring) descended into internecine warfare in 2007 and not only insulted and embarrassed sixty years of blood and tears but also shattered the myth of Palestinian unity forever. The Gulf sheikhs still fund Fatah, but not in the way their money made Arafat and his comrades grow rich in exile in Lebanon in the 1970s and 80s. Now, though, with Fatah chief and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas publically fuming about the Arab-Israeli handshake, the flow of that money in future might not be as certain as it was in the past.

That is not to say that everybody has abandoned the Palestinians. Saudi Arabia, despite all the predictions in the international press, hasn’t yet gone the way of the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. And Pakistan, the self-professed Fort of Islam and the only Muslim nuclear power, has also refused to entertain such thoughts till the Palestinians get their stolen lands back. But how such assurances, without hard cash, are supposed to help a refugee population spread over at least a dozen countries isn’t immediately clear. What is crystal clear, however, is the fact that the Palestinians were never as distant from their dream of one day reclaiming their homes as they are now. How hollow Arafat’s calls, “O Haifa, O Jerusalem, we are returning, we are returning,” sounds now.

Courtesy Daily Times

NEGOTIATIONS: THE ONLY REMEDY OF PEACEFUL AFGHANISTAN

MAHTAB BASHIR
mahtabbashir@gmail.com
0333 53 63 248
ISLAMABAD

 

Without going into debate whether US troops forcefully vacated the Bagram air base or it’s a voluntarily pullout effort, it is, however, said that US troops vacated Bagram air base overnight without coordination with the Afghan Army. The evacuation marked the policy shift which aims at managing the situation in Afghanistan from outside the country. So the question is: US troops has evacuated Afghanistan but does it mean that US administration has also quit wholeheartedly?

 

All U.S. and NATO troops on Friday (July,2) left Bagram Air Base - one of the biggest military bases in Afghanistan - after nearly two decades of continuous presence, in a move that serves as a precursor to the imminent exit of the American military from Afghanistan.

 

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Afghan forces has lost 112 districts to the Taliban in just few days time. Now the panic-stricken residents are under tremendous confusion and fear while the majority of Afghan forces top slot officers and soldiers have been moved to Tajikistan.

 

However, Pakistan is in no condition to welcome those Afghan residents heading our way with open arms. With around 2.8 million Afghan refugees, it has done playing the good host, especially, when terrorists in the guise of its guests want to blow them apart.

 

The Taliban’s assumption of power will embolden the extremist groups in Pakistan. Terrorist networks like the TTP, that presently face difficulties to target Pakistan from safe havens in Afghanistan, are likely to send their operatives in the guise of refugees to launch terror attacks.

 

Meanwhile the Afghan Taliban continued to advance and capture the countryside. This enables them to block the highways leading to Kabul. Once major cities are surrounded, it would be easier to capture them. The battle for Kabul can wait meanwhile.

The foreign affairs expert and former Dean Social Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad,  Dr. Nazir Hussain while talking about challenges and opportunities for Paksitan under this situation, says that Pakistan can have devastating security implications if civil war breaks out , but opportunity as all regional states, Russia, China, Iran, and Turkey would like to have peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Faisal Raza Khan, a senior defense reporter believes "Afghanistan’s future depends upon all stakeholders’ within, how much they are sincere to the long-term peace and stability in the country. On the contrary, repeating the past mistakes and irresponsible draw-down of foreign forces lead Afghanistan to a vacuum, either that would be filled through a well framed legitimate government through peaceful political negotiations between Afghan stakeholders including Taliban or it would result into a civil war. All regional countries and global powers must have to strengthen and encourage on-going negotiation process between Afghan entities to have a peaceful settlement, thinking otherwise would be huge disaster, not only for Afghanistan but for the neighbouring countries and region at large, he concludes. 

 

It is only a matter of time before the situation gets tense at the border with Pakistan. Prime Minister Imran Khan said just the other day that border crossings would be closed if the Taliban forced their way into Kabul. Thus, Islamabad will be watching all developments in Afghanistan very closely. It will do whatever it can to keep the insurgents from getting ahead of themselves at this sensitive time. From the looks of things, though, it doesn’t seem as if the Taliban are in any mood of backing down just yet: not exactly good news for the whole region.

 

True peace prospects can only be realised if the people of Afghanistan are handed the steering wheel. Those with vested interests in Kabul would do better than dragging Pakistan through the mud. Why not act against warlordism and rampant corruption? However, whether the corrupt political elite crippling the peace process is dealt with, Pakistan is not ready to be anyone’s punching bag.

Almas Haider Naqvi, an Islamabad based senior journalist covering foreign affairs opines that, “under the circumstances, Pakistan has to exert pressure on the Taliban to support a broad-based and inclusive government in Kabul. Only an inclusive government will receive the international financial support needed to run and develop a devastated Afghanistan. Also, Pakistan will have to strengthen its borders and ensure there will not be anymore influx of Afghan people towards Pakistan.  

FROM PORNISTAN TO PAEDOPHILIA?

MAHTAB BASHIR
mahtabbashir@gmail.com
0333 53 63 248
ISLAMABAD

Once we were among the top ranked country watching Porn Videos/ Clips, now making headway suffering with Paedophilia. Our society is struggling to protect children, older people, transgender and disabled.  This is not just a crisis of care. This is a crisis of human values. But from where and how we can start recognizing it before we will go for coping it?

 

The horror of Pedophilia (alternatively spelt Paedophilia) is a world-wide phenomenon. Unfortunately, however, this illicit practice in Pakistan, has become ‘business as usual’ from classrooms to factories, from public sector organizations to private sector offices, from hospitals to guest houses and from Madrassahs to hostels, to say the least.

 

The two separate incidents of molestation of an adult and raping of a young boy surfaced in Lahore and Islamabad recently. The perpetrators of both incidents belong to an educated segment of society. Now, what about that big question mark of “awareness’- when the receiver and the giver(s)- are adults and well-informed.   

 

In first incident, a cleric in a madressah (in Lahore) sexually assaults one of his students. The second incident of molesting a University boy takes place in the hostel of another University of the Federal Capital.

 

The problem exists even in the welfare states. It is not that every cleric is rapist or only madressahs are being targetted. The Roman Catholic clergy worldwide has been accused the world over for molesting little boys. Then too every effort was made to keep the problem hidden.

 

It did not work. Similarly, attempts at concealment will not work. Not only are such assaults inhuman, but they are also against the precepts of Islam.

 

Researchers and psychologists believe paedophiles are most likely to offend when their self-esteem is low and their stress levels are high.

 

The best treatments we have available for pedophiles help them develop the skills they need to live a healthy, offense-free life and, in some cases, to block their sex drives (if they feel it would help them). We have not yet found a way to convert pedophiles into non-pedophiles that are any more effective than the many failed attempts to convert gay men and lesbians into heterosexuals.

 

While it is fundamentally important to condemn and shame the crime, we cannot simply stop there. Even more important is the need to end the vicious cycle that feeds on the vulnerability of students; only to breed future abusers. But again- how? We are still a long, long way from having even a roadmap for this arduous journey.

IN THE LINE OF DUTY: JOURNALISTS BRAVING COVID-19

The 4^th pillar of the state is the most vulnerable amid Covid-19 pandemic. The journalists’ fraternity has called on government to give priority to media practitioners for the coronavirus vaccinations as they are the dedicated frontline workers.

MAHTAB BASHIR
03335363248
mahtabbashir@gmail.com
ISLAMABAD

Front-line journalists at risk, seek vaccination priority

I am always saddened when death invades a family circle, and quite naturally so. However, as I remember those dear ones nature snatched away in hurry amid the Covid-19 pandemic, let me turn my fear into faith, my sorrow into joy, and my loneliness into Divine Companionship, that reach out to the Almighty Allah - my ‘Divine Comforter’.

As the coronavirus continues to spread its relentless tentacles all over the world, news stories of lock-downs, social distancing and overwhelmed hospitals have been making the headlines just about everywhere.

The journalists’, in such situation, are the most vulnerable not internally but externally too. Gutted resources, late salaries, years of backlog salaries, laying off staff and closure of media houses are least to portray the gloomy picture since the novel virus reached to Pakistan.

Amid the welter of information swirling about on social media, professional journalists’ left with no option to deliver with “out of the box approach”- and that too in the era of Covid-19 for their survival as well as for their siblings.

Will journalists be considered front-line workers for COVID-19 vaccination?

In this panic ridden scenario, as many as four senior prominent journalists from twin cities (Islamabad-Rawalpindi) have become victims of this cruel virus. During the second wave of Covid-19, Arshad Waheed Chaudhry (died on November 14, 2020), and Tariq Mahmood Malik (died on December 16, 2020) succumbed to this novel virus while the 3^rd wave of it snatched away Sohail Abdul Nasir (died on March 26, 2021) and Johar Majeed (died on March 26, 2021).

Sohail Abdul Nasir (from Nawa-i-Waqt) who passed away with Covid-19 infection was a seasoned journalist. Nasir got admitted in PIMS Hospital few weeks ago after he tested positive for Covid-19. He breathed his last on Friday, March 26. The senior journalist left behind his wife, three sons and a host of relatives and colleagues to mourn his death.

Waqar Abbasi, a journalist and a colleague of the deceased in Nawa-e-Waqt said, “As soon as I joined Nawa-i-Waqt in 2007, Sohail’s unflinching support remained intact with me. He was like my elder brother. When I came to know he is ailing, I facilitated him for all tests including Covid-19. Later, he was tested coronavirus positive and I remained in touch with him in his toughest time he went through,” Abbasi maintained.

Sohail Abdul Nasir (Daily Nawa-i-Waqt) Died: March 26, 2021 

He said when Sohail was admitted in PIMS (hospital), I continued to encourage him because I’ve already suffered with it. “As soon as he was switched to the ventilator and he handed me over a tiny piece of paper with some outstanding dues (credit/debit), even than my mind never went to that level as that Sohail
Abdul Nasir will never meet me again,” he said with tears rolling down to his cheeks.

Abbasi said, he was one of the most talented, kind-hearted and down-to-earth journalist who never hesitated to help other fellows, be it me or anyone else.

Sohail Abdul Nasir was an outstanding journalist. His major area (beat) of interest was foreign policy, regional security issues and the war on terrorism. From breaking the story

“Pakistan will test fire nukes today” (1998), and the extensive coverage of “Operation Neptune Spear” in Abbottabad (2011) brought him to limelight. And after that there was no way looking back.  

Ch. Shahid Ajmal from Nawa-i-Waqt while paying tributes to Sohail Abdul Nasir, said “he was a gem of a person, a rare breed of a journalist. I’ve never seen him talking loud, or anything rubbish. A thorough gentleman, who took this profession passionately and later, has proved it. He was indeed a role model for a journalist’s fraternity”.

Johar Majeed, a senior journalist of a daily newspaper Ausaf (Rawalpindi) breathed his last on March 26, 2021due to Covid-19 positive. He got admitted to the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Transplant (RIUT) after showing symptoms similar to that of coronavirus. Later, he was tested positive for Covid-19. After a week time he embraced Shahadat.

Johar Majeed (Daily Ausaf) Died: March26,2021

Majeed was a selfless journalist who could spend days with those in need of help. His major area of coverage was a health sector. He was just a call away to extend his help- no matter the help-seeker was known to him or a stranger. He was supposed to sit in the hospitals until the treatment of that (person) is over. He was indeed a social worker who sough
t satisfaction by helping others.

Talking to this scribe, President RIUJ (Dastoor) Khawar Nawaz Raja said, “Johar Majeed was a jolly good person. Hardly, I’ve seen him in anger. I’ve found him available every time and for everyone who had health issues. He went to the respective hospitals before the patient and received prayers of those in need all the time. But unfortunately, we have lost such a soul who’s ambition was to help humanity in disguise of a journalist,” he said. 

An author of two books, “Jaraeem ka taakub” and “Motorway se Metro tak”, Johar Majeed was a literary man too. He spent much of his time working for Daily Ausaf. He has left behind his wife, a young daughter and hundreds of his friends and relatives to mourn over his death.  

Tariq Mahmood Malik (Hum News) Died: Dec16, 2020

After Majeed’s sudden disappearance, the management of Ausaf announced to give financial help to his daughter to continue her studies.

Earlier, during the 2^nd wave of coronavirus, two prominent journalists Arshad Waheed Chaudhary and Tariq Mehmood Malik died of Covid-19. Both were elegant, sociable, and down-to-earth.

Tariq Malik was a senior journalist (of Hum News) and an academician. A senior broadcast journalist, Faisal Raza Khan while remembering Mailk said, “He was indeed a journalist at par but more than that he was a good human being. “Everyday at the morning time, he used to call me to ask whether I need him and every time I replied- yes. He was a gem of a person. When I went to his native village at his funeral rites, I met a number of people (infact families)- who told me Malik had been helping them (financially) for the last many years (secretly)- but now we have again become shelterless”.       

Arshad Waheed Ch. (Geo News) Died: Nov14, 2020

Arshad Waheed Chaudhary, a senior journalist associated with Geo TV, had also passed away due to Covid-19. Chaudhary has been anchoring a popular programme “Geo Parliament” based upon political situation of the country. He has also been writing columns with the title “Point of order” in Daily Jang. He was from Sahiwal.    

State run institutions, has shown their apathy over this gloomy picture. All of these mediapersons were not just in four numbers- but four families- who will suffer what others could not. Amid this murky picture, the journalists’ fraternity and various journalists’ organizations have called government for “media workers to give them priority access to coronavirus vaccines”. 

Dear members of the 4^th pillar, May the Almighty Allah grant (all of you) the highest place in Heaven. Ameen!