An extremely confusing state of affairs

It is an interesting issue to keep eyes on, probably the world is but at the same time it surely is a confusing one too. Peace in South Asia has to come, all efforts being made for its gradual occurrence but the way states are torn apart due to pressures and self interests really confuses the state of affairs around here.

Pakistan has a strategic importance due to which Mr.Obama said as his answer to an Indian girl over why Pakistan is not termed as a terrorist state by the US. Pakistan has all the pressures to do more, cooperate, curb terrorist networks in Pakistan, back policies for Afghanistan and what not! Even working on these terms blames and harsh comments are aired every now and then against Pakistan. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates states that US has no plans to send troops into Pakistan. Agrees that US is impatient and himself tells that Pakistan has put 140,000 troops on its Western borders to fight Taliban and other terrorists networks. Something if told to him 2 years back he won’t believe. It was also interesting to learn from his statements at the discussion at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO council meeting that Pakistan had withdrawn six divisions from the Indian Border to deal with this problem. Yet, Pakistan’s presence was invisible in the Nato Lisbon Summit, while discussing Afghanistan.

US wants India, Pakistan to support a transition in Afghanistan in view of its new Afghanistan strategy but still the Lisbon Summit, billed as the most important meeting in the 61-year history of the alliance failed to give Pakistan its due credit and role. Pakistan is needed for cooperation on bringing stability to Afghanistan by the US yet its presence was ‘uninvited and invisible’ generally in the summit.

It is also interesting to hear the rare confession of Nato’s senior civilian representative to Afghanistan Mr. Mark Sedwill that talks with the Haqqani network weren’t going well as “the kind of demands they are making cannot be met by any Afghan government”. So that explains how difficult the talks and fulfilling demands are and hence even aren’t as easy thing for Pakistan. Yet Mr.Sedwill has to say that ‘scale and pace of transition’ would depend upon on quickly Pakistan ends the terrorist sanctuaries in its tribal areas.

Earlier this year, Afghanistan had a major policy shift deciding to send officers to Pakistan for training as the major commitment Nato is expecting from its member countries is training programme. The pilot programme could not take place because of fears in Afghanistan and the West that the move may annoy Indians.

Wow! The US really thinks about not to annoy the Indians and has plans to include India later on as a permanent member of the Security Council but conveniently forgets to consider Pakistani sentiments at all. These confused moves and statements about knowing Pakistan is doing a lot which they might not believe if told to them 2 years back and are just impatient, knowing talks aint easy and demands unacceptable to meet, yet putting the increased continuous pressure that Pakistan should do more and back US strategies, cooperate with India and help in the reconciliation process to make peace in Kabul are the most weirdest, strangest contradictory statements to hear!

They surely annoy the Pakistani sentiment a lot. The country is struggling with internal issues yet doing its best as an international responsibility but decisions made are just so bias. Pakistan is taken so much for granted. I don’t think anything would work out for Afghan, War on terror, India, Taliban, etc if Pakistan is not given it’s due share of respect and importance. Underestimating Pakistan and taking it for granted would only give rise to resistance and hatred among the Pakistani who would not want to pursue US policies which fail to acknowledge any Pakistani interests or security and peace to its people. These controversial statements surely demotivate Pakistan to comply with working for peace in the given scenarios. I don’t blame you Pakistani government, we put in a tough dilemma among such confusing state of affairs.

Women’s Cricket Team Makes Nation Proud!

Pakistani cricket fans were amazed by the wonderful performance by the women’s cricket team at the Asian Games, creating history by bagging gold. The first gold medal for the country in the present Asiad was won by crushing Bangladesh in the finals by 10 wickets.

While the crazy cricket fans around the nation were suffering hopelessness with the increasing controversies and scandals among the cricket board, and the unsatisfactory performances of the players, their hopes have surely got a new life with this win! It is surely amazing how these girls in green have put up an amazing performance and earned the nation the honour. Women are always underestimated; this win surely answers a lot of people who hold the biasness within them and great news for believers in women’s power.

Go girls! May you never lose the spirit and bring about loads of such victories to the nation!

Pakistan is surely proud of all of you J

Power Corrupts: Ministry Should pay Saudi Fine

The annual pilgrimage of Hajj has surely seen enough scandals and controversies every year, the recent ones including the problems caused by corruption of real estate agents however, the ways by which elite in Pakistan get highly discriminated privileges is another unfair bias. Power surely corrupts and Pakistani politicians have attracted enough attention towards corruption in Pakistan especially in the hands of our dear politicians. Chartered planes and doing Hajj with support of government expenses in the most luxurious ways by families and friends of our dear politicians have already been a source of agony for the general masses, who are burdened with inflation and having a hard time coping with all the shortages of the country making their life miserable. However, the ever increasing taxes and stressed life of the masses is an alien phenomena to the elite class to seem to exploit masses fully to pay for their ever luxurious unjustified trips.

The chartered plane of PIA carrying friends and families (189 people-passengers and crew) of Interior Minister Rehman Malik flew to Saudi Arabia after the deadline for the last Hajj flight had passed. This special flight landed in Jeddah with the delay of 14 and a half hours just because some close friends and relatives had to be accommodated.Without securing permission from the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority, the plane left for Jeddah under pressure from higher authorities. Knowing that  it would lead to a fine by the Saudi authorities and could lead to confiscation of the plane. After diplomatic intervention, the flight was not confiscated but a fine of Rs. 4.8 million has been imposed by the Saudi government. The PIA facing unprecedented losses already has asked the interior ministry to pay the fine as it is unable to do so. Interestingly, it is also learnt that the expenses were actually borne by some other people including a real estate developer however the impression given was that they are being met by the Interior minister. 


This special flight not only upset the PIA schedule for Europe and other important regions but is also an embarrassing incident for the nation. The use of power to self advantages have always been a source of unfair discrimination and hopelessness among the masses, but the politicians that should be guarding the state's interests and working for the welfare of the people seem to have long forgotten their duty. Such incidents damage the reputation of Pakistan internationally as well as break the hopes of the people when it comes to these politicians. With the image of Pakistan already suffering internationally, such irresponsible and arrogant behaviours by our ministers is the worst of the things happening. One can only wish system changes and they can be held accountable!

Japanese Vice Minister Nakayama Says ‘Sorry’ for Gaffe Against Women

Mr.Yoshikatsu Nakayama, the vice minister of economy, trade and industry sent his regrets via email to women who attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit (APEC) in early October and who were taken aback by Mr. Nakayama’s old-fashioned remark about Japanese women’s role in society.


Mr. Nakayama remarks faced heated criticism made before an audience of about 300 business women and other participants representing the 21 member economies of APEC last month He stated that “Japanese women find pleasure in working at home and that has been part of Japanese culture.”
Adding to it he said  “That should be given more credit through (raising their husbands’) salaries, but it has become impossible as the situation surrounding men became severe.” 


His infamous remarks hummed back the gender bias existing in the modern era and hence made the listeners feel unpleasant. The apology may be for whatever reasons possible but the remarks are a hard to forget as they reflect upon the existing thinking even in high profiled people containing bias against women. It reflects upon the thinking that women's role is confined to home and the hurdles culture creates for women's freedom and development. The remarks though targeted to Japanese women aren't confined to them. They address a wider picture of the portrayed image. When policy makers or people in influential position bear this mindset then progress towards a free, fair and equal society seems a distant dream and an on-going fight. Surely it has been an on going fight and a battle with such mindsets and a restructuring of the role of women is essential. These remarks would surely strengthen the cause and is an eye-opener to the modern day existing biases towards women even in a developed society like that of Japan.

China catches the cricket bug !

The Chinese have finally discovered cricket! 

Cricket was never known to Chinese. They did not grow up watching or playing it. However, the sport has now gained momentum in the country. Students gather everyday after university classes at different fields such as football pitch, volleyball pitch, etc to practice cricket. And, are liking the sport too!

The sport is surely new to the Chinese but they are pretty determined and focused on their efforts towards it. Having targets set already for not just playing but winning from major cricketing nations. Observers say that when China chooses to develop a sport it always gets result. The question of gathering talent and developing on it for the sport to achieve the set targets is however a story time has to tell. The Chinese students portray impressive enthusiasm for the sport and I really look forward to seeing the Chinese cricket team compete with the world in the coming time.

For the world, look out! A competitor is about to set foot in the cricket fields and may steal the show with its new-found cricket craze

Another Girls School Burned down in Afghanistan, Several Qurans burned

Education is the right of every girl and everyone on this Earth. The right however has been long denied by several societies in time to girls as females have been victim to injustice, inequality and discrimination since ages. The trend still lives on and the reflection of the miseries of women reflected nowadays with not just violence towards women but also denying education to them. Parents in many cultures and societies fail to understand the value of education and it's dire importance for a girl and hence, ignore and are unwilling towards sending them to schools. Those who do however have got reluctant with yet another of bombing of girls school especially in Afghanistan.


Several girls schools has met the same fate of being blown off and depriving it's student from the gift of knowledge. The frequency of such incidents is also heart breaking. The strong resistance by the Taliban towards female rights and threat to education is an injustice that largely affects the world. The Taliban claim highly for orthodox Islamic rule however, Islam gives immense respect to women, high importance towards education and strict discipline towards justice in society.


Taliban are far from knowing and practicing Islam. They breed a battle ground and promote hatred. It is a huge injustice to impose self-opinion and create fear in the minds of these young girls who have a heart and great hopes towards attending school and getting education. Its their right! These claims towards Islam made by Taliban are a disgrace now as they have created and promoted an extremely negative image in the world of Islam, a religion that preaches peace and brotherhood. The burning down of several copies of the Holy Quran present in the libraries of these Afghan schools is yet another sin arousing agony among the people.


May Almighty Allah free the world from the plague of Taliban and protect us all from their ill intentions!

Lasbela Land sold to Arabs for hunting: A state attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty

It is known that Arabs come each year to Pakistan for hunting purposes. This interest of theirs is not much publicized to be known to all or the timings of the visit or duration known but it has been going on since long now. The practice has no doubt issues to it as going to another country for hunting down its birds and animals, a cruel practice indeed just for fun is surely unethical and infuriating. It has however been allowed to remain and flourish just because of the revenue the government earns out of it.

Attacks on Pakistan’s sovereignty have been immense but this is also a concern arousing issue. The sale of land and assets of Pakistan and its people so easily to foreign nationals is an unappreciated action and a huge issue. When Pakistan’s assets should be its power and Pakistani efforts should be towards progress and development through building upon its resources, our government has made an extremely wrong measure towards damaging Pakistani sovereignty and hurting its people’s sentiments. 

This time about 70,000 hectares of land in the coastal district of Lasbela is sold to Arab princes for hunting. Earlier Gwadar Port was given to Singapore Port Authority and Reko Diq gold and copper project to foreign companies. This is a huge injustice to the people of Balochistan and largely an adverse decision towards Pakistan. The government may lack funds and technology to develop the country resources but selling it to foreigners for their pleasure or to exploit and benefit from the resources of our country is a decision that isn't in anyway in the interest of Pakistan. When the province of Balochistan is largely ignored for a long time, efforts should be concentrated towards means to curb such feelings and unite Pakistan towards progress and development rather than take such decisions and add to the misery.

US panel calls for Pakistan membership of G20…Really?

A US panel led by Richard Armitage and Samuel Berger has suggested Pakistan’s membership to the Group of Twenty of at least granting of an observer status stating it would enable “to connect with new power structures and familiarize it with emerging norms and responsible international behavior”. The headline published in DAWN newspaper on Saturday, November 13, 2010 caught my attention to go through thinking of it as a positive call. However, it had little to do so with my intentions.

The idea was more about the increased pressure on the call of ‘Do more’ on the war on terrorism. The panel has surely focused on threats to US from terrorism networks in Pakistan and had idolized ‘two realistic scenarios’ which could force change in US policy and strategy towards Pakistan. The focus was more of bringing attention to the ‘what if tomorrow US is attacked’ and then it would be too late and so that Pakistan should be dealt with fiercely or completely isolated and closer ties could be made with India at the expense of Pakistan. The heavy risks and costs to both Pakistani and Americans of these actions were though also termed.

Pakistani sovereignty is already under discussion of being invaded due to the drone attacks which may be targeted at the militants but kills other innocent people too. This is bound to cause a reaction in the long run. When President Obama talked about why Pakistan isn’t termed a terrorist state as an answer to a school girl during his visit to India, it had some ray of hope in it for Pakistan. But this news was a severe blow. Pakistani society which faces high inflation, insecurity, economic burden increased due to the floods and foreign debt is already struggling with internal domestic issues. The menace of terrorism has affected it more than anything else. Several innocent people fall victim to these attacks in Pakistan who have increased in frequency and more than anything else make life extremely insecure for the common man in Pakistan. The interest in terrorism is vested with few hands; the whole nation is already suffering from it and in a tragic state because of it. In this state, such news coming from the US is a tremendous blow to the surviving hopes within the nation.

There surely is a huge need for efforts to fight terrorism but the military expenditure is something Pakistan just can’t afford currently. It not like that terrorism is an admired thing in Pakistan, it surely is not, it is one of the most hated things but replying to it with fire would only increase the reaction. The already done actions of curbing the menace have brought drastic increase in the attacks already because of which the Pakistanis have suffered losing precious human lives, their homes and loved ones. When the fight on terrorism is for everyone’s benefit towards a better world and so many concerns are aired over it than the Pakistani sentiments, conditions and sovereignty should also be taken in to considerations.  Statements of strategy and pressure would only demotivate the efforts towards the war on terrorism. Pakistan may have its differences with India but I personally think that with sincere political will on both sides they can bring peace and harmony in the region. The war on terrorism can be better fought with united efforts and strategies against terrorism. The blame game, pressure tactics and such statements would only extend matters to an adverse end. A change in the policies and strategies is surely essential against terrorism and towards peace building however, it should be free from biasness to do the trick.

Terror visits Karachi: Blast at CID Building rocks metropolis

Karachi was rocked with a huge explosion at about 8.30pm when a truck full of explosives hit the Crime Investigation Department (CID) building. The terrifying sound that was heard at a radius of 15 kilometers was also heard at my home at boat basin when the windows of my home opened and closed making a terrifying sound due to the heavy wind pressure caused by the powerful blast. At that very instant, I knew it was a bomb blast. I rushed to watch updates on the television after getting SMS from a few friends with “Blast near PIDC” in it, the scenes of television were heart breaking. My beloved country was yet victim to another act of terrorism that has plagued its economy.

The blast was so intense that people in Nazimabad and Mazar-e-Quaid also heard it and the earthquake recording authorities claim to have recorded it at a magnitude of 1.3. Surely was huge as nearby building were damaged, about 12 houses succumbed to rubbles, the complete front portion of the head office of the CID building was flattened, 2 huge craters were made in the ground, several cars in the busy area were moved from their positions in the traffic jams to hit other cars on the side, 21 people killed and about 115 injured. The bomb disposal experts say around 1,000 kg explosives were used in the blast.

The blast was said to be a reaction to the arrest of 6 people of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi that were present at that time in the CID office for interrogation and after the blast, witnesses say that some terrorists may have escaped. Similar to the previous attacks such as the Marriot blast in Islamabad, this attack too involved heavy firing before the blast. However, this time the area of blast was a very crucial one. The Red zone is location to the Chief Ministers house, Governor’s House, Qasr-e-Naz, three luxury hotels, the US consulate and governments, etc. 

Blasts have become a common thing is Pakistan as the frequency of their occurrence has increased steadily over time. However, the losses of innocent lives is an irreparable loss and a pain their families have to live with for long. The frequency of such attacks has made lives of the common man highly insecure.Strict measures are needed to curb this menace of terrorism from society and value human lives as providing security to it's citizens is the duty of the state and the measures for this on part of the state yet needs serious attention.

Childhood Abuse Linked to Diabetes Risk in Adult Women

New findings suggest that women who were victims of childhood abuse may be at increased risk of developing diabetes in adulthood.


Lead author Janet Rich-Edwards, director of developmental epidemiology at Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, said in a Center for Advancing Health news release that "Much, although not all, of this association is explained by the greater weight gain of girls with a history of abuse. The weight gain seems to start in teenage years and continues into adulthood, increasing the risk of diabetes". 


As child abuse leaves an enduring imprint on the health in adulthood careful measures need to be taken against child abuse to protect them in the long-run, as the experience of the abuse gets incorporated in the body in some way or the other. 


"One theory is that abused women develop disordered eating habits as a compensatory stress behavior, leading to excess weight gain," Rich-Edwards said. "Another theory suggests that child abuse may increase levels of stress hormones that later cause weight gain and insulin resistance, characteristic of diabetes."


In either way, the risk remains of long-term health burden. Such issues existing in society need urgent attention to address the needs of the people and make lives easier for everyone. For child abuse the best ways to learn to prevent them involve helping families to be careful regarding the occurrence and alerting clinicians the possible role of abuse in pre-diabetics and diabetics patients.

Youth of Kashmir play their role and remind Obama of Kashmir

It was wonderful reading about the work of Kashmir Children Assembly (KCA) just before President Barrack Obama’s visit to India. Hundreds of young children paraded with banners and placards and addressed the press to raise voice and concerns against repression in Indian held Kashmir. Calling on the President to intervene in Kashmir to bring an end to reign of terror as the reason of 10,000 people missing expected to be killed by the Indian troops and 2,700 unmarked graves in three towns was enough a reason for intervention and the need to secure the future of the Kashmiri Children. The children who started their parade from a graveyard laid floral wreaths at the mausoleums of the freedom movement pioneers and flowers petals on the graves of the martyrs.

It was great to see children of Kashmir aware and worried over the plight of their state and actually making an effort to voice themselves. The power of youth was relived in the efforts made by KCA as they proved that the state of affairs is a matter of grave concern as youth being the future of the state is bound to get affected by these circumstances. I really hope their efforts bear fruits and their goals strengthened to securing a safer and better future for themselves, which is their right.

Visa biasness towards Pakistanis: The image of Pakistan in the international society

Pakistanis has faced a severe blow to their image in face of the recent threats of terrorism that have adversely affected the way Pakistanis are portrayed in the international society.  Pakistani visiting foreign countries are subjected to humiliation in terms prolonged waiting, checking, etc as they are eyed upon with suspicion and fear of possibility of a threat to peace and security. This generally negative image of Pakistani has been frowned upon by many Pakistanis who had to go through discrimination and pain-staking measures just because of the created image although it certainly isn’t true for all individuals residing in Pakistan.

One of the discrimination faced by Pakistani nowadays is in terms of difficulties in getting visas. The procedures made complicated stating security reasons; visa rejection has also become a common fiasco. Pakistani were denied visas during the common wealth games in India and it has also been learnt now through independent inspector John Vine that the UK Border Agency may also be illegally discriminating against Pakistani for visas to UK. Pakistan is the fourth largest source of applications to enter UK and higher evidential requirements are put up for Pakistanis which isn’t clear. They give the reason of the process being designed to target visa fraud and made ‘worryingly inconsistent visa decisions’.

In is tragic to see many suffer because of the actions of few. The finger at the Pakistanis is the finger at everyone living in Pakistan and when we collectively suffer, we need to forego the divides among us to guard our honour and dignity, correcting our image to be able to live with pride.

Insecurity in the lives of women: Bangladesh a recent example

Students of colleges and universities in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka took the streets to protest the practice of ‘Eve-teasing’ that involves sexual harassment towards women with the use of verbal abuse, taunts and stalkers. The practice is wide spread in Bangladesh and the protests were for better security of women by the government as the practice has led to women being bullied, committing suicides due to the frustration and embarrassment or being murdered due to raising voice against the injustice. The ones who harass them are usually men on the street or their own school colleagues. The accused often go unpunished because parents do not want to pursue the case due to the prevailing social stigmas and harm to the honour of the girl. Without better legislation surely the menace cannot be curbed.

Women to this day suffer being victims to violence in all broad forms. This example illustrates just how hard the life of women can be that they aren’t even able to study without being wrongly targeted. The harm of insults is surely tremendous as women chose to commit suicide and end their lives rather than live with them. The society too makes it hard for them to become bold and raise voice against them due to traditions, culture, stigmas and of course the inability of providing them justice through properly enforced law in society. Young women when faced with such violating incidents in their lives if do not commit suicide suffer from frustration, insecurity, low self-esteem and lack of confidence. In the starting phases of development if circumstances fail to give them a chance to grow the way they want it would leave a mark on them which may never be cured and in the long run would make resources for the country in terms of educated, motivated and skilled people at a loss. The story depicts the cruel side of society and a picture reinforcing the centuries of violence and inequality towards women. It however is inspiring that youth, colleges and universities girl students have took up the initiative, gathered the will and boldly accomplished a protest to raise alarm to the situation in a society where raising voices for this practice has led to 24 death in this year.

The clash of religion and politics in the Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabia, a state strictly adhered to following Islamic law and practices is currently faced with a hard situation. The state faces outrage due to the Islamic fatwa, religious ruling by Saudi clerics that make cashier jobs for women not permissible. Challenging the government initiative to create jobs for women as the state is faced with 60,000 women graduates looking for jobs, the ruling came in terming it not permissible due to allowing the opportunity of mixing with unrelated men and the chances to attract them or get attracted towards them. The ruling caused outrage and confusion by Saudi women activists. It is surprising though that the ruling has come in months after supermarkets and clothing stores have began hiring women under the authorization of the labour ministry.

The Saudi women are naturally to be outraged as the opportunity and possibility of getting a job for themselves in a state where there aren’t really any has faced a strong attack on it. Religion in the Saudi state has strong political weight and the clash is between political and religious society putting the government in a difficult situation over an important issues.

There are many debates that religion should be kept separate from politics as it is rather misused and being a sensitive issue causes problems of all sorts. The hurdle it has created in this situation is preventing the economic well-being and independence of Saudi women who are unable to find a job and work just because of religious fatwas. Religion is surely important and should be considered in policies to not anger or arouse the sentiments of the masses. However, its role should be rather limited to influencing decisions that are important issues in the society and call for urgent measures. Women’s rights shouldn’t be suppressed and their struggles ended with hopelessness and deadlock due to situations as these. Solutions should be discussed to find out possibilities through discussions at dialogues considering all stake holders upon implementation rather than regretting efforts later due to a certain stakeholder’s stance or action, as that too hurts and arouses the sentiments of the masses who then feel their problems are not paid heed to and it’s injustice to them.

Exhuming of Ahmadi's body from the graveyard in Bhalwal

The body of Shehzad Waraich had to be exhumed from the graveyard of Bhalwal, a small town with the population of few thousand people in Punjab’s Sargodha district on the pretext of being objected for burial in a Muslim graveyard. Ahmadis by Pakistani law are barred from calling themselves Muslims and form a minority in Pakistan. This case is another injustice to minority rights and indifferent treatment towards minorities living in Pakistan. The graveyard Shehzad was buried in is home to bodies of several members of his family including his parents and grandparents whose burial wasn’t objected to but the Pakistani police forced the exhumation of Shehzad’s body. Since 1984, this is the 30^th incident of forceful exhumation of Ahmadi bodies by the administration to satisfy opponent components and with the convenient argument of trying to maintain peace.

The Ahmadis may have controversies with the Muslim majority on the basis of their beliefs but this by no means allows humiliation of their dead bodies. Such an act nobody can tolerate happening to their loved ones therefore the sentiments of all minorities should be considered on the basis of humanity. Such acts would only promote hatred and intolerance in society. Minorities too have rights and are equal residents of the Pakistani state. People are even hesitant to comment or say what is right on such a issue but the basics shouldn’t be forgotten. Muslims are a minority in many states too and a broader thinking of humanity should be considered with law protecting all citizens of the state. Such actions only add further harm to the state and religion’s image to the world and would by no chance do any good to anyone in the long run.

Targeting Sufi Shrines: The war within Islam

Sufi shrines have been increasingly targeted in recent times. The trend initiating from 2005 when a suicide bomber attacked Bari Imam complex in Islamabad has recently targeted Rehman Baba in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Data Darbar in Lahore, Abdullah Shah Gazi in Karachi and Baba Farid Ganj-e-Shakar in Pakpattan.

Many precious lives have been lost in these attacks on sacred shrines. As it is said, it is done by Taliban who wish to wage ‘Jihad’ against people who in their opinion are adulterating the purity on Islam and follow the orthodox Islam and the Wahabi thinking. They see Sufism as a radical threat composing ‘shirk’ and accepting modernism. Targets have hence not only been made on Sufi shrines but on religious proceedings of Shiites, on Ahmedis and several religious scholars.

                          

The trend of terror to instill fear and panic in the masses and discourage them from following their faith not only tries to impose on others a certain mindset but aims a civil war based on sectarian hatred. The aims may be of weakening or distracting attention from the war on terror but the tragedies of such violence makes the life of common man quite insecure. Visitors of these shrines are usually poor people. They visit often just because of devotion and prayers and also because in this time of high inflation, they are able to secure a free meal for themselves and their families. It is one of the very few places these people have got to visit. Imagine a child going with his family for a visit to a shrine and never returning due to dying in a bomb blast. There seems no justification of the immense insecurity every common man faces and it’s unfortunate that after the incident do all the security measures seem to come in to action. Every time large gathering of people are targeted but every time there’s a loop hole for terrorists and bombers to make their attack. The ignorance to nip the evil in the bud and no accountability of people getting caught and pay with serious consequences with such actions have made these attacks common and the militants bolder to attack popular sites at bigger cities. The harms these actions do to our religion and country are immense but security is more concentrated to protect the VIPs of the state and not the common man. With so much injustice prevailing in society, peace and security is a distant dream.

Sufism, the mystical side of Islam is largely attributed to the spread of Islam in the subcontinent. The Sufis gave the message of love, peace, harmony, humanity and brotherhood. A widely popular movement that inspires people to this time. Pakistan is blessed to have so many shrines in it of great Sufis. The Taliban are surely ignorant of the message of Sufism and wanted to impose their own doctrine in the Muslim world through terror and violence but that is no way people would accept such a message bearing life long suffering due to losing loved ones for this unworthy war for power and authority. Sufism has the capacities to counter fundamentalism in Pakistan and bring about peace in society. The message of Sufism is an integral part of society and a widely accepted message. Attempts to suppress it, attacking shrines to prevent the message from spreading itself shows the importance of the message and the power it with holds within it. The work and message of these saints is not an easy one to suppress with the tool of terror however, serious steps need to be taken in this ignorant society before matters worsen and circumstances go beyond control to the benefits of a lobby of terror promoting militants.

Advocacy for SRHR

What are sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) ?

·        Sexual health: Includes healthy sexual development, equitable and responsible relationships and sexual fulfilment, freedom from illness, disease, disability, violence and other harmful practices related to sexuality.

·        Sexual rights:  the rights of all people to decide freely and responsibly on all aspects of their sexuality, including protecting and promoting their sexual health, be free from discrimination, coercion or violence in their sexual lives and in all sexual decisions, expect and demand equality, full consent, mutual respect and shared responsibility in sexual relationships. We also have the right to say ‘no’ to sex if we do not want it.

·        Reproductive health: The complete physical, mental and social well-being in all matters related to the reproductive system including a satisfying and safe sex life, capacity to have children and, freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so.

·        Reproductive rights: The rights of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children, to have the information, education and means to do so, attain the highest standards of sexual and reproductive health and, make decisions about reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence

Adapted from definitions of SRR from the programme for action resulting from the

International Conference on Population Development (ICPD), 1994.

What are the 12 SRHR??

1. The right to life should be invoked to protect women whose lives are currently endangered by pregnancy.
   
2. The right to liberty and security of the person should be invoked to protect women currently at risk from genital mutilation, or subject to forced pregnancy, sterilization or abortion.
   
3. The right to equality and to be free from all forms of discrimination should be invoked to protect the right of all people, regardless of race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family position, age, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, to equal access to information, education and services related to development, and to sexual and reproductive health.
   
4. The right to privacy should be invoked to protect the right of all clients of sexual and reproductive health care information, education and services to a degree of privacy, and to confidentiality with regard to personal information given to service providers.
   
5. The right to freedom of thought should be invoked to protect the right of all persons to access to education and information related to their sexual and reproductive health free from restrictions on grounds of thought, conscience and religion.
   
6. The right to information and education should be invoked to protect the right of all persons to access to full information on the benefits, risks and effectiveness of all methods of fertility regulation, in order that any decisions they take on such matters are made with full, free and informed consent.
   
7. The right to choose whether or not to marry and to found and plan a family should be invoked to protect all persons against any marriage entered into without the full, free and informed consent of both partners.
   
8. The right to decide whether or when to have children should be invoked to protect the right of all persons to reproductive health care services which offer the widest possible range of safe, effective and acceptable methods of fertility regulation, and are accessible, affordable, acceptable and convenient to all users.
   
9. The right to health care and health protection should be invoked to protect the right of all persons to the highest possible quality of health care, and the right to be free from traditional practices which are harmful to health.
   
10. The right to the benefits of scientific progress should be invoked to protect the right of all persons to access to available reproductive health care technology which independent studies have shown to have an acceptable risk/benefit profile, and where to withhold such technology would have harmful effects on health and well-being.
    
11. The right to freedom of assembly and political participationshould be invoked to protect the right to form an association which aims to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights.
    
12. The right to be free from torture and ill treatment should be invoked to protect children, women and men from all forms of sexual violence, exploitation and abuse.

Source: www.wpfpak.org

How many people know about this in Pakistan? How many people know about 

the work being done and by whom on SRHR?

The SRHR situation and awareness still needs time to make its way to the masses. However, the work must go on.

On 1st October, I got the chance to host Mr. Qadeer Baig, Country Head World Population Fund (WPF) at SZABIST, Karachi to discuss the SRHR Situation in Pakistan.

WPF is an internationally organization investing in young people's development and health.

WPF-Pakistan's vision is to develop as a regional resource for promoting Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of young people for sustainable human development. And it's mission is  to work to improve the quality of life of young people in Pakistan by promoting:

• Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)
• Awareness of the importance of SRHR for sustainable human development
• Understanding of the central role of reproductive health in “population and development” issues

Mr. Qadeer Baig held a very informative session talking about SRHR and discussing us the situation in Pakistan. Learning from such people working for the benefit of the society is essential for it's development and the gap between the youth and the knowledge of such experienced people surely needed to be bridged.

Look forward to working on SRHR and with Mr.Qadeer Baig in the future InshaAllah :)

Victimization of landlords

It’s a common sight to see or hear landlords being criticized in our society. Allegations are put up against them that they are cruel, illiterate, violent, rich, etc. Everyone so easily goes about saying it without much thought as to if actually the scenario is like that too anymore or not. People who have never known a landlord or their family or been to the rural areas without any thought, but with all the audacity go about saying everything they possibly can about them. All the wrongs of the world exist for them in the rural areas and all the problems are rooted with landlords and a feudal society. These urban fellows reading textbooks and seeing the media have finalized their mindset hearing one side of the story and are strong defendants over their beliefs, so much that they won’t spare any room for criticisms if given any chance to speak over it. It amazes me how people still think that peasants are oppressed and how can they generally assume all landlords are powerful and cruel. It’s about time these people get a reality check.

Anything assumed generally cannot me true for each individual. Some surely may be of this sort but it’s completely wrong to generalize the assumption for everyone without even thinking about or looking at the other aspect of the story. Belonging to rural Sindh and from a landlord family myself, let me try and put the true picture together for all of such people I have come across and so often. Lands nowadays are so expensive that no one usually buys them anymore and the land holdings people have are finishing in terms of the divisions due to inheritance and in turn become so small holdings therefore big landlords are diminishing and small holdings being sold off and influence these lands brought to the landlords ending.

Nowhere in the world would it be like this that the output of the lands is divided on 50:50 basis among the peasants and the landlord. The relationship is the most favorable for peasants. They do not have a high standard of living that demands of them a lot of outflow expenses. They live on the lands of the landlords all their lives in simple homes that do not require a lot of maintenance cost, they do not have to pay for education as their children do not go to schools, even if they are acquiring they do not have to pay huge amounts for it, they eat from the output of the land that comes in their share, they have dairy animals that too support their food requirements, surpluses of crop and output from animals are sold, the animals too are fed on the lands they are living on and the landlord also provides them security and supports them in all times of need. And in any time of need for money they can easily sell an animal of theirs or surpluses of their crops or the landlord too does give it to them.

The pesticides and fertilizers cost is shared among the peasants and the landlords. Providing the water to the lands, the water tax and the land tax is on the landlord. The seeds and 2 ploughs on the land for each crop is on the peasants but paid initially by the landlord and deducted from the share of output of the peasants when the crop is harvested. One other plough and leveling on the land is also on the landlord. The de-silting of the water cannels to the lands each year is also a cost for the landlord.

The landlords have a higher standard of living to maintain as compared to the peasants. They have high education costs to pay for their children, houses rents, house maintenance, utility bills, petrol for home vehicles, travelling costs to and fro to the lands, etc to maintain in these times of high inflation. The output or investment for crops is a 100% risk. Any problems like weather, too cold or hot even for a day can ruin the crop completely, slight rain or dew is another huge risk, stealing of crop, being attacked very often by different sorts of insects, pesticides and even rats is quite possible, water shortages or delay in water supply can also add to not being able to harvest the crop on time or getting less produce and after the all the struggle it’s a common problem to get a proper price for it. The output is food for the whole country, but it isn’t insured. Being a perishable item it cannot be kept in store for too long but our beloved country does not have a fixed price mechanism for it. The prices keep fluctuating due to monopoly of the mill owners and there is no back-up support from the government. In other countries, government fixes a rate and buys it at that price and itself sells it to the mill owners. The landlords in Pakistan however aren’t even sure of their expected income. And whatever they earn they have to survive on for 3-4 months till the next crop is harvested.

The landlord usually does not have enough money to buy the seeds, fertilizers and pesticides for their lands and have to take it on credit from the grain merchants. The landlord pays an interest on these goods borrowed as the grain merchant seeing the landlord’s plight quotes a price higher than the prevailing market price. And then, the landlord is also bound to sell his crop through that same grain merchant who charges him 5-6% commission on sale of his crop for getting it sold. A landlord surely has lands but the bank does not accept it as a guarantee for any amount of loan. The only loans a landlord gets on the basis on his lands are agricultural loans that go only for agricultural purposes and with a loss all the time with the output has difficulties to pay.

Having to survive these realities our present society still advocates a strong dedicated criticisms towards them sadly with not much knowledge. The society remains a feudal one, not just because of landlords but because of industrialists. These modern bourgeous aren’t ever subjected to the kind of talk landlords/agriculturists face. Even though they are the ones who are the actual earners who buy cheap raw materials and with little finishing added, sell them at a higher price being the actual earners of someone else’s hard work. Storing and hiding of goods to create a short supply and earn higher, inflation has great attributes to their greed that has made survival for the common made quite difficult to cope with. Why then isn’t industrial feudalism challenged??

While industrialists are the actual bad guys around, all criticisms towards them is fine and forgotten as if hard work to earn is just put in by them. Lands of landlords are assumed as ‘kabzas’ without any proper proof and knowledge although for many it’s out of hard earned money. But taking for granted everyone boldly goes saying their heart. Easy to criticize? How about experimenting growing and selling output on a piece of land yourself? Then perhaps it would be worth listening to these trended criticisms and theoretical debate. For all the landlords families, educated your children don’t return to the occupation, why put unvalued efforts for the country’s food to face continuous harsh criticism? Let adopt the modern feudalist trend instead concealed good in our society’s mind.

2nd Sindh Youth Summit (SYS): An amazing experience

2^nd Sindh Youth Summit (SYS) 2010 was a 3-day conference on the theme of ‘Re-Living Youth Voices’. It was organized by PYDN, a youth network operating in all four provinces of Pakistan and as it was held in Karachi, I was the Team Lead for the event being PYDN's Karachi Coordinator. 

It was my first experience for organizing a mega event like that of a 3-day conference and the organizing was an amazing, learning experience as I got acquainted with all the tasks of organizing and being a part of so many activities with such energetic youth was a highly motivating experience. It also came in as a huge challenge in many ways especially to do it in Ramadan and with little time left after the flood relief efforts. Hence, the victory tasted sweeter and the efforts turned out to be highly fruitful.

This youth activity-based interactive conference attracted 70 participants from all over Sindh within the age bracket of 17-25 years old. The event was sponsored by Getz Pharma and the official media partners for the event were DAWN News, City FM 89 and Zab FM 106.6.

The Chief guests for the opening and closing ceremony were Mr. Badr-ud-din Khan, Chairman Rozgar Microfinance Bank, Mr. Zahoor Khan Afghan, Marketing and Management consultant Mehran Tv and Mrs. Aliya Soomro, Senior Social worker and former banker. The conference was focused on leadership building and skill development among youth. Trainers who gave sessions at the conference were from School of Leadership (SoL), Nawabshah Youth Organization (NYO), Initiator Human Development Forum, Blitz Bureau and SZABIST graduate/students/faculty. Topics covered ranged from emerging young leadership from marginalized areas, youth-led entrepreneurship, effective social networking usages, branding Pakistan, role of youth and nation-building among Pakistani youth through group activities, presentations and performances.

The three-day summit was concluded leaving the participants with inspiring thoughts to think about themselves and their country, play their part and pursue their goals with a lot more passion and devotion.

The most awesome part is the feedback which actually reward all your efforts. When a participant says they learnt and had an amazing time, the feeling is priceless and kills away all the sleepless nights and tiresome days in an instant.

Conferences surely do magic, bring about youth from diverse backgrounds together, who may never come across each other otherwise and help practical learn so much in such a less time with fun activities and interaction. They are hence promoted and done worldwide. We can witness the increase in their number and frequency in Pakistan in terms of occurrence and participation which is a very positive sign.

Thank you PYDN Team, each participant and trainer of 2nd SYS 2010 for precious, priceless memories!