Pakistan - Past Present and Future

Given modern distractions, the need to understand Islam better has never been more urgent. Through this forum we can share ideas and hopefully promote the true spirit of Islam which calls for peace, justice, tolerance, inclusiveness and diversity.
salim
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Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 4:01 am

Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#1

Unread post by salim » Sat May 23, 2015 12:00 pm

The past is another country, and 1906 is located at a distance of more than a century. In that eventful year, the imam of the small Ismaili Muslim community led the process of forming a political platform for South Asian Muslims at a meeting of the All-India Muhammadan Educational Conference in Dhaka. Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III suggested the name of the party – All India Muslim League – and was elected its first president.

Seven years later, a young Mumbai based lawyer (Muhammad Ali Jinnah), also belonging to the Ismaili community, left the Indian National Congress and joined the party founded by his spiritual leader. We know how this charismatic lawyer turned the party into the voice of Indian Muslims and changed the course of history by founding a new state 34 years later when he was a terminally ill old man.

Sometime before Jinnah returned triumphantly to the city of his birth as the father of the new nation, some Hindu families in my village in District Muzaffargarh were facing a dilemma. Like hundreds, perhaps thousands of Hindu families in India, they had revered Ismaili imams as their spiritual mentors. Keeping with the tradition of mysticism in India, Aga Khan had never asked them to convert. But these were different times, and Aga Khan had finally ordered them to convert to Islam if they wanted to keep the connection. They found it easier to leave their religion than disobey their spiritual mentor. With the help of local Muslims, they converted to Islam in a simple ceremony held at a Sunni mosque, though they chose to embrace the Ismaili denomination.

As a schoolgoing boy, I would meet some men from these families at the Deobandi Jamia mosque where they used to pray every Friday with other Muslims. Everyone knew that Ismails were required to say their prayers at the largest Muslim mosque in the area if a mosque of their own denomination was not available. These Ismaili families later shifted to Multan where they became part of the thriving Ismaili business community.

Multan, the historic city they shifted to, was itself once a centre of Ismaili dawat (preaching). In fact, Ismailis had set up a Muslim state in the area more than a thousand years ago that was terminated violently in 1010 AD by Mahmud Ghaznavi, revered in our textbooks for desecrating a Hindu temple. One of the major shrines in Multan also belongs to a 13th century Ismaili saint, Pir Shams Sabzwari, visited by Muslims of all denominations.

Going back to my own Deobandi mosque, I saw Ismailis praying there till the 1980s, the decade when the Middle East, with its heavy baggage of violent sectarian history, arrived in this part of South Asia. In 1990, a 14-year-old boy killed a crippled Shia worshipper at a Sunni mosque in Muzaffargarh considering his regular presence an abomination for the sacred place. Incidentally, the mosque was built by the Shia owners of a nearby factory.

I went to interview the boy at the district prison. He appeared unrepentant and told me that he was inspired by speeches of a sectarian religious leader based in Jhang. A local lawyer explained to me how leaders of the sectarian organisation patronising the boy had easy access to the district administration and received half a dozen arms licences every day.

Starting its journey as an Islamic state, Pakistan by now had become a sectarian state where Ismailis, along with Shias and non-Muslim minorities, were misfits. Takfiri fatwas, that declare individuals and rival sects to be infidels, are a very old hobby of our religious entities. Some clerics used to call Jinnah Kafir-e-Azam – the Great Infidel – as a retort to his popular title. In the case of Iqbal, clerics had gone much further with Maulvi Abu Muhammad Didar Ali, khateeb of the Wazir Khan mosque in Lahore, issuing a proper fatwa declaring Iqbal an infidel. Interestingly, in the case of His Highness Aga Khan, it was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who raised the question of him not being a perfect Muslim while Iqbal defended his teachings through an article.

For South Asian Muslims, such confrontations were more of an amusing sideshow, not something that affected their day to day lives. Unlike the Middle East where empires with rival sectarian allegiances had created much bad blood, in South Asia there was enough space for Lal Shahbaz Qalandar to turn himself into an eagle and fly unhindered and for Shah Waliullah to carry out his scholarly work.

What changed things in Pakistan for Ismailis – and for everyone else – was the attitude of the state. Over time, the Pakistani state has assumed a sectarian character and its religious institutions have become blatantly sectarian. Take the example of the so-called International Islamic University in Islamabad. How this university employs followers of one sect and promotes teachings of that specific sect to its students has never been a secret. A recent report of an intelligence agency leaked to the media points out that the university “intentionally promotes sectarian doctrine at its campus”. And we are talking of a state-owned and run ‘premier centre of Islamic learning’ with the president of Pakistan as its chancellor.

On the more practical side, the state has patronised militant jihadi organisations belonging to a small number of sects. Thanks to these organisations, some of whom have fallen from grace while others remain precious assets, the takfiri fatwas are no longer empty edicts; they are backed by the firepower of extremist organisations that can easily cow down state institutions and functionaries. No wonder the attack on Ismailis in Karachi was preceded by a fatwa against the whole denomination from one of the country’s largest and most influential madressahs. The head of the same madressah has also issued a fatwa against a federal minister who has been forced to explain his position like a chastised schoolboy.

Violent extremism is only a fruit of the tree the state itself had planted. Perhaps the biggest challenge of our times is to de-sectarianise the Pakistani state and return it to the joint ownership of all Muslims denominations and followers of other faiths. The way Ismailis have maintained stoic silence over the brutality wreaked on the community says a lot about the environment of fear that surrounds them.

Once upon a time, His Highness Aga Khan and Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah gave voice to the aspirations of all Muslims of South Asia. It is now our turn to speak on behalf of our Ismaili brothers and sisters.

Email: zaighamkhan@yahoo.com

Twitter: @zaighamkhan


http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9 ... e-Ismailis

qutub_mamajiwala
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Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#2

Unread post by qutub_mamajiwala » Sun May 24, 2015 3:45 am

both made a titular mistake a century ago to form another nation

salim
Posts: 406
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 4:01 am

Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#3

Unread post by salim » Sun May 24, 2015 6:46 pm

qutub_mamajiwala wrote:both made a titular mistake a century ago to form another nation
The way Pakistan is becoming a barbaric state, it sure looks like a mistake. Why do we Muslims only do good when we are minority. If you look at entire world, most of the Muslims countries are way backward and mostly dealing with violence and sectarianism. Except a few like Malaysia, Indonesia and to some extent Turkey.

In the age of Muslims Khilafat - Umayyads, Abbasids, Fatimids, Ottoman and Mugals all of them did much better. There were difference at that time as well. But they managed to live together and create a civilization. The violence is no where close to where we are currently.

Even the most violent Mongols can't compete with current barbaric practices. After capturing territory and started ruling the empire, Mongols were very peaceful and understanding .

Are we going see a raising Islam in our lifetime or will it be the same kill and destroy kind of Islam. When will silent, peace loving majority will speak up and fight for their right to live in a civilized society.

qutub_mamajiwala
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Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#4

Unread post by qutub_mamajiwala » Mon May 25, 2015 3:42 am

everywhere silent majority has no say whatsoever. it is the grumbling minority only whose voice is heared.
anyway this will go on still a couple of century at the most.
everything depends on the backing of money power--this is harsh truth beleive it or not.
when the supply dries up--whole of middle eastern land and thier foolish ideology and thier people will be left to fend for themselves and discarded like a fly from tea.

Muslim First
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Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#5

Unread post by Muslim First » Mon May 25, 2015 10:02 am

I am not Pakistani but to be fair read this:


22 Mind-Blowing Facts About Pakistan You Never Knew!
http://www.parhlo.com/22-mind-blowing-f ... k=facebook

JC
Posts: 1624
Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2004 4:01 am

Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#6

Unread post by JC » Mon May 25, 2015 2:50 pm

Thank you Bro Muslim First!

I am a Pakistani but yes I agree, looking at the current state of affairs in Pakistan, that perhaps partition in 1947 was a bad idea, but this was done in 1947 given the conditions and circumstances then ........... now we are in 2015, yes our forefathers made a mistake, but they had good intentions, I want to assure myself!

Moving on, if we can 'undo' that 1947 partition, I am all for it. And even if today a referendum is held in Pakistan about rejoining Indian Union I am sure the results would be surprising ........!!!! but is there any WILL?? do the powers that be WANT this?? or ALLOW this?? who cares about the public??

If there is no will and it cannot be undone, then what is the best option - lets live in peace and let others live in peace!! How can we do this and achieve this is a million dollar question..!!! But I am sure starting point would be 'Stop hatred', 'Stop violence' ...............

salaar
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Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#7

Unread post by salaar » Wed May 27, 2015 4:57 am

well well well look at my friends the decision makers of the destiny of my beloved country

we would prefer becoming a taliban state then to join filthy baniyas
yes we are surrounded by innumberable disturbances inside and outside by so called radicalism but the roots of these problems are now getting more and more exposed and that root is the mother of all problems that is called R A W
these indian agents are busy day and night to disintegerate my country sometimes in the shape of baluch insurgents and sometimes as taliban radical groups, their links have been established in undeniable proportions,
this is an open truth which the world knows except the indian public because they are brain washed in such a way that they consider pakistan and its people to be enemy number 1
open up your eyes stop supporting this tyranny before you people have a taste of your own treachery
hell with our government who always have a reservation to act and give a fitting reply to these bastards who spill innocent blood, dont you know who killed 45 innocent ismailis in a cold blooded manner dont you know who is killing our police personnels dont you know who is attacking our installations, well if you dont know then dont bother and keep singing everything is good until your own children will be butchered on the streets of mumbai and dehli by these so called talibans who are today fulfilling your desire to kill their own muslims but tomorrow this same group will not hesitate to bring bloodshed for hindus and those living in india, you might not buy my theory but very soon you will realize how dangerous it is to play with fire when it will burn your own home.
stop worrying about pakistan, live and let others live in peace
PAKISTAN ZINDABAD

qutub_mamajiwala
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Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#8

Unread post by qutub_mamajiwala » Wed May 27, 2015 9:48 am

am i watching comedy circus or laughter challenge?

salaar
Posts: 635
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 8:36 am

Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#9

Unread post by salaar » Thu May 28, 2015 4:02 am

no mr mamaee open your eyes and watch carefully you are seeing your own reflection that is going to happen within your own country very soon
you will reap what you will sow.

KA786110
Posts: 360
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Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#10

Unread post by KA786110 » Thu May 28, 2015 7:44 am

Indian politicians have worked to undermine the viability of Pakistan way before it became an independent country:

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/05/26/pak ... ce-gandhi/

salaar
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Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 8:36 am

Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#11

Unread post by salaar » Fri May 29, 2015 3:09 am

This is the true face of Pakistan
our competent and brave soldiers stands out among the lot
for the enemies of Pakistan open your eyes and see for yourself, dont be mistaken your evil designs will never demoralize
you are not up against a bunch of hooligans, India would vanish trying to disintegrate Pakistan
Tame your RAW before our lions maul you down
..............................PAKISTAN ZINDABAD...........................
PAK ARMY.mp4
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salaar
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Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#12

Unread post by salaar » Fri May 29, 2015 4:12 am

Video.
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salaar
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Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#13

Unread post by salaar » Fri May 29, 2015 12:09 pm

Investigators see Indian spy agency’s involvement in Safoora Goth attack as ISIS not in Karachi
Official says India achieved strategic objectives linked to China with attack on Ismailis on CPEC route



Initial investigation and intelligence reports on Wednesday’s Safoora Goth terrorist attack on a bus carrying Ismailis have hinted at the involvement of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in the attack, Pakistan Today has learnt.

According to sources, investigators told Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif that the attackers targeted the Ismaili community which belongs to Gilgit-Baltistan–the main artery of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), while media reports claimed that Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval had played a key role in allocation of over one billion dollars to RAW to sabotage Chinese investment in Pakistan.

A well-placed source privy to the details of the briefings given to COAS at Corps Headquarters Karachi told Pakistan Today that the initial leads suggested a “strong possibility” of RAW involvement in the attack as “ISIS has no footprints in Karachi”.

Moreover, the investigators have found that all those killed and injured in the attack had bullet wounds in their heads which hinted that the attackers wanted to kill all their targets to spread terror amongst the people of Karachi.

“This is the only hint which is linked to ISIS. However, this might be a bid to mislead the investigators. So it is being investigated whether this was a bid to shift the focus of intelligence agencies from MQM to ISIS or if terrorists of ethnic and religious outfits have joined hands against LEAs. Moreover, another question for the investigators was that the pamphlets dropped by the killers at the crime scene raised serious questions about the motive of attack,” the source said.

“The COAS was briefed that the pamphlets raised questions whether the attackers belonged to ISIS and if it was a bid to mislead the investigators. One of the major questions has been why ISIS had to mention a threat to SSP Malir Rao Anwaar, who should not have any significance for a major terror group,” the source said.

“The investigators are also probing whether or not there was any link between target killers of MQM and banned outfits,” the source added.

Asked about the rationale behind attacking Ismailis, who have been peaceful and never found involved in sectarian trends, the source said, ”We believe that the Ismailis have been attacked on two counts: to prove to the world that Pakistan was a fragile state which was still under attack from terrorists. So the attack aims at sending a negative message to Ismailis who live in Gilgit, Hunza and other parts of GB from where Karakorum Highway passes. Since, Gilgit would be major link in the CPEC, the terrorists wanted to enrage Ismailis. Indians in this regard have gained strategic objectives by this attack,” the official said.

“Moreover, the attack is aimed at telling our Chinese friends that their huge investment in Pakistan is not secure. The timing of this attack is important as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting China. This also suggests that Modi would be advocating the Chinese leadership to review their future plans vis-a-vis Pakistan, as China has made Pakistan a pivot for its future endeavours,” the source added.

The security official added that another motive of the attack would be to influence the world view against Pakistan as the leader of Ismailis Prince Karim Agha Khan enjoys immense international influence.

ghulam muhammed
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Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#14

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Fri May 29, 2015 6:58 pm

Women barred from voting in parts of Pakistan

Parties strike deals before district council elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and court rejects complaint over byelection

In some of the most socially conservative regions of Pakistan this weekend’s local government elections will be men-only affairs.

Local politicians and elders say parties contesting elections for district and village council seats in Hangu and parts of Malakand, districts of the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), have struck deals barring women from voting.

There are fears of similar arrangements across KP, a province bordering Afghanistan where many Pashtun communities observe purdah traditions so strict that many female candidates do not publish photographs on election posters.

The cultural difficulties are often compounded by dire security in areas where the Taliban and other militant groups are active.

In a parliamentary byelection in Lower Dir this month, none of the eligible 50,000 women in the constituency turned out to vote. One report said mosques broadcast warnings to women, and polling stations were guarded by “baton-wielding men” who blocked the few women who did try to vote.

On Wednesday the high court in Peshawar threw out a petition lodged by 12 women from Lower Dir who demanded the election be re-run. Shahab Khattak, the women’s lawyer, said the case was dismissed after 15 minutes, during which the judge seemed unsure whether women really were entitled to vote.

“The honourable judge asked whether it was a fundamental right for women to vote,” Khattak said. “We said indeed it is a fundamental right and a constitutional right.

“That there has been massive discrimination against women should be clear from the zero participation at the polls.”

Siraj-ul-Haq, leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist party that jointly controls the KP government, argued that the women of Lower Dir had merely chosen to respect local traditions by not voting.

Jamaat-e-Islami governs KP in coalition with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which is led by the former cricketer Imran Khan.

One of the PTI’s elected provincial representatives told the Guardian that the party had been complicit in keeping women away from the ballot box in KP, including in this weekend’s poll in Hangu.

In the runup to the 2013 general election the PTI in Upper Dir signed a written agreement with other parties barring women from voting and stipulating large fines for anyone breaking the agreement. In the end just one woman’s vote was recorded.

Ijaz Khan, a professor at Peshawar University, said political parties were to blame for not challenging social pressures in the most “backward” areas of the province. “In order to win the seat they refuse to take a strong stance with their local chapter,” he said. “The PTI may have women who go to their meetings in Islamabad or Lahore, but in the more traditional areas the party compromises on women’s rights.”

The courts and the provincial government have shown little interest in pursuing the issue of the Lower Dir byelection, but the election commission is investigating. It said it had taken “serious notice” of reports that women would be prevented from voting this weekend.

Saima Munir, of the Aurat Foundation, a campaign group, said that if the election commission nullified the result and disqualified the winning candidate it would force dramatic change in the province.

Nida Khan, a women’s activist in Hangu, said elders in her community would continue to act with impunity. “There is no government writ in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” she said. “We don’t need any Taliban since our so-called politicians with their extremist mindset are enough to push women into the dark.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/m ... -pakhtunkh

Muslim First
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Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#15

Unread post by Muslim First » Fri May 29, 2015 7:59 pm

spy pigeon detained in India after crossing border from Pakistan

http://www.dawn.com/news/1184957/spy-pi ... m-pakistan

My goodness

salaar
Posts: 635
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 8:36 am

Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#16

Unread post by salaar » Tue Jun 02, 2015 8:08 am

Pakistan on Saturday expressed serious concern over Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s remarks that “terrorists have to be neutralised only through terrorists,” saying it confirms apprehensions about India’s involvement in terrorism.

“This statement only confirms Pakistan’s apprehensions about India’s involvement in terrorism in Pakistan,” said Sartaz Aziz, Adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs.
Related

Parrikar’s terrorist remark: It’s terrible, minister should withdraw it at once, says Chidambaram
Pakistan should fully cooperate in tackling terrorism: Rajnath Singh
India helping terrorists in Pakistan: Pak Defence Minister

“It must be the first time that a Minister of an elected government openly advocates use of terrorism in another country on the pretext of preventing terrorism from that country or its non-state actors,” Aziz was quoted as saying in a statement by the Foreign Office.

He said Pakistan sincerely pursues a policy of good neighbourly relations with India.

“Terrorism is our common enemy and it is vital for the two countries to work together to defeat this menace, from which Pakistan has suffered much more than almost any other country,” he said.

On Thursday, asserting that terrorists have to be neutralised only through terrorists, Parrikar had said India
will take “pro-active” steps to prevent a 26/11 type attacks hatched from a foreign soil.

“There are certain things that I obviously cannot discuss here. But if there is any country, why only Pakistan, planning something against my country, we will definitely take some pro-active steps,” Parrikar had said.

The Minister had used Hindi phrase “kante se kanta nikalna” (removing a thorn with a thorn) and wondered why Indian soldiers should be used to neutralise terrorists.

Earlier, senior Pakistani officials including army chief General Raheel Sharif and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry in recent statements have accused India’s external intelligence agency RAW of fanning militancy in Pakistan.

salaar
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Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 8:36 am

Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#17

Unread post by salaar » Tue Jun 02, 2015 8:22 am

cartoon_indian-afghan-terror-in-pakistan.jpg
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salaar
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Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#18

Unread post by salaar » Tue Jun 02, 2015 8:38 am

24260B2D00000578-2879709-image-a-8_1418956201524.jpg
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salaar
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Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#19

Unread post by salaar » Tue Jun 02, 2015 8:42 am

killing innocent children, arent you indians ashamed of your deeds,
if your conscience is alive question your government what harm these school children did to your desh,
is this what your leader Gandhi propagated, Its cold blooded murder and you will pay it with the blood of your children
Shame upon you cowards.

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#20

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Fri Mar 04, 2016 5:06 pm

Mumtaz Qadri A curious case of Blasphemy | must watch till end.

Watch and understand this video..

Islamic text explained in easy way.
Watch how the Mullah's are keeping you blind and ignorant and exploiting your religious passion for their own political benefit.
Their motto is keep them ignorant and turn them into blind followers in the name of the Prophet ﷺ so they would not dare to question us!
Keep them blind sheep so they empty their pockets for us in the name of Islam...
"The degree of one's emotions varies inversely with one's knowledge of the facts." - Bertrand Russell
- From #‎mumtazqadri's hanging to #‎SalmanTaseer's assassination, we have become a nation controlled by #‎emotions. Let me tell you a secret that you already know, Roads and Railways do not make a nation great, the maturity of critical thinking does. Think about it......Critically.
Ref:
www.engagepakistan.com/timeline/source
Articles by Arafat Mazahar upoun whose amazing research this vid is based, A must Read.
1.The untold story of Pakistan’s blasphemy law
http://www.dawn.com/…/the-untold-story- ... ns-blasphe
2.The fatwas that can change Pakistan's blasphemy narrative
http://www.dawn.com/…/the-fatwas-that-c ... pakistans-
3.Why blasphemy remains unpardonable in Pakistan
http://www.dawn.com/…/why-blasphemy-rem ... donable-in
4.Blasphemy and the death penalty: Misconceptions explained
http://www.dawn.com/…/blasphemy-and-the ... alty-misco

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhn3DY-3Ur0

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#21

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Fri Aug 19, 2016 7:13 pm

Sorry, India, This is Not the Way to Help the People of Balochistan

By moving Balochistan centre-stage as a pawn in the larger strategic game between India and Pakistan, Modi is not showing concern for human rights violations but engaging in pure realpolitik. With unknown consequences.

Rivalry between India and Pakistan is not a new thing. Their bilateral history is replete with contesting historical narratives. Since 1947, the two neighbours have fought four conventional wars and numerous skirmishes. Recently, their rivalry took a new turn with competing claims about each other’s domestic victims. It is now a question of who kills more brutally – Kashmir versus Balochistan. The new game in town is to cover up one’s own atrocities by highlighting the brutality of the other. Or as a Pakistani friend, Salma Jaffar from Quetta, tweeted recently: “Pakistan and India will sandwich Kashmir and Balochistan so that they are not answerable for their atrocities in either [territory]”.

Sadly, these two states, their security establishments and communities, and segments of population have lost their sensitivity to brutality and internal tragedies. Thus an Indian was quick in responding to the above tweet with a reminder of how Pakistan was worse off for using F-16s and other major weapon systems against its own people. For him, the use of pellet guns in Kashmir and its cost to people’s lives there was, comparatively speaking, a lesser crime.

It is sad that Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India is issuing statements about Pakistan’s atrocities in Balochistan while being oblivious to an entire new generation of disgruntled youth in the Kashmir valley that has stood up yet again to counter state brutality. Equally tragic is Nawaz Sharif’s declaration dedicating Pakistan’s national day, August 14, to the Kashmiris when, just three days ago, over 70 people lost their lives in Balochistan to a cruel terrorist attack.

It is as if being born from the same womb has made the two states identically insensitive towards their people similar.

At the same time, there is no getting away from the fact that Balochistan vs Kashmir adds a new dimension to the existing bilateral conflict and represents a new upping of the ante in the almost 70-year-old Cold War between the two neighbours.

On August 12, India’s prime minister accused Pakistan of human rights violations in Balochistan and fomenting trouble on the Indian side of Kashmir. He followed this up with similar references in his August 15 independence day speech. Such pronouncements – indicative of a new war game the two neighbours may now be engaged in – are not likely to be forgotten and ignored on other side of the border.

Modi’s mention of Balochistan in his speeches indicates something more serious – moving Balochistan centre-stage as a pawn in the larger strategic game between the two rivals. This is not concern for human rights atrocities but pure realpolitik. The Indian prime minister probably needs to obfuscate the reality of India’s human rights violations in Kashmir, which are likely to increase. Or use Pakistan’s internal issue to negotiate relief in Kashmir.

The new spate of violence in the Kashmir Valley is likely to get prolonged as New Delhi interprets the uprising mainly as an external job. Indeed, the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba/Jamaat-ud-Dawwa (LeT/JuD) network aims to export about 2000 fighters into the Valley with the intent and resources to challenge India’s military might deployed in the territory. There is also the threat of the Islamic State (IS) finding sympathisers in the valley. But the more that the Indian government avoids out of the box thinking on how to solve the issue, the more complex and prolonged will the matter get – which is the Pakistani military’s wish come true. Rawalpindi may not have the capacity to do another Kargil but the Kashmir uprising turning Palestinian intifada-like is considered a preferred option. Indeed, the images of bullet-riddled bodies and faces in the media are what Rawalpindi and its JuD allies hope for. At least in the short to medium term, this will turn India’s promising image around the world on its head.

Instead of finding a long term solution to the issue, Modi seems ready to play Rawalpindi’s game. Conscious of the ongoing tension between Islamabad and Kabul, or even between Pakistan and the US over Afghanistan’s future, New Delhi seems ready to turn on the heat in Balochistan. Pakistan’s generals talked about India’s hand in the recent terrorist attack in Quetta that killed over 70 lawyers and injured more than a hundred. According to Lt. General Amir Riaz, commander of Pakistan’s southern command, India’s R&AW has launched an unconventional war against Pakistan.

Not that the army hasn’t earlier been suspicious of India’s involvement in Balochistan. For years, Islamabad depended upon friendly foreign experts to voice and endorse its reservations. Although it was never able to bring a convincing case in front of the international community and media regarding Indian involvement, Rawalpindi believes that having caught an alleged R&AW spy in Balochistan, Kulbhushan Jadhav, earlier this year, it now has a credible case. And thus Pakistan is no more the lone perpetrator of violence and terrorism in the region.

Pakistan’s establishment does not see Kashmir and Balochistan from the same lens except for the latter being evidence of India’s intent to hurt its neighbour. Anyone in Pakistan even accidentally making a comparison between the two peoples is immediately snubbed and branded a foreign agent. Furthermore, it is argued that the two cases are not comparable since Kashmir is recognised as an international dispute by the UN, while Balochistan does not have that status.

Islamabad’s main concern is to ensure that Balochistan does not reprise for it the tragedy of former East Pakistan. Although the recent cycle of conflict between Pakistan’s military and the Baloch nationalists dates back to General Musharraf’s years, it is in recent years that there has been a clamp down in the rest of Pakistan on any mention of state atrocities in the province or the suffering of the Baloch people. There is an almost absolute media blackout. Barring the English newspaper Dawn, all other media groups censor writings or discussion on the subject. With Modi seemingly taking up the case, the situation is likely to worsen for the ordinary people in the province – and for Pakistanis sympathising with the human rights dimension of the Baloch issue.

The Baloch may have fought various wars against the Pakistani state but they don’t have a demonstrable capacity to control the entire southwestern territory, or the ability to secede from Pakistan. Can this happen with external help? Modi may not have the intention or the ability to break Pakistan but he is definitely interested in raising the stakes. The calculus of internal conflict in Balochistan is very different from what happened in 1971 in former East Pakistan. The ethnic divide in Balochistan and the fostering on its territory of various types of militant organisations is viewed by the establishment as insulation against aggressive foreign intervention or manipulation of locals by foreign forces. For the military, the biggest concern is not about people but about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that army chief General Raheel Shareef has vowed to protect at all costs. This already means greater military engagement in the province’s territory.

There will certainly be increased bickering in the coming days. However, the greater concern is not what the two rivals can do to each other but the manner in which they will weaken their societies. In the urge to strengthen their respective responses, the two states will brandish greater patriotism, in the process engendering an ideological-nationalist madness that will damage both countries. This new phase of subcontinental rivalry will exact a high price from the people.

http://thewire.in/59243/balochistan-and ... f-victims/

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#22

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Sun Sep 11, 2016 5:33 pm

Islam’s Lesser Muslims: When “Khuda” became “Allah”

In 1985 a curious thing happened: a prominent Pakistani talk-show host bid her audience farewell with the words Allah Hafiz. It was an awkward substitution. The Urdu word for goodbye was actually Khuda Hafiz (meaning God be with you), using the Persian word for God, Khuda, not the Arabic one, Allah. The new term was pushed on the populace in the midst of military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq’s Islamization campaign of the late 1970s and 1980s, the extremes of which Pakistani society had never before witnessed. Zia overhauled large swathes of the Pakistan Penal Code to resemble Saudi-style justice, leaving human rights activists and religious minorities aghast. Even the national language, revered for its poetry, would not be spared. And yet, though bars and cabarets shut down overnight and women were told to cover up, it would take two decades for the stubborn Khuda to decisively die off, and let Allah reign.

In more recent times, the language wars break out every year during the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Before the early 2000s, Pakistanis used a Persianized pronunciation of the word, Ramzan. Slowly, however, the Arabic Ramadan came to take hold – in television commercials and on billboards advertising restaurant deals for the best eateries to break the fast, in magazines and newspapers, in sermons, on talk shows and of course, from the lips of neighbors. Now, Pakistanis were supposed to wish each other Ramadan Kareem instead of Ramzan Mubarak. They no longer performed wuzu, the ablutions required before offering prayer, but wudu. Then, two years ago, the federal minister for religious affairs announced his intentions to make Arabic a compulsory language in school curriculums.

Pakistan has long been torn between its Indo-Persian roots and the cultural imperialism of a much darker strain of Sunni Islam imported from the Gulf, particularly Saudi Arabia. Though it was Zia who, with US and Saudi support, set up madrassahs, or Islamic schools, to fund and train puritanical warriors in preparation for a “jihad” against Soviet forces in Afghanistan, the cultural ramifications of his policies polarize the society to this day.

READ FULL ARTICLE :-

http://lobelog.com/islams-lesser-muslim ... more-35625

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#23

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Mon Oct 17, 2016 6:02 pm

Is blasphemy a capital crime in Islam?

When the Prophet (PBUH) could forgive a person of unquestionable antagonism towards Islam, why can the ulema of Pakistan not let off a poor village woman who is not a known enemy of our religion and whose guilt has not been established beyond doubt?

The brutal assassination of Salmaan Taseer, the outspoken governor of Punjab, is an ominous indication that Pakistan is plunging headlong into a state of ataxia. And one wonders if it will ever come out of it. Salmaan was killed, as confessed by his murderous bodyguard, for being a staunch opponent of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan and seeking presidential pardon for Aasia Bibi, the Christian woman who was recently awarded the death penalty under section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for allegedly abusing Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

It is a fact that the use of derogatory language against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), or for that matter any prophet, is considered a great sin in Islam. But it is also no ordinary crime to sentence somebody to death without evidence. So far, the charges against Aasia Bibi have not been incontrovertibly proved. Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, is on record as saying that the case against her is concocted as the complainant and major witnesses were not present at the site of the incident. But, then, the courts in Pakistan work under tremendous right-wing pressure. It may be recalled that in 1997, the Lahore High Court Judge Arif Iqbal Bhatti, who had acquitted two Christians accused of blasphemy in 1995, was shot dead.

But the bigger question is: is there any evidence in the Quran to justify capital punishment for the crimes mentioned in section 295-C of the PPC? Also, what was the Prophet’s (PBUH) own reaction to such personal insults? The answers to these questions assume the significance of a categorical imperative (to use a Kantian term) because, as far as Islamic sharia is concerned, any law made in contravention of the universality of the Quranic doctrine as expounded by the prophet (PBUH) is void.

Interestingly, the Quran records some of the nasty insinuations that were hurled at the Prophet (PBUH) (see 25:41 and 38:4-5) and defends and consoles him without suggesting any mundane punishment for the abusers. Such invectives would certainly have hurt the Prophet (PBUH) and, therefore, he is assuaged with, “Have patience with what they say, and leave them with noble dignity” (73:10), and, “You possess the most exalted standard of character” (68:4).

After having comforted the Prophet (PBUH) thus, the Quran advises him — and through him his followers — to “forgive and overlook; for God loves those who are kind” (5:13). Another verse points out that when evil is repelled with an act of goodness, “then will he between whom and you was hatred become as if he were your intimate friend” (41:34). The Prophet (PBUH) followed this exhortation to the letter, a fact acknowledged by the Quran, which confirmed that he indeed was kind to the people and never “harsh-hearted” (3:159).

There are several instances in the Prophet’s (PBUH) life, which show that he pardoned the foul language of even his sworn enemies. For instance, when a Jew, who was opposed to the reform movement of Islam, greeted him by saying “As-saamu-alalikum” (death be upon you) and the Prophet’s (PBUH) wife Hazrat Aisha responded with “As-saamu ‘alaikum wal-laa’na”(death and Allah’s curse be upon you too), he expressed his strong displeasure by saying, “Be gentle and calm, Aisha.” And when one of his companions sought permission to harm the Jew, the Prophet (PBUH) silenced him with an emphatic “No” (Sahih Bukhari). According to another tradition, a man demanded his debts from the Prophet (PBUH) in such a rude manner that his companions wanted to beat him up. But the Prophet (PBUH) said, “Leave him, for he (the creditor) has the right to demand it (harshly)” (Sahih Bukhari). Furthermore, the Prophet (PBUH) warned Muslims by saying, “Eeyakum wal ghulu fiddeen. Fa innahu ahlaka man kaana qablakum al ghulu fiddeen (Ibne Maaja). This translates as, “Eschew extremism in religion. For extremism has destroyed its practitioners in the past.”

The foregoing scriptural evidence proves that there is no Islamic basis for the histrionic emotionalism and maddening perversity of thought that marks the defence of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan. The natural question that comes to mind is: when the Prophet (PBUH) could forgive a person of unquestionable antagonism towards Islam, why can the ulema of Pakistan not let off a poor village woman who is not a known enemy of our religion and whose guilt has not been established beyond doubt? On the contrary, a cleric has announced an award of $6,000 to anyone who kills Aasia Bibi if the higher courts acquit her. And this has been done in the name of a prophet who was crowned Rahmath al lil aalameen (Mercy unto Humanity) by the Quran.

It is precisely this kind of fiendish behaviour that fuels Islamophobia across the globe. In fact, Muslim extremism and Islamophobia now enjoy a symbiotic relationship, feeding on each other’s fanaticism. This, of course, is not to condone organised attempts to malign religious personalities such as the publication of Danish cartoons in 2005. Such defamatory campaigns are, in reality, Machiavellian designs to incite communal hatred and, therefore, they deserve to be condemned by not just Muslims but all right-thinking people for the sake of world peace.

Finally, one of the reasons behind Muslim extremism flourishing today is the unrestricted flow of petro-dollars into Muslim societies, which has resulted in the proliferation of prejudiced preachers and radical televangelists who populate the airwaves with their fanaticism. Such is the sway of these preachers that Muslims in large numbers are falling prey to their manipulative agenda and have started to exhibit a supremacist attitude that looks down upon all those who are reluctant to get initiated into their kind of puritanism. The only way out of this mess is to stimulate debates among Muslims on the interpretations of Islamic texts with the ultimate aim of countering religious chauvinism through appeal to reason and logic as done by the Prophet (PBUH) himself.

http://dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/15-Jan ... e-in-islam

qutub_mamajiwala
Posts: 1051
Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2013 4:17 am

Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#24

Unread post by qutub_mamajiwala » Thu May 25, 2017 5:54 am

Islam’s Lesser Muslims: When “Khuda” became “Allah”

https://lobelog.com/islams-lesser-musli ... ame-allah/

salaar
Posts: 635
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 8:36 am

Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#25

Unread post by salaar » Sun Jun 18, 2017 9:13 pm

Pakistani'o mubarak ho tum ne aaj phir apnay azali dushman to dhool chata di

PAKISTAN ZINDABAD

zinger
Posts: 2201
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 2:40 am

Re: Pakistan - Past Present and Future

#26

Unread post by zinger » Sun Jun 18, 2017 11:55 pm

salaar wrote: Sun Jun 18, 2017 9:13 pm Pakistani'o mubarak ho tum ne aaj phir apnay azali dushman to dhool chata di

PAKISTAN ZINDABAD
Agreed, they were definitely the better team last night.
Congratulations to Team Pakistan