Author: Dr. Awab Alvi
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Women threatened for Disrespecting the Quran – Sanghar, Sindh
It is as if the news regarding the misuse of Blasphemy Law will never stop. Lala Hassan an activist of the Peoples Resistance movement in Karachi narrated an incident about a woman being wrongly accused of disrespecting the Quran in Sanghar District of Sindh. Considering the ruthlessness of a raging mob, it could be her…
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Blasphemy riot in Sheikhupura – leaves two dead
In the media frenzy surrounding the Gojra riots just a few days back, another similar incident happened in Sheikupura, Lahore which seemingly never caught the media limelight, remaining submerged within the inside pages of oblivion. On the 5th of August a riot occurred in a leather factory which left two people dead when a mob…
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Joint Declaration from Christian and Muslim leaders & Protest at China Chowk
A meeting was called in local Church to discuss the incident of Gojra. A notable number of 20 Muslim/Christian leadership of Rawalpindi/Islamabad attended the meeting. Meeting was facilitated by Waheed Yousuf. Fr Rahmat Hakam welcomed the participants for and thanks for their participation on a very short notice. All participants were asked to shared their…
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Khatim an-Nabuwwah Fanatics threaten Gojra Activists
In an email from Farooq Tariq a spokesperson of the Labor Party of Pakistan has explained how Islamic Religious group fanatics Khatim an-Nabuwwah have threatened their workers of dire circumstances for having sided with the Christian community during the Gojra riots which left approximately 9 people dead due to intensive burns. Khatim an-Nabuwwah [Wikipedia] or…
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The Innocent of Gojra: Victims of the Half Law
Guest Blog by Brigadier Samson Simon Sharaf is a retired officer of Pakistan Army and a political economist. The recent incidents in Gojra are a grim reminder of how existing half laws can be manipulated for personal and political ends. Besides loss of life, property or the reputation of the country, it also reflects an…
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Gojra Incident: Sparked because of a drunkie being bounced out of a wedding
A summary of events as shared by Dr. Arif Alvi [Sec General of PTI] as he narrated his conversation with one of his party members who was in Gojra to investigate the horrific incident which involved the killing of seven Christians A lot of detail has been published in the newspapers today. Brig. (R) Samson…
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Bishop Ijaz Inayat Questions the Gojra Killings
I share with you an email sent by Bishop Ijaz Inayat from the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Karachi where he talks about the killing of seven Christians in Gojram Please circulate widely so that people who matter must not pay only lip service every time but come down with a heavy hand on the culprits…
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GO GREEN & Twitter Hashtag #Pakistan for 14th August
Its exciting to see a very vibrant and motivated community of Pakistanis online, spreading from twitter to facebook and even the age old community on Orkut. Young energetic Pakistanis are doing their best to be the new face of Pakistan on the digital sphere. This comes more as a counter to the depressing situation that…
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Supreme Court overturns Nov 3rd Emergency by Musharraf
In mammoth decision yesterday late evening – the Chief Justice of Pakistan Honorable Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry and a bench of 12 Supreme Court Judges passed an order declaring the actions of Nov 3rd 2007 Invalid and unconstitutional. This comes after a struggle of over one year and 270 days since that fateful date in November…
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List of 100 Most Powerful Americans has at least 51 Jews
It is often alleged that the Americans are controlled by an invisible Jewish lobby, which tend to control decisions impacting the Jewish settlements world over and more specifically the Palestine conflict. Recently I stumbled across an article written by Joseph Aron in the Jewish World Review in October 2007. He analyzes a list that was…
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Shumaila Rana Resigns but what about the Bigger Crooks
Shumaila Rana has resigned from her Parliamentary seat amidst a short bit of drama after she was caught using a stolen Credit Card for approximately Rs. 60,000. To be honest its great to see her cough up her seat, but one wonders that in comparison to her colleagues which are bigger looters and plunders she…
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Return to Jalala – IDP Situation Update
After returning from a relief distribution to Mardan in May 2009, I regularly followed up with events concerning the IDPs in N.W.F.P. Regardless of the numerous analyses (and conspiracy theories) emerging in the public discourse about the war and its affects, the priority for me remained in providing assistance to displaced families. I tried to…
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Becoming an IDP – Real life experience of two females from Swat
Foize Nasim interviewed Saira, a 20 years old girl from Mingora, Swat at a training centre set up by PPAF at Jalala Camp. Saira has 7 sisters and 3 brothers. 3 of her sisters are married, two of whom were living at Jalala with their families. One sister, Farhat was missing with her husband, who…
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Returning Home – An Interview with an IDP
Married with 2 kids, Burhan Din is 28 years old and belongs to Amankot in Mingora, Swat. He is pursuing an M. Phil. in Anthropology from Peshawar University. He had been working for a trust called Muslim Aid in Mingora as a hygiene promotion officer for one year before he was forced to leave his…
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Ansar Abbasi and Jang Group help Apprehend Person spreading Blasphemous Content
In a recent news report in The News it has been reported that Ansar Abassi and the Jang Group helped apprehend a person spreading Blasphemy on the Internet. Allegedly a certain Dr. Omar Zia using a yahoo account emailed Ansar Abassi with Blasphemous material on June 29th, following it up again on the 30th of…