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Posts tagged with: Islamabad
Feb 27, 2008    |       2 comments

The Failure in the War on Terror – Not Osama but Musharraf

Source: The Harvard Crimson

The former head of the Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligences (ISI) political cell recently confessed that he was responsible for political manipulation in Pakistans 2002 elections that led to Islamists coming to power in two provinces and gaining 59 seats in the National Assembly. This fraud was the work of the Americas supposedly unfaltering ally in the War on Terror, General (ret.) Pervez Musharraf and his desire to paint an image of Pakistan as an extremely dangerous, unstable country ready to fall into the hands of extremists the moment he leaves.

Musharraf pretends that he is the only hope for the US in Pakistan. Closer analysis, however, suggests that his claims are far from true. In the 2008 electionswhich were much freer and fairer than those of 2002only 6 seats went to the Islamists. In addition, a secular party won the majority of seats from the North-West Frontier Province where the War on Terror is actually taking place. These results prove that the people of Pakistan are against religious fundamentalism, something the US has largely ignored. In 1999, Pakistan was a stable country with a moderate political party in power. There were no suicide bombings, no abductions by extremists, and people were free to move about without security personnel. By 2007, Pakistan was among the worlds most dangerous places. This transformation is the result of Musharrafs long, incompetent rule.
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Feb 22, 2008    |       9 comments

‘Bolta Pakistan’ censored in certain areas of Pakistan

“Bolta Pakistan” an AAJ.tv show featuring Mushtaq Minhas and Nusrat Javed came ‘on air’ today and barely five minutes later certain parts of the country namely Islamabad and Karachi were taken off the air. A viewer reported that the comparers had started discussing the negotiations taking place between the PPP hierarchy and the US diplomatic personnel. They were also reminiscing with Mariana Babar, on line, about similar events which took place in 1988, when suddenly the show was censored in certain parts of the country

I personally am in Peshawar and it is being aired openly here, I am surprised why its being blocked in the major cities of Pakistan as they are definitely not discussing anything untoward the bureaucracy nothing that might irk President Musharraf, i can only speculate he has a bone to pick since Nov 3rd and is just stubborn about it.

Feb 22, 2008    |       39 comments

Youtube blocked in Pakistan

Just in – Youtube seems to have been blocked in Pakistan

There are two theories one is that an Anti Islamic movie was being blocked while another theory is that a few videos did surface which showed poll rigging in Karachi

Sources say that this video could very well be the objectionable video that is being blocked in Pakistan – I have not seen the video as I cant access it, but if it has objectionable blasphemous links then I prefer not to upload it directly – here is the text link, venture at your own risk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3s8jtvvg00

Update: Download the [download#4]

While below is the email received from MultiNet via the Proud-Pakistani Mailing List where they place the onus on the People of Pakistan to put pressure on Youtube for unblocking the website.
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Feb 19, 2008    |      1 comment

Pakistan Elections: Free, Fair and Transparent

Guest Blog by temporal who blogs at Baithak

The Pakistan elections are over and the people have spoken. But have they been heard?

It is after midnight Pakistan time and the results are trickling in. It appears from early results that PML (Q) the king’s party has received a massive defeat. And both opposition parties, the PML (N) and PPPP are surging ahead.

In the next day or two we will find out the total combined seats for PML (N) and PPPP. As of this moment they have 45 and 38 seats respectively for a total of 83.

Here is where the IF game comes into play.

Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari are unlikely allies. Both the parties have been vindictive against each other and had initiated cases of corruption and abuse of power against the other when in power that are still pending before the courts.
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Feb 18, 2008    |      1 comment

Election begins with rigging, violence and trouble

Not coming as much of a surprise, election starts off rather unpleasantly.

Two friends who registered to vote in Islamabad went early to the polling station to find out that their names were missing from the designated polling station.

Last night PML-N candidate Ch Asif Ashraf was assassinated in Lahore. In addition an MQM candidate was fired at in Quetta. Much violence has been reported across the country especially in Balochistan.

Details to follow…

Feb 18, 2008    |      1 comment

Media Restrictions Undermine Election: Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch issues a statement on the restriction on the media, similarly Hamid Mir also shared his concerns just a day earlier in a letter to journalists of PFUJ.

Threats and censorship against the independent media, bias in state television, and a widespread ban on live broadcasting are limiting the public’s right to information as Pakistan goes to the polls, Human Rights Watch said today. Recent curbs on the media prohibit coverage of election rallies, live call-ins, live talk shows, live coverage of protests, or any live broadcasts that could show the government in a negative light, severely restricting the right to free expression ahead of Pakistan’s election on February 18, 2008.

On November 3, 2007, President Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan’s constitution and declared emergency rule, curbing the media through two decrees that bar the publishing or broadcasting of “anything which defames or brings into ridicule the head of state, or members of the armed forces, or executive, legislative or judicial organ of the state.” The print and electronic media were also restrained from publishing any material likely to “jeopardize or be prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan or the sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan, or any material that is likely to incite violence or hatred or create inter-faith disorder or be prejudicial to maintenance of law and order.” Television discussions of anything deemed “false or baseless” by the regulatory authorities were also banned. All those provisions remain in force, even though the state of emergency was lifted on December 15.
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Feb 17, 2008    |       27 comments

Jemima Inteview President Musharraf

Jemima and MusharrafPublished in The Independent, it is definitely worth reading.

‘Since you were so kind as to greet us in London at Downing Street last month, the President would like to return the favour,” announces Major-General Rashid Qureshi, President Pervez Musharraf’s PR man over the phone. Only in Pakistan could the government’s head of spin be a retired major-general. He is referring to my last encounter with the President on 28 January when, along with a 2,000-strong, placard-waving, slogan-jeering mob, I protested on the main road outside 10 Downing Street while Musharraf discussed democracy with Gordon Brown over lunch inside. On the way in he waved at us. Clearly he’s a man who is not afraid of confrontation. Much to the justifiable fury of every journalist in Islamabad, he has now granted me an exclusive half-hour interview despite or perhaps because of the fact that I have recently described him as one of the most repressive dictators Pakistan has ever known.

On the way to the Camp Office in Rawalpindi, I cross the bridge and pass the petrol station, which mark the spots of two recent attempts on the life of the now deeply unpopular President. I have a horrible fear that, bamboozled under the spotlight of his renowned charm, I may start to simper. My ex-husband, one of the President’s most vocal critics, has already told me he thinks this is all a terrible idea. “It will be misinterpreted in Pakistan. Besides, you’ll be too soft on him,” he said.

The Camp Office turns out to be an old colonial building which used to be the HQ of the northern command under the British. With its delicately carved, wooden, double-height ceilings, sweeping central staircase, marble floors and ornate carpets, it’s not hard to see why the President chose this as his private office in Rawalpindi. His residence is just up the driveway.
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Feb 17, 2008    |       19 comments

Hamid Mir shares his concerns about the restricted media

Mr. Hamid Mir, a very prominent anchor of Geo TV who was banned from appearing on any TV show after the emergency shares his feelings in this letter submitted after the press conference he had on the invitation of Pakistan Federal Union Journalists . Its a must read specially if you want to understand whats going on behind the covers of the new form of Media Censorship

Dear Journalist Colleagues,

Thanks for coming to this press conference on the invitation of Pakistan Federal Union Journalists.

As you know that Musharraf regime have banned many TV anchors including me without any written charge against us. The main objective of banning us was to pressurize Pakistani media to accept a new code of conduct for print and electronic journalism. This new code was drafted just to manipulate elections. Musharraf regime started pressurizing us to accept new media laws in 2006.I was served with a notice from the government in October 2006 when I hosted a talk show on the role of intelligence agencies in politics. I responded that notice through my lawyer and took a stand that I never violated any law. Government never issued any notice to me after my response.
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Feb 15, 2008    |      Comments Off on Life of a Pakistani prisoner in Guantanamo is at risk

Life of a Pakistani prisoner in Guantanamo is at risk

CLICK HERE TO SEND A APPEAL LETTER
(forwards to an automated appeal letter on AHRCP’s website)

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the deteriorating health of a Pakistani prisoner detained in a U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The prisoner is suffering from a serious heart ailment and his health has worsened since he was first imprisoned there in September 2004. The government of Pakistan has not intervened to ensure he is afforded with adequate medical attention. He has been charged for alleged involvement in the September 11 attack but has since not been tried nor produced in court. The prison’s medical facilities are inadequate and his request for treatment outside the prison has been denied.

CASE DETAILS:

Sixty-year-old Saifullah Paracha was a businessman and a prominent social worker in Karachi City, Sindh province. He was first reported to have disappeared on 6 July 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand while on a business trip, but his relatives found out later through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Islamabad that he had been arrested and subsequently detained in Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan on charges of terrorism. He was accused in having been involved in the September 11 attack. He was kept incommunicado there for over a year.

It was on 23 August 2003 that Saifullah’s family learned of his detention from the ICRC in Islamabad. However, his family was unable to communicate with him while he was detained there. One year later, in September 2004, Saifullah’s family was once again informed by a person from the ICRC that he had been transferred to Camp-5, a maximum security U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
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Feb 12, 2008    |      1 comment

Festival of the Oppressed

Guest post by Umer Chaudhry
Cross Posted from Red Diary

February 9th, 2008, was an important day for the lawyers movement and for the people of Pakistan. It was that day when the lawyers showed their resilience in the face of State repression on the streets of Islamabad. It was that day when the lawyers showed to the rest of the world that their movement will not fade away. It will stand to accomplish its objectives. It will stand for the rights of the people, for restoration of judiciary, for free and fair elections. The Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party (CMKP) finds it to their honor to stand by the lawyers in their struggle for democracy and justice.

It started with the usual chill of the winter morning when a car rally organized by the Concerned Citizens of Pakistan left from the gates of Aitzaz Ahsans residence in Lahore. The organizers were kind enough to give space to some student-members of the CMKP for free. The long journey was made easy by discussions that ranged from anti-war movement in USA to political theories and the upcoming elections in Pakistan. We made short stays at the Bar Associations on our way as more lawyers and cars joined in. Ahmed Mukhtar, who is contesting elections from Pakistan Peoples Party against Pakistan Muslim League-Qs stalwart Shujat Hussain, hosted our lunch and briefed us about his preparations to tackle rigging of elections in his constituency. As we were getting late, we had to avoid more stops and rushed towards Islamabad.

Still we were not on time to attend the Pakistan Bar Councils meeting at Islamabad. We drove to the Aitzaz Ahsans house where a group of lawyers was waiting for us, ready to march on to the residence of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. As the demonstration started, members of CMKP from Rawalpindi/Islamabad arrived armed with large red flags marked with the hammer and sickle and a megaphone. Without wasting any moment, we ran towards the rally waving our flags, caught our breath, and started raising our slogans against the military rule.
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Feb 12, 2008    |       4 comments

Pro Musharraf Rally welcomed in Islamabad

Funny yet ironic how the bureaucracy chooses to sugar-coat its Pro-Musharraf supporters with police protection, security gates and then finally a treat of lunch boxes. While only a few days earlier the opposition was treated with tear gas, bricks and a hose down in the chilly Islamabad winter. Free and Fair elections definitely remain an Oxymoron

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eaxe-g8H8lE[/youtube]

Feb 12, 2008    |       3 comments

It’s just a rock! It’s just a bruise

By Sundas

Sundas is a student of LUMS who is an active member of the Student Action Committee, Lahore and this write up is her narration of the events that took place in Islamabad last Saturday when over 1500 strong force of unarmed citizens braved the water cannons and tear gas to try and reach the house of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry

“It’s just a rock, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” I said to my friend standing next to me, blinking from the pain, as a broken piece of a brick hit me square in my shin. We were at the capital of our country, trying to reach the house of our Chief Justice held captive by a brutal dictator. The extent of his brutality, we were just beginning to get a taste of.

This was a procession of over 1500 lawyers, students, civil society members, gathered to protest against the blatant usurpation of our judicial institution, our media, as well as our fundamental rights. There were around 150 of us who had come from Lahore to join in today’s protest. Marching on to the judge’s enclave, we were chanting slogans, singing songs “na mera Pakistan hay, na tera Pakistan hay; yeh uska Pakistan hay jo sadr-e-pakistan hay” [This not my Pakistan, this is not your Pakistan; this is that person’s Pakistan, who calls himself the president of Pakistan] followed by proclamations of our struggle to get our country back. “Freedom is ours, if you don’t give it to us upon asking we will take it…” Wherever you looked, you saw people who had come together, united to fight for the collective good. Stating it was enough, we will no longer be silenced. We will no longer hold back, or bow our heads low.
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Feb 11, 2008    |      Comments Off on PR Call for protest in Karachi in solidarity with activists in Islamabad

PR Call for protest in Karachi in solidarity with activists in Islamabad

Email received on the People’s Resistance network

I’m sure you are all aware of the cowardly and brutal measures taken by the police in Islamabad to stop the lawyers and activists for reaching the home of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

If lathi charge and arrests weren’t enough, this time the state used water canons and tear gas against the brave souls, as if they were being attacked with molotov cocktails and batons.

In order to show solidarity with our injured and detained brothers and sisters of Lahore & Islamabad, we are holding a

SOLIDARITY VIGIL AT 5 p.m. KARACHI PRESS CLUB, FEBRUARY 11th, 2008

WE NEED AS MUCH PARTICIPANTS AS POSSIBLE TO SHOW OUR RESENTMENT TO SUCH BRUTAL ACTIONS!

The press people suggested 5 p.m. since they can better picture/record our protest in the day time.

Yes, in the face of such violence, a simple vigil sounds petty and ridiculous, but like our friends moderating the Emergency Times quote- “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Please forward to all concerned friends and family, especially lawyers and journalists.

See you all there.

In solidarity, – FARIS

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