By Afshan Bangash
The bitter truth of Pakistan today is not just about a battle between religious extremists and moderates but also about a terrifying hidden conflict between ‘haves’ and ‘havenots’ or rather ‘have-nothings’ and ‘have-everythings’.
Affluence often breeds liberal temperaments. Deprivation and poverty always breeds extremism. The brutal class-divides in Pakistani society have gradually prompted large sections of general public to embrace religion as an exclusive means of attaining any authority, if at all, against the feudal lords and wealthy elite who receive prizes of government positions to rule over people. Apart from the flamboyant wealth of these feudal lords and elite, their disrespect for the public values is a constant source of resentment among the suffering masses.
So what really killed Salman Taseer? Extravagance of his lavish Western life-style, or his utter dismissal of the values and beliefs of the poverty stricken-Pakistani masses, the multimillionaire political leaders rule down on? When Taseer’s opponents mounted a campaign against him by releasing family pictures to the media, in which the family appeared partying, they not only successfully aimed at exposing Taseer’s ‘waywardness’ and ‘un-Islamic’ ways but also managed to fiercely enrage the sentiments of millions.
Pakistan’s elite have learnt through a number of incidents in the near past, that armed guards can be even more dangerous than any outside predator. The “have-nothings” in the uniforms and armed with modern weapons, being close witnesses to the extravagant, high-priced lifestyles of the “have-everythings” may become extremely envious and resentful and seek to find the justification of such emotions in the interpretations of religious teachings. This also explains why even a section of the middle-class educated elite is unwilling to blatantly oppose the controversial aspects of blasphemy law which is evident from the showering of rose petals by a section of lawyers, when Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of Salman Taseer, was brought to the court. There is a thin line between the emotion of envy and rage and religious extremism is sometimes the only way out for the deprived when these two emotions merge.
So who really killed Taseer? The creators of Pakistan’s first Constitution 1956, who declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic deviating from Quide-e-Azam’s vision of Pakistan reflected in his address to the constituent Assembly August 11, 1947. Or the democratic Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who, for his own political gain, went further, declaring Islam as the state religion under 1973 constitution and making it illegal for Ahmedis to describe themselves as Muslims. Or the Aamir e Aazam Zia-ul-Haq, who mandated harsh punishments for blasphemous individuals putting the vulnerable sections of society such as women and religious minorities at risk of abuse. Or the twice elected PM Nawaz Shareef, who proved himself and his party to be the last nail in the coffin of religious tolerance and sanity by strengthening a law which is wide open to abuse where hearsay can be conveniently used to get some one convicted.
Another contributor appears to be the Pakisatni media. As the demon of hatred and extremism eats away on the conscience of Pakistani society, the media is showing a clear tilt toward the Right. Certain Media sections aired declaratory edicts inciting murder and mayhem and gave significant coverage to the so-called religious leaders, publicly offering suparis to murder the allegedly blasphemous Aasia Bibi. By doing so, these media sections made themselves a party to the culpability of mullahs. The champions of truth in news media were heard condoning Taseer’s murder in the name of religion.
It is worrisome to see how the ultra-conservative Deoband leadership, collaborated by the Barelvi clerics were able to bring tens and thousands of people on to the streets during the months of December 2010 and January 2011, getting disproportionate coverage on almost all the TV channels.
The prime contributor in Taseer’s killing remains the PPP led government is the dealt with the threats made to kill their own Governor in Punjab with criminal negligence. Mr Babar Awan, the Federal Minister for Justice, stated on an occassion that he did not have any intention to support any amendments to the Blasphemy laws, the cause his colleague Taseer stood up for. Just a few days before his ghastly murder, Taseer had to complain that the government was “not willing to face the religious fanaticism head on.” The voices like Atta-ur-Rehman, the minister of tourism, got stronger who was heard last month describing the Taliban as “true followers of Islamic ideology.”
Although the ecstasy of power Pakistani elite experience is understandable but it must not be displayed in vulgar ways. The high-priced lifestyles often dismiss the religious and moral values shared by the people of this war-poverty-flood-hunger-disease-stricken bankrupt nation. Refraining from dismissal of those values publicly was, certainly, not a very heavy a price for attaining governorship of the country’s biggest province. Expenditures of Presidency, the PM house, the alleged £2m Harrods furnishings, the Bruno Magli suits, chartered plane for a diner with Angelina Jolie, the imported-and-later-disapproved Siberian leopards, or the 27, 000$ dollar Atlantis Palm Jameirah wedding bills did not provoke a Qadri to gun-down a leader. Qadri needed a religious excuse, the singular authority he believed he still had against the ruling elite living an enviably lavish and resentfully ‘un-Islamic’ life.
Pakistani media should think about giving a proportionate coverage to the enlightened and moderate sections of society instead of cashing on the disproportionate coverage of the hate-mongers announcing head-moneys and issuing fatwas of death.
Most importantly, the practice of using religion for political gain prevalent in the country since 1956 must end now. Pakistani authorities, present as well as for the years to come will have to realise that no amount of security will work, when the extremist mindsets and factors that nurture them continue to be tolerated. Until the state takes firm action against the hate campaigns, many more Qadris will spring up to kill anyone who dares to tread the path of agreeing to disagree, saying what must be said and doing what must be done.
By Afshan Bangash
The bitter truth of Pakistan today is not just about a battle between religious extremists and moderates but also about a terrifying conflict between ‘have-nothings’ and ‘have-everythings’. So what really killed Salman Taseer? Extravagance of his lavish Western life-style, or his utter dismissal of the values and beliefs of the poverty stricken-Pakistani masses, the multimillionaire political leaders rule down on?
Affluence often breeds liberal temperaments. Deprivation and poverty always breeds extremism. The brutal class-divides in Pakistani society have gradually prompted large sections of general public to embrace religion as an exclusive means of attaining any authority, if at all, against the feudal lords and wealthy elite who receive prizes of government positions to rule over people. Apart from the flamboyant wealth of these feudal lords and elite, their disrespect for the public values is a constant source of resentment among the suffering masses. When Taseer’s opponents mounted a campaign against him by releasing family pictures to the media, in which the family appeared partying, they not only successfully aimed at exposing Taseer’s ‘waywardness’ and ‘un-Islamic’ ways but also managed to fiercely enrage the sentiments of millions.
Pakistan’s elite have learnt through a number of incidents in the near past, that armed guards can be even more dangerous than any outside predator. The “have-nothings” in the uniforms and armed with modern weapons, being close witnesses to the extravagant, high-priced lifestyles of the “have-everythings” may become extremely envious and resentful and seek to find the justification of such emotions in the interpretations of religious teachings. This also explains why even a section of the middle-class educated elite is unwilling to blatantly oppose the controversial aspects of blasphemy law which is evident from the showering of rose petals by a section of lawyers, when Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of Salman Taseer, was brought to the court. There is a thin line between the emotion of envy and rage and religious extremism is sometimes the only way out for the deprived when these two emotions merge.
So who really killed Taseer? The creators of Pakistan’s first Constitution 1956, who declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic deviating from Quide-e-Azam’s vision of Pakistan reflected in his address to the constituent Assembly August 11, 1947. Or the democratic Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who, for his own political gain, went further, declaring Islam as the state religion under 1973 constitution and making it illegal for Ahmedis to describe themselves as Muslims. Or the Aamir e Aazam Zia-ul-Haq, who mandated harsh punishments for blasphemous individuals putting the vulnerable sections of society such as women and religious minorities at risk of abuse. Or the twice elected PM Nawaz Shareef, who proved himself and his party to be the last nail in the coffin of religious tolerance and sanity by strengthening a law which is wide open to abuse where hearsay can be conveniently used to get some one convicted.
Another contributor appears to be the Pakisatni media. As the demon of hatred and extremism eats away on the conscience of Pakistani society, the media is showing a clear tilt toward the Right. Certain Media sections aired declaratory edicts inciting murder and mayhem and gave significant coverage to the so-called religious leaders, publicly offering suparis to murder the allegedly blasphemous Aasia Bibi. By doing so, these media sections made themselves a party to the culpability of mullahs. The champions of truth in news media were heard condoning Taseer’s murder in the name of religion.
It is worrisome to see how the ultra-conservative Deoband leadership, collaborated by the Barelvi clerics were able to bring tens and thousands of people on to the streets during the months of December 2010 and January 2011, getting disproportionate coverage on almost all the TV channels.
The prime contributor in Taseer’s killing remains the PPP led government is the dealt with the threats made to kill their own Governor in Punjab with criminal negligence. Mr Babar Awan, the Federal Minister for Justice, refused amendments to the Blasphemy laws, his colleague Taseer stood up for. Just a few days before his ghastly murder, Taseer had to complain that the government was “not willing to face the religious fanaticism head on.” The voices like Atta-ur-Rehman, the minister of tourism, got stronger who was heard last month describing the Taliban as “true followers of Islamic ideology.”
Although the ecstasy of power Pakistani elite experience is understandable but it must not be displayed in vulgar ways. The high-priced lifestyles often dismiss the religious and moral values shared by the people of this war-poverty-flood-hunger-disease-stricken bankrupt nation. Refraining from dismissal of those values publicly was, certainly, not a very heavy a price for attaining governorship of the country’s biggest province. Expenditures of Presidency, the PM house, the alleged £2m Harrods furnishings, the Bruno Magli suits, chartered plane for a diner with Angelina Jolie, the imported-and-later-disapproved Siberian leopards, or the 27, 000$ dollar Atlantis Palm Jameirah wedding bills did not provoke a Qadri to gun-down a leader. Qadri needed a religious excuse, the singular authority he believed he still had against the ruling elite living an enviably lavish and resentfully ‘un-Islamic’ life.
Pakistani media should think about giving a proportionate coverage to the enlightened and moderate sections of society instead of cashing on the disproportionate coverage of the hate-mongers announcing head-moneys and issuing fatwas of death.
Most importantly, the practice of using religion for political gain prevalent in the country since 1956 must end now. Pakistani authorities, present as well as for the years to come will have to realise that no amount of security will work, when the extremist mindsets and factors that nurture them continue to be tolerated. Until the state takes firm action against the hate campaigns, many more Qadris will spring up to kill anyone who dares to tread the path of agreeing to disagree, saying what must be said and doing what must be done.
The End
by Muhammad Riaz Amin
SHAHEED-E-AASIA
The events in Pakistan follow each other in rapid succession. The observers are still engrossed in pondering about causes and consequences of a particular event when they get news of another incident that overshadows the one already under scrutiny. This is what happened on 4th January, 2011.
The media was eagerly following the political developments triggered by MQM’s exit from federal government, especially the activities of second and third largest parties in the parliament. Both PML-N and Q were to finalize their line of action whether to support or not to support the beleaguered regime of the PPP. Curtain was drawn on these events when the news of murder of Governor Salman Taseer was broken by electronic media in the afternoon.
The enlightened TV channels were quick in bestowing the honour of martyrdom on the man who was no more. Some channels stood head and shoulder above others in terming him Shaheed, as if he had laid his life valiantly fighting for the glory of Islam.
The jiyala governor was gunned down by one of his escort, Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri as he was getting into his car in an Islamabad market. He could not survive because the attacker had emptied full magazine of his rifle containing thirty bullets. The killer then laid his rifle on ground, raised his arms and surrendered saying ‘I’ve done my job’.
No sooner the news was flashed on TV screens the jiyalas of twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi rushed to the hospital to which the wounded governor was evacuated. The entry to hospital was restricted for security reasons, but jiyalas gate-crashed into hospital shouting slogans of ‘Long Live Bhutto’.
Zardari condemned the murder and ordered Rehman Malik, who was in Karachi negotiating patch-up with MQM, to proceed to Islamabad and submit report within 24 hours. Qadri had already confessed that he had killed Salman for calling blasphemy law a black law. However, Rehman Malik vowed to investigate ‘thoroughly’, which meant he had come with specific instructions from his boss.
The statements of Qadri and Rehman Malik warrant that the murder must be viewed in the context of two contrastingly different motives, i.e. religion-related anger; or political rivalry. The suspected political aspect of the murder will be discussed little later, but first the one that has been confessed by the killer.
The motive for Qadri to kill the man for whose protection he was detailed was quite clear. It was as clear as the motive of Ghazi Ilm Din Shaheed. Both had acted out of their belief that a Muslim is not a Muslim until the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is held dearer by him than his blood relations. He must also not tolerate any insult of the Prophet (PBUH).
Both had acted in circumstances similar to each other. Ghazi Ilm Din Shaheed had decided to do what he did when Muslims across the Indian Subcontinent had been angered by the blasphemous act of a Hindu publisher of Lahore by the name of Rajpal. Qadri, the cop of Elite Force had decided to do what he did when Muslims across Pakistan were protesting against the plans of the regime to repeal or ‘reform’ blasphemy law.
The nature of the offence committed by Rajpal and Salman Taseer was quite similar as for as exercising right of freedom of expression was concerned. The only difference was the volume of blasphemous utterance; Rajpal had published a book and Salman Taseer had uttered only a sentence with connotation of blasphemy.
Both the men who were killed had hurt feelings of millions of Muslims by their derogatory remarks; uttered inadvertently or deliberately. Muslim religious scholars had reacted against both of them with fiery speeches and by organizing protest rallies. In each case some religious scholars had issued fatwas for execution of those who had committed blasphemous acts.
In both cases the honour of doing what they preached ought to be done in such situations was not earned by the hefty religious scholars but by rather illiterate young men. Both of them had not only the raw courage to execute the suspected or established offender but also moral courage to confess straight away what they had done.
The listing of above similarities is in no way aimed at drawing any parallel in two incidents nearly three-quarters of a century apart. Drawing of any parallel is also not sustainable because of the difference in circumstances that led to occurrence of two incidents.
Ilm Din, by modern ‘civilized’ standards, was a poor, ‘illiterate’ and ‘obscurantist’, who belonged to Muslim minority and killed a well-to-do, ‘educated’ and ‘enlightened’ man of the Hindu majority. Both were subjects of Christians; the British who had established their Raj in India.
Mumtaz Qadri and Salman Taseer though both Muslims, yet belonged to two contrastingly different segments of the society that had been created during Musharraf era, the man who later appointed Salman as Governor. Qadri belongs to ‘obscurantist’ class of practicing fundamentalist Muslims and Salman belonged to ‘enlightened’ elite that firmly believes in secularism and restrict Faith to mere verbal expression.
The enlightened elite and foreign-funded human rights activists comprise a class which would have condemned Ghazi Ilm Din Shaheed as ‘terrorist’ had he been in Qadri’s times. Not only that, the enlightened secularists would have declared Rajpal as martyr of freedom of expression just as Salman Taseer is being acclaimed.
The debate has already started to justify or condemn actions of the killer and the killed. The tragedy-stricken nation, however, has been ‘blessed’ with two more heroes to ‘worship’; one by the liberal, secular and enlightened elite and the other by the ‘extremist’, ‘obscurantist’ and ‘illiterate’ masses. Unfortunately, those v/ho argue for the killed and the killer are all Muslims, not Hindus or Christians unlike the case of Rajpal.
Salman is being referred to as shaheed by the PPP and other secular forces, though at best he deserves a qualified title of Shaheed-e-Aasia. The vast majority of followers of all sects of Islam will quietly remember Mumtaz Qadri as their hero. Ultimately, there will be only one hero and there should be no doubt as to who would be that.
Those who have any doubts should have a deeper look at the picture published by print media showing a young lawyer kissing Qadri when he arrived in the court in connection with his remand. The man who kissed him was a graduate of law. That picture denies the enlightened the refuge they usually seek by calling such a person an illiterate.
This country belongs to this class which is in majority, though it has been misappropriated fraudulently by the liberal and enlightened ruling minority. In all fairness, the minority should learn to co-exist with the values of the majority rather than attempting to force upon them the alien Western values.
But, the enlightened will never comprehend this simple fact. Evil minds like Babar Awan will not get the point because they are preoccupied in implicating PPP’s political opponents. Awan has sought explanation as to why a member of PML-N’s Lawyers’ Forum had garlanded Qadri.
They will keep harping that they too are Muslims and love the Holy Prophet (PBUH). They will never bothering to mention that there are millions who love or don’t love, but what matters is the intensity of the feelings of both Aashiq-e-Rasool and Shatim-e-Rasool. For the so-called lovers the religion is nothing more than an oral declaration; no obligations whatsoever.
They will continue condemning Qadri for his act of taking law into his hands. They will condemn and punish him for extra-judicial killings. Do they have slightest idea about the number of people killed extra-judicially every day, and for much petty reasons too? Will they blame ‘semi-literate obscurantist’ mulla for that as well?
They will not accept the stark reality that Salman had hurt the feelings of hundreds of thousands believers by his unwarranted derogatory remarks about blasphemy law. Had he not indulged in provocation there would have been no Kohsar Market, no murder, no Qadri. A normal person in his senses would have demanded ‘revisiting’ of the blasphemy law without calling it black law. By saying what he said he had rendered no service to humanity, Pakistan, the PPP, or his family and more importantly to himself.
The most unfortunate aspect of the whole episode is that it reflects degeneration of religious values, beliefs and practices in the country that was created in the name of Islam where its followers could lead their lives in accordance with its conjunctions. How sad, today the nation stands divided on the simple issue of blasphemy.
Salman was son of MD Taseer; the man who had organized reception of dead body of Ghazi Ilm Din Shaheed and had arranged his funeral after he was hanged by the British for taking law into his hands and killing a blasphemer. The manner in which his son has been killed would be of no source of peace for the spirit of the father Taseer.
It has not happened all of a sudden but because of constant neglect to educate citizens of Pakistan to acquire correct perception of Islam and thus facilitate them in leading their lives in accordance with their great religion. The successive governments left the religious education to charity-run madressas and paid little attention to it in government-run schools.
The last nail was hammered in this context by the foreign-funded NGOs and westernized intellectuals which project certain human rights holier than Islamic Hudood. No one had ever dared of talking against Islamic laws till the sprouting of these weeds all over the landscape of Islamic Republic.
They indirectly blame Islamic conjunctions for curtailing or restricting the so-called basic human rights as if Islam is an inhumane religion. To this end they strengthen their argument by picking up certain social customs practiced in various regions and equating them with Islam.
Coming back to the debate on blasphemy law, it must be said that TV channels, especially the TV anchors should avoid discussing this issue like just another event of current affairs. This is a very sensitive issue to which millions of Pakistanis have strong emotional attachment A slip of tongue or lose remark could result in much dire consequences than those faced by Salman Taseer after he said something that amounted to causing aspersions on Namoos-e-Risalat.
One must refrain from discussing the issue with inadequate knowledge. Even the most knowledgeable men in Islamic history hesitated when it came to talking about the person of the Prophet (PBUH). Iqbal dared taking liberty while talking to Allah in his famous poem Shikwah, but he dared not doing the same in case of the Prophet (PBUH).
The reason is very clear. In dialogue between the created and the Creator, the former can cry loud about his pain like a child would do before his mother. But, Allah has prohibited the believers to raise their voice in the presence of the Prophet (PBUH), what to say about talking to or talking about him.
The avoidance of discussion of religious aspect of the event is now warranted, because PPP has declared it a political murder. Nevertheless, some facts related to the issue must be put in correct perspective here, which have been distorted by casual media debates.
The enlightened minority in Pakistani society has reservations on the blasphemy law primarily because it was enacted during the era of Zia-ul-Haq, never mentioning that it was done through due democratic process of legislation. Out of these observations, two have been mentioned quite often.
One reservation pertains to ‘misuse’ of this law for settling personal scores wherein innocent people are falsely implicated. This objection does not relate to the text of law but to procedural flaws in the system of collecting and producing incriminating evidence before a court of law. But, that is true for almost all criminal laws.
The question arises then why so much hue and cry specifically over blasphemy law. It is argued that it’s because of the severity of punishment for offences under this law. Here too the point of focus is only on one law whereas there are several other laws which prescribe death sentence.
These laws with death penalty are widely misused to settle scores of old enmities. When a person is murdered all male members of the family of the killer are named in FIR and the first action taken by police is to herd them all to the lock up. Long time back when son of Akbar Bugti was shot dead, about a dozen persons were named in the FIR despite the fact that the deceased had only one bullet wound.
There is more to it than the stated arguments. The urge of rulers to ‘reform’ blasphemy law is politically motivated. It is not for any human consideration or desire for dispensation of justice. Salman acted on the instructions of Zardari, who was trying to please his foreign masters. Otherwise, no governor has ever gone to a jail to meet a convict no matter how innocent a convict was.
The real motive behind the campaign against blasphemy law remains unstated. This campaign is generously funded by foreign donors, not for the love of Islam or its followers, but with the sinister intention similar to that behind publishing of blasphemous caricatures; it is to ridicule Islam.
This age-old urge to ridicule Islam has been reinvigorated with the advent of war on terror, or Bush’s holy war in which the Crusaders have termed ‘our’ God superior to ‘their’ God. This discrimination in gods has polluted the minds of the followers of ‘superior’ god wherever they are.
In Pakistan, when they see its Muslim rulers extending their begging bowls for alms towards their brethrens in faith, their feelings of superiority are strengthened and they tend to take liberties. This is the same tendency which can be seen in those who identify themselves with West even without embracing their Faith; they tend to behave differently.
The ridicule, through caricatures or any other means is aimed at inculcating ‘tolerance’ in believers of Islam. The tolerance so inculcated is called acceptance of insult without protest; submission to might of the strong; or embracing the lowest form of slavery. The point can be understood clearly when one sees that no such tolerance to freedom of expression is demonstrated when it comes to Holocaust.
The second reservation relates to punishment prescribed in Islam for an act of blasphemy about which a passing-reference has been made a little while ago. Some so-called liberal intellectuals and self-acclaimed human rights activists start their argument by touching the softer cord; saying that the Prophet (PBUH), who is known as Rehmatul al-Almeen would not have prescribed the ultimate punishment for an offence against his person. He is known to have forgiven many after Fatah Makka.
This perception (misperception) is because of lack of knowledge of the subject. Firstly, any punishment that has been laid down in Islam (Quraan or Sunnah) has been ordained by Allah. The Prophet (PBUH) may have wished for that but the final word is that of Allah.
Salman Taseer, too, had wrong perception of the punishment of death penalty for blasphemous act. Because of incorrect perception, he had faltered in calling blasphemy law a black law. He reiterated it many times and even while talking to CNN he claimed that Aasia would be pardoned soon because there is no death penalty in Islam for blasphemer.
For correct perception of the punishment for blasphemous offence one has to have in depth knowledge of the subject acquired through guided study of Quraan and Sunnah. Yet every ‘enlightened’ Muslim in Pakistan pretends to be authority on the subject while participating in discussions conducted by TV channels, which lead to creating more confusion in the minds of ordinary Muslims.
Many questions lurk in the minds of Pakistanis in the wake of murder of Salman. Answers to these questions should only be sought from learned religious scholars, not from or through TV anchors, many of whom have the reputation to canalize discussions to a predetermined direction to draw desired conclusion. Some of them do it for certain vested interests or even monetary rewards.
It is not desirable to discuss the entire list of questions herein; however, one question with answer to that has been selected and attached as an Appendix-I to this article. This has been selected from the website ‘Islam Q&A’ which provides somewhat adequate information on punishment for blasphemous act.
In view of the foregoing it is not fair on the part of enlightened elite to ‘blame’ General Zia-ul-Haq for prescribing death penalty for a blasphemer. The punishment for a blasphemer is as old as the Islamic calendar. However, that was enacted as the existing blasphemy law during Zia’s rule by an elected legislature.
That law prescribed punishment of death penalty or imprisonment for life. This ‘choice’ of punishment was challenged in the Federal Shariat Court for being un-Islamic. The court upheld the plea and the law was amended with only one punishment; the death penalty. If the enlightened are as courageous as they claim to be, they should naoozbillah ‘blame’ Allah, not Zia.
Coming to the second angle from which the murder should be viewed it must be recalled that Qadri had placed his weapon on ground, raised his arms and said ‘I’ve done my job’. It meant that he had acted on his own purely out of his conviction that whatever Salman had said warranted his execution.
The motives, the acts and confessions of the killed and killers needed no lengthy probes to establish facts, yet the interior minister had talked of ‘thorough’ investigation. As already said, he seemed to have come with a mission assigned to him by his boss lodged in Bilawal House.
Within 24 hours of the murder and a few hours less than that after Rehman Malik’s vow to carry out ‘thorough’ probe, political twist was given to the murder. Every Tom, Dick and Harry of PPP, led by its valiant co-chairman started calling it a political murder.
When it comes to conspiracy the fertile minds of jiyalas can come out with thousand and one theories. Soon after Malik’s vow, Faisal Raza Abdi, the close confidant of Zardari demanded an explanation from Punjab government as to why a religious fanatic was included to escort a liberal jiyala governor.
Abdi has no desire to ponder that there is no difference in religious or secular fanaticism. He must have also known that all personnel on VIP-related duties go through secretly conducted periodic security clearance. But these security clearances are based on overtly displayed conduct and links of individuals; these cannot determine as to what is going on in their minds.
In the prevalent turmoil wherein the people have been subjected to numerous social, economic, ideological and sectarian conflicts the mental state of individuals has been rendered unstable like mercury. Man, even under stable environments, remains a dynamic creature, ever-changing for better of worse.
No assessment of individual’s behaviour can foretell as what he would do tomorrow. Did any one expect that a liberal and secular man like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto would have banned alcohol and declared Ahmedis as non-Muslim minority? And, he had done for worldly gains which have no significance when compared with rewards believers expect hereafter.
In any case, Abdi’s own colleagues have come out with another conspiracy theory according to which Qadri had killed Salman in connivance with entire squad escorting him. If that be true then the escort that can be trusted for VIP duties can only be provided by Blackwater. What is the harm in having that after all Zardari’s Afghan brother enjoys this facility in Kabul.
Jiyalas will keep weaving conspiracy theories, but one theory, and an obvious one, will be ignored by all and sundry because it relates to Salman and Zardari. One must recall that the day after Aasia Mash was sentenced to death, Vatican and White House had protested the ‘injustice’ done to her. Zardari could not afford let the voices echoing from White House and Vatican go unheard; blasphemy or no blasphemy offence.
He instructed Salman to ‘find facts’ about the lady who had been convicted by a court after a lengthy trial. Salman, like an obedient servant, rushed to jail and met Aasia. In fact, he had gone there with written mercy petition addressed to President. He had complied instructions of his boss in letter and spirit.
He got the mercy petition signed by Aasia short-circuiting the legal process as the convict had not yet availed her right to appeal in the higher court. Thereafter, while talking to media, Salman had called the blasphemy law a black law, which resulted in his murder.
In view or the foregoing it can be said that Zardari has blood of Salman Taseer on his hands. He risked the life of an obedient jiyala to please his Western masters by telling him to meet Aasia in jail where out of his careless attitude he talked loose on a very sensitive issue.
Salman thought that he being a jiyala governor, who enjoyed the fun of exchanging taunts with his political opponents, could pass remarks about blasphemy law and escape unscathed. He was drastically wrong in assuming that he could enjoy a peg of wine, call blasphemy law a black law and yet remain unharmed.
Will Rehman Malik and his investigators mention this fact in their report, which has ample corroborating evidence? This will never happen. Keeping up the tradition of Zardari-led PPP its leaders will ignore the real culprits and keep pointing fingers at their political opponents.
In reply to query by Kaman Khan as to why the PPP had decided to politicize the murder of Salman, Arid Miami said it appeared that the PPP leaders have decided to reject demands of PML-N and go for mid-term polls, if inescapable. They want to capitalize on his murder by turning the tragedy into an opportunity.
The intention of gaining political mileage from the murder of Salman seems a possibility. The PPP has been making best use of its assassinated leaders. Only three years ago Zardari had capitalized on murder of his wife, and secured the highest office for himself surfing on high wave of sympathy.
Sympathy has been doing wonders in political landscape of the Indian Subcontinent. Presently, Zardari finds himself losing ground and he would earnestly desire to sell Selman’s blood to salvage his party’s political ‘capital’. He is in search of another Qatar League; a negative approach to get positive results.
After the murder of Benzie he had faced no difficulty in terming Q-League as Qatar League, but in the current scenario that league has the potential to be in league with his regime. Major threat emanates from PML-N; hence a new Qatar League is in the making.
In addition to demonizing his political opponents Zardari also wants to undo the damage that has been caused to PPP by his stance against the existing blasphemy law. But, it largely depends on Qadri; will he stick to his spontaneous confession or be coerced to have ‘second thoughts’ which could meet the requirements of conspiracy theorists.
Politicization of the murder is also needed to de-link it from the issue of blasphemy law, because without doing that the trial and punishment of Qadri would be widely resented and strongly protested. The cunning minds of Zardari and his aides are surely working overtime.
Finally a few words for the liberal, secular and enlightened elite or whatever title they might like to reserve for themselves. They must remember that all their grandeur has been because of stroke of luck. With far and few exceptions it is because that they were born in privileged class of the society: privileged in financial standings.
It is because of that they eat, drink and dress differently. It is because of that they are ‘educated’ differently, so differently that they call themselves secular and pretend to be liberal and enlightened. Their liberalism should at least so enlighten them that they could see and accept that others, who are not so privileged, also have certain rights.
Rather than looking at them with disdainful contempt they must acknowledge and respect the rights of the majority. While they enjoy their lives seeking pleasure in different liberal and secular ways, they must concede at least one right to the majority that seeks solace in its faith in Allah, despite being the less privileged.
They must not cross others ‘path’ for their own sake. Being lovers of democratic system they should know that democracy is the name of acceptance of tyranny of the majority, not of the minority. Tyranny of the minority is called dictatorship and the enlightened pretend to despise that.
They must reset their minds which think that a wound caused by a bullet is more painful than an injury inflicted by tongue. It is because of this misperception that they cry horse over the wounds caused by bullets, while remaining completely oblivious of the injuries they inflict with their pens and tongues
They suffer from the same ailment of which they accuse others; the ailment in which one believes of being self-righted. No doubt both, enlightened and obscurantist, suffer from this to a varying degree, but problem in the case of ‘enlightened’ is graver as compared to that of ‘obscurantist’.
When a person standing in the light fails to see something, he is not likely to see it at all and for that he should blame no one. A person standing in the dark (an illiterate), who can see nothing, is likely to see most things when ‘light’ is provided to him. He can justifiably accuse the ‘enlightened’ ruling elite of depriving him of that light of literacy for so long.
One may ask as to what is this form of enlightenment in which the argument starts with rejection of a court verdict? Salman and his boss were wrong in assuming that the judge of the lower court had wrongly convicted Aasia. Even if it be true the law had not yet completed its due course, which ultimately ends at Presidency. Why was there so much hurry to please Western masters? Certainly, every lit space has blind area right under the source of the light.
Solution to the problem of ‘enlightened’ as well as ‘obscurantist’ lies in falling back to the source of all solace. In other words in re-embracing their religion, or ‘revisiting’ Islam as a literate would like to say it. The views reproduced in second part of the article reflect that the ‘enlightened’ class which prefers to communicate in English needs this journey more that ‘obscurantist’. Dr Mustafa Iqbal, who can also communicate in English, has a suggestion for them if they listen (attached as Appendix-II).
Written By:
Muhammad Riaz Amin
Political & Defense Analyst
9th January, 2011
________________________________
Appendix-I
Ruling on one who insults the Prophet PBUH
Islam QA
Appendix-II
A conversation with Prof Nasr
The News
by Faarigh Jazbati
ہیت مقتدرہ ، آیندہ انتخابات اور ناموس رسالت — ایک تجزیہ
پنجاب کے گورنر سلمان تاثیر کا قتل ایک انفرادی فعل تھا یا اس کے پیچھے ایک منظم سازش تھی اس کا پتا تو تفتیش کے بعد ہی چلے گا لیکن ایک بات تو مسلمہ ہے کے اس قتل کے پاکستان کے معاشرے اور سیاست پر گہرے اور دیرپا اثرات مرتب ہونگے . اگرممتاز قادری کا یہ فعل انفرادی بھی ثابت ہوتا ہے تو پھر بھی پاکستان کی ہیت مقتدرہ اور دائیں بازو کی اور خاص طور پر مذہبی سیاسی جماعتوں کے ہاتھ میں ایک ایسا معاملہ آ گیا ہے جو پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی اور معتدل سیاسی قوتوں کے خلاف آئندہ کئی سالوں تک استمعال کیا جائے گا.
پچھلے کئی سالوں سے پاکستان کی ہیت مقتدرہ عالمی منظر نامے اور مقامی سیاسی ضرورتوں کی وجہ سے اپنے آپ کو تھوڑا بندھا ہوا محسوس کر رہی تھی ، خاص طور پر نواز شریف کا ہیت مقتدرہ مخالف رویہ اور عمل ، پاکستان کی ہیت مقتدرہ کیلئے کافی تکلیف دہ تھا . اگرچہ پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی اور آصف زرداری نے اپنے عمل سے ہیت مقتدرہ کو یہ بھر پور یقین دہانی کروا رکھی تھی کہ وہ اس کی خواہشات کے خلاف کوئی قدم نہیں اٹھائیں گیں اور کئی مواقع پہ آصف زرداری نے اپنے موقف کو تبدیل کر کے ہیت مقتدرہ کے لئے آسانیاں بھی پیدا کیں اور اس کیلئے اپنی جماعت میں پیدا ہونے والے ردعمل کو بھی برداشت کیا لیکن پاکستان کی ہیت مقتدرہ کبھی بھی زیادہ عرصے کیلئے مکمل اقتدار سے زیادہ دور نہیں رہ سکتی . پچھلے کچھ مہینوں سے آصف زرداری اور پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے خلاف پاکستانی اخبارات اور ٹی وی چینلز پر بھر پور مہم اور اس کے ساتھ ساتھ نواز شریف اور اسکی پاکستان مسلم لیگ کے خلاف بھی الزامات کی بھرمار ہیت مقتدرہ کے اسی وسیع تر منصوبے کا حصہ ہے .
ہیت مقتدرہ کے منصوبوں کی اب تک ناکامی کا سہرا نواز شریف کی ہیت مقتدرہ مخالف اقدامات جس میں آصف زرداری کی تمام تر وعدہ خلافیوں کے باوجود پیپلز پارٹی کی حکومت کے خلاف کسی بھی مہم کا حصہ نہ بننے کا اعلان اور عملی اقدامات ، مسلم لیگ ق کے ساتھ کسی قسم کی کوئی شراکت نہ کرنا اور مذہبی سیاسی جماعتوں سے اپنے آپ کو فاصلے پر رکھنا شامل ہے . اس سب کے ساتھ ساتھ پاکستان کے معاشی حالات اور بلوچستان میں بدامنی اور بے چینی، قبائلی علاقوں میں شورش اور سندھ میں ممکنہ رد عمل نے بھی پیپلز پارٹی کی حکومت کا خاتمہ کرنے سے پاکستانی ہیت مقتدرہ کے ہاتھ باندھ رکھے تھے .
سلمان تاثیر کا ناموس رسالت کے نام پر قتل وہ سنہری موقع ہے جس کا پاکستانی ہیت مقتدرہ شدت سے انتظار کر رہی تھی ، جس طرح ١٩٧٧ میں پیپلز پارٹی کی حکومت کے خلاف نظام مصطفیٰ کے نام پر عوامی تحریک برپا کی گئی تھی اور پاکستان سے منطق ، رواداری ، برداشت ، علم اور سیاسی عمل کو نکال باہر کیا گیا تھا اور اس کی جگہ عدم برداشت ، مذہبی تنگ نظری ، شدت پسندی کو پروان چڑھایا گیا تھا، آنے والے دنوں میں پھر اسی بات کا سنگین خدشہ موجود ہے .
آئندہ مہینوں اور سالوں میں ناموس رسالت کے مسلے کو اور بڑھاوا دیا جائے گا اور اس کو ایک انتخابی مسلہ بنایا جائے گا . سیاسی حرکیات کو مد نظر رکھیں تو آئندہ چند مہینوں میں ایک وسیع تر مذہبی اتحاد کا وجود میں آنا خارج از امکان نہیں ہے ، اب بات ایم ایم اے کی بحالی تک نہیں رہے گی بلکہ اس میں پوری کوشش ہو گی کہ دائیں بازو کی چند غیر مذہبی جماعتیں بھی اس اتحاد میں شامل کر دی جائیں . آئندہ انتخابات میں اصل میدان جنگ پنجاب اور کراچی ہو گا . پنجاب میں ناموس رسالت کے نام پر طوفان اٹھایا جائے گا اور کراچی میں دعوت اسلامی اور جماعت اسلامی کے زریعے ایم کیو ایم کی نشستیں حاصل کی جائیں گیں . پختونخواہ اور بلوچستان میں تو پہلے ہی مذہبی جماعتوں کا زور ہے اور ڈرون حملوں کے زریعے مزیدعوامی استحصال کرنا کوئی مشکل کام نہیں ہو گا.
پیپلز پارٹی پر یہ ذمہ داری ہو گی کہ وہ کتنی جلد اس صورت حال کا اندازہ کرتی ہے اور سلمان تاثیر کے قتل کو بجائے ایک لمبا معاملہ بنانے کے ،جلد سے جلد عدالتی عمل کے زریعے اسکا حل نکالتی ہے کیونکہ اس معاملے کو جتنا گھسیٹا جائے گا اتنا ہی وہ ہیت مقتدرہ کے ہاتھ میں کھیلنے والی بات ہو گی اور مذہبی جماعتیں اسکو انتخابی معاملہ بنانے سے زرہ بھی نہیں ہچکچائیں گیں. مسلم لیگ ن کو بھی چاہیے کہ سلمان تاثیر کے قتل کو پیپلز پارٹی کا مسلہ نہ سمجھے کیونکہ ناموس رسالت کو استمعال کر کے اسکا کمبل بھی چھینا جا سکتا ہے
فارغ جذباتی
Who are the most corrupt?
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Seminar – The Assassination of the Governor Punjab and the Context of Blasphemy Law. Date: 12th Jan 2011 (Wednesday) Time: 7pm Location: Room G3, Russell Square Building, SOAS School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London Thornhaugh Street, London WC1H 0XG Note: This event is free and open to all. After the recent barbaric assassination of Salman Taseer, the Governor of Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab – Pakistan is again standing at a crossroad. Salman Taseer’s crime: To show support to Aasia Bibi – a victim of the Blasphemy law. He was in support of efforts to get her pardoned by the President of Pakistan, whilst also supporting/suggested changes in the implementation of the law, which at times has been used for the wrongful victimisation of religious minorities. SOAS Pakistan Society is holding a talk/seminar in the wake of this tragic event and we are honoured to have the following panel. SPEAKERS: Dr. Tahir Kamran Iqbal Chair, University of Cambridge Former Head of History Department, Government College Lahore. He has worked on extremism and terrorism. Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed Jinnah Chair, University of Oxford An academic and prolific writer on security issues in South Asia and politics of the Muslim world. Dr Tahir Wasti PhD in Law, SOAS He worked on Islamic law in his PhD. The development of Islamic law and its application in the Muslim world. Prof. Asad Ali Social Anthropology, Harvard University He covered blasphemy issue in his PhD at Chicago University Title: ‘Adjudicating Muslims: Law, Religion and the State in Colonial India & Post-Colonial Pakistan.’
Contact: Sheharyar Khan (President) 07403167905
Amir Ali Khan (General Secretary) 07888756837 Email: soaspaksoc2010@gmail.com
Who is behind Taseer's Assassination?
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What is the primary cause of current Pakistani political shakeup?
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In a Business Plus programme, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Sindh President Naeemul Haq threw a glass towards Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah’s adviser Jamil Soomro. During the programme ‘The Pulse’, Haq strongly criticised Soomro’s leadership, alleging the government had failed to rule. But on receiving a defensive statement from the CM’s adviser, the PTI leader hurled a glass of water towards him.
by Asher Yaqub Khan
The advertisement starts with an old man’s fingers raised in air; a subtitle explains that it is set up at India-Pakistan border. A poor Pakistani, cheered on by a group of people sitting outside tents, is making some weird gestures to a group of well-dressed Indians observing him through binoculars. Indians finally understand that the old man is trying to play dumb charades and they decipher his gestures for a request for an Indian song. They run back to their houses, use a phone to call All India radio which plays the requested song – leading to jubilation in Pakistani tents where everyone starts dancing around a radio set from 1950s. A YouTube description from publisher explains that this ad and other initiatives around it are being done by Pakistan’s largest media outlet and a major newspaper from India. We are told these initiatives will bring Pakistan and Indian nations closer together.[i]
Except that, factually speaking, this ad is more inaccurate on per second basis than anything else you have seen in your life:
Let’s start with the poor Pakistani part. It turns out that you are twice as likely to meet a poor Indian then a poor Pakistani. India has 42% of its population living under poverty line of US$ 1.2/ day, while only 22% Pakistanis suffer this hardship[ii].
About Pakistanis living in tents vs. Indians living in houses? 17% of Indian population is homeless while in Pakistan the number is a rounding error[iii]. When it comes to slums, while there are no numbers available, a trip to any Indian city will remove your doubts on which country suffers more. (The ad is being aired since before floods, so there is absolutely no excuse of showing tents on border).
About Pakistanis relying on Indians grace for listening to a song? Pakistan has universal radio coverage since middle of last century, and FM channels which are allowed to broadcast Indian content have been there since 2001. Only in 2007, did India move to issue FM licenses beyond strongly controlled 21 limited channels.
That radio set from 50s? More than 80% of Pakistanis have access to TV, only 60% Indians have this luxury.[iv]
And my most favorite one of course, Indians using a phone while Pakistanis have to dance around to convey their message – Indian telecom penetration is a paltry 50% while for Pakistan its 65%.[v]
We could have dismissed this ad as a one-off poetic license, a literary excess to invoke emotions between two countries – but it’s not. It’s a part of a running strand of events focusing on showing Pakistan as Ethopia and India as Scandinavia by the same group of people for couple of years now. Each news report on geo will basically start by showing people crying and dying because of load-shedding in Pakistan but will end with bollywood stars rocking it in a Bombay that looks more like Paris. And oh, by the way – Indians get twice the amount of load shedding than what Pakistanis face[vi]! And they have been facing it since 2002[vii]. Did you even know that?
I wish someone can count the hours Geo spent on 2 guys killed in Sialkot and compare them with the length of coverage of dozens killed in Kashmir by India?
I am not trying to say that we have made it in Pakistan economically or infrastructure wise– all I am saying is we are far better than India in almost every aspect. While Indians are drumming up “Shinning India” in a country with no toilets, some amongst us are just persistently draining out all hope and positive energy from the nation.
This is not just a rant, it is not a simple irritation to watch this pack of lies shoved down our throat, it has very real business and economic implications. Take, for example, global competitive index 2009-2010, a bible for those who want to decide to invest in Pakistan or a competing country like India. It ranks Pakistan at 101st and India at 49th. You probably already know that, Geo must have told you this. Well, I took the pain of going to their website and digging out on how did they reach this number. It turns out they evaluate countries on some 150 variables and then rank them on each one of those. Some of those variables come from hard data (marked by an asterisk on site), and others come from an executive survey of perceptions of people. You probably have already guessed what I found there. In most of the variables where hard data was available, Pakistan was beating up India flatly, and absolutely everywhere in perception of Pakistanis about their country, India was beating them.
Number of procedures required to start a business – Pakistan wins (rank 99 vs. India rank 111), time required to start a business – Pakistan wins (rank 67 vs. rank 82), tax incidence on business – Pakistan wins (rank 22 vs. rank 118). But in the subjective question of “business impact of country rules on foreign direct investment” – Pakistan loses!!
Excuse me! So you can start business easily in Pakistan, pay less taxes, repatriate money easily but Indians think their rules are better for foreign direct investment!
Same pattern repeats again and again all through the report and paints a painful picture of a Pakistan which is far ahead in infrastructure and competitive environment but is being dragged back by a resigned overly self-critical population, and a picture of a really staggering India being pushed forward by a rally of misplaced optimism around them. Unfortunately the report relies much more on perceptions rather than factual data.
These perceptions might end up being self-fulfilling faster than we can imagine. Collin Powel once said “perpetual optimism is a force multiplier”. Pakistan will soon be an example of what perpetual pessimism becomes and media will have to take blame for it.
Look at companies which have directly invested in both countries in last 10 years. I know about Telecoms. Orascom invested in Pakistan and is running a flourishing business. They invested in India and were glad to pull out in a year. Telenor invested in Pakistan and is loving it financially, and they have recently been asked by their investors to think of getting out of India only after two years of operation.
Take another favorite index of Pakistani media “transparency international”. Both Pakistani and Indian media took a lot of joy in reporting that Pakistan has slipped 5 slots in becoming the most corrupt nation in the world and is now 28th. This statement is incorrect of course. Transparency international does not measure how corrupt a country is, it measures how corrupt are you “perceived” to be by your own people. They dont call themselves a corruption index, it’s a corruption perception index – measured again by interviews in each country. Imagine a transparency guy walking up to a Pakistani who is being subjected to Kamran Khan show every day and asking, “Do you think your country is corrupt?”. I am surprised there are countries below us in that perception.
I have personally experienced business in a lot of countries and let me tell you clearly and squarely – many more countries in the world are much more corrupt places than Pakistan and still rank far better in that list.
Again, I am not saying we are as honest as Swedish, all I am saying is that a lot of investment is going in countries more corrupt than us because they are saved from a media which has decided to attack its own country because of some misdirected but too obvious venom.
Transparency International does not and cannot measure corruption, it only measures how badly our media has screwed up.
I am typing this while Geo is telling me more about Aman ki Asha, which is supposed to bring two countries closer. Really? We tried doing that earlier remember? Musharaf thought that if we dance together and play cricket and call Indians over for Basant we will become friends. Well, all we got out of that was a headline in Indian magazine which declared Lahore to be a “bitch in heat”. That coming from someone based in Mumbai (which has 100,000 sex workers[viii] at last count) is unfair to say the least.
Problem between Pakistan and India is Kashmir, it is water, and above all it’s the insistence of Indians that we are same people. We are not. Our aspirations for future are different, our interpretation of history is different, our friends in the world are different, our culture is very different (despite some Pakistanis guiltily liking Bollywood movies – which reflects nothing more and nothing less than a failed lollywood), our values and manners are very different. Our reason of existence as a nation is different, or more accurately Pakistanis do have a reason of existence as a nation– which makes us different.
I feel much more at home in UAE, Turkey, Iran, Egypt or other middle-eastern countries then I do in India or in rest of SAARC. Frankly I would like us to invest much more in our friends in west then in India. Why couldn’t we have a similar program with Turkey? Why India? For heaven’s sake have you ever read Times of India? Have they ever had a single day without an extremely ugly anti-Pakistan news on front page? How can you start to think that working with them will get you peace?
Which brings us to the final difficult question: Why would a business house like Jang group which is so sensitive to commercial benefits waste so much money and airtime on a dead-on-arrival concept like aman ki asha? They are bound to lose credibility in Pakistan with this, some serious airtime is being wasted on this and I am sure they are not idiots to not realize what this is doing to their country. This is their longest running campaign with no end in sight despite hue and cry from all over the country. I don’t have an answer, as I keep my standards of allegations very high (I guess I still have to learn from Kamran Khan on how to believe and repeat unsubstantiated rumors so easily).
So I called this new telephone number Geo is advertising these days. You are supposed to call there and condemn the allegation of PPP’s minister that Geo is an Indian agent. I said in that call that while I can’t agree with the minister because I don’t have a solid proof, I now find it more and more difficult to just brush this allegation off as ridiculous also!
They never played my message on TV like they play others. Must be because of my bad accent.
Ends…
Thanks for your time and Say NO to GEO, DAILY JANG & THE NEWS and their so-called ‘Aman Ki Asha’
by Shaukat Masood Zafar
The Capital Development Authority, established under CDA ordinance 1960 having a Board of Directors appointed by the Federal Government vested with general direction and superintendence of the affairs and the Business of the CDA. Working under Establishment Division, the Capital Development Authority is the overall administrative, developmental and regulatory authority of the city with the objectives of city maintenance, citizen’s satisfaction, availability of indispensable necessities, further expansion of city with the passage of time, Planning and execution of development schemes, and such like other tasks and is required to take measures to improve civic amenities including parks, playgrounds, udyans and gardens identified as such in Master Plan and maintain the same. Capital Development Authority is the principal authorizing and controlling agent for any building construction and development activity within the territorial jurisdiction of Islamabad City and is responsible for strictly implementing the Master Plan of the City. One of its key tasks is to undertake and execution of development projects like open spaces, parks, playfields, lakes, etc. The Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation is another body set up by the Federal Government during 1988 to provide shelter to employees of the Federal Government by launching self-financing housing schemes for them including serving and retired and for other specified groups of people. Working under Ministry of Housing and Works, the Foundation is registered as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Ordinance, 1984.
With the putting into action of Islamabad, a unique outline of master plan of the new capital city was devised by an international architecture firm, Doxiadis Associates and then details of the plan with all its intricate and complex nuances was made possible by the dedication, professionalism, expertise and tireless efforts of the then members of the CDA and after lengthy struggle that multiple team was able to complete the master plan. the said Master Plan tends to define `open space` as including but not limiting to parks, playgrounds, play fields, botanical gardens, fountains, reflecting pools and other bodies of water, walkways and non-build able rights of the way, and nullahs.
On creation of the Housing Foundation in 1988, the CDA and the Foundatin joined hands to share the responsibility of allotment of plots obviously within the ambit of Master Plan of Islamabad city. Responsibility of allotment of plots to the general public was of Respondent “CDA”, and “Foundation” was responsible for allotment to the Government employees and attached autonomous organizations. The Foundation has fixed a quota for allotment of plots; 75% for employees of Federal Ministries/ Divisions/ attached department and their subordinate offices; 8% for autonomous/ semi-autonomous Government organizations and public sector corporations under Federal Government; 5% for employees of constitutional bodies/ professionals; 5% for retired Federal Government employees; 2% for widows of those Federal Government employees who died during service; 3% for journalists; 15 for disabled; and 1% for hardship cases.
Quite contrary to the norms of equality, while entering into agreement with the CDA, the Foundation fixed 20% quota of plots for the employees of the CDA. The CDA being an autonomous body should have been included/ placed alongwith other corporation employees for the purpose of allotment of plots. In addition, contrary to clear verdict given by the Honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan the CDA authorities are of the view that deputation officers require the completion of one year service in the CDA to qualify for the plot. Similarly allotment of plots to the officers of the Housing Foundation are made on the basis of one per cent quota to those employees who have served 10 years in government and have served in the Foundation for not less than six months. Allocation of separate quota for a class of employees relating to an autonomous body and showering plots on the officers completing one year service in CDA for CDA employees and six months service for employees of the Housing Foundation is quite discriminatory and clear violation of Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
For the last two years CDA as well as the foundation has been involved in clearing green belts, nullahs, area not announced for any building or any other purpose and such like other spaces in sectors I-8, I-9, I-10, G-10, G-11 and D-12 for new plots to be allotted to the employees of the CDA while 967 plots were allotted to only officers including 120 DMG group officers in sector I-8 by abolishing the Green areas, creating various issues for the already settled residents. 4, 767 plots were allotted to the officers and the employees during the terms of the former Chairmen CDA Kamran Lashari, Tariq Mehmood and the current Chairman Imtiaz Inayat Ilahi by mostly abolishing the green belts and unspecified areas. The illegal construction made on newly created plots is hindering in smooth flow of rain and nullah water causing severe inconvenience in those areas. Such activities of both CDA and the Housing Foundation are dangerous and impact of this illegal construction will cause loss of property and deterioration of health of the new and old residents in those areas. New houses are being constructed without fulfilling the set criteria of the housing ministry and are being rented out. Furthermore, these new constructions are blocking the natural flow of sewerage and rain water into a nullah in these sectors.
Due to illegal activities being carried on by both the departments the value of houses around has gone down by half, both in terms of capital and rental value, including loss of view, open space, plenty of greenery and natural light, and the people of those areas are feeling suffocated and are not able to enjoy fresh air as was two/three years back. There are houses in the corner of almost every street that is almost touching the road from the front and side. This action not only has made these sectors over crowded, but has caused imbalance in power supply to the area, and has also destroyed the roads due to construction activity. In order to avoid the objections/ satisfy court Appeals of corner plot owners of those streets, the respondents have played a trick and left a 10 feet street in between the two houses, which is of no use because it is closed from the other side and which resulted in the new corner plot to look like being constructed in the middle of the road when viewed from the side, which of course, creates problems for the vehicle drivers entering or leaving the street. The trees provide shade, and give us oxygen, which makes the atmosphere cool and keeps a better environment. The indiscriminate cutting of trees in the areas has a severe impact on the atmosphere of the area. There were beautiful trees in green belts, which was providing shades to the many and was keeping the atmosphere cool. Under the guise of development, many of them were already cut and a few remaining which too is being abolished for creation of new plots. This indiscriminate deforestation is destroying this natural heritage therefore it needs to be protected on top priority.
How plots are being allotted in posh and expensive sectors of Islamabad is an interesting phenomenon. In one case the officer who was obliged to allot plots to others has himself acquired an expensive plot, and says he has the right to do so. Interestingly before Mr. Sher Afzal, who was responsible for allotting plots to federal government employees from junior cadres to federal secretaries, himself got the plot in Sector I-8 in excess of his entitlement (as 600 square yards plot was allowed to officers in Grade 20 and above but not to a Grade-19 officer), the Foundation’s Executive Committee offered plots to CDA chairman and all the six CDA members in other sectors, obviously, as bribe. However when they came to know the scandalous nature of the whole episode and learnt that media had started probing into it, they dropped the idea to take these plots. How the Executive Committee of the Foundation allowed Category-I plot to a 19 Grade officer is also a question mark. Currently the Housing Foundation has made allotments to federal government employees in sector G-14 but to some other blue eyed employees have been allotted plots in I-8 and other posh sectors. The location wise value of plots in the capital city Islamabad is very different from other cities as according to real estate experts the prices of plots existing in luxurious sectors like I-8 and “F” Series are extremely high than those existing in far flung sectors like G-14. Disparity can be seen that the price of 600 square yard plot in sector I-8 and “F” sectors is more than Rs30 million while that a plot with the same measurement in sector G-14 is merely Rs3 million to Rs4 million.
In utter violation of the rules and regulations as well as the verdict of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the CDA has also allotted plots worth billions of rupees to the officers who had joined the CDA on deputation or allotted more than one plot to the same employee mainly in the Sectors I-8, F-10, F-8, F-7, F-6, G-10, and others by abolishing green belts and nullahs clearly in violation of Master Plan. Certain deputation officers gained the plots despite the fact that they had a very dull and bad performance during their tenure in their offices merely on the basis of having 10 years government service and completed one year service in CDA. It is an established position that till no amendment is made in the master plan, anything done against it is a violation of CDA rules but the present regime is grossly violating it saying that master plan is not a sacrosanct document. The concerned authorities have absolutely ignored that original master plan was in line with the rules of CDA Ordinance 1960, but the recent changes are not. Construction on green belts is banned in Islamabad but this is the second time that the CDA has occupied green belts for residential purposes in these posh sectors. Establishment of Jinnah Convention Centre and McDonald’s in F-9 Park are some of the violations of the master plan.
That the environment and ecology of Islamabad, are being continuously endangered and threatened by various activities originating from both the CDA & Foundation. The City of Islamabad is no exception to this where the dwellers are faced with horrible congestion and havoc of unplanned urbanization, affecting their legitimate rights to healthy environment and enjoyment of the open spaces for fresh breath and natural panorama for physical, mental and spiritual well being.
The CDA who is in charge of all the properties and works is cutting and removing all the trees in Islamabad and clearing the greenery. The reason is stated to be for the creation of additional plots to be allotted to the employees of the CDA which is absolutely illegal. Dozens of main roads, streets and link roads have been blocked by the CDA to create space for new plots. Clearance of greenery have also severe ramification on the environment of the area, especially in this summer season where the temperature has gone to the maximum in this city.
The CDA is celebrating the Golden Jubilee. If we glance through the efficiency and performance level of this government department it transpires that even after 50 years of its establishment half of Islamabad is yet to be developed, last residential sector developed in Islamabad was F-11 that was opened 23 years ago in 1987 and since then no residential sector has been given to the people increasing housing backlog to highest level, sectors G-12 and F-12 indicate the helplessness of CDA, People are still facing acute water scarcity in the city which aggravates in summer, sewerage system has become obsolete, basic civic amenities are not available, federal capital has no bus service/ urban transport system, rate of pollution has increased manifolds mainly due to reckless cutting of trees marring the green image of the city. With this efficiency level showering countless facilities to these departments and even allowing them to freely play with the lives of the inhabitants of the city by taking actions like narrated above is absolutely incomprehensible and is a joke with the Rule of Law.
I am resident of Islamabad and I strongly protest against the indiscriminate cutting of shady trees, clearance of green areas, and abolishing nullahs in Islamabad by the CDA in collaboration with the Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation to create additional plots for their employees, which is contrary to the endeavors of environment conservation, internationally accepted.
To avoid litigation and then cursing the courts of law the concerned ministries i.e. the Cabinet Division and the Ministry of Housing and Works should immediately look into it at their own as state of affairs adopted by both the departments is detrimental to the environment of the city and health of its habitants, and is absolutely against the law of equality of citizens. Any litigation would put the Government in a very embarrassing position. The concerned Ministries should immediately:
1. forbear the CDA and the Foundation from cutting and removing the trees from the city;
2. forbear both the departments from abolishing the nullahs and green belts/ open places from the city;
3. cancel all the plots allotted to the employees of CDA and Housing Foundation by clearing the nullahs and green belts in all the sectors;
4. demolish the illegal construction made over those plots.
5. cancel the quota system of allotment of plots to the employees of CDA and Housing Foundation which is clear violation of Article 25 of the 1973 constitution.
6. direct both the departments to replant the trees in the areas from where they have cut the same.
7. ensure that such practice is never repeated in future.
by Shaukat Masood Zafar
Flight of Capital from Pakistan – How to Restore It
Capital flight erodes the financial basis of a country. The role of banks and financial institutions in facilitating capital flight is almost acknowledged; we should review the role of banks and financial institutions in capital flight from Pakistan. There is no other economic condition that is so damaging to the poor as hyperinflation which at times go on for a pretty long period upto decades, but it’s nothing like illegal flight of capital which goes on for generations. It is a one-way flow of money from Pakistan to developed western countries which never comes back. There are several components of flight of capital—corruption and trade mispricing being on top; corruption continues to plague both the country and its ability to develop free and fair institutions to monitor and charge corrupt officials. The capital flight due to elements of Corruption, non-transparent privatization, tax evasion, and black economy (bribery, employment of professional criminals and commission from not only government projects but from hidden contracts with foreign companies) are leading Pakistan to more economic troubles. There is another serious issue of banks having written off loans of more than Rs250bn, which, obviously, would have flied to some other destination. The tax evaders are frightened of being caught are shifting their money to EU countries. Billions of dollars are flying out of Pakistan due to growing fears of terrorism and worsening economic situation are finding their way into London’s slumped property market. Politicians and senior army generals siphoning off huge funds and buying property abroad is not a secret. As per reports, Pakistani politicians and military officers have been investing in areas around the prestigious Park Lane and Mayfair in central London, which are historically the most sought after areas by the rich and famous Pakistanis. It is a tragedy that billions of dollars are finding their way out of Pakistan when remittances from expatriate community have almost dried up. Poor governance leads to and encourages and breeds corruption in a number of ways, for instance through bribery, extortion, nepotism, fraud and embezzlement. It reduces the efficiency on which the economy of a country depends upon, and by increasing the cost of investment, lowers the potential return. It also reduces the government’s resources and hence its capacity for investment. Corruption in Pakistan is unique because it occurs upstream; it has wings which encourage flight of capital rather than wheels which encourage reinvestment. National procurement systems handle a substantial share of total government expenditures in Pakistan. If the public procurement systems in Pakistan were improved, there would be substantial positive effects on public services, private enterprise, economic growth, and the legitimacy and effectiveness of public authority. The theft of funds and disappearance of resources out of Pakistan closely resembles what has been occurring in connection with Latin America throughout the 20th Century, in and out of Africa since the years of independence in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and in the Middle East long riven with wealth disparities and ideological shifts. We did not know how to meet our foreign exchange expenses beyond a certain day. Our debts are technically in default. investment is virtually non-existent, flight of capital is rampant, currency is depreciating its value very fast. There are other factors, too.
Pakistan comes first and it is the responsibility of all of us to love this country and should be patriotic. The only secret is that if you are professional in your approach, if you are transparent, if you have no hidden agendas, people in the end will respect what you are doing and of course nothing pays better or helps better than producing results. Surely there are a lot of challengesin Pakistan but we should rember Rome was not built in a day; it takes a long time. But what this shows is that if you can have a clear approach, a clear vision, a clear strategy, and you execute it professionally and transparently, results can be achieved, even the worst cynics gradually come to appreciate this. Wise stewardship by country’s leadership helps reduce the severity of the economic cycles and GOOD governance best flourishes only in a corruption-free situation. The confidence of business and investor community in the economy also plays a significant role. If the businessmen and investors feel the government and central bank is managing the economy well, they continue to play their role to maintain economic health. On the other hand, if they lose confidence in government’s economic team, they begin to slow or even withdraw their investments which hit the economy hard. The businessmen who do this are not malicious, they are not trying to derail you, they just have genuine concerns and a different point of view. As long as you know what you are doing and you can explain what you are doing, the system would not obstruct you. To get rid of corruption and other allied evils the foremost requirement is proper education. It should be on top priority. To restore the confidence of the businessmen and investors ultimately leading to return of capital and further investment is transparency, honesty and strict enforcement of Rule of Law. To save our Society and our country, urgent and stringent measures need to be taken some of which are recommended as under:
1. Education (At least 7 to 10 % of GDP may be reserved for education for next 10 years);
2. Building strong institutions having no political interference;
3. A national anti-corruption commission should be set up as an independent watchdog;
4. Treating all ‘illegal’ money and property transactions in industrialized countries at par with drug money.
5. Strict enforcement of Rule of law and safeguarding the interests and life of ordinary citizens;
6. Political stability and ending ‘one man show’ in political parties;
7. Ending all discretionary powers/ laws;
8. Involving common man in diagnosing corrupt systems;
9. Restoring foreign investors confidence (including overseas Pakistanis who have a huge role to play but are discouraged);
10. The problem of corruption is quite severe at the lower judiciary and a system of alternative dispute resolution needs to be worked out urgently;
11. Poverty alleviation and economic reforms should be focused on;
12. Provision of energy (electricity, gas, petrol) to industry and agriculture at subsidized rates;
13. Research and development in niche industries including agriculture be promoted;
14. Effective management and steering of economic plans;
15. Development of infrastructure, storage, shipping, ports; and
16. Proper development of human resources.
These are the building blocks for the bridge that will lead Pakistan into the better future Inshallah.
Geo is reporting that Ex-President of Pakistan Farooq Leghari passed away today in Islamabad.
A fresh wave of violence spreads in Karachi one day before by-polls has left atleast 10 people dead. Unknown armed men have been forcing shops to close in different areas of Karachi and opening fire in various parts of Karachi. According to hospitals more than a dozen men have been injured so far in firing incidents.
TV Channels reporting blast at Lahore Mall road near a 5 star hotel.
More details coming soon.
انتخابات سے پہلے انتخابی اصلاحات ضروری ہیں
آجکل درمیانی مدت کے انتخابات کا ڈھول زوروشور سے پیٹا جا رہا ہے ، اور عوام کی آنکھوں میں یہ دهول جونکی جارہی ہے کہ اگر نئے انتخابات ہو جائیں تو انکو موجودہ ” لٹیروں” سے نجات مل جائے گی اور ان کے تمام مسائل اور مصائب کا خاتمہ ہو جائے گا . انتخابات جیت کر نئی آنے والی اسمبلیوں کے منتخب ارکان اتنے خدا ترس اور پارسا ہونگے کے ان کے نچوڑے ہوئے دامن کے پانیوں سے فرشتے وضو کیا کریں گیں . ان خدا ترس پارساوں کے جادو کی وجہ سے پاکستان کے تمام قرضے اتر جائیں گے ، وطن عزیز میں دودھ اور شہد کی نہریں جاری ہو جائیں گی ، چہار سو اجالے ہوں گے ، خود کش بمبار قصہ پارینہ ہونگے ، یورپ اور امریکا ان پارسا لوگوں سے پوچھ کر ہر کام کیا کریں گیں ، ان خدا ترس اور فرشتہ صفت ارکان کے رعب کی وجہ سے ہندوستان کشمیر سے دستبردار ہو جاۓ گا اور کشمیر پکے ہوئے پھل کی طرح پاکستان کی جھولی میں آ گرے گا . ہندوستان ممبئی حملوں کا پاکستان پر غلط الزام کی مافی مانگے گا اور اپنے خارجہ و داخلہ معاملات پاکستان سے پوچھ کر سر انجام دے گا . نئے انتخابات وہ امرت دھارا ہونگے جن کی بدولت پاکستان کے سر سے تمام آسیب اور بلائیں ٹل جائیں گی.
لیکن نئے انتخابات کا ڈھول پیٹنے والوں میں سے اور خاص کر ذرائع ابلاغ اور نشرو اشاعت کے کھڑپینچوں میں سے کوئی بھی یہ نہیں بتا رہا کہ نئے انتخابات کے لئے امیدواران اور سیاسی جماعتیں کیا مریخ سے آئیں گیں یا کائنات کے کسی اور حصے سے ان کا ظہور پذیر ہوگا. اور تو اور وہ سیاسی جماعتیں جو اس باجے والی کھٹارا سواری کے پائیدانوں سے لٹکنے کی کوششوں میں مصروف ہیں ان کے پاس بھی اتنا وقت نہیں کے بتا سکیں کہ نئے انتخابات سے سجنے والی نئی اسمبلیوں کا روپ سنگھار کون سے حسن خانے کی دلآویز ماہر کا مرہون مںت ہو گا. ہر ایک کو نئے انتخابات کی پڑی ہے لیکن کوئی بھی ان انتخابی اصلاحات کی بات نہیں کر رہا جن سے عوام کے صحیح نمایندے ان اسمبلیوں کی زینت بن سکیں جن کے اوپر ان کی خون پسینے کی کمائی کا ایک معتدبہ حصہ خرچ ہوتا ہے.
اسلئے جو کوئی بھی سیاسی جماعت ، یا شہری حقوق کے دعویداران یا خوبصورت لباس پہنے ہوئے اور اعلی درجے کی لچھے دار گفتگو کرتے ہوئے اور اس میں اپنی دانش کے موتی پرولتے ہوئے ٹی وی کے سیاسی پروگراموں کے میزبان یعنی سیاسی اداکاران یا فوج کے چلے ہوئے کارتوس اگر انتخابات سے پہلے ایک جامع نوعیت کی انتخابی اصلاحات کی بات نہیں کرتے تو سمجھ لیں کہ ان سے بڑا منافق اور دھوکے باز کوئی نہیں ہے اور نئے انتخابات کا غلغلہ سوائے اس کے اور کچھ نہیں ہے کہ جن کی گاڑی چھوٹ گئی تھی وہ کسی طریقے سے گاڑی میں سوار ہو جائیں .
انتخابات سے پہلے مندرجہ ذیل اصلاحات کا ہونا اشد ضروری ہے اور ان کے بغیر کسی بھی طرح کے انتخابات بے معنی ہونگے
١. ایک آزاد اور خود مختار انتخابی ادارہ جو انتخابات کروانے کا ذمہ دار ہو
٢. اس ادارے کا سربراہ ایک ایسا شخص ہو جو عدالت عظمیٰ کا فارغ خدمت منصف ہو اور کسی بھی قسم کے پی سی او اور ایل ایف او سے مبرّا ہو
٣. انتخابی ادارے کو مکمل مالی خودمختاری ہو
٤. کسی بھی شخص کے ایک سے زیادہ جگہ سے انتخاب لڑنے پر پابندی ہو
٥. امیدواروں کا انتخاب سیاسی جماعت کی مقامی شاخ کی ذمہ داری ہو اور وہی امیدواروں کو نامزد کرے اور ایسا کرنا انتخابات سے کم از کم ایک سال پہلے ہو.
٦.یہ پابندی ہو کہ کسی ایسے شخص کو سیاسی جماعت انتخابی امیدوار نہ بنا سکے جو اس کا دو سال سے کم عرصے کا رکن ہو
٧. اگر سیاسی جماعت انتخاب ہار جائے یعنی حکومت سازی کے قابل نہ ہو تو اس کے سربراہ کو مستعفی ہونا لازمی ہو اور وہ دو سال سے پہلےسیاسی جماعت کے سربراہ کے انتخاب کا اہل نہ ہو
٨. غیر ملکی شہریت کے حامل لوگوں پر انتخابات میں حصہ لینے اور سیاسی جماعت کے سربراہ بننے پر پابندی ہو
٩. محصولات میں غبن کرنے والے شخص پرہر قسم کے عوامی عھدے کو حاصل کرنے پر تاحیات پابندی ہو
اگر اسطرح کی انتخابی اصلاحات نہ کی گیں تو چاہے جتنے مرضی انتخابات کروا لیں نتیجہ وہی ڈھاک کے تین پات والا ہو گا.
Urdu Point is reporting that Interior Minister Rehman Malik has resigned.
More details coming shortly …
Source: Urdu Point
Please click the following link and vote for NO as SKY NEWS is doing a survey, Should Pakistan be banned from Cricket? Its on the right hand side and second from the bottom.
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Mubashir Luqman’s fake report against PTI and camp in Muzzafargarh exposed. The report clearly shows bias towards MQM and against PTI.
Seems like telecom service providers across Pakistan are resorting to desperate measures to make a quick buck out of their customers. I have been a loyal ufone customer for quite a number of years now but I have been driven to a point of utmost disgust!
Last year my postpaid billing experience was a super nightmare where I ended up paying Rs. 8000 in one month without even having used the service worth that much. Even after making countless visits and calls to the customer center in Clifton I was never given any clarity on this exorbitant bill amount. Even then they drove me to a point where I lost my patience chasing their managers without getting a single satisfactory response for the various requests I’d filed to see the detailed bill. Losing so much money I converted back to prepaid letting this billing fiasco go as bygone. But ufone doesn’t want to give up! It wants to fleece the customer even by a Rupee whenever they get the chance, even if that means NOT INFORMING THE CUSTOMER. Let me outline what all they have subjected me to since the past few months.
First they start bombarding you with promotional SMSes. Then the unnecessary and uncalled for deluge of useless value added services. If it was just a notification it could surely be ignored. But a “Dear customer your VAS has been activated” SMS I’m sure is followed by a thought that screams ‘Here, use our VAS that you never even requested for. We will give you this for free for a month. We are confident you will forget to deactivate it and we will then get the license to rob you off your credit every month for activation and daily charges for the same’.
My first reaction to such underhanded tactics is absolute confusion. The first proper thought I have is ‘Oh! I must deactivate this so that I don’t lose all my credit for something I didn’t even subscribe to. I should do this now before I am punished in case I forget to deactivate this “FREE VALUE ADDED SERVICE”’. The fact that this interesting detail about the ‘FREE VAS’ is only revealed after way too many holds and after wasting 10 to 15 minutes on the helpline, which I might add is also charged, talking to a customer services rep who can’t wait to hang up your call.
A few days later another SMS read “Dear customer you are now subscribed to ubuddy. Now you can track your friends anywhere they go”. Now why would I want to do something like that?! Do I not have a life? Or should I buy a cat and call it life to prove it?!?! I called up the helpline to ask what the hell this is. The far from eloquent response I get from yet another near suicidal helpline rep was “Oh Maam, its free”. The thought that I read behind that was ‘We want you to experience our desperate measures to undermine competition. But we are hiding the costs of this activation from you unless you ask us the dreaded cost question’. I asked “So am I being charged?” The ufone helpline rep casually utters “Oh yes! Ofcourse Maam. Until you deactivate this service you will be charged Rs. XYZ per month.” I can recall that I couldn’t help but think ‘WOW! I absolutely MUST deactivate this stalker VAS. Even a single Rupee is precious to me. And why shouldn’t it be?! Why should I just dish out my hard earned money to these uncalled for value added services? As it is the taxes they cut from our credit transfer and card recharges have never been disclosed. Who knows where they go? More so the so called ‘Amazing Packages’ namely Uth package offers a call to Friends and Family (FnF) for Rs. 2.99 for the first two minutes and then free for the hour. What they conveniently omit to mention is that ‘We (ufone) will cut off signals and give you bad network coverage so that you have to cut off your call every 10 minutes in order to dial again for the R.s 2.99 and then FREE! If we don’t give you bad network how will we make money? And yes, we are competing with international call rates and we claim to be best but we go on compromising QUALITY because we don’t want connections. We want MONEY, MONEY AND MORE MONEY! So if you’re dying and your call is not getting through please remember someone is making money out of your death. This may help you die in peace!
Oh no! I am getting carried away. I need to talk about the very important and very essential VALUE ADDED SERVICE.
It was a fresh evening of Ramzan when I am about to indulge in the goodies at Iftar when I receive a pleasant SMS from ufone which read “Dear Customer, your requested VAS has been activated”. Samosa has now been put back on the plate and confusion has taken over my fasting mind. Without waiting even five minutes I call the ufone helpline. “Hello Ms. Beenish, this is Essa, how may I help you?” I go on to explain “Sorry for disturbing at Iftar time Essa but I needed to clarify this SMS I got from ufone about activation of VAS. I did not send any requests and I am confused about this activation.” Essa requests “Please wait on line while we check” Meanwhile the clock is ticking and the samosas are waiting. Minute later surprisingly I am put off hold and Essa says “Thank you for holding Ms. Beenish. As off today 31 August 2010 no VAS has been activated on your number. You can ignore the SMS.” I thank him for his assistance and continue to eat all I want.
1 September 2010, I find myself staring at an SMS that read “you have a missed call from xxxx at 1:37 pm.” Interesting SMS but wasn’t my VAS inactivated?! I called the helpline in severe puzzlement! Some lady from customer center picked up and here I am too angry to remember her name. “Yes so I checked yesterday, ufone help said no service was activated and now I get this SMS proving otherwise. Why?” The lady responded “Yes, it’s activated.” I question “Why is it active? I never sent any request. How much credit have you cut off?” She responds “Please wait on line Maam.” Holding listening to Quranic Ayats wondering how much integrity is ufone left with. The lady hits the off hold button and says ”Yes Maam, would you like to deactivate?” I instantly retorted, “Hello! That’s a secondary concern. My primary concern is how did it activate itself in the first place, knowing I sent no request.” She tries to explain “Yes Maam, you sent NO request but let me confirm that without permission of the customers ufone does not activate any services.” I couldn’t help but respond in anger “Really, that’s what I am saying HOW did it activate itself?” She goes on to explain “Yes Maam, we are confirming that we do not activate without permission. An automated call was sent to all customers. If you did not follow instructions it would not have activated.” Still confused I say “Okay so I missed the call does that mean it got activated? “ She responds “No Maam, if you missed the call it could not have gotten activated.” Still puzzled I say “So how did it activate?” Yet again she says “Maam, would you like to deactivate this?” Furious now at the implication of lying “Arghhhh! So I am lying? Is that it?” Ignoring my annoyance “Maam, would you like to deactivate? If so please dial blah blah blah blah…” and then line is cut off. How? Bad network or did the lady feel that this customer is going to start with a list of things so I must cut her off now….
Oh might I add, this is a seemingly small amount of 83 paisas + tax DAILY but with 20 million customers imagine how much money 83 paisas+tax along with activation charges makes them?
Is there any explanation to all of this NONSENSE? Is this what I get for being a loyal customer? Or loyalty and quality are now the least important aspects of this once glorious industry? How much more credit am I donating to this company without my knowledge? Are they really in need of these donations? Maybe we can have a chandaper year for them also. Atleast we will get a better service!
ufone: Cheap call rates, CHEAP Service, CHEAP attempts to make money, CHEAP COMPANY!
Yes ufone tum hi to ho!
