Global Voices » Pakistan

Pakistan: Twitter Goes Through Weekend of Censorship

Teeth Maestro — Sun, 20 May 2012 21:22:52 +0000

Starting 1pm on Sunday 20 May, 2012, Twitter users in Pakistan suffered a total blanket censorship across all Internet Service Providers (ISP) in Pakistan. Some ISP have received an email from Mohammed Ali, Deputy Director (Enforcement) at Pakistan Telcommunucation Authority at around noon to block Twitter.com immediately and ordering them to flush out the cache as soon as possible.

Around 1pm Sunday afternoon internet users in Pakistan started facing the blockage, and flooded Herdict Web with reports of blockage across all ISP:

traceroute twitter.com traceroute: unknown host twitter.com

HerdictWeb : Raw Data Feed

Express Tribune through its sources claimed that the block was due to a blasphemous cartoon competition:

Express News correspondent Suhail Chaudhry had reported that the access to Twitter was blocked due to an ongoing “competition” of Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) caricatures. This move was made, keeping in mind the “emotions of the masses” reported Chaudhry.

Aamir Atta of ProPakistani also confirmed via his sources:

We have got the confirmation that decision for blocking Twitter was taken yesterday on account of Draw Mohammad Day, during a meeting held at Ministry of Information Technology and chaired by Raja Parvez Ashraf, Federal Minister for Information and Technology. Meeting was attended by MoIT members, PTA and other concerned stake holders. A source who is directly aware of the meeting told ProPakistani that it was decided that Twitter will remain blocked on May 20th, 2012 to avoid any possible access of blasphemous content to Pakistani internet users.

While I opined in my personal blog that it was PTA merely testing their new url Filtering service:

My gut feeling is that PTA is just testing their URL Filtering system, we had reports of them testing some image servers on facebook last week, and it disappeared by the evening. PTA choose Sunday to avoid any legal backlash exploiting the courts day off.

Ingrid Luden on TechCrunch wrote ‘Sure, Draw Something. Just Not The Prophet‘:

Pictures of the Prophet Mohammad have always been a highly contentious issue — they’re not explicitly prohibited in the Qu’ran but many Sunni Muslims forbid the idea, while others do not seem to mind as much. Among the latter group are those who feel that banning such images is a restriction on freedom of expression.

Farieha Aziz comments on BoloBhi:

Speaking to Dunya TV, Minister for Information and Technology, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said Facebook complied with the government’s request to remove blasphemous content, but Twitter refused. According to Yaseen, PTA simply passed on the orders to the ISPs and has no knowledge of how long the website is likely to remain blocked.

BytesforAll also talked about Raja Pervaiz Ashraf ordering the block on Twitter due to blasphemous content:

Late last night, the newly appointed Minister for Information Technology, Raja Parvez Ashraf spoke to the media showing his concerns about the blasphemous content on different websites and threatened that Twitter will be banned soon if the company did not comply with the government’s orders. Within half an hour of this statement, past midnight, an official directive was issued to all Internet Service Providers in the country and Twitter started disappearing from Pakistani Cyberspace starting 10 a.m. today.

Dawn.com quotes Chairman PTA Mohammed Yaseen saying that they tried to negotatiate with Twitter to remove the content:

We have been negotiating with them until last night, but they did not agree to remove the stuff, so we had to block it

By around 10pm, roughly nine hours after the ban started suddenly the block seemed to have been removed which resulted in tweets by Rehman Malik, Interior Minister claiming responsibility for the unblocking of Twitter:

@SenRehmanMalik: Dear All yes I spoke to PM and informed how people are feeling about it.PM ordered to reopen the twitter.I also spoke to Raja pervez abt it

Reporting the opening of the internet blockage ProPakistani narrates:

However, as per our sources, ban was lifted before time due to bad name the incident had earned for Pakistan, especially in foreign media.

While Fiza Batool Gilani the daughter of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also laid claim for the Prime Minister to have restored the twitter connection.

@FizaBatoolGilan: The Prime Minister has ordered the IT Minister to restore Twitter service in Pakistan

@FizaBatoolGilan: @abidbeli- I was with him when he ordered & I'm tweeting while sitting in Pakistan . So that's confirmation enough :)

The netizens fear that with this incident the PTA successfully tested their url filtering service which may threaten freedom of speech in the future.

Pakistan: Partition Era Writer Saadat Hasan Manto Lives On

Kumail Ahmed — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:14:08 +0000

Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955) was a short-story writer, a dramatist and also a translator from Punjab. Today the people of the sub-continent are celebrating his 100th birth anniversary highlighting his significance in the India-Pakistan partition era. Art councils in Pakistan, press clubs, and literary clubs are organizing festivals to remember his legacy and his importance in today's society.

Manto's basic contribution to Urdu literature (with respect to partition) is that he considered the killing of thousands of Hindus and Muslims during migration as a massacre of humanity rather than of any single religion. He said:

Don't say that a hundred thousand Hindus or a hundred thousand Muslims have been massacred. Say two hundred thousand human being have been slaughtered.

Saadat Hasan Manto. From twitter: @siddharth426

This was Manto's message at the time when religious division was at its peak. People were divided - rather isolated - on religious differences and did not consider killing a major crime against humanity. In such times, Manto rose as a messenger of humanism in the subcontinental literature. He wrote dramas like ‘Toba Tek Singh' (name of a village in Pakistani Punjab), in which he highlighted the miseries of partition.

But is Manto relevant today? Yes! He definitely is relevant. His criticism on the hypocritical societal values, his attitude towards social taboos and ethos [ur], and his whimsical remarked towards United States makes him a living legend. Manto, as Zahida Hina rightly says, was a visionary.

Manto's writing can today help Pakistan to come out from the abyss of fundamentalism and extremism which is increasing day by day. The cultural and political crises which Pakistan is facing today were seen years ago by Manto in his article ‘Allah ka bara fazl ha' (God's benevolence is infinite).

Social media was flooded with comments regarding Manto's life and his work.

B. P. Singh praises Manto with the following words:

Perspicacious man, a real human being, I have acted in one of his plays in India, and truly I follow some of his writing religiously. If the mankind seriously follows his writing spirit, the world really will become a heaven! True homage and salute to a nice person ‘Manto'.

Some tweets:

@navedjaved: Remembering a prolific writer and a genius of his times, Saadat Hasan Manto on his birthday- RIP Legend!

@manish0891: Its 100th birth anni.of Saadat Hasan #Manto, one of the best short story writer of the Urdu language.

@osamamotiwala: Saadat Hasan Manto, although you are just a memory, but some memories last forever. Shine on you crazy diamond.

Manto was never frightened from expressing his thoughts. He had to go to court for his writings. But, Manto only wrote what he saw. Nazir Ahmed Minto comments:

Manto only wrote what he SAW,…… and which those people did not want too see !

Naveeda Valentina tweets:

@NaveedaV: Janam din mubarak (Happy Birthday) Saadat Hasan Manto! A man who pulled no punches indeed. *jaam chalkaoing*

@NaveedaV: Happy Birthday Saadat Hasan Manto! A man who pulled no punches indeed.

Manto is being given overwhelming coverage in Pakistani media (for English see: DAWN, THE NEWS). This fact is praise-worthy enough to be quoted. Although fanaticism has risen in the soicety, but Manto's voice still lives on.

Ahmed Shakeel tweets:

@Ahmed_Shakeel: It is heartening to see birth centenary of short story writer in Urdu Saadat Hasan Manto finds wide coverage especially in non Urdu media.

Manto died on 18th January 1955 at the age of 43. His thoughts will always be with us. Vivek Martolia comments:

manto sahab amar rahenge hamesha ke liye , he is alive in his stories.

Manto will live forever, he is alive in his stories.

India, Pakistan Missile Launches: Game Changers or Mere Posturing?

Aparna Ray — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:01:30 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage International Relations & Security.

On April 19, 2012, India successfully test-fired its Agni V inter-continental ballistic missile (IBCM). With a range of over 5,000 kilometres, the Agni V places India’s missile capabilities increasingly in line with the United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France and China. The following week, neighboring Pakistan successfully test-launched its nuclear capable ballistic missile, the Shaheen 1-A.

These back-to-back missile tests received widespread coverage and comment on mainstream and social media outlets. In particular, netizens have been engaging in lively online discussions regarding the escalating arms race in South Asia and its impact on the overall security of the region.

While many netizens across India and Pakistan, fuelled with nationalistic fervor, engaged in hyperbole regarding the respective missile launches, there has been some strong criticism in the Pakistani blogosphere regarding the United States’ response to India's missile launch. Labeling it as “double standards”, Yasmeen Ali, a university professor based in Lahore, wrote on Pakpotpourri2's blog:

The Agni V missile being launched off the coast of Odhisa, India, on 19th April, 2022. Image courtesy Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

The need here is to support a country within the region to act, or seem to act as a deterrent to China. Obvious choice: India.What USA had completely overlooked in this game of regional hegemony is when you let the genie out of the bottle, it will refuse to go back in the bottle. It can one day, turn upon the master, once his heart’s desire of being let out is fulfilled.

However, a section of netizens felt that these missile tests were not going to escalate security tensions among India, China and Pakistan. On his blog Chaturanga, Jaideep Prabhu pointed out that India's policy was to acquire a ‘minimum credible deterrent' and not to escalate an arms race, as was being loosely discussed in a section of the media.

He commented:

The launch of the China-specific Agni V has generated much talk about an arms race between China and India, and consequently, India and Pakistan. The Chinese media (and hence the government) has taken exception to this, reacting sharply to the test and labeling it as India’s missile delusion…But unless India has abandoned its old policy of MUD (Mutually Unacceptable Damage), analysts and Beijing have jumped the gun.

On the blog Rolan San Juan, Rajesh Basrur, a Senior Fellow and the Coordinator of the South Asia Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), argued that the Agni-V launch was “inconsequential” in that it would not change India's “deterrence game vis-à-vis China.

In his post on The Christian Science Monitor, Scott Baldauf referred to the chain of events as ‘ritual aggression' between India and Pakistan, a posturing more out of habit than actual security concerns, especially given that the two countries were currently trying to develop closer ties.

He wrote:

These tests follow an extraordinary set of meetings between the president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi earlier this month, in which the two nations pledged to increase trade ties and to fight against extremism. While these missile tests might have seemed to be a setback in earlier times, they have now become a kind of theater of virility, separate from any political discourse.

There were hardly any major security concerns expressed in the social media of neighbors such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide.

Visit the ISN blog and see more related stories.

Greece: Public Speech Controversies

Veroniki Krikoni — Sat, 05 May 2012 19:56:34 +0000

Before the May 6, 2012, General Election in Greece, Friday 4 was the last day political parties could organize public speeches and rallies. Heavy criticism was levelled at PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos's choice to give a public speech at Syntagma Square in Athens, center of anti-government and anti-austerity mass citizen protests so far. Netizens on Twitter mocked [el, en] the political party for its “audacity to hold a public speech” and the low audience turnout, criticizing also the presence of Pakistani immigrants, reportedly paid or forced to swing green flags in favor of PASOK.

Pakistan: Public Reaction on PM's Contempt Verdict

Kumail Ahmed — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:03:19 +0000

The contempt case against Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has finally come to an end. The court's verdict gave the Prime Minister a symbolic punishment of 37 seconds, ending the three month long judicial process. Analysts say that the decision would not end the prevalent constitutional confusion, rather, only have increased it.

Furthermore, it has started a new public process in which people are divided either in support of the Prime Minister or against him. People came on the road in support of the democratic process in the country. On the other hand, some say that the supreme court has the right to elucidate the constitution.

Supporters of ruling Pakistan People Party shout in the protest. Image by Rajput Yasir. Copyright Demotix.

Many people have commented that the Supreme court has not played a democratic role in pursuing justice.

Nazar M. Chohan comments:

CJ and his Supreme Court judges loves polarising the society beyond repair…keep it up!!!

Imran calls this a redundant activity. The Supreme Court had always played a role in belittling democracy and always supported dictatorship. He comments:

Not surprised…. SC is just keeping up to its reputation.
1. Okayed Ayub’s martial law
2. Okayed Zia’s martial law
3. Hanged a prime minister
4. Dismissed Benazir’s government twice
5. Approved Musharraf’s martial law
6. Allowed Musharraf to amend constitution
7. Allowed Musharraf to run for president while serving in army

Yesmeen Ali tweets:

@yasmeen_9: You know the law.Civil Contempt does not disqualify the PM.

Ahsan Riaz Chaudhary tweets:

@chahsanriaz: My lord #CJ is all set for “adhocism” in his zeal to send PM #Gilani home! #SupremeCourt #Pakistan

Some people call this decision a triumph of justice. People say that PM Gilani should resign from his premiership and implement the order of the higher judiciary.

@hamza101: Gilani is not just in contempt of court, but now has committed high disloyalty with #Pakistan..!#PPPFail

@alihzinsaf: #Gilani has been convicted. A convict cannot be#PM. A #PM should have ethics and high moral ground and shd be a role model citizen of the state

@malikakissxkhan: #Gilani You integrity and self respect is 0. Your loyalty to Pakistan is 0. Your right to appeal is a joke. Im not laughing. Resign

The bias either in support of Prime Minister or against him can be easily observed. The opposition parties, PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz) and PTI (Pakistan Tahreek Insaf) are asking the Prime Minster to resign as soon as possible.

“Will the PM resign” is a million dollar question. The aftermath of this verdict are still premature, but the ruling party wants to complete its constitutional tenure.

Pakistan: Time is up, Mr Gilani

Rezwan — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:59:21 +0000

The contempt of court proceedings against Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is taking new twists and he may lose his premiership. Aamir Saeed has more on the story.

Pakistan: Imran Khan's Popularity Is Visible

Rezwan — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 21:01:04 +0000

“When people start putting up your face and logo on their mud guards, it’s a sign that you are here to stay,” comments Tazeen on the growing popularity of Pakistani celebrity sportsman turned politician Imran Khan.

Pakistan: Hazara Community Targeted for Killings

Qurratulain Zaman — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:04:25 +0000

The capital of troubled Balochistan, Quetta was closed on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15, 2012. This time the call for protest was not given by the Baloch separatists but by the minority Shia Hazara community.

In the recent past, targeted violence against the Hazara community in Balochistan has increased. In the last 9 days, 30 Hazaras have been killed. Banned sectarian militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has taken responsibility for the latest attack. Last year Lashkar-e-Jhangvi distributed pamphlets threatening Hazaras to leave Pakistan by 2012.

The Hazara members were travelling by bus before the shooting attack occurred in Quetta. Image by RFE/RL RFE/RL, copyright Demotix (04/10/12).

Hazara People blog writes:

It is systematic genocide in the complete silence and negligence of international community. There are over 600,000 Hazaras living in Pakistan. They migrated from Afghanistan in 1880′s as a result of persecution by the Afghan ruler Amir Abdul Rehman Khan.

Why aren’t the authorities taking action against the militant groups who are openly attacking the Hazara community? Journalist and blogger Amir Saeed answers the question at Guppu.com in this way:

Baluchistan is bleeding. The massacre of Hazara community continues with complete impunity while the most intriguing is the eerie silence prevalent in the corridors of power – both at federal and provincial level. Perhaps, it is not on agenda of political bigwigs to speak for the community and do something viable to protect them from extremists and bigots having a field day in the province. The role of security agencies is also dubious but ‘fortunately’ they operate under civil authority.

Baloch journalist and blogger Malik Siraj Akbar also points finger at the Pakistani authorities for not taking action against Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

The persecution of the Hazara community is unlikely to end in the near future until the Pakistani security establishment fully abandons its covert support to Sunni fundamentalist groups such as the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. There is ample evidence of contacts between the Pakistani authorities and these terrorist groups. In addition, the legislature, judiciary and the executive branches of the government have still not included the plight of the Hazaras in national policy debates.

Rafia Zakaria in her column calls it a dark Spring for Hazaras. They are caught between the fire and the frying pan as the International community only knows the Baloch separatist movement.

For the Shia Hazara of Balochistan, who are seeking not independence but their rights under the Pakistani constitution, the dearth of local sympathy and the brashness of global generalisations have colluded to produce a landscape where hope seems as elusive as justice.

Topics like #ShiaGenocide, #Hazara and #Quetta were trending on Twitter in Pakistan on Saturday. The main discussions were focused on whether to call the events ‘Shia Killings’ or ‘Hazara killings’.

@Hazarapatriot (Ali Hazara): Sad - people are debating on killings to call it Shia killing or Hazara killing. Ask the victim families if it matters for them.

@Baqwaas (Baysharam): It is not a ShiaGenocide or a SunniGenocide. It's Human Genocide. #InterFaithUnity

@Chiltan (salma jafar): #Shame on those who gave ethnic color to #Shiakilling in Quetta. Due to which 100s of innocent Baloch arrested /victimized

Many condemned the killings and accused the right wing Sunni religious groups:

@alisalmanalvi (Ali Salman Alvi): Atrocities on Shia Muslims are not restricted to a specific locality. Mosques are spewing venom against Shias, Ahmadis & other minorities.

Leading Hazara activist M. Saleem Javed tweeted:

@mSaleemJaved Hazara protester: ‘We are anti-Taliban and we will remain so, even if nobody remains alive.' #Quetta #Pakistan

Hazara protests. Image by author

There were country wide protests by the Hazara community over the weekend but mainstream TV channels and radio didn’t touch the issue extensively. There was hardly any participation from other groups of the society.

@beenasarwar (beena sarwar): Ignoring peaceful protest also sends the msg that if you want to make the headlines, be violent and loud #shiagenocide #pakistan #media

@Razarumi (Raza Rumi): ‏2) Mainstream media black-out of 000s of Shiite Muslims who have been protesting aganst Shiite killings in Gilgit,Chilas Karachi and Quetta!

The Baloch tweeples criticized the Punjab for being quiet.

@BalaachMarri (TheBaloch): Punjabi media actors playing it smart on Twitter. Condemning the terror attacks but reluctant to speak against the attackers.

@gedrosian (Gedrosia): #Balochistan is at war , #Pakistan is too blind by it's fashion week #hazara #baloch

Pakistan: Incessant Violence in Karachi

Kumail Ahmed — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 05:25:32 +0000

The bloodshed in Karachi which has killed more than 300 people in the last three months hasn't come to a halt. The latest spree of bloodshed started after the killing of a political activist, Mansoor Mukhtar, who belonged to the MQM (Muthida Quami Movement) - the largest political party in Karachi. The next day - 28 March, 2012 - a political worker of ANP (Awami National Party), Mr Zianulabdeen was murdered by unknown terrorists.

These murders, backed by extortion activities and targeted killing, started a brutal chain reaction which has gloomed the port city's landscape. Dawn's timeline aptly summarizes all the events which have occurred till the 9 April.

The million dollar question is, ‘why does violence always return in Karachi?'

Rangers stand guard next to a burnt out car that was set on fire after a shooting incident, which killed Awami National Party (ANP) activist in Karachi. Image by Mohsin Hasan. Copyright Demotix.

Last year 1,175 people were killed. There are many reasons to this violence. Some reasons are:

The city is divided around different fault lines. These fault lines are based on ethnicity, culture, language, and sect. Furthermore, there are fault lines inside different communities. Such conflicts catalyses the ‘war dialectic' in the city. Different interest groups have different pursuits. Naturally, the pursuit of power is one of them. A single spark is all what is needed for a violence spree. In the last four months, Karachi hosted the largest number of political rallies in the country, i.e. rallies by Tahreek-e-Insaaf ( Movement for Justice), MQM (United National Movement) women wing, Right wing Defa-e-Pakistan (Defense of Pakistan), right wing JUI (Assembly of Islamic Clergy), JSQM (Sindhi Nationalist Movement), and right wing Defa-e-Tashishu (Defence of Shia). All these rallies gathered a large number of supporters, which shows how much the city is divided on ideological lines.
Political parties have alleged military wings. According to an HRCP (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan) report, all major political parties in Karachi have private militias. They use these militia groups for securing vested interest. This balkanizes communities and hence foster violence. Last year, the Supreme court took a suo moto and ordered the abolishment of all band militias. No pragmatic progress is seen on this order.
Overpopulation and lack of planning. The city's population has grown from 0.5 million (1947) to 5 million (1970s). Today the number stands on a staggering 20 million. On the other hand, no massive infrastructure development has taken place to tackle this huge population inflow. Combination of these two variable deteriorated the economic conditions of the dwellers. This allowed criminal groups to exploit economic conditions for personal gains.

Pervez Hoodbhoy explains the effects of overpopulation with an analogy with fishes. According to a research, fishes have to two goals: 1) they want to increase access to available space, and 2) increase access to the amount of habitat complexity (presence of obstacles and hiding places like rocks and plants) within the tank. As more fish are added, amount of space becomes less available. Hence aggressiveness increas.

According to Hoodbhoy Karachi is no different. The infrastructure has depleted over the years. He quotes Eqbal Ahmed, who writes:

Karachi is starved of the wealth it generates. The city contributes more than sixty per cent of the federal and Sindh governments’ revenues. Only a fraction of it is invested back in building its infrastructure. To make matters worse, under successive Karachi governments, land and other resources have been prey to the greed of those in power.

People gather at the house where the dead bodies of five people were found. Image by PPI Images. Copyright Demotix.

The common people of the city are extremely dejected by the present conditions of the city. Teenagers don't see any positive development in the near future. A shadow of hopelessness overwhelms their remarks. A plea to God for a prosperous future is all what they have. Teenagers gave the following remarks when asked about the turmoil in Karachi:

Natasha Faisal comments:

I look around myself and wonder how we will ever prosper when we are divided into groups which bring no development in the country. I wonder why we have become so hardened that we no longer mourn the death of our fellow Karachiites.

Mirha Khan comments:

With the amount of violence we have witnessed in Karachi recently, I often wonder if the city will end up burning to ashes.

Malika Niazi comments:

All we can do now is pray for Karachi’s future. People are, indeed, dying and it really isn’t that safe to be roaming about on the streets unarmed.

Twitter and Facebook were flooded with remarks of despondence and criticism on the government to stop violence.

Jawad Hussain: The city of Karachi is once again under a wave of violence. What I saw this morning was that some miscreants setting ablaze a mini bus in Gulistan e Jauhar area while reports are there about killing innocent people in different parts of the metropolis including Baldia Town.

@parasabbasi: Saw a weird dream today where I and two other friends were going to buy medicines and became target of firing (#Karachi violence)

Nadeem Paracha asks about the real terroists in Karachi?

@NadeemfParacha: So many reports on Karachi violence in today's papers and not a single one mentions who was/is killing whom.

The government must take actions as Jaffrry tweets:

@Jaffrry: Authorities must execute appropriate strategy to stop violence in #Karachi.

Pakistan: Stop Dumping On Us

Faisal Kapadia — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:47:06 +0000

Globalization is often touted as the solve it all solution of the problems this world faces today. However there are several very highly toxic effects of globalization as well. For instance these seemingly dissipating borders means that the western world has been and even now is engaged in dumping its plastic and medical waste to third world countries. They are able to do so as there is a lack of whistle blowing as well as checks and balances in countries like Pakistan, which has been subjected to dumping for the last 30 odd years.

Skeptic life reports:

As it is, there is no systematic method of medical waste management in Pakistan. Not all medical facilities have incinerators and it is not uncommon to find possibly contaminated waste in open trash heaps. The last thing we need is hazardous waste from other countries adding to the problem, especially when this waste can be infected and cause diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS.

Untreated medical wastes are drained into the sea. Image by Raja Islam. Copyright Demotix (1/11/2010).

Uroos reports on her visit to a garbage heap in Lahore:

On my visit to Lahore two days ago I along with some other media friends of mine took a drive down to Shadran which is the scrapyard heaven in Lahore. I see crushed plastic, piles of medical waste, IV tubes and infusion bags lying on the ground in warehouse and people coming to buy them, I caught hold of one of the kids who works there, to my utter shock he tells me that local manufacturers who make plastic products even down to utensils come and buy this scrap to reuse!

Green action reports on the dumping of plastic waste in Pakistan:

At present, there are hundreds of importers and buyers in Pakistan who are trading different used plastic items and materials. Definitely these types of used items are economically cheap and very cost effective, especially for the average buyer in the Pakistani market. But, the overall hazards resulting due to the unrestrained and uncontrolled usages of these used plastic items outweigh the so-called benefits and advantages.Sipping water from a used pet bottle would not be an ideal option for any health-conscious individual living in any part of the world, but there are a number of traders in Pakistan rejoicing the economic benefits offered by the treasured rubbish, that is discarded by the more developed countries of the world

One begins to wonder, how are Pakistan’s authorities allowing this dumping of hazardous materials on our soil? The case though is a multilayered one with many of these materials being passed off and misdeclared in our customs under “plastic scrap” and other categories to be cleared and sold off by importers. What they cannot sell off they dispose, so they are hand in hand with the whole process. Many of our hospitals too are often found disposing medical waste in their own backyards or adjacent rubbish heaps, to the extent that several unborn fetuses have been routinely popping up all over Karachi in waste heaps.

Day and night news reported on just such an incident on their blog:

In a what comes across as callous disregard for public safety, around 900 kg of bio medical waste(BMW), including used syringes, blood-stained cotton gauze and bandages packed in plastic disposable bags, has been dumped in the open in the compound of the UT administration’s flagshiphospital, GMCH-32.The fact that the hospital is one of the most frequented and trusted institutes of the region only add to the culpability of those who allowed this. With this, thousands of people including the staff, patients and their attendants have been rendered vulnerable to deadly infections.

Non-degradable plastics in a garbage dump in Karachi. Image by Syed Yasir Kazmi. Copyright Demotix (15/12/2009).

Pakistan today also discussed in detail the joys of importing plastic waste borne diseases in Lahore:

In Pakistan purchasing diseases is quite an easy task. In fact if you want to purchase an infection from an operation theatre of Germany or Japan all you have to do is to go to any one of the bulk traders of post consumer hazardous plastic scrap in Shahdara market and tell him to sell you HIV, Hepatitis C or Tuberculosis. The rates vary with good infections fetching from Rs 100 to 150 per kg. You might be wondering what this is all about. Day in and day out we all talk about the lack of accountability in Pakistan. The authorities that are responsible for ensuring accountability are those working in connivance with plastic scrap traders of Lahore to ensure clearance of containers carrying thousands of tones of infection into our local market.

Although a strengthening and overhaul of customs law as well as more diligence on control of such imports will prove useful. It is of utmost importance that local communities get involved in keeping our country clean of such products. For this purpose reporting such waste piles are key, too long have we been exposed to harmful diseases due to lack of vigilance. The effort will require us to not drive past burning heaps of open air rubbish in our city and stop to ask why and who is exposing us to these hazardous materials. More can also be achieved by organizing community cleaning drives and not restricting them to beach fronts.

Only if we ourselves show care for the environment around us can we effect change in keeping it safe and livable here in Pakistan.

Pakistan: Media Silence On The Death of Ahmadiyya Activist

Rezwan — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 04:09:24 +0000

Rashid Zafar at Pak Tea House questions the silence of Pakistani media over the recent death of Master Abdul Qudoos Ahmad, an well known member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, while he was in police custody.

Pakistan: Immediate Reactions on the Death of Sindhi Nationalist Leader

Aamir Raz Soomro — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 03:39:27 +0000

On 23rd of March, Karachi (Sindh) hosted a massive rally for the independence of Sindh from the Pakistani state. The mammoth rally was organized by the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (Long-Live Sindh National Front) under the leadership of Bashir Khan Qureshi who campaigned for the rally to get support from people across Sindh.

The purpose of the rally, as described by the JSQM, was to express to the world that Sindh wanted freedom from Pakistan, which it joined as an independent state in the year 1947. The rally was, obviously, anti-Pakistan and was sure to stir the Pakistani state and its machinery.

However, at around 3:00 AM (PST) today, entire Sindh and Balochistan became sad and grieved when they received the news of sudden, untimely death of Bashir Khan Qureshi at Sakrand, a small town in Sindh.

Members and sympathizers of JSQM and Sindhi nationalist movement took to the social media to express their grief over the sad demise of Mr. Qureshi. Here is what I tweeted on the next moment of the news:

@AamirRaz #JSQM chairman Bashir Qureshi succumbs to death due to heart attack, in a hospital at Sakrand | a powerful blow to #Sindhi natioalism!

Twitter was literally flooded with tweets mentioning his death. Here are the glimpses of the same:

@AkChishti JSQM Chief, Bashir Qureshi just expired because of a cardiac attack. #Sindh

@Senator_Baloch #Shocking very sad day for oppressed people of Sindh and Balochistan. We lost a legendary friend #BashirQureshi RIP

@FahadLaghari Today Sindhi national struggle has been orphaned. An era has ended #JSQM #SINDH

@SherM_BRP Bashir Qureshi was a Great Leader of #Sindh. very Sad day for people Sindh. #RIP

@AbdulNishapuri Our deepest condolences on #JSQM chairman Bashir Qureshi's death. A sad day for Pakistan, Sindh in particular.

@MirShoaib You had to live Sain.. #RIPBasheerKhanQureshi a sad day for the people of Sindh and #Balochistan

Similar status updates popped up instantly on Facebook as well. Iffi Raj was probably the first to give the update and wrote on his wall:

بشير خان قريشي دل جي دوري سبب انتقال ڪري ويو ….ٽي وي نيوز

Bashir Khan Qureshi dies of heart attack…. TV news(Sic)

Vishnu Bux:

a ver sad news, bashir qureshi no more with us…. (sic)

Aijaz Ali:

Very sad news…Bashir Khan Qureshi of ‘Jeay Sindh' died of a mysterious death today.

Fahad Nizamani:

Shocking news, Sindh's brave leader chairman JSQM Bashir Khan Qureshi passed away due to heart attack.

Jaddam Sindhu:

اسين جسقم چيئرمين محترم بشير قريشيء جي لاڏاڻي تي ڏک جو اظهار ڪريون ٿا.

We express our deepest sorrow over the sad demise of JSQM Chairman, Bashir Qureshi.

Murad Khan:

Bashir khan qureshi,a hardline Sindhi nationalist, passed away.

Iffi Raj came up with another emotional remark on the death of the leader of large Sindhi nationalist party, JSQM:

حقيقت ۾ سنڌ ختم ٿي وئي

In fact, Sindh has perished (Sic)

However, part of Pakistani politics since ages now, the sudden death of Mr. Qureshi — and that, too, shortly after a successful anti-state rally in the heart of Karachi, demanding independence of Sindh — raises many questions about the authenticity of the news of him dying of a heart-attack. Many would not buy the news item since, according to the party's general secretary, Mr. Asif Baladi, they could sense conspiracies revolving as a serious threat to them. He was speaking to a Sindhi news channel just after the news of the death of Mr. Qureshi was aired.

RIP - Bashir Khan Qureshi

Those who support the nationalist movement of Sindh and Balochistan could see something fishy behind the ‘mysterious' death.

@VeengasJ #BasheerQureshi is martyred, it is not natural Death. #sindh #balochistan #pakistan

@BalaachMarri Something fishy, surely. #Sindh

Sher Mohammad Bugti tweeted:

The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins#JSQM

AK Chishti, summing up the life-long struggle of Mr. Qureshi, tweeted:

Bashir Qureshi's last statement was “Tunjho Desh, Munjho Desh, Sindhu Desh, Sindhu Desh!”

As a politician, Mr. Qureshi definitely has many friends and many foes! Yet, what they all agree on something is the point that his death is a blow to the Sindhi nationalist movement. His life — from being a leader of the Jeay Sindh Students Federation, the student-wing of JSQM, to being the central leader of JSQM — was full of political agitation, struggle and fight for the freedom of Sindhudesh (proposed name of independent Sindh). This message was quite loudly given by him at the successful Freedom March in Karachi on 23rd of March, 2012, which reiterated their party's demand of independence of Sindh from Pakistani state.

The aforementioned were quite initial reactions to the death of JSQM leader — as the story unravels, many new perspectives would be revealed.

Pakistan: What Are You Smoking?

Rezwan — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 23:06:39 +0000

Shisha smoking has bacome a craze among youngsters in Pakistan in recent years. Hina Safdar reports that a ban on Shisha smoking/selling is in effect in the Sindh province and violating the law can lead to 6 months of imprisonment.

South Asia: Every Day Is Earth Hour for Us

Rezwan — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:17:26 +0000

Earth Hour is a worldwide awareness event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and it is held on the last Saturday of March annually. On this day households and businesses are requested to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness about climate change. More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011 and this year many more cities like Dhaka, Bangladesh, will be joining.

South Asia is a region with many developing countries hungry for power. Millions of people in the Indian sub-continent have no access to electricity, and the power sector is plagued by corruption and inefficiency. The demand is much bigger than supply so many countries use load shedding (planned rolling blackouts) to manage the electricity distribution.

In countries like Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh daily there are 4-12 hours of load shedding varying on the situation everyday. Netizens are vocal on the issue of observing earth hour in the social media. While some are requesting others to observe Earth Hour, some are thinking that this is not more than a joke. The following tweets from the region reflect what they have in mind.

Bangladesh

@KaziAhadKader (Kazi A. Kader): “@dailystarnews Bangladesh for the first time tonight will observe Earth Hour…” We were doing that long before it had such a fancy name.

@shuvo666 (Shuvo Rashid): No wonder #Bangladesh is one of the most environment conscious countries in the world. We celebrate Earth Hour every day, 12 times! #Blackout

@irteja (Irteja Ali)‏ Today Power Development Board (PDB) is going to celebrate Earth Hour 2012 by giving 12 hours of load shedding of electricity in Bangladesh.

Bhutan

@AumChang (Aum Chang): i had an Earth Hour today. and also yesterday. and day before yesterday. thanks to BPC power cuts, i enjoy an #EarthHour every day! #Bhutan

A view of an Earth Hour in Dimapur, Northeastern State of India. Power Department of Nagaland, shut down power supplies to celebrate Earth Hour. Image by Sorei Mahong. Copyright Demotix (27/3/2010))

India

@suyogg (Suyog Gaidhani): Earth Hour in India is a cruel joke.

@MalluJat (Ramesh Menon) 72% of India with no power connection celebrate earth hour. 1% from the rest switch off their lights, and issue PR and congratulatory msgs

@RealBharatkumar (Bharat Kumar): In india especially where I am we have earth hour everyday. So all you people who are switching their light off an hour we do it everyday.

@virenb (Viren Bhandari): People of the world should not worry about the earth hour, India has got it all covered!! #nobizlii here.

Nepal

@ayushbista (Aron): Please Switch off your lights for the Earth Hour !! Oh wait !! Don't bother ! We've got Loadshedding anyway. Nepal, (Earth Hour Forever) !!

@hardfire (Avinash Kundaliya): every day, we celebrate earth hour in Nepal .. :-P

@cinderellaman23 (SumanK Rajbhandari ): #Nepal may be the greatest Earth Hour Supporter because of loadshedding :)

@nazushrestha (Sujan Shrestha): In case you don't have loadshedding 2nite, switch off your lights for one hour from 8:30pm-9:30pm to support Earth Hr. #Nepal @tfcNepal #fb

People participate in a programme on 60+Earth Hour in Kathmandu, Nepal. Image by Sunil Sharma. Demotix (26/3/2011))

Pakistan

@adnanrasool (Adnan Rasool): I have to say this… Y r certain corporations spending tons of money to celebrate earth hour.. we have it every other hour.. #Pakistan

@AzeemUhassan (Azeemullah Hassan ): So the Earth Hour would be celebrated from 8:30pm to 9:30pm in #Pakistan Thankfully there's no light in my area in #Karachi at that time :P

@Mahamali05 (Maham Ali)‏ Is Pakistan also supposed to observe Earth Hour? We already observe Earth Hour at least 6-8 hours a day everyday.

Speak For Change writes in a blog post:

Earth Hour is a serious issue and one must not write against it. Is it a bigger issue than load-shedding that we experience daily in all parts of the country? Is it a bigger problem than the losses in millions we attain due to the absence of electricity to the industries? Is it more serious an issue than the non-availability of electricity in a local hospital where patients are operated upon under standby generators because the electricity doesn’t show up? I don’t think it is more serious than countless scenarios like these, because it is not for us, people living in third world countries.

Pakistan: Demand for Independence of Sindh

Aamir Raz Soomro — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:38:18 +0000

It was not long ago that a bill was tabled in the US Congress in support of giving Balochistan – the land of the Baloch – the right to self-determination against their ‘forced accession’ into Pakistan on March 27, 1948. The day is still mourned as a Black Day throughout the Baloch land, including parts of the provincial capital, Quetta.

In the year 1971, the erstwhile East Pakistan had already witnessed a bloody independence war with Pakistan, which culminated in the creation of the country now known as Bangladesh – it was a real bloody war since hundreds of thousands of people were massacred in this ‘genocide’ to crush the Bengali freedom-fighters.

In the present times, however, it is not just Balochistan which has the separatist sentiments, but Sindh under the leadership of Mr. G.M. Syed, has also been fighting for independence soon after the creation of Pakistan. From the platform of various nationalist political parties, Sindhis demand separation from Pakistan and creation of proposed, Sindhudesh, the Land of Sindhu (River Indus). They support their demand with the arguments that, 1., the British had invaded the independent Sindh and, 2. that they have a distinct rich history and secular culture which dates back 5,000 years.

Blog Citizens Media Alternative Voice Junction relates that:

Before 1843, Sindh had, as a sovereign state, signed a treaty with the British Raj, allowing the latter’s ships to pass through the River Sindhu. The Raj, in return, had to pay taxes to the Sindh government. Karachi port and the Indus River had thus served as an important route for the British army in their war in Afghanistan.

When the British left India creating separate states namely India and Pakistan, Sindh had joined Pakistan on conditions mentioned in the Lahore Resolution of 1940, the base document for the country’s creation. However, since the conditions were not fulfilled, Sindh argues, they have a moral and legitimate choice of withdrawing from being part of the Pakistani federation (also part of the said resolution). Pakistan celebrates the 23rd of March every year to commemorate the event.

Mr. Syed was the first to move the resolution in favour of the newly proposed federation, Pakistan, in the Sindh Assembly for the first time; ironically enough, he pioneered the Sindhi separatist movement calling out for complete independence of Sindh soon after the proposed country was created.

There have been many clashes with the Pakistani state, demonstrations and rallies in favour of an independent Sindh — the latest show of the Sindhi separatist sentiments on a large-scale public platform was on the very day of March 23 when hundreds of thousands of Sindhis from around the province gathered in Karachi and chanted the anti-Pakistan slogans:

“Na khappy, na khappy, Pakistan na khappy” (We say No to Pakistan)
“Sindhudesh muqaddar aa; Saeen G.M. Syed rehbar aa!” (Sindhudesh is our destiny; GM Syed is our leader)
“Sindh ghuray thee aazadi; Tokhy dyanni pavndi, aazadi!” (Sindh demands independence; you will have to free us.)

AK Chishti also tweeted what was heard at the Tibet Center, Karachi:

@AKchisti: “Thumjo desh, Mujho desh, Sindhudesh, Sindhudesh” at 23rd March at heart of #Karachi.

The rally, titled the Freedom March, was quite an impressive crowd (considering it was anti-state and was being held in Karachi (Sindh), the most important city of Pakistan, which has gradually become more of an alien land to Sindhis after the creation of Pakistan 1947) and was organized by the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), one of the biggest Sindhi nationalist parties.

Being an eye-witness of the event, I followed the event and live-blogged it on Twitter. Here is the view of the crowd.

Freedom March by JSQM for Independence of Sindh

Zafar (@sindhixafar) tweeted:

#JSQM #JeaySindh organizes #FreedomMarch in Karachi to reject #Sindh's every affiliation with #PakistanMurdabad #23March #Sindhudesh

In another tweet, Zafar summed up the event at the outset in a tweet saying:

“Happy Pakistan Day” changed into #PakistanMurdabad, millions of people demanded #Sindhudesh in #JSQM rally of #FreedomMarch #23March

Where representatives of many media sections were present and were covering the event live, the news was either blocked or under-reported in the most mainstream electronic Urdu media channels.

The participants, on return from the March, would ask their Facebook friends if the event was covered by the media. Ashique Solangi posed a direct question on Facebook:

سنڱت! ڏيو خبر ڪلھ اردو ميڊيا ڪوريج ڪئي آزادي مارچ جي يا نه؟

Friends, did the Urdu media cover the Freedom March yesterday or not? (sic)

Mr. Nisar Khokhar, a veteran journalist, posted a picture of the March coupled with the following comment (in Romanized Sindhi):

Sindhian Paraan karachi mein Big show karre 23 March wari Qaradad khe rad kayo wayo..per Urdu ain english media coverage mein total Blackout karre cahdiyo…..Sindhyo Jaaago..

Sindhis have rejected the (Lahore) Resolution of March 23 (1940)..but Urdu and English media blocked it from being covered… Wake up, Sindhis! (Sic)

Ravez Junejo, a blogger, expressed his concern over the media's not covering the freedom march as:

Mainstream #Urdu language media of #Pakistan denying news coverage to thousands strong #FreedomMarch of native Sindhis in Karachi! #Shame

The rally was so massive that it was sure to disturb the city’s normal traffic routes – major arteries witnessed sever traffic jams at the time the Freedom March rally passed through.

On the one hand, this massive show of rejection of the Lahore Resolution, which means blatant rejection of Pakistan, was well received by those pro-independence Sindhis; on the other, it boggled the opponents of the Sindhi nationalism and the Pakistani state. And, that’s why, conspiracies followed to defame the rally soon after it culminated, and media reported MQM chief Altaf Hussain saying that people stuck in the traffic jam were looted by the participants of the Freedom March.

However, the news could not get much importance and was soon ignored by the Pakistani media as well, although Mr. Hussain even reached out to the President of Pakistan to take notice of the issue. He did!

Mr. Aziz Narejo, a Texas-based political analyst and blogger, observed:

According to Sindhi press & a news story in daily Times, hundreds of thousands of people participated in the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Muhaz (JSQM)'s “Sindh Freedom Rally” in Karachi today. It was no doubt a major event in Pakistan where a nationalist party gathered the people in large numbers & called for independence of Sindh. It was historic event. But the so-called national media is seen to have ignored or downplayed the event. Some media has even given it a negative look. This must be strongly condemned.

Mr. Bashir Khan Qureshi, chairman, JSQM, made the major speech at the Freedom March and claimed that he entire Sindhi nation was with him when they demand independence from Pakistan. He said that Sindh had joined the federation of Pakistan based on the Lahore Resolution, which states that the joining states, including Sindh, would be sovereign and independent.

Giving out their message to the world - Freedom

Mr. Qureshi also quoted that Sindh contributed to the 80% of the total federal budget including 69% of natural gas and 75% of oil in the country. What it gets is injustice. This was his clear message.

Urdu and Sindhi versions of the transcript of his speech can be found on the given links, respectively:

The main points of his speech included that Pakistan had become an “icon of religious extremism and terrorism”, where the Sindhis are ‘peace-loving’ nation believing in ‘religious coexistence’.

Calling upon the international community, he put forward the 5-point agenda and requested to help Sindh and Balochistan get independence from Pakistan which, according to him, is their right by all standards.

Nevertheless, the newspapers of the next day, i.e. March 24th, carried a good coverage of the JSQM's freedom march, both, in paper and online. Not to mention the strong coverage by the Sindhi channels and newspapers, reports by The Express Tribune, Daily Times, Pakistan Today, and BBC Urdu are worth noting here.