tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57992871971625753402024-02-08T05:07:25.391+00:00FAITH MATTERS PAKISTANFaith Matters Pakistan (www.faith-matters.pk) promotes interfaith dialogue and works on reducing extremism, to create a safer and more stable Pakistan.Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-35090325760964509552014-07-28T15:57:00.001+01:002014-07-28T15:59:36.809+01:00Faith Matters Attended an Interfaith Gathering in the US<div style="text-align: justify;">
In March, 2014, I got an opportunity to attend an interfaith gathering arranged by DC Interfaith Network in Bethesda (just outside the US capital, Washington DC). The gathering was arranged at the house of Peter Kovach, a senior diplomat who has previously held a number of key positions in government, including the director of International Religious Freedom at the U.S Department of State and a counsellor for public affairs in the American Embassy in Islamabad. Numbered among the other attendees were Rebecca Cataldi from the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy (ICRD), Anjum Ali, president at Speaking Unites and Shama Farooq from the 9/11 Unity Walk.<br />
<br />
The discussion started with an update of the wonderful work being carried out by ICRD in Pakistan. This has focused on engaging with the religious schools (madrasas), carrying out teacher training and educating the young people on the ideas of human rights, conflict resolution and religious tolerance. We’ve previously gone on about the importance of education in interfaith work, and so it was really heartening to hear about other groups active in this field.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLJJwSMPN04Tr1Yd_rWCJBaYllzML0vz6Bg7z3JGAfF1qvCcBkPiJ7MaPsrx7dl84hFivD6DJwlYm5_kfY64jZX3kcKlkY0HRX067EnQ5Nj7hmgI0lfEb3RFwHyWN3GmzbukpUcSEIGgB/s1600/blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLJJwSMPN04Tr1Yd_rWCJBaYllzML0vz6Bg7z3JGAfF1qvCcBkPiJ7MaPsrx7dl84hFivD6DJwlYm5_kfY64jZX3kcKlkY0HRX067EnQ5Nj7hmgI0lfEb3RFwHyWN3GmzbukpUcSEIGgB/s1600/blog.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Rehman Anwer, Project Manager Faith Matters Meeting with the American Civil Society Activists</b></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of the key issues that was raised in the discussion was that of ‘identity’, specifically the issue of American Muslim identity, and its meaning for many living in the US. Some participants shared how they encountered some difficulty when trying to balance the two, or putting their national/cultural affiliation first, with some even reporting hostility from others in their own community. We discussed various dimensions of this issue, as well as broader tensions around identity, including what happens when people feel their identity is under threat. The debate also included Islamophobia in the West today, and how is it fuelling tensions between different communities. I got the opportunity to discuss some of our work around Islamophobia and anti-Muslim attacks in Britain, and it was really fascinating to compare this to the trends and tendencies of anti-Muslim hate crime identified in the US.<br />
<br />
Since many of the participants had some Pakistani background - and some have on going social projects in Pakistan – there was also a big discussion around the interfaith challenges in Pakistan. This also touched on the history of the country – many participants traced much of the damage to majority-minority faith relations, and the current culture of restrictions on freedom of religion and belief, to the country’s past of military dictatorship. Those present discussed how discrimination against the minority communities had become institutionalized in Pakistan, thus contributing to the rise of the contemporary environment of violent extremism in the country. I got the opportunity to discuss my experiences of working on countering violent extremism and interfaith related projects in Pakistan. There was a broad consensus that the way forward is to counter the extremist narratives at every front, and to promote a culture of interreligious dialogue in Pakistan. Through this, many affirmed, Pakistanis can promote a sense of shared values and respect for each other’s religious beliefs.<br />
<br />
This was a unique experience, and I felt privileged and honoured to take part in it. Interfaith dialogue can sometimes be a grim and endless experience, with every day bringing a new depressing story about sectarian violence and conflict. But gatherings like this gave me a great sense of trust and confidence in the interfaith dialogue. The commitment of all the participants to promote interfaith relations was outstanding, and gave me hope for the future. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Rehman Anwer</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-50633478797659030522014-06-11T15:56:00.000+01:002014-06-11T15:56:36.014+01:00Challenges and Opportunities of Interfaith Dialogue in Pakistan<div style="text-align: justify;">
Although it’s extremely valuable, the interfaith movement in Pakistan needs more than the commitment and enthusiasm of local and international interfaith groups - it requires a consistent strategy to achieve its desired results. This article can’t lay out such a strategy on its own, but does seek to offer a few pointers of important issues to take into account when developing such a strategy.<br />
<br />
Pakistan is a country of over 190 million people, and a home to people from diverse religious beliefs - facts which signify the need for a stronger and more pervasive interfaith and intra-faith dialogue. In a country like Pakistan, where religious beliefs are considered to be an integral part of the identity of a vast majority of people, the struggle to promote good interfaith relations between different faith communities is extremely important. The country has a poor history of communal violence, and many minority groups feel marginalized and targeted by various violent and extremist groups.<br />
<br />
One of the biggest challenges posed to the interfaith struggle in Pakistan is the inadequate understanding of interfaith dialogue and conflict resolution, and what they really mean. Many of the current interfaith initiatives in the country revolve around participation of religious leaders, discussing complex theological issues which may not always be understandable or relevant to the vast majority of young Pakistanis – who make up more than half of the Pakistan’s population. The involvement of religious leaders in an interfaith seminar or meeting is meaningful and leaves a positive message with the participants, but if the goal is to strengthen the interfaith movement in Pakistan and create a real impact for different faith communities, the involvement of young people in this struggle holds a crucial position. They need to be trained and educated in interfaith dialogue, and should be well equipped with the ideas, knowledge, and techniques to promote interfaith harmony in Pakistani society.<br />
<br />
Another challenge, closely linked with this, is the near-complete absence of interfaith education in school textbooks and curriculums. Introducing and outlining the basic teachings of all the major religions can be extremely helpful in breaking down stereotypes and hostilities about each other’s religions, and can promote greater and deeper understanding. Organising interfaith visits to various places of worship can also help in overcoming barriers to promoting interfaith harmony in Pakistan. Teachers need to be trained on community cohesion and religious diversity elements and the schools must arrange regular seminars to promote interfaith relations between students. This isn’t an attempt to convert young Pakistanis to a different religious standpoint – quite the opposite. This sort of interfaith learning is necessary both for better interfaith relations, and the maturing of one’s own beliefs.<br />
<br />
Last but not least among these challenges, is the issue of countering the dominant narratives against minority faith groups. One of the major obstacles in popularising the ideas of interfaith relations is the widespread social acceptance of prejudice against members of minority groups. Society at large needs to be sensitised over this issue, so that every person, irrespective of their religious beliefs, takes it as their prime civic responsibility to counter the hatred and violence prevailing in society. Media can play a central role in this. At the moment, some certain sections of media do raise and cover interfaith issues in Pakistan, but it does not always seem to be on the top of their agendas. Civil society organisations can play a large part in resolving this; they need to adopt a collaborative approach with the mainstream media to address these issues, and play their part to raise awareness on the importance of interfaith dialogue in Pakistan.<br />
<br />
All these threats and challenges to the interfaith dialogue in Pakistan are not without opportunities to strengthen it, however. Pakistan is a country that originally came into being as a consequence of an ideological struggle of religious freedom and identity surrounding the Muslim minority of India. The founder of Pakistan’s vision was to promote citizenship and inclusiveness in Pakistani society – although Jinnah’s vision was later badly distorted by the subsequent civil and military regimes. Nonetheless, contemporary Pakistani society is increasingly rediscovering the importance of promoting interfaith relations between communities. The case of Rimsha Masih, a 15 years old Christian girl accused of desecrating pages of Quran in 2012, is one example of this; the vast majority of the Pakistani society supported the girl’s side, and the landmark case resulted in the arrest of the local imam who had wrongly accused the girl of blasphemy.<br />
<br />
Rimsha’s case is not the only one. Pakistan has set some brilliant precedents of Muslim leaders standing up firmly to promote minority rights, sometimes making great sacrifices to do so. In 2011, the Governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, publicly supported a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy charges. Although, his fearless stance eventually cost him his life – he was murdered by his own security guard but his brave initiative encouraged other Muslim activists to champion and work on the issue of persecution against minority faith groups in Pakistan.<br />
<br />
Though tragic, these sorts of attacks against the many moderate voices in Pakistan have arguably helped in isolating the extremists, and begun to shape public opinion against them. Although extremist elements are gaining ground in the Pakistani society, they have failed to win the hearts and minds of the majority of the Pakistanis, who can increasingly see them for what they are. This recognition of the very real threat of extremism – for all Pakistanis - provides a powerful opportunity to enhance the coordination of all these moderate voices, and to counter the extremist narratives at various levels in society, in order to foster community cohesion and interfaith harmony.<br />
<br />
Finally, it’s worth noting Pakistan has a very large young population, with about 66% of the population below the age of 30. The young people of Pakistan can bring about a revolution in terms of bringing peace and stability to the country – provided, that is, they are educated on the true theological teachings based on peace, love, tolerance and compassion. They also need to be aware of the contribution of members of minority faith groups in the creation and development of Pakistan – the unsung heroes of Pakistan who are rarely discussed in their textbooks. This approach will promote a sense of citizenship and equality among the citizens irrespective of their religious beliefs to make a just, united and inclusive Pakistan, where people are not oppressed because of their faith.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Rehman Anwer</b></div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-25007889631144236822013-11-12T17:07:00.001+00:002013-11-13T00:00:16.115+00:00A Negotiated Settlement with the Taliban – Can it Be Achieved?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It won’t be wrong to state that today Pakistan’s society is extremely polarized, divided and confused over what is going to happen between the state and the terrorists – <i><b>The Pakistani Taliban.</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Looking at the print, electronic and social media, one finds that Pakistanis have been visibly divided into two camps on the potential relationship between the state and Taliban. One camp suggests that negotiated settlement is the only way out to bring peace and stability to Pakistan. And the other camp is of the view that peace negotiations with Taliban have been tried and tested before and its time when the state needs to take action against them. They argue that the Taliban have been attacking the innocent civilians in Pakistan and have killed more than 40,000 Pakistanis; hence they are ‘unforgivable enemies’. This is a very strong argument and any concerned Pakistani would agree with the fact that Taliban have almost changed the social fabric of Pakistani society because of their terrorist activities in Pakistan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The ‘pro-peace talks’ camp, however, contends that it is important to look back and fix the root causes of the terrorism in Pakistan rather than treating the symptoms. They argue that the present chaotic situation in Pakistan is because of the disastrous domestic and international policies in region that started during the Afghan Jihad time and deteriorated after 9/11. Pakistan was dragged into the war against terrorism, the Pakistan Army started an operation in Waziristan and Taliban, who never posed a direct threat to Pakistan, called for a ‘Jihad’ against the state of Pakistan. Increased Army operations by Pakistan’s security forces coupled with the notorious US drone strikes in the tribal areas of Pakistan escalated the situation and eventually Pakistani people had to pay the price of this ‘Forced Marriage’ between US and Pakistan and a ‘Forced Divorce’ between Pakistan and Taliban. This is their narrative</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Both sides have some truths and I think I will be one of those few people who will agree with both. However, I need a solution as well. I want to look beyond the ‘point-scoring’ debate because I know that winning any debate will not bring a workable solution to the problems faced by my country. To find a solution, we must find answers to the following questions:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Are we aware of the realistic connection between Pakistani Taliban and Afghani Taliban?</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Is it sensible to talk about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban? Do we have to move on from stagnant positions to ones which bear risk though which can yield rewards?</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Can we institute confidence-building measures for a workable negotiated settlement?</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first and foremost element for strategizing a practical road map of peace negotiation with Pakistani Taliban is to understand the complex relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan based Taliban. Any negotiated settlement with Pakistani Taliban cannot be advanced in a vacuum – without taking the reconciliation process with Taliban in Afghanistan into context in which the Afghan Government, US, ISAF and especially Pakistan are the stakeholders. According to a recent report by Danish Institute of International Studies (DIIS), in the ‘Peace Process Roadmap 2015’ ( A strategy paper by the Afghan Government), Pakistan is considered as a key facilitator of direct contact between the Afghan Government and Taliban leaders.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The popular narrative about Taliban is that the state of Pakistan gets along with the Afghani Taliban but take Pakistani Taliban as public enemy number one. Apparently, the founder of the Tahreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Baitullah Mehsud, was dismissed by Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Omar because of his continued attacks on Pakistan. However, Baitullah Mehsud always took Mullah Omar as his leader. It is interesting to see that often the talks with Pakistani Taliban are viewed by many analysts as a completely separate subject without realizing the ideological bond they have with Afghani Taliban. Members of both the groups cross the Durand line on a daily basis and are hosted and protected by each other. One must not forget that the narrative of Pakistani Taliban only varies from Afghani Taliban in their stance against the state of Pakistan. Undermining any negotiated settlement with Pakistani Taliban will have an impact on the global efforts for reconciliation with Afghani Taliban.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Perhaps, the most ridiculed idea in Pakistan is considered to be a discourse around the ‘Good and Bad Taliban’. In principle, I also agree that there are no good Taliban because those who justify violence and kill people to popularize their ideology can’t be ‘good’. However, our sense of history tells us that this idea can actually work to isolate more radical members of the extremist groups from those who are interested in a dialogue to end the conflict. The peace deal between the IRA and the British government is a perfect example by which to understand it when the more extreme elements within the radical republican wing were isolated from the IRA. Pakistani Taliban has no structured organization. Various media and research reports suggest that Pakistani Taliban are splintered into dozens of smaller factions. Even the TTP (Tahreek e Taliban Pakistan) does not represent all of those groups. This situation has pros and cons but a major opportunity in it for Pakistan is that the state can devise a strategy to start getting on board all those groups who envisage that peace process is worth negotiating.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lastly, can the stakeholders sustain the peace process by developing the right confidence building measures? There is another common narrative in Pakistan that no negotiation with Taliban can be successful because all such previous efforts were failed. Indeed there were serious efforts made for negotiation in 2004, 2005 and 2008 but it must be noted that there has never been a formal peace agreement or a structured dialogue between the government of Pakistan and the Pakistani Taliban. A strong anti-drone policy with some sort of agreement from the US government is central to build confidence for a successful negotiated settlement with Taliban. However, what is the realistic likelihood of this when US foreign policy in Pakistan relies heavily on the use of drone technology.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the wake of the recent killing of TTP leader, Hakimullah Mehsud by a US drone strike, once again the negotiation process is in danger. Although Pakistan has officially condemned and denounced the attack, the situation over the coming days will unfold if the Pakistani Taliban are still interested to settle down the conflict through a dialogue or they will prefer continuing their violent movement. I hope the coming days will bring the message of a real peace to Pakistan but that entirely depends on devising a right strategy to end the conflict with Pakistani Taliban and then sustain the peace process without compromising our national interest and our core democratic values. Peace is required but not at a price that throttles the future of Pakistan.<b> </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">These
views are the personal views of Rehman Anwer and are not necessarily reflective
of positions taken by Faith Matters.</span></b></div>
<b>
</b> </div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-55363916620188215382013-09-24T17:14:00.002+01:002013-09-24T17:16:10.827+01:00The Attack on All Saints Church is an attack on Pakistan<div style="text-align: justify;">
Christian and Muslim communities have been living in Pakistan since independence. The Christian community is around 2% of the total population of Pakistan and, like other members of minority faiths, they also experience prejudice at various levels in their everyday lives. This faith-based prejudice is both casual and institutionalised. The majority of Christians in Pakistan are extremely poor and do menial jobs across the country. The contribution of the members of the Christian community towards the protection and development of Pakistan is totally missed in the school text books.<br /><br />Although there have been various incidents of Christian-Muslim conflict in the recent past, the incident on Sunday 22nd September turned out to be the deadliest attack to ever be committed against the Christian community in Pakistan. Two suicide attackers blew themselves up near the All Saints Church in Peshawar at a time when hundreds of Christians were returning home after the Sunday Church service. So far, 81 people have reported to be killed and over 100 terribly injured in the incident. According to the Interior Ministry of Pakistan, there were 7 children and 34 women amongst the victims who lost their lives.<br /><br />A splinter group of Pakistani Taliban known as TTP-Jandullah has taken responsibility for the attack, saying that such attacks will continue against the non-Muslims until the US ends drone strikes in the tribal areas of Pakistan – a demand that makes little sense.<br /><br />The persecution of minorities in Pakistan is not new; but the recent incident in Peshawar has an interesting element to look at. The present Pakistani government has recently decided to initiate a peace process with the Taliban and is actively discussing the modalities of peace talks. There is a perception in Pakistan that there are certain elements in the country who do not want the peace process to go ahead and they are trying to sabotage the negotiation strategy of peace with the Taliban.<br /><br />However, given the state of minorities in Pakistan since its independence, there requires a comprehensive strategy to ensure the protection of the minority communities. The response from the civil society and wider public is similar to that which they exhibited in the past. The majority of the people are showing solidarity with the victims’ families, but it certainly requires more than a timely support. We should not allow this vicious cycle, in which we condemn the ruthless mass murder of our minority communities and then no concrete actions are taken against the perpetrators, to continue. It is time to learn from the past. What did we learn from Shanti Nagar, Sangla Hill, Gojra and Badami Bagh incidents? Did we develop a counter-terrorism strategy? Did we increase the security of religious places? Did we train our police to deal with the terrorists? Did we start monitoring the hate-based narratives against minorities? Did we think of legislating against hate crime against religious minorities? Did the government start supporting the interfaith organizations operating within Pakistan to promote a dialogue between members of the faith communities to foster better relationships among them?<br /><br />The answer to all the above questions is one word – NO<br /><br />The government has announced ‘Three-Day’ mourning in the country after the barbaric attacks against the Christian communities in Peshawar but would this mourning ensure the protection of minorities from future attacks?<br /><br />This government of Pakistan must think beyond sheer condemnation and timely solidarity with the victims and their families. Pakistan certainly needs serious and consistent efforts to tackle the challenges of terrorism and extremism. It is the time to prove that the <i><b>‘Attack on the All Saints Church is an Attack on Pakistan.’</b></i></div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Rehman Anwer</b></span></div>
<br />Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-83905867170014065302013-06-18T16:05:00.001+01:002013-06-18T16:21:57.595+01:00The strange paradoxes of Revenge – a reflection on the destruction of Quaid’s Residence in Ziarat<div style="text-align: justify;">
The philosophy of revenge is a strange one. People who are so filled with hate, anger, or feeling of righteousness that they feel they must strike out against someone – anyone - sometimes forget to discriminate between their friends and foes. In their quest to find some great act of violence that they hope will satisfy them, they target not only innocent people, but also buildings, symbols, and the very fabric of a country’s history to achieve their blind, unthinking objectives. Terrorist groups targeting buildings is not a new phenomenon – violent groups of all stripes have long appreciated the symbolic impact of blowing up or otherwise destroying large, impressive structures, as incidents like the September 11th attack on the Twin Towers, the 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing, the tearing down of the historic Babri mosque in India, and numerous other attacks have shown. To attack individual people is a horrifying act, and losses of human life are terrible; but to destroy a significant or meaningful building sends a very clear message to those who hold it dear, and wipes out a piece of history.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvHoADPyttigVQGxpXWV0QNZQ18eyxyPOYjpnTklCOZx2SYrfoxuRy_D4csDb2DKb-hcimwCNMfm5Uir-odR2jFIldvJin6Z0DmO3S2N8TTpKFI-THhwW5oquoUE1JVwPlE88hHugKtbt/s1600/pk11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvHoADPyttigVQGxpXWV0QNZQ18eyxyPOYjpnTklCOZx2SYrfoxuRy_D4csDb2DKb-hcimwCNMfm5Uir-odR2jFIldvJin6Z0DmO3S2N8TTpKFI-THhwW5oquoUE1JVwPlE88hHugKtbt/s400/pk11.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Quaid’s residency before (l), and after (r), the attack</i> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
In the early hours of Saturday 15th June, another building was added to this list of historic buildings destroyed by terrorist actions – Quaid-e-Azam’s historic residency, in Ziarat, Balochistan, was wrecked by an incendiary device. This was the 19th century colonial-era building in which the father of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, spent the last days of his life. The building was constructed in 1892 by the British, and was later officially declared ‘Quaid-e-Azam’s Residency’ by the government of Pakistan. The place has been the centre of attraction for tourists from all around the world, who used to come and see the residence of the founder of Pakistan, and to pay him tribute for his untiring struggle for the protection and promotion of the rights of the Indian Muslims. The people of Pakistan have long had a deep respect for everything associated with their founder, and so the Quaid-e-Azam’s residence was highly respected and was considered as a national asset.<br /><br />Responsibility for this iconoclastic attack was claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army. The BLA, a proscribed terrorist group of Balochi separatists, burnt the entire building to the ground, and tearing down the Pakistani flag, replacing it with their own organisation’s flag. Citing government discrimination, human rights abuses (including hundreds of ‘disapperances’ of prominent Baloch activists and journalists), and hostility to the central government’s resource extraction policies, Baloch nationalists have long been involved in an ongoing (fairly low-level) struggle against the Pakistani government.<br /><br />Since the BLA’s founding in 2003, however, they have emerged as a serious growing threat to law and order in Balochistan. Despite claims not to target civilians – following an attack which killed eleven in Quetta in 2004, a BLA spokesman ‘expressed his deep grief over the civilian casualties caused by the blast’ – the group’s attacks have often involved high civilian death tolls, either directly, or as by killing bystanders. Indeed, in the attack on Quaid’ residency, a policeman guarding the house was killed in the initial blast – yet another incidental death resulting from the BLA’s campaign of terroristic violence. On top of this, they have also specifically targeted Pakistani security forces in the region, diverting vital resources from the fight against the remnants of Al-Qaeda in the area – a conflict that is only likely to escalate if rumours of separatist insurgents receiving arms and materiel from outside sources to continue their campaigns of violence in Balochistan.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijYP4gJBYwzUV16hpc8sO1YvPkGBYKToEP9MaHKYyVOOnKe3j_7tGql0zT_HK9sC-XMhwpMPhQOtHyI18awUTIE38ZbFYG7FUnwH4KoDzLPtlYkWMo4j6ykTn9bHs8-ctgWoS9nAzQ24lP/s1600/pk12.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijYP4gJBYwzUV16hpc8sO1YvPkGBYKToEP9MaHKYyVOOnKe3j_7tGql0zT_HK9sC-XMhwpMPhQOtHyI18awUTIE38ZbFYG7FUnwH4KoDzLPtlYkWMo4j6ykTn9bHs8-ctgWoS9nAzQ24lP/s400/pk12.png" width="400" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Quaid with Baloch leaders (source: <a href="http://quaid-e-azam-history.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/quaid-e-azam-and-balochistan.html">http://quaid-e-azam-history.blogspot.co.uk</a>)</i> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A struggle to free oneself from oppression, and to assert one’s own human rights is the fundamental right of any community, and it is important not to let the recent terrorist attacks by the BLA change our minds on this either way. Nonetheless, targeting innocent civilians, carrying out attacks on dearly held national symbols for millions of Pakistanis, and destroying national treasures can never be productive for any movement struggling to secure their rights. The recent brutal attack on the residency of Quaid-e-Azam has not only had a huge psychological impact on many, many Pakistanis, but it has also undermined the peace efforts that started after the formation of the new provisional government in Balochistan. After years of conflict, the democratic process has finally brought together a government that includes a range of nationalist parties including the National Party, the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and the Balochistan National Party (Mengal). Despite this opportunity for dialogue and cooperation between the various elected representatives of Balochistan, the attackers seem to have no interest in or patience for securing the peace and stability of the region in the long term, but seem only to want to take a short cut and assert power now – an act that can only perpetuate the violent extremism in Balochistan.<br /><br />Indeed, the philosophy of revenge is strange – All it seems to do is to perpetuate conflicts, bring down more scrutiny, and push peaceful dialogue and solidarity further away. Worse, it does not even let us discriminate between our friends and enemies. The so-called Baloch nationalists, who claim to be fighting for the rights of Baloch people, destroyed the historic residence of a person who, for the first time in the history of Indian subcontinent, had strongly advocated for reforms benefitting Balochistan on the same level as other provinces of India in his famous Fourteen Points in 1929.</div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Rehman Anwer</b></span></div>
<br />
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-35776604976354731022013-06-06T14:14:00.003+01:002013-06-06T14:24:51.295+01:00Finding Sustainable Peace in Karachi<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdl6DwdfYCg8qISEDWXnUuscg6Y9RdCnpb-xvmyuKkipSS8BrS4-lKQfd60ojk7LlbKM8PianyxN5MCtff8w-zgSQLMtu1_OCDL3RpYbTtNsQIQqitusb1foJGvBKPbCrE3rENt40Dfok/s1600/karachi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdl6DwdfYCg8qISEDWXnUuscg6Y9RdCnpb-xvmyuKkipSS8BrS4-lKQfd60ojk7LlbKM8PianyxN5MCtff8w-zgSQLMtu1_OCDL3RpYbTtNsQIQqitusb1foJGvBKPbCrE3rENt40Dfok/s320/karachi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
2012 has been one of the deadliest years in Karachi for a long time, with more than 2,000 people killed in violent attacks. These have mainly been connected with ethnic and political tensions, carried out in order to create fear before the recent general elections.<sup>i</sup> Not much seems to have changed in 2013 with regard to this sort of violence, either - in the present year, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, 735 people have been killed and 622 injured so far in the on-going incidents of violence in Karachi.<sup>ii</sup><br />
<br />
This kind of violence in Karachi has a particularly serious impact on Pakistan’s national security situation, and on its economy. Because Karachi is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in Pakistan - home to Pashtun, Mohajirs (Urdu Speaking), Punjabis, Baloch and Sindhi - any unrest in the city is likely to have a significant knock-on effect on the other parts of the country. On the economic front, Karachi contributes 25% of the total GDP in Pakistan, and any disruption, interruption, or cessation of its economic functioning risks destabilising the country’s economy. <br />
<br />
As well as being culturally and ethnically diverse, Karachi is, unfortunately, one of the most diverse cities in terms of the range of extremism and terrorism to be found in the city. This terrorism is mainly ethnic and political in nature, although the significance of the sectarian and Taliban elements present in the city should not be understated, especially when taking into consideration the fact that Faisal Shahzad, the person who tried to blow up New York’s Times Square in 2010, was connected to the terror network of Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Karachi.<br />
<br />
On top of this general threat of violence, power struggles between the major political players in Karachi including MQM, ANP and PPP have made the city a battleground. All of these major political parties have their own militant wings, and these groups have been fighting with each other to gain control of the city’s resources. The urban violence primarily takes place between between MQM (who represent mainly the Mahajirs) and ANP (who primarily represent Pashtuns). Reports suggest that both of these parties have very well-equipped armed wings and they have created an environment of enormous fear for the residents of Karachi. Not only does this sort of armed violence represent a direct threat to the lives of people in the city, but it also makes their lives much more uncertain and precarious generally – it’s difficult to live a normal life with the constant threat of violence hanging over your entire community.<br />
<br />
The elections in Pakistan are over now, and the new government is being formed. What the leaders of Pakistan need now is to learn from the brutal and harsh incidents of violence that have wracked Karachi in recent years, and work towards making the city a more peaceful place that is safer for its residents. It’s important that this is not a short-lived or fleeting end to political violence, either – what can be done to make sure that peace is sustainable in Karachi?<br />
<br />
Based on the complexities of the ethno-political dimensions of the violence in Karachi, one of the first steps for the local politicians to take should be the recognition of the effect that their conflicts have on both Pakistani people, and on Pakistan as a country; the violence, the suffering, and the self-perpetuating division that this creates. A strong political will is required to address these issues, but it’s important to confront the serious threat that these issues pose to the integrity of Pakistan, and to grapple seriously with this issue.<br />
<br />
One of the most important and immediate actions should be the dismantlement of the armed wings of the various political parties. This, of course, is a difficult first step – who would be the first to lay down arms? – but a collaborative and mutual process of disarmament, if handled carefully by a neutral arbiter, is very possible, and would be very effective. Once this is done, and armed criminal groups are detached from the mainstream political process in the city, then real change can take place.<br />
<br />
Beyond these necessary political steps, however, it’s also important to look at the underlying social and cultural causes of the violence, that enable extremism and division, and allow it to continue. A culture of promoting diversity and encouraging understanding among the communities living in Karachi is essential to combating this; while economic and political factors play a part in perpetuating the violence, undermining mutual hostility, suspicion, and misunderstanding in Karachi society will go a long way towards resolving the problems. Vulnerable segments of the society including minorities, young people and women should be involved in the social programmes and decision-making processes, as well; not only are they often excluded from many of these debates and processes, but they can also offer new and important perspectives on these issues based on their own perspectives and experiences. In addition to this, the government needs to promote initiatives to promote peace, national cohesion, and solidarity among the residents of Karachi to deal with the challenges of terrorism and extremism facing both the city and Pakistan as a whole. <br />
<br />
Peace in Karachi would certainly be a good thing, but by showing the way for these conflicts to be resolved, it could pave the way for so much more. Indeed, peace in Karachi could mean peace in Pakistan.<br />
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Rehman Anwer</b></span></div>
<br />
<hr />
<sup>i</sup> <a href="http://dawn.com/2013/01/07/2012-deadliest-year-in-karachi-for-two-decades/">http://dawn.com/2013/01/07/2012-deadliest-year-in-karachi-for-two-decades/</a><br />
<sup>ii</sup> <a href="http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/sindh/datasheet/karachi_incident.html">http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/sindh/datasheet/karachi_incident.html</a>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-19432236471777124732013-05-20T16:40:00.001+01:002013-05-20T16:42:38.176+01:00Democracy rising in Pakistan<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCj4FP2SckGCpJZBXbV8qSv6yEErLO6PXHL8fnDrA2HXl1XAt485CMAR3yWpw5_6mygm7xcy9VTQe01ImJOuo0qXf7L7aeUJx7P2DZDjCXI-5bGT7bo1WyHyLdD_kSrHjt3nJ9nB1Ic8r/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCj4FP2SckGCpJZBXbV8qSv6yEErLO6PXHL8fnDrA2HXl1XAt485CMAR3yWpw5_6mygm7xcy9VTQe01ImJOuo0qXf7L7aeUJx7P2DZDjCXI-5bGT7bo1WyHyLdD_kSrHjt3nJ9nB1Ic8r/s320/b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The recent election in Pakistan represented a particularly historic event in the annals of recent Pakistani political life: the democratic transition from one elected government to another. Like all the previous elections in the country, this election has led to certain doubts around transparency, and results in some constituencies are expected to be re-evaluated by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Nonetheless, one of the most interesting facets of the election was the overwhelming participation of the Pakistani public in the democratic process of their country, despite the serious threats from a raft of extremist groups who openly declared a war against democracy, while attacking the political parties’ candidates and terrorising local people into to not casting their votes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
According to the International Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), out of around 190 million of population, 86,189,802 people were registered voters. The Election Commission of Pakistan has confirmed that voter turnout has been around 60% - a significant increase on the result in the previous election in 2008, which was only 44.55%. This enthusiastic electoral participation suggests that the majority of the people of Pakistan still believe that democracy is the only solution to the issues they are facing right now, and sharply contradicts the many gloomy reports and surveys suggesting that majority in Pakistan are pessimistic, or lost hope in the democratic system of the country. This is, therefore, a very discouraging message indeed for all the anti-democratic forces working to undermine Pakistan’s current political system.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The most significant lesson to learn from the present election is that the people of Pakistan are, by and large, still pro-democracy. This fact is, in itself, somewhat surprising; the last five years of democratic government have not been a glowing example of democratic success and have disappointed a lot of the ordinary people of Pakistan, who were expecting a lot from the civilian government after a long dictatorial regime. Corruption and bad governance are serious problems for Pakistan at present, and have permeated throughout Pakistani political life to its highest levels. This has, unsurprisingly, disheartened many, and paved way for many anti-democratic forces to convince people that perhaps democracy could never work in Pakistan, or that it is a foreign, unworkable ideal. It was also revealed in a recent survey by the British Council that ‘Pakistan’s burgeoning population of young people is highly conservative, overwhelmingly pessimistic about the future and has a very low opinion of democracy’<sup>1</sup> – hardly an encouraging prospect for the future of Pakistan as a democratic, pluralistic state. Nonetheless, a huge number of young people, from all over the country, not only participated in the electoral process, but are still protesting to ensure the transparency of the electoral process in certain places. Various surveys suggest that around 30% of the voters were under the age of 30, and that vast numbers of young people were casting their first ever vote in this election. This political participation on the part of the young people of Pakistan suggest that they still believe in the democratic norms and values in their society, and also that – even with the flawed democratic governments in the past, young people are still interested in the revival and sustainability of democracy in Pakistan. If anything, the recent post-election protests surrounding recounts and the transparency of the electoral protests suggest that enthusiasm for democracy is still strong – people are clearly willing to take to the streets in order to defend it!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The overwhelming participation of youth in the present election is a particularly positive sign of the strengthening democratic culture in Pakistan. Today, young people across Pakistan are much more politically aware than their parents were, with a number of young people actually standing for elected positions. This is a new phenomenon in Pakistan, and something that suggests that - in spite of the grave economic and security challenges that Pakistan is facing at the moment - the society is actually going in the right direction. The rise of democracy is central to the ongoing process of building the Pakistani nation. Indeed, this focus on the role of young people across the country in forging Pakistani political identity was prefigured decades ago, by none other than the founder of Pakistan (and our blog’s favourite source of quotes!), Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah:</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>“We need our youth to be politically aware and sensitized towards the Nation building. They are the future and the future needs to be bright for Pakistan.”</b></div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Rehman Anwer</b></span></div>
<br />
<hr />
<sup>1</sup> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/02/pakistan-young-voters-democracy-despair">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/02/pakistan-young-voters-democracy-despair</a>Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-14728783777403093012013-05-16T14:55:00.002+01:002013-05-16T14:59:53.990+01:00The Historical Role and Contributions of Christian Communities in Pakistan<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">In
1947, a wide range of Christian representatives expressed their support for the
in partition of India. Many Christian groups stood together as part of this
movement, including the Joint Christian Board and the Punjabi branches of the
the All-India Christian Association, All-India Christian League, All India
Anglo-India Association, and Catholic Association. Large numbers of Punjabi
Christians did not, it seemed, want to form part of a broader Hindu India; but,
rather, expressed their affinity and solidarity with the Muslim populations of
the area. They were – at least according to their representatives – eager
Pakistanis.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">This
sense of national solidarity was reciprocated by Pakistan’s contemporary
leadership. The founding father of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah,
once stated that<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> ‘Pakistan will provide
its minorities an ample field for the outlet of their genius and they should
come forward and play their role as true citizens in making Pakistan one of the
greatest nations…’ </i>Indeed, there are many notable Pakistani Christians who
have found an outlet for their genius in the country, and have developed,
protected and fought for their nation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">All
of these are, of course, extremely valuable contributions to Pakistani national
identity, but one of the most striking, from a nationalist point of view, would
be those who fought on behalf of their nation, and who were willing to give up
their lives for Pakistan. The National Council for Interfaith Dialogue in
Pakistan recently published a report by Emmanuel Zafar, which centered on the
historical role Christians played in the defence of the country. He lists the
most outstanding individuals who fought in the Pakistan Armed Forces including
the Air Force, the Army, and the Navy, describing in particular detail the
‘remarkable’ efforts of Christian pilots in defending the country. Some
individuals from this long and distinguished list are mentioned below, all of
whom have been awarded the the Sitara-e-Jurat (Star of Courage) in recognition
of their services to Pakistan.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Air Vice Marshall Eric Gordon Hall</span></i></b><span style="line-height: 150%;"> enlisted with the Royal Air
Force of the British Army in 1943, but, with the partition of the sub-continent
in 1947, opted to side with Pakistan and was posted to the airbase of the PAF
in Risalpur to help train troops and develop the Air Force. He was promoted first
to the rank of Air Vice Marshall, then Deputy Chief of Air Staff and finally Chief
of Staff of the PAF, and commanded a number of PAF bases as well as the PAF
Staff College.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was instrumental in
the development of the PAF’s bombing capabilities - showing great initiative,
he came up with the idea of modifying existing C-130 transports to carry an
unprecedented 20,000 Ibs of bombs. He then volunteered to lead the first
bombing mission of these unarmed aircraft over enemy territory. The mission’s
success – not one plane was lost - had a great impact on future bombing
missions and the future of the PAF in general.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">This stalwart courage and dedication to country were qualities shown by many other
Christian servicemen in the PAF. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Air Commodore Nazir Latif</i></b> was an
exceptionally talented Air Force pilot who - early in his career, at the age of
only 23 - was promoted, and entrusted with the duty of dogfighting against enemy
planes, with Pakistan’s new Jet fighters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He flew on many dangerous missions, including successful attacks deep
inside Indian territory, and, as a result of his tremendously brave and
dedicated actions, was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat. He went on to command three
fighter and bomber wings and two PAF bases, hold the post of Director of
Operations and Plans at the PAF Air Headquarters.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Wing Commander Mervyn Leslie Middlecoat</span></i></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> was a brilliant pilot who won a trophy for best
performance in ground-based tactics. He was the epitome of an officer and an
exemplar of gentlemanly conduct – he developed a particularly close friendship
with King Hussein of Jordan - as well as an inspiring leader, adept at keeping
the morale of his troops high in challenging and dangerous situations. His end,
however, was highly dramatic and tragic - while returning from a successful
mission, he was hit by an enemy missile (having already dodged two attempts to
shoot him down) and ejected into the shark-infested Gulf of Kutch, just off the
Indian coast. He was officially declared’ missing in action’, and then,
finally, ‘presumed dead’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The strong
leadership and immense bravery he displayed while in the PAF led to him being
awarded the Sitara-i-Jurat, and then a Bar to the Sitara-i-Jurat, both
posthumously. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKARbt7sXTsWIYKilpfot_phBvSIbNsA7_27TYpxb_UvA9miswyI33RMiqOaNUVsl44yFco1OrPyvwy2owe3-GWDb-5xe5i5vh8D1xQlrHoUUPsiRMrCppbhAY3ksXiYCZTSzWtLxLB81/s1600/pk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKARbt7sXTsWIYKilpfot_phBvSIbNsA7_27TYpxb_UvA9miswyI33RMiqOaNUVsl44yFco1OrPyvwy2owe3-GWDb-5xe5i5vh8D1xQlrHoUUPsiRMrCppbhAY3ksXiYCZTSzWtLxLB81/s200/pk.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">War
Hero – Mr.Cecil Chaudhry</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Cecil
Chaudhry</span></i></b><span style="line-height: 150%;"> not only defended Pakistan throughout his
military career, but also has been involved in the education of many new
generations of Pakistani youth, and was an influential figure in Pakistani
national life. During the 1965 and 1971 wars, Chaudhry was a very notable PAF
pilot. The loss of his mentor Squadron leader Rafiqui, and friend Yunus - shot
down in front of him during a mission in the 1965 war- greatly affected
Chaudhry, and saw him fight the reminder of the war with a fierce determination
and exceptional dedication. While on a mission in December of 1971, Squadron
leader Chaudhry’s aircraft was damaged by enemy fire. He escaped with injuries.
Nevertheless he managed to fight on valiantly, and after reaching the Sargodha
base safely shot down an enemy aircraft in the exact area where he himself was nearly
shot down. He went on to command No. 9 squadron, and the Combat Commander’s
School. His contributions to Pakistan did not end there, however; he went on to
hold the post of Principle at St. Anthony’s School in Lahore where he ‘continued
to turn out scores of motivated young men who are bubbling with zeal and
enthusiasm to serve their country with dedication, pride and honour’, until his
death in April 2012. Even in death, his name lives on – the Cecil and Iris
Chaudhry Foundation continued to carry out interfaith and educational work, and
his son – Cecil Chaudhry Jr. – continues to be a well-renowned activist in this
field.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Squadron
Leader William Desmond Harney</span></i></b><span style="line-height: 150%;"> started his military career
as a Navigator in a Bomber squadron, and, during the 1965 war, voluntarily
undertook 14 separate missions despite suffering a hand injury. During these
missions, Harney (now Squadron Leader) displayed excellent leadership and a
great deal of courage. Zafar writes of Harney “His mission planning and
execution ….was so meticulous that despite heavy odds, he always reached his
targets and contribute significantly to the accuracy of the attacks.” For his
unwavering professionalism and the bravery he displayed, Squadron Leader Harney
was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat. He went on to fly many more missions during the
1971 war before retiring in 1974.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">For
the first half of the century of Independence many Christians held prominent
positions in government, the armed services and the civil services. For
example, Chief Justice Cornelius served several times as Acting President of
the Islamic Republic of Pakistan etc. Appointed government’s Minister for Law
and Parliamentary Affairs. He supervised the country’s elections in 1970 and a
whole draft for new constitution in 1971, and, throughout his career, worked
carefully to balance the roles of Islamic and secular values in the country’s
justice system.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 150%;">It
may be controversial to include so many soldiers in a history of Pakistani
Christians – after all, war and Christian doctrine often sit uneasily together,
and there are surely a wide range of other people who have contributed to their
country in less bloody ways. There have been, of course, but there’s something
very distinctive about military service. To fight, kill, and die in the service
of a country is, whatever we think about it, a very clear sign of one’s
dedication. Pakistanis today should remember the diverse heritage of their
country; the way that their parents and grandparents joined forces to build the
country; for the Pakistan of today to be strong, just, and equal, they should
remember this spirit, and carry forward Ali Jinnah’s notion of a state where
minorities are liberated, free to live their lives, and, together, able to
build a stronger, better, more peaceful country.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Rehman Anwer</b></span></div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-14382881038631274962013-05-08T14:36:00.000+01:002013-05-08T14:39:43.865+01:00Incisive criticism, cautious optimism, and media narratives - the Project Musawaat press event<div style="text-align: justify;">
It’s the eve of Pakistan’s general election. Political leaders and candidates are touring the country, running a punishing schedule of rallies, campaign appearances, and speeches; engineered rolling blackouts are sweeping across the country; the Pakistani Taliban have killed more than 70 people since the beginning of April, in a series of brutal bomb attacks against three of the main political parties. And yet, a group of journalists, activists, and members of civil society have got together for a day to discuss interfaith politics, the specific state of the Pakistani local, national, and international press, and texting.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbdTCz9Sm91UFg8PoP5qZ_RmiKwC6u_w2NNMAn3VCKMlozAxKk3DWROThAj11oot06eSZ2x5lrNKV1Un2sxd0zLb-IjJbZ1S22tInkCiDjyh3ymwCiwjkx1PhHScXakHpcPA2pcM9Ma5tz/s1600/mus1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbdTCz9Sm91UFg8PoP5qZ_RmiKwC6u_w2NNMAn3VCKMlozAxKk3DWROThAj11oot06eSZ2x5lrNKV1Un2sxd0zLb-IjJbZ1S22tInkCiDjyh3ymwCiwjkx1PhHScXakHpcPA2pcM9Ma5tz/s400/mus1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
This strange gathering was organised by Faith Matters, an international organisation working on religious coexistence and community cohesion in the UK, the Middle East, and in Pakistan. Part press conference, part seminar, part activist gathering, and part civil society get-together, this event was a great opportunity to gather together a wide range of journalists, activists, and members of religious organisations from across Pakistan to hear about the cause of religious harmony. <br />
<br />
The main focus of the press event was a meeting to discuss the findings of Project Musawaat, a project launched by Faith Matters in Pakistan to promote interfaith equality. Project Musawaat is a project to support grassroots level interfaith dialogue and understanding between the Christian and Muslim communities in Pakistan. It aims to help develop, alongside its partner organisations, sustainable structures and processes to develop confidence and skills among young people to promote interfaith harmony, by bringing together members from a wide range of organisations and groups across a number of cities and towns in Punjab. Given that one of the main focuses of this project has been to encourage engagement and links with the media and civil society organisations, it was particularly appropriate and helpful to be able to present these findings to journalists.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The project is still ongoing, and, to date, has achieved the following significant milestones:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
• Launched on 4th November 2012, </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
• Delivered four interfaith workshops in the cities of Gujranwala and Faisalabad, attended by 254 young people from a variety of faith backgrounds, and gathering together 45 youth organisations and educational institutions to participate in this training. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
• Organised 3 youth-led mass SMS campaigns, resulting in Musawaat’s messages being spread to 9 million phone-owners across the target areas of Gujranwala, Faisalabad, and surrounding regions, with a fourth campaign currently ongoing. These received 36,271 responses. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Many of the journalists present at this press event had been present at the November 2012 launch, and so it was really helpful and encouraging to give them an update on how this project was going.<br />
<br />
One of the most encouraging findings of Musawaat that was presented was how well received the project’s message of inter-religious tolerance and harmony was. A recurring theme throughout the workshops was the sense that the participants saw themselves as possessing an extremely strong sense of shared Pakistani citizenship and collective identity. While this sense of civic patriotism did not overwhelm their own religious values, it is nonetheless a powerful unifying force for developing an equal and shared Pakistani (or, in some cases, Punjabi) identity. As Saiqa Kaur, one of the delegates, remarked, ‘we believe that composite heritage is a powerful tool to promote diversity and peace … there is a lot in common among the people of Punjab and we focus on those commonalities to promote love and understanding between them.’ Through Musawaat, we helped to provide the young participants with the right tools, training, and support to promote equality and religious harmony in their own communities, but what was amazing was that - albeit in the self-selected group of attendees - young people were already incredibly receptive to the goals of interfaith coexistence, and were keen to pursue it in their own societies. The degree to which young people were interested in interfaith was really impressive, and it was great to convey this to the journalists and media figures who took part (many of whom, as we will see later, had a similar belief in the receptiveness of young people to these messages).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The response to the first three SMS campaigns was also striking. Of the 36,271 responses to the campaign, the significant majority were positive and enthusiastic about the program’s message, agreeing with the communiqués and responding with their own messages of peaceable interfaith harmony and tolerance. Even many of the ones that were more critical displayed a support for the ideals of interfaith work and religious coexistence. Rather than questioning these values in themselves, they expressed caution about interfaith projects’ impartiality, worrying that their perceived Western ties compromised their effectiveness. These were negative comments, but ultimately only underline the importance and value placed on good interfaith relations by many ordinary Pakistanis. Rather than rejecting them outright, they were worried that such projects were being subverted by external influences.<br />
<br />
Having developed and outlined some of the findings of Musawaat so far, we then took the opportunity to present some of the future plans of the project to the interested crowd of journalists and activists present. One of the obvious goals is simply to scale up the project, presenting it to more towns, cities, and villages in Punjab, and presenting the same demonstrably effective message to a wider audience. On top of this, we also presented a few of the developments and changes that have come out of our evaluations of the project. One of our key findings was that many media and civil society organisations - especially schools and educational establishments - were eager to get involved, but often lacked the initial capacity or informational resources to begin promoting interfaith work in their own communities. As such, in future, we intend to increase our collaboration with these sorts of groups, and devise a mutually beneficial and coordinated strategy with them to promote interfaith harmony, learning, and education. In particular, we expressed an interest in reaching out to schools, colleges, and universities to raise youth awareness about conceptions of interfaith dialogue, equality, tolerance, and conflict resolution. Young people are, after all, the next generation, and have not become jaded about the possibilities for positive social change; as such, they can play a key role in opposing sectarianism and anti-minority violence.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We also took the opportunity to talk to members of the media about the potential role that they can play in promoting interfaith dialogue. Project Musawaat has often found how it is the hate-filled, scandalous local media that has spurred on and led to sectarian violence; both local and national media can play a huge role in opposing and undermining these narratives. Clear-eyed, thorough, and accurate reporting of local issues, especially around interfaith issues, can play an enormous role in remedying these problems; by making sure that malicious voices do not go unopposed, and by dispelling the misinformation and hostile myths that often surround interfaith issues of Pakistan, popular media can play an enormous role in combating sectarian extremism, and helping to build a safer and more united country. As such, media outlets should work to communicate the cause of mutual respect and tolerance in society, allocating resources (we discussed everything from individual journalistic beats to an entire interfaith harmony channel) to the fair reporting of interfaith relations, and developing close working relationships with faith communities and grassroots activists. Not only would this promote peace, moderation, and tolerance within Pakistan’s diverse society, but it would also be interesting and newsworthy material! We benefited a great deal from the presence of journalists from a wide range of media outlets at this event, who offered excellent advice and support in discussing and planning on these issues.<br />
<br />
Having introduced Musawaat and Faith Matters’ work, we also invited a number of key speakers to give their own thoughts and ideas about interfaith work in Pakistan. They came from a variety of religious, civil society, and media backgrounds, and so could offer their own opinions on these issues to supplement, expand, or critique the findings of Project Musawaat.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
First up was Samson Salamat, the director of the Centre for Human Rights Education, an NGO bringing together a range of human rights educators and defenders in order to collectively press for minority rights, make people aware of human rights abuses, and improve the human rights situation in Pakistan. Mr Salamat’s fiery oration moved the entire conference, as he described the way that faith communities (especially religious minorities) were afraid to stand up and speak about their beliefs and concerns, and the complicity of the state in allowing them to be intimidated into silence. Delivering striking and compelling arguments, he suggested that the key to resolving these issues was education; instilling young people across Pakistan with a sense of respect for the diversity of religious belief, and not taking advantage of these divisions for political advantage. He also criticised what he saw as an unhelpful focus on the superficialities of interfaith conflicts, and warned against defaulting to easy solutions to the problems in Pakistan. Rather than solely pursuing short-term benefits, he suggested that Pakistani society should look at the basic, underlying causes of interfaith conflicts, such as the asymmetry of a country that has controversial blasphemy laws (that have been criticised both domestically and internationally) but no effective laws against hate speech.<br />
<br />
Later, we also heard from Shehar Bano Khan, a Muslim feminist researcher, journalist, and activist working extensively with Dawn. Khan was similarly critical of the status quo, talking extensively about the ways in which commercial and political interests distorted media reporting on human rights and political issues. Important issues that people needed to hear about were squashed, with news agendas being reshuffled to reflect the interests of editors and patrons. These sorts of subtle threats to a free and fair press are common in any country, but are particularly problematic in Pakistan, where the voices of minorities need to be heard in order to ensure that the country is free from interfaith conflicts. One specific problem that she saw as contributing to this was the lack of training and expertise among many of Pakistan’s media personnel; fresh-faced, keen, and eager journalists emerge into Pakistan’s growing media world (especially electronic media), but their lack of training on how to report on complex political issues means that not all voices get heard. In addition, journalists are at particular risk of being subject to violence, meaning that they need to be particularly careful and circumspect in reporting on and investigating political issues. It was particularly interesting to hear how these issues fit into broader interfaith work, and served as a fascinating window onto the complex issues faced in this field by journalists. This incisive critique, was, however, rounded off with a message of hope and positive future change - as a journalist, activist, and researcher, she argued that changes in media reporting could have a significant impact on people’s lives in Pakistan, and, if handled properly and fairly, could undermine narratives of hatred and division while encouraging and reinforcing messages of fair and equal coexistence.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The other speakers took a similar approach; critical of the flaws and imbalances rife within the current Pakistani system, but cautiously optimistic and enthusiastic about the possibility for change. Cecil Chaudhry Jr. (the son of Cecil S. Chaudhry Sr., the famed Pakistani fighter pilot, educationalist, and human rights activist, Cecil is a well-spoken human rights activist himself), for example, stressed the importance of youth mobilisation for education, highlighting the many problems faced by schoolchildren and university students (particularly ones from minorities) in the current climate of intolerance and hostility. Like Khan, Chaudhry was particularly concerned about the ways in which powerful political interests in Pakistan were erasing and ignoring the significant roles played in Pakistan’s independence and history by non-Muslim military and political heroes, noting that their names were even being removed from textbooks! He did, however, suggest that youth mobilisation could play a significant role in bringing about a better and more peaceful Pakistan, however - by educating them about the real and diverse history of Pakistan, Chaudhry convincingly argued that the country’s young people and next generation could be a powerful force in bringing about peace in the country.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Finally, we also heard from Taranjeet Singh, an anchor with Pakistan Television and presenter of the popular TV program ‘Voice of Youth’, and organiser for the Hindu-Sikh Youth Forum. As an effective and established organiser in this field, it was particularly interesting to hear Singh’s perspectives on the issue of interfaith work, and his thoughts on the matter. He highlighted the importance of people from different groups simply meeting with each other, and having the opportunity to interact and talk - as well as more sophisticated interfaith and community cohesion activities, he suggested that this simple activity was a vital part of breaking down the barriers between different faith communities in Pakistan. As well as this, he also emphasised the role of the media in promoting interfaith harmony and reconciliation, and the way that positive media messages could have a huge role in promoting goodwill - even citing this very event as an important part of this process!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimF3NeEmmphufYmOHY7j5bPHHJiM9_ceDdhy1Rwrs4u-V6Z1pUnRpK5BATiQNxC533gjk4IprPDwujE927OGNcTjwJuTlLLkR9ednuNInXmv_13NKB8JMZJwy56lmq-nUlGw42PCj9HI0z/s1600/mus2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimF3NeEmmphufYmOHY7j5bPHHJiM9_ceDdhy1Rwrs4u-V6Z1pUnRpK5BATiQNxC533gjk4IprPDwujE927OGNcTjwJuTlLLkR9ednuNInXmv_13NKB8JMZJwy56lmq-nUlGw42PCj9HI0z/s400/mus2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In short, the media event was a great success in terms of gathering together a range of different speakers with different interests and perspectives on the issue of religious harmony and conflict. We heard from a wide range of activists, journalists, and members of civil society, many of whom were from a range of faith backgrounds themselves, and got a range of perspectives on the issues of the role and importance of interfaith dialogue in contemporary Pakistan, and presented our own findings from Musawaat as well. What was particularly striking across many of the accounts we heard was the combination of criticism of the status quo, together with a cautious optimism that the interfaith movement might - just might - be able to succeed. A number of common elements were identified - the role that established and official bodies played in silencing and erasing the voices and histories of often-oppressed minority groups, the ways that positive media messages, face-to-face dialogue, and youth solidarity could counteract that, and the fact that there is a great untapped potential and enthusiasm for interfaith dialogue and coexistence, especially among the young people of Pakistan. There are a great number of obstacles to this, this is true, and it is important not to be too optimistic about the possibility for short-term (or maybe even medium-term) change, but what we certainly did hear at this event was the message that coexistence and inter-religious harmony are possible, and that - little by little - it’s possible for people all over the country to change it.<br />
<br />
This message wasn’t going unheard, either - we weren’t presenting to an empty room. Present at the press event were journalists from a wide range of newspapers across Pakistan - from local papers like the Daily Awaz, to national ones like the Pakistan Today, to international ones like the Daily Ausaf and The Nation; from English-language media like Dawn to Urdu-language ones like The Daily Pakistan. It was really encouraging to see such a wide range of Pakistani media organisations taking part, and we really valued the level of engagement shown. It was a great demonstration of the level of interest in interfaith harmony in Pakistan, and was an excellent opportunity to talk about the work of Faith Matters and its partner organisations in the country. Many of the aforementioned guest speakers were also active in media and activism, too - <br />
<br />
We also saw participation from a range of other media and journalistic groups (several of whom we’ve already mentioned), including Taranjeet Singh from the Pakistan Television Network - it was really helpful to see representatives from such a wide range of media outlets. We were also honoured by the presence of a wide range of civil society activists and groups. We saw everyone from young participants and delegates like Nabeel Mustaq, of the interfaith harmony group ‘The Reformers’, to Muslim feminist researchers and activists like Shehar Bano Khan, as well as a number of established hands in the field of religious harmony and coexistence, like Samson Salamat of the Centre for Human Rights Education and Cecil Chaudhry Jr. of The Cecil & Iris Chaudhry Foundation. Such a broad participation by activists and different sorts of media figures is really encouraging, as it demonstrates the breadth of interest there is in inter-religious cohesion and harmony. It can be easy to dismiss interfaith work as a marginal force, or a Western import that ordinary Pakistani people have no interest in hearing or even hearing about, but the number of media figures present shows that there is, at least, a significant interested audience for this sort of message.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As well as this, the presentation also saw a number of e-Papers - specialised online newspapers - represented, with journalists and other figures including The News on Sunday and the Weekly Family. As digital versions of ordinary papers, these might not seem to be a particularly significant development, but in a country where electronic media is booming, and internet access has exceeded newspaper circulations and expanded by 250% in the last five years, the participation of journalists using new media is extremely welcome. One of Musawaat’s great strengths has been its investigation of the role that the media, especially these new forms of media, can play in opposing political, sectarian, and community violence, and so this is extremely welcome. Between Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo and the internet in general, people from all over Pakistan have been developing new ways to communicate, discuss their lives and politics, and build branches between different geographical, social, and faith communities. Indeed, as we saw earlier, this sort of technological/new media approach (via both SMS campaigns and media training) has been at the heart of Project Musawaat and its predecessor, Project Peghaam, by allowing the dissemination of messages of interfaith harmony and coexistence to a much wider audience than possible before. Phones, Facebook, web connections - these new approaches to media not only allow people much greater access to a wide range of new perspectives and ideas about life in Pakistan, but also can potentially give people their own voice to discuss these issues themselves. As such, it’s particularly heartening to see new media sources like these e-Papers get involved in the conference - they are signs of the growing strength of a vibrant Pakistani civil society, that allows people from all over Pakistan to hear a range of views and become better engaged in their societies. This represents a potent force for increasing access to news and information for many Pakistanis, and can help to strengthen Pakistani political processes and local communities.<br />
<br />
It’s something of a cliché to remark that an issue, event, or cause is more important than ever, with an attempt to draw some tenuous link between one’s own platform and some contemporary event or issue. In this case, however - right now, on the cusp of a fiercely contested election, between larger-than-life personalities with their own vision for Pakistan, with sectarian violence and terrorist attacks ravaging the nation, and minority groups and women preparing to go to the polls and assert their growing confidence in opposing oppressive and reactionary social norms - we would suggest that interfaith and inter-community work is, indeed, more important than ever in Pakistan. Religious and sectarian violence is higher than ever before, with the predicted death toll for the persecuted Shia community alone well on its way to being several times the equivalent figure for 2012, attacks against Christian communities (like the recent mob attack on Joseph Colony in Lahore), and the continuing growth of sectarian terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi all contributing to a more insecure and more dangerous Pakistan. This sort of activity is a serious problem for all Pakistanis, as it fosters mutual mistrust, hostility, and suspicion, and legitimises violent and aggressive politics that harms everybody. Musawaat, and other similar projects, have done a great deal of work in opposing sectarian and religious strife, trying to help young people to develop a Pakistan that transcends these divisions, and that all people can peacefully participate in without having to surrender their own religious identities. Faith Matters’ work towards this goal can only ever a small part of this greater project, and one that only affects a small area of Pakistan - but such a project can only be carried out through a multitude of small steps and small actions, by media, politicians, religious leaders, teachers, civil society groups, working together. As such, we were really glad to see such a wide range of media group, journalists, and activists at this press event, and we welcome their participation in it - it gives us all hope for the future!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxJrLP_knxtxQ406zQuJLlRqN_1rYtfApfcErDAL1Yera3LABXhmBMu_y-vJ90nmhi_ImW40RXvgIb7L-onQw-xQ26fXmex2a3n0KXu6KQyTD7Dlsl_rqCE8FtsJlGZsXXsUFc1pprFR5/s1600/mus3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxJrLP_knxtxQ406zQuJLlRqN_1rYtfApfcErDAL1Yera3LABXhmBMu_y-vJ90nmhi_ImW40RXvgIb7L-onQw-xQ26fXmex2a3n0KXu6KQyTD7Dlsl_rqCE8FtsJlGZsXXsUFc1pprFR5/s640/mus3.png" width="580" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-32438600556059319822013-04-18T17:49:00.001+01:002013-04-19T11:29:36.913+01:00Democracy can never fail Pakistan!!!<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NkA3mGMPEYd0Hgy-Rpu9SodbFJxFASc2aw2mQdOtQYvWyHJq4KjycXh-Nt__ePZGyh10pyGeSM9UKb0rx3mYZob4TWtjw4PxYexc9Fn4MOj39b3LsF3EXixpr369GQneiYO9x2BZorZr/s1600/pk5.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NkA3mGMPEYd0Hgy-Rpu9SodbFJxFASc2aw2mQdOtQYvWyHJq4KjycXh-Nt__ePZGyh10pyGeSM9UKb0rx3mYZob4TWtjw4PxYexc9Fn4MOj39b3LsF3EXixpr369GQneiYO9x2BZorZr/s200/pk5.jpg" width="200" /> </a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
Pakistan’s 2013 elections are just around the corner. The five long years of the Pakistan People’s Party’s government have come to end. The rise of economic and security crisis suggest that people of Pakistan at large are not very happy with the governance system of the PPP government and its coalition partners, though, and recent polls don’t seem to favour them either: the political pundits of Pakistan are seeing very little chances for them to be re-elected for the next term. Many people are suggesting that democracy has failed to deliver on its promises, and that perhaps parliamentary democracy will never work for Pakistan.<br />
<br />
Since the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Pakistan’s democratic process has never been able to maintain itself for long periods of time. The constitutional process itself has been the victim of interference by military and civil dictatorships that have meant that it has never been given the chance to develop into a set of mature democratic institutions. Besides this institutional damage to the democracy, there are a range of other anti-democratic forces, including more than a few people who do not want to see democracy succeed, and have continually campaigned against it. This last group comes in many forms – on the one hand, we can see the so-called educated members of the Hizbut Tahrir, with their sophisticated approach of targeting educational institutions and influential media figures to convince them about the damages caused by democracy to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and how their favoured alternative to democracy - the ‘Khilafa’ system - can resolve all the issues faced by the Pakistani society. On the other hand, by contrast, there is the rather ruthless Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who openly declared a war against democracy by calling it a ‘system of infidels’ and by targeting and killing various prominent members of the political parties.
<br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
These anti-democratic forces have no idea what damage they have already caused to the state of Pakistan. Probably worst of this damage is the lack of confidence that ordinary people have in the democratic system. The total voter turnout in 2008 election was 44.55% - a shockingly low turnout compared to the neighbouring Bangladesh where it was 85.26%. Such a low turnout ratio is detrimental for any aspiring democratic state. Looking at these numbers, it is clear that, if we want democracy to succeed, every effort must be made to motivate the citizens to participate in the electoral process. No matter what political parties they support, the key is not to ignore the fact that in such a system, they are the true agents of change and without their participation the status quo in Pakistan will remain the same. The civil society and media have got to be proactive to raise political awareness and the government itself must ensure that the voters are facilitated in every possible way to increase the turn out for the coming elections.
<br />
<br />
The famously acerbic British satirist and playwright George Bernard Shaw once remarked that ‘democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve’ – but in this case ordinary Pakistan do deserve to be governed well, and have demonstrated their desire to govern themselves in a democratic way, for their will and aspirations to be empowered and embodied in effective politic decision-making. Today, Pakistan may have a number of problems but one of the beauties of democracy is that there are structures and processes in place to deal with these problems; there is a free and fair media to raise questions and concerns about each and every dubious act of the government, there is an independent judiciary who is empowered enough to prosecute the Prime Minister of the country, and in contrast to the dictatorial regimes, the elected government did not try to prolong their due span of governance with any lame excuses. As we noted in the introduction, these processes have suffered in Pakistan at the hands of those who’d undermine them, but they are still very much alive and present in the country.<br />
<br />
All the anti-democratic forces in Pakistan are still busy spreading their misleading narratives across the country, warning of contradiction of democratic principles with their reading of Islamic thought. The people of Pakistan must refuse and reject those narratives. Pakistan was envisioned and founded by a man who was a great supporter of democracy. The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam always believed that the conception of modern democracy is based on the Islamic principles of a welfare state.<br />
<br />
Today, when I find anti-democracy rhetoric resonating in Pakistan by certain groups, I end up wondering who created this divide between democratic principles and Islam. My view is not very different from the view of the founder of Pakistan and which is:<br />
<br />
<b><i>"Democracy is in the blood of Musalmans [Muslims], who look upon complete equality of manhood [mankind]…[and] believe in fraternity, equality and liberty." [Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah]</i></b></div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Rehman Anwer</b></span></div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-23088342270068674892013-04-11T15:05:00.000+01:002013-04-11T15:14:51.096+01:00Badam Zari – A Symbol of Local Resistance against the Taliban in FATA<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdpCG4VUfPI0FbcVlpLaHaWzm2UwaqSjR6e5PICWRpN5m2ZmMPXz4tAb_12zEJNePckOB2UXBFe8tWqL0zRingPY0pn4EGT4uH7FUbddsLCeOR4-1Es3vuiTLm53M4g4AQxt1dECeClhb/s1600/pk2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdpCG4VUfPI0FbcVlpLaHaWzm2UwaqSjR6e5PICWRpN5m2ZmMPXz4tAb_12zEJNePckOB2UXBFe8tWqL0zRingPY0pn4EGT4uH7FUbddsLCeOR4-1Es3vuiTLm53M4g4AQxt1dECeClhb/s320/pk2.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Pakistan has been through a lot lately – civil violence, political disputes, religious and sectarian conflicts, and terrorism to name but a few of the issues. But despite all the controversies and governance issues that have plagued it in the last five years, there remains a ray of hope for the establishment of stability in Pakistan - the continuation of the democratic process in the country. The beauty of popular democracy is that it raises political awareness amongst ordinary citizens, and urges them to stand up for their own rights and the rights of those around them. That’s how societies grow, develop, and move onward to become safer, more tolerant, and more just. In a country like Pakistan, where the democratic process has repeatedly been distorted and subverted by a number of military interventions, the completion of a full electoral term by an elected government is certainly encouraging. The caretaker government has announced the general elections are to be held on 11 May 2013, and right now, electoral fear and anxiety is at its peak in the country.<br />
<br />
Pakistan has always been an unpredictable country, in political terms. The country is normally considered to be a male dominated society, with huge support to for conservative, elderly extremists. Nonetheless in 1988, the world observed that the people of Pakistan elected Benazir Bhutto, a centre-left 35-year old as the first female (and, so far, only) Prime Minister of the country, when she returned back from exile in 1980s; today, there is a small but very much present female presence in government and the 2002 election returned 17% women MPs (the UK House of Commons currently has 22% women, while the US Congress has 18%). Similarly, whenever given a chance to elect their leaders, a vast majority of Pakistanis stood up against the ultraconservative political parties and they have never been able to form the government in Pakistan. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This isn’t to say that the political power of these ultraconservative groups has been broken though – or, at least, not everywhere. In the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the political landscape has been somewhat different, with the being heavily influenced by the views and ideology of militant Taliban affiliated movements; these groups consider that the democracy is in contradiction to the Islamic principles of governance. They have targeted various political party workers and leaders, and threatened to unleash a further wave of violence for the coming elections in May, declaring that that they will attack anyone taking part in the general elections in their region. Again, though, we can see the green shoots of change even in this traditionally conservative tribal area – for the first time in the history of Pakistan, a FATA tribal woman, named Badam Zari, has announced that she will run in the general elections. She will contest her area as an independent candidate, against 27 men from all of the major political parties.<br />
<br />
This news is astonishing for anyone who knows the socio-political dynamics of the tribal areas of Pakistan. Casting a vote can lead to one’s death (according the the New Statesman, pamphlets have been handed out warning that women who vote will face bombing or ‘severe punishment’) so the fact that a woman is contesting for a national assembly seat is particularly striking. Bajur Agency, the seat that Zari is contesting, is a small town in FATA connecting the region to the Kunar province of Afghanistan, and hence holds significant strategic importance. There have been numerous clashes between the militant Taliban and Pakistan Army in Bajur in the recent past, and the locals have suffered enormously because of this on-going conflict – it is a heavily contested area.<br />
<br />
Whether or not Badam Zari is able to win the elections, her courage to participate in the democratic process is a symbol of local resistance against the tyranny of both the Taliban and broader repressive social norms, and a sign of the growing support for change that Pakistanis want to bring to their society at large, and the strengthening of norms of democracy and equality in Pakistan.</div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Rehman Anwer</b></span></div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-78465427292005472802013-04-04T18:04:00.001+01:002013-04-04T18:06:15.516+01:00Extremists cause yet another Human Rights crisis in Pakistan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVgIzVVeOUU8DpQBdNKOxrtsDeTldVWAb4UpX965L-iiHpRK66aTRKNOGY-wO9viBGQO0RaOXKgAGNRUaHR7jj2eTERAf_JxfDSU78koHZjlAHWNi1Jo5my4-ZWf_ZgDo0kpWpzEf-A-Y/s1600/pk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVgIzVVeOUU8DpQBdNKOxrtsDeTldVWAb4UpX965L-iiHpRK66aTRKNOGY-wO9viBGQO0RaOXKgAGNRUaHR7jj2eTERAf_JxfDSU78koHZjlAHWNi1Jo5my4-ZWf_ZgDo0kpWpzEf-A-Y/s320/pk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, finally the Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) took control of the Tirah Valley!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Situated in the Northwest of the Khyber Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the Tirah Valley is known across the entire region for its immaculate and untouched beauty. The valley is a home of the Afridi and Orakzai tribes of Pashtuns, and holds particular political significance because it borders Afghanistan on the West. The valley is often described as a ‘No Man’s Land’, and is ruled by the indigenous natives who have been living their lives in accordance with the tribal culture for decades.<sup>i</sup></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On March 12, the TTP demanded centralised control of the region from a local group named Ansaar ul Islam (AI). Heavily armed conflict started between the both groups when AI refused to hand over the region to TTP. According to news reports, hundreds of fighters from both groups were killed in the fighting, but eventually the TTP took control of the majority of the region.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This entire episode took place at a time when a dialogue process with Taliban was being enthusiastically considered at both domestic and international levels. Both the United States and Pakistan seemed to be on the same page, trying to initiate new efforts to negotiate with Taliban in order to bring peace and stability in the entire region. Cynics might suggest that they were using the now somewhat traditional approach of using the dialogue process as a breathing space to organise themselves, but the Taliban also seemed to show flexibility and receptiveness to the peace deal – at least in the beginning. These latest events, however – the seizing of a Tirah, a strategically important bridge between Waziristan on one side and Afghanistan on the other side – seem to give the lie to this early peaceable approach. It seems the cynics may have been correct - it can be inferred that the Taliban are only driven by their own vicious agenda, and are a difficult party to pin down and trust for peace negotiations. </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This recent crisis has affected thousands of locals who were forced to flee their houses and possessions to save their lives. <b><u>According to the reports of FATA Disaster Management Authority (FADM), 4,290 families have been displaced as a result of this recent conflict. The internally displaced people (IDPs) include 6,436 men, 10,872 women and 15,608 children.</u></b><sup>ii</sup> In the absence of any adequate arrangement by the government to facilitate this large number of IDPs, the situation has led to a significant humanitarian disaster, with widespread human rights violations against those displaced. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (the HRCP) has also shown their concerns over the rehabilitation and well-being of the IDPs, and also over the fact that the armed militia has taken over a highly strategic region in FATA to sustain their barbaric and violent activities.</div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Rehman Anwer</b></span></div>
<br />
<hr />
<sup>i</sup> <a href="http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Rapid%20Assessment%20Report_Tirah%20IDPs_Jamrud%20KA%20FATA_FINAL%20Draft%20(1).pdf">http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Rapid%20Assessment%20Report_Tirah%20IDPs_Jamrud%20KA%20FATA_FINAL%20Draft%20(1).pdf</a>
<br />
<br />
<sup>ii</sup> <a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/525142/tirah-valley-displacement-unhcr-halts-registration-leaves-officials-in-quandary/">http://tribune.com.pk/story/525142/tirah-valley-displacement-unhcr-halts-registration-leaves-officials-in-quandary/</a>Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-55203915386749828792013-03-21T15:49:00.000+00:002013-04-11T15:09:15.220+01:00Narratives of Hatred<div style="text-align: justify;">
I visit Pakistan quite often as part of my work, but my last visit to Pakistan was something of a new, shocking experience, when I personally observed just how widespread extremist narratives of inter- and intra-religious hate have become in the country. I was there to organise an interfaith workshop, as part of our <b><i>Musawaat Project</i></b>, with the aim of fostering mutual understanding between various faith groups living in Pakistan - but here I was, surrounded by the folks committed to doing exactly opposite to what we are trying to achieve.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I had my first glimpse of this when I went to a local internet café in Lahore, to print out another sheaf of paperwork for the workshop. To my surprise, a gentleman sitting next to me was busy editing some material in Urdu, compiling some sort of lengthy document. He was so involved in his work that he seemed to have no idea about what going on in his surroundings. Truly, a studious man! By accident, though, I happened to glance at a few words on the screen of his monitor and, and then my spirits fell: I realized that he was busy trying to construct a comprehensive proof that the members of another faith community were absolute infidels. He was fully absorbed in his work, bending all his literary skill to make it more convincing for his audience, so that his campaign of hatred could be successful.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It would be easy to dismiss this as a single crank spewing out his beliefs into a digital void, who only represented himself and his own beliefs. In all honesty, though, I could not - the nature of my work involved visiting various places in Punjab and, wherever I went, I saw more spine-chilling evidence of this sort of widespread hate. In Punjab, I came across extensive wall chalking, the graffitist motivating people in the name of religion, to participate in ‘Jihad’. These messages usually include pictures of swords and other violent imagery – it is fairly clear that they do not recommend the Greater Jihad of resisting temptation and fighting social injustice – and even include a phone number and contact details for anyone wishing to sign up.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5huec8IIZkoK5nhyphenhyphenW5xL0n7PqM2jpnb2XXUzhcZiFovkTrAGBb_hN4p4TdsJjHZoWjYyLncwQwXQLpZelkTs-5Gc_l_-BzqPz9FBGYjdbqa70WqmC8fbuUk0JPFrlLxaeqw2eD6ziKKZv/s1600/pk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5huec8IIZkoK5nhyphenhyphenW5xL0n7PqM2jpnb2XXUzhcZiFovkTrAGBb_hN4p4TdsJjHZoWjYyLncwQwXQLpZelkTs-5Gc_l_-BzqPz9FBGYjdbqa70WqmC8fbuUk0JPFrlLxaeqw2eD6ziKKZv/s320/pk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListBullet" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An
auto-rickshaw in Lahore promoting a ‘Jihad’ campaign. </span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Elsewhere, I saw the same message repeated over and over. Posters carried by a number of auto-rickshaws were also carrying the same message, inciting people to prepare themselves for a very violent ‘Jihad’, and reiterating the sentiments of hatred against some faith groups within Pakistan. Some campaigns looked outward, also focusing on spreading hate sentiments against the neighbouring India. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This emerging trend of extremist discourse is not new to Pakistani society. It is not very long ago that, in 2007/8, a Taliban cleric by the name of Maulana Fazalullah (famously nicknamed ‘Mulla Radio’) persuaded the people of Sawat Valley to take part in similarly violent religious armed conflict under the banner of Jihad, through his programmes aired on several FM transmitters that he installed around the valley in order to spread his message. The impact of his sermons was huge and he prepared a large number of people to stand up against the state of Pakistan. The misuse of mosque loudspeakers to spread hatred has also been observed at various occasions like in 2009, in the Gojra riots, where announcements were made in the local mosques urging people to attack the Christian community members. This sort of aggressive use of religious rhetoric to encourage and legitimise extremist violence is depressingly common.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This tapestry of extremist narratives and shared hatreds is very much widespread, and resonates throughout Pakistani society on an emotional and nationalistic level. Extremists use domestic and international events to justify the promotion of their hatred towards various vulnerable groups in the society, justifying hatred against vulnerable minorities as part of a broader international struggle. Recent campaigns of attacks against the Shia and Christian communities in Pakistan suggest that such rhetoric has an audience; extremists are quite successful in their objectives to widespread violent prejudice and murderous hatred. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of the most alarming things that I saw in Punjab was the general absence of any counter-narratives, or a serious strategy to deal with the challenges posed by the extremists’ views and ideas. Even if they are marginal – a man in an internet café in Lahore, a poster on an auto-rickshaw, some chalk graffiti on a wall – there are simply no challenges or alternative messages to them, allowing them to spread and draw people into the extremist fold. What’s necessary is the creation of a positive discourse in Pakistan that emphasises the fact that these hate-based narratives can never bring peace in the country, and are in fact self-destructive and harmful. We need to create harmony between the country’s diverse faith groups, collectively counter the narratives targeting any group based on their religious ideologies, language or ethnicity, and encourage ways of thinking and resolving problems that do not resort to violence.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One such effort was done by Faith Matters, a UK based countering extremism, conflict resolution and interfaith organization, through their <b><i>Pegham (the Message)</i></b> project, that involved sending out approximately 50 million SMS messages into the areas of <b><i>FATA</i></b> and <b><i>Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)</i></b>. In the hundred and sixty characters of an SMS text, the message had to challenge the extremists’ actions, making them think about the context of the violence and offering them new perspectives and viewpoints on religion, Pakistani society, and violence. Some of the messages used are given below:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li>
<b><i>The Prophet (PBUH) said:"Attainment of knowledge is a must for every Muslim”. Terrorists destroy boys school in SWAT. How is this Islamic?</i></b></li>
<li><b><i>“You shall resort to pardon, advocate tolerance, and disregard the ignorant - Al Araf v.199. What will you do to challenge false preaching?”</i></b></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Pegham project engaged a number of Pakistanis, trying to counter the hate based ideologies of the extremists by giving them new narratives of conflict, and ways to think about extremist violence. Faith Matters received a considerable number of enthusiastic responses received from the people living in those regions, and the project left a positive impact on the communities.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>Pegham</i></b> was only a single project though, and more such initiatives are needed in Pakistan to stand against the growing tides of extremist thought and ideology. It’s particularly important for this work to protect Pakistan’s extremely large young population, who are particularly vulnerable today, as they are the prime target of these extremists. They are preyed upon by people seeking to promote their own vicious ideologies, ones cloaked in seemingly religious language but actually driven by their own agendas. We need to offer an alternative.<br />
</div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Rehman Anwer</b></span></div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-9098103362358672132013-03-12T10:39:00.001+00:002013-04-11T15:09:47.908+01:00New Attacks – Old Reasons (A perspective on the recent attack on Joseph Colony, Lahore)
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Just this Saturday we saw another mob attack on one of the densely populated Christian areas, Joseph colony in Badaami Bagh, Lahore that <b><i>burnt more than 150 houses and affected more than 250 poor families.</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is hardly a new or unfamiliar turn of events; the root cause of this savagery was not very different from the previous other attacks against the Christian communities in Pakistan. A Muslim man accused a Christian neighbour of committing blasphemy (which is a serious crime in Pakistan - under section 295-C of the Pakistani Penal Code, it can be punished with the death penalty). The man was duly arrested, but this was not enough for the mob, whose blazing fury was stoked until his entire colony had to pay the price for it. Almost the entire colony – houses, possessions, and furnishings alike - of Christian residents was burnt to the ground.</div>
The victims reveal that the police themselves warned them to leave their houses one night before the attack, and that they showed their inability to deal with the angry perpetrators. Again, the behaviour of the local administrative authority and police has not been very different from past events.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was not very long ago - the 1st of August, 2009, to be precise - that a violent mob had torched nearly 50 houses in a Christian Colony in Gojra (a small village located 30 miles from the city of Faisalabad). <b><i>Eight Christians were been killed as a result of those attacks.</i></b> The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan stated that the attack was “not a spontaneous reaction to the allegation of blasphemy but w[as] planned in advance” – in short, it reflected a deep-seated antipathy towards this vulnerable minority group. Announcements made from mosques throughout Gojra urged the Muslims to gather and ‘make mincemeat of Christians The following day, Aug 1, around 1,000 people gathered in the town and marched towards Christian Colony. A police contingent present in the neighbourhood did not try to stop the mob.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Similarly, on November 12, 2005, some 500 Christians had to leave Sangla Hill, a small town in Nankana Sahib district of Pakistan. They had noticed the increasing vitriol against Christians being spouted from mosque loudspeakers, after a Christian man named Yousaf Masih had been accused of burning copies of the Holy Quran, and had fled before the riots to save their lives. <b><i>The angry mob burnt down three churches, a convent, a missionary school, a girls’ hostel and a pastor’s house.</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Looking at the latest anti-Christian attack on the Joseph Colony, a number of important questions come to mind:</div>
<ul>
<li><b>Based on a clear and proven record of religiously motivated attacks in the past, what has been done to control the mob violence against minorities?</b></li>
<li><b>Did religious/community leaders develop and implement any mechanism for conflict resolution or dialogue?</b></li>
<li><b>Has there been any improvement in the laws which allow certain malicious individuals to target Christians and other minorities, putting the most vulnerable individuals in society in danger?</b></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today, this barbaric attack is widely condemned by the government, civil society organisations and the general public. However, the fact of the matter is that unless the administrative authorities, religious and political leadership play their part to address the root cause of such incidents, they will keep on happening in one form or another, making these condemnations seem somewhat hollow. For members of minority faith groups in Pakistan - who are already living under enormous fear from the extremist groups operating in the country – the situation just keeps getting worse.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One thing can be said for sure at this stage is that radicalisation in Pakistan is rising to an alarming level. It will take serious collective efforts by every segment from every segment of Pakistani society to deal with the grave challenges of extremism and community violence.</div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Rehman Anwer</b></span></div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-8737272996069222512013-03-05T12:03:00.000+00:002013-03-05T12:34:51.289+00:00Killing of Shia in Pakistan and State Responsibility<meta name="keywords" content="Shia, Karachi, Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Pakistan People's Party (PPP)" />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5799287197162575340" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge8rgeDy56YxQ1x-gRA6cxGIpjnBnHfj7nFUIYvxejCB9pFcEoq16mvJuMLIyuyYRxYEgy1qoqxBB00byLmkwvYA88RrwkQMm_urg0BzPR4Gj9IUlHNq3BRbE9Vx41IQG_R72qk8gfU-mu/s1600/fmpk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge8rgeDy56YxQ1x-gRA6cxGIpjnBnHfj7nFUIYvxejCB9pFcEoq16mvJuMLIyuyYRxYEgy1qoqxBB00byLmkwvYA88RrwkQMm_urg0BzPR4Gj9IUlHNq3BRbE9Vx41IQG_R72qk8gfU-mu/s320/fmpk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span>Looking at the news of
another devastating attack in a Shia-dominated area of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Abbas Town</i></b> in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Karachi,</i></b>
that killed 48 innocent people and left 160 injured, one can’t deny that the
political environment for religious minorities in Pakistan is becoming more
difficult with every passing day. More than 200 members of the Shia community
have been killed since January 2013, with the predicted death toll for 2013
seeming likely to be several times that of. The perpetrators are targeting
mosques, residential districts and any gathering of the Shia community in order
to carry out their campaign of terror. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span>Yesterday’s attack,
though, is unique in its nature because it took place in Karachi – the most
populated and diverse city of Pakistan. Karachi is the commercial hub of
Pakistan, and is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>home to approximately
21 million Pakistanis belonging to various faith groups and ethnic backgrounds.
Worse, unrest in Karachi means chaos throughout Pakistan, because what happens
there affects the entire country in one way or another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This recent sort of attack by terrorists - in
a populated residential area, destroying homes, cafes and banks - poses an
extreme threat to ordinary Pakistanis, particularly if they belong to minority
faith groups, which have been particularly targeted. The attack also raises a
number of questions that the elected government of Pakistan needs to answer,
since it is their responsibility to protect all of their citizens. Some of
those questions that come to mind include:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span>
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span>What
concrete steps has the government taken so far to ensure security for its
citizens, especially religious minorities? Has it taken into account the direct
threats from militant organizations like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) that they
would continue their atrocities against the Shia community?</span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span>
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span>Why
do banned militia groups, including LeJ and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), still
operate freely in the Pakistan? </span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span>
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span>Are
CCTV cameras operating in the specific minority residential areas and worship
places, to facilitate the investigative process of the terrorist attacks?</span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span>
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span>In
case of an emergency, is there a robust mechanism to help the victims and to
save the precious human lives, regardless of religious affiliation?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span>The deadly attack
yesterday was made possible, in large part, because of the complete failure of
security in the area, and highlights problems with counter-terrorism operations
across Pakistan. Eyewitnesses to the incident claimed that huge amounts of
explosive material were brought into the area, and that the complete absence of
law enforcement presence made it significantly easier for the terrorists to
accomplish their task. Another element that increased the public criticism
government was that a large number of security officials were providing
security to government officials and politicians at the engagement ceremony of
a famous politician of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the same
city, diverting attention away from communities like Abbas Town. Following are
some of the comments that manifest the anger and frustration of the Pakistani
public after the Abbas Town’s blast:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 462.1pt;" valign="top" width="616"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/SheikhImaan"><b><span>Imaan Sheikh</span></b><span> </span><span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">@</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">SheikhImaan</span></a><span "></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Firing in </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23AbbasTown&src=hash"><span style="color: #67b58e; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">#</span><b><span style="color: #038543; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">AbbasTown</span></b></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> again. It is undeniable now that this is happening without the
authorities' help.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/sidra_mansoor"><b><span style="color: #038543; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Sidra Mansoor</span></b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span><span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">@</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">sidra_mansoor</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">If it happend in <b>Abbas Town</b>, it can happen anywhere, in
any residential area and in any building. So technically, we should all get
ready.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/AnjumKiani"><b><span style="color: #038543; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Anjum Kiani </span></b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">@</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">AnjumKiani</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Sharmilla Faruqi's party will continue into the early hours of the
morning, whilst we pick up the body parts of our Bro/Sis : <b>Abbas Town</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/GFarooqi"><b><span style="color: #038543; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gharidah Farooqi</span></b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span><span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">@</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">GFarooqi</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5799287197162575340" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">.</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5799287197162575340" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Police guarding road to Mohatta whereas thousands in <b>Abbas Town</b> yearn
for a single police official </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23PalaceVSTown&src=hash"><span style="color: #67b58e; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">#</span><span style="color: #038543; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">PalaceVSTown</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/ShireenMazari1"><b><span style="color: #038543; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Shireen Mazari</span></b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span><span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">@</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">ShireenMazari1</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: whitesmoke; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">MQM exploits <b>Abbas Town</b> tragedy 2 suggest "self
help" security or vigilantiism MQM style!But Ebad back as gov so MQM
part of failed govt!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5799287197162575340" imageanchor="1"><br /></a><span>Today, the whole nation
is in mourning, and religious and political groups are offering their own
condemnations of the attacks. For the grief-stricken parents, siblings, and
children of the victims, however – many of whom face daily hostility and
suspicion in their own country – words alone are not enough.</span>
<br /><br />
<span>In the run-up to the upcoming
general elections, the government of Pakistan is no longer in a position to get
away with such a disastrous security lapse. The biggest challenge for the
government now is not only to deal with the problems of terrorism, but also to
restore the trust of ordinary Pakistanis (especially those from minority faith
backgrounds) in the state apparatus of security and law enforcement. This can
only happen, if once and for all, the government takes the problems of
terrorism and sectarian violence seriously, and puts every effort into finding
answers to the questions raised by their failure to intercept and prevent the
recent bomb blast in Karachi.</span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Rehman Anwer</b></span></div>Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-62086442571257477232013-02-21T11:21:00.000+00:002013-02-21T11:28:33.224+00:00LeJ - A growing menace to Pakistan<div style="text-align: justify;">
The world was shocked when mourning families refused to bury the bodies of their loved ones as a protest against the brutal attack on their community, Hazara in Baluchistan, Pakistan on Saturday, the 16th of February which led to the killing of 89 people. But this was not the first time when the members of the poor Hazara community (the majority of whom belong to the Shia sect of the Muslim faith), have had to deal with violence and strife – they have been facing these sectarian attacks for a long time. Less than two months ago, on the 10th of January, 2013, 117 people were killed, with more than 200 injured, when a suicide bomber blew himself up near the two Shia prayer halls in Hazara.<br />
<br />
There has been a steep rise in the number of targeted attacks against the Shia community in Pakistan over the last few years, with the majority of those killings taking place in the Hazara region of Baluchistan. According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), 396 members of the Shia community were killed in 2012 in 113 various targeted attacks. Of those 396 people, 152 were killed in Baluchistan alone, in 54 different incidents of violence. The year 2013 so far has proved to be similarly, or even more fatal. More than 200 members of the Shia community from Baluchistan (Hazara) have been killed so far since the beginning of the New Year. <br />
<br />
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a violent anti-Shia militant organisation has proudly taken responsibility for these deadly instances of extremist sectarian violence. Their stated mission is to establish an orthodox ‘Deobandi’ (Sunni revivalist) state, and they have a history of attacking other faith groups, including Ahmedis, Berelvis, Christians and, most of all, Shia. After having been officially banned in Pakistan in 2001, LeJ adopted an aggressive stance against the state of Pakistan, and developed links through its terror network with other extremist organisations, including Al-Qaeda and Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Today, LeJ is believed to be one of the deadliest terrorist organizations in Pakistan, which is not only targeting Shias, but anyone who stands in the way of promoting their interpretation of Islam.<br />
<br />
Historically, LeJ was formed in 1995 by a group of extremists, the majority of whom took part in the early 1980s anti-Soviet Jihad in Afghanistan, and then moved back to Pakistan. They were accompanied by a number of their fellow jihadists, who were looking for new reasons to continue their extremist activities. It would not be unreasonable to say that groups like LeJ are the result of disastrous 1980s foreign policy of Pakistan, when the government (with the assistance of US) recruited, armed and trained local and international jihadis to fight against the Russians. After achieving their goals, the US abandoned Pakistan to sort out the postwar mess - the poor people of Pakistan are still paying the price of it, having to deal with a slew of well-trained terrorist organisations operating across the country. Presently, Pakistan has uncountable militant groups like LeJ who are gradually overtaking Pakistani society – devastating the country in every possible way. <br />
<br />
Today, LeJ has initiated a campaign of violence against one faith community in particular – the Shia community, especially those in the Hazara region of Baluchistan. However, looking at the history of their terrorist activities in Pakistan, one cannot deny that their brutal activities are not limited to the Shia community. They are aiming to impose their religious beliefs on the people of Pakistan as a whole, and this fundamentalist approach spells trouble for anyone opposing their religious beliefs.<br />
<br />
Some of the key incidents (collated by Standford University and SATP) are mentioned below, demonstrating a wide range of targeted attacks by LeJ against various faith communities and the state of Pakistan as a whole.<br /><br />
</div>
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="7">
<tbody>
<tr align="justify">
<td><b>1999:</b> LeJ attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Lahore<br /><br />
<b>2002:</b> LeJ members attacked the International Protestant Church in Islamabad. (5 killed, 46 wounded)<br /><br />
<b>2002:</b> LeJ detonated a car bomb outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi. (11 killed, 26 wounded)<br /><br />
<b>2002:</b> LeJ operatives detonated a car bomb outside the Sheraton Hotel in Karachi, targeting a shuttle bus of French civilians working on a submarine project for Pakistan's government. (14 killed, 20+ wounded)<br /><br />
<b>2006:</b> LeJ is implicated in the massive suicide bombing of a Barelvi congregation at Nishtar Park in Karachi. (57 killed, 100+ wounded)<br /><br />
<b>2008:</b> A massive truck bomb nearly destroyed the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, in an attack timed to coincide with a dinner at the president’s nearby residence. (56 killed, 266+ wounded)<br /><br />
<b>2009:</b> Fighters from LeJ (with support from JeM and TTP) are implicated in an attack on the headquarters of the Pakistani Army in Rawalpindi<br /><br />
<b>2012:</b> A powerful blast near an IT University located in Jinnah Town of Quetta killed at least five students and one professor, injuring at least 30 people. </td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The CREATE Research Archive suggests that the terrorist groups survive longer if they diversify their attacks and rely more heavily on domestic terrorism. Perhaps the diversification of the attacks carried out by the LeJ and the focus on domestic terrorism is the prime reason for their survival, and the enduring threat that they pose. The most important causes, however, are the economic and political factors supporting LeJ. No terrorist group can last if they don’t find local support, and there is a unanimous political will to stop their activities. <br />
<br />
It is high time that the entire political and religious leadership of Pakistan sends out a unified message of condemnation against the LeJ, since their existence is not only a threat to the diverse faith communities in Pakistan, but also to the state of Pakistan itself.</div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Rehman Anwer</b></span></div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-27413254737291471702013-01-15T16:52:00.002+00:002013-01-17T11:51:32.524+00:00Reaffirming our commitment to "Freedom of Religion and Belief" in Pakistan<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Hbyix8YbMS8OP7Yh12bnGj29EmvBOebi77kehqjyZQTeSnbDg6Q7MczDXhtK_MkPeU-lDHaE4-YOb7g5dy8voCjqupBmP5BJYHsor6VJdQhP02A6tLPXZZmbEkNulWh3I7wcrATqZ7up/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Hbyix8YbMS8OP7Yh12bnGj29EmvBOebi77kehqjyZQTeSnbDg6Q7MczDXhtK_MkPeU-lDHaE4-YOb7g5dy8voCjqupBmP5BJYHsor6VJdQhP02A6tLPXZZmbEkNulWh3I7wcrATqZ7up/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Faith Matters, a
conflict resolution and interfaith organization, has developed a unique programme
to promote harmonious relationships between the Muslim and Christian
communities based in Pakistan through the training and development of young
people from both faith communities. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Based in London, with
operations in the Middle East and Pakistan, Faith Matters is a not-for-profit
organisation that aims to tackle extremism in its many forms, from far-right
groups like the English Defence League to groups within the Muslim community
involved in violence and hate crime. In November 2012, it launched a new programme
called “Musawaat" ("Equality”), aimed at promoting interfaith harmony
and the fundamental right of the freedom of religion and belief in Pakistan. As
part of this, the organization is carrying out a series of awareness raising
workshops to train young people on basic ideas of conflict resolution,
interfaith dialogue, identity and fundamental human rights. The organization’s
strategy is to work with grass roots civil society organizations to arrange
training workshops in areas with sizeable Christian communities, and areas
where tensions and violent conflict have been observed in the past. These areas
include Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan and their surrounding regions. The
project also involves sending mass SMS messages - written by young people on
the workshops - promoting unity, peace and interfaith harmony to popularize the
ideas of pluralism and peaceful coexistence in Pakistan. Their target is to
send 30 million SMS messages. The project's end goal is to promote peace and to
counter extremist narratives that promote sectarianism and religious strife. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Issues of freedom of
religion, tolerance, and mutual understanding have a long history, not only in
religious traditions but also in international treaties and declarations of
rights. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - both of which Pakistan
has signed and ratified - uphold freedom of belief, and protect both freedom of
thought on all matters, and the freedom to manifest religion and belief
individually or with others, in public or in private.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In a country like
Pakistan, where religious convictions are deeply and intensely held and belief
have a significant impact on the lives of communities, it is important to
create awareness about freedom of religion and the underlying philosophy of
tolerance, interfaith harmony, and equality.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Owing to the
contemporary climate of extremism in Pakistan, the key is to bring various
faith communities together and make collective efforts to foster peace and
stability. Numerous efforts are being made by civil society organizations in
Pakistan to achieve this objective, but there also needs to be a consistent
campaign across the country to promote a change in perceptions toward other
religious groups. This change is necessary in order to remove societal barriers
for religious diversity and national harmony, and to work against the sources
of violence and strife in society.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3OwL9Lmmw7xl4UWdfuNhEymMlVRKe2h7-JMkeFhpZBnjAx8riCG3qC73jlMmETOfi2gEf91GUYjB3E90AufUxaXctq-hlTmbGH9oEG7rGecNFWs5lyroIKVQW77KVCBPKns2oJlEGHoA/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3OwL9Lmmw7xl4UWdfuNhEymMlVRKe2h7-JMkeFhpZBnjAx8riCG3qC73jlMmETOfi2gEf91GUYjB3E90AufUxaXctq-hlTmbGH9oEG7rGecNFWs5lyroIKVQW77KVCBPKns2oJlEGHoA/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Interfaith workshop in
Faisalabad</span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The multi-faceted
approach of the Musawaat project - working with youth groups, community radio
stations, and schools situated in far-off underdeveloped areas of Punjab
including Gojra and Sangla Hill - is actually trying to deal with these
challenges at a grass-roots level. Some of the these areas have unfortunately
faced violent extremism in the recent past, purely based on inter-religious
conflicts In Faisalabad, pastor Rashid Emmanuel and his brother Sajjad were
murdered while leaving a court hearing in 2010, shot dead by an unidentified young
gunman. They had been charged and arrested for distributing 'blasphemous
anti-Islamic material, charges their supporters had suggested were 'trumped up'
and faked. In 2009 in the village of Gojra, a violent mob torched nearly fifty
houses in the predominantly Christian neighbourhood, leading to the deaths of
eight Christians. In 2005, some 500 Christian families were forced to leave
Sangla Hill (a small town near Faisalabad), noticing violent vitriolic rhetoric
from the local mosque's loudspeakers after a young Christian man had been
accused of burning copies of the Holy Quran. They were right to do so - the
angry mob burnt down three churches, a convent, a missionary school, a girl's
hostel, and a pastor's house. These conflicts represent a small fraction of the
violence, sectarianism, and religious strife suffered by many members of
religious communities throughout Pakistan, driven by suspicion, hostility, and
misunderstanding.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wDgYlRS2xNQ7g4cFVKn_Z2uMCkg3W6T7XjtC9CO6kw38zA7UKWCS2heQws13Q6pSYE9YY0wMBScGq48FU-YjcORG94Niu7618xO1UGhg0LA8UvIiIaZcoR7nYS-5_T3XA5cIJFkDeP8D/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wDgYlRS2xNQ7g4cFVKn_Z2uMCkg3W6T7XjtC9CO6kw38zA7UKWCS2heQws13Q6pSYE9YY0wMBScGq48FU-YjcORG94Niu7618xO1UGhg0LA8UvIiIaZcoR7nYS-5_T3XA5cIJFkDeP8D/s200/4.jpg" width="270" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSwbWJWx-WCQ2OL5X0ki5A4Po5AepAH2Nz6_ezJxgx8ffJK64UOJ842tNDco7Y-UUNYFDJfLduiJJEbTL61BBHiswZ9zPPWib-HRpAL-ET2l0NsAuNmEEIckimx0glPE5e-I4oOBRGlzl/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSwbWJWx-WCQ2OL5X0ki5A4Po5AepAH2Nz6_ezJxgx8ffJK64UOJ842tNDco7Y-UUNYFDJfLduiJJEbTL61BBHiswZ9zPPWib-HRpAL-ET2l0NsAuNmEEIckimx0glPE5e-I4oOBRGlzl/s200/3.jpg" width="270" /></a></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev_vLPKK0_lHPqWdXIrp0aNEWh_B-k9s2Epx-tfrreu4TUpnvn4T0aZhyphenhyphenn_iQR7VRxoL_znvn8L5FjTpwfHUEL5498EYI7RyQd-iLfYy2q5rWoLemd_4RzKfY8-1xizN8Xl2hrMTaxrDW/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev_vLPKK0_lHPqWdXIrp0aNEWh_B-k9s2Epx-tfrreu4TUpnvn4T0aZhyphenhyphenn_iQR7VRxoL_znvn8L5FjTpwfHUEL5498EYI7RyQd-iLfYy2q5rWoLemd_4RzKfY8-1xizN8Xl2hrMTaxrDW/s320/5.jpg" width="280" /></a></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Interfaith Workshop in
Gujranwala</span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Faith Matters believes
that this conflict is avoidable, and that, in order to avoid interreligious
tensions and to reduce the communication and societal barriers between the
members of Muslim and Christian communities in Pakistan, it is extremely
important that concepts of human rights, conflict resolution and interfaith
harmony should be promoted. By working with young people from Muslim and
Christian communities, and alongside other civil society organizations in
Pakistan, the Musawaat initiative is trying to promote fundamental human rights
like freedom of religion and belief in Pakistan, for every citizen in the
country, and to encourage peace. In doing so, it is helping Pakistani civil
society organisations, and Pakistani young people, to build for themselves a
stable, prosperous, tolerant, and peaceful Pakistan.</span></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Rehman Anwer</b></span></div>
</div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-91509313794414708862012-12-20T12:49:00.000+00:002013-01-15T16:50:22.171+00:00In Solidarity with Pakistan's Christians<div style="text-align: justify;">
As Christmas approaches, five million of Pakistan’s Christians are busy preparing for Bara Din (the ‘Big Day’). In the days before one of the most special festivals of the Christian calendar, Pakistan’s vibrant Christian community participate in spiritual seminars and engage in carol singing in their small communities. Families will gather together to share meals and sweet cakes, and share gifts in homes brightly lit with fairy lights and decorated with ornaments and a Christmas Tree.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-nZNYLMYTGRxAzmnV9g1oSHyQDsOQiU1lmnTJudUbSH14LEbpOLOyRDQ4wFPBwvdrlT2DnVgFAG9WM4KaQWSgE7ZWC88wcuULAF8XvLfpcXAcwGdk1GLSp8WezgRO45eNl8oUbazyiv3/s1600/StThomas04-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-nZNYLMYTGRxAzmnV9g1oSHyQDsOQiU1lmnTJudUbSH14LEbpOLOyRDQ4wFPBwvdrlT2DnVgFAG9WM4KaQWSgE7ZWC88wcuULAF8XvLfpcXAcwGdk1GLSp8WezgRO45eNl8oUbazyiv3/s320/StThomas04-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Christmas is an occasion revered by the Christian community as one centred on compassion, goodwill, giving and reflection alongside one’s family. Sadly, as tensions between Muslims and Christians rise in Pakistan, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ risks becoming overshadowed by violence against and conflict targeted at the country’s Christian population.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Advent, from the Latin adventus (arrival) the time in which Christians wait for Christmas was marred in Pakistan this year by news of the shooting of Birgitta Almby, a 70-year-old Bible teacher and director of a Christian-run technical training institute in Pakistan. The Swedish native, who has worked tirelessly for Pakistan for 34 years, was shot by unidentified assailants on motorbikes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ms Almby sadly died from her wounds on 12th December.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This news of course comes soon after the distressing and contentious case of young Rimsha Masih.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For many of those with whom we work, the emotional wounds left by attacks against the Christian community are still raw. We’ve been heartened to have witnessed the strength and courage of our new friend, Ashar John, whose two brother-in-laws were murdered in Faisalabad in 2010. Pastor Rashid Emmanuel, 32, and his brother Sajjad were critically wounded; and we stand side by side in solidarity with him.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our one hope is that this Christmas brings with it a new chapter for Pakistan’s Christian community, who are as much a part of Pakistan as their Muslim brothers and sisters.
</div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-70302096834034761652012-12-11T16:39:00.002+00:002012-12-11T16:46:33.471+00:00Faith can build bridges too!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Every day media
and internet compel us to form our own opinions and conclusions. We read news
reports, hear accounts of witnesses and see images of deprivations, poverty,
disease and violence across the globe. Nothing moves us more than to see
injustice done to those who are vulnerable, underrepresented or targeted because
of their views, beliefs or ethnicity. In the wake of the recent events in
Palestine facebook and twitter is inundated with views and sometimes accounts
of those who are witness to truth and ground reality about the situation and
the crisis. The debate starts from the plight of the injured children who are
always the innocent victims in any conflict, goes on the failure of politicians
and statesmen to resolve the issue and then also includes the clash between faiths.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Countless acts
of extremism are carried out because of the differences in views and beliefs
between followers of different faiths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And sometimes strife between different sects within a faith also leads
to violence. In Pakistan we hear of flagrant abuse of rights and persecution
suffered by the Shias and Ahmadis in Pakistan. Malala was attacked by the very
people who profess to represent Muslim faith. Religion is highlighted as the
centre of countless incidences of persecution, defamation and condemnation of
individuals who either differ in perception of our beliefs or belong to a
different religion. Whether it is contribution by Dr Abdus Salam in the fields
of physics and mathematics or Shabaz Bhatti’s campaign to highlight the issues
of minorities, the question we need to ask is, do we honor such individuals
because of their endeavors or do we encourage sense of exclusion because faith
values differ. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Though faith is
blamed for most of the major conflicts and wars around the world, it has
another dimension and perspective too; that of building bridges. If language of
extremism is loud, obvious and instantly recognizable we have to redouble our
efforts to prove that faith can end disagreements and foster good relations
between people of different faiths. Sometimes those with the loudest voices may
not always be right. When we come together to prove we could be of any faith
and we want to live together, despite our differences in beliefs, we are
contributing to nation building and prosperity. ‘Faith-Matters’ aim to bring
together diverse and sometimes unheard voices of tolerance and peace from
around Pakistan. There is a lot to be done to remove prejudices and inequality
in our society. We have to ensure that Hindus can live without the fear of
desecration to their temples, Christians are treated with respect and no one
fears for their lives because of laws that are discriminating. The NGO is a
step in the right direction and a much needed support for those who want to
come together and show solidarity for a good cause.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<strong><span lang="EN-US">By
Salima Yakoob<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>twitter: @mssolidarity</span></strong></div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-9041750675731435822012-10-10T16:37:00.001+01:002012-10-11T11:57:55.615+01:00Malala Yousafzai – The Voice Of A Terrified Nation<!--[if !mso]> <style>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>504</o:Words> <o:Characters>2874</o:Characters> <o:Company>Faith Matters</o:Company> <o:Lines>23</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>6</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>3372</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>14.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276"> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
</style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div 12.75pt="12.75pt" 16.2pt="16.2pt" align="center" center="center" class="MsoNormal" margin-bottom:="margin-bottom:" text-align:="text-align:">
<span lang="EN-US"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75"
coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe"
filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/> </v:formulas> <v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/> <o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75"
alt="Description: Faith Matters:Users:KaushalPadhya:Desktop:My Desk:Faith-Matters.pk:Graphics:Ebook:2nd Issue:368221335.jpg"
style='width:235pt;height:225pt;visibility:visible' o:gfxdata="UEsDBBQABgAIAAAAIQBUqyTyIQEAAI0CAAATAAAAW0NvbnRlbnRfVHlwZXNdLnhtbKSSy07EIBSG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"> <v:imagedata src="file://localhost/Users/KaushalPadhya/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_image001.png"
o:title=""/> <o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="f"/> </v:shape><![endif]--></span><b><i><span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbArmrz3egDfVp4kLYVhbR2FCtNEslkBMuHPRk355G8Zrq9tm7adfqU8922QjuZvXxtffUeXxfzWNBTbaHPLS2A_3lABzwPgfK7OkgKD_rzFuc8I__NauHbTxuybrATd5-IX2ykJh6t5C/s1600/Untitled.jpg" /></div>
<div .0001pt=".0001pt" 0cm="0cm" 11.25pt="11.25pt" align="center" center="center" class="MsoNormal" margin-bottom:="margin-bottom:" mso-line-height-alt:="mso-line-height-alt:" text-align:="text-align:">
<b style="line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></i></b></div>
<div .0001pt=".0001pt" 0cm="0cm" 11.25pt="11.25pt" align="center" center="center" class="MsoNormal" margin-bottom:="margin-bottom:" mso-line-height-alt:="mso-line-height-alt:" text-align:="text-align:">
<b style="line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“People of Swat are peaceful and loving and I wanted to prove this to the world that they are neither terrorist, nor do they support terrorist mind-set”</span></i></b></div>
<div .0001pt=".0001pt" 0cm="0cm" 11.25pt="11.25pt" align="center" center="center" class="MsoNormal" margin-bottom:="margin-bottom:" mso-line-height-alt:="mso-line-height-alt:" text-align:="text-align:">
<b style="line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></i></b></div>
<div 12.75pt="12.75pt" 16.2pt="16.2pt" class="MsoNormal" justify="justify" margin-bottom:="margin-bottom:" text-align:="text-align:">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A 14 year old Pakistani child rights activist, Malala Yousafzai, said these words while emotionally overwhelmed in an interview a few months ago. She began her struggle against the closure of girls’ schools and a ban on the girls’ education in the Sawat valley of Pakistan in 2009 when extremist Taliban took control of the region and imposed their vicious ideologies. Malala’s school was also closed down, but unlike others, she chose not to remain silent and instead raised her voice against this oppression on many forums, including BBC Urdu. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div 12.75pt="12.75pt" 16.2pt="16.2pt" class="MsoNormal" justify="justify" margin-bottom:="margin-bottom:" text-align:="text-align:">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Today, she is fighting for her life in a hospital in Pakistan after having been shot by the extremists for committing the grave sin of challenging their barbarism. A banned extremist group of Taliban has very proudly claimed responsibility for this attack, while saying that they have set an example for others not to oppose them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div 12.75pt="12.75pt" 16.2pt="16.2pt" class="MsoNormal" justify="justify" margin-bottom:="margin-bottom:" text-align:="text-align:">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Pakistan is a country of more than 180 million people, which seems to have been hijacked by a handful of extremists. They have a history of suppressing the moderate and just voices and they seem to be successful in creating a fear of publically opposing them amongst society at large. Thousands of civilians and personnel from the armed forces have been killed and the moderate Islamic scholars have either been murdered or forced to leave the country. Their devilish mind-set did not spare the shrines of Sufi saints and they attacked these sacred places across Pakistan. Threatening English medium schools, journalists and human rights activists is a routine matter. More or less, the entire Pakistani nation is the victim of their terrorist attacks and living under constant fear of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div 12.75pt="12.75pt" 16.2pt="16.2pt" class="MsoNormal" justify="justify" margin-bottom:="margin-bottom:" text-align:="text-align:">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Taliban’s recent violent attack on 14 years old Malala, who’s only demand was not to close down her school and to allow her and fellow girls to complete their education, has generated a huge momentum of hatred and rejection against them by the entire Pakistani nation and the international community. If their rhetoric is to implement an Islamic system then they are forgetting the fact that education holds a central importance in Islam without any gender discrimination. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div justify="justify">
<em><b>“Seeking knowledge is a duty of every Muslim, man or woman”. (Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 218)</b></em><o:p></o:p></div>
<div justify="justify">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><b>If a daughter is born to a person and he brings her up, gives her a good education and trains her in the arts of life, I shall myself stand between him and hell-fire." (Kanz al-Ummal, reported by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud)</b></em><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div justify="justify">
<em><b><br />
</b></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In her last email to an American journalist, Adam B.Ellick, Malala wrote these words in the capital letters to reiterate her passion for education:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>“I WANT AN ACCESS TO THE WORLD OF KNOWLEDGE.”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br />
</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Malala Yousafzai is a proud daughter of Pakistan who represents the Pakistani nation, a nation that wants to stand up against this ruthless practice of imposing moralities and pseudo-religious ideologies upon it by the extremists. But this nation is silent in order to avoid what Malala is facing today, and for the people not to end up having bullets in their revolutionary brains.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Lastly, I pray for you Malala, like millions of others around the world are doing that you recover soon, since you are the voice of my silent and terrified nation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span 10.5pt="10.5pt" 115="115" font-family:="font-family:" font-size:="font-size:" georgia="georgia" line-height:="line-height:"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span 10.5pt="10.5pt" 115="115" font-family:="font-family:" font-size:="font-size:" georgia="georgia" line-height:="line-height:"> <b>Rehman Anwer</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-47609950130598734472012-08-15T15:49:00.002+01:002012-08-16T14:50:35.989+01:00Pakistan – Where Faith Always Matters<br />
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZR_bhNH6fMTdt1vS0B7_oJB3luZcqANRfNPIn7tmFF4AVwZ1g6hNimvumrRzmMV8tqXxp-KUQZlYaL457qBGeURY97TJFXhQKkPCqzlL20F9wSMHe76WGjSi85-zasLV-QP4Ng-f-E8Jr/s1600/rehman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZR_bhNH6fMTdt1vS0B7_oJB3luZcqANRfNPIn7tmFF4AVwZ1g6hNimvumrRzmMV8tqXxp-KUQZlYaL457qBGeURY97TJFXhQKkPCqzlL20F9wSMHe76WGjSi85-zasLV-QP4Ng-f-E8Jr/s200/rehman.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #2a2a2a;">"We are a nation, with our distinctive culture and
civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and
nomenclature, sense of values and proportion, legal laws and moral code,
customs and calendar, history and traditions, aptitude and ambitions; in short,
we have our own distinctive outlook on life and of life."</span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333;">Such words can only come from a person who has absolute
faith and sense of pride in their values and identity. The founder of Pakistan,
Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah wrote these words to Mr. Gandhi in 1944, three
years before the Independence of Pakistan. They say “Faith moves mountains” and
the world observe how faith of Mr.Jinnah and the Muslims of India miraculously
transformed the dream of Pakistan into reality. Mr. Jinnah took the pride in
being a Muslim and having distinctive values needed to identify Indian Muslims
as a separate nation, a nation which needed to be recognized independently.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></u></b></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333;">Today, the Pakistani nation is celebrating their 65<sup>th</sup><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Independence Day. Pakistan, a country
with a population of 180 million and possessing nuclear arsenal, was once
ridiculed by people when the idea of its creation was floated by its founding
fathers. The creation of Pakistan was next to impossible given the
circumstances of that time, weak political platform to fight for an independent
state and above all, a strong opposition by majority Hindus in India. But the
dream of Pakistan was realized only because of the ultimate faith of Indian Muslims
who valued their identity more than anything else – religion being central to
the identity and under the charismatic leadership of Quaid-e-Azam.</span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Drastic changes took place in Pakistan after the sad
demise of Mr Jinnah in 1948, just a year after the creation of Pakistan. It was
the time when Pakistan was systematically taken away from the vision of its
founder and from his ideology based on equality and social justice for all the
citizens of Pakistan. Mr Jinnah’s conception of Pakistan was badly damaged in
the subsequent years with the introduction of institutionalized discrimination
and persecution of minorities. Consequently, the rise of extremism and violence
in the name of religion was inevitable. Today, Pakistan has a number of
problems. Huge challenges of political instability, economic crisis,
increasingly radicalized society, provisional disharmony, inter-faith and
intra-faith tensions have contributed substantially to the unrest of the entire
state’s functions. A Recent energy crisis poured oil on the burning crisis and
disrupted the common man’s life, to a great extent.</span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a;">However, it is absolutely amazing to see the passion and
enthusiasm of young Pakistanis today on social media, who despite all the problems
in their country mentioned above, still love Pakistan to a great deal. The youth
that comprises more than 60 % of the total population in Pakistan (under the
age of 35) is the real driving force for the positive social change in
Pakistan. Today, they were loud and clear about their firm commitment and loyalty
to their beloved country Pakistan and the trends of #HappyIndependenceDay
#ILovePakistan were at the top on Twitter. </span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Some of the interesting comments included:</span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 462.1pt;" valign="top" width="616"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt;">True Independence owes no dependence, no
regrets n no repentance, its the essence of living hearts.</span><a href="https://twitter.com/search/?q=%23HappyIndependencePakistan&src=hash"><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #70cd7e; font-size: 10.5pt;">#</span><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #11ad28; font-size: 10.5pt;">HappyIndependencePakistan</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #11ad28; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="background: #F6F6F6; color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt;">PAKISTAN-It needs the care, love,
affection, dedication, devotion, sacrifices and hard work of its 180 million
people in order to revive itself</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/search/?q=%23ILovePakistan&src=hash"><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #00b050; font-size: 10.5pt;">#ILovePakistan</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #00b050; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt;">because its history teaches us that in order to
achieve something truly worthwhile you have to go through hardships</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt;">We may have political differences but
the love for<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://twitter.com/search/?q=%23Pakistan&src=hash"><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #67b58e; font-size: 10.5pt;">#</span><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #038543; font-size: 10.5pt;">Pakistan</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt;">keeps us united<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://twitter.com/search/?q=%23IndependenceDay&src=hash"><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #67b58e; font-size: 10.5pt;">#</span><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #038543; font-size: 10.5pt;">IndependenceDay</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><a href="https://twitter.com/search/?q=%23OnePakistan&src=hash"><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #67b58e; font-size: 10.5pt;">#</span><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #038543; font-size: 10.5pt;">OnePakistan</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><a href="https://twitter.com/search/?q=%23ILovePakistan&src=hash"><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #67b58e; font-size: 10.5pt;">#</span><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #038543; font-size: 10.5pt;">ILovePakistan</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="background: whitesmoke; color: #038543; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/search/?q=%23Pakistan&src=hash"><span style="color: #7e9d72; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">#</span><span style="color: #285c15; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Pakistan</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> is the name
of honour , dignity & hospitability. Try the real Pakistanis, not the
media -</span><a href="https://twitter.com/search/?q=%23PakistanZindabad&src=hash"><span style="color: #7e9d72; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">#</span><span style="color: #285c15; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">PakistanZindabad</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search/?q=%23IlovePakistan&src=hash"><span style="color: #7e9d72; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">#</span><span style="color: #285c15; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">IlovePakistan</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Time to renew our commitment : unity, faith and discipline. Long live </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search/?q=%23Pakistan&src=hash"><span style="color: #7e9d72; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">#</span><span style="color: #285c15; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Pakistan</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">!! </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search/?q=%23ilovepakistan&src=hash"><span style="color: #7e9d72; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">#</span><span style="color: #285c15; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">ilovepakistan</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">This is just a snapshot
of those hundreds of thousands of comments which I observed on my Twitter
timeline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were emotionally charged
and their words were announcing their unconditional love, motivation and
affirmation to make Pakistan as envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">I see something common
between these young people of Pakistan and Mr Jinnah and that something is
their ‘faith’. Mr Jinnah fought and won the case of Pakistan because of his
belief in the cause of having a separate independent state for the Indian
Muslims. Today history seems to be repeating itself, when the youth of Pakistan
is exhibiting the same sense of pride and belief in Pakistan’s bright and
prosperous future. Behind all these folds of time, I see Mr Jinnah standing
firm in front of giant opposition forces, saying this again with his unshakable
faith …</span></div></br>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">"We are a nation, with our distinctive culture and
civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and
nomenclature, sense of values and proportion, legal laws and moral code,
customs and calendar, history and traditions, aptitude and ambitions; in short,
we have our own distinctive outlook on life and of life."</span></div>
<div align="right" class="ecxmsonormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: right;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 10.0pt;">Rehman
Anwer</span></b></div>
Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-80997906424020631752012-05-14T13:35:00.001+01:002012-05-14T14:33:09.898+01:00The Dilemma of Christian-Muslim Relations in Pakistan (A Historical and Contemporary perspective)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Looking
at the young Christian and Muslim students singing ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ (My heart
is Pakistan) together just before the end of our first Christian-Muslim
interfaith dialogue session in Lahore, one could never imagine the complexity
of the relationship between both communities in Pakistan, predominantly in
Punjab. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We,
at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Faith Matters,</i> took the initiative
to organise a country-wide interfaith dialogue programme in Pakistan last year following
a series of killings that started after a debate on the controversial blasphemy
law in the country. A sheer initiative to review the law, which was being
abused by powerful segments of society against the vulnerable and poor masses,
including Muslims, led to the brutal killing of Governor Punjab, Salman Taseer
and Minorities Minister, Shahbaz Bhatti. The storm of extremism was not going
to stop until the government announced that it would never touch the current
status of this law.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Similarly,
it is also not an ancient past when in August 2009, a violent mob had torched
nearly 50 houses in Christian Colony, an almost exclusively Christian
neighbourhood in the village of Gojra, not more than 100 miles away from
Lahore. Eight Christians had been killed as a result of those attacks. The
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan stated that the attack was “not a
spontaneous reaction to the allegation of blasphemy but were planned in
advance”. “</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Announcements through mosques in Gojra on July 31 urged the
Muslims to gather and ‘make mincemeat of Christians’.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> “</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The following day, Aug 1, around 1,000
people gathered in the town and marched towards Christian Colony”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The conception and creation of Pakistan
was essentially based on the fundamental rights for Indian Muslims, who were in
the minority. Keeping this perspective into account, protecting the rights of
vulnerable and minority communities in Pakistan become obligatory to the state
of Pakistan. That was the reason why the founder of Pakistan, Quad-e-Azam Muhammad
Ali Jinnah announced it publicly that religion was to be a private matter in
the state of Pakistan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">‘...You are free; you are free to go to
your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of
worship in the State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or
creed – that has nothing to do with the business of the State...We are starting
with this fundamental principle: that we are all citizens and equal citizens
for one State. Now, I think we should keep that in front of us our ideal and
you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and
Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not so in the religious sense because that
is the personal faith of each individual , but in the political sense as
citizens of the state.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah)</b></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately
the underlying philosophy of the creation of Pakistan and the vision of its
founder were badly damaged right after the death of Quaid-e-Azam, with the passage
of Objective Resolution in 1949. The Objective Resolution reflected the mind
set of extremists who posed a number of challenges to the minority communities
in Pakistan by drawing a distinction between religious majorities and
minorities. Also according to the Objective Resolution, the sovereignty of the
state of Pakistan belonged to God and not to the people, which was in clear
contradiction to the vision of Quaid-e-Azam.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Objective Resolution was the first step towards a long journey of institutionalised
discrimination against minority communities in Pakistan, especially the
Christian community. It is estimated that there are about 3 million Christians
living in Pakistan, mostly in Punjab. A vast majority of the Christian
population belong to the economically downtrodden class, working majorly as
sweepers and domestic workers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Separate
Electorate for Muslims and Non-Muslims and compulsory Islamic education in
schools to all faith communities are the factors that take away the freedom of
choice for people and in no way reflect Islam or the founding principles of
Pakistan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
acceptance of non-Muslims in a Muslim dominated country like Pakistan requires
persistent and collective efforts by civil society, the international community
and the government of Pakistan. Pakistan has established a ministry for
interfaith harmony but to make a remarkable change to eliminate societal
barriers between the members of Christian and Muslim communities still needs a
strategic plan. Pakistan is a country of 180 million people<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of whom 67.1% are young people bellow the age
of 29. This segment of society is always proactive in bringing positive social
change in Pakistan and on this basis, we at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Faith
Matters</i> have initiated a dialogue process that is led and run by young
Pakistanis belonging to Christian and Muslim communities. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
present environment of radicalization and extremism in Pakistan suggests a
mutual struggle by all segments of society against the fundamentalist
theological base that is not only damaging the peaceful teachings of Islam, but
is weakening Pakistan on economic, social and moral fronts. The democratic
fabric of Pakistan can only be strengthened by promoting a dialogue between
faith communities, acknowledging the minority communities for their role in the
development of Pakistan, providing them a free space to practice their
religion, protecting their places of worship and most of all giving them a
sense of belonging to Pakistan. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Listening
to ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ sung by Muslim and Christian young participants at the
end of our interfaith session in Lahore was not only revitalizing for our
commitment to promote interfaith harmony between Christian and Muslim
communities in Pakistan, but it also provided a sense of optimism that the youth
of Pakistan can really be a driving force to bring peace and stability to all
Pakistanis irrespective of their religious thoughts and beliefs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br />
Rehman Anwer<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-46049960708580758682012-04-30T15:08:00.001+01:002012-04-30T16:14:39.875+01:00Rehman Anwer live on radio to discuss Faith Matters’s new project Tell-MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks)<div align="justify">
Faith Matters’s Project Manager, Rehman Anwer was invited to Desi Radio London to discuss their new project named ‘Tell MAMA’ (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) which is a ground breaking national project launched in the UK in February 2012 that allows for anti-Muslim attacks to be reported, recorded and mapped to provide evidence of the true scale and scope of the problem of anti-Muslim hate crime in contemporary Britain. The programme also provides much needed support for victims of these attacks and this is one of the primary purposes for the project, as well as the mapping and recording of such crimes.</div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgug6v8c7BfjHc4IA7IP1kEFRgjlc6qs0irURwoXUCJ0oGazNphm_v2-8dzFuoviblReHPgx8xb-aStOgvy2rnwdOaBjh2jr2s3LiioYZey4clYds1ZrvANQFPCebpN5Mj4pVxSXq4tp6UY/s1600/MAMA+poster+A3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="200" width="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgug6v8c7BfjHc4IA7IP1kEFRgjlc6qs0irURwoXUCJ0oGazNphm_v2-8dzFuoviblReHPgx8xb-aStOgvy2rnwdOaBjh2jr2s3LiioYZey4clYds1ZrvANQFPCebpN5Mj4pVxSXq4tp6UY/s200/MAMA+poster+A3.jpg" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7fTyj9jQrTS9e7RWZzM-GiKpalZDQPsFNnUVdI2zna0TU4d-M07v3mIt1H1wZe6KvVnSEaLLT5kV7Gg0K8-wxs2_nXf3XtaKNsQd7KeR6HnWQB3zx-S8N1GJJmDoIVPewHujKZ9Y4l5U/s1600/IMG_0780_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="134" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7fTyj9jQrTS9e7RWZzM-GiKpalZDQPsFNnUVdI2zna0TU4d-M07v3mIt1H1wZe6KvVnSEaLLT5kV7Gg0K8-wxs2_nXf3XtaKNsQd7KeR6HnWQB3zx-S8N1GJJmDoIVPewHujKZ9Y4l5U/s200/IMG_0780_1.JPG" /></a></div>Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-3641615662410190962012-04-03T12:34:00.005+01:002012-04-03T17:10:45.493+01:00FAITH MATTERS PARTICIPATED IN AGAHI AWARDS 2012<div align="justify">Faith Matters team participated in Pakistan’s first ever journalism awards “The AGAHI awards 2012” organized on Wednesday, 28th of March by Mishal.</div><div align="justify">Faith Matters takes pride to have Mishal Pakistan as one of their partner organizations in Pakistan and recognizes their efforts and commitment to improve professional standards of journalism in Pakistan and to train journalists who can develop counter-narratives to offset extremist ideologies prevailing in the country.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99xbTFqI7ldVtUxeVmGaYW1SX1jZ3pVSghOBNOSgm-BjuaJo0LBsc6zIVHAjq9akOSgwMqdWb0-hXJMPV68l4pkDOkUne6FiEtpMpkT4tf1NGGBFXjiTlDVZ8wr5TPiR_UPhxyfQkSdM6/s1600/4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99xbTFqI7ldVtUxeVmGaYW1SX1jZ3pVSghOBNOSgm-BjuaJo0LBsc6zIVHAjq9akOSgwMqdWb0-hXJMPV68l4pkDOkUne6FiEtpMpkT4tf1NGGBFXjiTlDVZ8wr5TPiR_UPhxyfQkSdM6/s200/4.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5hnf4Z_3R7-cv7y_FN0RGbJi99WKSwdkZVNsI3TgcZYO1ikui4i3R4T94HylQN3a3EyqR6UtqfKv8frHD_wBs73N2YKoYdrSfce95EKDsV2uvQkvYigKTRV71FCq_l_x3Hv0cFSdsDNL/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5hnf4Z_3R7-cv7y_FN0RGbJi99WKSwdkZVNsI3TgcZYO1ikui4i3R4T94HylQN3a3EyqR6UtqfKv8frHD_wBs73N2YKoYdrSfce95EKDsV2uvQkvYigKTRV71FCq_l_x3Hv0cFSdsDNL/s200/1.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufJ684drIuFik98BkaA4PlbHsz4vH7a4j4B4wnSOwKThlQ5sMwRI3XTWXmthVw407zo8swUBmmcFTigxueAR_ZUohCokNuduaa8GDfD-l5TQKGG8nCCwfntw9d_Fk9lipKU2u-X3sBWwT/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufJ684drIuFik98BkaA4PlbHsz4vH7a4j4B4wnSOwKThlQ5sMwRI3XTWXmthVw407zo8swUBmmcFTigxueAR_ZUohCokNuduaa8GDfD-l5TQKGG8nCCwfntw9d_Fk9lipKU2u-X3sBWwT/s200/2.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3FypQKQ3hMbUJaxwBCL4K311_vSGuLMzc0QNIJjGhpEtAxJdd03Seb_eCn9bISX6N4jTg2xVIucJ1a6TTsZ8u4Gg8n22bZGnXH2stpFk6vJn-1b7QgQ-gmM1Ls8RVoJCUKFUs7ZqYK-Q/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3FypQKQ3hMbUJaxwBCL4K311_vSGuLMzc0QNIJjGhpEtAxJdd03Seb_eCn9bISX6N4jTg2xVIucJ1a6TTsZ8u4Gg8n22bZGnXH2stpFk6vJn-1b7QgQ-gmM1Ls8RVoJCUKFUs7ZqYK-Q/s200/3.JPG" width="200" /></a>Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799287197162575340.post-12876452534207219612012-01-20T11:03:00.000+00:002012-01-20T11:03:53.431+00:00Faith Matters and Christian Study Centre urge for a Joint Initiative to Improve Inter-faith Relations in Pakistan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqtHPOsNfIHvodZ1oVK0HR-5no4o3oDQAd49eLpC1LRfYJARKIvJ6nMDeqmh7OGNaUcTuMq4Y76F4JGIJsstom0AiAEqS0ZbupxOZrqyKdu0g_Jtsp7avFJoKnYyCgSXF5yc9gQD5neVU/s1600/IMG_1046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqtHPOsNfIHvodZ1oVK0HR-5no4o3oDQAd49eLpC1LRfYJARKIvJ6nMDeqmh7OGNaUcTuMq4Y76F4JGIJsstom0AiAEqS0ZbupxOZrqyKdu0g_Jtsp7avFJoKnYyCgSXF5yc9gQD5neVU/s320/IMG_1046.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Faith Matters Pakistan and the Christian Study Centre affirmed strong commitment to improve inter-faith harmony in Pakistan. Faith Matters’ team members recently met with Dr. Christine Amjad Ali, the director of the Christian Study Centre in Rawalpindi, Pakistan and discussed the contemporary relationships amongst various faith communities living in Pakistan. Dr. Christine highly appreciated Faith Matters’ initiative that aims to bridge social gaps, between young members of both Muslim and Christian communities living in Pakistan, through inter-faith dialogue sessions and cultural events. She also stressed the importance of addressing the trust deficit between Muslim and Christian community members in Pakistan through moderate dialogue as well as concrete actions. Both organisations urged to unite all the faith communities in Pakistan, in particular Muslim and Christian communities, in order to build better relationships amongst them for the peace and prosperity of Pakistan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Our Objectives and Future Programmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350889684705154460noreply@blogger.com1