Journalist shot dead in Balochistan, Pakistan

Pakistan - Media Safety

Journalist shot dead in Balochistan, Pakistan

Source : Rural Media Network Pakistan 14.08.2011

Original headline: Journalist Munir Shakar Shot dead in Khuzdar, Balochistan

Journalist Munir Shakar was shot dead in Khuzdar, Balochistan, on the eve of Pakistan Independence Day, 14th August at 12.20 PM.
Slain Munir Shakar was a correspondent for the Online News Network and Balochi TV Sabzbagh. As per details he was gong to home from Khuzdar Press Club, when unknown persons opened fire on him.
He was immediately taken to District Headquarters Hospital Khuzdar where he succumbed to injuries. It has been learnt that slain journalist had not received any threats. He was in early 30s and had been a journalist for the last eight years.
It may be recalled that earlier President Press Club Khuzdar Faiz Mohamma Khan Sasoli was killed on June 27, 2010 last year. He was correspondent of Daily Aaj Kal.
Munir Shakar is thirteenth journalist who had been killed in Pakistan this year according to Rural Media Network monitoring.
Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ) President Easa Tareen condemned the incident. He said this was not the first incident in Balochistan, as many journalists had been threatened, attacked, injured and even killed in the past. He said this was a continuing trend and none of the culprits had ever been arrested nor responsibility fixed on any group or person. He said the provincial government had been informed repeatedly about the threats being faced by the journalists but so far no step has been taken by it for the protection of media persons.
Mr Tareen termed it a conspiracy against journalists and demanded the government to unveil the conspiracy and expose the perpetrators of the crime. He said journalists in various districts of Balochistan were providing information and reporting without any salary and on top of it were being threatened by various elements. He said due to the insecure situation prevailing in the province many journalists have been compelled to leave the profession. He stressed on the government to take notice of the killing and take concrete steps to provide security to them as this was giving a bad name to Pakistan in the international community.

Ineffective disintermediation: Punjab’s agricultural market committees rendered dysfunctional

By Shamsul Islam

Published: August 15, 2011

The Punjab government, however, does not seem to be utilising these market committees, which were created to improve the infrastructure to improve the efficiency. PHOTO: REUTERS

FAISALABAD: The Punjab government’s policy of centralising government functions in the province has had unexpected consequences for the trade in agricultural commodities in the country’s breadbasket: the market committees – meant to facilitate domestic agricultural trade – have become virtually defunct, their resources it is learnt, are being used for the political purposes of the province’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N).

Under the Punjab Agricultural Products Ordinance, 1978, there are supposed to be 81 market committees across the province that should comprise of members elected by growers, commission agents and a variety of other groups that are part of the agricultural supply chain. The committees in turn are supposed to provide facilities for the sale, storage, weighing, and processing of agricultural commodities.

Yet instead of being staffed by elected representatives, the provincial government has appointed ‘administrators’. While the government is entitled to appoint at least one member to each council, it is not entitled to take control of them entirely, which is what appears to have happened.

Part of the reason may be the lack of elected local governments in the province, which are ordinarily supposed to nominate members to the committees. In the absence of such governments however, the District Coordination Officer (DCO) – one of the senior-most civil servant at the district level – is supposed to nominate persons from each of the categories specified in PAPMO, two for every vacancy.

The Punjab government, however, does not seem to be utilising these market committees, which were created to improve the infrastructure to improve the efficiency of an otherwise grossly inefficient market for agricultural products in the country.

Instead, the offices and facilities of the market committees are being used in some areas as party offices for the ruling PML-N, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Meanwhile, the job of ‘administrators’ appear to have been given to people who do not meet the qualification criteria set out in the market committees’ governing laws. Sources allege that the PML-N has made appointments as political favours to connected individuals rather than people who could help create more efficient markets for food.

At a time of chronic food inflation – the Federal Bureau of Statistics says that prices of food have shot up 94% in the last four years – the need for a mechanism that disintermediates the multiple layers between the farm and the fork is critical. Yet the Punjab government, despite having created the institution to serve this function, does not appear to be utilising it.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2011.

Marking their territory: Landlords, the clash of egos

Published: August 11, 2011

Landlord shaves head, moustache and eyebrows of rival’s son.

FAISALABAD:

On Wednesday, local residents shaved the eyebrows, moustache and head of a young man for roaming in the streets with weapons and threatening people.

According to locals, Abdul Waheed, 17, was from the dera of a feudal landlord in Chak No103-RB in Khurarianwala. Waheed, the son of Chak 103-RB resident Muhammad Suleman, was allegedly roaming near the dera of Muhammad Nazir a rival landlord of the same village.

“There were nearly 40 people sitting in the dera along with the Nazir. When someone spotted Waheed they told him he was in their area and was bearing weapons,” said a village local Khalid. “Nazir ordered that he be brought before him and accused the boy of being a spy,” he added.

“Waheed was on our land and he was spying on us. Besides he was openly brandishing weapons,” said Nazir’s servant Asad, adding “we needed to make an example of him to serve as a warning.”

Zameendar Nazeer told his men to hold Waheed and they searched him. Waheed was carrying a pistol and a dagger and Nazeer ordered that he be beaten in front of the dera and his head be shaved. “Not only was he encroaching on our territory he was also bearing arms. He was a spy and we punished him to teach him a lesson,” Nazeer’s guard Anwarul Haq said. Nazeer called a panchayat to pronounce judgment on the matter. The panchayat unanimously declared its verdict, saying that the youth had insulted the entire village and disgraced all of them by moving around their dera carrying weapons. “They called a panchayat and yet I was not informed that they had my son. No fair panchayat could have been convened without me,” said Waheed’s father Muhammad Suleman.

Declaring him guilty of undermining the landlord’s authority and disgracing the village elders, the panchayat unanimously announced that the youth should be publicly disgraced by removing his eye brows, moustache and shaving his head.

The panchayat called in a local barber who removed the Waheed’s eyebrows, moustache and shaved his head. Then a group of Nazir’s men thrashed Waheed with sticks before locking him in a room.

Later, Nazir called the police and a police party from Khurarianwala station headed by Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Muhammad Javed rushed to the spot and recovered Waheed. Muhammad Javed registered an FIR against Waheed under Section 13/20/65 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on charges of keeping a weapon without a licence and accused Waheed was later on released on bail.

A number of villagers of Chak No103-RB belonging to Waheed’s family protested against the police and said that the police had refused to take any action against the boy being tortured. “I called in the police to recover my son but instead they arrested him. It seems that Nazir paid them off,” Muhammad Suleman said.

To satisfy the protesters, police have also registered another case under Sections 337/20, 148, 149 of the PPC against Muhammad Shahbaz, Rizwan, Ansar, Safique, Anwarul Haq and Khalid. However no arrest has been made so far.

When contacted, Javed said that the matter was under investigation. “Both parties have been accused and we have registered cases. We will investigate before the men are taken to court,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2011.

Faisalabad murder: ‘Slain policeman was unfaithful to all wives’

By Shamsul Islam

Published: August 10, 2011

Wife tells court she has no regrets for killing SHO Gujjar.

FAISALABAD: It was a murder of revenge after all.

Naseem Akhtar, the wife of slain SHO Razzaq Gujjar who was shot dead and his body burnt along with his car in Faisalabad, confessed to the crime before a court on Tuesday and said she had no regrets over doing what she did.

“My husband was cruel and corrupt. He never cared for his wives and children and thus deserved a death that will serve as a warning for others,” said Naseem.

Naseem and her son Abdul Samad, in their first appearance before a court, were presented before judicial magistrate of Samundri Iftikhar Hussain Cheema. The court sent Samad on a four-day physical remand to the Sadar Samundari Police while Naseem has been sent to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.

For a first appearance, Naseem seemed to be in full spirits and no signs of fear were visible on her face and body language. “Exploiting the police uniform, Gujjar married thrice and was hell bent upon marrying for the fourth time. I have saved many women who Gujjar could have deceived and tortured by taking advantage of his uniform,” Naseem told reporters outside the court.

Elaborating on the motives of her murder, she said that Gujjar was unfaithful to all his wives and despite being married, he was involved with other women. “Such people deserve to be hanged publicly and be made an example of for all times to come,” she declared.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2011.

Defenders of human rights in Balochistan in need of defence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
AHRC-PRL-035-2011

PAKISTAN: Defenders of human rights in Balochistan in need of defence

(Hong Kong, August 10, 2011)

The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to announce that a report on the situation of the human rights defenders of Balochistan has been uploaded on our website.

This report was compiled by Ms. Angelika Pathak, a London-based researcher who previously worked for Amnesty International as their Pakistan researcher. According to Ms. Pathak the report is divided in five parts:

- An introduction which explains the special protection under which human rights defenders were placed when in December 1998 the General Assembly (including Pakistan) adopted the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the first UN instrument that explicitly recognizes the importance and legitimacy of the work of human rights defenders and lays down their right to effective protection; in Balochistan many political activists could be understood as in some sense defending the rights of the Baloch but in the narrower sense the term is applicable only to journalists, lawyers and human rights activist.
- Attacks on newspapers, electronic media and abuses of individual journalist;
- Human rights abuses inflicted on lawyers
- Human rights abuses inflicted on human rights activists
- Recommendations to the federal government and the provincial government.

The executive summary of the report is given below and the full report may be seen at:http://www.humanrights.asia/news/press-releases/pdf/AHRC-PRL-035-2011-01.pdf

Human rights defenders, i.e. persons who uncover human rights violations, bring them to public knowledge and campaign for redress for victims through peaceful and non-violent means, were in December 1998 placed been under the special protection of the international community when the General Assembly adopted the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. It was the first UN instrument that explicitly recognizes the importance and legitimacy of the work of human rights defenders and lays down their right to effective protection.

This commitment has not been honoured in Balochistan. Human rights defenders - be they journalists investigating and documenting wrongdoings of state agents, lawyers representing victims of human rights abuses in court or human rights activists campaigning to end human rights violations – have been subjected to a range of human rights violations themselves. They have been harassed, arbitrarily arrested and detained, subjected to enforced disappearance, torture and extrajudicial killings. Contrary to the spirit of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, state agents have committed such violations at a recently increased rate, and with impunity. This crackdown on human rights defenders has happened at a time when human rights violations are reported from Balochistan at an ever increasing rate, making the role of human rights defenders in supporting victims, campaigning for legal redress for abuses and working to end abuses more essential than ever.

Human rights defenders have also been subjected to targeted killings by non-state actors, groups and individuals who opposed their work. While these are crimes in domestic law, under international human rights law the state also bears responsibility if it does not exercise due diligence, that is, if it fails to prevent such abuses or to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.


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Hell hath no fury: A tale of two processions

By Shamsul Islam

Published: July 30, 2011

"They forced her to walk in the street at gun point. All the while, a dholwala was playing a drum as they danced behind her," Eyewitness Javed Hassan

FAISALABAD:

A group of armed men tortured a young girl in Jaranwala by dragging her through the streets after shaving her head and blackening her face.

The incident took place a few days after the victim’s mother had tortured another girl in the locality in the same manner.

According to eye witnesses, nearly half a dozen armed men broke into the house of Hanifa Bibi and thrashed her daughter Sameena mercilessly.

“The men beat her up and kicked her after they dragged her outside the house. Then they blackened her face. They held the entire family at gunpoint,” said a village resident Asghar.

Local residents told police officials that the accused allegedly tore the girl’s cloths, blackened her face and put a necklace of shoes around her neck.

“They forced her to walk in the street at gun point and all the while a dhol wala was playing a drum and they danced behind her. The men were calling her names and beating her all the while,” said eyewitness Javaid Hassan.

According to police officials, Muhammad Ali, Amir Ali, Javed and Shahid forced their way into a house in Mohallah Muslim Town, Jaranwala accompanied by Asiah Babi, Sughara Babi, Zoraha Bibi and Rani Babi. The women seized hold of Hanifa Babi’s daughter by the hair and dragged her outside where they beat her. “It was revenge.

Hanifa Babi had done the same thing to one of their women only days ago and they even registered a case but the police did nothing,” Hassan said.

Several locals told police that three days ago Hanifa Babi and her companions broke into Asiah Bibi’s house. “They blackened her face and made her sit on a chair decorated with shoes outside the street and locals then carried the chair across the street. They called her names and threw things at the woman,” Majeeda Bibi told police officials. “The women of the house swore revenge,” she added.

Asiah Bibi told reporters that ‘justice had been served’ because the police had refused to take action. “When I was abused we filed a case with police but they did nothing,” she said. On Friday, Muhammad Ali, Amir Ali, Javed and Shahid escaped from the scene after leaving Sameena in the street. Sameena openly threatened the family and approached the police with her mother.

On the complaint of Sameena’s mother Hanifa Babi, City Police Station Jaranwala have registered a case against the accused under section 452, 354, 148, 149, 501 PPC but no arrest has been reported so far. When contacted, Jaranwala Police Inspector Zafar Iqbal said that police officials were working to arrest the accused. “We have registered both cases and are conducting a full investigation,” he said. “Both of the women have been assaulted and the case needs to be looked into in detail,” he added

“Both incidents took place in public. We saw both women abused by the other’s family. Police should arrest Hanifa Babi as well as the four men,” said eyewitness Khurram Hayat.

Aasiya Bibi said that she did not regret her revenge. “If police officials had acted sooner it might not have come to this but they needed to pay for what they did to me. This is merely an eye for an eye,” she told reporters.

The names of both victims have been changed to protect their identity

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2011.

Ahmadiyya leader’s mother laid to rest

By Shamsul Islam

Published: July 31, 2011

Ahmadiyya Community leader Mirza Masroor Ahmed’s mother died on Friday evening.

RABWA:

Ahmadiyya Community leader Mirza Masroor Ahmed’s mother Sahibzadi Nasira Begum died on Friday evening and was laid to rest in “Bahishti Maqbara” (graveyard) in Chenab Nagar on Saturday.

Jamaat-i-Ahmadiya supervisor Mirza Khurshaid Ahmad, led the funeral prayers for the late Sahibzadi Nasira Begum.

The funeral was attended by 45,000 people and scores of volunteers were also present around the graveyard for security.

Earlier, the body of deceased was placed at Darul Ziafat at 5.15pm. Sahibzadi Nasira Begum was 100 and was born in 1911 in India. She was the eldest daughter of Mirza Bashirud Din, who was elected as the second successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on March 14, 1914 at the age of 25.

Her brothers’ Mirza Nasir Ahmad and Mirza Tahir Ahmad were 3rd and 4th spiritual leaders of the Jamaat-e-Ahmedia.

She is survived by two daughters and three sons.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31^th, 2011.