Saturday, February 25, 2017

Music Video - '' Disclosure '' - Help Me Lose My Mind

Video Report - Wombs for Rent in India

Video - Glamour and politics mix at the Oscars | DW News

Video Report - U.S. - Anger over 'racially motivated' Kansas bar shooting

UK tracking 257 possible Saudi war crimes in Yemen





Britain is tracking 257 alleged breaches of international humanitarian law committed in Yemen by Saudi Arabia, a major UK arms customer, the government has admitted. The numbers emerged in response to a parliamentary question put to Defense Secretary Michael Fallon by Scottish National Party (SNP) MP Margaret Ferrier.

“The Ministry of Defense (MoD) is tracking 257 allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen,” said Fallon.
Asked to provide specific details of each allegation, Fallon told the Hamilton West MP that “Details of the MoD’s analysis of these allegations are necessarily confidential.” Despite repeated warnings that the Saudi war in Yemen is driving the country to famine, the UK has continued to sell billions of pounds worth of arms to the Gulf kingdom and has embedded military personnel in local headquarters.
The revelation comes just days after it emerged that UK military personnel had trained Saudi forces how to target smart bombs. Evidence submitted in a case on the UK’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia shows the Royal Air Force (RAF) trained Saudi Arabia how to use Paveway IV missiles, according to the Ferret, an investigative news site.
The documents also show that only a “very, very small” number of airstrikes were tracked and that the UK knew little about the Saudis’ targeting practices. Despite this, the British government last year said there had been no breaches of international humanitarian law by the Saudis.
Laser-guided systems for Paveway IV smart bombs are produced at a factory in Fife, Scotland. It has also been confirmed that UK-made, now-outlawed cluster bombs have been used in Yemen, albeit from older stocks.

Video - مش صافيناز .رقص شرقي مصري . Belly Dance

South China Sea: Beijing Unwilling to Go Down Without a Fight Amid US-Led FONOP

While Washington signals its readiness to continue the Obama-era FONOP operations in the South China Sea, Beijing is seemingly not willing to go down without a fight, Russian expert Anton Tsvetov told Sputnik.

The temperature is rising in the South China Sea over the recent freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) launched by the US.
On Saturday, the US navy strike group led by the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson, began "routine operations" in the South China Sea, according to Reuters.
In response Beijing signaled that it opposes the mission.
"China always respects the freedom of navigation and overflight all countries enjoy under international law. But we are consistently opposed to relevant countries threatening and damaging the sovereignty and security of littoral countries under the flag of freedom of navigation and overflight," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told journalists commenting on the matter.
According to Anton Tsvetov, Russian expert on Asian affairs at the Foreign Policy and Security division of the Center for Strategic Research, levels of tension in the South China Sea "varies with the seasons": the most dangerous time is spring and summer.
With the end of winter nearing one might expect that the tensions over the Spratly and Paracel islands will increase.
Speaking to Sputnik Chinese Tsvetov noted that the US is seeking to strengthen ties with its "allies, partners and friends" in Asia. Secretary of Defense James Mattis' recent visits to Japan and South Korea were aimed at reassuring Washington's allies.
According to the expert, Mattis' rhetoric was actually a continuation of Barack Obama's foreign policy agenda. The White House has given a clear signal that it will continue to ensure "the freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea.
However, Tsvetov noted that on the margins on his meetings Mattis hinted at "something more." Since 2015 the US Navy Forces have conducted four FONOPs. Beijing's tough response had forced the Obama administration to refrain from using this tool on a regular basis. Now, it is possible that the Trump administration will meet the Pentagon's expectations and give the nod to the US military to conduct more FONOP operations. 
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier with accompanying fleet conducts a drill in an area of South China Sea in this undated photo taken December, 2016
© REUTERS/ STRINGER
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier with accompanying fleet conducts a drill in an area of South China Sea in this undated photo taken December, 2016
It appears that Beijing is not willing to go down without a fight.
First of all, a day before the USS Carl Vinson entered the South China Sea three Chinese warships wrapped up a week of scheduled navy drills in the region. Second, it was reported that China has made new efforts to develop military infrastructure on the Paracel Islands.
According to Russian military expert Vasily Kashin, these new facilities could turn the Paracel archipelago into a "bastion" for China's nuclear-powered underwater fleet.
Third, Beijing is considering revising its 1984 Maritime Traffic Safety Law, which would allow authorities to bar some foreign ships from passing through Chinese territorial waters, Xinhua reported last week.
"Parts of the proposed revision, according to Chinese reports, may present a challenge to internationally-accepted norms around freedom of navigation and stands to raise tensions between Beijing and the United States — but also Southeast Asian claimants — in the South China Sea," Ankit Panda of the Diplomat wrote on February 17.
Alexander Gabuev, member of Russia's Foreign and Defense Policy Council, believes that while China's new maritime law is unlikely to bring an end to the US Navy operations in the South China Sea, it will certainly make things difficult for South Asian claimants, such as Vietnam and the Philippines.
According to Tsvetov, both China and the United States are testing the waters before setting new red lines in the South China Sea. However, it seems that small Southeast Asian nations risk falling prey to Sino-American power games in the region.

#CHINA - Trump’s accusations against China comical




US President Donald Trump on Thursday declared China the "grand champions" of currency manipulation, indicating he has not "held back" in his previous assessment. His statement, made during an interview with Reuters, came hours after his new Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin pledged a more methodical approach to analyze Beijing's foreign exchange practices.
Trump also told Reuters that China could solve the national security challenge posed by North Korea "very easily if they want to."
The impression Trump left was that he has been talking about China based on his own imagination. He knows nothing about China's currency policies and had no idea about the nature of Sino-North Korean relations.
What he saw was a Chinese trade surplus and that many Chinese goods are sold at cheaper prices than US products. He felt that the yuan was "kept low artificially" because 1 yuan is worth a lot less than 1 dollar. This perception is obviously fictitious. China sold a lot of its foreign currency reserves last year to maintain yuan stability. Trump's accusation of China's forex policy is groundless.
As for Sino-North Korean relations, many Americans, Trump included, believe Pyongyang would listen to whatever Beijing says. But the latest critique from Pyongyang's official news agency, which lashed out at Beijing, clearly suggests otherwise.
Trump's comments indicate that he has not discussed the currency manipulation issue with Mnuchin. China's current currency policy, which aims at preventing yuan depreciation, is actually in line with Trump's wish.
As US president, Trump should be more cautious when commenting on other countries. After all, the White House is not a standup comedy theater. Every word of the US president will be recorded and discussed. When the US president says whatever comes across his mind and is not held responsible for his words, people do not know how to respond to it.
Many countries have been criticized by Trump but it is still unclear what these criticisms stand for in diplomatic terms.
China is earnest about maintaining sound Sino-US relations and takes the US' opinions seriously. However, China won't be able to satisfy unreasonable demands and if the US insists on doing so, frictions are bound to emerge.
Trump has demonstrated extraordinary capabilities in his past successful career. However he should start a new learning process when entering an arena such as the Sino-US diplomacy. We strongly feel that his knowledge about China is ill-matched for his responsibility. Given the gravity of Sino-US ties, we hope it could be remedied as soon as possible in the US institutions.

Teargas, smoke & fire: Anti-Le Pen protesters clash with police in Nantes, France

Video Report - Yes we can? Petition launched for Obama 2017 French presidential campaign

Video - President Obama Gets The Rockstar Treatment In New York

Video - DNC chair says he confuses Trump and Putin

Video - DNC chair Tom Perez's first press conference

Video - Thomas Perez : Trump worst president in US history

Democrats Elect Thomas Perez, Establishment Favorite, as Party Chairman







Former Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee on Saturday, narrowly defeating Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota to take the helm of a still-divided party stunned by President Trump’s victory but hopeful that it can ride the backlash against his presidency to revival.
The balloting, which carried a measure of suspense not seen in the party in decades, revealed that Democrats have yet to heal the wounds from last year’s presidential primary campaign. Mr. Perez, buoyed by activists most loyal to former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, won with 235 votes out of 435 cast on the second ballot.
Mr. Ellison, who was lifted primarily by the liberal enthusiasts of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, captured the remaining 200 votes. But that was only after he had pushed the voting to a second round after Mr. Perez fell a single vote short of winning on the first ballot.
After Mr. Perez’s victory was announced, Mr. Ellison’s supporters exploded in anger and drowned out the interim chairwoman, Donna Brazile, with a chant of “Party for the people, not big money!” When Mr. Perez was able to speak, he immediately called for Mr. Ellison to be named deputy chairman, delighting Mr. Ellison’s supporters.
Taking the microphone from Mr. Perez, Mr. Ellison pleaded with his fervent backers: “We don’t have the luxury to walk out of this room divided.”
In his victory speech, Mr. Perez played down what he called “the robust discussions in the Democratic Party.” “We’re all going to continue to be united in our values,” he said, calling the party’s “big tent” an asset.
Mr. Perez, 55, the son of Dominican immigrants, is the first Latino chairman of the Democratic Party. He was reared in Buffalo and has held a series of state and federal government jobs, most recently as Mr. Obama’s labor secretary.
Despite his limited experience in electoral politics, his calls for rebuilding the grass-roots and fostering a party that “makes house calls again” appealed to the party insiders who have watched as the House, the Senate and finally the presidency slipped away.
Addressing reporters with Mr. Ellison after the election, Mr. Perez vowed to shift the committee from its overriding focus on presidential politics.
“We’re no longer simply the committee that helps elect the president; we’re the committee that helps to ensure we’re electing people up and down the Democratic ticket,” he said, switching to Spanish for a time.
Neither of the two, by this point wearing each other’s campaign buttons, laid out Mr. Ellison’s role at the party, but they intimated that they had discussed joining forces before the vote. Directly appealing to his disappointed supporters, Mr. Ellison said, “If they trust me, they need to come on and trust Tom Perez as well.”
Mr. Ellison, who said he would not quit his House seat for the deputy chairman position, added, “The very fate of our nation, I believe, is in the balance right now.”
Mr. Trump used a lighter tone in offering up his response to the Democratic National Committee’s election. “Congratulations to Thomas Perez, who has just been named Chairman of the DNC,” the president wrote on Twitter. “I could not be happier for him, or for the Republican Party!”
Mr. Perez’s victory was the culmination of a more than three-month campaign that began when Democrats were still shellshocked over losing the presidential race. All of the major candidates argued against any turn toward moderation, and they shared the same strategic vision for reviving a national committee and state parties that had withered under Mr. Obama.
What was expected to be a robust debate over the way forward for a party shut out of power across much of the country was soon diminished by the larger, more immediate matter of Mr. Trump’s almost daily provocations and the raging backlash to his hard-line agenda.
Entering the race immediately after Mr. Trump’s win, Mr. Ellison, a prominent surrogate for Mr. Sanders in the presidential primary race, quickly won support from him and other leading liberals. Allies of Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton and other establishment-aligned Democrats soon began casting about for an alternative. In December, Mr. Perez entered the fray, quickly winning praise from Mr. Obama and endorsements from a number of governors.
While voting members of the party are more closely linked to the establishment wing, Mr. Ellison kept the race close by consolidating liberals and picking up support from mainstream Democrats such as the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer of New York.
Mr. Perez, though, got a lift in the final days of the contest when the South Carolina Democratic Party chairman, Jaime Harrison, withdrew from the race and threw his support to him. Mr. Perez’s allies said they had enough votes to win on the first ballot, but a single committee member somehow missed the vote.
And Mr. Ellison’s effort was hurt when one of his aides sent a group text message to the committee members claiming that Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., who withdrew from the race before the first vote, had endorsed him, only to send a subsequent message with “CORRECTION” in capital letters acknowledging that Mr. Buttigieg had not.
The initial anger from Mr. Ellison’s supporters after the final results were announced was deeply embarrassing to party officials. Former Mayor R. T. Rybak of Minneapolis, the departing vice chairman of the committee, had to wade into the section of jeering activists to quiet them so Mr. Perez could announce his appointment of Mr. Ellison as his deputy.
Party chairman races have in recent years been tidier affairs, with trailing candidates often withdrawing before the election takes place. Indeed, Saturday’s vote marked the first time in over three decades that the outcome of a vote for chairman was unknown when the balloting began.
The attention of Democrats will now turn to a handful of special congressional elections and a pair of promising governor’s races this November in New Jersey and Virginia. But the most significant task ahead for Mr. Perez will come in 2018, when Democrats face a daunting Senate map, a more favorable House landscape and 36 governor’s races, many of which will help determine which party is best positioned to redraw legislative lines after the next census.
This year’s contest was shadowed by the hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s computer system last year by Russian intelligence services. That resulted in the disclosure that the party, under Mr. Obama’s handpicked chairwoman, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, had sought to undermine Mr. Sanders’s candidacy.
Despite that prologue, the race was largely free of vitriol. It was so amiable, in fact, that Mr. Perez and Mr. Ellison shared dinner last week at a Washington restaurant. And after the news conference in Atlanta, they were seen exchanging cellphone numbers. The two leading candidates recognized that committee members had little appetite to relive a Clinton-versus-Sanders race on a smaller scale.
To say nothing of the Trump-induced harmony. “President Trump is a pretty easy guy to work against for Democrats,” said William Shaheen, a veteran New Hampshire Democrat.

Ghazal - Thodi Thodi Piya Karo by Pankaj Udhas

Pakistan - Taliban warning aftermath: Government urged to provide extra security to minorities





Following the warning issued by Taliban, Pakistani Christian leader has reacted by urging the government to ensure security of Christians and other religious minorities in the country. This statement comes after the terrorist out-fit issued a video message on its website; warning them not to support government.

In this connection, Dr. Nazir S. Bhatti President of Pakistan Christian Congress has stated that it seems Taliban have political agenda behind this video message, because they had already attacked churches in Pakistan on several occasions. “This Taliban video threat is an attempt to divide different religious segments of Pakistani society and to target single handedly establishment of Pakistan which seems very serious strategy and cannot be ignore” said Nazir Bhatti.
He further stated that the military operation Rad-ul-Fasaad is going to be the decisive blow. He urged the government of Pakistan to take extra steps in order to protect the religious minorities in the country. He said that government must ensure protection at Churches, Temples and Gurdawaras.
In the thick of recent wave of terrorism, Pakistan Army has announced to launch a country wide operation “Radd-Ul-Fassad” against terrorists. Country is reeling after the terror strikes in Lahore, Sehwan, Charsada and various other places across the country.
In the video, the group warned: “Churches, (Hindu) temples, Gurdawaras (Sikh temples) and all the religious places of non-Muslims are not included in our targets until and unless these places are used by our enemies.” The group named Government of Pakistan and Army as its enemies who had carried out military operation in 2007 at Lal Masjid in Islamabad.
While remarking about this warning, Archbishop of Karachi Joseph Coutts, said that the it is hard to understand terrorists. “It depends on what they think, how they in interpret the enemy and link things. They are very slippery like a snake in the grass.”
“They can make anything out of a visiting army officer in a Church or a police guard on duty during Sunday Mass. It is a different kind of guerrilla warfare and we have to learn to protect ourselves,” he said.

Pakistan Convicts 42 Christians of Terrorism After Acquitting More Than 100 Muslims

Divergent verdicts on two of Lahore's biggest religious riots undercuts optimism for new law.

Two of Pakistan’s biggest religious riots have finally gotten their day in court—with strikingly different results.

An anti-terrorism court in Lahore has sentenced 42 Christians for rioting after two churches in Pakistan’s largest Christian neighborhood were bombed in 2015, reports Fides, the news agency of the Vatican.

The ruling comes less than a month after the court acquitted more than 100 Muslims for rampaging through another one of Lahore’s major Christian communities in 2013 over one man’s alleged blasphemy.

The 42 Christians were roughly half of those accused of murder and terrorism after two Muslim men suspected of bombing Sunday services in Youhanabad were killed. The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), an initiative of Pakistan’s Catholic bishops, told Fides that they were disappointed that the church attackers have not been punished.

Also left unpunished were the approximately 112 Muslims who were arrested for ransacking, looting, and setting fire to more than 100 homes in Joseph Colony in 2013. The court found them innocent despite eyewitnesses and videos of the attack, reported World Watch Monitor.

“The evidence was not enough to prove the crime,” said judge Chaudhry Muhammad Azam.

Cecil Shane Chaudhry, executive director of the NCJP, told UCA News, a Hong Kong-based outlet focused on Asian Catholics, that the Joseph Colony ruling was “quite upsetting.”

“Basically, this means that, despite video footage, documents, and pictures of thousands rampaging through Christian properties, the court has not found anyone guilty,” he said. “So mobs are free to do whatever they want.”

The two cases from Lahore, the second-largest city in Pakistan, stand in stark contrast to the promise of Pakistan’s prime minister last month that the country will soon “better the lives of minority groups.”

Also belying his announcement was the Sindh governor’s rejection of a bill which would have prohibited forced religious conversions; the lack of movement on steps demanded by the former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan for the protection of religious minorities; and the fact that while the 12 legislative seats reserved for women in the National Assembly was increased to 60 in 2012, the seats reserved for religious minorities remains only 10, according to World Watch Monitor.

Thus, a recently proposed national law that makes lynching and forced conversions illegal hasn’t been greeted with a lot of optimism, even though it has been passed by the National Assembly and awaits the prime minister’s signature.

“There are already laws that could be implemented in cases of mob violence, but they are rarely enacted, and when done so fail due to frightened witnesses absenting themselves from court,” stated Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association. “It is the implementation of the laws that is the crux of the problem, with a lack of desire from police due to a rife bribery culture and animosity towards ‘ritually impure’ Christians.”

In other words, any progress that seems to be made on paper doesn’t make it to the pavement. Police stand by while mobs rampage. Attorneys for Christians accused of blasphemy face hostile crowds of hundreds outside the courtroom. Politicians—even those at high levels—who criticize the blasphemy laws have been assassinated. And extremists didn’t wait for court dates to kill at least 65 of those accused of blasphemy—or their lawyers or judges—since 1990.

Indeed, the same day the Muslim suspects in the Joseph Colony riot were acquitted, a 70-year-old Christian was jailed after being accused of writing two letters that included derogatory remarks about the Qur‘an and Muhammad. His entire family was taken into custody.

The charges couldn’t be more serious. Asia Bibi has been on death row for seven years for allegedly asking several Muslim women what Muhammad did for them. Sawan Masih, whose accuser sparked the Lahore attacks, has also been sentenced to death.

Masih maintains his innocence, saying the accusation was a way for the Muslim man to seize his land, a common motivation for blasphemy accusations in Pakistan.

Aware that blasphemy laws are often used to settle land disputes or personal feuds, Pakistan’s government recently attempted to take a look at its blasphemy laws. The Senate’s Committee on Human Rights recommended offering bail to those accused of blasphemy and prohibiting police officers with lower ranks than superintendents from investigating the cases.

But Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs, Sardar Muhammad Yousuf, denied that any changes would be made.

“We have no plan to diversify or modify the blasphemy law,” he stated. “The present democratic government is fully determined and affirms to implement the existing law in true spirit. It has no concoction to make any change in the blasphemy law.”

In fact, Interior Minister Chaundhry Nisar Ali Khan went so far as to say religious minorities are not being unfairly affected by the blasphemy laws, since about three-quarters of the charges are brought against Muslims.

“His contrived results have failed to recognize that Christians in recent years have become the No. 1 target of blasphemy allegations,” Chowdhry stated. “It is our belief that a large proportion of the 26 percent of blasphemy convictions listed against minorities will have sentenced Christians, yet we contribute only 1.6 percent of the entire national population. … If this is how the rest of the government feels, then I believe hope for Christians in Pakistan has reached its lowest ebb.”

Open Doors ranked Pakistan No. 4 on its 2017 list of the worst places to live as a Christian. More than four out of every five Christians in Pakistan work as domestic laborers, cleaners, and street sweepers.

Stale Narratives cannot absolve the State from its failure to prevent Terrorism in Pakistan




instead of peddling stale narratives, the Pakistani State needs to step up and tackle Deobandi militancy and the powerful nexus of mosques and madrases that are supplying the foot soldiers to various inter-connected terrorist groups.
The current PML N government has not only failed in its duty to protect Pakistani citizens, its Federal Interior Minister is actively supporting the leadership of terrorism and hate. For too long, the government and the State simply provided lip service and transferred their responsibility to the citizens who are suffering from daily terrorist attacks all over the country.
The forwarded comment makes an interesting point and highlights the dubious arguments that the Pakistani State uses to avoid taking on the very terrorists who are brazenly taking credit for their daily attacks.
Forwarded Comment:
“Pakistan would do a lot better if it scrapped away two words from its vocabulary: Shaheed and Resilient. These words are thrown at every instance of the state’s failure to protect citizens and then to glorify the random slaughtering of citizens and to assuage the hurt egos of those yet waiting for there turn, Shaheed and Resilient are presented by state and its media as lollipops.
No one thought that going to court for signing an affidavit or fighting a cases they in-fact were going to a battlefront and were willing to offer their lives for survival of the country. And don’t label us and yourself as resilient. Resilience has one redeeming quality: bouncing back and fighting back despite all odds. Call us desensitized to violence, call us chronic patients of amnesia, call us fatalists. We are anything but resilient. Going with the ordinary lives after a tragedy and acting, behaving and believing like nothing has happened is not what resilient people do. Resilient people bounce back, they ask questions, they protest, they make the authorities accountable. You know who are resilient? That handful of people who are at press club protesting after every attack, who are there to hold vigils. But oh! please mock them at their small numbers and wait for your turn to be Shaheed and your friends to be resilient.

JUI FAZALUR REHMAN BEHIND TERRORISM IN PAKISTAN, SAYS ZAYD HAMID




Renowned analyst Zayd Zaman Hamid has said that Fazalur Rehman and his party JUIF are responsible for terrorist attacks in all over Pakistan because almost all the terrorists are co-religionist of Deobandi party JUIF and many of them were educated in Deobandi (JUI) seminaries.

“Fazalur Rehman is a traitor and just like a snake,” he said speaking to a host of a news channel. He said that khawarij (aliens to Islam) of today also belong to Deobandi sect.
He said that the facilitators of the terrorists were enjoying the status of parliamentarians and JUIF chief Fazal and PMKAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai are two main facilitators of the terrorists hence these two must be targeted under Operation Radd-ul Fasaad.”

http://www.shiitenews.org/index.php/pakistan/item/27397-zayd-hamid-accuses-of-jui-fazalur-rehman-behind-terrorism-in-pakistan

Music Video - Azad PASHTUNISTAN







Pakistan - Pashtun profiling






Afrasiab Khattak
Even their Pakistani Identity Cards wouldn’t help them as Punjab police and Federal Investigation Agency would block these cards after their arrests.
It is official now. The Punjab police has issued written instructions to its personnel to keep an eye on people with Pashtun/Afghan dresses and food habits as terror suspects. Police officials of Mandi Bahaudin were not shy of widely circulating written instructions for profiling of Pashtuns/Afghans with interesting details in this regard. According to credible press reports Punjab police is keeping thousands of FATA Pashtuns under surveillance and is considering the issuance of special NIC equipped with security chip in Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal and Jehlum. Not that it’s new. This has been a policy implemented by the Punjab government during the last so many years. Deputy Commissioners of Attock, Bhakkar, Chakwal and some other districts of Punjab adjacent to Pakhtunkhwa had been issuing directions to the local population for not renting out or selling properties to Pashtuns hailing from FATA or Pakhtunkhwa.
Every wave of Punjab police action against “terrorists” would practically mean incarceration of large numbers of Pashtuns/Afghans. Initially the Afghan refugees bore the brunt of this policy of racial discrimination. But the IDPs from Malakand division and FATA also faced similar treatment when they were forced to leave their homes during military operations in their areas. Even their Pakistani Identity Cards wouldn’t help them as Punjab police and Federal Investigation Agency would block these cards after their arrests. Pashtun political leaders and parliamentarians have raised these issues on every level but the arrogant Punjabi bureaucracy has refused to budge. Ironically, the Punjabi political elite and their so called mainstream media that clamours a lot about the unjustness and unfairness of Muslim profiling in US fails to see the brazen racial discrimination against Pashtuns under their nose. The irony is further deepened by the fact that Afghan Taliban along with several other proscribed organisations feel quite safe.
The flow of Pashtun/Afghan population to the south and the east towards Indian subcontinent has been a constant phenomenon for a long time in the history of South Asia. From seasonal migration to military invasions and to empire building, these population movements have taken different forms. But by and large people migrating from the northwestern highlands were able to integrate with local populations and become part of their social and cultural milieu by enriching it. However the massive dislocation of Pashtuns over the last four decades has been caused by the devastating military conflict in Afghanistan and in the Pashtun belt of Pakistan. This is the biggest dislocation in Pashtun/Afghan history and also caused by the biggest catastrophe ever faced by them.
So far no scientific research has been conducted to ascertain the quantity and quality of the dangerous modern weapons used against Afghan/Pashtun people and the horrific devastation caused by them. But if such a research is conducted some day I am sure it will bring out the fact that both the arsenal used and the destruction caused by it are unprecedented in the history of warfare.
There have been a number of players from big powers like the former Soviet Union and the US as well as regional states who have shaped the conflict in and around Afghanistan by their political and military intervention. All of them are responsible for creating this large scale and long-term humanitarian crisis of refugees and displaced populations. But one player that has remained at the core of this conflict almost all the time is the Punjabi dominated security establishment of Pakistan and its policy of the so-called strategic depth. Taliban project is its favorite instrument for implementation of the policy of strategic depth. In recent years it has become the sole reason for prolonging the conflict. Victims of the humanitarian crisis will obviously feel greater pain when the policy of racial discrimination is devised and executed by the very player that bears the main responsibility for causing the crisis in the first place. Imagine the dilemma of the Pashtun IDPs from FATA who are still facing F-16 bombardments and heavy artillery firing in their own areas and extreme harassment, persecution and racial profiling when they enter Punjab to seek shelter for physical security.
The ripples created by the issue of racial profiling of Pashtuns also raises questions about the state-building and nation-building project in Pakistan. During the so-called Afghan Jihad which was supported by western powers and Pakistan Army in 1980s, Pashtun bureaucrats and religious parties were given prominence in Pakistan for supporting Zia-ul-Haq’s Afghan policy. That development had prompted some analysts to talk about the “cooption” of Pashtun elites as a “junior partner” in Pakistani power structure. But as soon as the Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan the aforementioned illusion was dispelled as Pashtuns lost prominence in the state system. In fact growing militarisation has deepened the Punjabisation of the state in the same proportion because security apparatuses of the country are totally dominated by Punjab. Even the devolution of powers to the provinces under the 18th Constitutional Amendment (which has yet to be fully implemented) is apparently of little help as the army dominated Apex Committees are ruling the entire country with military operations going on everywhere. There is no cut off date to this process and it seems to be taking deeper roots with the passage of time. The growing alienation is not limited to Pashtuns. Baloch are facing a military operation for long years and there is no visible effort to find a political solution to the problem.
The Pakistan Peoples Party functions as a bridge for Sindhis to connect them to the mainstream but at times even they are forced to shout out against the high handedness of the big brother. Urdu speaking population in urban areas of Sindh have their own grievances caused by oppressive state policies. The situation is further aggravated by the decline of the left in country’s politics because it was instrumental in connecting national question of the smaller ethnic groups with the class question, leading to a stronger democratic movement. Currently democratic movement is quite fragmented. This certainly doesn’t auger well for the future of the federation.
Formalisation of the policy of racial profiling of Pashtuns in Punjab is yet another challenge for federal democracy and rule of law in Pakistan. Much of the future will depend on response to such challenges.

Mugh you da Khybar Zalmi; Khyal M.

Pashtun Nationalist Song - Wake Up Pashtun - Za yam Droon Pakhton

Pakistan - Closing the gates on Pakhtuns







The vitriolic outpouring that has incessantly targeted ethnic Pakhtuns as a potential security threat has once again managed to tear apart the last vestiges of national unity. In a glaring spectacle of racial discrimination, an ongoing campaign by the Punjab police in the aftermath of the recent spate of terrorist attacks, public intelligence has been asked to be particularly vigilant against any person “appearing to be of Pakhtun or Afghan heritage”. An alleged anti-terrorism advisory, attributed to the MandiBahauddin police, is making rounds on the social media; being severely criticised for renewing communal hatred against Pakhtun citizens by associating them with terrorism at large.
Amid times when ethnic Pakhtuns and Afghans are becoming increasingly hostile towards the state for its failure to embrace them as fellow Pakistanis, this legislation would only serve to further exacerbate their racial oppression. Despite having come into force only to tighten the noose around militant strongholds, even the National Action Plan remains tarnished because of its alleged unfair implementation, especially along the ethnic lines. Alienating the Pakhtun communities and scapegoating them for the government’s misgivings, which, in turn, would compel many to challenge the Pakistani statehood in due time (if it has not already); the anti-terrorist drive has definitely not provided solace to the grief-stricken. A security report submitted last year indicated how at least 3,416 Afghans were deported to their “country of origin”. As if this marginalisation of the refugees was not distressing enough, a similar xenophobia also prevails the interactions pitting Pakhtun workers based in Punjab against the provincial law enforcement officials. While frequent raids on Pakhtun-dominated areas and their ad-hoc arrests have largely added to their distress on not yet gaining the trust of a country they call their home; the societal demonisation that appears hell-bent on taking the entire community to trial because of a crime committed by one does not ease their grievances either.
The self-defeating cycle of xenophobia that continues to spew venom at their ethnicities— perpetuating its own biases by depriving Pakhtuns of the very rights of survival and prosperity guaranteed to them by the country’s constitution—would only act to further divide this already divided nation. In a spectacular oblivion to the state-sponsored unacceptability of our own countrymen in our own country, we oft-lament the fear and the hatred braved by Pakistanis in the western countries. Given the persistence with which some of the Pakhtun nationalists have repeatedly shown their disregard for Pakistan, even going to the extent of facilitating militant outfits with both breeding grounds and volunteers to further their ill intentions, Pakistani authorities cannot be blamed for gearing up against the security threat. However, making use of this rationale in an extensive and grotesque criminalisation of Pakistani Pakhtuns cannot be tolerated by any civilised society. If we actually believe in undermining the vicious tentacles of terrorism, we can only do so with the entire country standing by our side. Ill-planned initiatives that would only increase the vulnerability of an already hostile population to militant recruiters should not be pursued in the name of security. Let us fight this menace threatening our lives and our liberties together, please

Video - Da Pukhtunistan Dey - ( AZAD PAKHTUNISTAN SONG )

Marwat not welcome in #PPP, say Bakhtawar, Aseefa







Pakistan Peoples Party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s daughters are unhappy with their father’s decision to welcome Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA Irfanullah Marwat into the party.
Both Bakhtawar and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari vented their frustration on Twitter on Saturday, saying Marwat should not be allowed to join the party.
“Mr Irfanullah Marwat should not be in PPP,” tweeted Aseefa. “One of the core PPP values is respect for women! His repulsive and illegal actions are reprehensible,” she said.
Aseefa B Zardari ✔ @AseefaBZ Mr Irfanullah Marwat should not be in #PPP 1 of the core PPP values is respect for women! His repulsive&illegal actions are reprehensible 7:54 AM - 25 Feb 2017
Bakhtawar took an even harsher line, tweeting that “the sick man should be rotting in a jail cell somewhere not coming anywhere near PPP.” “A party that was led by a woman will not tolerate such people,” she added.
Bakhtawar B-Zardari ✔ @BakhtawarBZ Sick man should be rotting in a jail cell somewhere not coming anywhere near #PPP. Party that was led by a woman will not tolerate such ppl. https://twitter.com/chiltan/status/835466497086664704 …
Marwat joined PPP on Friday after a meeting with Asif Zardari the same day. He has held numerous portfolios in the Sindh government since 1989, including transport, health, home, education and mines and minerals development.
The former PML-N lawmaker was implicated in a rape case in the 1990s, which is why Bakhtawar and Aseefa lashed out at him on social media.

Aseefa Bhutto takes Punjab govt to task over false information on Lahore blast






In the midst of the mysterious blast that rocked Lahore’s upscale Defence Housing Authority (DHA) neighbourhood, Aseefa Bhutto, daughter of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, took it upon herself to call the Punjab government out for spreading misinformation.
The public spat broke out due to multiple claims regarding the nature of the blast, with the Punjab government saying the blast was caused by a generator at the DHA’s Y block. However, many refused to accept the provincial government’s claim given the intensity of the blast and the recent wave of terror attacks across the country.
Gulberg Lahore hit, after the blast in Y Block Lahore. #LahoreUnderAttack .

 — Shehryar Taseer (@shehryar_taseer) February 23, 2017 When former Punjab governor Slaman Taseer’s son Shehryar Taseer tweeted that a blast had struck Lahore, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s daughter Aseefa Zardari wondered why the provincial government still insisted that it was a generator blast. “Govt of Punjab still thinks it’s a generator,” she tweeted.


Cc @GovtOfPunjab still think its a generator ? https://twitter.com/shehryar_taseer/status/834676657625653251 

Perhaps Govt of Punjab should stop playing politics & funding terrorist activities from Muirdke. Patronising https://twitter.com/govtofpunjab/status/834681069630787585 


THREAT OF RADICAL ISLAM - '' Like Sheep To Slaughter ''


  •  '' Like Sheep To Slaughter ''


“Sheep get butchered everyday. Don’t be afraid of sacrifice,” said Maulana Tariq Jameel yesterday, easily glossing over the pain of hundreds of families in the aftermath of blasts in Lahore and Sehwan Sharif, from the safety of the pulpit. In a time when people are clearly panicked, our religious elites must refrain from glorifying death. Our physical lives can be happy peaceful ones. We don’t need to be slaughtered for our eternal reward. The anger of people must not be diverted from terrorists. On the face of it, statements that call these tragic deaths martyrdoms give our grieving communities some comfort, but they also repress our outrage, and our desire to demand justice and retribution.
The influential Maulana, heard by hundreds, did not clearly condemn the blasts, or the Taliban, nor did he mention the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar by name. We can argue that he implied it, by the “sheep being killed by dogs” analogy, but it is time to call out such illogical tirades. Just one influential religious leader, naming and shaming these terrorist groups, speaking out against these attacks and pledging help and obedience to Pakistan’s security agencies would go a long way in making sure terrorist groups have no support in our communities. These clerics are in positions of mass influence over communities, and if they had sided with the state, vocally and actively, there would be no influence extremist groups would be able to peddle with the masses. Pakistan’s community of religious scholars and clerics could have been a huge bulwark against the apologists for terrorists.
Our religious parties have not fared well in advocating peace in Pakistan. On February 2, they actually protested against the NAP at an All Parties Tahufiz-i-Namoos-i-Risalat Conference with JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, JI Amir Senator Sirajul Haq, Jamiat-i-Ahle Hadith (JAH) Chief Senator Prof Sajid Mir, and Difa-i-Pakistan Council (DPC) Chief Maulana Samiul Haq all rejected the NAP and demanded the government delink religion from it. Rather than condemn terrorism and hate speech, these leaders ended up condemning the state’s plan to protect people from dying. Too much time is spent by these leaders criticising Ahmedis, or people calling for the debate on the blasphemy law, both groups that are peaceful and ultimately harmless to Pakistan’s security.
We must uproot this paranoia that Islam is in threat, no less in a state that is an Islamic republic with a 98 percent Muslim population. But Pakistanis are at threat, from terrorism that emanates from misguided interpretations of Islam – something that out religious leaders have disastrously failed to keep a check on.

Video Report - PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari meeting with Khursheed Shah