columnists-from-pakistan

"It may be instructive to recall that his father, Shāh‘Abdul Raḥīm, could have been his role model in the matter of writing letters to powerful princes to undertake jihad. For it was the pater familias who wrote a letter to Mīr Qamar al-Dīn Khān Ṣiddīqī popularly known as Āṣaf Jāh (1671–1748), the pioneer of the Deccan based state whose rulers were called Niẓāms, exhorting him to undertake jihad to weaken the infidels. ‘Abdul Raḥīm begins his letter with the assertion that it has already been decided that the infidels (kuffār) will be defeated and humiliated and if Āṣaf Jāh wants to take credit for this he should defeat them. He ends on the mystical note that ‘things said even with confidantes in secret are being revealed here on the tip of the pen so that no excuse should remain’."

"It will come to pass that Bharat will be trounced and enslaved according to sharia if Hindus don’t repent and embrace Islam."

"A Pakistani political commentator has been reportedly sentenced to eight years in jail with 1,000 lashes after allegedly delivering a speech criticising Saudi Arabia's regime. Pakistan authorities said Zaid Hamid was arrested and taken into custody while travelling to Medina with his wife earlier in June. "Our embassy in Riyadh has informed us that Mr Zaid Hamid was arrested about two weeks ago. Since then, the embassy has been working with the local authorities to get consular access," Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah was quoted in the Daily Pakistan as saying."

"It should be interesting to find out why the Pakistani film industry has shown little interest in celebrating 100 years of filmmaking – 2013 marks the centenary of film production in Subcontinent and not of film exhibition that had started earlier. And this despite being invited by Indian filmmakers to partake of shared glory. One reason could be the muddled thinking about the Pakistani people's cultural heritage. If they reject the arts and literature produced in the Subcontinent before it was partitioned, they repudiate not only the legacy of the great Indo-Islamic culture, that grew over centuries, but also the poetry of Mir, Ghalib and Iqbal (who spent all his life as a citizen of India). If the cultural history of our people is supposed to have begun in 1947, then we have no cultural heritage worth the name."

"The greatest irony about (the Quid's August 11 Speech) is that it is generally believed to have addressed only the minorities' rights. This is only partly true. The Quaid's words were directed at all citizens of Pakistan; the progress of the entire population depended on burying the past (communal politics). What he clearly meant was that discrimination against the minorities would impede Pakistan's progress. Thus, in Jinnah's Pakistan, the rights and interests of the minorties will be protected by the constitution and the law, not only as something due to them, but also as an insurance of the state's integrity."

"The does not seem willing to shift its spending priorities despite the burgeoning COVID-19 challenges. Pakistan has emerged as one of the countries with the fastest rate of coronavirus infections in recent weeks, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The country reported its first coronavirus case on February 26 and is now among the top 15 most-affected countries. More than 4,000 people have lost their lives to the disease in Pakistan since the beginning of the outbreak. Moreover, there is a significant shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators in the country. Despite all this, Islamabad allocated $7.85bn for defence and merely $151m for health in the budget for the financial year 2020-2021. This represents a 12 percent rise in Pakistan's defence spending compared with the last financial year. The single-line figure presented in the budget does not give a full picture of the amount actually being spent on defence either."

"Only up to 3pc of Pakistan's is unionised, and there are few opportunities for for fair wages or safe working conditions. The last year banned 62 labour unions in the province. The disregard for will take on new dimensions during a pandemic, when workers should have ample rights to demand safe working conditions and job protection in the event of sickness."

"Upholding human rights should underpin all policymaking. The challenges the report identifies will take years to address, but there are several ways this administration can signal a commitment to human rights. For starters, it can vow to protect the 18th Amendment. Such are the times, that the mere presentation of a report can be a political act."

"Those closest, and so most accountable, to the people are best positioned to protect their rights."

"In light of the pandemic, the plight of prisoners is particularly relevant. Pakistan's prisons are appallingly overcrowded, with an occupancy rate of 133.8pc. More than 62pc of this population comprises pre-trial detainees and those on remand. Jam-packed prisoners are more vulnerable to diseases, including , HIV and now Covid-19."

"DIRE. That’s the word the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan uses to describe the state of human rights in our country. Its annual report, released last week, makes for a distressing read, particularly in the midst of a pandemic. One wonders, given how widespread rights violations are, when this brutalised body politic will reach its breaking point. The PTI government has cited concerns of riots fuelled by starvation as a reason to impose light-touch lockdowns. But the HRCP’s report reminds us that the state's fear of its citizenry is rooted in a deeper knowledge of systemic fissures in our country; fissures produced by the disgraceful treatment of an — including women, children, dissenters, religious minorities, labour, prisoners, and more — often by state institutions themselves."

"Not surprisingly, initiatives to criminalise disappearances are stalled. The thing is, you only silence critics when you have something to hide. And the HRCP's — documenting everything from to to poor enfranchisement — gives a sense of what this might be. The sad and shocking scale of rights abuses again raises the question of how efficacious the state's censorship strategy can be. When the public narrative significantly diverges from lived experience, the only outcome is more frustration among the people, who realise that on top of being poorly served, they’re also being lied to and manipulated."

"Pakistan has the somewhat unique problem that the concept of human rights has been deemed toxic among the es because it is too often associated with curbs on media and religious freedoms. Decades of authoritarian state policy have entrenched a suspicion of democracy and secularism, and there is perversely a fair amount of support for policies targeting those labelled unpatriotic or blasphemous. But human rights are also about positive access to food, healthcare, safety, and education."

"Our country's healthcare spending is less than one per cent of GDP, even though the WHO recommends 6pc. And only 4pc of Pakistani children receive a 'minimally acceptable diet'. These poor healthcare and standards expose the flaws of the prime minister's reasoning that our youthful demography will protect us against the worst of the pandemic; malnourishment can hardly boost immunity."

"The report also focuses on failings of our criminal justice system, an issue so endemic that we take it for granted rather than consider it a rights violation. But without a functional judicial system, we have no recourse or accountability. Justice in Pakistan is delayed and denied. And miscarriages of justice — such as Rana Bibi's 19-year imprisonment for a murder she didn't commit — are not atoned for."

"Human beings have always had common purpose and destiny for which there have always been collective efforts."

"Hopelessness is becoming the hallmark of the 21st century."

"Millions perished in the two s and upheavals for an equitable world, their sacrifices have gone in vain."

"While we claim to live in an information age, disinformation has become the order of the day."