Pakistan Link - March 11, 2016

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Friday, March 11, 2016

VOL. 26/11 - 2 Jumadal-ulkhra 1437 H PAGE 4

The Road to Stability Indicated By the Quaid Iranian President’s Visit to Boost Pak-Iran Ties Islamabad: Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said Pakistan was looking forward to the visit of Iranian President on March 25-26 as it would strengthen bilateral relations.

Talking to Mehdi Honardoost, Ambassador of Iran to Pakistan, the Minister said Pakistan and Iran were brotherly neighboring countries and were enjoying cordial relations as well as collaborating in different fields.

Matters of mutual interest and bilateral cooperation in energy, trade, business and defense came up for discussion.

Khawaja Asif also highlighted the importance of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and said it would serve as a vital artery in the region.

He stressed that regional countries should draw up plans to get maximum benefit from the Corridor.

The Minister said Pakistan would play an effective role to ensure peace in the region.

Both the sides agreed that due IRAN, P28

Taseer Family Reunites with Shahbaz after 5 Years Lahore: Shahbaz Taseer, son of slain Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer who was recovered after being held by kidnappers for over four years, arrived here on Wednesday to reunite with his family.

Taseer was flown to Lahore in a special aircraft by intelligence officials, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

In the photographs shared by DG ISPR Asim Bajwa Wednesday morning, Shahbaz had changed from the previous night’s shalwar kameez into jeans and a polo shirt.

In the second photo, Shahbaz smiles as he points towards the camera and his beard appears to have been trimmed.

Balochistan Inspector General Ahsan Mehboob said Tuesday that Shahbaz was recovered from a hotel on the outskirts of Kuchlak town.

“Security personnel found a man with overgrown beard and long hair, who identified himself as Shah TASEER, P28

US & Canada $1.00

PAGE 15

PAGE 6

Sharmeen Rejects Criticism of Documentary

Understanding the Rising Trump Phenomenon

Pak Role in Saudi-led Military Alliance

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and COAS General Raheel Sharif arrive at Jeddah airport in Saudi Arabia on March 9, 2016

Jeddah: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Ra-

heel Sharif arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to witness ‘Thunder of the

North’ military exercises.

According to a statement, they were received

at the King Saud Airport

by Prince Muhammad bin Salman and other highranking officials.

Special Assistant to the premier on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi is also accompanying PM Nawaz and COAS on the threeday official visit to Riyadh, Radio Pakistan reported.

Islamabad to extend military cooperation with Riyadh: The visit comes at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdul Azizto to witness the military exercises, as well as to hold talks on regional and bilateral issues. A number of leaders from other allied countries have also been invited to witness the ongoing military exercise and its closing ceremony.

Troops from 21 countries, including Pakistan, are participating in the exercise, in the northern re ROLE, P28

A Trump Presidency Doesn’t Worry Pakistan n By Jim Sciutto, Jennifer Rizzo and Hasan Khan, CNN Washington (CNN):

Pakistan, a US ally and majority-Muslim country, is not overly concerned about the possibility of Donald Trump occupying the White House or his proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States, according to a top official.

“What you do in the campaign doesn’t mean that it becomes policy,” said Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan’s adviser to the Prime Min- “What you do in the campaign doesn’t mean that it becomes policy,” said Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan’s ister on foreign affairs, in adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, in an exclusive interview with CNN an exclusive interview with CNN. sons or short-term popuBut Pakistan, he said, views acted.

Trump’s plan to block America as a multicultural “The strength of these larity somebody espouses Muslims from the United society that is too rooted in values in America is very these ideas to appeal to one States was “not well-re- the ideals of tolerance for strong,” said Aziz. “Even if, segment of the popuceived,” according to Aziz. such a ban to ever be en- you know, for political rea- TRUMP, P28

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www.PakistanLink.com 6 Pakistani Institutes among the World’s Top Varsities Islamabad: Six Pakistani institutes of higher education are ranked among the world’s top 800 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a British ranking agency.

The National University of Sciences And Technology (Nust) Islamabad, Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Lahore University of Management Sciences (Lums), University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore, University of Karachi (KU) and the University of Lahore are the Pakistani universities that made it to the top 800 universities of the world.

Nust Islamabad ranked 501550 while QAU was at 651-700 followed by LUMS, UET Lahore, KU and University of Lahore at 701+.

Nust was also ranked separately at 340 in the ‘Engineering and Technology’ category.

The QS rankings takes into account academic reputation (40 per cent), employer reputation (10pc), student-to-faculty ratio (20pc), citations per faculty (20pc), international faculty ratio (5pc) and international students (5pc). The INSTITUTES, P28

ICC Shifts India-Pakistan World T20 Venue to Kolkata Karachi: Owing to security concerns, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has moved the venue of the India-Pakistan World T20 match on March 19 from Dharamsala to Kolkata, according to an announcement on Wednesday.

The ICC made a formal announcement at a hurriedly convened press conference in New Delhi.

“The decision has been taken to relocate the India-Pakistan match from Dharamsala to Kolkata for security reasons,” chief executive of the cricket’s governing body, David Richardson, told reporters.

“The bottom line is ... security is paramount and it’s a difficult decision, not one that we wanted to make because we wanted to stick with the original plan but one we’ve been forced into.”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) now awaits the Government of Pakistan’s ap CRICKET, P28

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OPINION

P4 – PAKISTAN LINK – MARCH 11, 2016

The Road to Stability in Pakistan as Indicated by its Founding Father

Pakistan Link President

Arif Zaffar Mansuri

n By Dr I. Kamal

ArifMansuri@PLpublications.org Editor

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n the political and economic context, the world today consists of zones of stability and zones of instability. Zones of stability are distinguished by pure and unadulterated democracy from the grassroots to the top echelons, meritocracy, law and order and respect for the human rights of their own citizens. Zones of instability are characterized by pseudo-democracy, corruption and chaos. As the human spirit is invincible, peace cannot come to a country unless it acquires the characteristics of the zones of stability.

Unfortunately, Pakistan has been a zone of instability for the greater period of time since its creation.

The sources of instability can be traced back to two root causes: (a) although there were demonstrations of unity for brief periods just after its creation and during the 1965 war with India, and glimpses of unity can still be seen during sport tournaments, the country has not been able to forge a national identity, and (b) neither the parliamentary system of government nor the military dictatorships under which the country has been governed have been able to deliver the goods.

The solution to these problems can be found in two quotations from the early pronouncements and writings of Pakistan’s founding father, Quaide-i-Azam Mohammead Ali Jinnah, as indicated in the following sections.

1. A National Identity “We are now all Pakistanis – not Baluchis, Pathans, Sindhis, Bengalis, Punjabis and so on ... and should be proud to be known as Pakistanis and nothing else. “ -- From Quaid-i-Azam Speaks, June 15, 1948, p. 156, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of Pakistan) One of the biggest impediments to progress and development in Pakistan has been its conversion into a multi-national state, with its major components at loggerheads. The poet, humorist and humanist, Ibn-eInsha had lamented (Urdu ki AaKhri Kitaab, p. 17) that in Pakistan there is a Sindhi nation, a Punjabi nation, a Bengali nation (alas!), all kinds of nations except a Pakistani nation. At best, each of these so-called nations is only half a nation, because the other half is either in India or Afghanistan!

The concept of multiple nationalities within one country is a negation of the two-nation theory on the basis of which Pakistan was founded. Its logical conclusion is civil war or disintegration, as we have seen in the Balkans and the former Soviet Union, and as we learnt to our own sorrow in the case of Bangladesh.

The best way to get rid of the evil of multiple nationalities in Pakistan is to remove the ethnic connotation from the administrative divisions of the country, and to restructure them into smaller, more balanced and more governable units. The Quaidi-Azam had described the existing demarcation and the consequent

provincialism as “a relic of the old administration”, as a preface to the cited quotation.

In this writer’s opinion, the redemarcation of provincial boundaries should be based not on ethnic lines but on administrative divisions small enough so that democracy can be felt at the grassroots. Such a delin-

istan, because each province will be subjected to the same treatment, with the purpose of simplifying administration and getting rid of the evils of ethnicity.

Each of the twelve divisions has enough resources to develop and prosper. For example, the two divisions of Baluchistan, considered to be the most disadvantaged, have Sui gas, over which they should be given full control, a long coastline which can be developed with port cities and tourist resorts, and vast mineral resources.

The new demarcation would not detract from the heritage of any ethnolinguistic group, which did not suffer any cultural shock when the Hindu component was withdrawn in 1947, nor when the groups lived under One Unit for fifteen years. The present provincial set-up legitimizes ethnic divisions, and results in problems of national significance such as the Kalabagh Dam issue being viewed from the parochial point of view.

Currently, there is a public demand for more provinces in Pakistan. Unfortunately, the demand is being made on linguistic bases, such as the demand for a Seraiki-speaking

to exploit sections of the population on ethnic or parochial grounds, and the people would unite to fight the common enemies of injustice, corruption and absence of meritocracy.

In the twenty-first century, there is no room for ethnicity or other barriers that divide people from other people living in the same area.

From recent and contemporary history we have two examples of administrative divisions within a federal set-up: the former Soviet Union, where the divisions were based on “nationalities”, and the United States, where the states are based on common-sense administrative divisions, with boundaries generally made up of straight lines. The Soviet Union disintegrated, while the USA is one of the most stable democracies in the world. In the break-up of the Soviet Union lies a lesson for the people and leaders of Pakistan: If the country is to prosper, all talk of nations and nationalities apart from the Pakistani nation must stop, and all provisions which lead to the perpetuation of such ideas must be abolished. Once the citizens of Pakistan cease to identify themselves on the basis of their

The best way to get rid of the evil of multiple nationalities in Pakistan is to remove the ethnic connotation from the administrative divisions of the country, and to restructure them into smaller, more balanced and more governable units. The Quaid-i-Azam had described the existing demarcation and the consequent provincialism as “a relic of the old administration” eation already exists in the form of the twelve former Divisions of West Pakistan under One Unit. One Unit failed because of the fear of domination by the Punjab, where the seat of government was located. A setup where over sixty per cent of the population lives in one province (the Punjab) is unwieldy, and is bound to raise feelings of insecurity in the smaller provinces (in contrast, the population of California, the largest state of the USA is only about fifteen per cent of the country’s total population).

Many of the political squabbles in recent years emerged because of meddling by the federal government to enforce and strengthen its party’s rule in Punjab, the most populous state. Currently, a game of blame and counter-blame is being played by the Center and the provincial government of Punjab, at considerable cost to the nation in terms of wasted funds and time.

Restoring the former Divisions of West Pakistan as provinces or states would avoid controversy and hassle, and provide all the benefits of One Unit without the disadvantage of the true or imagined fear of domination by the Punjab. With this manner of division, seekers of conspiracy theories will not be able to describe it as an attempt to divide Punjab, or Sindh, or Pakhtoonkhwa or Baluch-

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province. If one travels from the Khayber to Karachi, one would note that there is a gradual change in language and dialects: the country does not have air-tight linguistic compartments. With the set-up proposed in this article, Bahawalpur and Multan would be predominantly Seraikispeaking. The demand would thus be met, but in a non-parochial manner.

As in the USA, government and taxation should be at three levels: municipal or district, state and federal. This will avoid squabbles which invariably occur over the allocation and release of funds by the federal government under the NFC awards.

No democracy is a true democracy unless it is felt at the grassroots, and it can only be felt at the grassroots by the devolution of power to smaller, governable entities. The new provinces, with elected rather than nominated governors, would have control over their own destinies and prosper in a spirit of healthy competition. Empowerment at the local level would help the people in developing a sense of local pride in their district and state, a sense that they themselves are responsible for their own neck of the woods instead of feeling powerless and subject to the whims of people sitting in ivory towers in some distant location. With the twelve provinces, no leader would have grounds

ethnic origin, a sense of national identity as Pakistanis will emerge.

2. A Presidential Form of Government The views of the Quaide-iAzam on the form of government suitable for Pakistan are apparent from the following hand-written note dated 10th July, 1947, which is preserved and can be seen in the National Archives of Pakistan, Cabinet Division, Govt. of Pakistan, Islamabad.

“Future constitution of Pakistan 1. Parliamentary form of Govt.

STABILITY, P24

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OPINION

P6 – PAKISTAN LINK – MARCH 11, 2016

Understanding the Trump Phenomenon

Elections Have Consequences n By Azher Quader

n By Riaz Haq

D

CA

onald Trump, a political novice, has stunned the world with a string of successes in Republican primaries to become the leading candidate for the GOP (Grand Old Party, aka Republican Party) nomination for US President in 2016.

The fear of a hostile takeover of the GOP

by Trump has sent the party establishment into a panic mode. What are the factors behind this development? Who are Donald Trump’s supporters? What is motivating their anger and their disdain of the Republican party leadership? Let’s try and answer these questions:

1. Changing Demographics and Economy When I first arrived in the United States in late 1970s, America had very different demographics. It was about 85% white. Most Americans with just a high school diploma enjoyed middle class living standards. They had good jobs in manufacturing industries like auto and steel. These jobs paid them well enough to buy a decent new home and drive latest-model American-made cars.

The US demographics and economy have both changed dramatically in the last four decades. Minorities now account for about 30% of the US population. Low birth rate among whites and increasing immigration have both contributed to this reality. Meanwhile, unrelenting forces of globalization and continuing creative destruction have replaced the bulk of auto and steel manufacturing industries with new, high-tech industries. The hightech sector in the United States is booming. It’s creating a lot of new jobs. But most of these new jobs require at least a college degree and higher level skills, the kind of skills many middle-aged non-college-educated white Americans do not have.

2. Social Impact of Changes A combination of economic and demographic changes has taken its greatest toll on middle-aged white Americans without college education. They are disillusioned and angry. And they are lashing out at the “establishment” politicians on both ends of the political spectrum, but mainly on the GOP side. Donald Trump has

T successfully exploited this anger by blaming immigrants, religious minorities and other nations for their problems.

In a paper titled “Rising morbidity and mortality in midlife among white non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st century” published last year, Princeton economists Anne Case and Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton have shown that over the last 15 years, white middle-aged Americans have been dying at unusually high rates. Most of those deaths have been concentrated among people with only a highschool diploma, or less. Polls say that these older, less-educated whites form the core of support for Donald Trump.

3. Voting Patterns by Race Will Trump Become the Next President? It appears unlikely given his support base. Here’s why: John McCain and Mitt Romney, the last two Republican candidates since 2008, won the majority of white votes but failed to win the general election. Each of them got 60% of the 70% white votes that add up to 42% of the overall electorate.

In addition, each of them got only 6% of Black votes and about 26% of the Asian and Hispanic votes that prevented them from gaining the overall majority needed to win.

Trump’s campaign rhetoric has managed to anger all minority groups, particularly Mexicans and Muslims. He will get even fewer minority votes than McCain and Romney in the last two general elections.

The Trump phenomenon appears to be linked to the changing US economy that has left many middle-aged non-college-educated white Americans behind. Like

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President, CBC Chicago, IL

he presidential contenders will be visiting us soon for the March 15 Primary in Illinois. Of course Super Tuesday would be behind us by then and we may have winners and losers revealed. Still the handwriting on the wall is quite worrisome for us as the Republican field has narrowed and the views of the remaining few on Muslims, Mexicans, Obamacare and Terrorism is getting more sharply articulated.

The Democrat’s theme of a rigged political system corrupted by money seems to have also ignited a lot of young passions who are showing up at rallies where they had been absent before. The growing sense of disenfranchisement among various segments of the citizenry appears to be fueling much of the anger and frustration we are witnessing all around. The candidates not surprisingly are playing on it.

Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican we hope you are paying attention and carefully reviewing many other demagogues before him, Donald J. Trump is exploiting their deep dis-satisfaction and rising anger by blaming minorities and immigrants for their problems. Even if Trump wins the Republican nomination, the chances of his success in the 2016 general elections are remote.

your choices. Because elections have consequences and this one coming up in November promises to be a big one.

The fight for the Supreme Court has already begun with the vacancy created from Justice Scalia’s sudden demise. If you think the decisions made by those nine people in black robes may not impact you, just recall Bush vs Gore, our response to 9/11 that followed and the longest war in our nation’s history we are still fighting, with so many innocent lives lost and so many more made homeless, in the pursuit of an elusive enemy.

Yes, elections matter and your vote is precious because it counts and it makes a difference. Empowerment comes through education and engagement. Political empowerment follows no different path. Ignore this simple truth and we will become irrelevant in the societies we live in and will eventually be tossed away into the trash bin of history. A community that lives with dignity and commands the respect of its adversaries is a community that is engaged, educated and informed. When we become engaged we become significant, we become visible. And it all begins when we go out and vote., for that is the first step in that journey for empowerment.

Community Builders Council (CBC) has provided many opportunities for engagement in the past. This year again we will offer townhalls and workshops inviting candidates and experts to express their views on topics of vital interest to all of us. The first of these town halls will take place at Northwest Suburban College in Rolling Meadows, IL. We hope you will join and participate.

OPINION n By Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai Washington, DC

W

ith India and Pakistan engaging in small talk, holding hands and contemplating (maybe) a discussion of their differences over Kashmir, there is an exigent need for Kashmiris to weigh in carefully and review again any opportunities to participate in such discussions as proprietors of their own nation. Most importantly, who will represent them at the negotiating table?

There is an urgent need now for Kashmiris to press upon India and Pakistan the importance of approaching this issue constructively rather than like some game of chess at a local parlor. The foolhardiness of repeating the same gambit over and over again eventually becomes costly as well as unsuccessful. The opportunity for real change is at hand.

The first challenge, as we know, is for Kashmir to get to the table.

The second and equally important challenge is the ability of any agreement on Kashmir to be acceptable to the broad spectrum of the people of Jammu & Kashmiris in the Valley, Ladakh, Jammu, Azad Kashmir & Gilgit Baltistan.

Kashmir was at the table, at least in name, when late Prime Minister Nehru had an agreement with Sheikh Abdullah which is known as the “1952 Delhi Agreement.” One may disagree with the political philosophy of Sheikh Abdullah but the fact remains that he was the most charismatic leader that Kashmir has ever produced. But even

MARCH 11, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P7

Getting Kashmir’s Priorities to the Table that powerful leader could not sell this agreement to the people of Kashmir.

In fact, the Sheikh later tried to distance himself from it and eventually was arrested. Kashmiris are still fighting for their rights.

India and Pakistan have had many agreements, like Tashkent, Simla, Lahore, etc. They failed because they didn’t offer a seat at the table to the primary party, i.e. the Kashmiri leadership. Likewise, India and the mainstream Kashmiri leadership have had multiple accords, like the Abdullah – Nehru Agreement of 1952; the Indira – Sheikh Accord of 1974; the Farooq – Rajiv Accord; the Mufti Sayyid and Modi Agreement, etc.

They also failed because they sought to bypass another party, i.e., Pakistan.

Therefore, it is quite logical that the talks must be tripartite with India, Pakistan and those who represent the true voice of the people of Jammu & Kashmir. Real negotiations, not parlor games, are the key to resolving the conflict. The logistics of tripartite talks can be open to discussion but the principle cannot.

The demand of the people of Kashmir that the Kashmiri leadership should be included in the talks is not based on passion alone but on important principles long acknowledged by the international community. Yet they have been contaminated with this long history of failed talks and agreements that have not resolved the issue and that do not even meet the very minimum requirement of those principles.

So much political posturing; so absent of real intent.

It’s interesting how problematic it

is for the parties to agree that Kashmiris themselves have a stake in any talks about their future. In what kind of democratic process would this not be of prime consideration? The moral, legal and historical foundations for such a principle have been frequently

who represents the people of Jammu & Kashmir, what voice is heard, takes on the greatest significance.

India and Pakistan should realize that they can impose any solution upon the people of Kashmir; the Kashmiri mainstream leadership can

President Obama has quit talking about Kashmir, believing perhaps that US business ties with India have greater priority than ruffling any feathers. But the priorities of world peace are much greater than selling a few more missiles to a country which threatens international peace and security raised by not only Kashmiris but the world community, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the United Nations Security Council resolutions on Kashmir. Yet they are continually ignored.

Aside from the matter of being included in the talks, the question of

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sign any accord with India; but the question arises: are they going to be able to sell these agreements to the people as was attempted by Sheikh Abdullah? The answer is a big “NO.” The fact is that the relationship between India and the mainstream so-called Kashmir government, the

principal negotiator in all previous attempts, is wrought with obstacles.

The interests of the people are not represented. The financial links, the political pressures, the undue political influence certain figures enjoy within the current and past Kashmir administrations who regurgitate New Delhi policies and ambitions, the ever-present and intimidating military presence and what is threatened if you don’t go along, and the careers at stake all inevitably taint the process.

Decisions are being made on the basis of politics and power by remote and unattached absentee landlords instead of by real Kashmiris involved in real issues that have long been fundamental to the whole question. There’s no getting down to the real nitty gritty of what is festering. When you can’t speak out about a desire for freedom or independence, that’s like a boil that just gets bigger and bigger. Perhaps history itself speaks the loudest. What has Kashmir been saying for all these years?

Those who have held privileged positions in Kashmir’s “official” leadership while all this has been going on have at best been muted in their response, have not demanded that India be held accountable, and have not demanded an authentic negotiation process that resolves real problems. They are like mothers who, when their babies cry, do not try to understand why they are crying. They simply shove a pacifier in its mouth. They have not stood up for their compatriots in their hour of need. They have not stood up for Kashmir. They lack sufficient credibility and trust to shoulder the task of representing Kashmir’s true interests.

The people of Jammu & KashKASHMIR, P28

OPINION

P8 – PAKISTAN LINK – MARCH 11, 2016

Lessons for Us in History from Khilafa to Dynasties -I

n By Dr Basheer Ahmed Khan

K

Garden Grove, CA

halifa is a noble title which Allah has given to man and it means vicegerent who runs Allah’s’ writ in this universe and nurtures all His creation with a sense of care and responsibility with which Allah has created them (Ch2 V30).

Khilafa is the collective rule which mankind establishes on itself for this purpose, not by becoming spoiled sovereigns, but by remaining his obedient servants and accepting His sovereignty with the consciousness of accountability before Him. Even though man believes in One True God in the time of crisis, he creates several other gods (including himself) and dilutes the sovereignty of One True God to serve his own interest. This is the reason why it is difficult to establish true Khilafa. The most accursed people in human history are those who claim to be khalifas (Vicegerents) but run their writ in His name and mislead the people (Ch7 V35-36).

Sir Bertrand Russel writes in his book “History of Western Philosophy”: Christianity and Islam derive Monotheism from Jewish source and owe it to Maccabees who in 164 BC preserved it by defeating the Seleucid King Antiochus who was out to destroy Judaism. Russel’s view is based upon recorded history. But scriptures of almost all religions recognized Monotheism (submitting to One True God) since the origin of the world.

Therefore, history of monotheism is much older than the time of Maccabees. Definitely the sacrifices which Maccabees and the people of his time made to restore monotheism from the assaults of its enemies are commend-

able and are a common heritage of mankind.

Whether we believe in Him or not, God has always existed and He continues to exist despite our denial of Him. Our denial of Him may remove Him from our lives and the disaster we face because of it brings people like Judas Maccabees to the fore to rekindle our lives with hope and faith. When Jesus and John the Baptist ( P B U T ) faced the worse treatment from people of their time, no prophet was sent to change the lot of the people for 500 years. With no one to remind people about God and their responsibilities to Him, and to each other, the world plunged into the era of Dark Age. Monotheistic legacy of Abraham (PBUH) was polluted by interaction between the Children of Israel and Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Persian and Roman Civilizations in the course of history. Many prophets were sent amongst Children of Israel to rectify it (The Holy Bible). Children of Israel were divided into various groups on trivial matters and were denigrated as a result of it. They suffered exile twice and many of them were living in Medina as landlords and money lenders.

They were waiting for the Messiah to be born to redeem them and take them back to Jerusalem. Destiny had written it at the beginning of time that Muhammad SA was to be born in the family of Ismael AS to restore the Abrahamic tradition of One True God (Qur’an Ch2 V127-129, Genesis Ch21 V18). This was not to the liking of the Jews as Muhammad SA was not from the lineage of Isaac to which they be-

longed (Peace be upon both of them).

The Arabian Peninsula was ruled by tribes without any central rule. Being on the trade route from Africa and India in the south to Europe in the north, it was vulnerable to attacks and occupation. As the city of Mecca offered relative peace due to the precincts of the Holy shrine of Kaaba no one wanted to disrupt this peace for no gain. Abraha, the governor of Ethiopia in Yemen, wanted to take over Mecca for its Christian king on the premise that Christians had a greater claim over it than the pagans of Arabia. But Kaaba was not only an Abrahamic legacy but also a legacy of Ismael AS to whom the Arab tribes claimed their lineage. Therefore, Arabs wanted to save Kaaba as their heritage as much as Abraha wanted to conquer it. This attack which happened in the year when Muhamad SA was to be born was mysteriously repelled and it was considered to be a miracle of Muhammad SA birth.

When Muhammad SA was sent as the last prophet of Islam, the world was in a palpable flux. People of Arabia were conscious of it because businessmen like Abi Sufyan, Osman, Abudl Rahman bin Awf RAA etc. took their trade caravans from Ethiopia in the south to Damascus in the north.

They knew that the days of misrule in the empires of their neighborhood were numbered and they had to play a role to stabilize the situation in the interest of their business. Some of them wanted to replace the local tyranny with their rule. Nabi SA as true Messenger of God knew that a change of In association with

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faces is no change. True change can be based on sound moral principles, not just in precepts but also in practice. He started his mission by instilling God consciousness through sound argument because it alone could produce those individuals who had the courage to stick to moral principles in running a good government. Honesty for the strong and powerful is a policy to be imposed on the weak through laws while they escape it through loopholes in it. Therefore, he put all his efforts in engendering faith and morality through sound arguments and persuasion.

At the age of forty when Nabi SA was anointed as a prophet and started to talk about the One God of Abraham, the polytheist Quraysh felt a threat to their unity which they were painfully building to meet the situation in their neighborhood. Nabi SA who was considered an honest and sincere person before his prophethood faced torture from his own people. He migrated to Medina, the land of his maternal grandmother, where he had some sincere followers who were willing to give protection to him and his companions.

He built the first secular city state in Medina under a covenant called “Meesakh e Medina”, not by excluding religion from collective life but by giving freedom to all to practice their religion while sharing the common goal of managing the affairs of the city together on the basis of shared responsibility.

This was a truly libertarian state in which God played the central role.

This God-given liberty was shared by all. The goal of this society and this state was to protect the faith, life, property, pedigree, intellect and honor of every individual through common sense laws called Sharia. This has now become a dirty word because of the wrong actions of a few people who are the sworn enemies of religion but are operating under its garb. This city state had liberated people from all superstitions and fears. It liberated man from the delusion of greatness and infallibility. It also removed the sense of helplessness by giving him a true understanding of the reality of this world and their existence in it. This liberty was not a license for promiscuous behavior but a system for responsible life based upon accountability, not just before the mortals administering law but also before the Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent God. These people, imbued with God consciousness, did not make unjust laws to pamper either the powerful or the weaker sections. With honest and God fearing individuals administering these laws, the laws were applied justly even if it went against their own self (Ch4 V138 Ch5 V8, Ch 4 V58).

People obeyed these just and common sense laws wholeheartedly because they helped them in enjoying their individual lives in a peaceful and just society. Unfortunately, this system lasted for a short time not because of the weakness of the concept of system but because of the deficiency of people by not measuring up to its requirement. Whatever period it lasted it was through good advice and perfect examples (Ch30 V44) and not under threat and coercion.

This new born society was not to the liking of the hypocrites in Medina LESSONS, P28

OPINION

MARCH 11, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P9

Bonding with America ...

Akhlaq e Amrikiye: A Manual for the Survival of Muslims in America (Part 3 of 7 ) n By Professor Nazeer Ahmed

A

Concord, CA

ccording to news reports, GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson accused Muslims who adhere to the Shariah and at the same time embrace American values of being “schizophrenic.”

In an interview with Breitbart News’ Stephen K. Bannon, Carson was asked whether he believes Muslims who are “Sharia adherent” can also participate in a Democratic society governed by

the rule of law.

“Only if they’re schizophrenic,” Carson said. “I don’t see how they can do it otherwise, because they have two different philosophies boring at you. That would be very difficult.”

Two alternatives present themselves in response to Carson’s statement. One can dismiss it as outlandish, calculated to catch the attention of voters in this election year when Islamophobia is on center stage in Republican primaries. Alternately, one can take it as a challenge to answer his assertion of Islamic schizophrenia with a cogent and rational narrative. I will choose the latter and it is in this spirit that I welcome the statement of Mr Carson. Let me explain my choice of response with an ancient story.

Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (1179) was a well-known Sufi Shaikh of Central Asia in the pre-Mongol era. I had the privilege of visiting his tomb during my visit to Uzbekistan in the year 2000.

Shaikh al-Ghujdawani was a retiring man.

Some considered him to be a hermit. He shunned the distractions of mundane pursuits and spent most of his time in contemplation and prayer in the forest, away from the cacophony of city life.

This retiring nature was unpopular with his wife who would have preferred it if the Shaikh spent more time with her at home.

The Shaikh was known in the land as a man of wisdom and inner knowledge. His disciples, spread out throughout Central Asia, would come to sit in his sohbets (spiritual discourses) to partake of his wisdom and seek guidance on specific issues of concern to them.

It so happened that one day, a disciple of the Shaikh who lived in a far-away village had a question about a religious issue which the local teachers were unable to answer. The discipline resolved to visit his Shaikh personally and seek his guidance on the issue.

The disciple packed up and after several days journey by foot arrived at the house of the Shaikh. Standing outside the door, respectfully, he called out for the Shaikh. After several minutes, the wife of the Shaikh answered from behind the closed door and asked who it was that was asking for the Shaikh.

“This is Abdullah, a disciple of the honorable Shaikh, madam”, answered the disciple. “I have a subtle question about a religious issue.

Only the Shaikh can guide me in this matter”.

Hearing this answer, the wife of the Shaikh burst into a tirade.

“You want to talk to the Shaikh? He does not come home for his food. He does not wear the clothes I sew but walks around in tattered rags. When I sent him some food he distributes it to the poor in the bazaar. He is a bum. He knows nothing. Why do you want to see him?”

The disciple was taken aback at this answer.

Out of his adab (respect), he remained silent.

After several more minutes of ranting, the wife of the Shaikh relented and told the disciple to look for the Shaikh in the nearby forest.

The disciple went to the forest, and after some searching, found the Shaikh seated in deep contemplation under a tree. Not wanting to disturb the Shaikh, the disciple tip-toed in and sat down quietly some distance from the Shaikh.

After some time, the Shaikh opened his eyes, and seeing his disciple, enquired what had brought him there. The disciple related how he had struggled to find guidance on the question haunting him.

“How did you find out I was here?” enquired the Shaikh.

After some hesitation, the disciple narrated to the Shaikh that he had visited his house and was told by the Shaikh’s wife to go look in the forest.

“What did my wife tell you about me?” asked the Shaikh.

The disciple was silent but when the Shaikh insisted, he told him what he had heard.

“My wife is my ego”, said the Shaikh. “She shows me what I am not so that I can struggle against my ego and continuously move towards a state of Ehsan.”

The moral of the story is this: Men and women of intellect are unfazed by harsh criticism. They use it as an occasion for improvement and advancing to the next step of the ladder of attainment.

It is in this light that one must react to Mr Carson’s statement. Are the Muslims schizophrenic about their presence in America? Let us look deep into our souls, and as Shaikh Abdul Khaliq Gujdawani did in response to the diatribe of his wife, use the occasion to improve ourselves.

Contract, Citizenship, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights “O you who believe!

Fulfill your contracts!” (The Qur’an: 5:1) There exists a solemn contract, a covenant, between every citizen and the Constitution of the United States. The solemn pledge of allegiance taken by citizens binds the two together in a mutuality of rights and responsibilities. This pledge comes with the birth certificate of those who are born in the US. It comes by choice with those who become naturalized citizens. In either case, it is solemn and binding on every citizen, without qualifications or disclaimers.

Who is a citizen? The Citizenship Clause of the Constitution’s 1868 Fourteenth Amendment defines citizens as “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside”.

Citizenship is not coercive. It is willingly entered into by every individual. If an American wants to emigrate and go to another country, the United States does not forbid it or hinder the process of relocation.

The laws, rules and regulations of the United States are binding on every citizen and on every resident. The life, liberty, property and safety of an individual are governed by these laws. The American constitution does not admit of any other law or system of laws within its territories.

As applied to the Muslim community, the bonds between the Constitution of the United States and the Muslims are even stronger. First, like all other citizens, there is the contractual obligation, willingly undertaken. Second, there is the divine injunction. The Qur’an enjoins the believers to fulfill their contracts and live within the paradigm of the laws, rules and regulations

of the country where they live. The sanctity of a contract is emphasized again and again in the Qur’an (References: 2:177: 2: 237; 2:282; 3:76; 4:21; 4:33; 5:1; 13:20; 16:91; 23:8; 70:32). An American must follow American laws. A Canadian must follow Canadian laws. A British citizen must follow British laws. An Australian citizen must obey Australian laws. And so on. Fully one fourth of all Muslims, some 400 million, live as minorities in lands as diverse as China, India and South Africa. The laws of each country constitute the legal framework for the lives of the Muslims who live in that country.

Ben Carson calls the American Muslims schizophrenic. He is not alone in this position.

A large number of Americans share this view.

There is a great deal of alarmist discussion in the media about Sharia law. It is alleged that the Muslims harbor an insidious, secret desire to impose Sharia law upon the United States.

Muslims must share some of the responsibility for these misconceptions. There is a lack of clarity among Muslim clerics and Muslim

Alternately, one can take it as a challenge to answer his assertion of Islamic schizophrenia with a cogent and rational narrative. I will choose the latter and it is in this spirit that I welcome the statement of Mr Ben Carson intellectual circles about what Shariah is, and its historical application in space-time. Specifically, the differences between Shariah, Fiqh, Maslak, tradition and culture are not clearly understood.

Certainly, they are not communicated with clarity to people of our sister faiths.

Shariah derives from the trilateral Arabic root word Sh-ra-‘a, meaning that which is prescribed, ordained or decreed. The sun rises from the East. That is Shariah. The night follows the day and the day follows the night. That is Shariah. The earth compresses and dilates under galactic gravitational waves. That is Shariah. It is the law that governs creation.

Fiqh is the application of the Shariah to specific human issues in space-time. In the days immediately following the death of the Prophet there were no organized schools of Fiqh. The community followed the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet. Gradually, the sciences of Fiqh evolved with their principles, applications and deductions.

Maslak is a specific school of Fiqh. The two

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hundred years following the death of the Prophet witnessed a burst of creative energy. This creative environment witnessed the development of a multiplicity of schools of Fiqh. Gradually, for historical reasons, the community gravitated towards five major schools of Fiqh: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’, Hanbali and Ithna Ashari. There are also other historically valid schools of Fiqh such as the Zaidi, Ismaili and others that are followed by a smaller number of Muslims. Each school of Fiqh (Maslak) reflects the social and historical context of its times. What is common to all of these schools is the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet. There is mutuality and concomitance between the Maslaks to varying degrees.

What differentiates them is the relative emphasis on Ijma (consensus of the community), Estehsan (juridical preference of a qualified judge), Qiyas (independent judgment of a scholar based on deductive analogy), and the accepted chain of transmission of Ahadith. I have provided a brief but informative discussion of the schools of Fiqh in the Encyclopedia of Islamic History www.historyofislam.com.

Culture is the way people relate to each other. Each country has its own culture. The American culture is different from the Indonesian culture. The Egyptian culture is different from the Indian culture. Tradition and culture act as super layers upon the core of religious beliefs and doctrines.

Tradition is what people have followed over an extended period of time. It is the way a people practice their religion. Tradition may or may not be a valid source of jurisprudence, however.

It should be obvious from the above brief observations that what is usually called “the Shariah law” is in fact a school of Fiqh applied in a specific cultural and temporal context. For instance, the laws of Saudi Arabia are not the same as the laws of Mauritania.

What is important is to remember that the source of the Law, the Qur’an is dynamic. The Qur’an refers to each of its passages as “Ayahs”, meaning, Signs or Symbols. Every word of the Qur’an is a Symbol which is infinitely elastic in its inner meanings. The Qur’an declares: “Had we brought down this Qur’an upon a mountain, You would see it humbled, Pulverized by fear of Allah.

And these are the similes We bring forth for humankind, So that they ponder.” (The Qur’an: 59:21) Those who insist on a literal interpretation of the Qur’an miss the dynamism of this Ayah.

Only a symbolic interpretation of the Divine Word allows it to be “larger than an ocean” and allows for its dynamic application in multiple locales in different ages. This is the inner meaning of Ijtihad. A symbol is limitless. It is not bound by space-time. By contrast, a literal word is static.

It grounds the faith before it takes the soul on a soaring journey to the heavens.

So, when some Americans say they do not want “the Shariah Law” in America, do they mean the law governed by a certain school of Fiqh as practiced in a certain country such as Saudi Arabia? Allowing for the fuzziness between Shariah and Fiqh in the minds of many people, the concern about “the Shariah Law” has no basis for the following reasons: 1. American Muslims are bound by covenant, as they are commanded to do by the Qur’an, to uphold and abide by the law of the United States.

2. The presence of Muslims in America is in conformance with the Seerah of the Prophet when he sent some of the early Muslims to live under the protection of the Negus, the Christian king of Abyssinia. As related by Ibn Ishaq, “When the Prophet saw the affliction of his companions, he said to them: “If you were to go to Abyssinia (it would be better for you), for the king will not tolerate injustice and it is a friendly country.”

3. No responsible Muslim scholar has advocated “the Shariah Law” for America.

Discussions of Sharia at universities, public lectures and conventions are for edification, MUSLIMS, P28

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PAKISTAN

MARCH 11, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P11

Mustafa Kamal Makes Serious Allegations against MQM Chief, Announces New Political Party

will make the party rethink its ways,” added Kamal, shaking his head.

Referring to the MQM supremo as “Altaf Sahib” as compared to his earlier reverential use of “Altaf Bhai”, he said Hussain was often intoxicated while addressing workers, and that his state worsened over time.

“Altaf gathered his workers and was intoxicated, when he addressed his supporters at 90 after the PTI achieved success during the 2013 elections,” said Kamal.

Despite repeated requests, Altaf Hussain did not pay heed to the advice given by party leaders.

Kamal added that the MQM chief was intoxicated when addressing the entire Rabita Committee. He went on to state that people have sacrificed their lives and generations for Altaf Hussain, while “we [Rabita Committee members] used to take responsibility for all his mistakes and actions.”

‘We tried our best to save Altaf ’: “We tried our best to keep Altaf Hussain from being exposed. Initially, he used to be out of his senses at night due to excessive drinking. But now he stays intoxicated for days and weeks,” stated Kamal while shedding light on the current state of affairs of his party.

“We staged a protest outside the Sindh Election Commission after elections just to cool down Altaf ’s temper.”

Kamal went on to say, “He used words such as “thok dou” (kill them) for

PTI workers and it became the Rabita Committee’s job to explain and justify his statements in front of the entire world,” said Kamal.

Referring to the many resignations presented by the MQM supremo, Kamal said even the media doesn’t remember how many times Altaf Hussain had resigned as party chief.

“We sacrificed for Altaf, and did not distinguish between right and wrong, but Altaf does not care about his workers. Party workers’ deaths are used by him for political point-scoring only.”

Referring to the loyalty of the party’s supporters, Kamal said, “Ever since this party came into being, people have lost their lives for the party’s cause, we fought the establishment and the entire world just to save Altaf Hussain.”

Talking about the current state of affairs within MQM, Kamal stated, “Look at the raids, the arrests, and the ignorance of the people; we accept that sacrifices have to be made for a cause, but what are these sacrifices for? Tell me, and I will make them too.”

He further stated that he tried to reverse the trend that was prevalent within the party for five years, but left when he grew frustrated with the lack of progress.

‘Indian setup’: “When I was leaving the party I knew my life would be in danger,” said Kamal, adding, “We knew we will be killed.”

He went on to say, “I knew I could not live in Pakistan. I knew Altaf ’s Hussain’s boys from the Indian and South African setup will be active.”

Talking about frequent allegations of Altaf ’s links with the Indian intelligence agency (RAW), Kamal stated, “Everyone knows Altaf Hussain has links with RAW.” “After Imran Farooq was murdered in 2010, Scotland Yard found documents from his (Farooq’s) house, and started summoning the MQM leadership (present in London) for interviews, including Altaf Hussain, who was grilled by British law enforcement for three consecutive days,” elaborated Kamal.

“They asked them (Altaf, Anwar, Tariq Mir) if they had links to India’s spy agency, which was refused initially, but the Scotland Yard produced documents after which the MQM leaders, including Altaf, confessed to getting support from RAW.”

it have not been finalized yet as the Iranians are keeping them open for now because of what a diplomatic observer described as a developing situation.

Islamabad and Tehran have a history of cancelling visits due to

regional issues and at least two trips were called off during the past couple of months.

Mr Sharif visited both Riyadh and Tehran in January when tension between the two states was at its height. It was dubbed as a ‘mediation trip’.

The Iranian leadership welcomed the initiative, while Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir apparently spurned it in a later statement, saying: “A lot of countries have offered mediation and delivered ideas between Saudi Arabia and Iran, but there is no need for this.”

The issues Mr Sharif would possibly discuss with Saudi leaders during his stay in Riyadh include Pakistan’s role in the 34-nation military alliance; Saudi Arabia’s financial assistance and planned investment in Pakistan; regional issues and other facets of bilateral ties.

“The prime minister will touch on those issues and ensure that we remain aligned with the Saudis,” an official said.

Mustafa Kamal breaks downs as he addresses a press conference in Karachi

Karachi: Former mayor of Karachi,

Mustafa Kamal in a dramatic return to the city revealed for the first time the reason behind his controversial exit from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and criticized the party chief Altaf Hussain for “deception” and what he called his poor running of one of Karachi’s strongest political parties.

In a speech that lasted nearly two hours, he also announced the formation of a new political party, which he said is yet to be named. He raised a Pakistani flag and said it is the official emblem of his newly launched organization.

“Today we are laying the foundation of an organization, you may call it a party. We are just two individuals, myself and Anees Qaimkhani.”

Midway during the speech, Kamal broke down into tears while addressing the press conference, as he went on to make major revelations about the internal working of the party and what he called the cult of personality made around Altaf Hussain.

“Every time the MQM joined the government, its position deteriorated,” Kamal stated.

“But Altaf Sahib and the MQM instead of apologizing, began verbally attacking PTI women activists at Teen Talwar,” he said, adding that despite poor governance, the MQM was able to bag two more seats between 2008 and 2013.

“I thought the PTI stealing almost a million votes from MQM’s strongholds

PM to Attend Summit of Saudi-Led Military Bloc

Islamabad: Prime Minister Nawaz

Sharif is scheduled to pay a threeday visit to Saudi Arabia from March 9 for underscoring the importance of the kingdom for Pakistan.

The visit has not been officially announced yet, but multiple government sources confirmed that Mr Sharif planned to visit Saudi Arabia from March 9 to 11.

During the visit, the prime minister is likely to meet Saudi King Salman.

Separately, there are reports that he might also attend the inaugural summit of the 34-nation military alliance which Saudi Arabia has announced for fighting terrorism.

The meeting is reportedly taking place on March 10.

The prime minister is making the trip ahead of a planned visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Islamabad that is likely after March 20.

The dates for Mr Rouhani’s vis-

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MQM Reacts: “The Last and Final Card by Chaudhry Nisar”

“The return of Mustafa Kamal and Anees Qaimkhani is part of a conspiracy but MQM stands by Altaf Hussain,” said party leader Farooq Sattar

Karachi: MQM MNA Ali Raza

Abidi on Twitter said Kamal’s return was “the last and final card by Chaudhry Nisar”, apparently hinting at a greater game behind the former mayor’s return.

The party recently cried foul and alleged a conspiracy was on to malign the MQM after the Federal Investigation Agency registered a case against Altaf Hussain and other party leaders in the murder of former MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq.

MQM leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, reacting to the development last year, questioned the ‘timing’ of the case, terming it as “an attempt to malign the MQM”.

MQM holds ‘peaceful demonstrations’ after Kamal outburst: To express solidarity with their party chief Altaf Hussain after former Karachi mayor attacked him in a press conference Thursday afternoon, Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers and activists staged peaceful protest rallies at several locations in Karachi on Friday.

The MQM had termed Kamal’s presser a conspiracy in a press conference after Kamal’s diatribe, terming all allegations against Altaf Hussain as ‘an insult to the intelligence of those who vote for the party.’

“The return of Mustafa Kamal and Anees Qaimkhani is part of a conspiracy but MQM stands by Altaf Hussain,” said party leader Farooq Sattar.

In a statement released by the party, peaceful protest demonstrations were held in Landhi, Korangi, Malir, Shah Faisal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Lines Area, Defense, Gulshane-Iqbal, Surjani, Qasba Aligarh, Orangi Town, Federal B Area, and Nazimabad.

Intrigue surrounds Mustafa Kamal’s return: Individuals who claim to know Mustafa Kamal intimately, find the timing and the reasons described by him for his return extremely intriguing.

Generally considered as a good man, Mustafa Kamal left Karachi unannounced initially for the United States in 2013.

Kamal then shifted to Dubai, where he started working for Bahria Town and continues to work for the real estate concern to this day. The design and the construction of Jehangir Kothari Parade flyover and underpass are generally credited to him.

He is known to be close to party-strongman Anees Qaimkhani,

who sat next to him in the press conference. Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and former head of Karachi Tanzeemi Committee (KTC) Hammad Siddiqui have also maintained close contact with Mustafa Kamal and Anees Qaimkhani over the years.

While he ruthlessly attacked MQM supremo Altaf Hussain during his press conference, Mustafa did not attack or even mention many others including Babar Ghauri, whom he is known to despise.

He did not seem to have encouraged Hammad Siddiqui and other comrades of his to return, as there are known cases of violence registered against them. He however appealed to the establishment for their clemency, though chances of such a clemency may be remote if not impossible.

MQM Dissidents Have Been Trapped, Claims Waseem

Karachi: In a thinly veiled reference

to the establishment, Muttahida Qaumi Movement mayoral nominee Waseem Akhtar claimed party dissidents Mustafa Kamal and Anis Kaimkhani who have been ‘brought’ to Pakistan will realize their mistake soon.

“They have been trapped and brought to Pakistan ... let’s see how long they will enjoy their patronage,” said Mr Akhtar, while talking to the media on Saturday.

The MQM expelled Mustafa Kamal and Anees Qaimkhani from the party and announced the termination of their basic membership.

In an attempt to denigrate Mr Kamal’s role as Karachi nazim, Mr Akhtar, who has won the Dec 5 local government elections from Karachi East district union committee, said the development work he had carried out during his tenure was not ‘rocket science’ but the result of teamwork.

“I myself was the local government adviser [to the Sindh chief minister] and President Pervez Musharraf was providing resources to the city. Anyone in his [Kamal] place could have produced the same results,” he added.

He said the two individuals were not even politicians, as they did not have any political experience.

They would soon be exposed before the masses, he added.

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PAKISTAN

MARCH 11, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P13

Pakistan and Germany to Launch Renewable Energy Forum

Islamabad: German Ambassador Ina Lepel has said that a renewable energy forum will be launched in collaboration with Pakistan in a bid to bring together stakeholders from public and private sectors of the two countries.

Speaking at the 5th International Exhibition and Conference on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency on Saturday, Lepel said the German Development Cooperation – an agency that cooperates in sustainable development – had been engaged in renewable energy and energy efficiency programs since 1962, the year a development partnership began between Pakistan and Germany.

“Our objective is to support sustainable electricity supply in Pakistan and to help improve efficient use of energy,” she added.

The ambassador said besides financial and technical cooperation in the area of energy ranging from construction of hydroelectric power plants to supporting reforms and policy formulation, the goal was to leverage the business potential in renewable energy that exist in both countries.

She was of the view that Pakistan had a big potential for sustainable economic and social development owing to its geographical realities as a trade corridor, its agricultural and human resources and the prospect of a competitive exporter of goods in demand within the region and beyond.

Pakistan’s potential in terms of renewable energy was even bigger than Germany as the former had more wind corridors, more solar

German Ambassador Ina Lepel inaugurates the 5th International Exhibition and Conference on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency

Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani (c) speaks during a one-day meeting with Pakistan, United States and Chinese delegations in Kabul, Afghanistan

power resources and exceptional opportunities for hydroelectric power production, she said.

Lepel saw ample possibilities of engaging in business activities that would create employment and income opportunities and contribute to Pakistan’s economic development.

She stressed that development partners could play a pivotal role, especially by providing expertise and specific technologies, in order to give a boost to the renewable energy sector.

Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) Chief Executive Officer Amjad Ali Awan said Pakistan’s renewable energy sector had received encouraging response from the international market and mapping of solar and wind resources was in progress while biomass mapping had been completed.

He disclosed that efforts were

Islamabad: Efforts for reviving the

United States Moves to Finalize F-16 Deal with Pakistan

Washington: The US government has

formally notified the intended sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, taking a major step towards finalizing the deal.

“This proposed sale contributes to US foreign policy objectives and national security goals by helping to improve the security of a strategic partner in South Asia,” said the notification published in the US Federal Register on Friday, along with a copy of the Feb 11 letter which the Defense Security Cooperation Agency wrote to speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan.

“We are grateful to the US administration and members of Congress for their acknowledgment of Pakistan’s decisive actions against extremists and terrorists and of the effective role the F-16a play in our counter-terrorism efforts,” said Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani while commenting on the notification.

The notification estimates the total cost of the deal to be nearly $700 million.

The Indian government and some US lawmakers, however, are questioning Washington’s rationale that such

Taliban Refusal Puts Talks in Jeopardy

an arms transfer will help combat terrorism. They claim the fighter jets will change the military balance in South Asia and will ultimately be used against India.

In a policy justification, posted on the Federal Register, the US administration rejected this assertion. “The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region,” it argued, adding that the aircraft would improve “Pakistan’s capability to meet current and future security threats”.

The administration also noted that the additional F-16 aircraft would facilitate operations in non-daylight environments and “enhance Pakistan’s ability to conduct counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations”.

The Obama administration also explained that the sale would increase the number of aircraft available to the Pakistan Air Force to sustain operations, meet monthly training requirements, and support transition training for pilots new to the Block-52, F-16 aircraft.

Implementation of the proposed sale would not require the assignment of any additional US government or contractor representatives to Pakistan. There would be no adverse impact on US defense readiness either, it said.

An additional note to the House speaker said the sale was “necessary in furtherance of the US foreign policy and national security objectives outlined in the Policy Justification”.

being made to enhance the share of renewable energy up to 35% in the total energy mix in order to ensure energy security. Pakistan could generate over 40,000 megawatts of clean energy only through the Keti Bandar wind corridor and the same area could also produce solar energy, he said.

The AEDB has set a production target of over 3,000MW of electricity with the help of renewable energy resources.

Air University Dean Dr Zafarullah Koreshi, while underlining the need of promoting renewable energy, said over 40,000-50,000MW of electricity could be generated from hydel resources.

Renewable Alternative Energy Association of Pakistan Vice Chairman Asif said renewable energy was the only solution to power outages.

Rangers Grill Lyari MPA Sania Naz Karachi:

A woman l aw ma ker of the Pakistan Peoples Party was grilled

by Rangers about her suspected ties with gangsters in Lyari, it emerged on Saturday.

Sources in the paramilitary force said that Sania Naz was called to the Rangers headquarters on Friday, where she was questioned for a couple of hours in the light of interrogation of Uzair Baloch.

Ms Naz recorded her statement and was allowed to return home.

But, despite repeated attempts, she could not be reached on her mobile phone.

The Rangers had announced the arrest of Uzair Baloch in January and a day later they informed an antiterrorism court of his 90-day preventive detention. Later, they called former home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza and recorded his statement.

They also summoned a former president of PPP-Karachi division, Abdul Qadir Patel, to record his statement.

Mr Patel, a former member of the national assembly, reportedly conveyed to the paramilitary force through his lawyer that he was in the United Kingdom for his medical treatment and would return home on March 29.

www.PakistanLink.com

reconciliation dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban ran into problems on Saturday with the main faction of the insurgent group denying it planned to join the process besides questioning its efficacy.

“We unequivocally state that the leader of Islamic Emirate has not authorized anyone to participate in this meeting,” said a statement by the Taliban, who officially call themselves ‘Islamic Emirate’ — the moniker they used during the period they ruled Afghanistan.

The statement further reiterated the conditions the group has been stating all along for entering the peace dialogue — exit of foreign forces from Afghanistan, lifting of curbs on Taliban leaders and release of Taliban prisoners from Afghan jails.

The insurgent group headed by Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, which issued the statement, is the dominant militant faction in the Afghan war theatre and is also recognized by the Afghan government as a ‘legitimate interlocutor’. The faction is represented by its Political Office in Doha (Qa-

tar). Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif last month visited Doha for enlisting support of the Qatari leadership for the initiative.

The statement ended hopes of the reconciliation negotiations commencing in the first week of this month — a timeline set by the four countries — Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the US — participating in the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) on Afghan reconciliation.

This is the second time that QCG has missed the deadline. It had initially planned to open the talks in the last week of February.

The reconciliation dialogue with the Taliban has been suspended since July last year when it transpired ahead of the second round of the process being pursued then that the insurgent group’s leader Mullah Omar had been dead for over two years.

The factors cited by the group now for not returning to the negotiation table include intensification of operations by Afghan forces, deployment of US troops to the battlefield and their participation in air strikes and continuing night raids.

Trump Says US Troops Needed in Afghanistan to Protect Pak N-Arms n By Anwar Iqbal Washington: If elected to the White

House, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump would keep US troops in Afghanistan to ‘protect’ Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.

“I think you have to stay in Afghanistan for a while, because of the fact that you are right next to Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons and we have to protect that,” said Mr Trump while responding to a question during Thursday night’s Republican presidential debate.

Mr Trump is an outsider who blitzkrieged into the 2016 Republican presidential campaign and propelled himself into the first position by capturing the highest number of delegates in early primaries. He is particularly popular among conservative Republicans and in rural America, where 70 per cent white voters live.

“Nuclear weapons change the game,” said the billionaire campaigner while explaining why Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal necessitated continued US military presence in Afghanistan.

Last year, Mr Trump suggested involving India in efforts to denuclearize Pakistan. “You have to get India involved. India’s the check to Paki-

stan,” he said in a radio address in September.

“They (India) have their own nukes and have a very powerful army.

They seem to be the real check... I think we have to deal very closely with India to deal with it (Pakistan),” he added.

Mr Trump’s suggestion to keep US troops in Afghanistan was one of the few serious references to foreign policy issues at the presidential debate.

Most US media outlets described the debate in Detroit, Michigan, as a two-hour long shouting match with no substance.

The prestigious New Yorker magazine ran its report on the debate with the headline: “Donald Trump and an even cruder Republican debate...” - Dawn

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MARCH 11, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P15

Pakistan’s Big Threat Isn’t Terrorism alone, It’s Climate Change too

Sharmeen Rejects Criticism of Documentary

n By Sualiha NazarSualiha Nazar Islamabad: For decades, Pakistan

has struggled to manage urgent crises, ranging from infrastructure woes to terrorism. While its policies focus on short-term conventional threats, a potentially devastating danger lurks in the shadows: climate change. As the impact of global warming continues to grow, the political and economic instability it brings will threaten Pakistan’s security. The Pakistani government must prioritize its response to climate change in order to mitigate environmental threats and prevent future calamities.

Much like the government, the Pakistani public finds it difficult to prioritize climate change when the average citizen is deprived of life’s most basic necessities. For the population, immediate and clear hazards to their livelihood trump long-term, still largely invisible threats. In 20072008, a Gallup poll found that only 34 percent of Pakistanis were aware of climate change, and only 24 percent considered it a serious threat.

However, this perception is changing as global warming starts to impact everyday life. Over the past several years, Pakistanis have witnessed, firsthand, the devastating effects of climate change. Catastrophic floods displaced millions, and severe droughts in Thar and Balochistan portend the damage global warming can cause. The frequency of those floods has increased over the last five years, due to melting glaciers and heavy rainfall. Karachi, Pakistan’s most populous metropolitan city, suffered a heat wave so severe it claimed the lives of almost 1,200 people. These recent disasters could account for the change in public opinion from the 2007-2008 Gallup poll to the situation in 2015, when Pakistan joined the list of 19 countries where the majority of the population now considers climate change a top global threat.

Perhaps the biggest security threat facing Pakistan today is the possibility of climate change and environmental factors destabilizing Karachi, which is regarded as the country’s economic backbone. With a population of approximately 17 million people, the city attracts almost a million migrants every year due to its vast pool of employment opportunities, per a report

by Express Tribune. It is also Pakistan’s main port city, and accounts for 42 percent of its total GDP. It generates about half of Pakistan’s tax revenue, and houses its stock exchange, central bank, and the priciest real estate in the country, according to the CEO of real estate portal Zameen.com.

Karachi is also close to the Indus River Delta, where the Indus flows into the Arabian Sea. Due to rising sea levels, the delta is now almost at-level with the Arabian Sea. This threatens the stability of the ecosystem because it leads to land erosion and increases the salinity of creeks flowing from the Indus, creating an inhospitable environment for aquatic creatures and mangrove trees that depend on fresh water. Sea intrusion can cause temporary and permanent flooding to large land areas, negatively impacting local ecosystems and fresh water supplies that villagers rely on for food security and drinking water.

The repercussions of climate

change are exacerbated when combined with man-made modifications that have a drastic effect on the overall ecosystem. It not only upsets the balance of the environment, but also increases susceptibility to natural disasters like cyclones and tsunamis.

Alarmingly, the area of Pakistan that is covered by mangrove forests has decreased from 400,000 hectares in 1945 to 70,000 hectares today due to land grabbing, rising sea levels, and the decreasing flow of fresh water into the sea. According to the World Wildlife Federation (WWF), the mangrove trees play a critical role in buffering the coastline from erosion caused by waves and storms.

In an interview with me in January, Dr Asif Inam of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) said, “Mangrove trees cannot stop cyclones and tsunamis. Instead, they act as the first line of defense against these natural calamities, minimizing their damage.” Once home to a dense mangrove forest essential to the sustenance of the delta, 205 acres have been razed to make way for several coal-fired power plants. With the mangroves gone, the Karachi coastline is now more prone to natural disasters such as cyclones and tsunamis.

Last year, the United Nations conducted a drill simulating a major earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The exercise was based on a hypothetical 9.0 magnitude quake in the Makran Trench, where the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet off the coast of Pakistan, which could trigger a catastrophic tsunami. Tauseef Alam, the chief meteorologist who supervised the tests, warned that the disastrous tsunami waves could reach Karachi in one and a half hours and “wipe out the entire city.” As the sea line creeps closer to the city limits because of land erosion resulting from Mangrove tree deforestation, the danger to Karachi’s population increases.

In 2014, the United Nations released an assessment of what would happen to Karachi if it faced another Tsunami like the one it faced in 1945 that claimed the lives of almost 4,000 people. So far, no tangible evacuation plan exists, despite efforts to implement an early warning system to prepare the city’s residents in case of an emergency.

An additional strain to Karachi’s stability is the Port Qasim Power Project, part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor program, currently in development along the coastline of the Arabian Sea. Though created to alleviate Pakistan’s energy crisis, the project has wreaked havoc on the lives of people in close proximity to it, and

damaged one of Pakistan’s most critical ecosystems. Many Pakistanis living along the coastal belt rely on the ecosystem’s stability for their livelihood, to farm and fish. Changes in the ecosystem, caused both by manmade developments and climate change, have displaced as many as 80 percent of the five million Pakistanis who once lived along the banks of the Delta. Climateinduced migration has spread across much of Pakistan, as droughts, floods, and sea intrusion disrupt local communities.

With sea levels rising, there is also an increased chance of trans-boundary migration. According to a report

by Dawn, sea level rise is expected to produce 35-40 million climate refugees. These Pakistani refugees will have no place to go: migration to India will not be possible because of the tense political history between the nations, and Bangladesh will not be able to absorb the vast number of refugees as it suffers from its own low-lying coastal belt.

Dr Inam of the NIO agrees that the danger is imminent unless drastic actions are taken. “Time for Karachi is quickly running out,” he said. “Some parts of Karachi’s Malir have already gone under water. And with the current rate of climate change, the economic hub of Pakistan has 35 to 45 years before it completely submerges into the Arabian Sea.” Karachi’s stability is critical to Pakistan’s security. As climate change increases the intensity of natural disasters and threatens economic stability, the fate of the metropolis could shape that of the entire country.

Pakistan runs on an agrarian economy. From 1949 to 1950, Pakistan’s agriculture sector was responsible for 53 percent of the total GDP. By 1980 to 1981, this number had dropped to 31 percent; in recent years, it has fallen even further to 21.4 percent. Among other factors, experts blame the drop on increased floods and droughts. The decrease in agricultural contributions to national GDP have stunted the economic growth of the country. According to leading economist Ishrat Husain, the economy grew by 2.9 percent per annum in the last five years, but it could have exceeded a projected rate of 6.5 percent if flooding had not caused economic and human losses.

According to a report published by the US Department of Defense “climate change will exacerbate global instability, posing an immediate threat to national security.” Among other factors, the report identified strained water supplies due to melting glaciers as a factor that could trigger instabil-

www.PakistanLink.com

Karachi: Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on Saturday afternoon rejected the notion that she through her films is showing the negative side of Pakistan to the rest of the world.

She was of the view that issues like honor killing need everyone’s attention and that in accordance with the Quaid-i-Azam’s ideas our society can only progress if women stand shoulder to shoulder with men.

She was speaking at a press conference held to discuss her documentary ‘A Girl in the River’ which won ity. Pakistan ranks as the sixth-most populous country in the world, and is already unable to meet the growing water demand. The flooding and droughts destroy billions of dollars’ worth of crops every year, increasing the rates of inflation and unemployment. In addition to the water shortage, the long-term damage to fields and crops will lead to food scarcity.

If this trend continues, Pakistan will be unable to meet the demands of its population, which is growing by nearly 2 percent each year.

It is imperative that Pakistan makes climate change a priority. Failure to do so would jeopardize the country’s national security. Where water and food shortage catalyzes civil unrest and conflicts, it will also hinder the government’s ability to properly manage its resources.

Currently, Pakistan has allocated 58.8 million rupees to combat climate change, a commitment that must be increased. Since Pakistan is not financially secure enough to afford climate change implementation programs on its own, it needs assistance from foreign entities as well as climate change experts who can design comprehensive programs, bearing in mind the government’s limitations.

The historic Paris Agreement in 2015 provides hope for a global response to the threat of climate change.

The agreement made it clear that the responsibility for climate change lies with all nations. The government of Pakistan, much like all the member countries, has an obligation to follow strict guidelines and adopt more intense and frequent reporting of their progress. Only by assessing the vulnerabilities and needs of the state and strengthening its adaptation at the local level can Pakistan fully pursue opportunities offered, especially climate financing opportunities, through the Paris Climate Summit.

(Sualiha NazarSualiha Nazar is a Mass Communication professional who has previously worked for The News and Corporate and Marketing Communication (CMC)

Ms Obaid-Chinoy her second Oscar award in four years on Feb 29.

“We should speak the truth. I’m speaking the truth through my films.

What face of the country are you [the media] showing? I’m doing that, showing the truth.” This was her response to a question asked by a journalist at the press conference Before the rather lengthy question-answer session, Ms Obaid-Chinoy gave a speech. She started off by thanking the entire Pakistan for watching the Oscar award ceremony and congratulating her through different messages. She also extended her gratitude to people working in Pakistan to highlight the issue of honor killing. She then thanked the media for talking about it in their prime time programs as a result of which people had begun to take note of it.

She said her film was first screened at the Prime Minister House, where apart from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, parliamentarians, cabinet ministers and members of the media were present. She believed that Islam did not permit honor killing. She said the prime minister had taken a step forward which should be appreciated. She claimed people were now talking about a law to tackle the issue and termed it “Pakistan’s victory”.

Ms Obaid-Chinoy said she and her team had been thinking about making a film on the subject for many years, but the problem was that 99 per cent victims of honor killing did not survive. One day, she said, they read in the papers that an 18-year-old girl was thrown into the river after being shot in the name of honor killing. Her team rushed to the hospital to see her.

The story of Saba showed the “best” of Pakistan as well because there were people who helped her recover. After surviving the bullet shots, she got out of the river, reached a petrol station where someone helped her to call a rescue team after which paramedics arrived to take her to a governmentrun hospital where she was looked after by the doctors, led by Dr Shahid.

The police and their SHO Ali Akbar cooperated in sending a special squad to catch the culprits, and lawyer Asad Jamal fought her case. Saba was her hero, her source of inspiration, because in our country women worked under tremendous pressures.

Ms Obaid-Chinoy said the flaw in the law was that one could be forgiven in such a case. She gave a couple of examples in that regard one of which was from Sahiwal, where a son killed his mother, but was forgiven by his father. A few years later, he killed his sisters.

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P16 – PAKISTAN LINK – MARCH 11, 2016

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MARCH 11, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P17

Community Link Friday, March 11, 2016

VOL. 26/11 PAGE 18

Kareem Abdul Jabbar: World’s Greatest Player n By Patrick Burnett Program Coordinator, School of International Service, American University Washington, DC

E

ight months after announcing his campaign, presidential front-runner Donald Trump continues to radically shape American political discourse. He has managed to carry out a first in modern American politics by building a wildly successful presidential campaign around the Islamophobia that once lay latent in parts of America. In light of this new political reality, American Muslims and their allies are increasingly unsure how to cope with such rhetoric in a country built around ideas of liberty and justice for all.

Despite the increase in threats both perceived and real against American Muslims, I witnessed firsthand my Muslim professor, Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington, DC, venture into the field in a Southern town rife with political tensions. But rather than facing protests or threats upon arrival in Williamsburg, Va., Ahmed was received with the sincerest of Southern hospitality. The trip also allowed me the opportunity to take the temperature of America in the time of Trump.

On Feb. 18-19, I had the honor of traveling with Ambassador Ahmed to Williamsburg to participate in the College of William and Mary’s Global Film Festival - a university-run festival that highlighted Ahmed’s academic contributions to interfaith bridge building in an unprecedented series of three events. Williamsburg may be a bucolic college town a mere two-anda-half hours from Washington, but it is no haven from Islamophobic rhetoric. The main mosque in Williamsburg is surrounded with high-intensity security in response to a rash of threats, and stories remain of post-9/11 petition efforts against the university requesting it dismiss members of the Islamic Studies faculty over “teaching terrorism.” Our hosts in Williamsburg were also visibly protective of Ahmed during his visit, making sure to keep their eyes on anyone wishing to speak with him or ask

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How to Be Led away from a Trump Rally

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Nergis Mavalvala Meets Ahsan Iqbal at MIT

Taking the Temperature of Trump’s America: The Power of Pluralist Dialogue Perseveres questions of him during his lecture and film screening. Fear filled the air where the Revolutionary flame once burned strong.

Yet, despite the reigning tension, Ahmed’s visit to Williamsburg was received with nothing short of tremendous warmth and admiration. The Global Film Festival at William and Mary, in its ninth year, features a wide array of films from around the globe, all coalescing around an annual theme. This year’s theme, Film and Community, was built around both Journey into Europe (2015), Ahmed’s newest acclaimed documentary film telling the story of Islam in Europe as based in fieldwork, and Ahmed’s previous documentary project, Journey into America (2009), a fieldwork-based documentary exploring Islam in America and American society. If one questions whether American Muslims are being sidelined, one only needs to recognize that a Muslim filmmaker’s documentary films about Islam in the West shaped the programming of an entire mainstream film festival.

The film screenings themselves were testimony to the mainstream celebration of Ahmed’s work as an Islamic scholar. The night after a pre-festival screening of Journey into America in Colonial Williamsburg’s premiere theater, the Kimball Theater, on Feb. 17, the community eagerly awaited the Virginia premiere of Journey into Europe. The red carpet was even rolled out to commemorate the film’s role in opening this year’s festival. Excitement filled the air.

I myself was ecstatic over the film screening - Journey into Europe’s most prominent to date - despite having overseen numerous screenings in DC and Montgomery County, Md. Not only was I seeing the film that we all have worked so hard to create and promote on the big screen in a theater built in the grand old style of American cinema, the Kimball Theater, but my own work on the film project was directly recognized by members of the Festival committee. One committee member even exclaimed his

Jumadal-ulkhra 1437 H

Ambassador Akbar Ahmed speaks to a full house at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. on the increasingly urgent need for the West and the Muslim World to better understand one another for the sake of peace. The event concluded Ambassador Ahmed’s keynote appearances at the William and Mary Global Film Festival. Both photos credited to Patrick Burnett

thrill in seeing my name on the big screen! Yet, beyond my own sense of pride in our project’s success, my heart was warmed by the public reception of this challenging film on Islam in these trying times.

While the film screenings were massively successful on their own, the climax of our visit to Williamsburg came as Ahmed addressed a full-house of students, faculty,

a voice of reason in a time when we need it more than ever. And as Ahmed began speaking on the urgent need to bridge the gap between the West and Islam, it quickly became clear this would be no ordinary lecture.

Into the lecture, Ahmed suddenly began choking back tears - something neither I nor his students have ever witnessed. The

and community members in William and Mary’s Reves Room the morning of February 19. Dr Steve Hanson, the Director of the Reves Center for International Studies at William and Mary, set the tone for the morning’s lecture in naming Ahmed a true moral leader and

sense of urgency he has spoken of for decades hit a fever pitch. as he discussed the redline crossed by militants in their senseless slaughter of children around the globe.

Ahmed went on to describe how he sees not only the lives of his own children and grandchildren, but

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www.PakistanLink.com his students current and former, including Frankie Martin and myself sitting in the audience, in reflections of the 150 students senselessly slaughtered in the December 2014 Peshawar, Pakistan school massacre. Suddenly, this evil attack half a world away - one of countless across the globe - became all too real for a room filled with students, professors, and parents. In this rare show of deep emotion on stage, Ahmed transformed a tragedy in Pakistan from being just some Muslim tragedy to a true human tragedy. The issues at hand were no longer challenges in the Muslim World versus challenges in the West, but critical challenges of our collective humanity - and the entire room came together to begin confronting this reality.

In case one argues such sentiments are exclusive to college campuses though, one can be comforted by the response Ahmed received later that same evening at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC. In delivering a similar lecture to a club that calls a number of Nobel Prize recipients as members, the audience - some of the senior most figures in Washington - responding with overwhelming applause and a strong commitment to not only better understanding the Muslim world, but bringing Americans closer together. Dr Marcel Horowitz, the chair of the evening’s events, in his introductions even named Ahmed “one of the most inspirational individuals I have ever encountered.”

The events of this past week in Williamsburg and Washington remind us that predator America may hold the national microphone right now, but pluralist America refuses to step aside. With my very own eyes, I witnessed myriad American crowds listen to a leading Muslim voice with true sincerity over the course of 48 hours and walk away inspired to bring our fractured world together. The message from the field is clear - the power of pluralist dialogue rings at a fevered pitch in the time of Trump.

(Patrick Burnett is a 2015 graduate of the American University School of International Service (SIS) in Washington, DC and a program coordinator for SIS)

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P18 – PAKISTAN LINK – MARCH 11, 2016

Kareem Abdul Jabbar: World’s Greatest Basketball Player n By Mohammad Yacoob

O

Los Angeles, CA

ne day during the month of Ramadan in 1968, Lew Alcindor, a very tall African-American young man together with Dr Salahuddin Bryson came to a location close to the University of California (UCLA) in West Los Angeles, to watch Muslims praying. At this location, Muslims from Pakistan, India and Burma had gathered to perform the Isha and Ramadan-Taraweeh prayers. He was a student of University of California at Los Angeles and the most celebrated UCLA basketball players.

In his early life Lew Alcindor felt being imprisoned by a certain image that did not fit his life and thinking. This awareness made him more restless. He said later that his early awakening came from reading “The Autobiography of Malcolm X (al-hajj Malik Shahbazz)” that provided him a sudden, dramatic, and seemingly irreversible beginning, a shift in consciousness, and moved him to higher levels of excitement of the mind and emotions. This transformation inspired him and he began to study the Qur’an.

Lew Alcindor was the tallest child in the school system and everybody in the school encouraged him to play basketball. He mastered the essentials of the game as early as fifth grade, and developed the soaring “sky hook” that became his signature shot on the basketball court. His ability won him a scholarship to a private Catholic high school. At the age of 15, he led his school team to 95 victories in 101 games and three consecutive championships in New York City’s Catholic school league. In all three years, he was named a High School All-American Player. Later, he chose the University of California, Los Angeles for his studies and to play basketball. He became eligible to play during his sophomore year and played for three years (1967-1969) leading UCLA become national champions all three years, losing only two games out of 90.

He is the only player named the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player three times and became the most famous college sports star.

He was very much aware of the complex moral and political issues of the 1960’s. He came to know that Malcolm X’s hard work proved to be a catalyst in the civil rights movement for the African-American people. His new found awareness about race relations around the world and particularly the sayings of Malcolm X during Hajj pilgrimage about the lack of race consciousness among Muslims prompted him in 1968 to decline to play on the United States Olympic team because of the high level of racism and extremism. http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/photocredit/ achievers/abd0-005 Lew Alcindor was recruited after graduation from UCLA by the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. He played well, personally finishing second in the league for scoring and was named Rookie of the Year. In the 1970-71 basketball regular season he was named Most Valuable Player, and again Most Valuable Player in the finals when he led Bucks to Basketball Championship.

Immediately following this first championship season, he adopted the Muslim name, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He said he did not intend to make his name an issue in the sports like boxing champion Muhammad Ali had done earlier.

In the 1971-72, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was again the NBA’s scoring champion and voted the Most Valuable Player in that season and again the following year. He played as a professional basketball player for Milwakee Bucks from 1969 to 1974, then he moved to Los Angeles and played for Lak-

I

ers from 1975-1989. His performance was the product of a disciplined training regimen which he used on the basketball court with speed and grace. He perfected the unstoppable skyhook shot in basketball history that continues to marvel the world of sports. He established himself as a dominant figure in professional basketball and scored 38,387 points in his career, the highest by any player, a record in the league.

He remains the all-time leading scorer in the NBA (National Basketball Association), and is ranked third all-time in both rebounds and blocks; a six-time NBA champion and league Most Valuable Player. In 2007 ESPN voted him the greatest center of all time; in 2008 they named him the “greatest player in college basketball history; and in 2016, “All-Time #NBA rank 2 player.”

Since 2005, Abdul-Jabbar has served as special assistant coach and as coach for 2009-2010 Season for the Lakers.

This year, 2016, he was chosen to be on the Lakers Float in the Pasadena Rose Parade on the New Year’s Day. Kareem Abdul Jabbar is an independent thinker and an intellectually sharp American. Discovering humanity in the autobiography of Malcolm X, studying Qur’an and reflecting on the overall message of Islam, has helped him tremendously. He has now dedicated his life to educating the AfricanAfricans about the legacy of African-American Achievement and to removing ignorance among the Americans about the lost history of African-American and the work of contemporary dedicated, selfless, and brave leaders.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar recognizes the greatness of America and wrote that its scientific achievements and inventions have the greatest impact on humanity around the world, yet contributions made by many African-Americans inventors have been ignored by history textbooks, based on the skin of their color. He wished to educate Americans about the central role that African-Americans played in shaping the United States from the beginning – from slavery to astronauts

Sherwani-Clad Saqib Shows How to Be Led away from a Trump Rally in Style

t was the hair flick to end all hair flicks.

Last week Saqib Javed showed the world how to call Donald Trump out for racism and get kicked out of a rally in style.

In a video on AJ+ and on Saqib’s Facebook page, the young student, attending a Trump rally in Warren, Michigan, is shown screaming at Trump: “Not all Muslims are terrorists! Not all Mexicans are rapists!”

Following this, Trump is heard yelling, “Get him out of here!”

Using his phone, Saqib recorded himself being escorted from the rally... but not before he nonchalantly flicks back a lock of full, shiny hair. To top it all off, Saqib chose to stage his protest wearing an embroi-

in space, winning Noble Prize in Literature and Peace, being elected to congress to the election of the first African-American President of the US. Many a times being a student of History, having graduated from UCLA with a BA in History in 1969, he knows very well that the African-American history has long been neglected, ignored and even suppressed, so he did not wait for something to happen or someone to write the history of the African-Americans. He wrote books to suppress the sounds and noises coming from the dark alleys of disinformation and misinformation. His books for adults include Giant Steps, Black Profiles in Courage, A Season On the Reservation, Brothers in Arms, On the Shoulders of Giants, My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance, and the children’s books, StreetBall Crew, Sasquatch in the Paint and What Color is my World? It should be noted that every year February is designated as the ‘Black History Month’ in the United States. His book “What Color Is My World?” published in the month of February 2012 won the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) award for Best Children’s Book in 2012. He is also a New York Times best-selling author of seven books.

He was selected as the global Cultural Ambassador for the US State Department. He seized this opportunity to discuss with young people around the world the importance of education, social and racial tolerance, cultural understanding, and using sports as a means of empowerment.

In June 2011, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was honored at the White House by President Barack Obama, and for his commitment to education and equality he received the President Abraham Lincoln Medal from US Attorney General Eric Holder.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a celebrated author, filmmaker and education ambassador, whose life and career are the subject of Minority of One, a new documentary on HBO Sports, is currently a TIME magazine columnist.

American Muslim Ads Go up in New York Subways New York, NY: The New York Metro-

politan Transit Authority (MTA) has allowed comedic ads about American Muslims to go up in the subway system.

The ads, created by Muslim comedians Negin Farsad and Dean Obeidallah use humor to dispel myths and promote understanding about the American Muslim community.

The ads were banned by the MTA under policies that restrict “disputed” political speech. In June 2015, Muslim Advocates filed a lawsuit on behalf of Vaguely Qualified Productions (VQP), the production company that created the ads, challenging the MTA’s refusal Saqib Javed being escorted out of a Trump rally in Michigan. Photo: Saqib’s Facebook page to run them. In October 2015, the court dered sherwani. this is not the last time you’ll see ruled that being Muslim is not political and paved the way for the ads to go up.

Speaking to a reporter after the me... you’ll see this face again.”

“This has taken a long time. All we rally, Saqib said: “Donald Trump, SAQIB, P28

www.PakistanLink.com

wanted to do was show that Muslims have a hilarious side – to be allowed to tell our own stories and do it through jokes! We worried it would never happen,” said Negin Farsad, Comedian and Founder of Vaguely Qualified Productions. “Have you ever experienced the New York City subways? When the guy next to you is invading your personal space, you’ll need a laugh.”

The ads run in the midst of a growing climate of anti-Muslim bigotry and hate across the country. Muslim Advocates has been tracking the spike in hate crimes targeting the American Muslims in recent months.

“We are gratified that the court allowed our clients to share their stories with the public. The ruling could ADS, P28

COMMUNITY

MARCH 11, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P19

Ahsan Iqbal Visits MIT, Meets Nergis Mavalvala

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ederal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal, who is currently visiting the United States, met MIT’s Nergis Mavalvala, an outstanding astrophysicist of Pakistani origin who recently made headlines.

According to an official statement, he met Dr Mavalvala, Associate Department Head of Physics during his visit to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Thursday.

Dr Mavalvala is a member of the team that announced the scientific milestone of detecting gravitational waves, ripples in space and time hypothesized by Albert Einstein.

Mr Iqbal congratulated the scientist on her success and discussed opportunities of collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Pakistan.

He also met Bill Aulet, managing director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship.

The center is responsible for entre-

n By Elena Shore

S

an Jose, CA: Hoang Truong says becoming a U.S. citizen gave him “the key” to unlocking a better life.

“When we become a U.S. citizen,” he said, “we have the key -- the key to the higher education door, the key to freedom, the key to vote, the key to do whatever we want.”

Truong, who came to the country seven years ago from Vietnam, said he was watching TV one day when he saw there was an upcoming free workshop in San Jose to help people apply for citizenship.

With help from the local organization Asian Law Alliance, Truong and his family were able to get fee wavers so they didn’t have to pay the $680 naturalization fees.

Truong, his mother and his sister, applied for citizenship in July, had their interviews in October, and in November they became U.S. citizens.

This year, they will be able to vote in their first U.S. presidential election.

Truong spoke to over 50 ethnic media journalists and community members at San Jose City Hall. The media roundtable was organized by New America Media in collaboration with the New Americans Campaign, a national, non-partisan coalition that aims to make citizen-

preneurship across all five schools at Massachusetts Institute of Technology starting with education but extending well outside the classroom with student clubs, conferences, competition, networking events, etc.

The minister presented his book and discussed ideas to promote entrepreneurship in Pakistani universities so that the country’s youth could become job creators instead of job seekers. The minister also met Prof Richard Lester, Associate Provost at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.

He told Prof Richard, “We are launching a campaign on Productivity, Quality and Innovation for making Pakistan a competitive economy.”

Mr Iqbal also met with Pakistani students at Kennedy School, Harvard University.

“We need to have confidence in ourselves and keep a sustained effort,” he remarked.

Dr Asim Khawaja, Professor of Public Policy at Kennedy School, arranged the meeting.

US-Pakistan Education, Science and Technology Working Group Meets in Washington

Washington, DC: Under Secretary

of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel and Pakistani Minister of Planning, Development, and Reform Ahsan Iqbal chaired the second US-Pakistan Education, Science, and Technology Working Group in Washington, DC prior to the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue Ministerial.

The US-Pakistan Education, Science, and Technology Working Group provides a platform to strengthen cooperation under the “US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor,” focused on advancing academic networks, partnerships, and exchanges in higher education, science, and technology.

At the meeting, Under Secretary Stengel and Minister Iqbal signed a statement recognizing the commitment by Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission to fund scholarships for an additional 125 Pakistani PhD students in the United States through the Fulbright Program over the next five years, complementing the US in-

vestment in the Fulbright Program in Pakistan, which is the largest worldwide.

Both sides discussed how our countries’ cooperation in education, science, and technology through the “US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor” provides a lasting foundation for US-Pakistan ties and serves as an engine for long-term economic growth. They reviewed the substantial achievements since the last Working Group held in Islamabad in June 2015: doubling joint funding for collaborative science and technology research grants; launching US-Pakistan Centers for Advanced Studies in energy, water, and agriculture/food security, part of the 23 total US-Pakistan university partnerships; and the announcement of the joint Let Girls Learn initiative to expand educational opportunity for adolescent girls.

At the Working Group, Under Secretary Stengel announced the establishment of a new university partnership between the University of

Massachusetts and a consortium of universities in Balochistan.

Minister Iqbal noted Pakistan’s aspiration for 10,000 Pakistanis to obtain PhDs at US universities by 2025; the two sides agreed to explore initiatives to expand educational opportunities for Pakistani students in the United States at the tertiary level.

They also recognized that ongoing investments in basic and higher education, including through the Let Girls Learn Initiative, will create a well-educated workforce that will drive innovation, gender equality, and a knowledge-based economy.

The United States commended Pakistan for doubling its higher education budget since 2013, for its efforts to expand women and girls’ access to education, and for pledging to increase spending on education from two to four percent of GDP by 2018.

For additional information on the US-Pakistan Education, Science, and Technology Working Group, please visit http://www.state.gov/r/ pa/prs/ps/2016/03/253859.htm.

Today We Naturalize, Tomorrow We Vote ship more accessible.

In a climate of escalating antiimmigrant rhetoric, service providers here are encouraging more immigrants like Truong to take the step to become U.S. citizens so they can have the chance to make their voices heard in November.

“With this presidential election happening right now, the rhetoric around immigrants and immigration is scary,” said Vanessa Sandoval, immigration legal services program director of Services Immigrant Rights & Education Network (SIREN).

“Naturalization empowers people. They become engaged.

They have a voice,” said Sandoval.

“The urgency is now,” she said.

“It’s a time to come forward.”

John Kramar, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) says becoming a citizen is often easier and faster than people think.

“After someone takes the citizenship test, they often say, ‘That wasn’t as bad as I thought,’” Kramar said. “There was a time in years past when you would file and it would take several years. We’re now averaging four to five months.”

That means that green card holders who apply for US citizenship now could be able to register to vote in time for the elections.

“There are hundreds of thousands of people who are eligible and

are not naturalizing,” said Theodore Ko, a staff attorney with Asian Law Alliance. “In an election year, there is no more important reason.”

According to the last available data from 2008, about 193,000 green card holders in Santa Clara County are eligible to naturalize, including about 34,000 Mexicans, 22,000 Vietnamese, 32,000 Chinese and 11,000 Filipinos.

If they naturalize, they will not only be able to vote, but also to access the other benefits of becoming a US citizen, said Ko. These include protection from deportation, the ability to travel freely, and access to better job opportunities and income potential.

Taking the step to become a US citizen is a “win-win, for the people, but also for the city,” said

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Zulma Maciel, assistant to the city manager at the City of San Jose Office of Immigrant Affairs.

Research shows that when someone becomes a US citizen, their income increases by an average of 8 to 11 percent. Greater earnings have a multiplier effect and stimulate the economy, she said, from increased payroll taxes to greater spending power.

“San Jose’s vitality is derived from our large immigrant population,” said Maciel, “and when immigrants become citizens, they invest in the community.”

Next month, the city kicks off a public outreach campaign to encourage legal permanent residents to become US. citizens. Through partnerships with local libraries, they are creating “citizenship cor-

ners” with materials to educate people about the citizenship process.

“The greatest barrier to citizenship is that fear factor,” said Kramar. “That’s why demystifying the process is important to us.”

Residents who want help with their applications can go to free citizenship workshops – in San Jose and in cities around the Bay Area – where legal service providers are available to assist them in multiple languages.

Those who want to take the first step on their own can fill out their application atCitizenshipWorks.org, a free online tool. It is currently available in English and Spanish, with other languages coming soon.

The New Americans Workforce, a partner of the New Americans Campaign, is also working with local employers to bring citizenship clinics to worksites.

For Truong, going to a free citizenship workshop was the best way to get help. Service providers there spoke Vietnamese, and guided his family through the process to become US citizens.

“It’s a really great gift,” said Truong.

For more information about the New Americans Campaign and upcoming citizenship workshops, go to www.newamericanscampaign.org.

COMMENTARY

P20 – PAKISTAN LINK – MARCH 11, 2016

Pakistani-American Wins America’s Top Technology Medal n By Riaz Haq CA

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resident Obama has honored Dr Mark Salman Humayun of Pakistani origin with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation at a White House ceremony recently, according to a USC Eye Institute press release.

Dr Humayun’s “bionic eye” offers a solution for those who have the inherited retinal degenerative disease retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

Known as Argus II, it uses a camera mounted on special glasses that sends a signal to an electronic receiver with electrodes that are implanted in and around the eye. The electrodes send signals to the retina that stimulate the retina and then these retinal impulses travel through the optic nerve to the brain where they are interpreted as images.

Dr Humayun’s “bionic eye” received approval from the FDA in the US in 2013 and since then the USC Eye Institute has been one of the centers of excellence for patients receiving this implant. Dr Humayun has trained ophthalmologic surgeons worldwide in implanting the Argus device that has been in use in Europe since 2011 and was also recently approved for implantation in Australia, according to USC Keck Institute.

Born in Pakistan, Dr Mark Salman Humayun is the grandson of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s personal physician Dr Ilahi Bakhsh, according to a story by Anjum Niaz of Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper. Dr Humayun now leads the USC Eye Institute at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where he is Professor of Ophthalmology and Biomedical Engineering.

The Humayun family came to America in 1972. Dr Humayun received his MD degree from Duke University, a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from University of North Carolina followed by clinical training in ophthalmology at the Duke Medical Center as well as the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

The news of Dr Humayun’s achievement comes on the heels of another Pakistani-American Dr Nergis Mavalwala’s contribution to the discovery of gravitational waves that has been widely recognized. Mavalvala and her colleagues are credited with developing an ultrasensitive telescope designed to catch glimpses of gravitational waves. Albert Einstein predicted the existence of these ripples in spacetime nearly a century ago, but they haven’t been observed directly yet, according to the Science Magazine. Theoretically a consequence of violent cosmic events—the collisions of black holes, the explosive deaths of stars, or even the big bang—gravitational waves could provide a brand new lens for studying the universe, according to the magazine.

Pakistan Link adds: In a press release issued by the White House, President Obama stated, “Science and technology are fundamental to solving some of our nation’s biggest challenges.

The knowledge produced by these Americans today will carry our country’s legacy of innovation forward and continue to

n By Annie Gowen

A

group of Sanskrit scholars in India are calling for an American professor working on a groundbreaking project on Indian classics at Harvard University to be removed because of his “deep antipathy” to Indian ideals and culture, according to a Change.org petition filed Saturday.

Columbia University Professor Sheldon Pollock, a respected Sanskrit scholar and the author of “The Language of Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India,” is the editor of a $5 million project by Harvard University Press to publish dozens of Indian classical texts with English translations.

More than 132 professors from some of India’s most prominent universities -- some of them from the Hindu right -- have signed the petition, which calls for Pollock’s removal as editor and “mentor” of

help countless others around the world. Their work is a testament to American ingenuity.”

Dr Humayun, who is one of nine recipients of the medal this year, was chosen for his lifelong dedication to bridging medical science and engineering to restore sight. He holds more than 100 issued patents and patent applications, most in the area of bioimplants for ophthalmology. His innovative work is best exemplified by the development of the Argus II, the only FDA approved retinal prosthesis system that allows those with certain blinding diseases to regain some useful vision.

“I am very honored to receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation,” said Dr Humayun. “Medical breakthroughs such as the Argus II come after long periods of research and development and I am grateful to have been and continue to be surrounded by teams of very talented individuals.”

The National Medal of Technology and Innovation, pre-

sented by US presidents since 1980, is given to individuals, small teams collaborating on innovative systems or divisions of companies, all whom have contributed to the nation’s economic, environmental and social well-being.

Administered for the White House by the US Department of Commerce’s Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a distinguished panel of individuals from the private and public sector including current and past heads of the Smithsonian Institution, Intel, the Johnson Space Center, Johns Hopkins University Medical School and Corning Corporation, review numerous nominees and make recommendations to the President. Past award recipients include Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, David Packard, Ray Dolby, Vint Cerf and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) founded by USC alumni George Lucas, as well as inventors of the microprocessor, the digital camera, electronic microphones, and other devices or systems that have fundamentally changed the worlds of communication, biotechnology, automotive, mobile computing, computer science and chemical engineering.

“Mark Humayun epitomizes the culture and dedication of the experts at the USC Eye Institute to constantly seek new solutions in the mission to prevent blindness,” said Rohit Varma, MD, MPH, director of the USC Eye Institute. “One of the reasons the USC Eye Institute has been ranked in the Top 10 of ophthalmology departments over the last 21 years by US News & World Report, is because of the innovative stars in our constellation like Mark who help guide and inspire us. As only the third USC recipient in 30 years to receive this prestigious honor we are tremendously proud of Mark.”

Dr Humayun merges medicine and engineering to focus on developing treatments for the most debilitating and challenging eye diseases. An expert in bioelectronics and implants for the eye, Dr Humayun is a USC professor with joint appointments in ophthalmology, cell and neurobiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and in biomedical engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. He holds the inaugural Cornelius J.Pings Chair in Biomedical Sciences. He is also the director of the National Science Foundation and the principal investigator of a California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) disease team grant involving a multi-university consortium to develop a stem cell implant for age-related macular degeneration.

About Argus II: The Argus II, also known as the “bionic eye,” received approval from the FDA in the US in 2013 and since then the USC Eye Institute has been one of the centers of excellence for patients receiving this implant. A true miracle solution for those who have the inherited retinal degenerative disease retinitis pigmentosa (RP), the Argus II system uses a camera mounted on special glasses that sends a signal to an electronic receiver with electrodes that are implanted in and around the eye. The electrodes send signals to the retina that stimulate the retina and then these retinal impulses travel through the optic nerve to the brain where they are interpreted as images.

Harvard Project Aimed at Translating Ancient Text Sparks Outrage among Religious Right the Murty Classical Library of India series; the project is funded by a Harvard graduate Rohan Murty, the son of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murty.

The petitioners argued that the work of translating the ancient texts should be done in India and “not outsourced wholesale to American Ivy Leagues.”

Ramesh C. Bhardwaj, professor and head of the Department of Sanskrit at Delhi University, said that the issue was an academic one, rather than personal.

Pollock had associated himself with “Marxist” scholars in India, he said, and his work does not “provide the true picture of Indian heritage.” Neither Pollock nor Harvard University Press immediately returned emails requesting comment.

The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the support of Hindu nationalists, has been trying to promote pride in India’s centuries-old knowledge systems and to reinvigorate Sanskrit, India’s ancient language, with classes and a new government committee to expand Sanskrit in schools

Harvard Yard, old heart of Harvard University campus, in Cambridge, Mass., on Nov. 2, 2013.

(Jannis Werner/iStock)

and colleges.

College campuses across India have been embroiled in a series of controversies in recent months, with critics charging that Modi’s nationalist government has been acting to suppress dissent at left-

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leaning institutions. The education minister, Smriti J. Irani, vehemently denied this charge in an interview with The Washington Post last week.

Pollock was among a group of Western academics who signed

a petition in support of students at the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi who were arrested and charged with sedition after they allegedly chanted anti-India slogans at a rally, another strike against Pollock, his critics wrote.

The issue blew up into a national debate about freedom of expression and nationalism.

“It is crystal clear that Pollock has shown disrespect for the unity and integrity of India, the Indian scholars wrote, adding that “such an individual cannot be considered objective and neutral enough to be in charge of your historic translation project.”

They also asked for clarification on how Sanskrit words that are non-translatable words would be treated, whether there would be any link between the ancient texts and present day social and political problems and whether theoretical methods in Europe would be used to interpret the Indian texts.

(Annie Gowen is The Post’s India bureau chief and has reported for the Post throughout South Asia and the Middle East. Washington Post)

COMMENTARY n By Dr Asif Javed Williamsport, PA

P

MARCH 11, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P21

Professor Nasrullah Malik: The Gordonian Guru

rof. Nasrullah Malik (PNM) once asked if I had fully understood Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. I answered in the affirmative. That pleased him. The truth is I had found it difficult to comprehend the twisted plot of the Nobel Laureate’s masterpiece. But Prof. Malik, whom I regarded as my guru, had high expectations of his students. Although I had never been to Gordon College Rawalpindi, I had simply forced myself into a long list of his former students and admirers who remained close to him after leaving GC.

Prof. Malik had a habit of recommending books. Once he saw me stressed out and asked me to read Bertrand Russel’s The Conquest of Happiness. I read it and have since re-read it a few times. He was the one to recommend Manto’s Ganjay Farishtay and Nirad Chaudri’s The autobiography of an unknown Indian to me. He was a scholar and encouraged pursuit of knowledge.

Raja Anwar, who has authored many books, including The Tragedy of Afghanistan and The Terrorist Prince, had been one of his favorite students. The two of them shared political philosophy and fondness for ZA Bhutto. RA became advisor to ZAB in the mid- seventies.

After ZAB’s fall, RA escaped to Afghanistan and PNM was suddenly transferred to Dera Ghazi Khan by military regime. The allegation against him was the preface written by him to one of RA’s books Jhootay Roop Kay Darshan; this book had nothing to do with politics and was simply a collection of RA’s love letters to a former class fellow. Being away from home was hard on PNM. He had to leave his wife and young children behind in Islamabad. But somehow, he endured the enforced exile to DG Khan, reading his books and having made new friends.

Once I asked him about a famous high profile Pakistani journalist who had once worked with ZAB. “Yes I know him.” There was a long pause and then, “Yeh log dunya walay hein, dil waley naheen.”

I had realized years ago that Guru was not an ordinary soul. He had his faults but he had a heart of gold.

He despised hypocrisy; during long association with him, not once did I hear him tell a lie. He did go through financial difficulties at times. There were scores who owed him a lot and were financially well off. Only once did he borrow money from someone. Within a few months, he paid it back--every penny of it.

Once as we were talking about corruption, he noted with sadness that way back in the 40’s, a relative of ours had made illegal money. It turned out that this was a well-kept secret among the elders of the family. Although many knew it, only he had the moral courage to admit and condemn it. It took him years to build his house. He had to wait until he received, his long overdue, share of inheritance from his siblings. He spent most of his time at Gordon College in a modest apartment that was attached to the college hostel; he was content with that.

Prof. Malik was not very handsome in the strict sense and physically not very imposing. His real talent showed up when you had a chance to listen to him. He was an avid reader and when in mood,

awaited him on the other side of the great divide. (The writer is a physician in Williamsport, PA and may be reached at asifjaved@comcast. net) WOMEN FROM P22

Professor Nasrullah is seen sitting third from right

had the ability to run an impressive conversation on diverse topics: literature, history, music, movies, and politics among others. He was not a professor by title only; he was the real deal. Sometimes I wondered if he had been an under-achiever and should have gone on to bigger things; perhaps a PhD or a teaching post abroad. But his yardstick of success in life might have been different. I never asked him this question but if I did, I suspect he would have looked straight in my eyes and with his characteristic, loud laughter, would have reminded me that he was not a dunyawala.

He was an astute observer; once he reprimanded me for drinking too little water. The physician in me protested but guru was right so I increased my water intake. On another occasion, he spent a night with me in my college hostel in Lahore. As I woke up, I saw a strange sight: there were two feet pointing towards the ceiling; confused, as I sat up in my bed, I found him upside down, standing on his head.

“Yoga is good for you. Nehru used to do it,” he remarked. This was one of his advices that I was unable to follow.

In his youth, he had spent two years teaching in our village school.

Guru considered those years the best of his life and felt very nostalgic about them. To this day, his former students and friends in our area remember him with fondness. He had touched the lives of many. In mid90’s, he was asked to be the chief guest at the annual school day and appeared thrilled at the opportunity to be with the simple village folks again. As is customary, he delivered a speech. He was not known to be an orator but that short speech was very moving and almost brought tears to one’s eyes. The theme: some things always change while others always stay the same.

Back in the 80’s, I accompanied him to PTV, Lahore. PTV was big then. He had to see an old friend Younas Mansoor, the script editor. As we entered, we bumped in to a handsome man dressed in an impeccable baggy trouser and a long shirt. That was renowned producer Yawar Hayat. It turned out that Yawar Hayat had worked with PNM at PTV Rawalpindi, way back in late sixties, during PTV’s formative years. PNM had had experience of direction from his association

with the drama club at Gordon College and did occasional work for PTV. While we were having tea in Yawar Hayat’s office, Jamil Fakhry, then a famous comedian, walked in. “Meet my mentor,” is how YH introduced PNM to JF. I then realized that PNM had been Guru to many. Rahat Kazmi and Shujat Hashmi, who made name in the PTV drama, were both nurtured by him at Gordon College. I recall an interview that he had done with G. Allana, a friend and biographer of Quaid-i-Azam. There were many other programs that I missed since I had gone abroad. Just a few days ago, I saw a short clip on U tube of PNM playing—yes acting—the role of a Professor in a PTV drama about the Kashmiris struggle for freedom.

It is a short role, but he comes across as a natural. I also vaguely remember a family gathering when he was asked to sing Heer; he duly obliged and did fairly well. PNM was multitalented.

Among his friends—and mentors—was Dr Fazal-ur-Rahman.

Today not many remember him but back in the sixties, Dr Fazal-ulRahman had been asked to return to Pakistan by Ayub Khan to head the Institute of Islamic Research.

He was a scholar par-excellence.

Unfortunately, he was hounded out of Pakistan by the radical religious elements. PNM had high regard for him and stayed in touch with him until the latter’s death in 1988. As I recall, PNM’s daughter, who joined the prestigious CSS, had been named by Dr Fazal-ur-Rahman.

Guru was a socialist at heart and had had high hopes of ZAB. Bhutto’s execution hurt him deeply.

I once saw him in polite but serious discussion with my late brother— an army officer—about the flaws in the Supreme Court’s decision in the ZAB case. He told me with sadness once that Raja Anwar had been wrong to criticize Bhutto in his book The Terrorist Prince. “The facts are reported correctly in this book,” he accepted, “but Raja has bitten the hand that had fed him.”

Guru was emotional at times but, still, a rational man although it took him years before, finally, becoming disillusioned with Bhutto.

Guru had an uncanny innocence about him: A nephew of mine, a police officer with a rather inquisitive mind, once asked him whether he had ever been in love. Guru an-

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swered in the affirmative. When asked if he liked beautiful women he said, “I did but I was not a flirt, just an admirer of all things beautiful, including women.” He liked the forbidden nectar too, but was discreet about its use. Somehow, he had convinced himself that the Holy Book’s prohibition of liquor applies to prayer times only. He was not overtly religious but had a solid understanding of religion. I once saw him reading Qur’an with two different books opened, side by side; he was comparing the commentary of two authors, one of those being late Amin Ahsan Islahi whom he greatly admired. Salman Rashdi’s infamous Satanic Verses made him quite upset. Unlike many, he actually read it and only then concluded that this book had little literary merit and Rashdi seemed intent on maligning the Holy Prophet.

In the early 90’s when I was doing post-graduate training in UK, he wrote to me. Here is an excerpt from that letter: You must keep reading relevant literature on your subject. You must bring good name to the family by some outstanding contribution to make men, women and children more beautiful and good to look at….You should also, learn to relax and be happy. Those who do not enjoy life have to endure its sufferings more acutely. Read good books on human relations and become a good healer.

Except for a minor heart attack, he remained in excellent health most of his life until age finally caught up with him. The last few years were difficult. A stroke had left him physically weak; it made him stop his long cherished walk. Recent memory was impaired too, but he could still recall the fine details of his childhood abode Bhera. During my last visit to Pakistan, I could see that he was fading away; he had become just a shell of the man he used to be.

PNM, the beloved Guru to many, is no more. He passed away quietly a couple of weeks ago in Islamabad, surrounded by his family.

To my utter shame, being abroad, I missed his funeral. I have heard— from two different sources—that he had an unusual glow on his face after death. I wonder whether the Gordonian Guru, who was a great admirer of beauty, had a premonition of all the beautiful things that

432 in 1993 and 886 in 1999.

HR advocates harassed: Prominent lawyers and activists like Asma Jahangir and Hina Jilani are threatened frequently (Asma was beaten up by the police in an HR rally).

On April 9, 1999 Daily news reported that hundreds of Taliban led by leaders of JUI (an Islamist party) chanted slogans in a rally that Asma was an infidel serving Zionist interests and should be arrested and hanged.

Politico- religious groups: In India, RSS and Shiv Sena went on a rampage on Valentin’s Day in 2001 and looted gift shops.

In Kanpur they burnt the effigy of St Valentine.

On August 8, 2001, the newspaper Indian Express reported that two lovers were hanged by their own families. The execution was approved by the village community.

In Pakistan a village woman, Mukhtaran Mai was gang-raped in a hut surrounded by villagers on the orders of the village council. Her younger brother had spurned the advances of the village chief.

Socialization mediated by Religion, tribe and kin: Present social structure of Pakistan seems to shape, facilitate and perpetuate gender-based discrimination according to the specific dichotomous standards of masculinity and femininity.

Violence against women and the law: The legal system favors perpetrators of violence by providing loopholes in the law. Due to vested political interests the British exploited the local power structure, made alliances with them and granted them vast powers. The unchecked power of local/rural elite became institutionalized in the Jirga system in all provinces of Pakistan, except in the Punjab where they have Punchayat (sort of village council except that what the chief says, goes).

Within years of the initiation of the system women were bought and sold and killed on the slightest “moral’ pretext.

Link of politicians to vested interests: Women’s status has never been on the agenda of political parties in Pakistan except during election campaigns to draw female workers and voters to the polling station.

Legislation: Musharraf established a permanent national commission on the status of women. In September 2000, the chair of the commission, Shaheen Ali, a professor of law in NWFP, recommended that Honor killings be considered an offense against the state. Not much came of it.

Fundamentalist groups: Dismiss violence as the propaganda of “Westernized, spoiled urban women”. These groups are funded by political parties and Arab countries.

Secular vision of law: Radhika Coomaraswamy (Human Rights of Women) argues, “Without equity in the family, it is argued, there will not be equity in society”.

COMMENTARY

P22 – PAKISTAN LINK – MARCH 11, 2016

In a lighter vein: Showbiz

Discussion between a TV Producer and a Serial Writer n By Rafiq Ebrahim

T

Winfield, IL

V Producer, adjusting his glasses and turning the pages of the script on his table, says: I have carefully read your script and have few suggestions to be considered by you and incorporateed in the script.

Serial Writer: I am too anxious to hear about the suggestions.

TVP: I have read your script carefully, but do not find any triangle in it.

SW: What triangle? Do you mean that which has two sides larger than the third one?

TVP: No! I mean the third person who comes in between the two love birds. It is a commonality in all hit drama serials, and one should not deviate from something that makes a serial smashing.

SW: I see. I’ll put a rich boy in the script TVP: And yes, nowhere do I find a jug of orange juice on a dinner table. This is also a popular sight in all good dramas.

SW: Sir, I don’t have any rich family in the script. How can poor people have the luxury of drinking orange juice?

V

TVP: Well, the rich boy you are introducing is addicted to orange juice so whenever the family sits for dinner, everyone sips the juice.

SW: I think you are right.

Orange juice will surely be introduced in the script.

TVP: Good! Now, I don’t see any accidents in your script, or anybody going to a hospital in a critical condition, nor a stretcher on which the person is carried to the hospital. Make someone really sick or injured. Let him or her be taken to the ICU and show a few white overall-clad individuals moving here and there, looking anxious, before taking the patient to ICU. Put some emotional dialogues to be uttered by the relatives or friends of the patient. Show the patient lying on a bed with an oxygen mask on his face. If the patient in your script is badly injured, show an operation theater with about four doctors and a couple of nurses, and a specialist performing the operation. After a long lapse of time, let a doctor come out and inform those waiting for him that all is well. The patient has been saved. Put in the happy emotions of the relatives and friends,

n By Dr Syed Ehtisham

iolence against women has been a universal phenomenon in the East and the West. In the West measures have been taken against it. They have met a certain degree of success.

The list of violent acts is long - wife beating, marital and other rape, sale and exchange of women, bride burning, nose slashing, forced and child marriage, and finally murder of women in the name of honor.

Two major schools of thought offer an explanation of women’s subordination: a) Idealist school holds that inferior status of women is natural, trans-historical and immutable. b) Materialist theory holds that oppression of women is social, historical and an alterable phenomenon. .

The materialist approach offers that surplus value gave birth to private property which accumulated in the hands of men, who wanted their legitimate issue to inherit the property.

Structure and culture make unequal laws for men and women. Honor/Passion crimes are tri-dimensional and involve all the three actors - personal, familial and cultural. Violence is committed by individuals facilitated by religious, legal, social and political institutions.

Reporting crimes against women is a recent phenomenon. Nawal El Saadawi, an Egyptian scholar states that “a man’s honor remains safe as long as the female members of the family keep their hymens intact”.

Lama Abu-Odeh, an Arab scholar makes a clear distinction between honor and passion crimes.

1999 saw coverage of honor-passion crimes by international media-BBC, CNN, NBC, NY Times, Washington Post and Guardian of London (90 % of such crimes are reported from Muslim countries).

The most “celebrated” case was that of the “death of a princess,” a BBC documentary of the execution of a Saudi princess and her lover, with a trial in a Sharia court.

Even among educated families a bride is expected to be a virgin. If not, they get gynecologists to perform surgical restoration of the hymen.

and the scene is complete.

SW: I see. You want some major changes in the script.

TVP: We will have to do that. As I said earlier, this is a commonality for a serial to be a hit.

(After a short pause). Where is the open door to a house? You know, in reputable serials, the door is always open, and an intruder can always come in to surprise the inmates. As I see you can introduce the father of the rich boy, entering the household of a poor girl and threatening to smash the happiness of the family if the girl is not married to his son. Put this dynamic scene in your script.

SW: I will try.

TVP: Don’t try, do it! And I don’t see any dominating mother in the story. How can you ever imagine a story for a serial without a dominant mother? Viewers hate such mothers and the more they hate the more they love the drama.

There are so many older performers, like Saba Faisal, Saba Pervez, Shamim Hilaly, Atiqa Odho and Ismat Zaidi, dying to get such a role.

SW: Done!

TVP: And what about a cruel, powerful father? A man who would not hesitate to ruin the lives of his children. Talat Hussain,

Violence against Women In Iran, the situation has worsened since the advent of theocratic state in 1979.

In March 2000, BBC aired a documentary on honor killings and followed up with interviews of Muslims. The general impression given by the interviewees was that honor killing was permissible in Islam. Moulvi Ghafoor, Naib (deputy) Amir of Jamaat Islami, the leading religious party of Pakistan, told a press conference that honor killing was Islamic.

Daughters and sisters of expatriates in European countries have been murdered for wanting to marry a man of their choice and for rejecting arranged marriages.

The informants prefer to remain anonymous.

Fatima Mernissi, a social scientist from Morocco, was physically assaulted by a male “scholar” from Pakistan in a conference in Malaysia.

Socio-Historical links: Veiling as a device of social exclusion of women emerged in the latter period of Umayyad rule (AD 661-750). It was due to increasing profligacy, rampant polygamy, and ownership of concubines, which led to male jealousy and prudery in concealing their women from the eyes of other men.

Honor related violence among non-Muslims: Such violence among Hindus is related to caste system, which is ordained by religion.

Feminists have traced historic roots of culture of virginity in Hindu religion - one should marry a virgin, younger than himself.

Australian penal code allows sexual provocation as a cultural defense to murder.

In Latin America it is related to machismo (manliness) and verguenza (sexual purity of women). In Cuba, it is used as defense against mixed race marriages. In Spain pure blood and sexual purity of women are important notions in theological, literary and legal texts.

M. Asano-Tamanoi studied the concept of shame, family and state in Japan. The state constructs a moral universe with family and households as its center.

Passion and Honor: According to Dr Tahira Khan, honor and shame are dialectical terms; both are male at-

tributes and by remaining silent and obedient a woman maintains a state of honor Mothers in the East play overt/covert role in the oppression of their daughters, either because they are afraid or because they have been so socialized.

One never hears of a father/mother killing a son. Older women become enforcers. To keep property in the family, feudal families in Pakistan marry females to the Qur’an.

Religious roots of sexuality: Islam continued most of the socio-legal disciplinary tools of the society it was born in, with some modifications; female sexuality is considered very strong. It is considered weak, passive and abhorrent in Judeo-Christian tradition.

But historical roots of misogyny existed before Christianity. In Biblical times a Jewish wife, sometimes one of many, could be put away at the wish of her husband. Women are supposed to keep silent in churches. If they want to learn anything they should ask their husbands.

Under Mosaic Law, divorce was initially permissible though only the husband could give it.

Stoning to death as punishment for loss of virginity predates Islam. Veiling and proper dress code for upper class women long predates Islam as well and was practiced in Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Coole quotes St Paul: Women but not men should cover their heads in church as a sign of submission.

Status of women in Islam: Al Razi as quoted by Haqq and Newton, “The male share is that of two females. “. 43.

Tohaffa says “God established the superiority of men over women” (Q 4:34-44). “Get two witnesses, if there are not two men, then a man and two women” (Q 2:282). 45.

To ensure paternity of children within marriage there is a waiting period (Idda) for divorced or widowed woman during which they may not have sexual or social interaction with other men. Idda predates Islam. Traces can be found during Hammurabi and Roman periods.

Driven by changes of mode of production

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Mahmood Aslam, Usman Pirzada and Abid Ali would love to perform such a role.

SW: Very good suggestions, Sir. I am so grateful to you.

You seem to be such a constructive and creative critic. No doubt, the serials produced by you are so much appreciated and get high ratings.

TVP: (Smiling). Go ahead, make the desired changes in your script and submit the story to me.

I shall definitely produce a serial based on your beautiful story. And yes, we will shoot all episodes in Murree.

SW: Thanks, Sir. Give me a week’s time and the revised script will be on your table.

The TV Producer gets up, signaling that the discussion is over.

The Serial Writer, mentally confused, rubs his eyes, massages his head with his fingers, adjusts the few hair that are on his head and makes an exit. He realizes that if he carries out the suggestions, he would kill his creative brain-child and be on the beaten path. But, he knows that he must do as asked by the producer as he has to earn his bread and butter. - rafiq.ebrahim@gmail.com.

from feudal-agrarian to mercantile-capital industrial, shape and nature of societal superstructures also changed extensively. Slaves, serfs and women were de-propertied. Enlightenment which brought liberalism, capitalism, individualism and democracy, resulted in the birth of feminist movement.

Female sexuality was de-virginized.

Societal acceptance of co-habitation brought major changes in status of out-ofwedlock children. Wife’s adultery is considered a breach of contract.

Changing global economic and political realities have caused Muslim elite and power brokers to react more conservatively and have enacted more misogynist legislation.

The two centuries of British colonization had an extremely adverse impact on gender relations among the Muslims.

Muslim masculinity had been defeated in political arena. It could only assert itself in private arena of the family.

Another reason for control of female sexuality was the rise of agricultural economy and growth of landed property. Muslim women’s right to inheritance could reduce landed assets. One response was to get the widow to marry a brother of the deceased. Another response was the development of Kafa’a (socioeconomic compatibility); consequently, women lost the right to marry according to their choice, a right Islam had guaranteed.

The situation did not change much for women in independent Pakistan.

Daughters of rural elite, educated or otherwise or of peasants can all face dire consequences if they try to assert their marital rights.

Public perception and media coverage of honor crimes: Folk literature is replete with stories of romances of famous couples like Heer-Ranjha, Laila-Majnoon and Sohni-Mahival. In these stories girls are bold and defiant and leave a mark on young people. But they all end up in tragedy.

Karo-kari (Honor killing) is believed to have arrived in Baluchistan and NWFP with Muslim invaders from central Asia.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimated that in 2000, Karo-kari killings in Sindh aggregated 1410 and were on the rise WOMEN, P21

WOMENS WORLD WOMEN

By Sadaf Jabeen

T

he first thing a person usually notices is a woman's face. If it has been enhanced with skill-

FEBRUARY 5, 2016 - PAKISTAN LINK

MARCH 11, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P23

fully applied makeup, a woman often feels ready for the world and confident in proceeding through the day. This does not mean that she couldn't be confident without the makeup; it simply

serves as a booster to her natural selfconfidence.

Makeup is one area where women can really set themselves apart from men. It's generally a very girly arena where boys aren't allowed. With all of the different colours, textures and tools involved, playing around with makeup can simply be seen as a fun thing to do.

If you mess up, all you have to do is wash it off and start over.

If you want to glam up your look, for a big night out or a special occasion, makeup will help you do that. You can choose whichever look you like best.

One day may include smoky gray eyes and pale, shimmery lipstick, while the next might find you in the mood for thin black eyeliner and classic red lips.

So, a woman appears most beautiful when she is confident in her own skin and uses cosmetics as an enhancement or expression of her own style.

Use your cosmetics and makeup judiciously: We all have piles and piles of makeup and cosmetics, more than we actually need, but how do you know what's worth keeping, what products you should be using, and what you may be using incorrectly? It seems like every day, there's a new beauty or skincare product on the market. But, while you'd love to try them all, where do they fit into your current regimen? If you get a new serum, does it replace your current moisturizer? Should you be using concealer as well as foundation? There are so many products available, it can be overwhelming. But applying the correct products in the correct way can go a long way in helping you looking your absolute best.

Check out some of the best tips that we have lovingly compiled for you!

Your skin type should determine what kind of foundation you choose. If you have dry skin, Use powder or matte products on oily skin. Powder and liquid foundations work well on combination skin. When selecting a shade of foundation, pick one that matches your neck and arms rather than your face.

For a contoured, subtle look, apply a matte formula that will give you a glow. Select a shimmer bronzer if you want to highlight certain features.

Blush makes your complexion look radiant and alive. It's not hard to put on; the secret is to not overdo it. No matter what you see on Instagram pictures of your friends, do not go old school and brush blush all the way up your cheekbone, using it as a contour device. Apply powder blush only to the apple of the cheek so it looks like a flush.

For eyeshades choose matte formulas to give your skin a smoother and prettier look.

Natural tones such as brown and taupe universally flatter whereas gray and muted purples - including mauve and plum - also create a classic look.

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Liner can increase the volume of your lashes by tenfold. Avoid the cateye look and other high-graphic looks for everyday. Line your upper lash line by aiming for the roots of your lashes.

Apply it and then smudge it with a brush to blur the line.

Lip colour is a great way to express yourself so be adventurous with it. The ideal lip tint will enhance the natural shade of your pucker.

Selecting a sheer tone will minimize the chances of a mismatch because your natural colour will shine through.

For a high-shine look, add a dab of gloss or petroleum jelly over colour.

Remember that your cosmetics do have an expiration date, so keep this in mind when shopping for new makeup.

With each season, carefully look through your make up kit and discard any items that are outdated. This is critical, especially with eye makeup that can expire and potentially cause painful infections. Also, remember not to share

your make up with anyone else to prevent spread of germs and infection.

Inglot cosmetics in Pakistan: Founded over 30 years ago in Przemysl, Poland by Wojtek Inglot, Inglot cosmetics is now one of the world's leading manufacturers in colour cosmetics. The brand currently has a presence at all major beauty happenings and events around the globe, from the runways of Fashion Week to the stages and sets of TV and Broadway musicals. The international expansion of the brand began in 2006 with the opening of its first franchise store in Montreal, Canada. Fast growth and development of the company soon resulted in becoming available in over 70 countries including more than 600 boutique stores in world's most prestigious places, such as Times Square and Chelsea Market in NYC, The Dubai Mall, Westfield London, Plaza Carso in Mexico City, Dundas Square in Toronto and many others.

COMMENTARY

P24 – PAKISTAN LINK – MARCH 11, 2016

Faith in Leaps: Unloved Options Have Advantages n By Saghir Aslam Rawalpindi, Pakistan

(The following information is provided solely to educate the Muslim community about investing and financial planning. It is hoped that the Ummah will benefit from this effort through greater financial empowerment, enabling the community to live in security and dignity and fulfill their religious and moral obligations towards charitable activities) Maybe because “long-term options” has a faintly oxymoronic ring, Leaps are in many ways the forgotten cousin of the options family. The acronym for Longterm Equity Anticipation Securities, Leaps haven’t generated the kind of volume or excitement the exchanges had hoped they would.

The reasons typically offered for their underwhelming reception include less-than-ideal pricing, owing to the reluctance of sellers for up to two years. Then there’s the point that investors are generally attracted to options for their flexibility in facilitating short-term market views.

But Leaps-which cover individual stocks and turn into gardenvariety options as their annual January expiration approaches-have STABILITY FROM P4

2. Presidential form of Govt. (underlined) (More suited for Pakistan)” In a sad but true commentary on the state of affairs in Pakistan, an external agency has stated that “most Pakistani political groups are motivated primarily by opportunism and political alliances can shift frequently.”

In order to remove this stigma, there is a dire need to remove the “lucrativeness” out of political office in Pakistan. And the only way in which the lucrativeness can be removed is by taking away the “prize”, by separating the executive branch of government from the legislature.

The parliamentary system of government is one of the worst legacies of British rule in the sub-continent. It works in Britain because it has been sharpened and perfected by centuries of trial and error, a luxury that Pakistan cannot afford. The system just doesn’t seem to work in Pakistan. In the villages, where the bulk of the country’s population resides, it has served only to legitimize feudalism, a system which belongs to the Middle Ages and is the root cause of all evil in Pakistan. It was because of the parliamentary system, which has become a system of ‘daadas’ (mini godfathers) ruling the country, that honest and capable leaders, such as Air Marshall Asghar Khan, have not been able to come into power.

The legislators of Pakistan (MNAs and MPs) have been rightly accused of doing “everything but legislate”. Obviously, they have no time to legislate when there is more attraction in becoming ministers and advisers, and being pampered by the leader of the house in order to retain their loyalty. The late Sardar Ataullah Mengal, one of Pakistan’s few honest and patriotic politicians, had described the state of affairs in Baluchistan in the following words: “The former Chief Minister of Baluchistan, Zulfiqar Ali

their fans, who like them for the relatively rich income available to Leap sellers or as a lower-cost way to control a stock. I have been using Leap strategies for years and it has paid off handsomely.

I use Leaps to deploy spread strategies, such as buying a stock while selling a long-term call, buying a leap call and continuously selling short-term calls against it, or buying and selling Leap calls at different strike prices-all with an eye toward generating plenty of income. By selling Leaps, I take advantage of the somewhat elevated prices on options with maturities as far as three years out, which provides some downside cushion to stock positions, throws off income and profits from any erosion in the option premium over time.

In the straight-up market of a couple of years ago, this strategy was often compromised as stocks shot higher through strike prices, Magsi had only one seat for his own party, but he remained Chief Ministers for three years by giving ministries to all his coalition partners. People have been spoilt. In the current assembly, every MPA says that ‘the awaam have given me a mandate to be a minister.

In the previous government all members of the coalition were ministers.

What’s the problem with you? Why do you say that everyone will not be made a minister?’ They want to be ministers not to serve the people but to eat, drink and be merry”.

Things are still pretty much the same, not only in Baluchistan, but in all the other provinces and at the center: there is an abundance of ministers, advisers and what-nots, milking the poor cow (the country) dry.

India and Bangladesh, two other countries which have parliamentary democracies on the British pattern, do not lag far behind Pakistan in corruption. India’s relative success is due to honest and sincere leadership during its formative years, the abolition of the feudal system on day one of its independence, and the exclusion of the military and ‘agencies’ from power politics. Its progress has been achieved in spite of, and not because of, the parliamentary system of government. However, corruption is rampant in India: in most cases bribes are required to get a job, to get admission in schools and colleges or any other task - you name it.

It must be admitted that no system of government can be successful unless there is a desire to fulfill the spirit as well as the letter of the constitution. However, the constitution should provide safeguards such that the spirit of democracy cannot be broken, and power cannot be abused.

In Pakistan, a constitution similar to the US constitution is required, with a system of checks and balances provided by separate and autonomous legislative, judicial and executive arms of the government and a work-

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forcing me to unwind covered-call positions and often take quick taxable gains in the underlying stocks.

In the current, more churning market, I am able to generate substantial tax savings by buying back options for gains rather than selling stocks.

I look for big-cap stocks that have been on the move for some fundamental reason. Example: I look at stocks when they get crunched. Using the expansive time horizon that Leaps permit, I figured that selected company certainly will be around for years to come, so I buy the stock and sell the Leap calls against it for the week or two when the premium richness persisted, making selling prices attractive.

(Saghir A. Aslam only explains strategies and formulas that he has been using. He is merely providing information, and NO ADVICE is given. Mr Aslam does not endorse or recommend any broker, brokerage firm, or any investment at all, nor does he suggest that anyone will earn a profit when or if they purchase stocks, bonds or any other investments. All stocks or investment vehicles mentioned are for illustrative purposes only.

Mr Aslam is not an attorney, accountant, real estate broker, stockbroker, investment advisor, or certified financial planner. Mr Aslam does not have anything for sale.) ing president elected with the whole country as his or her constituency. Incidentally, the Quaid-i-Azam himself, in a hand-written note on his vision for the future constitution of Pakistan dated 10th July 1947 (available in the National Archives of Pakistan, Cabinet Division, Govt. of Pakistan, Islamabad) had stated that the presidential form of government is more suited for Pakistan. Under a heading of “Dangers of Parliamentary form of Govt.” he wrote that “It has worked satisfactorily so far in England, nowhere else.”

A country with limited resources cannot afford the luxury of figurehead presidents and figurehead governors.

The parliamentary system of government which was imposed in the sub-continent because it was the only system taught by the former British rulers, has made the country an ongoing political battle-ground with a never-ending election campaign.

The ruling party lives in constant dread of losing its majority, and resorts to all means, fair and foul, to hold on to power. Ministries are given out as bounties and the price for loyalty rather than as administrative necessities.

Under a tripartite system of government, the country’s president and the elected governors of the provinces will be able to choose their cabinets from technocrats, social workers and people of learning who have no time for politicking. The country can hardly expect to succeed unless it puts its first eleven to bat, chosen not on the basis of kinship or affiliation but on sheer merit. With ministers chosen from competent experts in the related fields and not from the legislators, there will be no incentive for the party in power to increase the ministers and advisers to ridiculously high numbers which adds to the burden on the country’s economy.

STABILITY, P28

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Due to corruption, mismanagement and poverty, the state of schools in economically depressed areas of under-developed countries are in a deplorable state. Hidaya opens schools in rural areas which have none to begin with, as well as adopts and operates “ghost schools” which have been shut down.

Hidaya is currently operating 81 schools with over 10,0 00 students from 1st to 8 th grade in poverty stricken areas of Pakista n.

It co st to ru s about $160 appr n a cla oxim ssro om ate eac ly 40 st of hm ont udents h.

Donate Zakat & Sadaqah to Support Hidaya Schools

Hidaya Foundation 866.2.HIDAYA | www.hidaya.org Hidaya Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) charitable organization with Tax ID # 77-0502583

Exchange Rates for Currency Notes* Countries

Buying Rs.

USA

UK S.Arabia Japan Euro UAE

105.90 149.00 27.95 0.90 115.00 28.70

Selling Rs.

106.15 149.70 28.10 0.93 115.50 28.85

(*9 March, 2016) US VISA AVAILABILITY MARCH, 2016 For Pakistan, Bangladesh & India Compiled by Hasan Chishti FAMILY SPONSORED PREFERENCES

Pakistan/Bangladesh

India

st

1 Unmarried sons & daughters of US Citizens 2-A Spouses and unmarried children of permanent residents

August 8, 2008

August 8, 2008

September 22, 2014 September 22, 2014

2-B Unmarried sons & daughters (21 years of age or older) of permanent residents

May 22, 2009

May 22, 2009

3rd Married sons & daughters of US citizens Oct., 15, 2004

Oct., 15, 2004

4th Brothers & sisters of adult U.S. citizens

July 1, 2003

July 1, 2003

EMPLOYMENT BASED CATEGORY 1st Priority workers

Current

Current

2nd Members of the professions holding advanced degree or persons of exceptional ability

Current

Oct., 15, 2008

3rd Skilled workers Other workers

Jan., 1, 2016 Jan., 1, 2016

July 15, 2004 July, 15, 2004

4th Certain special immigrants Certain religious workers

Current Current

Current Current

Current

Current

5th Employment creation Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs UNLIMITED FAMILY-BASED

Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens (IR): The spouse, widow(er) and unmarried children under 21 of a U.S citizen, and the parent of a U.S. citizen who is 21 or older.

Returning Residents (SB): Immigrants who lived in the United States previously as lawful permanent residents and are returning to live in the U.S. after a temporary visit of more than one year abroad.

RELIGION

MARCH 11, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P25

Being a Muslim: What Does It Mean?

Gems from the Holy Qur’an

n By Dr Muzammil H. Siddiqi

O

ye who believe! Enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the Evil One; for he is to you an avowed enemy. (AlBaqarah 2:208)

A Muslim is a person who is all the time submitting and surrendering to Allah.

A Muslim enters into Islam, walks on the straight path, step by step moves ahead, goes higher and higher and never stops this movement until the end of his/her life. Being a Muslim is a process. It is a continuous struggle within oneself and with the outside world to transform and to make everything better.

Ibn Kathir, the famous commentator of the Qur’an explains the above ayah with these words: Allah commands His servants who believe in Him and who have accepted His Messenger to hold fast to all the principles and laws of Islam, to do all His commands and to avoid all His prohibitions as much as they can.

Being a Muslim is not just a label or an ethnic or family identity. To be a Muslim is to belong to Allah, to accept Islam as a way of life and to mold one’s behavior on the pattern of Prophet’s Muhammad’s Sunnah. It means to be a Muslim in one’s beliefs, worship, morals, manners, family relations, social relations, business pursuits, private and public, every aspect of life.

Being a Muslim is to know that Allah is One, to have deep and strong faith and trust in Allah, and to love Allah more than anything and everything. Allah is the Creator, Owner, Master and Lord of this whole universe, but a Muslims says further that Allah is my Lord, my Master, my Creator and my Owner. Allah is Loving, Kind, Compassionate and Merciful. He is also Powerful, Just and He knows everything. All the Good Names belong to Him. It is to know that Allah created and creates everything for a purpose.

He created us, human beings, for a purpose.

From the translation by Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss) About the translator: Muhammad Asad, Leopold Weiss, was born of Jewish parents in Livow, Austria (later Poland) in 1900, and at the age of 22 made his first visit to the Middle East. He later became an outstanding foreign correspondent for the Franfurter Zeitung, and after years of devoted study became one of the leading Muslim scholars of our age. His translation of the Holy Qur’an is one of the most lucid and well-referenced works in this category, dedicated to “li-qawmin yatafakkaroon” (people who think).

Being a Muslim is to know that Allah chose from amongst the human beings some individuals. He gave them His message and made them guides of humanity. There were many Prophets and Messengers and Prophet Muhammad was the Last and Final among them. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and upon all His prophets and messengers.

Messengers came to guide human beings and to tell them the purpose of their existence. Messengers must be followed and their teachings and examples must be taken seriously.

Being a Muslim is to know that this life is not the only life.

There will be life after death and all human beings will stand before Allah to give the account of their lives. The righteous will be rewarded with eternal bliss in Jannah. Those who rejected Allah and His Messengers will be punished in Jahannam. It is our choice to choose whatever path we want. If we choose the right path, Allah helps us to move in that direction. However, if we choose the wrong path, it is our choice and consequences will be

terrible.

Being a Muslim is to worship Allah and to make Allah, His Messenger and His Deen the priority of life.

Say: If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates, or your kindred; the wealth that ye have gained; the commerce in which ye fear a decline; or the dwellings in which ye delight are dearer to you than Allah, Or His Messenger, or the striving in His cause - then wait until Allah brings about His decision: and Allah guides not the rebellious. (AlTawbah 9:24) Being a Muslim is to have good character, good morals and manners. It is to be truthful, honest, patient, humble, kind, courteous, generous, and hospitable. It is to live pure and clean life with no alcohol, drugs, fornication, adultery, homosexuality or any evil.

Being a Muslim is to love and care for one’s family. It is to be a good spouse, loving, kind and caring to children, obedient and respectful to parents, kind and loving to brothers and sisters and to all relatives - members of our extended family.

B e ing a Muslim is to love other Muslims. It is to consider every Muslim a brother or sister. It is to have no racial, ethnic, color, or language prejudice. It is to love to be with Muslims as much as possible, live with them, deal with them, interact with them, feeling happy when they are happy and feeling sad when they are sad.

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It is to care for them, struggle for their rights and protect them wherever they are.

Being a Muslim is to be good to all human beings and to all the creation of Allah. It is to deal with every person, friend or foe with fairness and justice. It is to be tolerant and peaceful, kind and courteous to neighbors, to coworkers, to associates and to strangers. It is to be involved in humanitarian work, building relations with all people. It is also to covey Allah’s message to all people, with wisdom and without any coercion and compulsion. It is to invite them to join the brotherhood of Islam, become the people of Allah, but it is also to respect them and deal with them with justice even if they do not accept Islam.

Being a Muslim is to care for all creatures and for the environment, without wasting the resources and without hurting or harming anyone.

Being a Muslim is to be optimistic, never lose hope and never give up. It is to be sure that in the end the truth will prevail and the falsehood will vanish. It is to remain steadfast and work hard with wisdom and patience.

A Muslim scholar gave ten qualities of a Muslim: 1. Salim al-‘Aqidah: A person of sound faith, 2. Sahih al-‘Ibadah: Worshiper in a correct way 3. Qawiyy al-jism: Strong physically 4. Matin al-khuluq: A person of solid character 5. Muthaqqaf al-fikr: A person of refined mind 6. Qadir ‘ala al-kasb: Able to earn 7. Mujahid linafsihi: Self disciplined 8. Haris ‘ala waqtihi: Conscientious about his time 9. Munazzam fi shu’unih: Organized in his affairs 10.Nafi’ lighairihi: Beneficial to others (Khutbah at Islamic Center of Hawthorne, CA – Jumadal Ula 17, 1434/ March 29, 2013)

Chapter 5,Verse 5 Today, all the good things of life have been made lawful to you.

And the food of those who have been vouchsafed revelation aforetime is lawful to you, and your food is lawful to them. And [lawful to you are], in wedlock, women from among those who believe [in this divine writ], and, in wedlock, women from among those who have been vouchsafed revelation before your time – provided that you give them their dowers, taking them in honest wedlock, not in fornication, nor as secret love-companions. But as for him who rejects belief [in God] – in vain will be all his works: for in life to come he shall be among the lost.

Chapter 5,Verse 6 O you who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in your devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all equity; and never let hatred of anyone lead you into the sin of deviating from justice. Be just: this is closest to being Godconscious. And remain conscious of God: verily, God is aware of all that you do.

Chapter 5,Verse 32 Because of this did We ordain unto the children of Israel that if anyone slays a human being – unless it be in [in punishment] for murder or for spreading corruption on earth – it shall be as though he had slain all mankind; whereas, if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind.

And, indeed, there came unto them Our apostles with all evidence of the truth: yet, behold, notwithstanding all this, many of them go on committing all manner of excesses on earth.

Chapter 5,Verse 82 Will they not, then, try to understand this Qur’an? Had it issued from any but God, they would surely have found in it many an inner contradiction!

Chapter 5,Verse 86 But when you are greeted with a greeting [of peace], answer with an even better greeting, or [at least] GEMS, P28

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MARCH PAKISTAN MARCH11, 11, 2016 2016 –-PAKISTAN LINKLINK – P27

PCB Recalls Ahmad Shahzad for World Twenty20

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently recalled opening batsman Ahmad Shahzad in the 15-member squad for the World Twenty20.

The cricket board dropped flopped Khurram Manzoor to make way for experienced Shahzad, who impressed the selectors with his batting display in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Chief selector Haroon Rasheed termed inclusion of Khurram in the Pakistan team which produced dismal show in the Asia Cup 'a gamble' which did not pay off.

"As a chief selector, I take full responsibility for the failure of Manzoor, whose inclusion backfired," he told the reporters here at the Gaddafi Stadium recently.

Haroon said the PCB authorities and the national selection committee

took into consideration the failure of the top order in the Asia Cup and finally decided to include Ahmad Shahzad to boost up the performance of the top batting order in the World T20.

"In the given circumstances, Ahmad is the best available choice as he showed fine performance in the PSL, scoring 290 runs in 10 matches at a strike-rate of 143.

56 and a half-century in the final," he added.

Admitting the inclusion of Manzoor's inclusion in the team as an error of judgment, Haroon said: "Manzoor scored bulk of runs in domestic cricket and based on that, we gave him a chance which he failed to justify and you can call his inclusion an error of judgment of whatever.

"It happens in cricket, you gamble

on a particular player.

Take the example of Shoaib Malik, we gambled on him last year and it paid off but in the case of Manzoor, it did not," he said and added: "While picking the squad, the team management and skipper were consulted by the selectors, and all concerned gave their consent in this regard. " Haroon said the T20 team had been selected keeping in mind the conditions during the World T20 in India. "The team is a fine blend of experience and youth and the selectors believe that the team will do well in the mega event," said the chief selector.

With the return of opener Ahmad Shahzad, the rumors to include tainted opener Salman Butt in the World T20 squad were over as the PCB didn't seem ready to make him part of the national side at this stage.

Salman Butt scored as many as 536 runs in the national one day tournament in the role of second highest scorer, emerging as a strong candidate to win back his place in the side after completing a ban for spot fixing in 2010 during the tour of England.

But the PCB high ups were not in a mood to give him chance at such an early stage.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Monday sent a team to assess security for the World Twenty20 starting in India this week.

Pakistan has voiced repeated concern about security for the tournament, and participation could depend on the delegation's assessment.

The South Asian adversaries have not played a bilateral series for more than three years due to diplomatic tensions. J

Tennis Champion Sharapova's Positive Drug Test to Result in Suspension

MOSCOW: Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova, the highest-paid woman in sports, said that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open due to a substance she has been taking for 10 years for health issues.

The 28-year-old Sharapova, a five-time grand slam champion, will be provisionally suspended starting March 12, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said.

She is the seventh athlete in a month to test positive for meldonium, which is used to treat diabetes and low magnesium, and was only banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) as of 1st January.

"I made a huge mistake. I let my fans down and I let the sport down," said Sharapova, a teenage tennis prodigy who became the thirdyoungest Wimbledon champion. "I take full responsibility for it."

"I know that with this I face consequences and I don't want to end my career this way. I really hope that I will be given another chance to play this game," former world No.1 Sharapova told a news conference in a downtown Los Angeles hotel.

The ITF's anti-doping program calls for a four-year suspension for a positive test, but that ban can be reduced in various circumstances, such as for first-time offences or if the player shows no significant fault or negligence. If a player bears no fault or negligence, there is no suspension.

According to Forbes, she earned $29.5 million in 2015, mostly from endorsements.

Sharapova said her family doctor had been giving her mildronate, which is also called meldonium, for 10 years after she frequently became

Wasim Akram Lashes Out at 'Below the Belt' Criticism of Afridi

KARACHI: Three runs and two wickets. That is all skipper Shahid Afridi contributed during Pakistan's disastrous Asia Cup Twenty20 campaign which concluded on Friday.

The star all-rounder has come under the radar of the cricket fans who have criticised him for his inability to make a positive impact and win matches for the national side recently.

Amid a storm of harsh comments on social media as well as mainstream media forums, former Pakistan great Wasim Akram jumped in defence of one-time teammate, Afridi, and called on the critics to be 'more realistic'.

"For the last 15 years, Afridi has maintained a particular style. He has no technique. He watches the ball and goes to hit it big," said Akram while talking to local media in Karachi. "He has been backed by everyone for that style. The fans have cheered for him exactly for that style. We shouldn't all of a sudden expect him to come to the

crease and start blocking the ball," added the former captain.

Afridi batted twice in the four matches that Pakistan played in the Asia Cup, coming in at the six and seven numbers when the top and middle-order failed against India and Bangladesh. Pakistan's highest runscorer was wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, with 121 runs while the likes of Sharjeel Khan, Khurram Manzoor, and Mohammad Hafeez all had a poor tournament.

Akram believed that the top order should have displayed more responsibility. "Afridi cannot be expected to play according to the situation when he comes in. It's the top six batsmen's responsibility instead," he said. "Afridi's batting is all about hitting big or getting out early. That's how he is. However, he is a tremendous bowler. The way he has been criticised by the people is below the belt and totally unfair," added the 49-year-old. J

Malinga Steps Down as S.Lanka Captain for World T20 COLOMBO: Lasith Malinga has stepped down as Sri Lanka captain ahead of their World Twenty20 title defence in India, the secretary of the country's cricket board recently.

Angelo Mathews would take over as skipper from paceman Malinga, who remained available to play Super 10 stage matches from March 15, Mohan de Silva added.

"He is stepping down only from captaincy," de Silva said.

"He has offered himself for selection only after (March) 15 because he is undergoing some treatment here in Sri Lanka," the SLC secretary added.

Test and one-day captain Mathews was named Malinga's

deputy in the original Sri Lankan squad.

According to media reports, paceman Malinga, who led Sri Lanka to the 2014 World Twenty20 triumph in Bangladesh, is recovering slowly from a knee injury and is not certain to play all the side's matches in India.

The 32-year-old with an unorthodox action has been a key player in Sri Lanka´s progress to three World Twenty20 finals over the last four editions of the tournament.

Sri Lanka begin their bid for a second World Twenty20 title on March 17 with a Super 10 stage match against the Group B winners in Kolkata. J

ICC Warns Minnows of Corruption, Promises Clean WT20

sick, had irregular EKG results, a magnesium deficiency and a family history of diabetes.

"It is very important for you to understand that for 10 years this medicine was not on Wada's banned list and I had been legally taking the medicine. But on January the first, the rules have changed and meldonium

became a prohibited substance." The World Anti-Doping Agency, or Wada, declined to comment until ITF issues a final decision.

Meldonium is used to treat chest pain and heart attacks among other conditions, but some researchers have linked it to increased athletic performance and endurance. J

www.Pakistanlink.com www.PakistanLink.com

NAGPUR: Cricket's governing body has warned that match-fixers are now targeting the game's minnows as they prepared to get the World Twenty20 under way in India Tuesday.

Hong Kong, who play Zimbabwe in the opening match, have been rocked by a corruption scandal in the build-up to the T20 world championship which has already led to the suspension of their all-rounder Irfan Ahmed. And in an eve-of-tournament press conference, International Cricket Council chief executive David

Richardson said it was clear that nonTest playing nations, known as associate members, are vulnerable to corruption. "Unfortunately this is the world we are living, there are corrupt individuals all over trying their best to get hold of players," he said.

"We are finding that the corrupters are now focusing on associate members, women's team etc, etc. So we are going to make sure the players from all the teams are very well educated, understand their responsibility and will not get involved." J

PAKISTAN

P28 – PAKISTAN LINK – MARCH 11, 2016 STABILITY FROM P24

The role of the legislators is to serve as a permanent accountability commission (similar to the US Senate and Congress) and as watchdogs providing surveillance over all the actions of the executive branch: important appointments, budget, domestic and foreign policy, and so on. Such a system would provide stability, with elections on fixed dates, not determined by no-confidence motions and ‘lotas’.

The achievement of these ends, which will make the task of governance easier, would require a system change, because a permanent solution to the country’s ills can only be found through major surgery.

KASHMIR FROM P7

mir have their own leaders who do not participate in government decision-making. They are on the streets struggling for the cause, under house arrest, or in jail, because they have had the courage to speak out for basic human and civil rights that the international community has long recognized. After almost seventy years of attempts by India to silence that collective voice, what has been accomplished?

The policy of India to assume proprietary rights over Kashmir and treat it as a disobedient stepchild who must be whipped into submission has characterized its relationship with Kashmir, through the presence of hundreds of thousands of troops and paramilitary on Kashmiri soil, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, the suppression and prosecution of those who talk about “azadi,” and a constant reign of terror in which tens of thousands of innocents have been imprisoned, tortured, raped and disappeared in secret mass graves.

The repression of Kashmir’s soul has not diminished the pain or the need for India to meet those face to face who have had nothing but a boot to the belly and a cane to the back. The voice of Kashmir not only remains as vibrant and shrill as in the very beginning, it is yet even stronger. It is time that India showed some honesty and forthrightness in its dealings with Kashmir.

It’s time to end the violence. It’s time to end the charade. It’s time for Kashmiris to sort out their own affairs and determine their own future.

It’s not about jobs or education or even money; it’s about freedom and respect for the sovereign right of a people to choose their own way of life, their own leaders, and their own politics without interference from outsiders. The people of Jammu & Kashmir, irrespective of their religious background and regional affiliations, were given the right by the United Nations to decide the future status of Kashmir. That is a principle that was agreed by both India and Pakistan and endorsed by the world community. Perhaps India may pretend that it can preempt that option unilaterally, but the people have not forgotten.

In late 1993, when Senator Dianne Feinstein of California was in her first term Senate, we met her in her office in Washington, DC. We told her that the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan were meeting in January 1994 and that they would talk about Kashmir. We told the Senator that the United States should impress upon both India and Pakistan the need to include the Kashmiri leadership in talks when they discuss the Kashmir dispute.

Her response was, “You are not asking much.”

Shouldn’t the Obama Administration take a leaf from the judicious and sensible response given by Senator Feinstein? Obama spoke his mind about Kashmir as a Presidential candidate in 2008, believing, one would think sincerely, that India and Pakistan should come together to resolve the Kashmir issue. Since then he has wavered. He has quit talking about Kashmir, believing perhaps that US business ties with India have greater priority than ruffling any feathers.

In 2014, the US edged out Russia to become India’s largest arms supplier.

Between 2011 and 2014, India imported $13.9 billion in weapons from the US. But President Obama still has an opportunity to walk and talk straight to India and Pakistan to help set a stage for the peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute. The priorities of world peace are much greater than selling a few more missiles to a country which threatens international peace and security.

(Dr Fai is the Secretary General of World Kashmir Awareness.

-gnfai2003@yahoo.com) MUSLIMS FROM P9

teaching and enhancement of knowledge.

4. Muslims are an insignificant minority in North America, constituting less than one percent of the population.

It consists mostly of professionals such as engineers, accountants, doctors, architects, scientists, entrepreneurs and government workers. This population has its horizons more on the American dream than the kingdom of heaven. How can this insignificant, secular minded, heterogeneous group hoist a system of laws other than the law of the land?

5. The Muslim presence in America is older than the presence of other monotheistic faiths. Some scholars, citing the evidence offered by early Spanish and Portuguese explorers, assert the presence of Muslims in the Americas a century before Columbus. (Please refer to the article by Dr Abdullah Quik in www.historyofislam.com). A large number of Muslims arrived in the New World aboard Spanish ships to escape the Inquisition. About 20 to 30% of the 10 to 100 million Africans who were transported aboard slave ships between 1605 and 1859 were Muslim.

In summary, the issue of “the Shariah law” in America is a non-issue. It is a canard invented by interested parties with an agenda and articulated by people like Carson and Trump to add fuel to the fires of Islamophobia raging in the land and gain political advantage from it.

The discussion so far partially answers the aspersions of Ben Carson that American Muslims are “schizophrenic”.

He seems to insinuate that the Muslims do not belong in America. We will develop our response to this insinuation more fully, inshallah, in the next installment, examining from an Islamic perspective the ideas of citizenship in a modern state, democracy, sovereignty, trusteeship and delegation of God-given individual authority to elected representatives. Our objective is to show that not only are American Muslims not “schizophrenic” but are more fully committed than many others to the American vision of “one nation under God” and the ideals of “liberty and justice for all”. (Continued next week) LESSONS FROM P8

who were expecting to anoint Abdullah bin Ubai as their leader. The incredulous masses who enjoyed the life of intoxication, gambling, sex,

violence, greed felt a threat to their lifestyle in the practice of the moral code. Pagans of Mecca also felt a threat to their polytheistic way of life from such a society taking hold in Medina and were plotting against it. Migration of Nabi SA and his companions to Medina gave them safety but added several dimension of hostility against them. Nabi SA was expecting support from Jews as they were the believer in the same God of Abraham, but barring a few many of them kept away from him as they were expecting the prophets to be born amongst their tribes. This added another dimension to hostility against this city state of Medina (Ch2 V109).

Prophets have the toughest job of speaking the truth to those who do not want to listen to it and are happy living a life of their desires, no matter how it is going to affect them, their societies and the world at large. With all the problems enlisted earlier Nabi SA’s job was so difficult that he felt exhausted and cried out in anguish: If you don’t believe in what I have brought for the good of you in this world and in the hereafter at least show me the decency which is due to me as your clan member (Ch42 V22-23).

After suffering physical harm and economic boycott in Mecca, Nabi SA had to survive the conspiracies of hypocrites, hostility of the pagans of Mecca as he was establishing this new society in Medina based on faith and morals.

To fail him in his effort, the enemies of this movement did not spare even the family of Nabi SA. His wife Ayesha RA was accused of immoral behavior. This dark chapter in his life is described in the chapter of light (Surah E Noor).

This chapter is called light because it gave him an understanding of the reality of his mission and showed him the solutions to its problems.

SAQIB FROM P18

And what a face it is!

Saqib’s video prompted some awestruck responses on the internet. One man asked: “Let’s get to the important business. Where did he get that jacket? I need that jacket or something close to it. Not kidding.”

Another commentator suggested that “the reason he got kicked out was that Donald trump got jealous of his hair,” while someone confessed that “to be fair, I thought that was Prince until he started talking.”

And Donald Trump’s take on all this? He allegedly said Saqib looked like an ‘Elvis impersonator.’

ADS FROM P18

not have come at a better time as many public figures continue to use dangerous and hateful rhetoric against the American Muslim community,” said Madihha Ahussain, Staff Attorney for the Program to Counter Anti-Muslim Hate at Muslim Advocates. “These ads allow American Muslims to speak for themselves and encourage the nation to stand together against hate and fear-mongering.”

The US District Court in Manhattan ruled “The text of the messages…is not ‘prominently or predominantly political’ – unless we have reached the unhappy moment in this country where the mere mention of one of the three Abrahamic faiths is ‘prominently or predominantly political’ simply because that faith is Islam.”

“We’re thrilled that finally our posters will go up and people will start loving Muslims!” said Dean Obeidallah, Comedian and Co-Director with Farsad of The Muslims are Coming!, the film the ads were designed to promote. “Okay, maybe one poster can’t make you actually love Muslims but perhaps it will be part of the

www.PakistanLink.com

courting process,” joked Obeidallah, host of SiriusXM radio’s The Dean Obeidallah Show.

Latham & Watkins LLP and Muslim Advocates served as co-counsel in the lawsuit filed on behalf of VQP, an awardwinning video production company based in New York, NY. VQP makes viral video campaigns, TV and web shows, as well as narrative and documentary features, and specializes in comedy. - Muslim Advocates GEMS FROM P25

with the like thereof. Verily God keeps count indeed of all things.

Chapter 5,Verses 110-111 Yet he who does evil or [otherwise] sins against himself, and thereafter prays God to forgive him, shall find God much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace: for he who commits a sin, commits it only to his own hurt; and God is indeed all-knowing, wise.

TRUMP FROM P1

lation, the broad spectrum of America ... will not buy this,” said Aziz.

Aziz spoke to CNN on Tuesday while in Washington for meeting with US officials and a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations.

At the CFR event, he said that peace negotiations between the Afghan government and Taliban could begin in the coming week or two.

As part of the peace process, the United States, China and Pakistan had facilitated talks between the Afghan government and Taliban in July, but further talks were derailed by news of the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

Aziz said that some progress had been made by preparing the terms of reference for the talks and the road map for moving forward, but he cautioned that the success of the talks hinges upon the situation on the ground remaining stable. At this point, it’s not clear that there will be more success in moving forward with talks than there has been in previous months.

Aziz also acknowledged that the Taliban leadership is inside Pakistan, giving leverage to his government to pressure them to come to the table.

“We have some influence in them because their leadership is in Pakistan,” he said. They get some medical facilities.

Their families are here.”

Pakistan wants US to stay in Afghanistan: Trump, for his part, spoke on Pakistan in the Fox News debate on Thursday night, citing Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal as the reason for the United States to stay in Afghanistan. “I think you have to stay in Afghanistan for a while, because of the fact that you’re right next to Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons and we have to protect that,” said Trump. “Nuclear weapons change the game.”...

Aziz told CNN that the United States should stay in Afghanistan but not because of his country’s nuclear weapons.

“In our view, a sudden withdrawal would not be advisable,” Aziz said...

Aziz also said that he doesn’t consider ISIS to be a major threat in the region, saying that there was no “organized structure or presence” of ISIS in Pakistan and that ISIS groups in Afghanistan were simply local Pakistani Taliban splinter groups with no connection to Iraq and Syria that had opted to rebrand in an attempt to raise money.

CNN’s Ryan Browne contributed to this report. – Courtesy CNN

Earlier Pakistan’s top civil and military leadership decided to expand the country’s engagements with Saudi Arabia and to offer military training to the Saudi troops, provide it military hardware and share intelligence.

This was decided on Tuesday during a meeting, chaired by the premier at the PM House.

Exercise: Dubbed as “the most important” military manoeuvre ever staged in the region, the exercise involves ground, air, and naval forces and sends a “clear message” that Riyadh and its allies “stand united in confronting all challenges and preserving peace and stability in the region”.

PM may define role in Saudi-led military alliance: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif finalized on Tuesday the strategy for his upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia, where he is likely to define the role Pakistan will play in the 34-nation counterterrorism alliance formed by the kingdom.

The Prime Minister’s Office tried to project the meeting as a national security conference, but the list of participants, which included Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, National Security Adviser Lt Gen Nasser Janjua, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif and ISI Director General Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, left little doubt that it had a much wider agenda.

Pakistan has kept its position on the alliance vague, but government ministers have on different occasions hinted that it could help in intelligence sharing, capacity building, provision of military hardware and formulation of counter-narrative to extremist propaganda.

IRAN FROM P1

to lack of economic activities in the region terrorism was on the rise.

The Iranian Envoy informed that after rhw lifting of sanctions Iran possessed a great potential for investment and priority would be given to neighboring countries.

CRICKET FROM P1

proval to send its team to participate in the tournament.

The development comes after the PCB put on hold the departure of its men and women’s teams for the World T20, asking for the match to be re-located due to security reasons.

The Associated Press on Wednesday quoted a PCB official as saying that the ICC had been asked to consider Kolkata or Mohali as alternate venues for the March 19 match against the tournament hosts.

The Pakistan squad had been scheduled to travel to Kolkata on Wednesday for its opening group match on March 16.

INSTITUTES FROM P1

methodology aims to assess research, teaching, employability and internationalization.

15 Indian universities made it to the list. Two of them, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) were ranked within 200, at 147 and 179 respectively.

TASEER FROM P1

baz, son of Salmaan Taseer,” a senior security official, who was part of the team that recovered the missing Taseer, told Dawn.

After his recovery, Shahbaz was shifted to Quetta.

Anwar Kakar, a spokesperson for the Balochistan government, told Dawn that ROLE FROM P1 gion of Saudi Arabia. The main aim Shahbaz was found to be in good health, of the exercise is to improve training physically and mentally.

Shahbaz was kidnapped from Lato respond to threats posed by terrorist groups. hore on Aug 26, 2011.

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P30 – PAKISTAN LINK – MARCH 11, 2016

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ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

MARCH 11, 2016 - PAKISTAN LINK

ENTERTAINMENT

MARCH 11, 2016 – PAKISTAN LINK – P31

A

ishwarya Rai-Bachchan, Anushka Sharma and Ranbir Kapoor bring oodles of star power to the big screen. But does that satisfy their director Karan Johar? Not quite.

The Bollywood producer takes the director's chair after a hiatus of three years in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, and he's pulling out all stops to make the romance drama the biggest crowd-pleaser of the year.

KJo has roped in a string of celebrity cameos for the film, including our very own Fawad Khan and Imran Abbas. Saif Ali Khan is also said to make a brief appearance in the film as Ash's husband, reports MissMalini.

Rumour has it that that latest actor to join the long list of cameo stars is none other than KJo's favourite dulhania, Kajol! This is not unusual for a superstitious director like KJo (remember his K-phase?); maybe he thinks of Kajol as his lucky charm?

The Dilwale actress is said to play a small but pivotal role in the film. The film releases on October 28, 2016.

S

hehzad Roy is back and this time he isn't making political wisecracks or shouting slogans.

Rather, he's stepped into his avatar of yore, of the love struck hero romancing a glamorous leading lady.

Nineteen years into his career, now married and father to 19-month old Sikandar, Shehzad has retained his boyish good looks. In his upcoming video, 'Jind Jaan', he epitomises the smoldering bad boy, complete with abs, tousled hair, leather jacket, an iconic red and white-striped Mustang 65 and for the first time on screen, a beard.

It's a far cry from Shehzad's considerable spate of socio-political songs where he tirades for the common man. This new video, where he acts opposite Iman Ali, is stylised and replete with film-starry glamour. And while Shehzad's upcoming movie debut is still in the pipeline, 'Jind Jaan' serves as a teaser to the singer's potential as absolute 'hero material'.

Singing along with him is Zoe Viccaji, in an initial attempt at singing in Punjabi. "Zoe has a husky, very modern voice," observes Shehzad. "She sounds great; nailing the dialect while at the same time

sounding distinctively raw."

"I just wanted to do something different," he continues. "Since 2003, I have been deeply involved with Zindagi Trust where we have sought to reform government schools. It's a colossal task, akin to turning over a mini-government.

We've changed policies, implemented infrastructure and tried to improve educational standards.

Consequently, the songs I ended up singing were directed towards social activism."

It is one thing to just talk about change but Shehzad is one of the few

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struggling to actually turn things around "A lot of people would tell me that I needed to occasionally revert to lighter music. It's why 'Jind Jaan' has finally come about. There is a very Fast and the Furious scene featuring some fantastic cars including the Mustang my character drives, all borrowed from my friends. Then, there are scenes within the studio with Iman. We had often talked about working together and she is an ideal choice for the video's female lead, who is a beautiful girl haunted by her past."

This past, apparently, features Shehzad's 'bad boy' character and our romance unfolds when the two meet again. Yousuf Bashir Qureshi plays the villain. Saqib Khan has directed the music video. The song has been written by Nadeem Asad and composed by Shuja Haider.

"I've acted quite a bit in the video," he laughs. "It serves as a precursor to the movie that I'll begin working on." His upcoming Pakistani film is going to be directed

by Ahsan Rahim with the script penned by acclaimed playwright Anwar Maqsood.

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