Pakistan link november 20, 2015 pages 1 32 reduced

Pakistan Link The Largest Circulated Pakistani-American Newspaper in North America

Friday, November 20, 2015

VOL. 25/47 - 8 Safar 1437 H

PAGE 15

PAGE 9

PAGE 4

Farooq Leghari and the Making of ‘Jinnah’ David Hale to Be New US Ambassador to Pakistan Islamabad:

US & Canada $1.00

You Can Only Talk Politics with Imran

Why Missouri, Yale, and Rubio Are Wrong

Defense Cooperation Dominates Talks

Ambassador David Hale, a career diplomat, arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday to take up his new assignment as the US Ambas-

sador to Pakistan.

He will present his credentials to President Mamnoon Hussain at the earliest opportunity, said a US Embassy statement.

“After presenting his credentials, he will begin working with his Pakistani counterparts and the people to strengthen AmericanPakistani relations, increase trade between the two countries, further enhance our security partnership and advance the broad agenda laid out by President Obama and Prime Minister Sharif when they met in Washington on October 22, 2015,” the statement read.

David Hale, born 1961, has been the US ambassador to Lebanon since August 1, 2013. He is the suc HALE, P28

Savage, Despicable Attacks Are without Justification Los Angeles, CA: The Council on

American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, has condemned the terror attacks in Paris that left many people dead and injured.

In a statement, CAIR said: “These savage and despicable attacks on civilians, whether they occur in Paris, Beirut or any other city, are outrageous and without justification. We condemn these horrific crimes in the strongest terms possible. Our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of those killed and injured and with all of France.

The perpetrators of these heinous attacks must be apprehended and brought to justice.”

Our prayers are with the victims: Dr Salam Al-Marayati, President, MPAC, in a message said: The attacks in Paris were horrific and despicable, and taking innocent life violates the principles of every faith.

ATTACKS, P28

Pakistan COAS General Raheel Sharif with US CJCS General Joseph Dunford at the Pentagon

Washington, DC: : Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif held meetings with top US defense officials at the Pentagon Tuesday, with defense cooperation between the two countries dominating the discussion.

According to a series of tweets

posted by Director-General InterServices Public Relations (ISPR) Lt-Gen Asim Bajwa, Gen Raheel on Tuesday met US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs

of Staff (CJCS) Gen Joseph Dunford, Army Chief of Staff Gen Mark Milley and Centcom (Central Command) chief Gen Lloyd Austin.

During the meetings, Gen Raheel and American officials dis-

RAHEEL, P28

Muslims Worldwide Condemn Paris Attacks Cairo: Muslims around

the world have come out to show solidarity with the French and condemn a wave of coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris Friday night, which left 128 dead and scores others injured.

The head of Sunni Islam’s leading seat of learning - Cairo’s Al-Azhar on Saturday condemned “hateful” attacks and urged global unity against extremism.

“We denounce this hateful incident,” Ahmed al-Tayyeb told a conference in comments broadcast by Egyptian state television. “The time has come for the world to unite to confront this monster.”

In an official statement, Pakistan Prime

“Pakistan stands firmly behind the people and Government of France in this hour and extends its support to bring the perpetrators to justice,” declared Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in an official statement

Minister Nawaz Sharif said: “Pakistan stands firmly behind the people and Government of France in this hour and extends

its support to bring the perpetrators to justice,” he said in a statement, according to Radio Pakistan.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani strongly

condemned Friday’s deadly attacks in Paris, branding them “crimes against humanity” in a message to his French counterpart CONDEMNATION, P28

Periodical postage paid at Newport Beach, CA and additional mailing offices

For news, updated round the clock, visit

www.PakistanLink.com Pakistan, Uzbekistan Agree to Enhance Trade Ties Tashkent: Pakistan and Uzbekistan agreed on Tuesday to strengthen their bilateral ties by enhancing trade and improving connectivity in the region.

Addressing a joint press conference after the signing of agreements, Prime Minis¬ter Nawaz Sharif and Uzbek President Islam Karimov stressed the need for harnessing the full potential of bilateral cooperation in different spheres.

Prime Minister Sharif, who is on a two-day visit to the Uzbek Republic, said the two countries shared the affinities of culture, faith and customs and called for sustaining ties through better cooperation.

During a meeting with President Karimov earlier in the day, he said the two sides should play a coordinated role to counter terrorism and improve regional connectivity.

Mr Sharif said his government was keen to strengthen ties with Uzbekistan, adding that the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor and other connectivity projects would ensure regional development and prosperity.

TIES, P28

France Has a Lot to Learn from Pakistan’s Resilience: Envoy Islamabad: The French people and government had a lot to learn from the resilience of the Pakistani nation, French Ambassador Martine Dorance observed Tuesday during the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the Embassy. The Prime Minister was visiting the Embassy to extend his condolences on the lives lost during the Nov 13 terrorist attacks in Paris.

The premier said Pakistan shared the pain and grief of the French people. “This is an appalling incident and we ourselves are the victim of terrorism,” the Prime Minister said.

Nawaz said Pakistan was ready to assist the French government in this hour of need and will share its expertise on counter-terrorism efforts with French officials.

Ambassador Dorance thanked the prime minister for this gesture.

Pakistan had earlier strongly condemned the attacks and reiterENVOY, P28

ADVERTISEMENT

P2 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015

www.PakistanLink.com

ADVERTISEMENT

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P3

www.PakistanLink.com

P4 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015

Leghari and the Making of ‘Jinnah’

Pakistan Link

OPINION

n By Dr Akbar S Ahmed President

Arif Zaffar Mansuri

ArifMansuri@PLpublications.org Editor

Akhtar Mahmud Faruqui afaruqui@pakistanlink.com

Editor Urdu Link & Bureau Chief (Pakistan)

Shabbir Ghori

urdulink@yahoo.com Resident Editor Urdu Link & Director Video Operations

Anwar Khawaja

akhawaja@pakistanlink.com Director Advertising & Sales

Dr Hawa Vahed

sales@pakistanlink.com

Regional Offices YKKB ykkb03@gmail.com Sacramento, CA

Shahid Hussain 530-933-8181

San Fransisco/Bay Area, CA

M. Akhtar Shah 415-756-3664 New York, NY

Jahangir Lodhi 646-696-7126

Jlodhi@pakistanlink.com Houston, TX Houston@Plpublications.org Phoenix, AZ Phoenix@Plpublications.org Ontario, Canada Ontario@Plpublications.org

Letters to the Editor Readers are welcome to express their opinion in these columns. Please keep your letters

brief and to the point. Letters without full name, complete address, and a daytime phone number will not be published.

Also, copies of letters sent to other newspapers are not encouraged. Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to the Editor at the Pakistan Link Headquarters address listed below.

Pakistan Link (ISSN 1074-0406) is published weekly for $65 a year by JAZ LLC, DBA PL Publications, LLC, 1501 North Raymond Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92801.

Periodical postage paid at Anaheim, CA and additional mailing offices.

POST MASTER: Send address changes to Pakistan Link, P O Box 1238, Anaheim, CA 92815 The management has the right to refuse to print any advertisement, news, article, letter or any other material. In case of any errors in advertisement the management will not be liable for more than the amount paid for the advertisement to the Link.

Advertisements in Pakistan Link are placed in good faith. The newspaper is not responsible nor endorses the contents of any advertisement. In case of a frivolous lawsuit, the plaintiff will bear the total cost of the suit, including but not limited to the Link’s costs and the attorney’s fees.

Information for Subscribers The printing of Pakistan Link is unfailingly completed by Wednesday every week and its copies are handed over to the mailing house for prompt dispatch to the subscribers. The Link should reach its destination on time if there is no delay at the post office. If a delay is occasioned it is in no way attributable to the performance of Link’s management. In case of delayed receipt of Pakistan Link or missing issues, please contact your local Post Office and submit a “Publication Watch” form.

PAKISTAN LINK Headquarters

P O Box 1238, Anaheim, CA 92815

Tel: 714-400-3400 Fax: 714-400-3404 E-Mail: Editor@PakistanLink.com

Pakistan Office

42 Rehman Court Plaza Square, Off M. A. Jinnah Road Karachi-74400, Pakistan

“

American University Washington, DC

Beware of the Indians and other enemies of Pakistan,” said Farooq Leghari, the president of Pakistan, looking at me straight in the eye. “They will do everything possible to destroy your project. They can’t stand Mr Jinnah and his achievement of creating Pakistan.”

Leghari was talking to me in a one-to-one conversation in his office in 1996. He had been my senior at Forman Christian College where we both played tennis in the college team. Later when I entered the civil service of Pakistan, which he had already joined, he maintained the affections of an elder brother. I called him Lala or elder brother. In this case, I had come to enlist his support for Jinnah, my film project on the life of the founder of Pakistan.

“Of course,” he said, “I will be there to fully support you and ensure no harm comes to you.” As a Baloch, he was a man of honor and true to his word. When I requested for what seemed an impossible request, the use of the magnificent presidential bodyguard for a scene in the film depicting Jinnah’s cavalcade as governor general, without hesitation he sent it down to Karachi. He wrote to all the ministers and governors asking that full cooperation be shown to me in my efforts. On my request, Leghari arranged a meeting at the presidential palace for Pakistan’s top 30 industrialists who made commitments for my budget in his presence. Unbeknownst to Leghari, my elation was only to be brought down with a thump when one of them, who had promised Rs3 million, was heard boasting to friends at the Marriott hotel after the meeting that he would follow his father’s footsteps who made similar promises of Rs1 million to President Ayub Khan after the floods in East Pakistan but did not pay a single rupee.

Three years later, when Leghari was no longer president, I showed him the Jinnah film at his home in Islamabad. He had aged. It seemed the weight of the world was on his shoulders. There were all kinds of wild and hateful accusations against him in the press. The two of us sat on a couch in his living room surrounded by his family. They saw the film with rapt attention. When it was over, Leghari stood up, his eyes glistening with tears. He embraced me and said, “You have done a great service to the Pakistani nation. I thank you on their behalf and on my own.”

“But I have a complaint against you Lala,” I said. He looked taken aback and puzzled.

“You warned me about the Indians and others. But you didn’t warn me about our beloved fellow Pakistanis. They almost destroyed me and my film with lies and malice. You should have warned me about our own people.”

Leghari threw his head back and laughed with the familiar carefree laughter that took me

Christopher Lee in the movie Jinnah

back three decades to the time we were together at college in Lahore.

With a broad grin, he murmured, “Yes and look what they did to me.”

The idea of making a film on Mr Jinnah was the ambition of many Pakistanis especially after seeing Attenborough’s Oscar-winning film Gandhi which depicted Jinnah as a villainous caricature.

Muslims also needed to answer the question so many were legitimately asking about the compatibility of Islam with democracy. Because I believed Jinnah was the quintessential modern Muslim democrat, his story would answer the question about Islam and democracy.

His Pakistan was to be a modern

I was the managing director of the company and owned its single share.

The other members of the board included such distinguished Pakistanis as Jamy Rahim and Amir Chinoy, well-known names in industry and finance, and the equally distinguished British statesmen Sir Julian Ridsdale, former MP, and Sir Oliver Forster, former High Commissioner to Pakistan. No one on the board was paid and it was often a thankless job, yet the support and loyalty of the directors never wavered and I will always be grateful to them democratic Muslim nation. I began working on a script for Jinnah when I arrived at Cambridge University in 1988 to take up the position of the Iqbal Chair.

Supported by family and friends, I spent the next decade producing books and films that would tackle two subjects — Islam and Jinnah. “Living Islam”, based on my book Discovering Islam, was broadcast at prime time as a six-part BBC television series which I hosted.

Desperate times call for desperate measures and I decided to work on the “Jinnah Quartet”: to make Jinnah, a feature film and Mr Jinnah: The making of Pakistan, a documentary based on archival

www.PakistanLink.com

Late President Farooq Leghari

material and rare interviews including that of Jinnah’s daughter Dina, to write Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity, an academic book, and commission and write a comic book on Jinnah. I set myself a deadline — 1997, the fiftieth anniversary year of Pakistan. Despite the huge challenges and obstacles, three of the Quartet were completed on time. The Jinnah feature film was ready by the following year.

Along with friends, we had set up a company called Quaid Project Limited to make the feature film. I was the managing director of the company and owned its single share. The other members of the board included such distinguished Pakistanis as Jamy Rahim and Amir Chinoy, well-known names in industry and finance, and the equally distinguished British statesmen Sir Julian Ridsdale, former MP, and Sir Oliver Forster, former High Commissioner to Pakistan. No one on the board was paid and it was often a thankless job, yet the support and loyalty of the directors never wavered and I will always be grateful to them.

Earlier projects to make films on Jinnah had faltered. People warned me that “Jinnah was jinxed”. Despite all the confidence people had in me, I was aware of the problems of working in Pakistan. I had described Pakistanis as living in a “dodge’m car culture” — not unlike the carnival game in which bumper cars slam into each other from every direction without warning.

There has been, typically, ad nauseam controversy about the Jinnah film and I have no intention of further feeding it. (For those interested in information on Jinnah and its making, please see Dare to Dream;https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=VKmJFbWXuzc. For a report of the launch of Jinnah see The Independent, London:http:// www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/was-jinnah-a-saintor-sinner-1184528.html. For a detailed audit report of the Jinnahfilm, see website link, http:// pdfsr.com/pdf/jinnah-film-auditreport-1. For a detailed analysis of the Jinnah Quartet, see my book Islam under Siege, 2003).

Unfortunately little has been said of the many Pakistanis who supported Jinnah over the decade that I worked on it. It is my intention to correct the record and acknowledge some of them in this series and pay tribute to them.

I last saw Leghari at a hospital in Washington DC in the summer of 2006 where he had come for a major heart operation. He was

not meeting anyone but was good enough to see me and spend time happily talking to me. I was saddened to see his condition. As I left him, I thought of the dashing tennis star at college and I could not stop my tears. He died not long after. I knew his unconditional support for Jinnah came from his fiercely patriotic understanding of and love for Pakistan.

(The writer is Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University, Washington, DC. His recently released film is Journey into Europe and he is working on the book of the same title for Brookings Press as the fourth project of his award-winning quartet of studies examining relations between the West and the world of Islam)

Online Passports & CNIC n By Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd.)

I

Westridge, Rawalpindi

t is indeed a laudable step on the part of the Minister of Interior Ch. Nisar Ali Khan to have not only introduced the online application for the issuance of passports and computerized national identity cards but also their delivery at the doorsteps of the applicants through courier service in the country. Sir, I take off my hat in salutation to you for such a pro bono publico step which shall not only bring much the needed comfort and relief to the masses but also go a long way in eliminating corruption in these departments rampant through the PP and CNIC agents and touts mafias.

One hopes the other govt. departments shall also show similar good governance and concern for the people by following such an excellent example.

Well done, Sir, and keep it up.

Views and opinions express e d by authors and contributors in articles, letters, opinion pieces, reports, advertisements, etc appearing in Pakistan Link and Urdu Link are their own. The paper neither shares nor endorses them and thus should not be held responsible for the views/opinions of the writers & advertisers.

ADVERTISEMENT

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P5

www.PakistanLink.com

OPINION

P6 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015 n By Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai

M

Washington, DC

odi’s visit to Srinagar Saturday brings to mind an event where in September 2006 the British artist Banksy gave special meaning to the phrase “elephant in the room” in a Los Angeles exhibit called Barely Legal.

Its theme was global poverty. As writer Gary Martin says, “By painting the elephant in the same bold pattern as the room’s wallpaper, Banksy emphasized the phrase’s meaning, by both making the elephant even more obvious and by giving those who chose to ignore it (like the woman in the tableau) an opportunity to pretend that it had blended into the wallpaper background.”

Modi’s elephant in the room was depicted in the same way in Srinagar, the Capitol City of Kashmir this past weekend, where we had the same artificial set re-enacted.

The attempt to disguise the true problem of Kashmir by locking up the voices and spirit of resistance to Indian oppression did not make it go away nor did it recede into the wallpaper. The dispute over the sovereignty of the land and people of Kashmir cannot be hidden by all the cosmetics that $12 billion can purchase.

In the carefully choreographed visit, Modi was given a warm welcome by around 15,000 people who included couple of thousand police personnel in plain clothes, a few thousand daily wagers, some

Modi’s Elephant in the Room non-Kashmiri employees who came from the Indian State of Bihar and of course some loyalists of PDP patron, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

It was no surprise to the local residents of Srinagar when they found out that the non-Kashmiri (Behari) employees did not show up at work. They had been detoured and corralled into listening to the prime minister who was otherwise going to be standing before a lot of empty seats.

The highways were closed for public transportation, restrictions were imposed on movement, drop gates were erected in every nook and corner of the city of Srinagar and cordon and search operations were conducted. Curfew-like restrictions were imposed in Srinagar. Hundreds of leaders of the resistance were detained to prevent them from leading a march which was expected to attract more than a million Kashmiris.

Syed Ali Geelani’s call for ‘Million-Man-March’ was endorsed by all including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Mohammad Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmed Shah and others. It was expected to attract virtually the whole population of the city, towns and villages – men, women and children -- to express their desire for a political solution and not the economic package of the Kashmir dispute.

The local papers reported that the daily wagers from various departments of Agriculture, Horticulture, Forest, Fisheries, Labor and Animal Husbandry were ordered to assemble at Town Hall in Pulwama on Friday, November 6, 2105 at 6

pm so that they could be taken to Srinagar to participate in this Bansky-like staging of a rally on Saturday, November 7, 2015.

The local news agency CNS reported, “We (police personnel) have

not to be named.

It has been the tragedy that the Indian leadership does not listen to the saner voices. India’s obduracy has never helped resolve the Kashmir dispute. And Narendra Modi is

The attempt to disguise the true problem of Kashmir by locking up the voices and spirit of resistance to Indian oppression did not make it go away nor did it recede into the wallpaper been asked to ensure our presence at our police lines in Pulwama for physical fitness tests but we are sure that we will also be taken to Sher-iKashmir Cricket Stadium to attend Modi’s rally,” said an SPO, wishing

www.PakistanLink.com

no different. It is the basic principle of international relations that when the parties are not able to resolve the conflict, then it is always better to listen to saner elements beyond the parties who are directly involved in

the conflict, such as US President Harry Truman who was in office when the Kashmir dispute erupted at the United Nations in 1948. Men like President Mandela who said that ‘we should be willing to lend all the strength we have to the resolution of this matter (Kashmir),’ and President Obama who has also said that the resolution of Kashmir is in the interest of world peace.

Prime Minister Modi should realize that money can certainly solve some of the problems caused by last year’s flood, but it will not remove the ever-present and destabilizing atmosphere of oppression, the violence in the streets, and the persistent trauma of rape, murder and disappearances that have been the hallmark of India’s history in Kashmir.

Mere sloganeering, economic packages and cricket diplomacy will never solve the Kashmir problem.

Kashmir is a political issue which needs a political solution. The immediate necessities are the following: 1. The intervention of the international community to bring the violence in Kashmir to a quick end.

This intervention could also be the facilitation of a person of international standing, like Nobel Laureates, Bishop Desmond Tutu or Dr Kofi Annan; 2. Demilitarization of the State of Jammu and Kashmir on both sides of the Cease-fire Line; 3. Initiation of a political dialogue between all parties concerned – India, Pakistan and the leadership of the people of Jammu & Kashmir to set a stage for a democratic and peaceful solution.

- gnfai2003@yahoo.com

OPINION n By Dr Mohammad Taqi Florida

History repeats itself; in Afghanistan’s case, first as tragedy and then as a bigger tragedy. On November 17, 1999, the then Taliban regime publicly executed a Pashtun woman named Zarmeena in Kabul stadium’s pitch. She was accused of killing her husband.

Almost 16 years to the date, another band of Taliban, operating now under the aegis of Daesh or Islamic State (IS), beheaded seven passengers — including two women and a girl child — this past Monday. The jihadists kidnapped several Hazara passengers a few months ago on their way between the Ghazni and Zabul provinces.

The brutal killing of the women — a sordid first even by Taliban standards — triggered spontaneous protests against both the jihadists and the Afghan national unity government in Ghazni where the bodies were first brought. If there was any consolation in the tragedy it was the coming together of the Hazaras, Pashtuns and Tajiks to mourn the slaughtered Afghans. The bodies of the fallen innocents have arrived in Kabul where protestors are assembling to seek justice from the government against the jihadists.

And Afghans are protesting against jihadists of all hues.

To a common Afghan, it does not matter whether it is a Taliban of Mullah Akhtar Mansour’s group, his rival Mullah Muhammad Rassoul’s faction or those claiming to be IS in Afghanistan. The jihadists’ flags may

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P7

Afghanistan: A Deadly Stalemate be black or white but their hands are soaked red with innocent Afghan blood.

The Afghan president, Dr Ashraf Ghani, swiftly condemned the killings but his statement added that he “considers the atrocious act a sign of desperation and defeat of the enemies of the people of Afghanistan. By beheading civilians, the enemies of Afghanistan proved once again that they have been defeated on the battlefield by our security and defense forces.” One just shudders to think what a jihadist victory would look like if they were still capable of such brutal massacres while on the run. While there is no doubt that the Afghan national defense and security forces defeat or neutralize the jihadist enemy day in and day out there is also little doubt that after regrouping the enemy is resilient, resurgent and now on the rampage. Presidential pronouncements, even if for consolation, should be anchored in reality and not fancy. But the disconnect does not end with the boss; the Afghan ministry of defense just said that the security situation in Afghanistan will “improve within a month”. The ministry is perhaps counting on the expected snowfall to finally stymie one of the deadliest fighting seasons in the current Afghan conflict. Then there was Afghanistan’s deputy chief executive, Mr Muhammad Khan, who while visiting Peshawar said that a statement of the US government terming the Taliban ‘important partners’ was insignificant. He reportedly said, “We should not believe in such statements. Just a few

days ago the US government announced extension of the stay of its forces in Afghanistan.”

The Afghan president, Dr Ashraf Ghani, swiftly condemned the killings but his statement added that he “considers the atrocious act a sign of desperation and defeat of the enemies of the people of Afghanistan. By beheading civilians, the enemies of Afghanistan proved once again that they have been defeated on the battlefield by our security and defense forces” The fact is that the statement by the US department of defense spokesperson did indeed reiterate a policy point that was presented to the US Congress in June this year.

www.PakistanLink.com

The defense department’s Congressional report notes that the US mission transitioned from combat to support and that “US forces no longer target individuals solely on the basis of their membership in the Taliban; however, if a member of the Taliban threatens US or coalition forces, or provides direct support to al Qaeda, US forces may take appropriate action.” The problem is that the jihadists are not neatly boxed like chocolate. Today’s Taliban may be a dissident Taliban tomorrow, an IS fighter the next and return to al-Qaeda and the Taliban fold the following day. The troop strength — 5,500 by the end of 2016 — that President Obama had announced last month to keep in Afghanistan would barely provide adequate support to the Afghan security forces let alone take on a combat role, especially when the enemy is mutating rapidly and the mission is at

best vague. And even if it were designated as a combat mission again it would still do nothing to address the Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Raheel Sharif, arrives in the US with the agenda reportedly “to share ideas on Afghanistan”. Curiously, the COAS invited himself for the visit, as reported by the media.

According to a department of defense official, “The COAS, General Raheel Sharif, is travelling to Washington DC of his own volition and department of defense officials are meeting with COAS General Raheel Sharif at his request.” Another Pakistani military chief who had visited Washington DC of his own volition was Field Marshal Ayub Khan, who visited the US in September 1953 over the heads of the civilian leadership. Dennis Kux notes in his book The United States and Pakistan 1947-2000: Disenchanted Allies: “(General) Ayub stormed into (Secretary of State Henry) Byroade’s office” saying, “For Christ’s sake, I did not come here to look at barracks. Our army can be your army if you want us. But let us make a decision.” Chances are that the verbiage may be different but the pitch would not be drastically different this time either. The proposition likely will be that Pakistan can manage the Afghan imbroglio for the US if a berth is granted to the Taliban in the Kabul government. The Taliban’s battlefield gains — or atrocities depending on one’s perspective — will be presented as a fait accompli with a pledge to bring them to negotiations once again if the US leans on the presently talks-averse Kabul

STALEMATE, P24

OPINION

P8 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015 n By Yasmeen Aftab Ali

W

here did PTI go wrong on the local front after emerging triumphant in the national and provincial general elections? My gut feeling and personal experience at one constituency says that it was a complete disconnect at the grassroots level. In my village constituency of Thanil Kamal (Chakwal) I witnessed firsthand a micro picture of the fault line within PTI.

Like in every constituency in rural areas, Thanil Kamal has groups based on clan and other basis. These groups usually look up to their ‘House’, the elder of the village to guide them as to who to vote for (there can be many elders of a ‘House’ within one village). This ‘House’ swings those hundreds or thousands of votes. Whereas PML-N exactly knew the game at the grassroots level and understood the pulse going not only after the voter but the ‘House’ heading it as well, PTI was absolutely clueless about the local conditions. They simply did not know how to go about the grassroots politics.

The question is: was this the only reason? Or did some other reason led to this reason? PTI for all practical reasons has been a top-to-bottom party not a bottom-to-top one. ‘The essential link between the ‘Block Code’ and Union Council level has been missing,’ feels Brigadier Samson Sharaf, senior leader for PTI. This was probably the reason why PTI lost the LB seats for Shah Zaman as well as Shafqat Mehmood’s constituency.

The newly emerged PTI as a player in Pakistani politics needs to learn the art of swinging votes that is crucial at grassroots level. ‘The success in 8 UCs in Lahore owes much to the swinging votes of Christians, particularly Youhannabad, that the party swept. This swing is not because of the party policy but rather the presence of some high profile Christians who can compete with the best in the party. Had the party adopted this pattern, it could have won hundreds of additional UCs in Punjab and Sindh,’ comments Brigadier Samson Sharaf. The organizing activities from the district presidents and ticket holders are a crucial part of the link to LB polls that should have been closely and regularly monitored. Was that done?

Rubina Fatima Aziz, former Chairperson Advisory Committee, Women Wing, Punjab, is sad over this new low of PTI after its recent success. “One thing is for sure, ‘Imran Khan factor’ alone is not going to work for the party anymore. A party that achieved so much in 2013 in Pakistan’s political arena kept

Where Did PTI Go Wrong?

on sliding downwards and nobody noticed or took any action, except blaming biased government machinery for every defeat dished out to its candidates. To troubleshoot an organizational development expert always look at the goals, policies procedures and leadership. More often than not problems are identified at that level and solved.”

Brigadier Sharaf shares that in year 2008-11 a system of grassroots organization was evolved. The model was put to trial in NA 129. Party structure was established from a block to the district level covering one national assembly and two provincial assembly seats. Despite some teething issues, the system delivered to sweep the constituency. Unfortunately, with the entry of the ‘electables’ in 2012 and fake intra-party elections 2013, the system was not replicated elsewhere. We saw the outcome of the policy in the recently held local body elections.

PTI, having emerged as the second largest party after the

general elections, had a duty to focus upon not only delivering its promise to make KP a model in terms of good governance, but also strengthen its structure up to the grassroots level without which good governance is simply not possible.

Instead, PTI since 2012 used all its energies and those of its supporters on ‘dharna politics’. Laments Rubina Aziz, “Dharna, which was supposed to be a catalyst for change, became a stage for demands and actions and then (there was) a U-turn even on those. Demand for the Prime Minister’s resignation, call for civil disobedience, call for party parliamentarians’ resignations… then the packing up of dharna, using the APS tragedy as a pretext. And that is without taking the input of the participants.”

The fact that the long dharna made going to work a torture for the people is yet another story besides being a violation of the constitution.

There is another reason that Khan must review. The old diehards of the party who stood side by side with him have all been sidelined. In their place are all those who jumped on to the bandwagon at the right time to reap the benefits of the party’s new found popularity. ‘The party due to the nature of the top leadership acts as on an exclusive rather than an inclusive culture,’ states Brigadier Sharaf. ‘Khan was taken away from the approach of ordinary worker, the worker who had been keeping the party alive at the grassroots levels without any support from the middle or top leadership. Irony was that the ticket allotment process was given to the same people pointed out in party commission reports as the ones who had created a fiasco,’ says Rubina Aziz. Organizers at the top must be responsive to the lower and middle level workers of the party. The ‘old wine in new bottle’ ruled the roost.

In an email sent to PTI members and shared by Abdul Karim Khan Kundi, I share an excerpt: ‘Electables like Pervez Khattak, SMQ, JKT, Aleem Khan, Ch Sarwar and many others joined the party for their own political ambitions. So we can’t expect them to respect the values promoted by the party. The real damage is done to the party by the so-called nazriati people.

Those who called themselves the nazariati are the real culprits and responsible for damaging this party. All violations of merit, party constitution and conversion to status quo party happened on their watch. They were too eager to protect their titles rather than stand up on principles.’ (He had named the people but their naemes have been edited) There are reports of tussles within the party. ‘Merit was torn apart and most of the time “electables” were given preference.

Nepotism and “halqa-e-yaran” played a role at every level.

ELECTIONS, P9

Obamacare Enrollment Clinic Every Citizen & all Permanent Residents MUST have health insurance!

Save Money and Protect Your Family.

Every Wednesday, From 10 am - 4 pm.

18173 Pioneer Blvd, Suite I, 2nd Floor.

South Asian Network, Artesia, CA 90701 CALL US NOW!!!

562-403-0488 ext. 112 Our staff can assist you in Hindi, Bangla, Urdu, and Gujarati.

ALL OUR SERVICES ARE FREE!

18173 Pioneer Blvd., Suite I, 2nd Floor ∙ Artesia, CA 90701 ∙ Tel: (562) 403-0488 ∙ Fax: (562) 403-0487 ∙ www.southasiannetwork.org

www.PakistanLink.com

OPINION

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P9

Why Missouri, Yale, and Rubio Are Wrong about College

n By Dr Caleb Verbois

T

Grove City, PA

he recent campus absurdities at Missouri and Yale have justifiably been met with derision by critics and real concern by parents who are paying a great deal of money to send their children to college. But some conservatives like Senator Marco Rubio have gone too far in suggesting that these examples demonstrate that college education is fundamentally flawed.

The proper response to bad ideas and behavior is good ideas and behavior—not an abandonment of their pursuit. This would perhaps not be too serious if the argument was confined to a handful of overly sensitive students on the one hand, and opinionated writers on the other.

But as the cost of education has risen, partly because of the intervention of government spending, political candidates have focused on education.

Most recently, in the Republican primary debate, Senator Rubio argued that we should stop stigmatizing vocational training because, after all, welders make more than philosophy majors. Rubio was right to argue that vocational education should not be stigmatized. However, he’s wrong to shift that stigma on to philosophy majors. The events at Missouri and Yale show us why.

Students at Missouri are incensed because a handful of students allegedly committed racist acts and the school president did not immediately make them feel better. Yale students are furious because a professor suggested a ban on potentially offensive Halloween costumes was a bad idea, thus creating the possibility that students could be exposed to culturally insensitive costumes. In both cases, the students responded by demanding that the offending

F

parties apologize and resign for disagreeing with them.

These students are wrong. They don’t recognize the value of legitimate intellectual disagreement. A Yale undergraduate demonstrated this in a rant against her professor, “It is not about creating an intellectual space! It is not! Do you understand that? It’s about creating a home here!” These students think college exists to make them feel better about themselves, not to educate them and force them to consider ideas that differ from their own. To the contrary, learning to wrestle with ideas intelligently and appropriately is foundational for a college education.

But the failure of many colleges to teach students well does not mean that education has no value. It means many of our colleges are failing to fulfill their most important duty, which is not merely to help a student get a decent paying job, but to teach them how to think and live

well, privately and publicly, as moral individuals and good citizens. However, not every college has not failed at this duty as badly as Yale and Missouri have.

than a ticket to a higher paying job.

For example, in my introductory American Government course, we don’t just discuss the amount of debt or what we are spending our increas-

These students think college exists to make them feel better about themselves, not to educate them and force them to consider ideas that differ from their own. To the contrary, learning to wrestle with ideas intelligently and appropriately is foundational for a college education My own institution, Grove City College, is rightly proud of the fact that 95 percent of our students have a full-time job or are enrolled in graduate school after graduation. But we also believe that college is more

ingly scarce dollars on—we think seriously about the moral implications of continuing to spend beyond our means as a nation and thereby indebting future generations. We talk about the outbursts of the students at

Anti-Muslim Bigots Posing as Experts

oreign Policy Magazine asked Manal Omar of the United Institute of Peace (USIP) and Ayaan Hirsi Ali to a debate on whether Islam was a violent or peaceful religion. Omar points out that it’s easy to want to make extremism a simple problem with a simple solution, but that in fact this oversimplification is intellectually dishonest. It ignores the many factors that go into extremism, and thus fails to tackle it effectively.

Ali’s claims are the same ones she has been spouting for years.

The same tired argument is as follows: • Islam teaches violence in its scriptures.

• “Good Muslims” (like Osama Bin Laden) are merely following the scripture.

• However, a majority of Muslims are peaceful, but that is because they ignore the true teachings of Islam (yet they refuse to repudiate the violent teachings, and may even agree with them) • Reform means that Qur’anic verses and Prophetic practices must be discarded It is interesting to note that Ali’s interpretation of the Qur’an is similar to Osama Bin Laden’s, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s, and other extremists’. What is even more interesting is that she claims to un-

derstand what Islam teaches, single-handedly wiping out 1400 years of various forms of Islamic jurisprudence while also claiming that 1.5 billion Muslims are simply not following their religion correctly.

Ali is a self-appointed expert committee of one who suddenly knows better than everyone else on Islam.

This goes to a fundamental question of who decides what Islam is. When verses of the Qur’an are read, whose interpretation is correct? For sure, it cannot be the right-wing zealots or New Atheists who preach to the masses what Islam is. Would it not make more sense for a practitioner of a faith to be the final arbiter on what a religion means?

Ali and her kind are darlings of the right-wing, engaging in a symbiotic relationship. The rightwing gets a “credible” source to justify neoconservative foreign policy, anti-Shariah bills, and harsh counterterrorism tactics. And Ali gets to promote her book deals and establish her brand on FOX News.

Ali, like many Islamophobes, have cashed in on a lucrative career of anti-Muslim sentiment under the guise of promoting freedoms.

Unfortunately, there is a large market for fear-mongers whose careers rely on hate and falsehoods.

Ali, of course, has no time for logic or reason. She suffered a lot

at the hands of misogynists. That suffering has motivated her to stand against Islam. But while she

When verses of the Qur’an are read, whose interpretation is correct? For sure, it cannot be the right-wing zealots or New Atheists who preach to the masses what Islam is. Would it not make more sense for a practitioner of a faith to be the final arbiter on what a religion means? claims to stand up for women, for example, she disregards the millions of women who choose to be

www.PakistanLink.com

Muslim and find empowerment and purpose through the faith. By claiming that over a billion people believe in a violent philosophy, she does nothing to actually advance that cause, instead insulting the very people she seeks to change.

And while she argues for reform, she dismisses those who offer Islam as a peaceful, equitable lifestyle, instead insisting only on breaking down the doctrine.

Unfortunately, these accusations and flimsy arguments are still being hurled at Muslims over a decade after 9/11. However, with polls showing that negative perceptions of Muslims in America have actually increased from immediately after 9/11, Islamophobes must still be exposed for what they are: antiMuslim bigots posing as experts. MPAC ELECTIONS FROM P8

Ghost office bearers at grassroots levels actually worked against the party interests… lack of interest by ticket holders or elected members to troubleshoot and organize the party at the grassroots level let the party down at the LB polls.’ (Rubina Aziz).

Many echo this view.

One example is of the elected president of PTI in Balochistan (reported by a local newspaper). ‘Qasim Khan Suri, the youngest elected president of Balochistan’s PTI chap-

Missouri and Yale and consider more meaningful ways to deal with differences of opinions. I challenge my students to consider views they disagree with on their own merits, and to evaluate their own assumptions against a standard of truth higher than the personal experiences of an 18-year old.

My students are not afraid to disagree with each other, or with me, and I regularly challenge them to clearly and articulately defend their views. I can do this because the administration gives me the freedom to do so without fear of losing my job for offending a student, and the school can give me that freedom, partly because they refuse to take any federal funds.

The students at Missouri and Yale should be roundly criticized for their behavior and fundamental lack of moral seriousness. But the proper response of critics, and especially of parents, is not to abandon higher education, but to place their students’ education in better hands. In short, the proper response to bad philosophy is not to abandon the study of ideas, but to learn philosophy better.

These students get education wrong because they think it’s about making them feel better. Senator Rubio gets education wrong because he thinks it is about getting a better job. He’s wrong to point to salary as the most important metric for judging merit. After all, if we applied that same metric to other areas we should all be preparing to vote for Trump in a few months. I suspect the good senator would find that philosophical conclusion a bad one.

(Dr Verbois is an assistant professor of political science at Grove City College and an affiliated scholar at the John Jay Institute. He teaches American Politics and Political Theory and specializes in American constitutional thought.) ter, was quietly shown the door last week when two senior PTI leaders recommended that Khan kicked him out from the party to pave the way for ‘nawabs’ and ‘sardars’ – the traditional politicians in the province. “Imran Khan with immediate effect fired the PTI Balochistan president. Can he legally remove Suri from office? This is a big question mark,” a senior party leader told a local newspaper. (January 20, 2014) The same paper further reports, “The old guard of the party has been sidelined in Balochistan.

Now, sardars and landlords will bring change in the province,” a furious Suri said, adding that there was no top Baloch party office bearer in the province currently.

This shift in policy has reportedly let the morale of the party workers down.

PTI did well in mobilizing the youth. It did well in giving hope to the people that a change in the lives of the common man can come. It did not do well in delivering on the promise. Before Khan can walk his talk, he needs to have a hard look inward to take stock of the simmering issues and take measure of the men walking with him.

(The writer is a lawyer, academic and political analyst. She has authored a book titled ‘A Comparative Analysis of Media & Media Laws in Pakistan.’ She can be contacted at: yasmeenali62@gmail. com)

ADVERTISEMENT

P10 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015

ARY FILMS & SIX SIGMA PLUS PRESENT

SHOWING IN THEATERS NEAR YOU

www.PakistanLink.com

PAKISTAN

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P11

Paris Carnage Aftermath: Pakistan Fears Hard Time for Its Nationals abroad Islamabad: Pakistan fears that the working conditions

for its nationals living abroad could become harsher in the aftermath of the execution-style killings of 132 Parisians by Islamic State terrorists.

The Paris massacre has already triggered a xenophobic and anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe with far-right groups stepping up their campaigns against the influx of refugees from Muslim countries.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 750,000 migrants are estimated to have arrived in Europe by sea so far this year.

Syrians top the list of people seeking asylum in Europe, followed by Afghans, Kosovars, Iraqis, Albanians and Pakistanis.

“The recent terror attacks [in France] will increase hard times for Pakistani nationals. We should formulate a specific policy and strategy to handle this crisis,” Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said in a statement on Sunday. “These incidents of terrorism will increase difficulties for Pakistanis living in foreign countries.”

The interior minister will also convene an important meeting to discuss “how Pakistan could handle the situation emerging in the aftermath of the Paris attack”, an interior ministry official told The Express Tribune.

Foreign ministry officials are likely to attend the meeting where the interior minister is to frame his recommendations which will subsequently be submitted to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for implementation, he added.

The ministries of foreign affairs and interior should formulate a policy and strategy to help the Pakistanis facing discriminatory behavior abroad, Nisar said in the statement. “It is our responsibility to safeguard our citizens no matter where they are. Overseas Pakistanis are our asset,” he added.

The interior minister also directed the Federal Investigation Agency to come up with a strategy against human smugglers who are bringing a bad name for Pakistan. “After terrorists, human smugglers are a stigma on the face of humanity,” he said. “The FIA has to speed up its efforts to net all these human smugglers and prepare a strategy to deal with this issue.”

Currently, Pakistan is among Tier-II countries in the Trafficking in Persons Report. And it might slide to TierIII, if it fails to control human smuggling in near future.

Tier-III countries could face international travel restrictions. “What will happen, if Pakistan fails to control human smugglers? We must control this curse,” the interior minister said in a recent meeting of FIA officials.

As many as 97,000 Pakistanis had recently been deported from over 40 countries for their alleged involve-

Islamabad: Chief of Army Staff Gen-

ment in various illegal activities, according to officials.

The ultra extremist Middle Eastern terrorist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Paris massacre and threatened more such attacks on France. French President Francois Hollande called the attacks an act of war by Da’ish and vowed a ‘merciless response’.

Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, meanwhile, ruled out the presence of Da’ish on Pakistan’s soil and said the country has the capability to tackle such threats. “The Islamic State is a terrorist organization and Pakistan is capable of facing such threats.

No one in the country will be allowed to have any contact with the outfit,” he told journalists at the annual charity bazaar organized by the Pakistan Foreign Office Women’s Association.

Chaudhry said Pakistan has been a victim of terrorism for so many years and has taken a number of steps to curb terrorism, while giving sacrifices to defeat terrorists.

“The menace is now dying in the country due to the effective steps taken by the government,” he said.

He said the Pakistani leadership had shown courage, determination and resilience in the face of terrorism and emphasized the need for collective efforts at the global level in this regard. “The people and the leadership of Pakistan are united to fight terrorism,” he added.

PM Pledges ‘Moral, Political and Diplomatic’ Support to J&K Leader tending moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris for their struggle …”

Pakistan Cancels Adnan Sami’s Passport Islamabad: Pakistan cancelled on

Islamabad: Prime Minister Nawaz

Sharif has written to the leader of women separatist outfit Dukhtarane-Millat Asiya Indrabi, praising her role and pledging “moral, political and diplomatic” support of his government.

He has said the argument that the UN resolutions on the Kashmir issue have become outdated was not valid and called for early implementation of these resolutions.

The letter was written by PM Sharif in response to the communication by the fire-brand separatist leader, expressing her satisfaction over the policy

General Raheel’s US Visit: What’s on the Table

of Pakistan government on the Kashmir issue.

“You have expressed faith in the present strategy is a matter of satisfaction for me. Pakistan does not look at Kashmir issue as geographical or boundary dispute. As far as we are concerned, it is the issue concerning the implementation of the formula attached with the division of India in 1947,” he has told Indrabi.

Attacking India, Sharif said, “Prolonging the issue does not mean that the (UN) resolutions have lost their relevance.”

He added, “In the past, Pakistan did not lag behind in ex-

Monday the passport of India-based singer Adnan Sami Khan, saying he failed to fulfill the criterion mentioned in the country’s laws.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar confirmed the development, saying the citizen documentation of the singer was cancelled.

“We will not issue NOC to him,” he said.

An NOC is a basic requirement for Sami to acquire any other country’s citizenship.

Pakistan had earlier refused to issue renunciation citizenship certificate to Sami after he remarked, “I don’t need the green passport anymore. I have found my home in India.”

SAMI, P24

www.PakistanLink.com

eral Raheel Sharif will visit the US from Sunday, a trip analysts say will underscore security issues facing Islamabad and Washington in the region as well as the imbalance in civilian-military power in Pakistan.

The November 15-20 visit — apparently instigated by General Raheel Sharif — comes weeks after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with US President Barack Obama at the Oval Office to discuss many of the same issues said to be on his army chief ’s agenda, including Afghan peace talks and Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions.

Analysts said General Raheel’s influence over both issues makes him, rather than the civilian leadership, the dominant broker for Washington’s regional agenda.

The Americans “know where the power is”, Pakistani defence and security analyst Talat Masood told AFP. However that is likely to make the visit “a bit trickier” for Sharif as he tries to balance Washington’s demands, particularly in Afghanistan, said analyst Zahid Hussain.

Stability in Pakistan’s neighbor Afghanistan has spiraled after a Taliban surge in recent months, and Obama announced in October that Washington will keep thousands of soldiers in the country past 2016.

Pakistan has been historically close to the Taliban and Washington sees Islamabad as one of its few partners with the influence to bring the militants to the negotiating table. The new Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour is believed to have close ties to Pakistan.

General Raheel will also hold detailed discussions with US defense officials about the militant Haqqani network, which comes under the umbrella of the Taliban and has been described

by US officials in the past as a “veritable arm” of Pakistani intelligence, a security official said.

Some in Washington believe Pakistan has not done enough to bring its influence to bear and to persuade the group to renounce violence, and during Prime Minister Nawaz’s trip in October Obama stressed that Pakistan needed to take action against groups that undermine peaceful dialogue.

The pressure has increased since an initial round of peace talks was broken off this summer when the death of long-time Taliban leader Mullah Omar was announced.

Prime Minister Nawaz agreed last month to help Afghanistan re-start the talks, but Washington’s concerns over the collapse of negotiations are “casting a shadow over the general’s coming visit”, Hussain wrote this week.

Masood, a retired lieutenant general, noted the unusual circumstances surrounding the trip.

“It’s not that the Americans have invited him but he has invited himself,” he said, adding that it would be General Raheel’s second visit this year.

“Normally this doesn’t happen.”

It signals the “importance of the problems that both countries seem to be facing in the region and especially because of the Afghan situation”, he said.

A military statement issued last week said that General Raheel will use the US trip to “clearly highlight Pakistan’s perspective of new emerging regional realities”, in what some saw as implied criticism of the failure of Prime Minister Nawaz’s govern-

ment to take long-term steps to tackle extremism.

But other sources downplayed the significance of the question over who instigated the visit, with one security official saying all that matters is that the discussions are taking place, “even if we have proposed these meetings”.

Issues such as Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are being handled “by the military only”, he said, so it was natural for the army to want to talk to its US counterparts.

“Our political leaders are not even aware of the strength of our nuclear weapons... They are also unaware of military needs and other operational details,” he said.

“We understand that international powers and India have concerns about our short range smaller nuclear warhead weapons,” a second security official said, adding that the US is expected to raise the issue with General Raheel.

The general will argue that Pakistan must maintain its nuclear capability to combat the threat from India, he said.

In Washington this week, according to another report, General Sharif is due to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry as well as the US Secretary of Defense, the National Security Advisor, Chief of Staff of the US Army and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a senior Pakistani military official.

“We will talk specifically with him about our counter terrorism cooperation,” said a US State Department official, requesting anonymity. “We’ll talk very clearly with him about concerns on the activities of certain militant groups who continue to use Pakistani territory to fund-raise.”

Pakistan’s nuclear proliferation will also be discussed, as General Sharif seeks to dispel US concerns that “loose nukes” could fall into the hands of militants, a Pakistani military official said.

The Pakistani government responded to the army’s recent statement by reminding the military to remain “within the ambit of the constitution.”

But Raheel Sharif ’s aides said he supported democracy.

Last year, after weeks of mounting anti-government protests, the army chief overruled some generals who were convinced it was time for the military to step in and force the embattled prime minister to resign.

“He will point out problems and gaps; he does not shy from sharing concerns,” General Asim Bajwa, head of the military’s media wing, told Reuters. “But at the end of the day he supports democracy unwaveringly.”

ADVERTISEMENT

P12 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015

“Your Peace of Mind is Our Business”

It is Time for

Business and Tax Planning Do you know your current tax liability?

Does your business run smoothly and efficiently?

Does the current year to date profit coincide with your cash flow?

Are you prepared for change, if any, in your tax situation?

At Bharmal & Associates, CPAs, our highly qualified and experienced staff are ready to help with all of the above as well as any other business and tax issues you may be facing.

For your 30 minute complimentary consultation, please call us today at:

714-896-0366 We will use our expertise to ensure that you do not miss anything!

Corporate Office: 10262 Valley View St., Ste 237A Garden Grove, Ca 92845 T: 714-896-0366 F: 714-896-0377

Irvine Office:

2082 Michelson Dr. Ste 100 Irvine, Ca 92612 T: 949-261-1099 F: 949-242-2222

E-Mail: info@bharmalcpas.com www.bharmalcpas.com

www.PakistanLink.com

PAKISTAN

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P13

NAP Is Not the only Cause of Tension between Army and Government

Islamabad: A lack of progress on the National Action Plan (NAP) to counter terrorism in the wake of the Army Public School massacre was just one of many reasons behind the civil-military tensions that boiled over last week.

In background conversations with Dawn, military officials and civilian leaders offered their own interpretations for the reasons behind a public spat between the government and the army.

Sources say that there have been a number of recent developments that have strained the ever-sensitive balance of power between the two institutions.

After the corps commanders’ meeting on Nov 10, the military leadership expressed its dissatisfaction with the government’s performance on NAP. This prompted an uncharacteristic response from the PM Office the following day, which emphasized that effective implementation of NAP was the shared responsibility of all national institutions working within the ambit of the constitution.

A senior government functionary close to the PML-N leadership told Dawn that the prime minister had never been very comfortable with the army chief ’s trips to international capitals. He was particularly unhappy, the functionary said, with Gen Raheel Sharif ’s visits to Saudi Arabia in the first week of November, and now the US. As far as Saudi Arabia is concerned, the thinking within government circles is that the army chief must focus on other countries because the Sharif brothers already have a direct relationship with the Saudi royal family. In the case of the US, the PM had just completed his own sojourn to Washington, where he had held detailed deliberations with the White House, the official said.

“In any another country, a visit abroad by the army chief doesn’t attract much attention, but things are different in Pakistan. With the GHQ’s omnipresence in the formulation of foreign and defense policies, one may well wonder what is the background of the army chief ’s current visit to the US if both sides (military and civilian) are on the same page,” remarked a ruling party lawmaker.

However, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid insisted there was nothing unusual about the army chief ’s trips, nor were there any ten-

sions between civilian and military leaders.

“Pakistan is playing an important role in the war on terror and with America’s direct involvement in Afghanistan, heads of security institutions are required to have regular meetings,” he said.

Mr Rashid said the government was doing its best to meet various challenges and that all national institutions were playing their due role in this regard.

This was a marked change in tone from the language of the official press release issued on Nov 11 — ostensibly on the minister’s orders — which made it a point to remind all concerned that NAP implementation was a shared national responsibility.

But a senior security official told Dawn that there was more to the tensions between the two institutions than just NAP and the slow progress on that front.

The military leadership, he said, was unhappy with the way the government had handled the MQM issue. Following the Rangers-led operation in Karachi, during which a number of MQM leaders were arrested, the party had publicly denounced GHQ. However, the federal government chose to sit on the fence, something that did not go down well with the army.

“In response to the MQM outcry, the government constituted a grievance redressal committee. As a result, the party is back in parliament despite making a big fuss and resigning from both federal and provincial legislatures over alleged excesses against its workers by law-enforcement agencies,” he said.

The federal government, ex-

plained the security official, was seen as taking the MQM’s side in this case, which did not go unnoticed among the relevant quarters.

In addition, the government’s selective anti-corruption campaign has also ruffled feathers. For example, the official said, the much-publicized matter of supermodel Ayan Ali was a case in point. Despite over two dozen hearings, nothing concrete has happened so far. “The ludicrously slow pace clearly suggests that the government is protecting someone behind the scene,” he said.

This is but one example and there are many joint investigation teams (JIT), which the ISPR referred to in its Nov 10 statement that have yet to complete their tasks. These include JITs on very high-profile cases, such as the Karachi airport attack, the Lahore church attack in Youhannabad and the assassination of former Punjab home minister retired Col Shuja Khanzada.

The military official also said that there was a perception within the security establishment that the federal government had gone soft on the PPP leadership in corruption cases and failed to take action against corrupt elements in Punjab. “The military leadership is particularly unhappy over Punjab government’s lackluster campaign against banned militant organizations operating inside the province.”

When asked, a senior PML-N office-bearer told Dawn that the government was in a tight corner. “Imran Khan continues to challenge the government, making it difficult for the PML-N to open fronts against the MQM or the PPP at this time,” he concluded.

Indian Citizen Crashes Car into Wagah-Attari Border Gate Lahore: A speeding sports utility vehicle (SUV), driven

by an Indian, crashed into the Wagah-Attari border gate early on Monday.

The Indian citizen breached security on the Indian side of the border, reportedly crashing a check post and reached zero point of the border. The vehicle came to a stop after ramming into the Pakistani side of the border gate.

The incident raised caution among border officials and led to the Punjab Rangers writing a letter to the Border Security Forces (BSF) seeking an inquiry into the breach of security, official sources said.

The crash left the gate at Attari “badly damaged” while the Wagah gate was partially damaged, witnesses at the site said.

The driver was arrested by BSF officials while his car was confiscated by Pakistani officials after it entered Pakistani territory, sources said.

The vehicle was returned upon request of the BSF, they added.

The Non-resident Indian (NRI), from Canada, was

allegedly drunk when he drove his SUV into the gate at Attari, crossed the Zero Line, and crashed into the gate at the Pakistani side.

The incident comes days after Punjab Rangers had offered sweets and exchanged greetings with their Indian counterparts at the Wagah border to mark the Hindu festival of Diwali — in resumption of the customary exchange of good wishes suspended for the last many months due to tensions between the two neighboring states.

www.PakistanLink.com

Parliamentary Panel to Inspect CPEC Work

“We have decided to physically inspect the work on the project,” Senator Mushahid Hussain says

Islamabad: Amidst renewed criti-

cism by various parties of the government’s reported plan to alter the route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the members of a parliamentary committee have decided to inspect the work on the project.

“We have decided to visit Balochistan and Sindh by the end of this month to physically inspect the work on the project,” Mushahid Hussain, Chairman of the Special Parliamentary Committee on the CPEC, told Dawn on Sunday.

He said the committee’s members would travel to Gwadar, Ratodero and Sukkur on Nov 28 and 29, to receive briefing from officials of departments concerned and visit

the project sites.

The 22-member committee, which was formed as a result of a consensus reached at a political parties’ conference presided over

by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in May, is undertaking the visit at a time when the opposition parties, including PPP and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), are accusing the government of changing the CPEC route in violation of the consensus.

Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah wrote a letter to the prime minister last week, complaining that while Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were CPEC, P24

Lal Masjid Cleric Vows to Continue ‘Sharia Law’ Campaign

Islamabad: Maulana Abdul Aziz,

cleric of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, has rejected a warning issued by the district administration against his recently launched campaign for implementation of ‘Sharia Law’ across the country.

He and his wife Umme Hassan rallied to push for their campaign on Friday despite a warning by the local administration that the former’s activities could put him behind bars.

“Pakistan was created for the Islamic system but has been far away from Islam since birth,” Aziz said in a video released on Sunday, adding he would go ahead with his plans.

“I demand a committee be formed to determine if the present British-era judicial system is in accordance with Qur’an and Sunnah,” Aziz is seen asking in the 25-minute video.

The prayer leader said nothing could deter him from his mission, adding he wanted to tell the government and all state institutions his movement for the implementation of the teachings of Qur’an and Sunnah will continue.

“I demand enforcement of Qur’an and Sunnah as a constitutional obligation,” he said, and offered himself for an open trial if there is any case pending against him. “I want to put myself on trial but that should be in line with Islamic Sharia.”

Aziz insisted any trial against him should be held in accordance with Sharia, saying he will give in black and white an undertaking he would accept any kind of punishment.

The cleric also demanded an end to the interest-based banking system, bringing the media in conformity with the Qur’an and Sunnah, and accommodating religious scholars in courts.

Aziz also accused Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan of following a ‘flawed democratic system’. “Remove all centers of vulgarity and release all those languishing in jails without any cases,” he said.

A heavy contingent of police and Rangers had been deployed on Friday in the areas surrounding Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa in Islamabad in the wake of the cleric’s announcement to restart his campaign.

Aziz was to lead a procession following the Friday prayers, however, the district administration as a preemptive measure warned of arresting him under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order and Section II-EE of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) if he failed to abide by the law.

ADVERTISEMENT

P14 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015

Help Build the Future of

Orphan Girls in Pakistan!

We make sure that the girls not only attend the Saghir Aslam and his wife Bushra Aslam well known best schools but they also excel in other fields. A philanthropists and founders of IEWS and Saba Homes, Martial Art & Karate trainer is hired that conduct training sessions on daily basis. for the past 48 years have been helping people. Many years back they identify the need for an institution that will cater for the most vulnerable and poorest of the poor; Regular sessions are organized for children’s character the orphans in Pakistan. They left comfortable lives they were living in America, to building, motivation and time management as part of build an institution, a home and a learning center for orphans. Purpose of Saba Homes is not just providing basic support to the orphan girls but to produce future empowerment program. leaders from among the less fortunate segment of the society.

Regular exposure visits are organized to various places including; Mansehra, Murree, Kashmir, Fort Rohtas, Faisal Mosque and Educational Institutions, for children at Saba Homes to learn and At Saba Homes orphan girls are provided with accommodation including; fully furnished rooms, rest explore. rooms, play area, state of the art kitchen, dining hall, Masjid, study room and library.

Recreational activities including; Ice Cream treat, Halwa Puri breakfast, McDonald’s, Pizza hut, KFC meal treats and morning walks are organized on weekly basis, and Eid parties twice a year Saba girls attend one of the well reputed private schools to get for the orphan girls at Saba Homes to make sure they enjoy life just like other quality education. Private tutors are hired to help girls with children. their home work and to help them further improve in their studies so that they can excel to be the best.  17 of Saba Girls Received A+ and A  15 of Our Girls Received B+ and B  Most of Saba Girls are Prefect in their class A fully equipped computer lab is setup at Saba Homes for the girls to learn computer skills.

Sponsor an Orphan Girl for $50/Month or $600/Year!

Ambish

MAKE A DONATION TODAY! Through PayPal at: www.sabatrust.org Make Your Checks Payable to “Saba Homes”

Mail Your Checks to: 17880 Sky Park Circle, Suite 125, Irvine CA 92614 Call: 714.305.5425 Email: info@sabatrust.org Tax ID No. 33-0716944

www.PakistanLink.com

PAKISTAN

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P15

SHC Siege: IGP Jamali to Be Indicted for Contempt of Court on Nov 25

The police officers, including IG Jamali, had submitted unconditional apologies to the court, which were all dismissed

Karachi: The Sindh High Court

(SHC) on Wednesday turned down the unconditional apologies of Inspector General Police (IGP) Ghulam Haider Jamali and 15 other police officials, and decided to indict them on contempt of court charges on November 25.

Former Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza is seeking contempt proceedings against the provincial police of Sindh for besieging the SHC and anti-terrorism courts earlier this year.

The Chief Secretariat has been asked by the SHC to inform of any actions taken against Jamali and other police officials for contempt of court, with a report to be submitted on the subject by November 25.

The police officers, including IG Jamali had submitted unconditional apologies to the court, which were all dismissed.

The police officials will now be indicted on November 25, after months of court proceedings following the attack on Mirza’s convoy out-

side the SHC building.

In May, the SHC had warned the provincial authorities that it would take action against the police officers responsible for the SHC siege on the occasion of Zulfikar Mirza’s presence in the court if the provincial government did not take any action and remained a silent spectator.

The court had then deferred the indictment of IGP Ghulam Hyder Jamali, Karachi police chief Ghulam Qadir Thebo and other senior police officers on contempt charges.

Later in July, the SHC had again reserved its verdict on the petition submitted by Zulfikar Mirza seeking contempt proceedings against the provincial police for besieging the SHC and anti-terrorism court on May 19 and 23.

On May 23, masked and armed policemen had laid siege around the SHC. Guards providing security to Mirza and media persons were brutally beaten up by the masked policemen at the main gate of the SHC building.

Pakistan Govt. Is Asking Facebook for User Data, & the Giant Is Complying Islamabad: The government of Pakistan has made 192 requests for data from Facebook, for the period between January 2015 and June 2015, claims a report of the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF).

The report revealed that the Pakistani government had requested information related to 275 users/ accounts, which were included in the 192 requests sent to Facebook for information.

Facebook recently released the figures related to government requests on November 11, 2015.

According to Facebook, they only “respond to valid requests relating to criminal cases.”

The social network added further that every request received from any government is checked for legal sufficiency and they reject or seek greater specificity on requests that are overly broad or vague.

The government of Pakistan has increased the number of requests submitted to the social media giant this year: in the last six-month period beginning July 2014 and ending December 2014, the government made 100 requests for data on 152 users/accounts, said the report.

Judging by the current trend, the number of requests made by governments for information will only increase with time, as can be seen in the case of Pakistan.

The policemen had also smashed several parked vehicles and snatched cameras from journalists.

Pakistani Doctor Acquitted of ‘Molesting’ Minor Girl on US Flight Chicago: A US judge acquitted a Pakistani physician of all charges stemming from allegations he inappropriately touched a girl travelling alone on an American Airlines flight from New York City to Chicago.

Both Muhammad Asif Chaudhry, 57, and the school-aged girl took the stand during the two-day bench trial in Chicago.

Chaudhry testified that any contact there might have been inadvertent.

US District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman said in announcing her decision Monday that prosecutors had failed to prove their case.

Chaudhry was acquitted of two counts of abusive sexual contact with a child between 12 and 16. Each count had carried a maximum two-year prison sentence.

US Arrests Pakistani Money-changer Altaf Khanani

Karachi: The news about the ar-

Instagram and Whatsapp figures are not included in the numbers provided by Facebook, two subsidiary companies owned by Facebook and bought fairly recently.

Facebook has tried to make its cooperation with national governments more transparent following Edward Snowden’s revelations of Facebook’s cooperation in National Security Agency’s (NSA) PRISM surveillance program.

The 2015 Corporate Accountability Index released by Ranking Digital Rights ranks the commitment of Facebook and others.

Ranking Digital Rights gave Facebook an overall score of 41pc, which breaks down into 62pc for commitment, 35pc for freedom of expression, and 36pc for privacy. Its score places Facebook 6th out of the 16 corporations evaluated.

rest of Altaf Khanani, a well-known money-changer, by US authorities has sent shockwaves among exchange companies operating in Pakistan. They fear more arrests as more and more transactions come under scrutiny across the world. The US authorities revealed on Friday that they had arrested Altaf Khanani in September and accused his firm, Khanani Money Laundering Organisation (MLO), of laundering illicit funds for organised crime groups, drug trafficking organisations and designated terrorist groups throughout the world.

While most of the moneychangers avoided discussing the issue of Altaf ’s arrest, they accepted that the incident may raise pressure on them. They also expect more names to appear in the case since the man has deep connections in Pakistan.

Altaf, a Karachiite by birth, was a partner of Kalia group, one of the biggest money-changers working under the name of Khanani and Kalia. The exchange company was banned about five years ago and their offices were sealed by the FIA. Four of their employees were jailed, but the case could not be proved against them in court. They were released, but the State Bank

KHANANI, P28

www.PakistanLink.com

You Can only Talk Politics with Imran: Reham Khan

A fortnight after her divorce with PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Reham Khan has finally broken her silence about the rumors surrounding her 10-month marriage and eventual split from the Kaptaan

London: In an interview with Brit-

ish paper Sunday Times, Reham tells all about the “painful” and “disturbing experience” that was her divorce, during which she has been accused of “hitting” him, “poisoning him with rat poison” and being an “MI6 spy”.

While reports that Imran divorced her over a series of three talaq text messages are untrue, Reham said that the divorce has still been a painful experience.

“First the announcement was leaked; then she was ‘presented with divorce paper’ by one of her husband’s represen¬tatives in the UK; and now her belongings have been ‘packed off to some storage facility’ within two days of the break-up,” reported the Sunday Times.

“There is no need for that,” she said.

One of the earliest rumors to surface was that Reham had received Rs150 million and Rs80 million from Imran as financial settlement of their divorce.

“The sad fact is that despite all my work with women’s rights, my marri¬age wasn’t registered in Pakistan or in the UK, so actually I have no rights and, after a 10-month marriage, you’re not entitled to anything,” she told Sunday Times with a hollow laugh.

An unromantic proposal While Reham had earlier told Dawn News that Imran Khan proposed to her in the container in which he lived during his dharna period, it turns out that their courtship, thought just as unromantic, was slightly more drawn out.

After Reham (who knew Imran as a TV journalist) complained to him about a member of his political party who had been sending “inappropriate text messages”, Khan was impressed and sent her a text saying, “I need your parents’ names”, which she thought was “a bit odd”.

“He wanted to give them to his “spiritual adviser to find out if you’re the right woman”. She told him off for his lack of romance and said: ‘This isn’t how it’s done.’

The next time they met, he proposed. Although they ‘had never met socially’ and ‘didn’t really know one another’, she found it ‘endearing’ and agreed to marry him,’” writes Sunday Times.

She elaborates on Imran’s unromantic streak: “He never gave me anything, not even a wedding band.

It’s not cultural. That’s absolutely fine of course.”

Trouble in paradise Imran and Reham’s marriage had its set of challenges from the get-go.

For one, Imran’s sisters have famously been known to disapprove of their match.

But she doesn’t confirm this, and simply told Sunday Times: “You have to ask them.”

“Actually my brother didn’t think Imran was religious enough for me. I had to persuade him,” she added.

Disapproval of a career wife Party members made it clear that they had “issues with me working”, she told Sunday Times.

“I was told specifically by a senior adviser: they basically wanted me to be in the kitchen, to be cooking chapatis and not to be seen ever again.”

“Her career was a constant problem, particularly when she became an ‘ambassador for street children’ in Peshawar. Many party supporters were said to fear that she wanted to “ride his coat-tails”. She admits: ‘There wasn’t any involvement, I never attended meetings or anything of the sort, but obviously there was insecurity,’” Sunday Times reported.

Creating a picture of domestic bliss In their short-lived marriage, Reham tried to turn his house into a home.

There have been rumors that she went overboard in her rearrangement of their Bani Gala mansion, shutting out his family and evicting his dogs from the bedroom.

“If rearranging the house means cleaning the fridge and providing food!” she cried, aghast. “It was a bachelor fridge, it was a bachelor pad and there was no food.”

Their dogs — a sheepdog cross and a Belgian shepherd — remained in the bedroom. “My whole day revolved around the dogs,” she sighed. “His dog was in love with me.”

She does take credit for overhauling his “dreadful”, “moth-eaten” wardrobe.

“I’m the sort of person who panics if my family is not looking right,” she said.

“So she ‘marched off ’ with one of his private secretaries and used him as a dummy to buy a new wardrobe. Imran was ‘quite happy with it’, she purrs.

She introduced other things such as ‘deodorants, creams and shampoos’.

And she tried to make sure he was given cooked food, because ‘he was eating raw porridge when I got there’,” she told Sunday Times.

“There was no housekeeper; just a ‘kitchen boy’ and a caretaker ‘who really wanted to be on TV’, so guests were never fed and Imran was surviving on ‘one chapati a day’,” she added.

“I tried to talk to him. I’m REHAM, P28

ADVERTISEMENT

P16 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015

www.PakistanLink.com

COMMUNITY

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P17

Community Link Friday, November 20, 2015

VOL. 25/47 PAGE 19

The Youngest to Conquer the Everest

8 Safar 1437 H

PAGE PAGE20 17

PAGE 21 egum PAGE

Time to Sit down with Your Neighbor and Talk

Pakistani Doctors: The Pride of Our Country

For news, updated round the clock, visit

www.PakistanLink.com

Endowed Chair for Islamic Studies at San Jose ’Varsity Seeks to Reach Funding Goal

The American Muslim community has already been quite successful in building many mosques in this country where people can gather to pray. But it also needs to establish institutions where Islam is taught

S

n By Ras H. Siddiqui

ince the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the AMA Foundation and San Jose State University in the summer of 2012 with the goal of establishing an Endowed Chair for Islamic Studies at this esteemed center of learning in the heart of Silicon Valley, the funding of this effort has continued. At the moment the required sum is one million dollars to get this project off the ground and to offer access to students in this part of California who are curious to learn more (beyond the headlines) about Islam, the second largest religion in the world.

Towards this goal a single donation of $500,000 has been committed

by Dr M. Yaqub Mirza of the Sterling Charitable Gift Fund (SCGF) and a matching amount has to be raised by the American Muslim Alliance Foundation (http://sjsuislamicstudies.org/). At the moment the AMA Foundation has raised over $300,000 and a shortfall of $150,000 has to be addressed very soon so that classes

can be started at San Jose State on a regular basis. It is in this regard that a meeting was called by Dr Agha Saeed on Friday, November 6, 2015 at the Chandni Restaurant in Newark to discuss a fundraising strategy and to spread more awareness about this project.

The American Muslim Alliance (AMA) led by Dr Saeed, popularly known as “Agha Sahib” to his friends, has had a vision to get Muslims involved in the mainstream educational and political system of the United States for over 20 years now.

Possibly the finest public intellectual that our regional community has produced to date, Agha Sahib has been fighting Parkinson’s disease for the last few years which has severely restricted his voice and physical mobility. But he remains a thinker, a doer, and a fighter. And although it is not possible to attend all of the meetings when he calls, this one in particular concerning the San Jose State project was important enough to attend. The days when Agha Sahib could deliver the finest speeches one could hear in at least three languages

(English, Punjabi and Urdu) may be behind him but the fact remains that he is a man of brilliant ideas worth sharing and commands respect. The idea of this Islamic Studies Chair at San Jose State started with him and the community here in Northern California found it appealing enough to support it.

The evening started when Lisette Poole interviewed Dr M. Yaqub Mirza about this project and his book “Five Pillars of Prosperity - Essentials of Faith-Based Wealth Building” (White Cloud Press), a guide to doing business within Islamic parameters and principles.

After a quick glance at the book one discovers many things including the wisdom imparted by our elders on how to live debt-free (as an example) while pursuing financial success. During his candid discussion we learnt that this is Dr Mirza’s 5th location for the establishment of an Islamic Studies Chair, with four others already running and teaching students about Islam in North America. Offering his views on a wide range of subjects Dr Mirza had

www.PakistanLink.com

a clear answer for each issue and at times exhibited quite a sense of humor. He also comes across as a humble person, which is a refreshing trait in one who has been very financially successful. One wishes that he could be cloned because of his philanthropy alone, but it is his interest in spreading knowledge of Islam within the educational institutions in this country (and acting on it) which is nothing less than exemplary.

At the follow-up working dinner meeting a number of people expressed their views on how to best go about raising funds to make up for the $150,000 gap. It should be noted that $1,000,000 will establish an Endowed Chair for Islamic Studies program that will teach a few courses for a classroom and online audiences. $3,000,000 will get us to an Islamic Studies program and $5,000,000 a full Islamic Studies Department. Readers are encouraged to contact Lisette Poole at 510-754-1326 for more information. Donations made here http:// sjsuislamicstudies.org/donate/ are Tax Deductible. A fundraiser is

planned (date not final) at Chandni Restaurant in December where the community will be encouraged to participate.

To close here, few would argue that there is a pressing need for a better understanding of Islam in the United States especially within the mainstream community. And there could be no better way than to have the presence of programs on Islam in public universities like San Jose State. The American Muslim community has already been quite successful in building many mosques in this country where people can gather to pray. But it also needs to establish institutions where Islam is taught.

One cannot afford to leave the dialog between civilizations to ISIS, Al Qaeda and the War on Terror which during the last 14 years has not succeeded in reaching a conclusion. Yes, there are programs already devoted to the study of Islam at universities in this country but there are still not enough of them. To increase that number our community needs to shift focus and make efforts like this project at San Jose State a reality.

COMMUNITY

P18 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015

Iqbal Day Program at Pakistani American Cultural Center n By Dr Waheed Siddiqee Milpitas, CA: The Pakistani Amer-

ican Cultural Center (PACC) organized a special program on Saturday, October 31, 2015 to celebrate Iqbal Day. The program started with a brief presentation by Dr Waheed Siddiqee about the very first Iqbal Day program that was held in Hyderabad Deccan in January 1938 during the lifetime of Iqbal. In that program, four prominent scholars of those days - Dr Latif, Dr Mohiuddin, Mr Akbar Wafaqani, and Mr Makhdoom - discussed various aspects of Iqbal’s philosophy and poetry. Three well-known poets of the time - Wajd, Maikash and Makhdoom - recited poems paying rich tributes to Iqbal.

Dr Samina Husaini then recited these three poems. The Maqtas (last couplets) of these poems are given below as a sample: Makhdoom: Arsh ki Qandeel hai Ek aasmani Raag hai - Raag kiya hai sar se paa tak Ishq ki ek Aag hai Maikash: Qalb-e Sha-er se Sadaqat lekey nikli Shaeyri - Sach kaha hai “Shaeri Juzweest az Paghambari’ Wajd: Usay Kia Qeht-e-Maey ho jis ki janib chasmey Saaqi hai Tujhey kia Gham hai aey Urdu abhi Iqbal baqi hai Dr Abdul Jabbar was the main speaker of the program. He gave a talk titled “Allama Iqbal on the con-

From left: Dr Abdul Jabbar, Dr Samina Husaini and Dr Waheed Siddiqee

nection between the individual, the community, and the world”. His talk was based on a detailed research of Allama Iqbals poetry, his essays, and writings of several Iqbal scholars. Dr Jabbar stated that Iqbal’s vision of the foundation of a global civilization consists of three main interconnected components: the individual, the community or nation, and the world. The first two are a means to an end and, if not handled with caution, can lead to human fragmentation rather than harmony.

We can have an idea of Iqbal’s concerns and vision from his following message to the world that was broadcast from the All India Radio in Lahore on January 1, 1938. Allama Iqbal was too sick to go to the radio station. He had someone else read out his words: “The world’s thinkers are stricken dumb. Is this going to be

the end of all this progress and evolution of civilization, they ask, that men should destroy one another in mutual hatred and make human habitation impossible on this earth.

Remember, man can be maintained on this earth only by honoring mankind, and this world will remain a battleground of ferocious beasts of prey unless and until the educational forces of the whole world are directed to inculcating in man respect for mankind. Only one unity Dr Samina Husaini is dependable and that unity is the brotherhood of man, which is above race, nationality, color or language. So long as this so-called democracy, this accursed nationalism and this degraded imperialism are not shattered, so long as men do not demonstrate by their actions that they believe that the whole world is the family of God, so long as distinctions of race, color and geographi-

Muslims Face Threats of Violence, Harassment in Wake of Paris Attacks

New York Cab Driver Breaks into Tears after Passenger Speaks out against Islamopohbia

F

ollowing the wave of violence in Paris on Friday, which was claimed by the Islamic State, many Muslims feared they would suffer the consequences and be subjected to reprisal attacks.

These fears weren’t unfounded for a Muslim taxi driver all the way in Manhattan, New York, who claimed he was unable to pick up a fare for hours after the Paris attacks because of his religion, according to passenger Alex Malloy.

Malloy, a 23-year-old hairdresser who was raised as a Christian, moved to New York City four years ago from St Petersburg, Florida. Around 11pm Friday evening, just hours after the horrific coordinated attacks in Paris that left 132 people dead and hundreds injured, he caught a cab in Manhattan.

He claims the driver told him he was his first passenger is two hours after the bombings left many suspicious of his religion in what he described as the “saddest moment he has experienced.”

On hearing the driver’s account of the discrimination he was facing, Malloy spent the rest of the 25-minute journey reassuring him that he was not alone and showing his support for the driver, who eventually broke down in tears.

“For 25 minutes I had to tell this stranger, this human being like you and I, that he was not a part of what was happening and how sorry I was people were looking at him with fear or anger,” said Malloy. “He kept saying ‘Allah, my god, does not believe in this. People think I’m a part of this and I’m not. Nobody wants to drive with me because they feel unsafe. I can’t even do my job’.”

Malloy later tweeted about his experience and called upon his followers to “stop generalizing people.”

The post has already been retweeted almost 50,000 times.

He described it as “the most heart breaking moment ever experienced in my whole life. He was such a sweet guy, around my age, he could have been older than 25.The fact this young man is feeling victimised because of extremists is so sad.”

Malloy claims he spent the rest of the journey assuring the driver, whose name he forgot, that most people did not feel that way.

“Please stop saying Muslims are the problem because they are not and they are feeling more victimised and scared by the day,” he wrote. “These are our brothers and sisters … and they deserve nothing more than our respect and attention,” he added.

His anti-Islamaphobia message was followed by messages of support by other social media users.

One Lisa Jackson praised Malloy for speaking up, saying, “I’m so glad it was you who got in that guy’s cab last night. He needed that bit of humanity.

Bless you. Seriously.”

Another user, Georgia Sims said, “Everyone, regardless of race, religion or color needs to unite for freedom against extremism. All Humans to unite!”

Several people said the story had moved them to tears.

One Twitter user wrote, “I’m about to cry; what is wrong with the human race?”

Another, under the name Proud Muslim, added, “Glad there are people like you in this world.”

Malloy told HuffPost, “The replies were so touching and so sincere.

It wasn’t just the Muslim community replying, but everybody replying.

Especially at a time like this, in our country and in our world … to see people come together over DRIVER, P28

cal nationalities are not wiped out completely, they will never be able to lead a happy and contented life and the beautiful ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity will never materialize”.

Iqbal dreamt of a world where the poor tax the rich and where capital is not allowed to accumulate so as to dominate the real producer of wealth. Iqbal’s following lines relate to his important theme of human brotherhood: Nor Afghans, Turks or sons of Tartari, But of one garden, of one trunk are we, Shun the criterion of scent and hue, We all the nurslings of one spring time be.”

Some of the poems Dr Jabbar mentioned in his talk included Bachey Ki Dua, Hayat-e-Abadi, Mashriq o Maghrib, Jihad, and Shukr-o-Shikayat. In addition he used some quotations from Allama

Iqbal’s The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam and also quoted from several Iqbal scholars, such as Victor Kiernan, Verinder Grover, Reynold Nicholson, S. A. Vahid, Hafeez Malik, etc. The audience was very impressed by Dr Jabbar’s presentation. He is writing a detailed paper on the topic of his talk.

The following audience members also made short contributions and added to the sublime proceedings of the program: Sr. Atiya Hai recited one of Iqbal’s poems Har Lehza hai Momin ki nai aan nai shaan”. Mohammad Ahsraf recited Iqbal’s poem Jibraeel o Iblees and discussed interesting aspects of Iqbal’s thoughts pertaining to Iblees and Jibraeel. Dr Nazir Ahmed said that according to Iqbal each one of us should fulfill his/her individual responsibilities toward other fellow human beings with full sincerity. This will automatically create a peaceful society. Professor Ahsan Syed, a very learned Urdu scholar, recited the poems Fatima Binte Abdullah and Huzoorey Risalat Maab Main and gave a very moving and passionate explanation of the poems discussing their historical contexts.

More than 50 people attended the function and enjoyed it thoroughly. Tea and delicious snacks were served at the end.

n By Dylan Stableford

A

s Friday’s deadly terror attacks in Paris unfolded, Muslims around the world reacted in horror — and braced for threats, harassment and violence at home.

On Saturday night, a fire broke out at a mosque in Ontario. No one was in it at the time, and despite the fact that fire officials there ruled the blaze an act of arson, the president of the local Muslim association believes it was “clearly a hate crime.”

Earlier in the day, a mosque in St. Petersburg, Fla., reported it received a voicemail that threatened to “firebomb you and shoot whoever is there in the head.”

“I don’t care if they are f***ing 2 years old or 100,” the caller said.

“I am over your f***ing bull**** and our whole country is.”

A similar threat was made to another Florida mosque, and the caller spoke of “shooting people at will.”

The FBI said it is investigating the incidents, and St. Petersburg police have increased patrols in the area around the mosque.

“When I first heard the voicemail, I was in shock,” Hatem Jaber, a volunteer at the St. Petersburg mosque, told a local television station.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have been.

In the weeks following the deadly attacks on the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine, France’s National Observatory Against Islamophobia saw a 281 percent increase in anti-Muslim incidents compared to the previous year.

“When this horrific thing happened on Friday, all the Muslims I know went through the same thing,” Ronald Abdul Rahim Hubbs told

www.PakistanLink.com

the International Business Times.

“You first have the emotions of, ‘Oh my God, that’s terrible.’ The second feeling that comes up is, ‘Here we go again.’”

In Portland, Ore., a handful of protesters showed up outside Hubbs’ mosque, chanting anti-Muslim slurs at worshippers as they arrived for Sunday prayer.

“Your Qur’an is the doctrine of demons! Jesus is going to destroy the Muslims!” one demonstrator screamed through a megaphone even as a non-Muslim neighbor tried to reason with him. But the epithets continued: “Islam is a lie!

You’re nothing more than a pawn of Satan, you demonic Muslim dogs!”

In Paris, Reuters reported blood-red crosses were found painted on the wall of a mosque on Saturday morning, and similar graffiti was found outside at least two other mosques in other parts of the country.

It’s not just mosques that are facing threats and harassment.

Police at the University of Connecticut are investigating after a student, Mahmoud Hashem, found the words “killed Paris” had been written underneath his name on the door of his dorm room.

“It’s not my fault. [The terrorists] are the killer, not me,” Hashem, who is originally from Egypt and studies engineering at UConn, told WTNH-TV. “I love America.”

“This hurtful act is clearly unacceptable, and contradicts UConn’s values as it works to provide a welcoming environment for all students on all of our campuses,” a university spokeswoman said in a statement.

“UConn Police and other UConn officials have begun investigations into this incident, and at the same time are working to provide support

to the student and impacted community.”

In Dearborn, Mich., home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the United States, police investigated a threat posted to Twitter on Saturday afternoon.

“Let’s f*** that place up and send a message to ISIS,” the tweet read. “We’re coming.”

In Orlando, Fla., a Muslim family said they found bullet holes when they returned home Sunday morning. No one was injured, but police are investigating to determine whether it was a hate crime.

And in Oxfordshire, England, police arrested a woman who posted a message to Facebook saying she would refuse to serve Muslims at her beauty salon.

“Blinks of Bicester are no longer taking bookings from anyone from the Islamic faith whether you are UK granted with passport or not,” her message read. “Sorry but time to put my country first.”

A police spokesman said the woman was arrested for allegedly producing “written material which is threatening, abusive or insulting with the intention of stirring up racial hatred.”

Following the attacks in Paris, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned the killings.

“These savage and despicable attacks on civilians, whether they occur in Paris, Beirut or any other city, are outrageous and without justification,” CAIR said in a statement.

“We condemn these horrific crimes in the strongest terms possible.”

A group of French Muslim students produced a powerful

MUSLIMS, P28

COMMUNITY

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P19

Meeting Samina Baig, the Youngest to Conquer the Everest

Samina is tiny, but fearless. She speaks softly and seldom, but she relies on her actions instead to communicate important ideals of courage, gender equality, and women empowerment

n By Salina Nasir Pictures by Annie Athar & Akber Kherat

S

amina Baig is four-feetnine-inches tall. Mount Everest is 29,029 feet high.

Yet at just 22-years-old, the unlikely mountaineer from the small, remote village of Shimshal in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, reached the top of the world’s highest mountain. The following year, she went on to ascend the Seven Summits, the highest peaks in seven different continents, in just eight short months.

But Samina’s story isn’t just about climbing mountains; it’s about moving mountains.

“I don’t just reach the mountain tops as Samina Baig. I reach as a [representative] for all women from the countries where people think women are oppressed and thought of as weak and incapable,” she said.

Samina is tiny, but fearless.

She speaks softly and seldom, but she relies on her actions instead to communicate important ideals of courage, gender equality, and women empowerment.

Her small stature aside, Samina’s historically marginalized identity as a Pakistani-Muslim woman also furthers the notion that she is an unlikely climber. However, her goal is not just to fight this misleading stereotype, but also to shift the existing narrative surrounding Pakistani-Muslim women.

As the first Pakistani woman to summit Mount Everest and the first Pakistani-Muslim woman to climb the Seven Summits, Samina serves as definitive proof that

mountaineering has very little to do with biology and everything to do with courage, a trait that does not discriminate against gender or physicality.

“It’s not as if I am just climbing for the sake of mountain climbing,” she said. “We have all heard a lot of negative things about Pakistan: Women are not allowed to go out of their houses, women are not allowed to get an education; the list goes on,” she exhaled a sigh of stress. “But women are working in every field in Pakistan. They are doctors, they are engineers, they are politicians, they are professors, they are jet fighter pilots, and they are also playing different sports including cricket, but Pakistan is always defined by the negative. By climbing, I want to convey a positive message because I live in Pakistan and I know the country very well.”

This “negative” perception of her home country is what Samina uses as incentive to add fuel to the fire of her seemingly limitless courage. Every year with the help of her older brother and mentor, Mirza Ali, she organizes different expeditions with teammates from around the world to prove that Pakistani women can also climb with other people from various countries.

Mirza is responsible for introducing Samina to the sport of mountain climbing. It was his stories of his earlier expeditions that left her starry-eyed and inquisitive until she reached the age of 18. Then, Mirza saw potential in his younger sister and wanted her to experience the exhilaration of mountain climbing not just through his stories, but first-hand.

“In 2010, we felt that I was capable to overcome the challenges of the mountain, so I started my climbing career. Our first expedition was to an [unclimbed] virgin peak [Chashkin Sar] at 6,400 meters,” she explained. “I climbed the peak and the villagers were so happy and so appreciative of what I did that they renamed it Samina Peak.”

This was the first of many accomplishments that the duo would achieve side-by-side, but it was their teamwork and joint perseverance during their Mount Everest climb in 2013 that ultimately fulfilled their shared goal of promoting gender equality—and more.

On the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953, Mirza and Samina embarked on what they considered to be a “mega event for gender equality.” But, at the final stretch of their two-month long journey, in an act of complete selflessness and incredible humility, Mirza decided it was time to place the emphasis specifically on women empowerment.

At just 248 meters short from the summit, he turned back.

“Reaching the summit of Mount Everest is every climber’s dream, but my brother sacrificed this dream to prove that if you encourage your sisters, they can make you proud.”

Her brother’s unparalleled support speaks volumes. It shows the world that the fight for the rights of all women is not a battle to be fought exclusively by women.

Samina explained that Mirza allowed her to prove her own capabilities, giving her the confidence to inspire all young women just

www.PakistanLink.com

like her.

Together, Samina and Mirza made great strides in reinventing the woman’s role in Pakistani society and elevating it so that it is up to par with that of a man’s, but their work is far from over. While mountain climbing will always be a part of their lives, Samina and Mirza are currently working to encourage the youth in outdoor sports and promote mountaineering in Pakistan.

“My brother is the founder of an organization called Pakistan Youth Outreach. This is the platform that we use to promote winter sports and encourage young boys and girls.”

Aside from working with their organization, the two also recently traveled to America to promote their documentary, Beyond the Heights, which was produced and written by Mirza.

In the beginning of October 2015, the Pakistan Arts Council of the USC Pacific Asia Museum was happy to host the siblings during their stay in Los Angeles. The council worked in collaboration with Pomona College’s History and Outdoor Education departments as well as the government of Pakistan, which has sponsored the siblings on a multi-country tour, to hold a special film screening of the documentary, which recounts Samina’s journey from her small village to the top of Mount Everest.

Shaila Andrabi, a past president of the Pakistan Arts Council, worked diligently as the liaison between the council and the college.

“Events like this provide an opportunity to bring an international perspective to leading edu-

cational institutions as Pomona College,” she said.

Ayesha Kamran, who is currently serving her second-term as President of the Pakistan Arts Council, was proud to host such young, talented, and forwardthinking people as Samina and Mirza and even more proud to share their inspirational tale to the community.

“These are the kind of people we take pride in showcasing: Young women and men who strive for equal opportunities, think progressively, and work toward equality in whatever field or form they choose—whether the arts or mountain climbing,” she said.

“But it’s not just about climbing a mountain; it’s about the thought process behind the journey and what that repre- sents. In my eyes, Samina and Mirza represent the best of Pakistan.”

An inspiration to young females everywhere, Samina tenderly reminds the world to define women not based off of things as trivial as what they are born with, but instead to define women based off of the size of their hearts and the depth of their valor.

Samina is a beautiful human being, but not just for the delicate curve of her lips or for the way her eyes brighten when she smiles coy.

Rather, Samina is beautiful for the resilience that cannot be wrested from her heart, for her humanity that has humbled communities near and far, and for her gentle reminder that women need not be defined by their biology.

“If a girl can climb a mountain,” she said with soft-spoken power, “a girl can do anything.”

COMMUNITY

P20 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015 n By Nabiha Gul

T

Karachi, Pakistan

hey all have made their dreams come true through determination and hard work, only they know the real price of their sweat.

Twenty-five years down the line, almost all of them are successful in the vast field of medicine.

It appeared as a fairy tale but it was all a reality when I witnessed a great number of graduates of Dow Medical College (now Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan) batch of 1990 celebrating the Silver Jubilee anniversary of their graduation lately.

The place was an exquisite resort in Kissimmee, Florida, and the day was unforgettable.

A good number of graduates from the 1990 batch turned up at the very well-organized Silver Jubilee reunion ceremony. From pediatricians to adult physicians, and psychiatrists to gynecologists, all of them have earned success and respect in their fields of specialization. Hailing from Pakistan, many of these doctors are now based in different states in the US and Canada.

Few of them are based in Australia and some made it to the event from Pakistan and the Middle East. With their spouses and children, it was indeed a life-time experience to reconnect and meet with their classmates after 25 long years.

Being a political analyst myself, I was not sure what I would do at the event except accompanying my husband, a renowned pediatrician in Australia who had been extremely excited to meet his old friends and attend the Silver Jubilee anniversary of their graduation. However, to my surprise, I found myself enthralled by what I experienced before and during the event. The “Gaylord Palms Resort” had a perfect setting to provide a cozy yet stimulating environment to “the batch of doctors” who was as excited as young graduates. They were meeting like young champs, hugging each other in affection, sharing memory of good old times and cheering at being able to make it to the event. Many of them have seemed to lose their youth which has been clearly replaced with a grace of a successful medical specialist.

For my husband, meeting his batch mates was quite overwhelming. Some two decades ago, they were young medical graduates, and now they were meeting each other in a different capacity; however, the warmth and congeniality among them was clearly visible.

They were all recalling their college times and laughing uproariously at their own jest. Not only was my husband thrilled, but the meet up and reunion ceremony was more than what he expected it to be.

The ceremony, held late last month, was organized by a team of six doctors Dr Ilyas Yemeni, Dr Shazia and Dr Bilal Ahmed, Dr Adnan Khan internal medicine specialists; Dr Yousuf Hassan, a pediatrician based in Florida and Dr Nadeem Sheikh, an internal medicine specialist based in Kentucky, in collaboration with APPNA (Association of Physicians of Pakistani Decent of North America, a well-known organization founded in 1976). However, Dr Shazia, had all the creative ideas that made the evening memorable

Pakistani Doctors: The Pride of Our Country

for all who attended it. She was assisted at every step by her husband, Dr Bilal and others. From table cloth displaying a collage of college days pictures to the standees, souvenirs to the show case of final result sheet, Dr Shazia managed a great deal to bring back the old days to the memories of her classmates at the event.

“I keep a collection of college days’ pictures and old documents as a habit and already had a lot of

old stuff with me. Rest I managed by contacting some of the friends for this 25th anniversary reunion and all you see around is my creative ideas,” said Dr Shazia cheerfully. “But yes, it was others too that helped me a lot and made this event a success, especially Adnan Khan as all the event related meetings took place at his house since we had started planning about the event six months back,” she informed.

www.PakistanLink.com

Dr Hussain Hyderi, now a successful nephrologist in Kansas, Missouri hosted the show on the same lines as he did 25 years back at the farewell of their batch in Karachi. A video of that farewell party was also displayed for the audience. Dr Faryal, a diabetician from Pakistan, had visited the Dow University of Health Sciences and made a video of the institute’s common and famous areas to show her friends how the institute appears after 25 years. The video moved many of her friends as it brought back the memories of their student life. There were other interesting segments too at the event.

Some of their friends have left them for their eternal abode, including Dr Naila Manzoor, a famous cardiologist in New York. In their memory, a one-minute silence was observed at the beginning of the event. And all of them were remembered by their fellows in great words.

It wasn’t just the event or a reunion; it was reliving the old times.

All those successful doctors now based in Pakistan, the USA, Australia, Canada, Middle East and some other parts of the world had years of

struggle and hard work; they have untold stories of hardships and testing times they faced in making their name a success. They had left their families, lived alone, faced financial crunches but kept working hard with determination. The land of opportunities, the USA, however, had given them their due share as many of them living in the US acknowledged.

Dr Nadeem Shaikh, internal medicine specialist from Kentucky said: “It is like a dream, I am pinching myself to see if it is really happening, is it real that we are all together again! I am in the twilight zone.” Dr Baland Iqbal said: “Old friends are like old wine; it gives same pleasure even after so long.”

“I went to Australia some 15 years back, my fate had taken me there; and only I know how I used to feel living alone. Without friends and family a person changes into a different being emotionally. Today, I am thankful to Allah and very happy that I am successful in my field, have earned respect and am meeting you all after 25 long years,” said Dr Fasihullah, a pediatrician from Australia. “Many people do not know Australia beyond Sydney and Melbourne, there are other cities also in Australia. I invite my friends to my place to visit and see how beautiful Australia is beyond Sydney,” he quipped.

Although many of them had been apart and disconnected from each other for many years, technology has reconnected almost all of them and they are now in regular contact through the facebook and other channels. The reunion served a great purpose of a meet up and bringing many of them in contact after many years. All those who attended the event spoke highly about it as their experience was more than what they expected from a reunion.

Also, it helped them advance their professional collaboration as many of them can now share their experiences and expertise with each other in their fields of specialization and look for avenues for future collaboration.

With time comes a sense of responsibility; they feel it is time to pay back the alma mater that had refined these gems. The batch donated a huge amount to fund a mega project at the Dow University of Health Sciences to make their share in the future development of the institute.

They have also planned to continue donating for different projects at the institute from time to time.

Some 25 years back, as young medical graduates, they all had dreamt of becoming successful in their preferred field of specialization. Serving humanity is a cause and for that they worked hard, made efforts and invested time in order to achieve their goal. They made sacrifices too; leaving their homeland being one of them. But their dream of making their name in the medical field is a reality and they are successful and respected today serving people across the globe in their very special way. Every year, young medical graduates fly to different destinations to make their future and are rendering their services in the field of medicine in and outside Pakistan.

All those unknown faces make their country and fellow countrymen feel proud of them. They are the heroes in their own right! They are our pride! (Nabiha Gul is a political analyst and researcher in international relations and a freelance writer.

Email: coldpath1@gmail.com)

COMMENTARY n By Mehr Husain

T

Lahore, Pakistan

oday there are few who have witnessed Partition. Fewer still who have been part of the Pakistan Movement and who met Quaid-eAzam Mohammed Ali Jinnah. And even fewer who can still harbor so much hope for Pakistan despite living in the complete opposite of what the country was meant to be.

Colonel (r) Amjad Hussain Sayed can claim all three and so much more. A distinguished personality whose personal life intertwines with the country that he lives in, he epitomizes what Pakistan should have been like and what Pakistanis should aspire to be.

Born in Gujranwala, Amjad Hussain lost his parents in his infancy. His uncle, a leading physician, Dr Mohammad Hussain who founded Samli Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Murree – and also founded Muslim Town, Lahore as a counter to the Hindu elite colony of Model Town, Lahore – took him into his Muslim Town home. Colonel Amjad today still resides in Muslim Town in a house he built in 1962 that exudes modesty and elegance, which defines him also.

At a time when the country is marked by political bickering, personal vendettas, and crippling power games, Colonel Amjad’s words –conveying the essence of Pakistan – ought to be heeded.

The Lahore that Amjad Hussain grew up in was starkly different to what the city is today. “Lahore was clean and disciplined. I recall only one Muslim building, Shah Din, on the Mall. In Anarkali, almost all the shops were owned by Hindus.”

“Growing up in Lahore, I attended the Muslim High School in Lahore on Railway Road. It was only for Muslims. I then went on to attend Islamia College on Railway Road, which was also for Muslims.

Other institutions like Punjab University had more non-Muslims in higher education, mostly Hindus.

Despite Muslims studying in institutions only for Muslims, there was lack of unity and identity,” says Colonel Amjad.

It was in the Brahmin interest that Muslims – who in the past had dominated the majority Hindu populace – remain fragmented without anyone to unify them. Despite slogans of ‘Hindu Muslim Bhai Bhai’, there were differences that could be felt at a railway station where Hindus and Muslims had different stalls for drinking water and the two communities never shared utensils.”

In Lahore in those days, young students like Amjad Hussain searched for leadership. “Even though there were two Muslim meenar for Muslims in the form of Allama Iqbal and Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, when we looked at the Hindus they had two strong political leaders in the form of Mahatma ‘Bapu’ Gandhi and Pandit Nehru.

We had no-one.”

Interestingly, back in the 1930s, there was scarce mention of Mohammed Ali Jinnah except that he was a Muslim and a potential leader, but that he had left the country. Allama Iqbal, who was a family friend of Amjad Hussain’s family, became a mentor of sorts to the young boy.

It was around this time that Amjad Hussain, along with his friend

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P21

Reminiscences of the Pakistan Movement: Interview with Col (R) Amjad Sayed

Colonel (r) Amjad Hussain Sayed as a young officer (left), meeting President Soekarno (center), and receiving Bintang Dharma

Abdus Salaam Khurshid, decided to start a youth-based club called ‘Servants of Islam League’. “This was started as a means of inculcating Islamic élan amongst young Muslims. We wanted to discuss Islamic culture and history, achievements of Muslims… what Muslims had achieved and lost. We held weekly meetings and all the boys who attended were Muslims.”

College life, Allama Iqbal and Jinnah After Amjad Hussain joined Islamia College in the mid-1930s, he became friends with another young bright lad, Hameed Nizami (who later founded the newspaper Nawai-Waqt), who also keenly shared his concerns over the lack of a strong Muslim leader.

It was around that time that Amjad Hussain, Hameed Nizami and Abdus Salaam Khurshid visited Allama Iqbal and told him about their League. Much to their happiness, Allama Iqbal approved the activity and told them that it was a good initiative, encouraging them to “make it a Muslim Student Federation.”

“Iqbal encouraged us not to be fearful and to speak up and stand up.”

One hot summer day during their first year at college, Amjad Hussain and Hameed Nizami, frustrated over Muslim inertia, turned to Allama Iqbal for guidance. He turned to his servant Ali Baksh and in Punjabi said, “Ali Baksha aye munde bare phhakey hoye ney, enna nu surayee wichon pani pya” (Ali Baksh, these boys are fired up. Give them some water to drink and cool down).

“He was more than just a guide.

He was a philosopher and a friend.

And upon hearing our grievances, he spoke to us tenderly as if we were angry children. He lay upon his charpoy and said ‘Allah rakhe tere jawanon ko salamat! De in ko sabaq khud shikani, khud nigari ka’ (May God preserve the youth and may they all abide by faith! Teach them restraint and order and to shun conceit).” Both boys insisted that Allama Iqbal was their leader; after all, who else could they turn to? Allama Iqbal, however, replied,“Mundiyon!

The Asli Pehlwan is someone else and he has left. He will return; he is the doctor who can give medicine for your ailments.”

Allama Iqbal insisted that the Muslims’ leader who had left India out of frustration would return and that his name was Mohammed Ali Jinnah: “I have written a letter to Jinnah requesting him to return and

guide us. He will come to Lahore and whenever he comes, you boys must meet him and ask him what his orders are. You will need to tell him that you are his humble servants and that you are at his beck and call. Follow him blindly,” he told the boys.

Jinnah returned to Lahore in 1936. “He was staying at Faletti’s hotel on the Mall. Hameed Nizami and I decided to see him at the hotel.”

“Upon arriving at Jinnah’s suite, we were greeted by a man dressed in white pant suit and we greeted him saying salaam. He replied ‘Good morning.’ Realizing that this man was not a Muslim, we were astonished to discover that this Christian man, Mr. Lobo, was Jinnah’s PA. Iqbal had told us that Jinnah was

can I do for you?”

The boys: “Sir, we are humble students of Islamia College and we have been instructed by Allama Iqbal sahib to meet with you. We would like you to deliver a lecture at our college.”

Jinnah: “What is your authority? Are you office bearers of the student union? Have you taken permission from your principal?”

Boys: “No sir, we are just following Allama sahib’s orders.”

Jinnah: “Go back. Speak to your principal. Get a letter of invitation and do not waste your time or mine. You are students, you must know the value of time.”

Recalling fondly the memory of meeting Jinnah for the first time,

Colonel (r) Amjad Hussain Sayed receiving gold medal from PM Nawaz Sharif

a guide for us and already we were surprised by Jinnah and his Christian assistant. Anyway, we told Mr. Lobo that we were humble students ordered by Iqbal to meet Barrister Jinnah. He looked at us and smiled and told us that Barrister Jinnah is very busy with a long list of visitors and that we should come tomorrow at ten o’ clock.”

Their fervor outdoing disappointment, Amjad Hussain and Hameed Nizami persisted, pleading for just a glimpse of Jinnah as they were keen to fulfill the instructions given by Iqbal and were curious to see who this leader was. Mr. Lobo checked with Jinnah, who approved the meeting with the boys. “When we entered Jinnah’s room, the brilliance in his eyes shone like floodlights and he seemed pleased to see us. And the conversation went like this: Jinnah: “Sit down boys, what

www.PakistanLink.com

Colonel Amjad continued: “He refused to shake hands with us. When we left the hotel, I said to Hameed ‘Aye banda hai (This is the man)! He is a broadminded man as his PA is Christian, he possesses no duplicity.

He understands the value of time, he is disciplined and he is a man of few words. He is truly our guide.’

From that meeting onwards he was already teaching us lessons.”

They had a new task – convincing their principal to issue an invitation letter. However, as history has shown, nothing worthwhile ever comes easy.

Upon hearing what the boys proposed – that Jinnah be invited to address the college students – their principal was less than supportive.

“Our principal furiously told us off: ‘Have you come here to study or to do politics?’ “ The problem was few people had heard of Jinnah and, conse-

quently, the two boys were thrown out of the principal’s room. Their action for daring to ask Jinnah to come and give a talk precipitated their expulsion from Islamia College. Upon hearing this, one of the students, Abdus Sattar Khan Niazi, was incensed, “How can Jinnah not be allowed? We will conduct protests in the college,” he reassured the expelled boys and true to his word, the students protested for three days.

Fifteen days later, Amjad Hussain and Hameed Nizami were readmitted. But they had made their mark. They were summoned by the secretary of the Muslim League, Ghulam Rasul Khan, and asked if they had any relatives in the Muslim League. After clarifying that neither one did, the boys were then asked how they knew Allama Iqbal who was the president.

“We replied to his question saying, ‘Who doesn’t know him? He is our murshid!’” said Amjad Hussain. “He then told us ‘You have been invited by Barrister Jinnah to attend the Lucknow session’ (held in October 1937) and handed us two third class railway tickets.”

Iqbal’s death, Quaid’s entry When they arrived in Lucknow, they received a chit saying that Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, who was serving as Secretary, wanted to meet them. Upon arrival, he greeted the two by saying, “You are the two naughty boys from Islamia College, Lahore?”

“Yes sir, and we have no regrets,” laughed Amjad Hussain.

“Liaquat Ali Khan then turned to us and said, ‘Look here, there is a session here and you two have been nominated as committee members.’

When we asked what was the committee and who the other members were we were shocked! We were just two third year students rubbing shoulders with great Muslim leaders.” Today, Colonel Amjad is the last surviving delegate of the October 1937 Lucknow Session of the Muslim League.

The next day at the Lucknow session when the jalsa started, a man named Mian Ferozuddin Khaada shouted “Shahanshah-e-Hindustan Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah zindabad!”

“Upon hearing this, Jinnah responded, ‘Look here, I am no shahanshah (King). I am just a humble servant of the Mussalmaans of India.’

But the title Quaid-i-Azam stayed,” said Colonel Amjad, “It was then in 1937 when the Pakistan movement started and ten years later in 1947, Pakistan was created.”

However, tragedy struck in 1938. “It was April 21st and we were in the midst of English exams when we heard someone shout loudly outside that Allama Iqbal has passed away. Hameed Nizami was sitting in front of me and I told him ‘Allama Iqbal has passed away and we cannot sit for this paper.’”

There was a Hindu invigilator who referred to the boys as ‘Islamia college kaye ghundon!’ (goondas of Islamia College) thinking they were up to something.

“We told him that we could not sit for the paper since we were upset at what we had just heard. He told us that, look, the paper is for three hours and you have to sit for at least an hour and a half. Whether you do the paper in that time or not is up to you. So we sat for that period and quickly did what we could do. We went to what was then Mayo Road

COMMENTARY

P22 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015 and what a shaandar namaz-e-janaza it was.”

Years in military service Amjad Hussain completed an M.A. in Economics. World War II had then erupted and he went on to be commissioned as an officer in the British Indian Army, while his old friend Hameed Nizami launched Nawa-i-Waqt in Lahore, which was at the forefront of supporting the Pakistan movement. According to his brother, the late Majid Nizami, succeeding editor of Nawa-i-Waqt for 52 years, a distraught Hameed Nizami did not eat for a week when Amjad Hussain joined the Army.

Amjad Hussain headed out to serve in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, where Field Marshal Rommel’s legendary Afrika Korps was ensconced.

A major highlight of Amjad Hussain’s years of military service was serving as military attaché of Pakistan to Indonesia.

“I had done well on a course in England.

And when I got back, I was surprised to learn that I was summoned by the Commanderin-Chief of the Pakistan Army, General Ayub Khan.

“The conversation consisted of Ayub Khan telling me to sit down, take my cap off and then he asked me if my wife observed purdah (she did not) and how many children I had (five). He then told me, ‘Well I have selected you as military attaché to Indonesia. I have seen your records and you are very straightforward, I am very proud of you.’ I thanked him and left.”

“My time in Indonesia was wonderful,” Colonel Amjad recalled.

At that time, Indonesia was under the spell of Pandit Nehru of India. But that did not deter the young Military Attaché. His dauntless efforts had a transformative impact in cementing Pak-Indonesian relations, leaving an enduring legacy of goodwill and friendship.

General Haris Nasution and General Gatot Soebroto, both icons of Indonesian independence struggle, were highly impressed by Colonel Amjad’s commitment.

President Sukarno of Indonesia decorated Colonel Amjad Hussain Sayed with Indonesia’s highest medal bestowed for most distinguished service in the military, the Bintang Dharma

(Star of Merit).

On March 13, 1963, Indonesia’s Ambassador to Pakistan, on behalf of President Sukarno, presented the Bintang Dharma to Colonel Sayed, stating: “Lt. Col. Sayed is a great son of Pakistan who richly deserves the award. He has had a brilliant career in the army and during his term of service in Indonesia from 1957 to 1959 he made some very important contributions in further promoting the mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation between the two countries, Indonesia and Pakistan. Colonel Sayed’s devotion to his work and the cause of Pakistan-Indonesian solidarity quite rightfully earned him the sympathy and praise of all who come in contact with him. He has extensively travelled in Indonesia for the purpose of fostering good relations and has succeeded in creating an everlasting impression in the minds of his admirers with the result that Indonesians consider him to be one of them.

“Lt. Col. Sayed as a diplomat has blazed a trail of light which will long serve as a beacon to those who are given to the task of promoting the cause of peace and friendship.”

Reflections on Pakistan, India and The Quaid So strong was the trust in Jinnah that Colonel Amjad recalled one incident during the pivotal Pakistan Resolution rally at Minto Park, Lahore, on March 23, 1940, where he asked his servant Sharif if he knew what the Quaid, who was speaking in English, was saying. Sharif replied that whatever he was saying, he was saying sach (truth). “My young nephew, Khalid Hussain, who accompanied me, made the sole moving-picture recording of the historic rally, which is always shown on TV.” When partition took place on August 14th 1947, nobody could have foretold the horror and bloodshed. Both Quaid and Gandhi were non-violent men.

“I was in charge of Army Transport and Supplies and a friend, Dr Mubashir Hassan (at whose Lahore house the PPP was founded in November 1967), asked me to help rescue his family from Panipat. He told me how railways and roads were shut, ‘please save my sisters whose honor is at stake’ he pleaded. So I sent thirty trucks under a subedar to evacuate them.

I told him, ‘Subedar sahib, your task is to rescue the entire family and rescue all Muslims

regardless of sect. Secondly, you will bring the family’s furniture, and belongings. Nothing will be left behind.’ On the way, there was a lot of destruction and bloodshed. We never thought so much bloodshed would take place.”

The tragedy of Pakistan is that it lost the Quaid far too early. Would things have been different had he not died so early post-Pakistan’s inception? Would Pakistan have even been created had it not been for the Quaid?

“The Quaid was the only man who could create Pakistan. No other Muslim can sacrifice what he did. There was and will be no other Pakistani leader like him. He was the only one who cared about the people. When he was told about his illness, had it been any other man, he would have given up but the Quaid did not.”

When the doctors told him that his time was limited, it could only have been the Quaid who took the news in his stride and refused to let his dream of a state for Muslims be ruined by illness. “The Quaid told the doctors, ‘Thank you very much for the information. My first request is for God’s sake keep my ailment a top secret, my second request is how much time do I have?’ The doctors told him you have a maximum of four years. And the Quaid replied, ‘So far I have been working ten hours a day, now I will work twelve hours.’”

As Colonel Amjad narrated all this, there were times when he broke down into tears, yet the hope in his eyes never dimmed. He very much retains faith in Pakistan. “You, the youth, you are the hope and you must have faith in Allah.”

In August 1997, to mark the Golden Jubilee of Pakistan’s creation, a grand ceremony was held at Alhamra on the Mall at Lahore, wherein the Prime Minister of Pakistan conferred a Gold Medal on Colonel Amjad to honor his services for the Pakistan Movement.

“The Quaid was no relation of mine. I am who I am because of him. All these prime ministers, ministers, governors are not worth the country the Quaid worked to create. Because of him, they all flourished. We owe it now to the Quaid to preserve his dream.”

(Mehr Husain is a London-educated, Lahore-based journalist who writes for British publications)

How Low Should You Go? Big Study Sheds Light on Best Blood Pressure n By the Editors of Yahoo Health

D

etails were revealed Monday from a landmark federal study that challenges decades of thinking on blood pressure, giving a clearer picture of plusses and minuses of more aggressive treatment.

The study was stopped in September, nearly two years early, when it became clear that lower pressure for most people over 50 helps prevent heart problems and deaths, but side effects and other key details were not disclosed.

Full results came Monday at an American Heart Association conference in Orlando and were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine, along with a dozen commentaries in three science journals.

“Overall, we deemed that the benefits far outweigh the risks” of aiming lower, said one study leader, Dr Paul Whelton of Tulane University.

One in 3 US adults has high blood pressure, a reading of 140 over 90 or more.

Normal is under 120 over 80. Detailed data unveiled at the AHA meeting showed additional benefits of intensive lowering of systolic pressure — the top number in a blood pressure reading — to 120 or below, despite the commonly used medical target of simply below 140 over 90.

“We thought 140 was good enough,” study co-author George Thomas, MD, director of Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Hypertension and Blood Pressure Disorders, told Yahoo Health. He says that the results are surprising given that they’re so different from the current recommended guidelines.

“What we’ve been aiming for was 140,”

the benefits of a lower risk of heart trouble and death.

he says. “We didn’t have any evidence to suggest otherwise.” Thomas notes that 120 is considered a “normal” systolic blood pressure for most people, but the goal has always been to get people with high blood pressure to 140.

The findings are so significant because high blood pressure is a leading risk factor for various health issues, including heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. According to the NIH, an estimated one in three people in the US has high blood pressure.

Nicole Weinberg, MD, a cardiologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., told Yahoo Health that the new findings are “wonderful” because many clinicians have noticed better results in heart muscle and artery function when high blood pressure patients can get closer to 120.

“But when the guidelines say that it’s 140, you’re always fighting an uphill battle with patients,” she says.

More than 9,300 people were enrolled.

Half got two medicines, on average, to get their top blood pressure reading below 140.

The rest got three drugs and aimed for under 120.

One complication is that study enrolled people with a systolic blood pressure of 130 or more, somewhat muddying the notion of who needs treatment.

THE RESULTS

DOES IT APPLY TO ME? The study involved people over 50 whose top reading was over 130. People with diabetes were excluded, so the results do not apply to them. The results also may not apply to people with previous strokes, the very old, those with severe kidney disease or people already taking a lot of different drugs, said Dr James Stein, who heads the high blood pressure program at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

People who start with a high top reading, such as 170 or 200, also may not do well trying to drop so low so suddenly, Dr Murray Esler of Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia, wrote in a commentary in the journal Hypertension.

GUIDELINES MAY CHANGE The new study “makes sense and is a major advance,” Stein said. “Time to fix the guidelines,” which come from many groups and aim for a top number of 130 to 150, depending on age and other factors, such as whether the patient has diabetes.

SIDE EFFECTS

After one year, 1.65 percent of the lower pressure group had suffered a major heart problem or heart-related death, compared to 2.2 percent of the others, a 25 percent lower risk. About 3.3 percent of the lower pressure group died, versus 4.5 percent of the others, a 27 percent lower risk.

Too-low blood pressure, fainting episodes and more worrisome, kidney problems were 1 percent to 2 percent higher in the lower pressure group. Yet falls that cause injury due to lightheadedness were not more common, as had been feared especially for older people.

The risks were considered well worth

www.PakistanLink.com

THE BOTTOM LINE Only half who know they have high blood pressure have it under control now.

From a public health standpoint, improving that situation may be more important than having a new number as a target.

“If we lower the goal … you’ll see more and more people getting to lower pressure,” said Dr Daniel Jones of the University of Mississippi, a heart association spokesman.

COMMENTARY

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P23

Islam in Europe: Time to Sit down with Your Neighbor and Talk n By Pawan Bali

H

Washington, DC

atidza Mehmedovic walks through a sea of white tombstones and raises her hands in prayer. This is her pilgrimage - her own Mecca, she says. Mehmedovic recounts the dead - her husband, eldest son Azmir, younger son Almir, her two brothers and over 50 other family member s- all killed in one single night. Twenty years later, this is what remains - the silent, symmetrical tombstones, and the haunting memories of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.

Mehmedovic’s story is one of the stoic moments in the documentary Journey Into Europe that underline the need to understand the complex relationship of the Muslim world in Europe. The 120-minute film by Muslim scholar and former diplomat Ambassador Akbar Ahmed seeks to explore several layers of this Muslim-European identity. The film digs out the rich past of Islam in Europe, it unveils the challenges of the present, and in some heartwarming moments it offers glimpses of hope that humanity will prevail.

The richness of the past and contributions The debates of the present have to be rooted in the past. In parts of Europe, the past of the Islamic civilization has been glorious, but often forgotten. In the film, Jose Antonio Nieto, the mayor of Cordoba, remembers the richness of Andalusia in Southern Spain.

“During the 10th century, under the Muslim rule in Andalusia, Cordoba was one of the greatest cities in the world. In Cordoba, we owe our character, our culture to the Muslims,” he says.

During the rule of the Caliphate, Cordoba’s main library boasted of over 400,000 manuscripts, and the period was known for some of the famous scholars and inventors like Ibn Rusd, Ibu Firnes and Maimomides.

The footprints of this Islamic civilization are scattered across Spain and Sicily - in architecture, culture and daily habits. In food, like the couscous sold on the streets of Palermo in Sicily; in the Sicilian dialect which is peppered with Arabic words; in music and dance, where the “ ole” in flamenco is derived from the expressions of “Allah”. In Palermo, the Monreale Catherdal and the Palatine chapel are standing examples of this mélange of influences. Its structures have been inspired by Latin and Roman elements and Arabic arches.

Nasser David Khalili, founder and director of Maimonides Foundation in UK, says the contributions of the Islamic civilization have been critical during the times Europe and the West were going through the “dark ages”. “From 9 and 10th century onwards, the Muslims translated Greek and Roman books. Through that translation mathematics, medicine, understanding of food and health came to the West,” he adds. Bashir Mann, the first Muslim elected official in UK, describes this as a full circle of civilization. “Europe learned everything from Muslims, and now it is the other way round.

The people from Muslim countries come to Europe to learn the same thing they taught them,”

M

Ambassador Ahmed (right) with former Chief Rabbi of Denmark Bent Melchior (center) and Harrison Akins

he adds.

The challenges: Fear of the “Other” A student in Germany relates her headscarf with isolation. “I am just like a thing in the corner of the room”, she says: Hijab wearing Spanish women provoke derogatory graffiti like “Modos go back”; a mosque construction in Cologne is disrupted by frequent protests: a Danish Muslim is refused a job interview for “being an outsider”.

In Paris, two brothers, French nationalists of Algerian descent, storm the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and shoot down 11 people. Two days later, another French Muslim of Senegalese-descent attacks a Jewish grocery shop, takes 11 people hostage and kills three.

Varied incidents that speak of equally varied challenges confronting Muslims in Europe - the challenge of isolation, of growing extremism and of the “fear of the other.”

Samia Hathroub, a lawyer and French social activist, says in France the growing extremism seems to be following a similar path. “Most of the youth come from dislocated immigrant families, some of them begin as drug dealers, go to jails, where they end up being radicalized.”

Isolation of the Muslim community adds to the problem. “It is like these young children are abandoned by the mother, in this case France. They get frustrated and find an ideology that comes back to destroy the mother that didn’t fully love them,” says Hathroub.

The rise of extremism reflects poorly on Muslim leaders in Europe who have failed their younger generation, but also on the state’s ineffectual integration policies. The Colonial Empires and the immigrants from the countries they ruled have failed to find a common identity to hold on to. France makes a clear distinction between “originally French and French from immigrant background.” In Britain, being British is not being English. In Denmark, the immigrants Danes are not seen as true Danes.

The immigrant histories have failed to find space in school textbooks and consequently in national identities.

In Europe, if there are concerns about

radicalization of young Muslims, there is also a surge in the right wing sentiment. Marine Le Pen’s far right anti-immigrant party is fast gaining popularity in France. Britain’s answer to the Tea Party, the United Kingdom Independent Party (UKIP), swept the local council polls in 2014, with its anti-immigration sloganeering.

A far right group, Britain First, has launched a fight to “take the country back”. Britain First volunteers patrol Muslim-dominated areas with heavily armed military vehicles, distribute bibles at mosques and frequent anti-mosque protests. Jim Dowson, its founder, says the future of Britain would be “war“ between the Islamic world and the originally British.

Europe’s growing Islamophobia is also reflected in the rounds of discussions on EuroArabia - an assumption that countries like France would be Islamic Republics in 39 years.

Jean Luc Marret at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris dismisses it. “Europe will not collapse under the weight of Muslims. Islam can provide many things to Europe but Europe can provide many positive things to Islam. Like in France, we are producing a new form of Islam connected to Western moderation and innovation and this could be the “new Andalusia,” he says.

The Path Ahead So what is the future of the Muslim World in European context? Will it be a growing conflict or a deepening integration? There are concerns and there are complexities of this relationship. Amidst all this, there are signs of normality.

For instance in sports, where over 45 Muslim players are a part of the Premier League, including top rankers like Edin Dzeko from Bosnia, Samir Nasir, a French Moroccan Muslim, Yaya Toure and Dema Ba from Africa. “When Dema Ba, a Chelsea player, scores a goal, he prostrates and prays. The football fans go crazy and celebrate. This normality is how we will build relationship,” says Aqeel Ahmed of the BBC. There are attempts to foster integration in architecture. Like the Penzberg mosque in Ger-

many whose contemporary cubic structures hold prayer meetings and German language classes at the same time. The Imams here are dressed in suits and offer regular tours of the mosque for non-Muslims.

In political circles, young Muslims across Europe are making new beginnings. Cemile Giousuf, a German Muslim of Turkishdescent, became the first Muslim member of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union.

In Denmark, a young leader Kashif Ahmed of Pakistani-descent founded the National Party of Denmark to strengthen the immigrant voice.

Tasmina Ahmed Sheilkh, a Muslim MP in UK says, “Muslims have to fundamentally abide by the laws of the Qur’an, but beyond that, we have to abide by the law of the country which we have chosen to call home” The signs of integration are heartening, but not enough. There is still rising Islamaphobia.

There is isolation. There is fear.

Rowen Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, says Islamophobia only reflects the fear and the panic. “When you realize you are not close to your neighbor, you can either panic, and project all sorts of terrible things on to them or you sit with them and listen. We need to listen very hard to an average Muslim neighbor, not an extremist voice, but those who are unobtrusive and faithfully living their ordinary lives,” he says.

The onus of dialogue is also on the Muslims. Muslim community needs to get across the values of Islam and how it fits in the religious landscape of European countries.

Kristiane Backer, a former MTV presenter in Denmark and a Muslim says Islam is Europe is fossilized and it is up to the young people to take it forward. “They need to study the religion through contemporary and classic sources and educate the society and their own parents,” says Backer.

So the path ahead is in educating your own and “the other”. It lies in discovery of the rich past of coexistence, in dialogue and listening hard. The path ahead is to explore common identities.

Post-Script: At the Cambridge Mosque in London, a young man identifies himself as Pedro and passes around his photograph with Pope Francis. Like a prized possession, he circulates the picture and the message associated with it. “I have been sent by the Pope and he has asked me that every time you see a Muslim, give him a hug. Tell him, it is from the Pope”. Pedro then turns towards Muslim scholar Akbar Ahmed for an embrace. On this uplifting note, the documentary Journey Into Europe concludes. A Christian man hugs a Muslim, inside a mosque, carrying a message from the highest Church - a lasting image offering hope that the end of it all, humanity would prevail.

(Pawan Bali is an Indian journalist and a filmmaker based in Washington DC. Earlier, she worked with Indian newspapers like the Times of India, Indian Express and English news channel CNN-IBN. Currently, she works as a conflict resolution and communication consultant. She is the film consultant for the documentary Journey Into Europe.

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=ZleegkA-r4w

What Do You Get the Person Who Has Everything for the Holidays?

ost people have experienced this problem as birthdays or the holiday season approaches: What can you possibly get as a gift for the man or woman who is financially well off?

“It’s a pretty good problem to have, isn’t it?

– Your loved one has achieved a level of financial comfort in life that has enabled him or her to live free, mostly, of financial stress,” says attorney Hillel Presser of the Presser Law Firm, PA, whose firm specializes in comprehensive domestic and international Asset Protection.

“Of course, the ‘good problem’ comes with an associated risk, because financial comfort and stability means you have something to lose. Surprisingly, most well-off people have taken little

to no measures to protect what they’ve worked so hard to attain.”

Nobody is safe from financial threats, which can happen to people when they least expect it. Helping a family member initiate steps to take protective measures may be the best gift they’ve received in years, says Presser, author of “Financial Self Defense” (www.assetprotectionattorneys.com), who explores some of the many benefits of protection.

• You don’t have to be super-rich. Anyone with any assets can benefit from legal protection. The average retiree with a nest egg can lose it all by seemingly frivolous yet successful lawsuits against them and younger people who are starting out in life can get a head-start by safe-

guarding their future wealth. Lawsuits, divorce, bill collectors and many other financial hazards have the potential to impoverish individuals and their families.

• Asset protection applies to individuals, families and business owners. Homes, cars and bank accounts may be affected in the event of a lawsuit – whether it’s a personal suit or one targeting the business. E-commerce businesses, for example, may need more financial protection than traditional businesses to cover their wealth of intangible assets, including domain names, website content, intellectual property, trademarks and patents.

• Liability insurance often isn’t enough. Liability insurance is a great place to start financial

www.PakistanLink.com

shielding, but it’s not a good end point. Most lawsuits and other financial claims aren’t insured, or you have too little coverage to fully cover claims, or an insurance company may deny coverage on a claim due to some exclusion. Unfortunately, insurance covers few financial catastrophes.

• Allow an investment to ease your mind, for a change. How much would you pay a good investment advisor to help build your wealth?

Perhaps 1 to 2 percent a year? That money is paid whether or not money was made or lost on the investments, which tend to be stressful. To ensure protection of your wealth, you’ll pay less, and protection is a one-time investment – not annual. Most families can shelter their net worth for less than they’d pay for a modest vacation.

COMMENTARY

P24 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015

You May Want to Consider Investing 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 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.)

The sometimes fractious relations between Wall Street and Silicon Valley enjoyed a moment of harmony on Thursday, as combined $100bn was added to the market of three of the world’s biggest technology companies.

But with the tech giants projecting future jumps in capital spending and on a collision course for greater- potentially margin – eroding competition, it was a harmony that may be shortlived.

The share price bounce for Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet (the new holding company for Google ) came as the three companies reported third – quarter earnings and took their combined market value to new In their financial statements and comments in conference calls with analysts, the three conveyed a remarkably consistent message.

The new mantra from the west coast of the US: greater cost discipline is the order of the day. New and more detailed disclosures are being tried to give investors a better understanding of how the companies are evolving. Where possible, excess cash is being returned to shareholders, not frittered away on faddish tech ideas.

But behind these more shareholder friendly messages was an unapologetic recognition of the effects of their uniformly expansionist strategies. All three said they were anticipating big periodic jumps in spending as they build the networks of data centers needed to keep up with global internet competitors.

For these week, however, the overriding tone has been one of STALEMATE FROM P7

conciliation. Companies that once seemed almost to scorn Wall Street oversight and which with surges in spending that dented their margins appear united in their desire to appease their shareholder.

Of the three, it is Amazon’s changed relations with Wall Street that have been most remarkable.

Investors has grown weary of it high- growth, profitless business model. But Amazon’s share price has doubled since the beginning of the year, including Thursday’s after-market gain, as it has presented a different face to the financial markets.

Amazon’s longstanding policy has been to offer few shareholder incentives – it has never issued dividends or repurchased shares and the company manages profits to be close to zero.

The company’s efforts to get back into the good grace of it investors began early this year when it pledged to break our results separately for its Amazon Web Services business and as management went on an annual unusual shareholder tour. The AWS figures, when they came in April, revealed that the cloud computing service was highly profitable, and still growing fast despite already being the biggest provider in its sector.

Microsoft unveiled a new segmental reporting arrangement of its own on Thursday, in an attempt to present a clearer picture of how the move to cloud computing is affecting its business its business.

And the newly named Alphabet is hoping for a lift with its own promise of greater disclosure three months from now, when it next reports quarterly earnings. After years of pressure from Wall Street, the company said ha said it will separate the results of its Google internet services business from its many driverless cars to internet across networks.

Even before that, a studied to what it calls an undeclared war.

The incumbent Pakistani civilian leadership turned out to be an unreliable or incapable interlocutor for Afghans for it abdicated the foreign and national security policies quicker than its predecessors. The Afghan unity government has limited options vis-à-vis Pakistan’s continued hegemonic posturing. Kabul has to have a vigorous diplomatic initiative inducing a rethink in the US’ waffling Afghan policy. The deadly stalemate in Afghanistan is untenable. Afghan officialdom simply cannot afford to misread the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that fuel the insurgency or the ones that could help curtail it. (The writer can be reached at mazdaki@ me.com and he tweets @mazdaki)

government to resume the parleys.

The perennial ‘India-in-Afghanistan’ scarecrow will be used to justify the relentless pursuit of ‘strategic depth’ through the jihadist proxies.

Reams have been written about Pakistan betting on the US packing up and leaving Afghanistan, which would allow it then to have a field day west of the Durand Line. The operation in North Waziristan was delayed for half a decade to wait for the US troops’ drawdown so the Chechen, Uzbek and Uighur jihadist hordes could be offloaded onto Afghanistan.

Never mind that the previous attempts to subdue Kabul in 1992 and 1996 through the mujahideen and Taliban proxies, respectively, had a massive jihadist blowback into Pakistan, and the current project seems SAMI FROM P11 to be coming to fruition. The Afghan “Why would we issue the certifigovernment has no military answer cate to a man who has no respect for

series of shareholder – friendly gestures has already paid off for Alphabet. Along with greater transparency, new chief financial officer pledged a focus on cost controls after arriving at the company earlier this year prompting a jump in Alphabet’s share price.

Leader, in charge supervisor can change company’s image, company’s sale employee’s efficiency much better by action or in charge instead of just talking .

The Porat effect was in evidence again on Thursday , as the company announced its first - ever return of capital to shareholders in the form of a stock buyback.

But the signaling to Wall Street has had a powerful effect.

Eleven years after its IPO, when it laid out its intention to pursue a financial strategy with little regard to immediate shareholder gratification, the company formerly known as Google has sent a clear message that things have changed.

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s stock touched a new 15 year high in after – market trading. Bill Thrill, who tracks the company as an analyst at UBS, said Wall Street’s fears that it was tied to s shrinking PC industry were going to a new confidence in its positioning in the growth market for cloud computing.

Whether the good feelings that washed through Wall Street on Thursday will last is another matter. All three groups warned that capital spending would remain heavy- and , in the cases of Amazon and Alphabet, volatile – as they build out their tech performs.

If the big tech companies are finding themselves back in favor on Wall Street, it could be of their perceived safety in a volatile market as their near – term results.

(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.) ‘sacred’ documents,” a senior officer of the interior ministry had said while commenting on the singer’s remarks.

CPEC FROM P13

being discriminated against in the $46 billion project, Punjab would benefit the most from it.

Mr Shah said that the eastern route of the project had been preferred rather than the short and better western route, which might create resentment in other provinces against Punjab.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan, speaking at a party convention on Saturday, also accused the rulers of hiding facts about the CPEC because they wanted a large part of the corridor to pass through Punjab.

Mushahid Hussain said the government should be proactive in responding to the opposition’s criticism and should have a better outreach to political parties.

www.PakistanLink.com

Pakistan Earthquake

Donate Zakat & Sadaqah for families affected by Earthquake.

Donate online at: www.hidaya.org Donate by Phone: 866.244.3292 Mail Checks Payable to: Hidaya Foundation PO Box 5481 Santa Clara, CA 95056

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

Selling Rs.

105.90 160.50 28.10 0.83 113.00 28.85

106.15 161.20 28.25 0.86 113.50 29.00

(*18 November, 2015) US VISA BULLETIN ON NOVEMBER 2015 For Pakistan, Bangladesh & India Compiled by Hasan Chishti FAMILY SPONSORED PREFERENCES

Pakistan/Bangladesh

1st Unmarried sons & daughters of U.S. Citizens

Feb., 22, 2008

Feb., 22, 2008

2-A Spouses and unmarried children of permanent residents

May 15, 2014

May 15, 2014

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

Feb., 8, 2009

Feb., 8, 2009

3rd

Married sons & daughters of US Citizens June 15, 2004

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

March 1, 2003

India

June 15, 2004 March 1, 2003

EMPLOYMENT BASED CATEGORY 1st Priority workers

Current

Current

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

Current

August 1, 2006

3rd Skilled workers Other workers

August 15, 2015 August 15, 2015

April 1, 2004 April 1, 2004

4th Certain special immigrants Certain religious workers

Current Current

Current Current

5th Employment creation Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs

Current

Current

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

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P25

Gems from the Holy Qur’an

Seven Great Characters n By Dr Muzammil H. Siddiqi

A

bu Hurairah reported that the Prophet - peace be upon him - said, “Allah will cover seven people with His shade, on the Day when there will be no shade but His: a just ruler, a youth who has been brought up in the worship of Allah, a man whose heart is attached to the mosques, two persons who love each other only for Allah’s sake and they meet and part in Allah’s cause only, a man who refuses the call of a beautiful and rich woman for illicit relation with her and says: I am afraid of Allah, a man who gives charitable gifts so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given, and a person who remembers Allah while he is alone and his eyes are flooded with tears.”

(Al-Bukhari, Hadith 620) We all need Allah’s shade. To be under Allah’s shade is to be protected by Him and be blessed by Him. We need His shade in this life and in the Hereafter. It is mentioned that the Day of Judgment will be a very hard and difficult Day. On that every one will be worried and will try to find some protection and shade; but there will be no shade on that Day except the special shade of Allah. This shade will be granted to seven special types of people: 1. A just ruler or a just leader: It could be any person who has some authority and he/she uses this authority with justice and fairness without any favoritism or prejudice.

Justice is the command of God for all people; but the most critical is the doing of justice when one has power and authority. More difficult , of course, is dealing justly with those who show hate and animosity towards you. A just person, especially a just leader or ruler, is given number one place in this list of seven.

2. A young person growing up in the worship of Allah: Worship of Allah is good for all people at any age and time; but the worship of Allah from the tender young age has special blessings. Many people become devoted to Allah when they grow old. In the old age when the

From the translation by Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss)

body becomes weak, people start paying attention to the spirit. However, to be conscious of one’s spirit and growing up as a youth in the obedience of Allah brings a special honor and blessings.

3. A person whose heart is connected to the Masjid: Literally it says that the heart is hanging (mu’allaq) in the masjid. Imam Malik explained that it was a person who when he leaves the Masjid, looks forward to coming back again soon. Normally people’s hearts are attached to their jobs, business and home. Masjid is not the priority for many people. However, those who love the House of Allah and keep it as their priority are the blessed people and they shall receive the special favor of Allah.

4. Two people loving each other for the sake of Allah: One should be friendly to all people and deal with all people in a kind and

courteous manner. However, the friendship for the sake of Allah, for the reasons of piety and goodness is a very blessed friendship. This is a sincere friendship and when two

To be conscious of one’s spirit and growing up as a youth in the obedience of Allah brings a special honor and blessings or more people become attached to each other for Allah’s sake they bring a lot of good to themselves and to those around them.

This is a kind of friendship that generates goodness in the world and is especially blessed

by Allah.

5. A person of solid moral character: The Prophet gave an example of this solid character.

He said a man tempted for illicit relationship by a woman who is beautiful and rich, influential or of a prestigious family (the word “mansab” means

www.PakistanLink.com

all these things in Arabic) and he refuses. Imam Ibn Hajar says that this is not limited to a man only who is tempted by a woman; it equally applies to a woman who may be tempted by a man who is very beautiful, powerful and rich and she refuses and says “I fear Allah.” It requires a lot of moral strength to refuse temptation when the other partner is attractive, rich,and not only consenting but persuasive. Those who have such a strong character they are indeed under the protection of Allah.

6. A person of charity who does not show off his/her charity: A person gives charity in such a way that even his left hand does not know what his right hand has done.

This is a very powerful and beautiful way to say that a person gives quietly, discreetly and with sincerity. His/ her purpose is not to show off, seek publicity, name or fame; but only to please Allah. This is the highest kind of charity and it has a special reward and blessing from Allah.

7. A person who remembers Allah privately with eyes filled with tears: Thinking of Allah, repeating His Beautiful Names, thanking Him and praising Him, these are the ways to remember (dhikr) Allah.

Doing the “dhikr” alone in one’s privacy, when no one is watching, with moving heart and tearful eyes is a sign of sincere faith and deep love of Allah. Those who have the love of Allah, they are indeed under His shade and protection.

All these seven characters are deeply moral and spiritual characters. They indicate a person’s faith and sincere commitment. They are related to feeling, thinking, speaking and action. These are true characters of sincere believers. We pray to Allah to bless us with these characters and with his shade in this world and also in the Hereafter.

Ameen.

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 his conversion to Islam travelled and worked throughout the Muslim world, from North Africa to as far east as Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. After years of devoted study he 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” (For people who think).

Chapter 93, Ad-Duhaa (The Bright Morning Hours), Verses 1-11 (Complete Surah) [ 1 ] Consider the bright morning hours, [ 2 ] Thy Sustainer has not forsaken thee, nor does he scorn thee: for, indeed the life to come will be better for thee then this the earlier part [ of thy life]!

And, indeed in time will thy Sustainer grant thee [what thy heart desires], and thou shalt be well-pleased.

Has He not found thee an orphan, and given thee shelter? [ 3 ] And found thee lost on thy way, and guided thee?

And found thee in want, and given thee sufficiency?

Therefore, the orphan shalt thou never wrong, and him that seeks [thy] help shalt thou never chide, and of thy Sustainer’s blessings shalt thou ever speak. [ 4 ]. ______________________ Translator’s Notes [ 1 ] It is said that after Surah 89 (Al Fajr) was revealed, some time elapsed during which the Prophet did not receive any revelation, and that his opponents in Mecca taunted him on this score, saying, “Thy God has forsaken and scorned thee!” whereupon the present surah was revealed. Whether or not we accept this somewhat doubtful story, there is every reason to assume that that surah as such, although in the first instance addressed to the Prophet, has a far wider purport: it concerns – and is meant to console – every faithful man and woman suffering from the sorrows and bitter hardships which so often afflict the good and the innocent, and which sometimes cause even the righteous to question God’s transcendental justice. [ 2 ] The expression “bright morning hours” apparently symbolizes the few and widely-spaced periods of happiness in human life, as contrasted with the greater length of “the night when it grows still and dark”, i.e., the extended periods of sorrow and suffering that, as a rule, overshadow man’s existence in this world . The further implication is that, as sure as morning follows night, GEMS, P28

ADVERTISEMENT

P26 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015

Free Citizenship Workshop Saturday, December 5, 2015

10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

1145 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90017 Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles, a nonprofit legal organization and BIA accredited agency, will be providing the following assistance with local partners for free to eligible lawful permanent residents at the workshop:      

Assess your eligibility for citizenship and fee waiver Complete your citizenship application Review of your application by an attorney File for a fee waiver, if you qualify Provide free study materials and ESL/Civic class resources Passport photos for application

Appointments are required.

To schedule an appointment and receive more information, please call:

English Urdu and Hindi Arabic

888-349-9695 213-241-0217 714-776-1177

www.PakistanLink.com

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 - PAKISTAN LINK

SPORTS SPORTS

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P27

Taylor Marshals Victory After Pakistan Collapse

No Cricket With India Sans PM's Permission ISLAMABAD: Cricket has an old and strong connection with overall Pakistan India relationship. The sport has successfully been used a number of times to defuse tensions between the two nuclear rivals, but occasionally comes a countercurrent that makes politics hinder the games.

This time unbridled Hindu extremism in India has come to harm cricket as next month's scheduled series between the two states have been put in greater doubt after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif recently told country's cricket board not to make any decisions regarding the series without his permission.

Earlier in the day, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar also said that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should never accept the offer to play cricket series in India because apparently the extremist Hindus - who carried out a number of acts of violence

tionally to get Shiv Sena declared a terrorist organisation.

Shiv Sena is an Indian far-right regional political party with an extreme Hindu nationalist ideology which is bitterly against Pakistan.

The remarks of a key government minister indicate that the future of any cricket series with India would be in jeopardy now. However, the minister's words are strange in the sense because his ministry deals with internal security matters and had nothing to do with foreign policy.

Ch Nisar said that it was Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who would decide cricket diplomacy with India but he would oppose it at all levels including cabinet meeting. "It is not a matter of money bur our respect and prestige because Indian government and its agents have already disgraced Pakistan very much," he added.

The minister quoted recent exam-

and extremism against Pakistan and Pakistanis - enjoyed backing of BJP government.

In his informal talk at Punjab House after chairing a meeting at the interior ministry, he said he would also urge the cabinet to lobby interna-

ples of use f violence of Shiv Sena against former foreign minister Khursheed Mahmood Kasuri, PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan, Executive Board Committee Chairman Najam Sethi and famous singer Ghulam Ali. J

SHARJAH: James Taylor swings the ball into the leg side, Pakistan v England, 3rd ODI.

SHARJAH: James Taylor produced an innings of class and style to help England to victory in a low-scoring ODI in Sharjah. Taylor, with an unbeaten 67, added 117 for the fifthwicket with Jos Buttler to see their side to victory with nine overs and six wickets in hand, giving England a 2-1 lead in the series with only one match - in Dubai on Friday - left to play.

The apparent comfort of that margin is somewhat deceptive, though.

Not long after Taylor came to the middle, England were struggling on 93 for 4 and seemingly facing an uphill battle against spin bowling on a pitch that was beginning to turn sharply. Had Pakistan taken their chances, the result could well have been different.

One of those chances was presented by Buttler. Moments after joining Taylor, he skipped down the pitch against the bowling of Shoaib Malik, yorked himself and should have been stumped by a distance. It was a moment that summed up a shoddy evening's work from Pakistan. The excellence of their bowlers was undermined as chance after chance went

down and the ground fielding sunk to a level some way below that required in modern international cricket. They also lost three batsmen to unusually dozy run outs.

All England's four highest scorers benefited from chances: Alex Hales was dropped on 7, a caught and bowled chance to the left hand of the impressive M Irfan; Eoin Morgan was dropped on 2, a much tougher caught and bowled chance back to debutant Zafar Gohar, playing in place of the injured Yasir Shah, and Taylor was missed, on 54, when Gohar appeared to lose the ball under lights and failed to lay a hand on the chance. While the chance given by Taylor probably came too late to change the result, any of other 3 might have done.

But this was still a fine performance by England. To win in these conditions - their nightmare conditions, really - to win despite losing a toss that should have proved disproportionately important and to win with young players providing the key contributions, was another step forward for a side that have progressed pleasingly since

the debacle of the World Cup at the start of the year. Especially impressive was the contribution of Taylor. With a calm head, quick feet and an ability to scamper, manoeuvre and punish, he refused to allow the bowlers to settle and provided exactly the sort of dynamic, positive performance that England have been crying out for against spin bowling for many years.

But England may be equally delighted with Buttler's performance. It is no secret that he has lost form and confidence in recent times, so to register his highest international score in 21 innings (across all three formats) in such testing circumstances bodes well. If it proves to be the game that revived his confidence, it may prove highly significant. In truth, though, this was probably a game that Pakistan lost more than England won.

In conditions that, for the first 50 overs of the match, offered no swing, no seam and precious little spin, Pakistan lost six for 29 in 12 overs and were only helped to a total above 200 by some uncomplicated thrashing

by Wahab Riaz down the order. J

Pliskova Shines as Czechs Win Fourth Fed Cup in five Years PRAGUE: Karolina Pliskova won her singles rubber and then teamed up with Barbora Strycova to take the decisive doubles and lead the Czech Republic to a successful defence of their Fed Cup title.

Pliskova and Strycova beat Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 at Prague's hardcourt O2 Arena to hand the hosts their fourth trophy in five years.

The Czechs won their ninth title overall, including five as Czechoslovakia which went on to split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993. Russia have won four titles from 11 final ties, including those they played as the former Soviet Union.

"It's the first experience for me in the Fed Cup so I'm really happy (about) how we made it and we both played really good," said Pliskova, playing only her second Fed Cup tie.

"I'm speechless, it was unbelievable," added Strycova.

Russian captain Anastasia Myskina, a former French Open champion, did not conceal her disappointment. "We tried, we did our best, I'm proud of my girls, I think they played good," she said. World number 11 Pliskova was the star of the day after she saw off 28th-ranked Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-4 in Sunday's second singles rubber. J

www.PakistanLink.com www.Pakistanlink.com

Umar Denies Any Wrongdoing LAHORE: Pakistani middle-order batsman Umar Akmal recently submitted a reply to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)'s show-cause notice he was issued for allegedly attending a dance party.

Akmal was issued the notice on Thursday over attending a dance party with domestic teammates in Hyderabad.

He was also dropped from squad for three-match Twenty20 series against England for 'violating' board's code of conduct.

Umar submitted to the PCB inquiry committee that he only had food at the party in Hyderabad.

"I have done wrong since I fully abide by PCB code of conduct and can't even think of violating it," Akmal said.

Akmal is also facing allegation of harassing a model.

Rachel Khan, a model/actress from Lahore, came into limelight on Friday blaming Akmal for sexually harassing her during "Play For Peace" event in Oslo, Norway.

However, Akmal denied both the charges.

"Reports about Rachel and Hyderabad events were false and I don't want to talk on these issues," Akmal said while talking to the reporters here at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Akmal said his family was very disturbed over the allegations, asking the media to support and hoped that they would handle the matter carefully. He said that everything would

become public after he would submit his reply to the show-cause notice.

Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi has also reportedly backed the embroiled batsman, asking the PCB to clear Umar and then reinstate him in the squad.

25-year-old Akmal also thanked Shahid Afridi for supported him.

Labeling the allegations baseless, Umar said: "I am not answerable to anyone apart from the department I am playing for. Cricket is my love and I want to represent Pakistan for a long period of time. J

PAKISTAN

P28 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015 REHAM FROM P15

very talkative and I’m very chatty but, you know, you can’t exactly with Imran Khan. You can’t discuss the color of the curtains; you can only talk politics. You cannot exactly discuss Bollywood films with him. God knows I tried.”

Imran and fatherhood It seems that his politics-only frame of mind also prevented him from being a father figure to his stepchildren.

“He didn’t interfere at all. He’s not the sort of person who gets involved with anyone. He’s very private and he’s not used to having children around.”

Her children, she said, were confined to one room: “They would never come out . . . would never go to the kitchen”, while Imran had his own wing in the mansion.

She also dismissed reports of jealousy between her and Imran’s ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith. A close relationship between a father and the mother of his two sons “is inevitable”, she said.

“If anything I encouraged him to spend more time with his children: he’s lazy with phone calls and I thought that was a bit odd.”

Break-up by black magic?

Reham also explained her Twitter statements about black magic: She said she found “small amulets” in the house prior to their last fight.

“In the Qur’an it’s mentioned that there is magic and it is used for only one reason — in the Babylonian tradition as well — to separate husband and wife.”

Where were the objects coming from? “Not from me.” Does she think he has planned it all? “Let’s just say I think he knew more than I did.”

The breaking point While she disclosed that their arguments were “because I would get frustrated about everyone having a go at me,” Reham stays mum about the breaking point of the relationship.

“We had a big argument and I decided that was it,” she simply said, adding that “something happened that I found difficult to get past.”

Reham, post-Imran What is Reham doing now?

“I have to make up for loss of income. I married a man who convinced me that he loved me, who looked lonely and who I thought had the same ideas about life and the same goals, but we were just too different,” she sighs.

“Maybe I wasn’t meant to have everything — personal happiness doesn’t seem to be on the cards.”

She plans to continue her work with street children in Pakistan, is producing two films and is also looking for work in England.

KHANANI FROM P15

did not restore their licence because they were also wanted in money laundering cases in a number of countries.

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday designated Dubai-based money services business Al Zarooni Exchange for being owned directly or indirectly by the Khanani MLO, and for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial support to the Khanani MLO. Their properties in which the Khanani MLO or Al Zarooni Exchange has an interest, were blocked and U.S. persons were prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

A money changer, who wished not to be identified, said Haji Haroon, another money changer, has

been picked up by security agencies in connection with money laundering.

“For the last four months he has been in custody of the agency and has reportedly revealed 82 names of money changers, businessmen and politicians involved in transfer of illegal money from Pakistan,” said the money changer.

The Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP) did not betray any alarm over the arrest, maintaining that money changers in Pakistan had no links with any illicit business.

“I believe that exchange companies operating in Pakistan are not involved in this kind terrorist funding or money laundering. I don’t feel I have to worry,” said Malik Bostan, president FAP. DRIVER FROM P18

something I had written and saying, ‘This is so important’ — it made me cry.”

However, Malloy also received a small number of negative replies from people who said they would not have gotten in the cab. They have now been blocked.

“That put such a sick feeling in my stomach because you’re disregarding another human being,” he said. “It was sad and I didn’t want to see it.”

MUSLIMS FROM P18

video condemning the attacks.

“They invoke the Qur’an, and quote its verses,” a voiceover says in the video, which features students holding a sign bearing the hashtag #NousSommesUnis (translation: “We are united”). “But shedding the blood of an innocent has no justification, not in Islam or anywhere.”

“They wanted France to be weak,” the narration continues. “They made our French hearts strong.”

But Rajahat Ali, a Muslim author and journalist at Al-Jazeera America, says such statements fall on deaf ears.

“We Muslims have to engage in what I call the ‘condemnathon tour,’” Ali told IBT. “If we don’t engage in it, it’s almost as if we’re validating or supporting a vile act. We’re supposed to condemn violent actions by violent extremists in a country we’ve never visited or else. And even if we do, the collective group of 1.5 billion Muslims is still indicted, convicted and sentenced.”

American Muslims say it doesn’t help to have conservatives like Republican frontrunner Donald Trump calling for US authorities “to watch and study the mosques” — and saying he would consider closing some if elected president.

“I would hate to do it, but it’s something that you’re going to have to strongly consider,” Trump said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday.

“We have to be much tougher. We are going to have to give up certain privileges that we’ve always had.”

Meanwhile, the governors of seven states — Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi and Texas — say they will refuse Syrian refugees in the wake of the attacks in Paris.

“I will not stand complicit to a policy that places the citizens of Alabama in harm’s way,” Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced on Sunday night. - Courtesy Yahoo News CONDEMNATION FROM P1

Francois Hollande.

“In the name of the Iranian people, who have themselves been victims of terrorism, I strongly condemn these crimes against human-

ity and offer my condolences to the grieving French people and government,” he wrote.

Qatar’s foreign minister Khaled al-Attiyah denounced the “heinous attacks,” adding, “these acts, which target stability and security in France are against all human and moral values.”

UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan condemned the “heinous” attacks, the state-run WAM news agency reported. The country supports all measures aimed at eradicating terrorism, he said.

Kuwait’s ruler, Sheikh Sabah AlAhmed Al-Sabah, in a message to Hollande, condemned “these criminal acts of terrorism which run counter to all teachings of holy faith and humanitarian values.” The country supports all measures France might take to protect its security, he said.

ATTACKS FROM P1

The orchestration of multiple locations and maximization of casualties shows a sinister disregard for life that is grossly at odds with any and all of us as human beings and as American citizens.

We must redouble our efforts for partnership and cooperation with law enforcement, as they have the challenging dual responsibility to neutralize any terrorist threat and also to protect communities from any backlash.

Our country must be united in this time of crisis; unity will enhance our efforts to fend off any violent extremism and preserve the values of our society.

To mitigate any attempt by ISIS in their recruiting efforts in the US, we are promoting programs to build resilience against its terrorist ideology.

Our prayers and condolences go out to the families and loved ones of the victims.

We share these same condolences with the French Embassy, and later this week, plan to visit the Embassy with our interfaith partners as a way to express our collective concern and solidarity.

We also acknowledge the carnage that took place in Beirut. Our hearts go out to those impacted by that attack and to all victims of terrorism around the world.

Shura Council: The Islamic Shura Council laments the senseless violence and loss of life in Paris and earlier in Beirut and Turkey among other places. We join Muslims and people of all faiths and conscience from across America and across the world in condemning senseless violence against innocent people.

The Islamic Shura Council extends its sympathies and prayers to all of those who perished or are injured, and we ask God Almighty to ease the pain and suffering of all the innocent people everywhere. The Shura Council has also sent a formal note of solidarity and prayers to the Consul General of France in Los Angeles and will be visiting him shortly.

The following Muslim organizations across America and other countries have also issued statements in support and solidarity with all of the innocent victims and against the senseless violence.

Fiqh Council of North America United States Council of Muslim Organizations Islamic Circle of North America Islamic Society of North America Muslim American Society Council of American-Islamic Relations

www.PakistanLink.com

Muslim Public Affairs Council Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago Muslim Association of Canada Muslim Council of Britain Muslim Voices from around the world GEMS FROM P25

God’s mercy is bound to lighten every suffering, either in this world or in the life to come – for God has “willed upon Himself the law of grace and mercy” (Chapter 6, verse 12 and verse 54). [ 3 ] Possibly an illusion to the fact that the Prophet was born a few months after his father’s death, and that his mother died when he was only six years old. Apart from this, however, every human being is an “orphan” in one sense or another, inasmuch as everyone is “created in a lonely state” (ref. Chapter 6, Verse 94), and “will appear before Him on Resurrection Day in a lonely state” (Chapter 19, Verse 95). [ 4 ] That is to say, “rather than of thy suffering”. ___________________ HALE FROM P1

cessor to Richard Olson, who has been US ambassador in Islamabad since September 2012.

He is a member of the Senior Foreign Service holding the rank of Career Minister.

Previously, he was the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace (20112013), Deputy Special Envoy for Middle East Peace (2009-11), and American Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (2005-8).

The newly-assigned ambassador has also served in Tunisia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and at the US Mission to the United Nations, with multiple tours in Lebanon and Jordan.

RAHEEL FROM P1

cussed defense cooperation between US and Pakistan and the need for enhanced defense coordination, said LtGen Bajwa.

The measures to strengthen military-to-military relations and regional security were part of the discourse. An increase in Tactical Reconnaissance Group (TRG) exchanges was also discussed.

Later in the day, CJCS Gen Dunford hosted a special banquet at a military base in honor of Gen Raheel, who is in the US on a five-day visit. The banquet was attended by top officials including Gen Austin and Gen Miley, said the ISPR spokesman.

Earlier, Gen Raheel discussed bilateral defense relations and regional security in his meeting with Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.

The US defense secretary appreciated Pakistan’s contribution and sacrifices in fighting the war on terror and acknowledged the effects of successful counter-terrorism operations, the ISPR spokesman had said at the time.

General Raheel Sharif met the Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss matters relating to regional security and highlighted the need to resolve the Kashmir issue, the military’s spokesman said.

The director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lt Gen Asim Bajwa, informed through a series of tweets that General Raheel met John Kerry on Wednesday to talk about issues related to regional stability. Challenges related to Afghanistan and India, and the measures to solve them dominated the discussion between the two dignitaries, Bajwa said.

TIES FROM P1

He said that once a rail link

between Pakistan and Uzbekistan was built, trade activities in the two countries would improve considerably.

The prime minister said the two sides believed that regional challenges could be tackled only through coordinated and concerted efforts.

He felt Pakistani ports offered the shortest land route to Uzbekistan for access to the Arabian Sea and unique geographical locations of Pakistan and Uzbekistan were mutually advantageous for the two countries.

ENVOY FROM P1

ated its condemnation of terrorism in all forms and manifestations.

“We stand with them in their hour of grief,” the Foreign Office had said in a statement at the time.

9/11 Attack Partially Funded from India: Former New Delhi Police Chief New Delhi: In a shocking revelation, a former Indian top police officer has claimed part of the funding for 9/11 attacks in the US came from India.

Neeraj Kumar who worked for India’s premier law enforcement agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and retired as Delhi Police commissioner in 2013, said the funds were raised through a kidnapping and handed over to the chief of 9/11 attackers, Mohammad Atta, by a terrorist named Omar Sheikh who was released by India in exchange of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane in 1999.

Basing his claim on Harkatul Mujahideen terrorist Asif Raza Khan’s statements, the former top police officer said Sheikh was given the money by another terrorist, Aftab Ansari, who was responsible for the attack on the American Center in Kolkata, according to the Times of India.

Asif Raza said his “boss Aftab Ansari had shared the ransom money collected in the kidnapping of Partha Pratim Roy Burman, chairman-cum-managing director of Khadim Shoes with Omar Sheikh,” Kumar claimed.

“Part of the ransom money received in the Burman kidnapping – about US$100,000 (at the time INR49 lakh)— later found its way from Omar Sheikh to Mohammad Atta, the chief of 9/11 attackers,” Kumar who is currently heading the anti-corruption wing of BCCI wrote in his book.

Kumar claimed Asif Raza Khan’s revelation that ransom money was passed on to Mohammed Atta was mentioned in the testimony of John S Pistole, deputy assistant director counter-terrorism division of FBI, before the Senate Committee on Terrorist Financing in July 2003 at Washington.

In his tell-all book on underworld activities post-1993 Bombay blasts, Kumar narrated many incidents of chase, plans, bureaucratic wrangling and his telephonic conversations with India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim.

“It’s only an attempt to share my story, my experiences and some of my cases which have no bearing on national security,” he said.

In the book, the former police officer also mentioned a call he had received towards the end of his career when he led an operation in which some of the cricketers were arrested for alleged spot-fixing during the T-20 tournament.

CLASSIFIED & MATRIMONIAL

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P29

Classified Section Long Term Job Long Term Job 5-10 yrs-/Live-in Nanny (lady) to help 8yrs old boy, school going child and minor light household work.

Must have U.S valid driver license and be independent-Salary $1000-$1400 per month. Contact Mr. Ali 951-805-2474 or saliusa@outlook.com.

FOR SALE

Accounting & Tax Practice.

Established 1993. Mesa, Arizona.

Grosses over $ 100,000.

Retiring - Will help new owner settle down.

Call-602-570-1662

NURSE NEEDED Nurse needed, RN or LVN, to care for a senior lady. Caregiver needed. Will pay market rate. Please contact 213.712.8888 Thanks imaad

Support the Community by Supporting Pakistan Link.

To Advertise or Subscribe in the most popular Pakistani-American newspaper “Pakistan Link” Call 714-400-3400

Matrimonial Link Qismat Marriage Bureau

For over ten years our marriage bureau has been providing matrimonial services in USA, Canada, Europe and Pakistan. Parents seeking suitable match for their daughter or son are invited to contact us to quickly find potential grooms and brides worldwide, in strict confidence. We can also help H-1 or student visa holders and divorced.

Contact us today at: Phone: 714-661-0134 or Qismat786@outlook.com

Place Your Matrimonial US Citizen, Pakistani, Ad Today Urdu-Sunni, Business, Buy 3 Get 1 FREE! Financially and call: 714-400-3400 or Professional Settled, Email: Sales@pakistanlink.com Age 40, divorced, 5-8 height, good looking, Shahnawaz Matrimonial seeking a suitable US Citizen Free Matrimonial Service professional partner.

Contact Contact: 951-805-2474 or td@esecurityauditors.com Mahbano Khan

Place Your Matrimonial Ad Today Buy 3 Get 1 FREE! call: 714-400-3400 or

Email: Sales@pakistanlink.com

Cell: (562) 746-9439 e-mail: khanmahbano@gmail.com

Urdu-speaking sunni Muslim parents seeking compatible match for their US born daughter, 25, 5’7”, slim/fair, 4 year college graduate, professional.

Applicant must be educated and professional with sound family background & religious/ cultural values. Reply at 54musafir@gmail.com Assalam U Alakum, looking for a good match for our sister. Sister is from Pakistan, 34 years old,Sunni Muslim, 5 ft 5”, never been married, Associate in Arts/ Vocational Nursing, US PermanentResident.

Family oriented, practicing Muslim, good family values. Please contact us at marriage916@gmail.com or 214 699 9430

Read Pakistan Link and Urdu Link online at www.pakistanlink.com www.PakistanLink.com

WOMENS WORLD

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 - PAKISTAN LINK

WOMEN

P30 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015

B

eenish Parvez is one of our most sought after hair and makeup artists. Having launched her salon in 2000, Beenish has worked with the best fashion designers and photographers to create stunning images that elevate hairdressing to an art form. This Karachibased beautician has also worked as the official hair consultant for some of the world's leading hair and beauty brands such as L'Oreal Professionnel, Sexy Hair, Wella, etc along with offering style-consultancy for corporate and multi-national entities. This week Beenish Parvez talks to You! about the importance of using concealer. She believes that if it is used properly, concealer can transform your look completely giving you a flawless complexion. Read on as Beenish shares ways to cover undereye circles, blemishes and much more.

You! Why should we use a concealer?

Beenish Parvez: The name itself is self-explanatory. Concealer is used to specifically conceal a certain part of your skin. For a flawless make-up look it is important to use a concealer.

You! How should we use a concealer for best results?

B.P: If you are using foundation, apply it before using a concealer. If you apply your foundation first you will see that you don't need to use as much concealer. However, if you apply concealer first, you will end up removing most of it while applying your foundation.

You! Is there a special way or a specific angle of applying concealer?

B.P: For starters it is best to simply dab on concealer on the area you want to work on. However, the most flattering way to apply concealer is to draw a triangle with the base under your eye pointing towards your cheek. This shape not only conceals

dark circles, but it also instantly creates the illusion that your face is lifted.

You! Can concealer also be used to prevent eye shadow from falling under the eye and staining it?

B.P: To prevent your eye shadow from falling off your lid and settling in the creases, it is important to prime

your eyelids. If you don't want to spend on eye shadow primer, a hint of concealer will also do the trick.

You! How can we conceal pimples with make-up?

B.P: When buying a concealer always remember that the product is available in different colours. For instance for hiding your pimples always opt for a green concealer that

www.Pakistanlink.com www.PakistanLink.com

will be used as the first base. When concealing a pimple, use the green concealer, then cover the area with a concealer that matches your skin tone.

You can also reduce a pimple's redness by applying green concealer with a clean brush to only the pimple.

Now take a swab and dab on some liquid concealer that matches your skin tone to hide the pimple. Blend the concealer well and finish with powder. Similarly, to conceal a pimple on your body (especially back if you're planning to wear a low neck) cover the trouble spot with a concealer similar to your skin tone. Now lightly brush it with a translucent powder. Continue to use the concealer and powder till the pimple is camouflaged. The concealer hides the blemish while the powder prevents it from wearing off.

You! Please explain the use of different coloured concealers?

B.P: Firstly, it is important to know what problems can be fixed by the use of different colours of concealer. For dark circles use peach shades as they cancel out blue circles; green hides red blemishes and pimples, and yellow-toned concealers are used to even out uneven skin tones.

You! If I don't have a concealer what's the alternative?

B.P: In case you find yourself without a concealer, fret not. Place a small dot of liquid foundation on the area and let it sit for a few minutes for the formula to set. The trick is to wait until the foundation dries and thickens a bit for it to reach the consistency of a concealer. Now lightly blend it out. If you blend it too soon, the foundation will rub off, leaving you with very little coverage.

You! How can we conceal dark under-eye circles?

B.P: Dab an orange or peachcoloured concealer on under-eye dark circles with your ring finger.

Your ring finger, which is your

weakest, will apply just the right amount of pressure to blend in the concealer without harming your delicate eye skin, and the orange or peach tones will cancel out the blue shadows that your under-eye circles give off. Top the orange or peach formula with a cover-up that matches your skin.

You! How can one make her eye shine bright and get rid of tiredness?

B.P: A concealer that is slightly lighter than your skin tone will do the trick. Dab on concealer on three tiny sections of your eye - the inner V, the middle section of your eyelid, and just below your brow bone. Lightly blend for instantly well-rested eyes and a highlight that looks natural. If you haven't had enough sleep, this trick will do wonders.

You! Can we hide puffy eyes with concealer?

B.P: Yes you can by mixing a bit of eye cream, highlighter and concealer. Apply the mixture under your eyes, on the outside by your temples, and over your brow bone to brighten the area and hide puffiness. You can also sharpen your eye-liner by covering any eyeliner mistakes with an angled brush dipped in concealer.

This will save you time and the pains of removing it altogether and starting over.

You! What is the use of concealer on the lips?

B.P: You can make your lipstick pop and prevent the colour from bleeding by lining the outside of your lips with a fine-tip brush and a bit of concealer. And voila you will have perfectly shaped full lips.

For those with thin lips, concealer can be used to create an illusion of plumper lips by filling in concealer in the middle section of the lip. Blend it out with the warmth from your fingertip, and finish with a nude lip gloss. The lightness from the concealer will lift the centre of your pout.

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 - PAKISTAN LINK

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE ENTERTAINMENT

NOVEMBER 20, 2015 – PAKISTAN LINK – P31

hile her latest film Moor takes to the film festival circuit, Samiya Mumtaz has moved on to two new projects.

At present, she's performing a play in Canada called The Road to Paradise, which looks at the different ways the war in Afghanistan has affected the lives of women and children.

Written by Toronto-based duo Jonathan Garfinkel and Christopher Morris (who also directs), The Road To Paradise is a three-part story that follows the intertwining lives of a child suicide bomber in Pakistan, a pair of Canadian soldiers and their wives in Petawawa and an Afghan woman and her son who emigrate to Toronto after a family tragedy.

The play was inspired by a CBC interview with a Canadian woman whose husband was fighting in Afghanistan, Morris told Toronto Now, after which the director and his co-writer spent several years visiting Pakistan, Afghanistan and Petawawa to get the "other side" of the story.

"I didn't want the script to be ... simply a rah-rah patriotic piece, so I also decided to explore the other side of the conflict by speaking to Afghan national army troops and including the Taliban viewpoint," Morris shared.

He feel the presence of actors from the countries where the play is set has lent legitimacy to their script.

"Christopher and I were visitors to the places where the play is set," said Garfinkel. "Because we're not from either Pakistan or Afghanistan, working with people from those

W

www.Pakistanlink.com www.PakistanLink.com

countries gives the play more substance and weight."

The English/Dari play runs till November 28th at Toronto's Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, after which it moves to other venues.

Samiya's first TV drama since the release of Moor, Ali Ki Ammi, also hit the airwaves in Pakistan yesterday.

She stars as an inadvertent second wife whose life takes a terrible turn post-marriage. After the birth of her son Ali, she vows not to let the mistreatment of her in-laws affect the future of her son, and strives to give him the best education possible, despite being uneducated herself.

ADVERTISEMENT

P32 – PAKISTAN LINK – NOVEMBER 20, 2015

www.PakistanLink.com