February 03, 2014: TTP considering Ansar Abbasi, Orya Maqbool Jan as negotiators PESHAWAR: Spokesman of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Monday said two more names are likely to be finalized soon for its committee tasked to hold talks with the four-member government-appointed panel. He said the names of senior journalist Orya Maqbool Jan and Investigation Editor, The News International, Ansar Abbasi which were being considered for the Taliban committee in the past are still being reviewed for nomination. The TTP spokesman regretted the decision of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) of choosing not to be a part of the dialogue process, saying Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman does not even have confidence in his own self.
Reacting to the Taliban’s claim, Ansar Abbasi talking to Geo News said he had never had any contact with the Taliban over his becoming part of the talks process. However, he said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had sought his advice in connection with the dialogue and also offered him to join the government-appointed panel. “I expressed my willingness to offer my cooperation as a journalist but I don’t want to join in as committee member,” said Abbasi, adding, he can be part of such a committee that points out mistakes on the part of the government and the Taliban. He said if the Taliban and government accept an impartial committee he could join the same. REFERENCE: TTP considering Ansar Abbasi, Orya Maqbool Jan as negotiators February 03, 2014 - Updated 2115 PKT http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-136547-TTP-considering-Ansar-Abbasi,-Orya-Maqbool-Jan-as-negotiators
Taliban Journalists of Pakistan by SalimJanMazari
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 Sufi, Taliban must be fenced in after edicts by Ansar Abbasi ISLAMABAD: Maulana Sufi Muhammad’s demands for an Islamic justice system have been met but his latest edicts against the country’s judicial, parliamentary and constitutional system may deprive him of the fruit of his life-time achievement. Undoubtedly the ANP government in the Frontier, the National Assembly of Pakistan and even President Asif Ali Zardari have agreed to support the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation for the sake of peace in Swat despite having different opinions on the issue. The peace deal was being seen as a hope by many to secure the valley from being pushed back to pre-Feb 16 era of lawlessness, brutal killings, burning of girlsí schools, kidnapping for ransom and militancy. It should remain so and not be allowed to get derailed owing to a rash statement publicly made by Sufi Muhammad because any knee-jerk reaction can lead to a civil war there. What Maulana Sufi Muhammad has uttered were his already known views but by expressing them in a public gathering at this crucial juncture of the Swat peace process the Tanzim Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief has acted as a spoiler. His decades long struggle for Islamic justice system in Swat and Malakand Division is in sight but now he himself has threatened the achievement of his life’s goal. Now many fear that after the implementation of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation in Swat and the Malakand region, he would possibly try to extend his struggle to other parts of the country. Despite all such fears and in the absence of any other option to address the Swat crisis, the provincial government is, however, still showing commendable restraint and struggling to regain its lost writ in the area through negotiated and peaceful means. Maulana Sufi Muhammad’s statement that Pakistan’ democracy, its laws and judicial structure all are un-Islamic was rarely welcomed by any political leader, including even those belonging to religious political parties. While the ANP, the PPP and the PML-N deliberately did not show any strong reaction to Sufi’s declaration perhaps to save the peace process from being ruined, it was the Jamaat-e-Islami chief Syed Munnawar Hasan and JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman who clearly rejected the TNSM chiefís interpretation of Islam vis-‡-vis Pakistan’s democracy and judicial system. Several Ulema from different schools of thought also argued against Sufi’s remarks. This is a unique situation and a possible opportunity for the government to sit down with all different political and religious parties and leading religious scholars and agree to a unified strategy whereby Sufi Muhammad or Taliban’s interpretation of Shariat should be restricted and not allowed to spread beyond their areas of control through public awareness campaigns to be launched jointly by the religious groups and political parties. At the same time the government and the leading political parties are also required to distance themselves from the US war on terror, without which it may not be possible to check the spread of Talibanisation and extremism in society. In this situation where extremism is growing, the government should also avoid taking steps that may please Washington and other Western capitals but are considered un-Islamic internally. REFERENCE: Sufi, Taliban must be fenced in after edicts BY Ansar Abbasi Wednesday, April 22, 2009 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=21667&Cat=13&dt=4/22/2009
Ansar Abbasi and GEO TV and Swat Girl Flogging
Ansar Abbasi & GEO TV & Swat Girl Flogging by SalimJanMazari
Swat girl denies flogging by Taliban BY Rahimullah Yusufzai Monday, April 06, 2009 PESHAWAR: Chand Bibi, the young girl who was shown being flogged by the Swat Taliban in a videotape aired on television channels, gave a statement to a Qazi, or judge, on Sunday, denying the incident. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the NWFP information minister, told The News that she made the statement to Mohammad Riaz, the judge of the Qazi Court for Matta Tehsil, and the commissioner of Malakand division, Syed Mohammad Javed, both of whom visited her village, Kala Killay, in Kabal Swat district on Sunday. Quoting the commissioner, Mian Iftikhar said the girl, Chand Bibi, made it clear that she was indeed married to Adalat Khan and everyone in the village knew about it. She refuted the reports that both of them were flogged by the Taliban as punishment for maintaining illicit relations and then forcibly married. According to the information minister, the commissioner and the judge had visited Kala Killay to record the statements of the couple on the directive of the chief secretary of the NWFP. The chief secretary and Inspector General of Police, NWFP, had been directed by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, to appear before his court and also produce the girl who was flogged. The chief justice had taken suo moto notice of the case after the two-minute videotape was repeatedly shown on TV channels. The incident caused outrage in Pakistan and provoked members of the civil society and others to stage protests in many cities of the country. The flogging of the girl, stated to be 17-years old, was condemned by most political parties, human rights organisations and even religious scholars. Mian Iftikhar disclosed that Chand Bibi had expressed her inability to appear before the Supreme Court as she and her family felt it wasn’t appropriate for a purdah-observing Pakhtun girl to do so in the presence of TV cameras and onlookers. “She requested the judge and the commissioner to spare her from appearing in the court in Islamabad,” he said. However, her husband, Adalat Khan, was ready to appear in the Supreme Court. Mian Iftikhar said the judge, Mohammad Riaz, also recorded the statement of Adalat Khan and he also denied the reports that he or his wife, Chand Bibi, had been lashed by the Taliban. “Adalat Khan wondered as to why nobody in their village knew about this incident. He insisted that no such incident had taken place in Kala Killay,” the minister said. Iftikhar lamented that a fake video had been used to tarnish the reputation of the people of Swat and disrupt the peace process in the district. “We condemn the acts of repression against women. We too are outraged when extremist elements commit atrocities against women and also men. But the incident depicted in the videotape never took place in Swat,” he argued. He felt the timing of the release of the videotape was intriguing. “It appears to be part of a conspiracy to foil the peace agreement in Swat and put pressure on President Zardari not to sign the Nizam-i-Adl Regulation for Malakand division,” he said. REFERENCE: Swat girl denies flogging by Taliban BY Rahimullah Yusufzai Monday, April 06, 2009 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=21357&Cat=13&dt=4/6/2009 Tuesday, November 30, 2010, Zilhajj 23, 1431 A.H http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/nov2010-daily/30-11-2010/u54349.htm
UNHCR Report on Minorities in Pakistan 2012 http://www.scribd.com/doc/122953646/UNHCR-Report-on-Minorities-in-Pakistan-2012
How Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain & GEO TV Incited... by SalimJanMazari
BBC: The rise of Pakistan's televangelists By Mobeen Azhar BBC World Service, Karachi 14 July 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18729683 Heart And Soul The Trouble with Pakistan's White Stripe Episode 2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00vbzq5
In a program aired on 7 September 2008 the anchor of the religious program 'Alam Online', Dr. Amir Liaquat Hussain--also former federal minister for religious affairs--declared the murder of Ahmadi sect members to be necessary (Wajib ul Qatal) according to Islamic teachings, because its followers don't believe in the last prophet, Mohammad, peace be upon him. Dr. Amir repeated his instruction several times, urging fundamentalists Muslims to kill without fear. While on air the anchor person also pressured the other two Islamic scholars (from two different sects) on the program to support the statement. This resulted in a unanimous decision among the scholars, on air during a popular television show, to urge lynching with the intent to kill. This was not a one-off. On September 9, Mr. Hussain answered a query with the comment that blasphemers are liable to be put to death. According to the information received, at 1:15pm on September 8, 18 hours after the broadcast, six persons entered the Fazle Umer Clinic, a two-story hospital at Mirpur Khas city and two of them went to the second floor and started pressuring 45 year-old Dr. Abdul Manan Siddiqui to come downstairs to attend to a patient in crisis. Dr. Manan left his office and descended into an ambush. He was shot 11 times and died on the spot. His private guard was also shot and is in a serious condition. A woman was also injured by firing. The killers remained at the hospital until the doctor was declared dead, then they walked out of the building's front entrance. Police registered the killers as unknown. On September 9, 48 hours after the broadcast, Mr. Yousaf, a 75 year-old rice trader and district chief of the Ahmadi sect was killed on his way to prayer in Nawab Shah, Sindh province. Yousaf was fired on from people on motor bikes, and sustained three bullet wounds. He died on the way to the hospital. The assailants had taken a route past a police station. No one was arrested. The Ahmadi sect was declared non-Islamic sect on September 7, 1974, through a constitutional amendment, and was labeled a minority sect. Since then, there has been open hatred of the sect by certain Islamic circles and fundamentalists across the Muslim world, and sect members suffer widespread discrimination. Ahmadi followers are not allowed to bury their dead in the ordinary grave yards of Muslims, and many of those buried before 1974 were shifted by fundamentalists. Since 1984 (when statistics have been compiled) around 93 Ahmadis have been killed for their allegiance to their sect, with four killed so far this year, including Dr. Ghulam Sarwar on March 19 in Faisalabad, Punjab province and Mr. Basharat Mughal on February 24 in Karachi. The Dr. Siddiqui is the 15th medical doctor killed since 1984. REFERENCES: PAKISTAN: Two persons murdered after an anchor person proposed the widespread lynching of Ahmadi sect followers September 10, 2008 http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-203-2008 PAKISTAN: No action taken against Geo TV presenter who incited Muslims to murder members of Pakistan minority on air September 18, 2008 http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-244-2008 Ahmadi massacre silence is dispiriting The virtual conspiracy of silence after the murder of 94 Ahmadis in Pakistan exposes the oppression suffered by the sect Declan Walsh guardian.co.uk, Monday 7 June 2010 14.59 BST http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/jun/07/ahmadi-massacre-silence-pakistan
Taliban Journalist of Jang Group Justify... by SalimJanMazari
Use and Abuse of the Blasphemy Laws http://www.scribd.com/doc/130592503/Use-and-Abuse-of-the-Blasphemy-Laws
The controversy surrounding television anchor and columnist Hamid Mir refuses to go away, and for good reason. Many questions remain unanswered. A purported telephone conversation between him and an unknown militant has shocked the country and the journalistic community in particular. If the person on the line is indeed Mr Mir, an explanation is in order about his possible ties with militant organisations. He must also answer allegations that the information he ostensibly provided may have contributed to the killing of Khalid Khawaja, a former ISI official belonging to the air force who had been abducted by the Taliban. Mr Khawaja, believed by many to be a Taliban sympathiser, is repeatedly described as a CIA agent by the man who sounds uncannily like Hamid Mir. Mr Khawaja and his wife are also held responsible in part for the bloodbath at Islamabad`s Lal Masjid. The person on the phone also spews venom of the vilest kind on the Ahmadi community. Slain Taliban leaders are referred to as martyrs. Mr Mir denies most of the conversation and has served legal notice on the paper that broke the story. He claims that he and the organisation that employs him are being victimised for their consistent criticism of the PPP government and President Zardari in particular. Hamid Mir, who is not short of detractors even within the media, also maintains that the audio `recording` is the work of the Intelligence Bureau which took a voice sample and then produced an entire conversation with the help of a “special gadget.” Mr Mir has every right to proclaim his innocence but that alone will not suffice. In this digital age it is child`s play for independent experts to confirm whether or not the voice on the tape is Mr Mir`s. It is just as simple to distinguish a doctored recording from an unedited conversation. The credibility of the media is at stake here. What is needed is an investigation that is carried out with an open mind and whose outcome is accepted and acted upon by all parties. This is imperative if allegations of unethical conduct by the media and charges of dirty tricks by the government are to be laid to rest.
REFERENCE: Hamid Mir saga 2010-05-20 00:00:00 http://www.dawn.com/news/843904/hamid-mir-saga
Taliban Journalist of Jang Group VS Bloggers... by SalimJanMazari
2009: Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, [commission of] or incitement to an offence. Every citizen, not being in the service of Pakistan, shall have the right to form or be a member of a political party,. REFERENCE: 1973 Constitution of Pakistan http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/part2.ch1.html One must raise objection on the comment of Mr Hamid Mir and Mr Ansar Abbasi that a blog http://letusbuildpakistan.blogspot.com/ carrying PPP flag!!! What does that mean? Should Pakistanis first have permission from GEO TV/Jang Group/The News International to utter something, or one has to ask for permission of GEO TV/Jang Group/The News International to exercise their Political Right that includes showing Flag of any political party. Both of the Top Journalists Mr Hamid Mir and Mr Ansar Abbasi were behaving as if we are living in Third Reich.
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