Day: March 13, 2012

By Azam Khan

ISLAMABAD: Some good has come out of Pakistan Peoples Party MPA contender Waheeda Shah’s case of assaulting polling officers. The case which has set a precedent for investigating other disturbing incidents of violence by politicians against civil servants.

A similar incident in Sargodha, Punjab, has now pushed the Supreme Court into investigating the widespread nature of such incidents. Taking suo motu action against the severe torture of a school teacher in Sargodha, the apex court has sought a report from the establishment secretary and all four provincial chief secretaries regarding measures taken to protect the lives, dignity and job security of civil servants.

The decision to take action was made during an SC hearing of Shah’s case on Monday, after she was disqualified from holding public office for two years by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed that a school teacher had been subjected to physical torture by father of serving Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Awais Madhyana and ex-MPA himself, Aslam Madhyana. As a result of the assault, the teacher suffered two fractured legs and is currently undergoing treatment.

The chief justice directed the Punjab Inspector General of Police to investigate the matter personally and submit a report about the incident. He also directed him to inform the court as to whether Sargodha’s District Police Officer, Dr Rizwan, had been transferred to Gilgit-Baltistan, because he had intended to take action against Madhyana.

The provincial police chief will submit a report on the next date of hearing, March 28.

In addition, the court has also decided to take up a petition filed by District Management Group Officer Anita Turab regarding the protection of civil servants. Initially, the petition had been filed with regard to Waheeda Shah’s case. However, the court decided to now take it up as a constitutional petition rather than clubbing it with suo motu action against Shah.

In their line of duty

While seeking reports from the establishment secretary and others, the court asked them to suggest ways to protect the fundamental rights of civil servants.

“It is the considered opinion of this court that persons, who are in the civil service are bound to follow lawful orders,” the court observed, adding it had been noticed that whenever civil servants follow lawful orders, they face resistance from political quarters and are often humiliated through transfers and baseless disciplinary proceedings.

Shoulder promotion

Meanwhile, Mirpur Khas Deputy Inspector General of Police Ghulam Haider Jamali appeared before the court to provide updates on progress in the Shah case of assault. When the court has inquired about the status of Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Syed Irfan Ali Shah, in whose presence the assault had taken place, Jamali failed to provide a satisfactory explanation. He did state, however, that the SDPO had only been appointed to the post because of a shortage of officers, although he had initially been an inspector.

The court order strictly forbade such “shoulder promotions” of an unconstitutional nature, stating that it expected all inspectors general of police and chief secretaries of provinces to demote officials who received shoulder promotions back to their original ranks, and to promote them purely on the basis of merit.

The Express Tribune

LAHORE: Additional District and Sessions Judge Munir Ahmed has sought comments from the Defence-A station house officer (SHO) for March 15 on a petition filed by an actress seeking a case against a colleague for harassment and threatening behaviour.

Petitioner Noureen Ali submitted that she had worked with Muhammad Imran in a television drama serial four months ago and he had obtained her mobile phone number. She said that Imran began making unwanted calls to her and her mother, after which she submitted a complaint against him to Super Town police. Ali said that Imran then began making abusive phone calls to her and members of her family on their mobile phones. He also threatened to throw acid on her. She said that on February 16, Imran and two unidentified men forced their way into her house and abused her.

She said they fled after she made a hue and cry. She said she then approached Defence-A police station, but the SHO did not pay heed to her complaint. She asked the court to direct the SHO to register a case against Imran for invading her home and threatening her.

The Express Tribune

By Manzoor Ali

PESHAWAR: Between Oscar night and March 8 this year women from Pakistan stamped their influence on the US citadels of entertainment and power. Social activist Shad Begum from Lower Dir district took her International Women of Courage Award exactly 11 days after Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy accepted an Academy Award for her documentary on acid attack victims.

Shad’s feat – celebrated with less fanfare than Sharmeen’s Oscar though it was held in the US capital – was just as significant, marking the second high-profile award of late for a woman from Malakand. The region may be grappling with the trauma of years of war, but female leaders are carving out new territory for the next generation.

First was the outspoken teenager from Swat, Malala Yousafzai, who received a peace award from Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. And then came Shad Begum’s award, handed to her by US First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a ceremony in Washington.

Shad Begum hails from Talash town about 20 kilometres south of Lower Dir’s district headquarters, Timergarah. Interestingly, Shad Begum’s launch of NGO Anjuman Behbod-e-Khawateen Talash (ABKT) in 1994 coincided with Sufi Muhammad, leader of Tehrik Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi, leading an uprising for the enforcement of Sharia laws in the region.

The trajectories of both movements make an interesting study, as the former brought positive global recognition for this conservative region, while the other ended in bloodshed and devastation.

Born in 1978, Shad Begum started her work at an early age after matriculation. She got a master’s degree in Urdu from the University of Malakand and is currently doing an MBA at the University of Peshawar.

Jan Mohammad, Shad Begum’s husband, says his wife is part of a lineage of service. “There was a tradition of social work in our family, and Shad Begum carried on that tradition,” he told The Express Tribune. Jan said that his father-in-law has been doing social work for the local community since 1971.

“In 1992, he founded Idara Khidmat-e-Khalq (IKK) for welfare and development in Talash; however, he also wanted to do something for women in the area and this was not possible through an all-male organisation,” Jan said.

Thus ABKT was set up. Initially, it worked on health, education and micro-finance facilities for women. Over the years it extended its operations to reconstruction, relief and rehabilitation.

The organisation currently operates in about 12 districts in the province, but, according to Jan, Upper and Lower Dir, Shangla and Swat constitute its core areas.

Jan said that ABKT’s basic aim was to work on women and family issues, as they could not be addressed through other organisations given the area’s cultural sensitivities. In 2008, the organisation came to Peshawar due to the insurgency in Malakand, and its name was also changed to Association for Behaviour & Knowledge Transformation.

Shad Begum had the full support of her family throughout this period. “Her father motivated her, brothers supported her and I also support her work, and she never had problems with her family,” Jan said.

However, Jan acknowledged that there had been some issues. This perhaps led to his wife contesting the district councillor’s election for the area on a Jamaat-e-Islami seat. “It means her work was acceptable to religious elements of the area,” Jan said.

Fayyaz Mohammad, programme manager at ABKT, did admit that the organisation faced difficulties in the area from time to time.

Not surprisingly, few politicians have ever heard of Shad. A PPP politician from Malakand claimed that he knew Shad Bibi. “She was a councilor in the region. Her father was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami,” Mahmud Zeb, provincial minister for Technical Education, told The Express Tribune. “She hasn’t done anything for the region.”

Zeb, however, called upon women to follow in Shad Bibi’s footsteps while “observing the Islamic dress code”.

About the award, Jan said the family were delighted, but would have been happier if she had been recognised in her own country.

Shad Mohammad, her brother, was of the view that the honour was an acknowledgment for her work and role among the people of Malakand. He added that the work his sister embarked upon was previously unheard of in the area, as most women become teachers.

Shad Begum’s colleagues are equally proud, it seems. “She is a brave, talented and visionary woman who has done a lot for the welfare of women in the area,” said Aurganzeb Khan, an employee at ABKT.

The Express Tribune

Tahir Siddiqui

KARACHI: The girl who has become embroiled in a conversion controversy was on Monday sent to a state-run shelter by the Sindh High Court with the direction to its administration not to allow her parents or the man who claims to be her husband to meet her till March 26 when she will be produced before the Supreme Court.

A single bench headed by Justice Shahid Anwer Bajwah was seized with the petition of Raj Kumar for the recovery of his teenage maternal niece, Rinkle Kumari, who, according to him, was kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam before being married off to Syed Naveed Shah.

At the outset of the hearing, the court had to rise for a brief interval as a large number of relatives of the couple and lawyers packed the courtroom and raised slogans when the girl was produced in court amidst tight security.

The judge observed in his order that it did not need to be emphasised that the atmosphere was extremely charged. He said scores of people almost lost control when the allegedly abducted girl was produced in court.

The judge put off the recording of Ms Kumari’s statement till the next hearing observing that it was difficult to visualise anyone exercising his or her free will in such an atmosphere.

The petitioner, represented by Advocates Rasheed A. Razvi and Noor Naz Agha, claimed that his niece was abducted on Feb 24 by Syed Naveed Shah and a case (FIR No 21/2012) was lodged against the suspect at the Mirpur Mathelo police station.

He said that she was produced before the area magistrate on Feb 25 and handed over to the SHO who was also directed by the court not to allow anyone, including the parents, to meet her.

The petitioner stated that his niece was again produced on Feb 27 before the judicial magistrate, who allowed her to go with Mr Shah.

The petitioner’s counsel referred to the March 8 Supreme Court order directing the Sindh police chief to take all steps for the recovery of three abducted Hindu women, including Ms Kumari, and produce them in court on March 26.

Advocate Razvi contended that the real question involving the two parties was whether the petitioner was abducted and forced into conversion and marriage or whether she did so voluntarily.

He submitted that the judicial magistrate passed the order in a very charged atmosphere and there was a serious danger to the life of Ms Kumari as Mr Shah belonged to the community of a sitting MNA, also a Pir.

The counsel stated that the girl was surrounded by armed persons even when she appeared before the media during a press conference.

Advocate Razvi said that an atmosphere of intimidation was created around the abducted girl when she was produced before the judicial magistrate for recording her statement. He said that it would not be appropriate to pass an order on the basis of her statement given in such an atmosphere.

Advocate Junaid Farooqi, counsel for respondent Syed Naveed Shah, submitted that Ms Kumari was the lawfully wedded wife of his client and it was not a clash between two religious communities. He blamed the media for blowing up the issue out of all proportion.

Advocate Ghulam Qadir appearing for the girl stated that as an adult and sui juris — or independent — she was entitled to liberties under the law.

The girl told newsmen during a press conference on Sunday that she embraced Islam without any coercion and married Syed Naveed Shah of her own accord. She identified herself as Syeda Faryal Bibi.

Advocate General Abdul Fateh Malik submitted that in view of the charged atmosphere surrounding the case it would be appropriate if the girl was kept in state custody.

In his order, the judge observed: “In this situation of charged atmosphere it is difficult to visualize as to how anyone can exercise his or her free will. Even an advocate stated that a particular religious seminary intends to file an application under Order 1 Rule 10 CPC.

Intimidation is not necessarily always a physical act but the ambience created could also have the effect of intimidation. Given such situation, it would not be appropriate at this state to record her statement and it would in the fitness of things if she is kept isolated from both the contending parties. Consequently, the alleged abductee is ordered to be lodged at Panah Shelter Home. Inspector General of Police, Sindh, is directed to ensure that she is provided full and proper security. It shall also be ensured that no one, not even either from parents’ side or from her husband’s side, is allowed to meet her during this entire period and she is directed to be produced before the Honourable Supreme Court as ordered by the Honourable Supreme Court on 26-3-2012.”

The judge adjourned the hearing to March 29.

Dawn

ALLEGATIONS of the forced conversion of young Hindu women in Sindh, endorsed by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, bring to light yet again the dilemma faced by the minority Hindu community.

Many families say they live in fear and insecurity as reportedly some 20 young girls are said to convert to Islam on a monthly basis. Each incident begins with allegations of kidnapping and forced conversions levelled by the affected family and ends in the girl in question being produced in a court of law to declare that she has converted of her own free will. Such court hearings take place under highly tense circumstances, where police and armed Islamists are said to threaten the complainants of dire consequences, and the ‘converted’ woman is not allowed to meet her family members or community elders.

Observing this repeated pattern and the coercion involved, the HRCP is right in questioning the veracity of such conversions. Why is it only young women of marriageable age, and not male members of the Hindu community, who nearly always convert under dubious circumstances, ask human rights activists. Reports of Hindu families migrating to India and elsewhere also surface from time to time, with fear and insecurity cited as the main reason for the move. The Sindh Assembly may have taken up the issue for a summary debate recently, but the provincial government has remained silent on the treatment of minorities, a general state of apathy being the unfortunate norm.

The law and order situation in Sindh leaves much to be desired. Kidnapping for ransom in cities and towns remains high; in the hinterland, especially where minorities are concerned, the practice also involves the abduction of women by those with any feudal power for reasons based in sheer lust and debauchery. In case the girl belongs to a minority faith, the crime committed often finds a ready alibi in claims of conversion, with the local mullahs mobilised to lend support to these. The law, even when it takes its logical course under the charged circumstances, is nearly always seen to take the convenient route: it endorses the ‘conversion’ and lets the girl go with her alleged abductor. This painful pattern, without any hope of redress or sincere investigation, has left the Hindu community in duress. The government must take up the issue with due urgency, and heed the advice of rights groups to take the women involved in protective custody pending a full investigation into alleged abduction and forced conversions. Democratic norms and plain decency demand that justice be served regardless of the faith of the parties involved.

Dawn