Even if a dog dies hungry on the banks of the River Euphrates, Umar will be responsible for dereliction of duty. ~ Hazrat Umar's (Razi Allah'tala Anhu) words on accountability.

More than 40 people have died in Kalar Kahar tragic incident. Most of them little kids returning from their school trip to famous tourist attraction. Irony is that these innocent lives were lost solely owing to criminal negligence of authorities and these authorities and the functionaries will be let off the hook.  

A Rock in Sajdah

Does anyone know the whereabouts of this rock?

World ignores a growing humanitarian crisis in Pakistan’s Sindh province where a second year of catastrophic floods has forced up to two million to flee their homes.

A man carries his daughters as he searches for higher ground after flood waters engulfed his house in the town of Khoski, in Badin

Help Sindh

The world is ignoring a growing humanitarian crisis in Pakistan’s Sindh province where a second year of catastrophic floods has forced up to two million to flee their homes.

They need our help

A town completely submerged

     

People recover belongings from their flooded shanties caused by heavy monsoon rains in Nawabshah

     

Keti Bunder

Pakistani children, displaced by floods, sleep outside their makeshift tent on the roadside in Keti Bandar near Thatta

A child displaced by floods sleeps on the ground outside his makeshift tent at a roadside in Keti Bandar near Thatta

Mirpurkhas...

Sindh floods caused by heavy rains have killed more than 200 people, made about 200,000 people homeless and left 4.2 million acres of agriculture land inundated with water, authorities said.

A girl displaced by floods sits beside her mother who suffering from diarrhea at their shanty in Mirpur Khas district, in Pakistan's Sindh province.

Children displaced by floods eat donated food at a camp near Mirpur Khas, in Pakistan's Sindh province, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011.

Badin...

The latest floods, triggered by monsoon rains, have killed more than 230 people, destroyed or damaged 1.2 million houses and flooded 4.5 million acres (1.8 million hectares) since late last month, officials and Western aid groups say. More than 300,000 people have been moved to shelters. Some 800,000 families hit by last year's floods are still homeless. Aid groups have warned of a growing risk of fatal diseases.

A boy, displaced by floods, is silhouetted by the water's edge after escaping to higher ground from his flooded village in the district on Badin in Pakistan's Sindh province September 17, 2011.

A man walks on a tree trunk while wading through flood waters in his village in the Badin district of Pakistan's Sindh province September 16, 2011.

Majda, a three-year-old flood victim suffering from diarrhea,. sit with her mother while seeking treatment at a civil hospital in the Badin district of Pakistan's Sindh province September 16, 2011.

Devastated :(

A boy waits for food handouts with other flood victims as they take refuge at a makeshift camp in Sukkur, inPakistan's Sindh province August 8, 2010. (REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro)

It could have been your or my child...

Flies cover the face of two-year-old flood victim Farhan in a relief camp in Sukkur, in Pakistan's Sindh province 2010. (Reuters)

BBC Reports on Sindh's floods

Pakistan floods: Two million hit by disease in Sindh

The continued rainfall has added to the threat caused by water-borne diseases

More than two million people in Pakistan are suffering from flood-related diseases following torrential rain in Sindh province, officials say.

More than 7,000 people are being treated for snake bites.

Aid agencies estimate that six million people have been affected by the floods and that cases of malaria and diarrhoea are increasing.

The UN's refugee agency says that the flooding is so bad that some areas will remain submerged for six months.

However the BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Pakistan says that the situation in the southern port city of Karachi is showing some sign of limping back to normal after three days of heavy downpours.

Our correspondent says that some schools whose premises were not flooded have managed to reopen after being closed for two days.

'Very serious'

But flooding elsewhere in the southern province of Sindh continues to give cause for...

(Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14931833)

2011's devastation from floods and rains in Sindh is even worse than 2010...

2010's picture of flood victims

Almost 4000 reported cases of Dengue virus in Punjab

Punjab and especially Lahore is struggling miserably in dealing with Dengue epidemic, however, Rana Sana Ullah (PML-N) and Raja Riaz (PPP) are going through their usual fits and declaring the Governor's House, Punjab a college for women and the Raiwind Palace, a zological garden, respectively. This shows how serious our leaders are for their people.  

Patients, who were suffering from dengue fever, lie under mosquito nets at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Lahore. 

Aleem Dar - a name all Pakistanis are proud of...

Aleem Dar, who is 43 and from Pakistan, was voted to this award by the 10 Full Member captains as well as the eight-man Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, based on his decision statistics and officiating skills over the past 12 months.

It is the third year in a row that he has received the ICC award which was renamed last year after the late England umpire David Shepherd*.

Dar accepted his award from ICC Hall of Fame 2011 inductee Alan Davidson and said: “It’s a great honour and I’m thankful to everyone at the ICC and also my colleagues on the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires along with the Pakistan Cricket Board. I’d like to also thank all my family for all their support since I’m away nearly eight months of the year umpiring.” 

Dar beat off strong competition from his colleagues on the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires Steve Davis, Ian Gould and five-time ICC Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel. Dar, who made his international debut as an umpire in 2000, joined the Emirates Elite Panel in 2004. In the voting period of these awards, Dar stood in five Tests and 13 ODIs. He stood in the ICC Cricket World Cup in the India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, where he was an on-field umpire in eight of the matches, including the final between India and Sri Lanka...

(Source: http://www.espnstar.com/rss-feed/detail/item673048/)

20 million people affected in Sindh's floods, await help from the World

According to Pakistani government data the floods directly affected about 20 million people, property, livelihood and infrastructure, with a death toll of close to 2,000. 

Kids in Islamabad studying at roadside park

Pakistani poor children from Islamabad's slums study at a roadside park in Pakistan. People voluntarily provides education to these underprivileged children mostly street kids.

Floods in Sindh and Baluchistan

Five million people have been affected by floods in the Pakistani provinces of Baluchistan and Sindh, according to regional officials. At least 133 people have been killed, officials said, and the number is expected to rise. About 900 villages have been submerged and about 100,000 homes have been completely destroyed.

Aise Dastoor Ko ...

Open Letter to the Honourable Chief Justice of Baluchistan.

This is with reference to the news item “Kharotabad report to be kept secret” in DAWN’s issue of June 28, 2011, page 14 by Saleem Shahid and Amanullah Kansi. It reports that the Baluchistan Government has decided not to implement the recommendations and also not to make public the findings of the tribunal - investigating the killings of five foreigners three of them women by our security personnel at Kharotabad Chekpost.

As per the news item, an official of Baluchistan Government has stated that, “the recommendations of the report could not be fully implemented owing to the fact the foreigners entered in Pakistan illegally, the security personnel have acted in self-defense for the foreigners were terrorists and the media could exploit the recommendations, therefore the report would not be made public”.

It is pertinent to mention, that as per statements of the witnesses and other concerned people, which include police officials, Frontier Corps and journalists, it has transpired that no orders to fire on the foreigners were given, however, the five victims have received 56 bullets and died of gunshots.

Anyone who has seen the footages of this gruesome and heartrending incident can tell that the victims were tied up and they were shot from close range. There were no signs of suicide vests, weapons or explosives, which is clearly a concoction of our authorities. Obviously, the victims must have been arrested and then tied up and God knows what ordeals they went through before they were shot mercilessly.

Question is, how was this crime then carried out in the name of self-defense and does anyone defending himself from someone whose hands and feet are tied and who does not even has a stone in his or her hands? Why after spraying hundreds of bullets on them no detonators or explosives went off? Why the footages and pictures submitted before the tribunal show no proof such weapons? Why the authorities have threatened and manhandled the police surgeon and the cameraman? Whoever issued the orders to shoot and declared them terrorists, will have answers to all our questions.

Now that answers to these questions are known and the independent commission has concluded its findings why is the Baluchistan Government not making it public and not implementing the recommendations of the tribunal?

The Baluchistan Government and the authorities involved and responsible in this issue have forgotten that the acts of public functionaries are and would always remain subject to the Constitution and the law, which they must apply impartially and without fear, favour or prejudice.

The extra-ordinary circumstances of this incident, the decision of the Baluchistan Government of not implementing the recommendations of the independent tribunal and not making the findings public have rendered it essential for me to humbly request the Honourable Chief Justice of Baluchistan, on behalf of the five victims and the seven month old baby carried by one of the victims, all those who feel that no man should be condemned unheard and no man should be a judge in his own cause and all those who also strongly believe that, “Courts should be the final arbiter and protector of the constitutional norms” to convert my request into a petition and direct the authorities to make the report public and implement all the recommendations so that all those who are responsible for this cruelty should be held to account.

My Lordship (Honourable Chief Justice of Baluchistan), every time the footage of the victims comes to my mind, the waving finger of one the victims tells me that I have a responsibility and Almighty will hold me accountable for not fulfilling that responsibility.

Sincerely,

Asim H. Akhund

MQM - A Terrorist Organization - UNHCR

Pakistan: Information on Mohajir/Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Altaf (MQM-A)

Query:

Provide information on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Altaf (MQM-A) in Pakistan.

Response:

SUMMARY

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Altaf (MQM-A) has been widely accused of human rights abuses since its founding two decades ago. It claims to represent Mohajirs— Urdu-speaking Muslims who fled to Pakistan from India after the 1947 partition of the subcontinent, and their descendants.

In the mid-1990s, the MQM-A was heavily involved in the widespread political violence that wracked Pakistan's southern Sindh province, particularly Karachi, the port city that is the country's commercial capital. MQM-A militants fought government forces, breakaway MQM factions, and militants from other ethnic-based movements. In the mid-1990s, the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International, and others accused the MQM-A and a rival faction of summary killings, torture, and other abuses (see, e.g., AI 1 Feb 1996; U.S. DOS Feb 1996). The MQM-A routinely denied involvement in violence.

BACKGROUND

The current MQM-A is the successor to a group called the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) that was founded by Altaf Hussein in 1984 as a student movement to defend the rights of Mohajirs, who by some estimates make up 60 percent of Karachi's population of twelve million. At the time, Mohajirs were advancing in business, the professions, and the bureaucracy, but many resented the quotas that helped ethnic Sindhis win university slots and civil service jobs. Known in English as the National Movement for Refugees, the MQM soon turned to extortion and other types of racketeering to raise cash. Using both violence and efficient organizing, the MQM became the dominant political party in Karachi and Hyderabad, another major city in Sindh. Just three years after its founding, the MQM came to power in these and other Sindh cities in local elections in 1987 (AI 1 Feb 1996; U.S. DOS Feb 1997, Feb 1999; HRW Dec 1997).

The following year, the MQM joined a coalition government at the national level headed by Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which took power in elections following the death of military leader General Zia ul-Haq. This marked the first of several times in the 1980s and 1990s that the MQM joined coalition governments in Islamabad or in Sindh province. Meanwhile, violence between the MQM and Sindhi groups routinely broke out in Karachi and other Sindh cities (AI 1 Feb 1996; Jane's 14 Feb 2003).

In 1992, a breakway MQM faction, led by Afaq Ahmed and Aamir Khan, launched the MQM Haqiqi (MQM-H), literally the "real" MQM. Many Pakistani observers alleged that the MQM-H was supported by the government of Pakistan to weaken the main MQM led by Altaf Hussein, which became known as the MQM-A (Jane's 14 Feb 2003). Several smaller MQM factions also emerged, although most of the subsequent intra-group violence involved the MQM-A and the MQM-H (AI 1 Feb 1996; U.S. DOS Feb 1999; Jane's 14 Feb 2003).

Political violence in Sindh intensified in 1993 and 1994 (Jane's 14 Feb 2003). In 1994, fighting among MQM factions and between the MQM and Sindhi nationalist groups brought almost daily killings in Karachi (U.S. DOS Feb 1995). By July 1995, the rate of political killings in the port city reached an average of ten per day, and by the end of that year more than 1,800 had been killed (U.S. DOS Feb 1996).

The violence in Karachi and other cities began abating in 1996 as soldiers and police intensified their crackdowns on the MQM-A and other groups (Jane's 14 Feb 2003). Pakistani forces resorted to staged "encounter killings" in which they would shoot MQM activists and then allege that the killings took place during encounters with militants (U.S. DOS Feb 1996). Following a crackdown in 1997, the MQM-A adopted its present name, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, or United National Movement, which also has the initials MQM (HRW Dec 1997).

MQM-A leader Hussein fled in 1992 to Britain, where he received asylum in 1999 (Jane's 14 Feb 2003). The MQM-A is not on the U.S. State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations (U.S. DOS 23 May 2003).

While the multifaceted nature of the violence in Sindh province in the 1980s and 1990s at times made it difficult to pinpoint specific abuses by the MQM-A, the group routinely was implicated in rights abuses. In 1992 after the Sindh government called in the army to crack down on armed groups in the province, facilities were discovered that allegedly were used by the MQM-A to torture and at times kill dissident members and activists from rival groups. In 1996, Amnesty International said that the PPP and other parties were reporting that some of their activists had been tortured and killed by the MQM-A (AI 1 Feb 1996).

The MQM-A and other factions also have been accused of trying to intimidate journalists. In one of the most flagrant cases, in 1990 MQM leader Hussein publicly threatened the editor of the monthly NEWSLINE magazine after he published an article on the MQM's alleged use of torture against dissident members (U.S. DOS Feb 1991). The following year, a prominent journalist, Zafar Abbas, was severely beaten in Karachi in an attack that was widely blamed on MQM leaders angered over articles by Abbas describing the party's factionalization. The same year, MQM activists assaulted scores of vendors selling DAWN, Pakistan's largest English-language newspaper, and other periodicals owned by Herald Publications (U.S. DOS Feb 1992).

The MQM-A has also frequently called strikes in Karachi and other cities in Sindh province and used killings and other violence to keep shops closed and people off the streets. During strikes, MQM-A activists have ransacked businesses that remained open and attacked motorists and pedestrians who ventured outside (U.S. DOS Feb 1996; Jane's 14 Feb 2003).

The MQM-A allegedly raises funds through extortion, narcotics smuggling, and other criminal activities. In addition, Mohajirs in Pakistan and overseas provide funds to the MQM-A through charitable foundations (Jane's 14 Feb 2003).

Since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States, the MQM-A has been increasingly critical of Islamic militant groups in Pakistan. The MQM-A, which generally has not targeted Western interests, says that it supports the global campaign against terrorism (Jane's 14 Feb 2003).

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RIC within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References:

Amnesty International (AI). HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS IN KARACHI (1 Feb 1996, ASA 33/01/96), http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA330011996?open&of=ENG-PAK [Accessed 6 Feb 2004]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). WORLD REPORT 1998, "Pakistan" (Dec 1997), http://www.hrw.org/worldreport/Asia-09.htm#P823_214912 [Accessed 6 Feb 2004]

Jane's Information Group (Jane's). JANE'S WORLD INSURGENCY AND TERRORISM-17, "Muthida [sic] Qaumi Movement (MQM-A)" (14 Feb 2003), http://www.janes.com [Accessed 6 Feb 2004]

U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). "Foreign Terrorist Organizations" (23 May 2003), http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2003/12389.htm [Accessed 6 Feb 2004]

U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1998, "Pakistan" (Feb 1999), http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1998_hrp_report/pakistan.html [Accessed 6 Feb 2004]

U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1996, "Pakistan" (Feb 1997), http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1996_hrp_report/pakistan.html [Accessed 6 Feb 2004]

U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1995, "Pakistan" (Feb 1996), http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/democracy/1995_hrp_report/95hrp_report_sasia/Pakistan.html [Accessed 6 Feb 2004]

U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1994, "Pakistan" (Feb 1995), http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/democracy/1994_hrp_report/94hrp_report_sasia/Pakistan.html [Accessed 6 Feb 2004]

U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1991, "Pakistan" (Feb 1992).

U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1990, "Pakistan" (Feb 1991).

Attachments:

Jane's Information Group (Jane's). JANE'S WORLD INSURGENCY AND TERRORISM-17, "Muthida [sic] Qaumi Movement (MQM-A)" (14 Feb 2003), http://www.janes.com [Accessed 6 Feb 2004]

Source: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/414fe5aa4.html

Karachi Burning - Appeal For De-Weaponisation of Karachi

Eight-year-old Sumayya, whose uncle, Imran Ali, was injured in a shootout by unidentified gunmen, looks at him as he is brought to a hospital for treatment in Karachi August 23, 2011.

Karachi faced a complete shutdown on Tuesday after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) announced that a day of mourning would be observed against the ongoing wave of violence that has claimed nearly 100 lives in less than a week, local media reported.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR2QMR8

Canadian courts have ruled the MQM party meets the legal definition of a terrorist organization.

Judge orders deportation of Pakistani party chief

Stewart Bell

National Post

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

The head of the Quebec branch of a Pakistani political party is facing deportation after the Federal Court of Canada ruled he belonged to an organization that committed terrorism.

The judge upheld the deportation of Mohammed Kashif Omer, a resident of Montreal, on the grounds he is a member of the Mothaidda Quami Movement, or MQM.

It is the second time this year Canadian courts have ruled the MQM party meets the legal definition of a terrorist organization.

Mr. Omer is one of dozens of Pakistanis whom Canadian immigration authorities are trying to deport because of their involvement in the MQM.

Despite being blamed for the kidnapping, torture and murder of its political rivals in Pakistan, the MQM has opened a Canadian branch called MQM-Canada.

Members of the group have worked on Conservative election campaigns, met Prime Minister Stephen Harper and recently hosted a conference in Calgary.

Conservative MP Art Hanger spoke at the June 8-10 MQM Canada convention, which was attended by several Pakistanis who are being deported for their alleged involvement in terrorism. Mr. Hanger said he did not support the group. Conservative MLA Shiraz Shariff also attended. He said yesterday he was unaware Canadian courts had deemed the MQM a terrorist organization. "Why are we as a nation then allowing them to have a congregation here?" he said.

Among the speakers at the convention was Mr. Omer, who presented a report on the "achievements and future strategy" of the Montreal office of MQM, according to the group's Web Site.

Mr. Omer has no immigration status in Canada. A Canada Border Services Agency spokesman, Erik Paradis, said the court ruling means that the deportation order against Mr. Omer is now in effect.

The MQM is a Pakistani political party that is part of President Pervez Musharraf's ruling coalition. The Canadian MQM branch has never been accused of illegal activities but in Pakistan the party has been blamed for widespread violence, most recently in May when gunfights between the MQM and anti-government demonstrators left more than 40 dead.

MQM officials deny any role in attacks and say they are victims of misinformation spread by Pakistani authorities. Canada's Security Intelligence Review Committee has been looking into complaints from MQM members that immigration authorities have unfairly branded them as terrorists.

Mr. Omer came to Canada in 1998 and was granted refugee status but in 2005 immigration officials said he could not remain in Canada "because he knowingly and for a long period of time belonged to an organization that has engaged in terrorism."

In Pakistan, Mr. Omer had been a member of the MQM and its student wing from 1987 to 1998. He denied any involvement with the MQM in Canada but eventually acknowledged he was in charge of the MQM's Quebec office.

The Immigration and Refugee Board said "Mr. Omer's reasons for trying to hide that, in Canada, he is responsible for the Montreal section of the MQM-Canada lead me to believe that he knew that his party was committing many violent acts."

He appealed the decision to the Federal Court, arguing that the MQM is not a terrorist organization and that the violence was committed by rogue elements in the party, but the court was not convinced.

sbell@nationalpost.com

© National Post 2007

Source:

http://www2.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=c045bc85-f122-423e-bcad-8cc6f2f20031

Division of Sub-Continent the Greatest Blunder - Altaf Hussain in Delhi

MQM claims that Pakistan was created owing to the sacrifice of Mohajirs, however, their leader believe that the creation of Pakistan and the sacrifices for Pakistan were the greatest blunder in the history. The video appended is Altaf Hussain's speech in Delhi in 2005.

Dr. Zulfiquar Mirza - Facts or Figments

While a lot has been discussed, commented, opined and concluded on Dr. Zulfiquar Mirza saga, there is a need to tell what public feels about it. Before discussing the above, few things about the political outfit which received Mirza’s scathing statements, need to be agreed.

This outfit has in the past and recent times, innumerably, been branded a fascist party which controls and derives its strength through striking fear in the hearts and minds of its people. It is an outfit that has and continues to strive and thrive on breeding terror, fear and hatred amongst people. Needless to mention some events such as torture and killing of an army captain, murder of an ex-governor Sindh, running militant wings within the outfit, May 12, 2007, April 9, 2008, and very recently the violence in Karachi which was a reaction to Mirza’s remarks at the dinner hosted by one of the members of Sindh Assembly. Most of us believe that the followers/supporters of this outfit live their lives like its hostages and are very afraid of admitting, openly, its innate firebrandedness.

Without commenting on the motives of Mirza saga, we must have the courage to admit that whatever Mirza has said about this outfit only proves the above sentiments of people towards this outfit and he is the first person to have exposed this outfit in public that too with evidence which he is willing to give to the courts if asked.

I have considerable respect for a person who has done things in the interest of his nation, especially when they are done by someone who has put all his super privileges and importantly his existence at stake. Moreover, if that person is from a party which is not even committed to unearth the murder of their own party leader.

Apolitical people of this country have hailed Mirza’s courage, which by the passage of time, be emulated by many others.