Pakistani army launches offensive in North Waziristan

Pakistani army launches offensive in North Waziristan PHOTO: AFP/FILE ISLAMABAD: Residents of North Waziristan accused troops on Monday of killing dozens of civilians during a military operation against militants. The operation started just after a December 18 suicide bomb attack on a checkpoint in North Waziristan. Speculation that the army might launch a major offensive in the frontier tribal areas has been building as the government’s attempts to engage the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in peace talks have floundered in recent months. Military officials said more than 30 militants, most of them ethnic Uzbeks, had been killed...

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Pashto films are destroying Pashtun culture

Pashto films are destroying Pashtun culture The Pashtun lifestyle does not accommodate such fantasy depictions of love and bravery. ILLUSTRATION: JAMAL KHURSHEED “Khandani Badmaash, Bewaqoof, Sharabi, Wehshi Badmaash, Ujrati, Charsi, Dama, Mastay Jenakai, Gandagir!” No, I am not abusing you. I am only naming a few of the famous films Pashto cinema has produced over the year. What is even more astonishing is that Pashtuns are known for their distinct code of conduct called the Pakhtunwali, which is quite different from what these movies depict. The Pashtun culture is an amalgamation of different...

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Resetting Karachi’s politico-demographic equilibrium

Resetting Karachi’s politico-demographic equilibrium Looking for a context for explaining the continuing turmoil and violence in Karachi, it may be appropriate to coin a term: politico-equilibrium. Systems that are not in equilibrium become unstable and instability can lead to breakdown. What threw Karachi out of equilibrium were two processes, one feeding on the other. The city has expanded dramatically ever since it was chosen as Pakistan’s capital. And, continuation of unsettled politics in the country meant that the city was not able to govern itself by developing viable instruments of governance. Let us first look at the demographic side of this equation. The arrival of a couple of million urban refugees into Karachi from India was not the only demographic shock received by what...

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Bitten by a snake the snake charmer

Bitten by a snake the snake charmer Terrorist attacks will not be tolerated: Army Chief General Raheel Sharif General Raheel Sharif pays his respects. PHOTO: APP PESHAWAR: Two days after the army went on a retaliatory blitz in North Waziristan where a checkpost had been attacked by a truck bomb, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif on Saturday reaffirmed that the military will not tolerate terror attacks and that such attacks be responded effectively. Paying a visit to the Corps Headquarters in Peshawar on Saturday, the COAS assured army’s full support to the government’s ongoing peace process. He appreciated...

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Senior Tibetan Monk Beaten to Death in Chinese Police Custody

Senior Tibetan Monk Beaten to Death in Chinese Police Custody Geshe Ngawang Jamyang leads prayers in an undated photo.  Photo courtesy of an RFA listener Chinese police have beaten to death a senior Tibetan monk less than a month after talking him into custody with two friends while they were vacationing in Tibet’s regional capital Lhasa, according to sources.Geshe Ngawang Jamyang, a popular religious teacher who had trained for many years at a monastery in India before returning to Tibet, was a leading instructor at Tarmoe monastery in Nagchu (in Chinese, Naqu) prefecture’s Driru (Biru) county before he was detained on...

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Opium Production in Golden Triangle Rising Rapidly

Opium Production in Golden Triangle Rising Rapidly Poppies grow in a field in northern Laos, as seen in a file photo from the UNODC.  AFP PHOTO/UNODC Opium production in Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle region increased rapidly in 2013, the U.N. has said, warning of high drug use in poppy-growing villages in Myanmar and Laos. Opium production in Myanmar is at the highest level in over a decade, while in neighboring Laos, poppy cultivation has leveled off but remains a concern, according the latest survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Together, the two countries produced 893 metric tons of opium—a...

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PAKISTAN- Pakistan, appeal for Christian girl kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam

PAKISTANPakistan, appeal for Christian girl kidnapped and forced to convert to Islamby Shafique KhokharTo date, the police refuses to liberate the girl, despite the repeated requests of the family. Mary Salik (fictitious name) was kidnapped last May 4 near Faisalabad by an uncle who had converted to Islam. The girl's father denounces conspiracy against his family: "My daughter has heart problems and was kidnapped by deception".  Faisalabad (AsiaNews) - The family of Mary Salik (fictional name for security reasons)  asks for justice for the 14 year old Christian girl, kidnapped last May 4 in Ali (Faisalabad, Punjab) and forced to convert...

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PAKISTAN- The drama of Farah Hatim, common to many women in Pakistan

PAKISTAN The drama of Farah Hatim, common to many women in Pakistan by Jibran KhanA 24 year old Christian kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam and marry her kidnapper. In court later she says it was voluntarily, to protect her family. Hundreds of similar cases occur every year in Pakistan, denounced by the commission for Justice and Peace. Islamabad (AsiaNews) - Farah Hatim, a Christian woman of 24, resident in Yar Khan in southern Punjab, was abducted on 8 May by Zeehan Ilyas and his brothers Umran and Gulfam and was forced to convert and marry her kidnapper, The Catholic Church and human rights organizations have condemned...

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PAKISTAN- Hindu girl tells Supreme Court she would rather die than convert to Islam

PAKISTANHindu girl tells Supreme Court she would rather die than convert to Islamby Jibran KhanSeized by an influential Muslim, with the "political cover" of an elected official, 19 year old Rinkel Kumari launches a desperate appeal to the courts. “Justice is denied Hindus in Pakistan” and therefore asks to" kill me here "in the courtroom. The family, after reporting to police, forced to leave the village in Sindh. Each year there are 300 forced marriages and conversions  Islamabad (AsiaNews) - "In Pakistan there is justice only for Muslims, justice is denied Hindus. Kill me here, now, in court. But do not send me back to the Darul-Aman...

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Pet snake's hiss - to be your own master

Pet Snake's Hiss - to be Your Own Master VIP culture: JuD chief’s petition referred to larger bench Jamatud Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. PHOTO: EXPRESS LAHORE:  A single bench of the Lahore High Court on Thursday referred Jamatud Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed’s petition regarding “VIP culture” to the chief justice so he could fix it before a full bench. After Justice Ayesha A Malik heard preliminary arguments by Saeed’s counsel on Thursday, she referred the matter to the chief justice, saying a full bench should be constituted to deal with the matter. The petitioner said public functionaries “lived like kings and princes...

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Pakistani immigrant sues US over suspectable arrest in war on terrorism

Pakistani immigrant sues US over suspectable arrest in war on terrorism Pakistani immigrant sues US over false arrest in war on terrorism. PHOTO: FILE ORLANDO: A Pakistani immigrant who says he was held for more than 10 months in solitary confinement after being suspected arrested on terrorism charges has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Miami, saying he was a victim of “overzealousness” in the US war on terrorism. Irfan Khan, a 40-year-old Muslim, emigrated to the United States from Pakistan in 1994 and is a naturalised US citizen. He is the son of a 78-year-old south Florida imam who was sentenced to 25 years in prison...

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In-camera session: SC orders meeting between Justice Muslim, missing persons on Dec 7

In-camera session: SC orders meeting between Justice Muslim, missing persons on Dec 7 Defence minister submits list of missing persons, says not a single person is in military's custody. PHOTO: FILE ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the defence authorities to present the missing persons before Justice Ameer Hani Muslim for an in-camera session at 9am on December 7, Express News reported. A three-member bench which includes Justice Muslim heard the case today in Islamabad under the supervision of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The court said that the attorney general can also question the missing...

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ASWJ's Maulana Shamsur Rehman killed in Lahore

ASWJ's Maulana Shamsur Rehman killed in Lahore Unidentified men opened fire at his car. PHOTO: FILE LAHORE: Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) leader Maulana Shamsur Rehman Muawiya has been killed in Lahore, Express News reported on Friday. Unidentified men opened fire at his car near Batti Chowk. He had been going home after Friday prayers from Muhammadi Masjid. According to initial details, the ASWJ leader was shot in the head. His body has been sent for post mortem. The ASWJ has announced a country-wide protest against the attack. Many members of ASWJ have been victims of target killings in the past year. In 2001, Pakistan banned...

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Housing Prices Challenge China's Reforms

Housing Prices Challenge China's Reforms New high-rise residential apartment buildings under construction in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, Nov. 18, 2013. Eight months after taking office, China's new government is still struggling to bring housing prices under control.Despite a series of measures since March, prices have kept up their relentless climb, frustrating first-time buyers and the government's urbanization drive.In October, 65 of 70 surveyed cities reported higher new home prices, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).The increases in China's four...

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Jiangxi Subversion Trial Adjourned Amid Procedural Row

Jiangxi Subversion Trial Adjourned Amid Procedural Row Liu Ping (l) with lawyer Li Zhiyong (r) in Wukan, Guangdong province, in an undated photo. Photo courtesy of Li Zhiyong Six top rights lawyers defending three anti-corruption activists on trial for subversion in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangxi said they were prevented from finishing their arguments by court officials during Tuesday's hearing.The trial of Liu Ping, Wei Zhongping, and Li Sihua, who were held after calling for officials to disclose their assets, resumed on Tuesday at the Yushui District...

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'Now Is the Time—We Can't Wait Any Longer!'

'Now Is the Time—We Can't Wait Any Longer!' Xu Zhiyong speaks from behind bars at the Beijing No. 3 Detention Center in a screen grab from an undated video posted online on Aug. 7, 2013. Ding Jiaxi, Xu Zhiyong, and others have been detained for calling on officials to declare their assets, as have Wang Gongquan and others who supported their demands. But they are innocent.The "decision" adopted by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on deeper and comprehensive reforms proves their innocence.Relevant pilot schemes carried out by the Central Commission...

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