Category — Sindh

The Dawn, May 18
LARKANA, May 17: Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz chairman Basheer Khan Qureshi said on Monday that despite Supreme Court having taken suo motu notice of enforced disappearance of party leader Akash Mallah and worker Noor Mohammad Khaskheli, the government was not ready to release them.

Addressing participants of a procession at Royal Chowk here, Mr Qureshi said that he feared threat to their lives and alleged that the government was trying to release accused in JSQM worker Mushtaque Khaskheli’s murder case. Khaskheli was killed when a procession led by him in Karachi in July last year was fired upon.

Activists of JSQM held demonstrations across the province to voice protest against enforced disappearances of their colleagues and undue delay in dispensation of justice in Khaskheli murder case.

Mr Qureshi said that certain conspirators were out to create a rift among Sindhi leadership.

He criticised local Hesco managers for what he saw as artificial power shutdown of 14 to 16 hours. It had compounded hardships for people and inflicted huge losses on traders, he said.

He urged Hesco managers to stop loadshedding in Larkana and other parts of the province and warned that JSQM workers and general public would surround the office of the superintendent engineer of Hesco if duration of loadshedding was not reduced.

A complete strike was observed in Larkana on a call given by the local chapter of the JSQM. All main trade centres remained shut and traffic was thin on the roads.

In Hyderabad, JSQM workers took out a procession and held a demonstration outside the press club.

They criticised acute shortage of water and artificial power loadshedding in Sindh, warning if their demands were not accepted the party would launch a movement throughout the province.

In Nawabshah, JSQM activists held a demonstration outside the press club.

Local leaders of the party said that Akash and Noor Mohammed had been missing for a long time and alleged that they were picked up by agencies.

In Naushahro Feroze, Moro, Tharushah, Bhirya city, Kandiaro, Mehrabpur and in other towns of the district JSQM activists took out processions and held demonstrations http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/enforced-disappearance-govt-not-ready-to-free-jsqm-men-despite-court-move-qureshi-850

The writer is an economist working in Islamabad
This is in response to Mr Kashif Jahangiri’s article ‘The real Hazara problem’ which appeared in The News on May 6, 2010. The incidents of discrimination that Mr Jahangiri has mentioned in his article must be condemned; discrimination – be it ethnic or religious – is wrong. But to generalise the entire Pukhtun community on the basis of wrong behaviour shown by a few individuals is also wrong, just like it is unfair to brand all the Muslims as terrorists based on the actions of a few.

According to the hypothesis proposed by Mr Jahangiri, the current movement for the province of Hazara is a reaction to the “contempt” doled out to Hazarewals by Pukhtuns. I disagree with Mr Jahangiri and my disagreement is based on two reasons. First, this ethnic labelling is not unique to Pukhtuns and Hazarewals, and also, it is not one-sided. Second, the intensity of this “contempt” is not as high as suggested by Mr Jahangiri.

Linguistic differences provide the basis for ethnic identities, and using these differences to make ethnic jokes is a common practice around the world. In Pakistan, ethnic labelling exists between all linguistically different communities that are living side by side. Even in the more politically correct society of the United States, jokes based on Spanish-American accent, for instance, are part of the popular culture. This does not stop at different ethnicities; in many cases different dialects of a language become the basis for similar pun. For instance, within the Pathans, the linguistic differences between the Pukhtuns, Pashtuns and Pashteens often become a source of humour and labelling, and in many individual cases the difference has boiled into discrimination as well, similar to what Mr Jahangiri has described.

While the jokes and banter part is acceptable in most cases, and cherished as diversity, problems arise when this difference becomes the source of outright discrimination at a community level. Living in Dublin, Mr Jahangiri must be aware of the history of the differences between the Irish and the English, and how much blood had been spilled because of that. The Rwandan genocide that resulted in the death of almost a million people was also a result of distrust between two communities. In our own history, the discrimination against the Bengalis became the main reason for the creation of Bangladesh. Similarly, Karachi’s Pathan-Muhajir riots of the 60s, that planted the seeds of ethnic disharmony in Karachi, are a sad example.

So, how have these two communities – the Pukhtun majority and the Hindkowan minority – fared in the former NWFP? If the case presented by Mr Jahangiri is correct, then a discriminatory Pakhtun majority must have been a hurdle towards the political aspirations of the Hindko-speaking minority. The Hazarewal politicians must have found it really hard to argue their case in the Pukhtun-dominated provincial assembly. But when one looks at history, nothing of that sort has happened. In fact, since independence, the Hazara division has had the honour of claiming the highest number of chief ministers than any other division in the former NWFP. These include Sardar Bahadur Khan (1955), Muhammad Iqbal Khan Jadoon (1977), Pir Sabir Shah (1994), and Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi (1999). Incidentally, all four of them belonged to the Hindko-speaking minority. If, as suggested by Mr Jahangiri, the Pukhtuns had strong contempt towards Hindko speakers, then this achievement would not have been possible through democratic means.

A discriminatory Pukhtun majority should also have leveraged its numerical strength to hog most of the provincial resources, leaving little for the Hazarewals in terms of development spending. But the reality, when measured in terms of various indicators of economic development, is that the Hindko-speaking districts of Hazara have a much higher level of development than the provincial average. The Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM) for 2006-07, conducted by the Federal Bureau of Statistics, reveals that in the former NWFP, 26 per cent of the households reported to have ‘RBC/RCC (concrete) roof’, with the Pushto-speaking area of Battagram at 15.9 per cent. In contrast, the Hindko-speaking districts of Abbottabad and Haripur reported 45 per cent and 51 per cent concrete roofs respectively, i.e. twice the provincial average. These statistics are comparable to Sialkot at 47.64 per cent and are much higher than those for districts in southern Punjab, for instance, Multan at 19.22 per cent, Bahawalpur at 11 per cent and Rajanpur at 2 per cent.

Similarly, Haripur and Abbotabad boast 67.76 per cent and 61.44 per cent access to tap water respectively, which is much higher than the provincial average at 44.19 per cent. This comparatively higher level of development, which, no doubt, reflects a better quality of life, is confirmed through a variety of other indicators pertaining to health, literacy and sanitation. Had there been well-entrenched hatred and discrimination against the Hazarewals, they would not have been able to achieve this level of development as a minority.

Mr Jahangiri also mentions the use of the word “Khariyaan” i.e. hindko speakers of Peshawar city, as a derogatory term used by the Pathans. Well, if that was true then how is it possible for Khariyaan such as the Bilours, Haji Adeel and Syed Aqil Shah to become the top leaders of a nationalist Pukhtun party? As I understand politics, leaders are defined by their popularity and acceptance; followers would not follow someone whom they consider ‘inferior’. For instance; did Malcolm X even stand a chance for membership in the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)? If one is to extend this KKK analogy to this situation, then these black Khariyaan have risen to level of Grand Dragons in this Pashtun Ku Klux Klan. Paradoxical indeed, if one is to accept Mr Jahangiri’s assertion.

But instead of acknowledging the prominence of these Khariyaan in Pukhtun nationalism, Mr Jahangiri disapproves of the Bilours, terming them non-Pukhtuns pretending to be Pukhtuns. I must say that this argument uses a logic that is very antiquated and defies modern sensibilities. If a Pukhtun lineage does not stop a Tareen, Tanoli, Jadoon, or Swati to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Awans, Gujars, Jatts, and Abbasis of Hazara in the name of the Hindko language and Hazarewal identity, then by the very same principle, the Khariyaans of Peshawar have every right to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Pushto-speaking Pukhtuns in the name of Pukhtun identity. The notion of lineage-based identity and the consequent generalisation of races based on their bloodline is an old and obsolete concept. The rejection of the name Pukhtunkhwa, by the descendents of Ahmad Shah Abdali’s soldiers that is the Jadoons, Tareens and Tanolis is living proof that when it comes to ethnic loyalties, successful cultural assimilation can leave bloodlines and lineages to be pretty much meaningless.

I would conclude by saying that the higher development levels of the Hindko-speaking districts of Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa, the frequent election of minority Hindkowans to the chief ministership of a Pukhtun-majority parliament, and the key leadership positions of Hindkowans in the ANP, provide ample proof of the cultural harmony that exists between Hindko speakers and Pukhtuns in Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa. This harmony is an achievement, the equivalent of which is very hard to find in Pakistan. It also is an achievement that cannot be discredited through mere anecdotal evidence. http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=239198

ISLAMABAD: The Sindh government has blamed the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) for violating the inter-provincial Water Apportionment Accord (WAA) 1991, The News has learnt.

“As far as water distribution is concerned, the only thing in vogue is the 1991 Water Accord. The Irsa is a creation of the 1991 accord and the creation cannot alter or violate the accord under which it was created,” an official letter sent to the Irsa by the Sindh government says.

The document was duly signed by Sindh Minister for Irrigation and Power Murad Ali Shah and was addressed to the Irsa through its provincial member Mohammad Khan Memon.“The Irsa decided, in its last advisory committee meeting, not to entertain any provincial pressure in water distribution since all federating units have their representation in the authority to discuss and take vital decisions,” an Irsa spokesman responded when approached.

The Irsa spokesman said not only Sindh Minister Murad Shah but also Punjab Minister Raja Riaz, in their separate letters, had sought water distribution in accordance with their respective province’s interpretations.

“All Irsa members, five in all, unanimously took a decision to go by the accord in accordance with the three tier mechanism instead of accepting any pressure,” he said while expressing indifference to Sindh’s latest letter wherein Irsa was directly blamed for violation of WAA.

Sindh Minister Murad, early October, wrote a letter to the water and power minister, calling for water distribution under para-2 of the WAA which Punjab Minister Riaz has rejected.“It is requested that looking at the people’s government manifesto of equity, the Irsa may be directed for fixing water shares of all provinces proportionate to the allocation given in para-2 of the accord,” Murad’s earlier letter said.

In the latest communication on the Rabi season allocations, finalised by Irsa on Oct 13, 2009, Murad again sent an official communication to the Irsa on Oct 22, 2009. “I want to reiterate to Irsa that as far as water distribution is concerned, the only thing in vogue is the 1991 Water Accord.

“Any use of historic uses in any form will be a violation of the accord as determined by the law division,” his letter reads. “How can Irsa decide to use any criteria in the absence of decision?”The Irsa conveyed in its Oct 15 official letter: “In the absence of any decision by the authority on the issue, it has been decided by Irsa that criteria for Rabi 2009-10 as per practice in vogue may be issued”. However, Murad described this statement as self-contradictory. “In view of the expected pressure, the five Irsa members took a decision not to bow before any pressure,” Irsa spokesman Khalid Idris said. http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=25337

THATTA, Nov 1: Chairman of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz Basheer Khan Qureshi has said that he has received life threats from personnel of intelligence agencies who said that he would be eliminated before Nov 7, when the party has planned a march in Karachi.

Mr Qureshi said JSQM vice-chairman Akash Mallah and activist Noor Mohammed Khaskheli had gone missing from Bhitai Nagar, Hyderabad, and added claimed that the two had been picked up by the agencies.

Speaking at a press conference here on Sunday, Mr Qureshi said he wanted to lodge an ‘FIR’ through media that if any thing happened to him and his colleagues, an FIR should be registered against PPP rulers and the ISI.

Mr Qureshi said the JSQM had chalked out a comprehensive programme to stage rallies across Sindh against the missing of Mallah and Khaskheli. If they were not released, the party would call for a strike in the province, he said.

He said the PPP that had betrayed Sindh and Sindhi people was afraid of the Nov 7 march of the JSQM in Karachi.

In reply to a question, the JSQM chairman admitted that none of the nationalist leaders had so far offered to participate in the march. However, he was of the firm belief that all sons of the soil would step forward for the independence of the motherland.

He said party vice-chairman Akash Mallah, who was recently released, had been picked up again by the agencies to prevent the party from taking out rally in Karachi.

Our Hyderabad Bureau adds: JSQM activists staged a protest demonstration outside the press club to protest against the missing of Mallah and Khaskheli.

Speaking on the occasion, Haji Anwar Mallah, Mushtaq Umrani and Fatah Channa said that the Sindh government was harassing JSQM leaders and workers to sabotage the scheduled “March for Independence in Karachi on Nov 7.

They warned the government to stop conspiracies against the nationalist forces and not to create any hurdles in the programme of march.

They said that the people of Sindh would foil all conspiracies against Sindh by joining the rally in Karachi. They demanded immediate release of Mallah and Khaskheli. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/jsqm-chief-fears-he-may-be-killed-by-agencies-119

NAUSHAHRO FEROZE, Oct 31: The Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party (STPP) is struggling to create awareness among people about their rights and to get back the provincial resources for the benefit of poor and downtrodden lot.
Chairman STPP, Dr Qadir Magsi told this to a gathering in Moro on Saturday.
The Pakistan People’s Party has handed over Sindh to a particular party and the people were living in abject poverty despite the fact that this province was full of natural resources like petrol, gas and coal and harbours, he said.
Magsi said that it was a shame that people here were jobless, selling their children and youth committing suicides out of sheer frustration.
Settling of outsiders was an attempt to convert Sindhis into minority in their own land and deprive them of their right to employment, he said.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/stpp-vows-to-protect-sindhs-resources-119