Polluting industries: Quality goods, zero social responsibility

By Shamsul Islam

Published: September 8, 2011

Industrial units are polluting waterways. PHOTO: FILE

FAISALABAD: Pakistan’s textile exports may be booming but the town housing the looms is wilting, courtesy irresponsible industrialists.

Over 129 industrial units in Faisalabad are polluting waterways, discharging their effluent into the drains without treating it. The majority of these industrial units is export-oriented and thus legally obliged, to install treatment plants.

Clogging the ‘aquarteries’

Faisalabad has two major drains, built to reverse waterlogging and salinity that had cropped up due to the rising water table in large sections of surrounding areas. The areas had turned into a barren wasteland, prompting water and soil experts in the irrigation department to build these drains, and make the land cultivable again.

The drains were not meant, or designed, for carrying industrial effluent but almost all industries discharge their waste directly into them, right under the government’s gaze.

Permission ‘solicited’

Surprisingly, the irrigation department is granting permission to the industrial units to discharge their waste.“Legally, no industrial unit is allowed to discharge its waste into the drain, but industrialists here have major influence,” said an irrigation department official.

Devil in the details

A quick glance at the agreement drafted between the industrialists and the provincial government, however, shows that the permission was accorded subject to treating of the effluent before being discharged into the drains. The construction and operation of the treatment plants were the responsibility of industrial unit owners. Implementation of the agreement, however, is yet to be seen.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2011.

US official attempts to enter nuclear research facility

Published: September 8, 2011

After a heated debate between Berger and security agencies, he was forced to leave.

FAISALABAD: A US security official’s attempt to enter a ‘sensitive’ area of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) in Faisalabad was foiled by security agencies, who forced him to return after a heated scene at the institution’s gate.

Reports claim that on Wednesday, Mr. Jaison Berger, Security Officer of the US Consulate Lahore, visited Faisalabad to check and inspect security arrangements for a US delegation’s scheduled visit to the city on September 13.

While visiting different areas of the city, Berger reached the National Institute for Bio­technology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), a centre of nuclear research working under the direct command of the PAEC.

Police staff and officials on duty stopped the US national at the gate after receiving orders from their superiors at a provincial and national level. The officials requested him to steer clear of the area which was not included in the US delegation’s scheduled plan but Berger refused to acquiesce.

After a heated debate between the US official and security agencies including NIBGE commandos, Berger was forced to leave the site. Following the incident, the official abruptly cut short his visit and headed for Lahore.

Following the tense encounter, sensitive agency personnel and Faisalabad police took up the matter seriously and sent SOS reports to officials concerned about Berger’s attempt to force entry.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2011.

Police assault: Faisalabad woman faces double whammy

By Shamsul Islam

Published: September 7, 2011

First kidnapped by in-laws, then raped by police.

FAISALABAD:

A woman, who was kidnapped and tortured by her in-laws, has alleged that a police official, claiming to be in-charge of her case, sexually assaulted her.

Talking to The Express Tribune on Tuesday, Shaheen, 35, claimed that after escaping from her abductors, she sought help from the police but, in turn, was assaulted by a police official.

She alleged that Amjad, the Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) of Police Station D-type Colony in Faisalabad, raped her and her complaints have, so far, been ignored.
Abducted by in-laws Shaheen, a mother of three, said she had decided to divorce her abusive husband and filed a case with the family court in Faisalabad for an award of maintenance allowance, which was accepted after two years in 2010.
However, despite court orders, she said, her ex-husband failed to pay the allowance and was subsequently arrested.

As a result, Shaheen claimed, her in-laws kidnapped her from the Faisalabad-Sammundri Road on August 11, 2011. She accused her abductors of torturing and beating her. Shaheen alleged that the police officials also disrobed and publicly disgraced her.
However, Shaheen managed to escape and moved a complaint before a police station against her abductors.
The complaint was filed at the D-Type Police (FIR No.618/11) under sections 365, 354, 511, 337-A and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Following the complaint, the ASI of the police station, Amjad, claimed that the case was assigned to him and assured Shaheen of arresting the accused.

He asked her to come to the station to provide details for the investigation.

“I remained at the station as the ASI promised he would conduct a late night raid and at about 11 pm, he took me to the Seghal City Bus Stop and raped me in a sugarcane field,” she said.
Shaheen said that she was left at the field, while the ASI escaped and threatened her with dire consequences if she told anyone about the incident.

However, after getting a medical check up and a certificate verifying the assault, she immediately filed a case against the accused police official at the Women Police Station but, so far, no action has been taken.

Shaheen said she also filed complaints before the City Police Officer (CPO) and Regional Police Officer (RPO) but police officials did not take notice.

“I have now moved a petition before the Additional Session Judge Abdur Rehman Bodala and the court has asked for a record from the police,” she added.

Shaheen added that because of her complaint against the ASI of the police, investigation officials had set her abductors free.

She has appealed to the Punjab chief minister to take notice of the incident and provide her with justice.

The names of the victim and her family have been changed to protect her identity

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7^th, 2011.

A most dangerous place

By Editorial

Published: September 5, 2011

Ahmadis may be killed with impunity because their persecution by a significant segment of society is ignored by the state and the government of the day. PHOTO: REUTERS

The All-Pakistan Students Khatam-e-Nabuwwat Federation haskilled another Ahmadi in Faisalabad, the city where the Barelvi school of thought has been allowing itself to become dangerously aggressive. Naseem Ahmad Butt was shot to death by four youths calling himwajibul qatl (worthy of being killed). The wajibul qatl verdict was given in a pamphlet distributed in the city earlier by the authoritative-sounding Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz Khatam-e-Nabuwwat and the All-Pakistan Students Khatam-e-Nabuwwat Federation, Faisalabad. The police were informed but they did nothing, feeling safe behind their routine categorisation of the crime as ‘blind murder’.

The state of Pakistan must look carefully at this pattern of behaviour. Ahmadis may be killed with impunity because their persecution by a significant segment of society is ignored by the state and the government of the day. Then comes the turn of the Shias and other sects who are not considered outside the pale of faith but who are still, nonetheless, target by extremist fellow Muslims who consider their views heretical. Faisalabad has been dominated for a long time by the Ahle Hadith and Deobandi schools of thought but the the Barelvis are also gaining in influence, and they are not to be left behind in their persecution of the Ahmadi community. This is ironic since the Deobandis, for instance, don’t see eye-to-eye at all with the Barelvis on most faith-related matters and both hurl invective, and sometimes much more, at one another.

The Punjab government has to answer for the deaths that have happened under its rule and this includes not just Ahmadis, but also others, including several Christians, all killed by sectarian and jihadi outfits, primarily in Lahore last year. In the public eye, the view that the Punjab government may perhaps have a soft spot for jihadis is reinforced when its law minister meets and campaigns, prior to a by-election, with the leader of a banned sectarian outfit. This could be part of its strategy to gain a foothold in southern Punjab, since long a PPP stronghold, but such a tactic could be lethal for the province’s population of vulnerable people. In the process, Pakistan and its social contract are dying a slow death. The pamphlet mentioned above lists 50 Ahmadis who have to be killed in order to “achieve entry into Paradise”. It says the killers will be given a place under the flag of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in the chosen place of luxury in the hereafter. The youths of Faisalabad, blighted by loadshedding and religious hatred, will now betake themselves seriously to the transaction of achieving precisely this, while the state sits by and does nothing. Quite shockingly, the Faisalabad police chief says he has no information about the pamphlets which brazenly name the threatening organisation. The fact of the matter is that the Punjab police is but a reflection of society in general, and is filled with people who have nothing but hatred for those from minority communities, or even for those who stand up in support of them. In Karachi, there is the Sunni Tehreek which is far more aggressive.

In June this year, an Ahmadi place of worship was threatened with assault from a nearby mosque. The threat came from a cleric who knew that his outfit was weaponised and could kill just as easily and with as much impunity as the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The Barelvis were never taken to jihad by the Pakistani state but they have made up in virulence by embracing two laws that have brought infamy to Pakistan: the Second Amendment apostatising the Ahmadis; and the Blasphemy laws.

The state of Pakistan, after having declared the Ahmadi community as non-Muslims, has to protect them the way it is committed, under law and religion, to protecting minority communities. Its failure in Faisalabad to come to the help of the targeted Ahmadis is symptomatic of the terminal phase of its existence. Hatred and extremism are becoming the hallmarks of the sociology of the state.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2011.

Sharif bashes ‘top man in Islamabad’ for country’s woes

Speaking out: Sharif bashes ‘top man in Islamabad’ for country’s woes

By Shamsul Islam

Published: September 5, 2011

"The country has so far been ruled by an elite consisting of generals, judges and politicians. They have not done anything for people’s welfare," Shahbaz Sharif. CM Shahbaz Sharif.

FAISALABAD: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has criticised the federal government and blamed it for corruption in the country.

Without naming President Asif Ali Zardari, Sharif said on Sunday the man occupying the highest place in Islamabad was responsible for taking the country to the verge of collapse. He was speaking at a public gathering after reviewing an Ashiana Housing Society project in Faisalabad.

Sharif said Army should be called in to assist civilian administration only with relief work following natural disasters. There was no need for Army’s assistance with any other matter, he added.

(Read: Unchecked lawlessness – ‘Parliamentarians should debate Karachi situation’)

He said all of his meetings with Chief Of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiyani were on record and that he had never met the latter in secret. “I have only met General Kiyani to discuss matters of national interest,” Sharif said. He said his party was opposed to army’s intervention in politics.

To a question about his use of an army helicopter, Sharif said the chief minister’s helicopter had been sent to Russia for repairs and that he was using the military helicopter under a stopgap arrangement.

Sharif referred to an article he had written for Saturday edition of some newspapers and said that he had sought to expose corruption and poor governance under the PPP government.

He said the gulf between the privileged and deprived class in the country had expanded to unprecedented levels. He added the country had so far been ruled by an elite consisting of army generals, judges and politicians. The nexus, he said, had deprived the majority of the country’s population of basic services such as education, healthcare and affordable housing.

He said his government treated the poor as priority in use of development funds.

Earlier, Sharif reviewed the site for an Ashiyana Housing Schemenear Makkoanna on Jaranwala Road. He said 28,000 houses would be constructed under the scheme. These houses, he said, would be allotted to deserving people by balloting.

He directed DCO Nasim Sadiq and Punjab Land Development Company chief executive officer Dr Arshad to shortlist the construction contractors in a transparent process.

Sharif said he would personally monitor the balloting and allocation of houses to the deserving. He said that Ashiyana Housing Schemes were under construction in eight major cities in the province.

About Daanish Schools, Sharif said the project was meant to provide quality education to the poor and the underprivileged at par with those available at elite schools such as Aitchison College.

He also announced the construction of an underpass at Abdullahpur Crossing to solve traffic problems.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2011.

Suspected hate crime: Ahmadi man shot dead in Faisalabad

By Shamsul Islam

Published: September 5, 2011

The minority has been under constant attack even though it keeps a low profile. DESIGN: SAMAD SIDDIQUI

FAISALABAD:

In a suspected incident of hate crime against minorities, unidentified attackers killed an Ahmadi man in Faisalabad late Saturday night.

Naseem Ahmad Butt, 55, was shot dead by four men as he lay sleeping inside his house in Muzaffar Colony. According to his brother Khalid Pervez Butt, at about 1am on Saturday, the attackers entered by climbing over the walls.

“The boys were between 20 and 25 years old. Three of them kept a watch on the door as one kicked my brother. When he was awake, the killer said ‘you are Ahmadi and liable to be killed’,” Khalid told The Express Tribune.

The attacker then shot Naseem in the chest while another bullet ruptured his kidney, Khalid said. “My brother was lying in a pool of blood when we saw him. The sound of him crying woke us up.”

A car and a bicycle were used in the attack, Khalid said, and the assailants fled from the main gate of the house.

The family rushed an unconscious Naseem to the Divisional Headquarter Hospital, where he succumbed to his bullet wounds at 8.30am on Sunday.

Naseem, who worked at a power loom factory, leaves behind his widow, four daughters and a son.

Constant threat

According to Khalid, Naseem and other members of their family were under constant threat by a group of extremists who had repeatedly threatened to kill them for their faith.

(Read: Ahmadis in Karachi – Pulpit pounding, barricades, prayers but no peace)

“My first cousin Naseer Butt was also killed in a similar fashion last year. Police has made no effort to trace his killers and the case has been swept under the carpet by being declared ‘blind murder’,” Khalid said.

However, in hope of assistance, Khalid has registered a case with the Samanabad Police for the murder of Naseem. A FIR under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code has been filed.

‘Hate crime’

An advocacy group based in Faisalabad has called Naseem’s murder hate crime and says it has contacted provincial and local police officials but in vain.

Over the past two years, as many as six Ahmadis have been killed in Faisalabad but no killer has been brought to book, said secretary of the secretary of the Faisalabad chapter of the Umoor-e-Aama Jama’at Ahmadiyya Mahmood Ahmad Shah.

“We have time and again contacted the Faisalabad police chief and other senior police officials throughout Punjab that a group of fanatics are threatening Ahmadis in the area.

A list of these names is being publicly circulated,” he said.

In June, Ahmad wrote an email to the province’s home secretary and police chief and Faisalabad’s regional police officer, following the distribution of pamphlets in the city that not only called Ahmadis wajibul qatl (liable to be killed) but also exhorted people to kill them to achieve martyrdom.

(Read: Targeting minorities – No friend to Ahmadis in Faisalabad)

The Punjab government’s record of protecting Ahmadis has been dismal.

In May last year, more than 88 people were killed in provincial capital Lahore when gunmen opened fire at two separate places of worship and, one year on, little progress has been made by investigators.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2011.