FORTNIGHTLY April 16-30, 2019

Volume: 04
Issue: 08

W AT C H I N G O U T F O R PA K I S TA N

Some Reflections on Bhutto’s Anniversary

by C. Naseer Ahmad
Page 07

Square Peg in the Round Hole

by Rana Eijaz Ahmad
Page 09
Need to repair moral compass!
by Wajid Shamsul Hasan
Page 06
Contents

05.
Editorial: Taking the jab out of NAB

13.
Satire: 20th ‘effective mechanism’ in the
06. workings to bar outlawed leaders from
polls
Need to repair moral compass!

07. 14.
Some Reflections on Bhutto’s Anniver- Human rights forgotten in the election
sary year: HRCP launches 2018 report

09.
Square Peg in the Round Hole
18.
Kazakhstan: Testing a 21st century
upgrade of faith-driven Saudi soft power

10.
Being inside a trans world is not easy

19.
Mental health problems in university
112. students
A Facebook community group helps
women thrive

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 April 16-30, 2019
Special Note

Ameera Javeria
Editor

Taking the jab out of NAB

The National Accountability Bureau, NAB, is again the centre of news these days. The
autonomous body made during the regime of General Pervez Musharraf, 1999, was accused of
levying political victimization on the political opponents at the time.
The practice continues.
Corruption has become a deep-rooted menace of our society; threatening democracy by
curtailing the freedom of its actors, barring them from reporting against such crimes, even
when they are victimized by those corrupt, for fear of personal safety and that of their assets.
The Corruption Perception Index, CPI, in their latest 2018 report, placed Pakistan as a 33 per
cent corrupt country. The country's score went up by one per cent from the previous year 2017.
Nevertheless, Pakistan's ranking remained 117 out of 183, as in the previous year. NAB chairman
recently stated in the media that the success of their department can be measured from the
fact that the Bureau received upwards of 50, 000 complaints in the last 13 months.
The federal accountability watchdog's role was to bring corruption to task. The National
Accountability Ordinance, NAO, in 2002 developed National Anti-Corruption Strategies as an
anti-corruption preventive model. The model had three approaches: awareness, prevention and
enforcement. However, so far Bureau's case completion rates are below 50 per cent. Critics
and political opposition members accuse the Bureau of politicisation. They claim that NAB is
used as a tool for their victimization. Clearly when courts intervene on behalf of those under
NAB investigation, declaring the Bureau's claims for sufficient evidence false and terminates
arrests of the plainants, mists of doubt overcast the silver lining in NAB's credibility and
performance.
Hamza Shahbaz and Bilawal Bhutto have recently lashed out against the reversals of the
Bureau's earlier stances against their persons. The Bureau recently reversed its summons to
the women of the Shahbaz Sharif family stating that they respect women and would take a
different course to interrogate them.
Surprisingly, NAB's actions seem hasty and not planned through. This raises fears of external
pressures. Hamza Shahbaz's claims of being offered immunity for settling with the government
was rejected by the DG NAB Punjab. Naturally, matters like who sits at he helm of NAB's
affairs and how much of autonomy they enjoy in choosing cases against those in power have
been viewed with suspicion.
There is no doubt about the importance of the anti corruption bureau in a country like ours,
but we need to allow them the freedom to interrogate any segment of the private populace and
government functionary without dictates and reprisals, while making their policies and actions
transparent for external scrutiny.

Truth Tracker 5
April 16-30, 2019
Accountability
Need to repair moral compass!
By Wajid Shamsul Hasan
London: In August Pakistan will complete
72 years of its independent and sovereign
existence. Its creation was a unique
phenomenon. The entire Pakistan
Movement was an epitome of honesty
in leadership, sincerity of purpose,
dedication, determination and moral
courage that made the idea of a separate
Muslim state possible. Quaid’s biographer,
late Professor Stanley Wolpert puts it
at best when he says: “Few individuals
significantly alter the course of history.
Fewer still modify the map of the world.
Hardly anyone can be credited with
creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali
Jinnah did all three”.
MAJ had set for his colleagues and
the party a strict code of morality and
honesty. MAJ believed honesty as the
key to corruption- free politics and the
bedrock for a corruption-free society.
The All-India Muslim League was neither
entirely a party of the rich feudal class
6 Truth Tracker
nor the Muslim capitalists. It had a multi-
class composition. No doubt MAJ’s no 2
– the Secretary of All India Muslim League
(AIML) – Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan was
a rich feudal lord with several thousand
acres of land, his strength lay in the fact
that like the Chinese Revolutionary leader,
Chou En-lai, he had declassed himself and
MAJ called him a proletariat Nawab.
Despite the fact there were many
aristocrats in the high command,
AIML’s culture as party of the poor was
manifested in its top-ranking plebeian
leaders such as Maulana Hasart Mohani
who was an Islamic Bolshevist who
preached Sharia-Bolshevism much in
the mould of Hazrat Abu Zar Ghaffari.
While MAJ was aristocratic and English
in his bearing, Hasrat Mohani, with his
plebian character, surpassed all of them
as the representative of the have-nots.
He slept on the floor, travelled third class,
and dressed modestly, a little more than
Mahatma Gandhi just to cover himself not
to be called a naked faqir.
Currently nation is caught in the quagmire
of corruption, starting from the top to
the bottom. It is a story of a journey of
72 years—from the sublime to fall to the
ridiculous. In his 11th of August 1947
speech, MAJ specifically dealt with the
serious challenge corruption would
pose in Pakistan. He was conscious
of his commitment to equality in job
opportunities for all and equal treatment--
irrespective of caste, creed, colour or
gender. These were his bed-rock principles
for the foundation of Pakistan and a moral
compass to give the nation a corruption-
free sense of direction.
MAJ believed in the dictum of Lord Acton
that “power corrupts, absolute power
corrupts absolutely.” Indeed, corruption
today has become endemic–a worldwide
phenomenon where only quantum of
disease varies. MAJ also knew well that
the fish starts stinking from its head. If
there is no corruption at the top, there
won’t be any trickle-down impact. His
honesty was unquestionable. Indian Bania
capitalists, apprehensive of the economic
fall out of the partition and break-up of
the sub-continetal free market- tried to
buy him to abandon his idea of Pakistan.
Neither could they purchase his second-in-
command. When Prime Minister, Liaquat
Ali Khan, was assassinated he had just
around Rs 600 in his bank account, his
wife and children had no home of their
own.
Until the first martial law in October 1958
and crash landing of generals in politics,
there was no element of corruption among
civilian leaders. If there was any iota of
abuse of office, the person was at once
taken to task by the leadership. The initial
ten years can be described as our golden
period, as far as honesty among rulers
and politicians were concerned and the
nation’s moral compass, bequeathed to it
by MAJ remained intact.
Field Marshal Ayub Khan’s so-called
“decade of development” ushered in
corruption. Tagged to Washington’s apron
strings, he believed in the American
dictum that economic development
and corruption go together. Instead of
showing any sign of decline over the years
corruption has been growing. It was hoped
since every successive ruler promises a
crusade against corruption, things would

improve. They have worsened.
Ayub Khan brought a fundamental change
in the moral fabric of society. For the first
time emerged a military-civil bureaucracy
and capitalist matrimonial alliance. Since
Ayub had no popular legitimacy, he had
to create his own constituency away from
cantonments. Twenty rich families, few
generals and a lot of bureaucrats changed
the whole socio-economic complexion.
And indeed, by the time Ayub was shown
the door Pakistan was pushed into an era
of “gherao-jalao” (siege and burn). Had
there been no fall of Dhaka, both Eastern
and Western Wings would have been
plunged into a class war.
From the debris of defeat in 1971 Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto emerged as the harbinger of
change. He gave hope and new lease of
life to a truncated Pakistan, unshackled the
masses, opened up floodgates of socio-
economic opportunities, taking the nation
into the future. His executioner, General
Ziaul Haq, destroyed whatever he had
salvaged of MAJ’s Pakistan. To remain in
power life long, Zia had to create his own
constituency. He unleashed the forces of
corruption, disgorged the constitution,
held party-less elections and replaced
national cohesion with baradiris (clan) and
sectarian lobbies to sustain him. His game
of money and power-politics gave birth to
present phenomenon of agricultural versus
industrial wealth each competing against
the other.
Zia’s most culpable crime was to rent out
Pakistan’s security apparatus for waging
American jihad against the Soviet Union
to avenge Washington’s humiliation in
the Vietnam War. In return he received
unaccounted for billions that partly paid
for the Jihadis and the rest got pilfered
by handlers leaving their heirs treasure
troves that would last at least their seven
generations.
Author is the former High Commissioner of Pakistan to UK and a veteran journalist
A-Life
Some Reflections on Bhutto’s Anniversary
By C. Naseer Ahmad
Washington, DC: Forty years have passed
since the death - ostensibly by an unjust
However, Zia’s involvement of Inter-
Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s
powerful intelligence agency, in politics
was the greatest disservice to the
institution. His successors like Army Chief
General Aslam Beg and DG ISI late Gen
Hameed Gul got involved in engineering
their brand of politics to stop Benazir
Bhutto’s landslide victory.
It is a sordid tale of abuse of power by
the generals brought out in public by late
Air Marshal Asghar Khan by his land mark
petition in the Supreme Court. It has
exposed how ISI engineered the Islami
Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) (Islamic Democratic
Alliance), how it manipulated the elections
in 1988 and subsequently in 1990 when
Aslam Beg ordered his DG ISI Lt Gen Asad
Durrani—brought on court record by his
sworn affidavit--- to bribe anti-Bhutto
politicians.
General Pervez Musharraf staged his
coup in October 1999 – with the promise
of bringing to book all those who had
allegedly looted Pakistan. Like Zia, he too,
was an American bag-carrier and received
billions including a palatial residence as gift
from the late Saudi King. He jumped into
bed with the most corrupt in the Punjab
to keep PPPP out of power. One would
not like to go into details of the ill-gotten
assets of other generals, bureaucrats and
politicians – one would stick to answering
the question of how possibly we can
minimise corruption. By hanging the
corrupt? No, by putting them in jail? No,
then what?
The greatest dread for any one today,
whether in government or otherwise, is
social media, followed by electronic media
and newspapers. Irrespective, that these
are being blatantly abused, one must say
the fear of exposure runs chill in the spine
of strongest including those in power
desperately trying to control social media
by virtually Gestapo methods called Cyber
hanging, which some consider as a judicial
murder - of Pakistani Prime Minister
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. His supporters view
him as a martyr while his detractors
consider him to have been the ‘most
divisive’ leader of the country.
Twenty-nine years have passed since the
peaceful death of Air Marshal Rahim Khan,
one of the two men who were primarily
responsible for handing over the reins
of power following the dishonorable
debacle in Dhaka in December 1971.
From what we learned, Air Marshal Rahim
Khan and Lt General Gul Hassan Khan
worked behind the scene to remove the
despicable General Yahya Khan from
power and ensuring that Mr Bhutto
was not assassinated while returning to
Islamabad from New York. In the “Man in
the News,” December 29, 1971, the New
York Times described Air Marshal Rahim
April 16-30, 2019
Laws.
The best way forward towards combating
corruption is through social media, TV
channels and newspapers. A genuine
crusade needs to be started for the
renaissance of social and moral values.
Once organized on every level in society,
every member of the community could
easily make a guess as to who is living
beyond one’s means.
Social boycott is a powerful weapon when
one has organised the society to living
within its means. Fundamental for the
adoption of austerity is to have the will
to give up the ostentatious life style and
adopt simple living and high thinking.
Poor and underpaid seek corruption as a
means for sheer survival in the absence
of reasonable relationship between
prices and wages. On the other hand,
corruption of the rich cannot be condoned
as it is out of their greed to sustain their
pompous and ostentatious life styles
that have come to be the way of life. We
must not expect a poacher to guard the
sheep. In a country where a minuscule
minority pays taxes, organisations such
as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)
and the National Accountability Bureau
(NAB) should be replaced with something
as powerful, objective and transparent
as the Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) of India. While our NAB and FIA
are considered to be the most corrupt—
favourite weapons for the government of
the day—to settle scores with opponents.
In Pakistan, the basic principle for
successful accountability is not there.
Whatever the process or system that we
have is not above board, is selective and
discretionary. One looks forward to a
time when we will find our way out of the
moral wilderness by seeking above board
accountability of all and sundry.
Khan having “emerged as the strongest
military influence in the country.”
Mr Bhutto was very confident of his skills
and he showed his gratitude to these
two men by shipping them overseas as
ambassadors. In his calculation, Mr Bhutto
wanted to remove any potential threat to
his political supremacy. He would have
been wiser to not to act so much in haste
because when the protests reached their
peak, it was the resignations of both
Air Marshal Rahim Khan and Lt General
Gul Hassan Khan from their diplomatic
positions that led to the chain of events
bringing about Mr Bhutto’s overthrow by a
much mortal threat of General Zia ul Haq,
the man who paid back Mr Bhutto’s favor
of promotion by signing his death warrant.
Life does present interesting experiences
to witness history up close and personal
sometimes. As students, I accompanied
Truth Tracker 7
April 16-30, 2019
a close friend to see Mr Bhutto in New
York forty-five years ago when he was
participating in the annual UN meetings.
The environment at the Embassy building
was surreal in some respects because
everyone appeared visibly scared in Mr
Bhutto’s presence as it was rumored that
he was prone to slapping.
Not thinking about the consequences,
some words just came out of my mouth:
“Why are you running a one-man
show?” As I am usually reticent, I was
a bit surprised as to what came out of
my mouth. But the deed was done. Mr
Bhutto seemed to be a bit stunned but
surprisingly didn’t express any anger and
patiently and respectfully tried to assure
me – the curious student that day. Little
did we know then that four years later
this powerful man would be helpless and
going to the gallows. Thirty-seven years
have passed since Fazal Elahi Chaudhry,
a seasoned politician and an experienced
lawyer served first as Speaker National
Assembly and then as President of
Pakistan during Mr Bhutto’s reign of power
and General Zia’s initial years. Geography
and familial connections made it possible
for me to know President Fazal Elahi
Chaudhry. His ancestral village was a few
miles from Kharian to which my ancestors
belonged. His younger brother was
frequently at our house in Lahore visiting
my father and his friends. Many might
deride President Fazal Elahi Chaudhry as
being inconsequential while others might
consider him a wily political survivor. To
me, he was a decent human being with
whom I developed a personal friendship
long before his electoral success in the
1970 elections and despite decades of age
disparity between us. For me, having tea in
his Presidential office had the same feeling
like the one when I was in the living room
C. Naseer Ahmad writes for the Pakistan Link, Diplomatic Courier, Luxembourg Chronicle and
the Portuguese American Journal
8 Truth Tracker
near Shimla Hill in Lahore on my way home
from the railway station after dropping off
visiting relatives.
When Air Marshal Rahim Khan arrived in
Washington years ago, he was a private
citizen in need of assistance. I helped
him move, along with a relative, to his
temporary residence in Alexandria. What
struck me was that most of his belongings
were books. We became friends easily.
To support his family, he started working
with a defense firm in Washington. Since
his office was not far from mine, we
would get together for lunch whenever
our schedules would allow. I learned
about his forthrightness when he told
me that working for his new employer is
not working out because he “couldn’t do
anything for them.” I also learnt that he
was a very loyal friend.
In those days, nobody seemed to be
interested in selling much to Pakistan
for a variety of reasons. So, his financial
prospects were not very bright. All this
changed after the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan and he was soon traveling
a great deal and doing well financially.
He moved to a house in Potomac, MD
which was comfortable but neither big nor
extravagant. As a military leader, he led an
air force in war, but his biggest battle was
still to come with the failure of his kidneys
requiring a transplant surgery. I found him
to be someone who was steady under
pressure in the most trying circumstances.
In retrospect, Mr Bhutto was too quick to
fire people like Air Marshal Rahim Khan
as a potential threat. Sadly, Mr Bhutto
also never did try to learn from Fazal Elahi
Chaudhry the art of survival and patience.
Had he done so, the country would have
been better off as Mr Bhutto possessed
incredible skills and perhaps wouldn’t have
seen the hangman’s noose.

Accountability
Square Peg in the Round Hole
By Rana Eijaz Ahmad
Pakistan is a country that claimed to be
created in the name of Islam. Islam’s whole
edifice stands on two basic principles;
social justice and ethics. In contemporary
Pakistan, both canons of Islam seem
missing. Thus, we may derive that Pakistan
was an outcome of an international
environment instead of any ideological
underpinnings. When Prime minister of
Pakistan starts saying, there is no rule of
law, exposes he is helpless. If the generals
of the military say that Pakistan is under
threat, mean they also abandoned. If the
Chief Justice of Supreme Court says, there
is no justice, means he stranded too.
It is not only Pakistan but also the
contemporary world facing injustice
because there has been one law of nature
since Adam to date, “might is right.”
Allah created this world and He is the
Omnipotent. We as a creature of Allah is
His reflection. We all become gods when
having authority. When there are many
gods and try to share the power of Allah,
the jungle-like world comes into existence.
Anarchy becomes evident. Pakistan is
April 16-30, 2019
facing anarchy owing to a divided central authority. All authoritative power hubs are
using their authority beyond their limits time and again.
Judiciary is at the top maligning the system, giving relief to the stronger and punishing
the weaker. The executive is engaged more in enjoying the status as President,
Governors, Prime Minister, ministers, instead of resolving socio-political and economic
issues. Civil and Military bureaucracies are busy strengthening their positions owing
to their organizational and hierarchical attributes. Unfortunately, People are pissed off
under inflation, and energy crises. Inflation is increasing lacuna between the rich and the
poor. Few families in Pakistan are owning eighty percent of the total Pakistani wealth.
They accumulated wealth through plundering and getting rewards in the services to
the Britishers before partition. Since traditional wealth in Pakistan is made up of money
laundering and stealing resources of Pakistan. It needs proper legislation to get money
back from those families. Here are the suggestions for the government to act in the
prevailing sorry state of affairs:
• The legislation is needed for media
First of all, the government needs to order the media owners not to recruit appoint any
person without any fixed salary. Their salaries have to be given in time like other public
sector institutions. In Pakistan, unfortunately, media has become unbridled. It needs
to be bridled to rescue Pakistan from untrained, ungroomed and ignorant anchors.
Information minister needs to standardize Pakistan Information and Media Electronic
Regulatory Authority (PIMERA) at the earliest. The media houses need to review
their policy regarding the appointment of anchors and producers. Their educational
background may be in media studies, political science or international relations instead
of any other disciplines. Every new anchor needs to declare his assets in his first
appearance. It will assist the authorities to see who is getting prosperous beyond her/
his income. We usually see how naively media interview the criminals and try to show
them, heroes. The prevailing outcry of media in supporting the old corrupts is clearly to
rescue them from NAB cases. The PTI government has stopped funding media. Previous
governments used to spend 56 billion rupees annually on media. Recently, it is observed
that media started interviewing a proclaimed offender former four times finance
minister, damaged the treasury of Pakistan. Media compared him with an eight months’
finance minister. It demands media ethics are needed to be implemented in letter and
spirit.
• Sidesplitting role of Judiciary
The role of the judiciary in Pakistan has become so deplorable. As per Platonic education,
Justice is not the result of fear. Justice is not favoring one’s friend and harming the
enemy. Justice is not the interest of the stronger. Specialization of functions and division
of labor is justice. Iftikhar Chaudhary and Saqib Nisar former Chief Justices have really
made the judiciary a laughing stock in the country. Judges are giving more remarks
Truth Tracker 9
April 16-30, 2019
instead of decisions. The judiciary needs to restrict itself for
hearing cases which are under their jurisdiction instead of giving
remarks on the performance of other institutions. For example,
if anyone goes to court on the issue of inflation, the court may
give relief to the petitioner not remarks about the executive.
Since it may become a practice that all other institutions would
start trading allegations upon each other. Apparently, in Pakistan
justice has become an interest of the stronger as the judiciary is
giving bails to the criminals in an arbitrary manner and promoting
selective justice.
diplomatic or another similar issue that needs any professional
guidance. We make movies only on armed forces and considering
the only liberator in the country will definitely marginalize the
other institutions in the country. Sher Dil, Project Ghazi and
Parwaaz Hai Junoon were such films that could not win the hearts
of the people. On the other hand, performance against India’s
recent aggression win laurels for the Pakistan military at national
as well as international levels. International media appreciated
both the Pakistan government and military strategies. It proves
that professional actions speak louder than movies.

Harnessing the Civil and Military Bureaucracies The Way Forward

The present PTI government remains unsuccessful in harnessing
civil and military bureaucracies so far. Although the government
and military are on the same page yet need to be harmonized
on professional grounds. It is a good professional gesture by
the inter-services public relations to restrict media for calling
retired military officials as defense analysts. The government
needs to take this issue on pragmatic grounds and stop former
bureaucrats to give their analysis on any political issue. They
used to tell a lie in the whole service and after retirement started
teaching morality to the politicians and other segments of society.
The government needs to harness all professionals under the
law. They can write books and get them published if worthy
enough instead of media appearances. Only academicians and
other educated experts are supposed to appear in media for
any analysis. Bureaucrats can be called on any specific kind of
The Prime minister cannot ignore his duties by quoting Hadiths
and Sunna. He needs to be proactive in making decisions.
The government needs to harmonize its institutions through
legislature or Parliament. Both the government and opposition
get together for productive and effective legislation that could
make the parliament a supreme authority instead of any other
institution in Pakistan. It is only possible if the political elite
becomes a true political elite and rise above individual, party or
family benefits. Parliament has been a missing element in Pakistan
since 1947 to date. There is only one way out to be successful
for the present government to legislate or quit. It has to tell truth
to the people, it is not the parliament but someone else runs the
government.

The author, a political scientist and analyst, can be contacted at ranaeijaz@gmail.com

Human Rights
Being inside a trans world is not easy

By Waheed Phulpoto
SHIKARPUR: Transperson. When one
hears of this word, the image of someone
singing, dancing or being used as a sex
worker comes to the mind.

Who is a transperson in Pakistan?

Someone who is tortured verbally,

physically and sexually in open places
by people; someone who does not get
a respectful way of earning due to their
sexual identity, and lack of education.
Is that all about the transpeople living in
Pakistan?

“No,” says Sanam Bukhari, president of the

Sanam Fakir Welfare Tanzeem, Sindh, and
focal person for transpeople [khowajasara]
of Sindh.

“There are three types of transpeople: by

birth, by suffering erectile dysfunction
Sanam Fakir, transgender person
10 Truth Tracker

and by behaving abnormally; whatever the
type they belong to, one thing is for sure
they are not treated as human beings,”
Sanam goes on.
Transpersons are deprived of their
fundamental rights in Pakistan such
as getting enrolled in public or private
schools.
The community faces problems in getting
medical treatment; they are sexually
harassed; they suffer mental illness and
physical torture, and they are not able to
earn easily at public places owing to their
gender identity.
Sanam says the acceptance of a
transperson in families is zero. “Once a
newborn baby is identified as a trans,
families do not own them and soon
hand over them to bisexual groups only
to become a street dancer, singer or a
prostitute.
State and society have yet to give
attention to their rights.
Sanam says she got five killers of
transpersons arrested, who were killed in
Hyderabad, Sukkur, Dadu, and Dera Murad
Jamali. The arrests were made by her
ceaseless struggle. Transpersons played a
pivotal role during the super flood in Sindh
in 2010.
Transpeople are trying to mainstream
themselves on their own.
Sanam formed a transgender cricket
team and organised few friendly cricket
matches with teams in Sukkur and other
cities to provide a healthy environment
The author is a journalist from Shikarpur, He can be contacted at phulpoto@live.com
to transgender persons. The government
did not support them despite a couple of
meetings with Sports Minister Muhammad
Bakhsh Mahar.
There are several myths associated with
trans communities; one such is about their
funerals.
Sanam, however, says there is nothing
mysterious about the last rites of trans.
Their funeral prayers are conducted by
heirs in a normal way; transpersons only
avoids reading funeral prayers and going to
the graveyard with the coffin to lower the
body into the grave. Transpersons consider
themselves female hence they avoid going
to the graveyard with coffin because
females are not allowed to go along with
Janaza in Islam.
The community communicates with each
other in a special language, which they call
Farsi (Persian).
Sanam urged higher authorities to devise
a plan for transpersons welfare. She
wants to build old age houses for the
transpersons over 50 who become a victim
of isolation and mental illness.
Sanam knows that such activism is
impossible without having political
mileage, and for that reasons, after getting
Computerized National Identity Card in
2012, Bukhari contested for PS-01 in 2013
elections and got 980 votes. The result
could not break or beat them. Later, Sanam
joined Pakistan People’s Party but the
Sukkur leadership of the PPP disappointed
them. Now, Sanam wants to see trans
people getting inducted in the police
as per the announcement of Inspector
April 16-30, 2019
General of Police Syed Kaleem Imam, who
earmark quota for transgender persons in
Sukkur.
“The announcement is fanciful but 99
percent of transpersons is illiterate. So,
there should be special rules for us,” Sanam
says.
For the first time in Pakistan, transgender
persons have been counted during the
6th Population and Housing Census
2017 and according to results there are
10,418 transpeople are in Pakistan; of
them, 6,709 are in Punjab, 2,527 in Sindh,
913 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 133 in
Islamabad, 109 in Baluchistan and 27 in
Federal Administered Tribal Area [FATA].
Moreover, 2,767 live in rural areas and
7,651 urban areas.
A law “Protection of Rights” Act 2018
approved by Senate is also in the pipeline
to protect the rights of transgender
community.
Besides, a process of issuing driving
licenses has been issued to transgender
persons to drive their vehicle to earn in a
respectful manner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The government has taken several steps
for the welfare of the transpersons like
issuing CNICs and licenses, counting them
in the census, allocating jobs in every
department and passing Protection of
Rights for Transgender to provide them
respect.
These measures are good; only their
effective implementation is required to
make every transperson feel that they are
a human being too.
Truth Tracker 11
April 16-30, 2019
Human Rights
A Facebook community group helps women thrive

By Sheraz Akbar
PESHAWAR: Women in a social gathering
are carefully listening to the female girl
standing in front of them with a mic in
her hand. The speaker, in her mid-20s,
has a polite tone coupled with energy and
confidence in her words.
These women are having a gender-based
discussion; women empowerment, gender
equality, and other women-related issues.

“We need to step out of our comfort

zones and strive for our rights. We need
to support each other to make ourselves
and every woman around us strong,”
Afrah Hassan, one of the speakers and an
organizer of the gathering tells women.

The congregation is the first annual
meeting of the members of women’s
Facebook community group named as
‘The Pakistani Sisters’ (TPS). Women from
all walks of life are part of the gathering.
Majority of the women had no personal or
direct interaction with each other before.
Afrah, the founder of the group, runs it
with the help of her friend Areej Amjad.
She says the group was created with
a purpose of providing women a safe
platform to speak their heart out without
fear of being judged or facing backlash.
While talking to Truth Tracker, Afrah
said that currently TPS had more than
23,000 female members from all walks
of life including housewives, students,
doctors, engineers, IT professionals,
businesswomen, lawyers and social
activists etc. The group is a safe platform
for women to have constructive
discussions on issues impacting women’s
life in one or the other way including
depression, sexual harassment, child
abuse, child marriage, sex, pregnancy,
menstruation, domestic struggles etc.

12 Truth Tracker

Nuzhat Zia, a gynecologist, one of the
active members, says women in our
society are expected not to talk or share
their thoughts on such ‘sensitive’ issues.
Resultantly it creates problems for women
in different ways, and also cultivates
sexism in society.
“TPS is not less than a haven for women to
have a peaceful atmosphere for learning
and telling confidently without fear of
being judged, rebuked or stalked.”
Nuzhat says TPS and other similar groups
on social media play a pivotal role in
making such issues part of conversations
and normalizing them in society. Normally
women suffer all their lives but never open
up on such issues with people around
them fearing negative reaction, she adds.
The author is a journalist from Peshawar, He can be contacted at sherazakbar88@gmail.com
Satire
20th ‘effective mechanism’ in the workings to bar
outlawed leaders from polls
By Ahsan Raza
LAHORE: For the 101st time in all, and
50th time in 2019 alone, Minister of
State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi
has hinted at developing an effective
mechanism to bar leaders of proscribed
organisations from taking part in polls.
First winking at the crowd, and then
looking into the eyes of TV cameras
sternly, the firebrand minister of the
firebrand Prime Minister Imran Khan’s
cabinet told a dumbfounded gathering:
“What has been happening in the past will
not be allowed to continue.”
Later on, he told reporters after
addressing the closing ceremony of a
spring festival at the Kohat garrison that if
those proscribed organisations take part
in elections with some other names and
symbols in the coming local government
elections, we will let them do and later
on we will again come up with an another
effective mechanism to bar leaders of
proscribed organisations from taking part
in polls with camouflaged names and
symbols.
Afrah says women in the group share
different stories about experiences of life
that encourages young women to follow
and speak up. The case of Subhh Khalid
who spoke and took stand against injustice
and harassment by her in-laws, which was
also in limelight of mainstream media, is a
perfect example of efficacy of such groups.
Subhh shared her story in the group of
her scrimmages with in-laws; how she
took stand for justice instead of sitting
back and keep suffering. Afrah said Subhh
got overwhelming support from group
members. Besides, her story triggered a
long and constructive debate among group
members about women fighting against
injustices in the life.
When asked about why she felt need of a
If done so that will be for the 20th times in
the history of Pakistan.
When asked whether a mechanism was
being evolved to prevent leaders of
banned outfits from taking part in electoral
politics and to stop fourth schedulers from
travelling for Haj and Umrah, the minister
thundered that the impatient press needed
to wait unless the mechanism was evolved.
The minister, very seriously, said that
the ongoing “crackdown” on outlawed
organisations had not been initiated under
any external pressure.
April 16-30, 2019
new group while there are plenty of them
already working on for the same cause, she
said, “Yes, but there was a need for a group
primarily focusing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s
women. Conversations and activities
of TPS, unlike other groups, are mostly
centered in KP and thus they’re more
relatable and beneficial for the women of
the region.”
Fatima Nauman Khan, a group member
and an entrepreneur based in Peshawar,
says, “The group is a great platform for
businesswomen and entrepreneurs of KP
to show their work to not only grow the
business but also inspire others who may
want to start and be practical women.”
“By external pressure, I don’t mean the
opposition leaders such as Bilawal Bhutto-
Zardari, who day and night presses us to
go tough on banned organisations. Mr
Bilawal, please listen to my words with
your open ears that we will not succumb
to any external pressure.”
A reporter jumped in and said that China
and America were also pressing Pakistan
to rein in outlawed leaders, the minister
smiled (for the first time after being
inducted into the cabinet) and said that
China and America were our friends and
friends’ advice should not be dubbed as
external pressure.
Truth Tracker 13
April 16-30, 2019
He said the government was committed
to transforming Pakistan so that nobody
could point a finger at it.
He said the government has seized
religious seminaries, ambulances,
dispensaries, hospitals and other assets
linked to the proscribed organisations.
“The government has also released funds
to run these assets,” he said. When a few
reporters chuckled, the minister got angry
and said he was not cracking a joke.
Ahsan raza is Lahore based journalist.
Human Rights
Human rights forgotten in the election year: HRCP
launches 2018 report
By Truth Tracker
ISLAMABAD: At the launch of its flagship
annual report, State of Human Rights in
2018, the Human Rights Commission
of Pakistan (HRCP) has noted that, ‘in a
year of general elections, it was inevitable
perhaps that the progress and observation
of human rights issues might be
suspended, if not forgotten. The elections
themselves were plagued by allegations of
pre-poll manipulation and vote rigging –
never fully resolved – and some appalling
outbreaks of violence. Nonetheless, there
were more women candidates for general
seats in these elections than in any past
election, and for the first time, transgender
candidates contested the polls.’
14 Truth Tracker
The reporter said that if the religious
projects are running smoothly, what is the
good of seizing them.
The minister said the world should
appreciate the government for our good
intentions.
Mr Afridi said in the past, whenever the
FATF delegation arrived in the country,
Pakistan’s case was weak because all state
institutions were sending different vibes.
However, this is not the case now, he
In a statement, HRCP has commented
on ‘the unprecedented level to which
the fundamental right to freedom
of expression was overtly violated,
particularly in the run-up to the elections,’
adding that ‘in the guise of “national
security concerns”, restrictions on media
coverage were stepped up, journalists
took increasingly to self-censorship, the
distribution of a national newspaper was
severely curtailed, and a media blackout
was imposed on coverage of certain
events.
‘2018 began with a horrifying crime
against a six-year-old child, Zainab, and
the relative speed with which the culprit
was apprehended was in no small part
due to the public outcry. The sentence
handed down proved to be no deterrent –
distressing reports of abuse and violence
involving children continued to surface.
‘The public conscience was assailed by
reports of enforced disappearances,
extrajudicial killings, the abuse and murder
of children, violence towards women,
child labour, religious intolerance, the
persecution of minorities, and crimes
committed in the name of “honour”.
‘Women, children and labour remained
highly vulnerable. HRCP monitoring data
added.
“Vibes are very important in such matters.
The vibes, which influenced the elections
2018 would be used to FATF delegations,”
he explained.
He said the spring festival in Kohat was the
beginning of a new season. Over a dozen
foreign diplomats attended the festival.
Disclaimer: This is a piece of satire.
showed at least 845 incidents of sexual
violence against women, and 316 crimes in
the name of ‘honour’ perpetrated against
both men and women. In Thar, Sindh, 638
children died of malnutrition in 2018.
‘Scores of mine workers lost their lives in
deadly incidents in Balochistan and other
provinces with no evidence of progress in
the implementation of safety and health
standards. In addition, an estimated 12
million children were reportedly involved
in child labour.
‘Worryingly, an estimated 16,136
internally displaced families have yet to
return home, although the number is likely
higher.
‘One bright prospect was the Supreme
Court’s acquittal of Aasia Bibi, but the
ensuing violence against the verdict could
only be quelled when an ‘agreement’ was
reached.
‘The excessive and arbitrary use of the Exit
Control List (ECL) continued to feature
prominently in the news. Pre-emptive
detention of activists was frequently
employed to restrict or disrupt rallies
and protests, particularly in the months
preceding the elections.

‘While the interventions of the Supreme Court attracted much
attention, the long-awaited reform of the criminal justice system
remained on the back burner and the steady accumulation and
growth of the backlog of cases went unchecked in all the courts.
By year-end, there were close to 1.9 million cases pending in
over 250 lower, special and superior courts. At the end of the
year 4,688 prisoners were on death row. At least 500 have been
executed since 2014, 14 of them in 2018.
‘Particularly notable during the year were the prolific and widely
reported activities of the National Accountability Bureau, whose
modus operandi was viewed with a mix of approbation and
dismay. The axe fell on former prime ministers, politicians, media
personalities, CEOs, and university officials alike.
‘Never was there a time more in need of the fearless, forthright
Asma Jahangir, who passed away in February 2018. This tragic
loss left the country bereft of a bold voice prepared to speak out
for the underprivileged, the unrepresented, and the vulnerable.’
Key Issues
Laws and law-making
• The federal parliament made a total of 39 laws in 2018, a
slight increase from 2017 when 34 laws came into effect.
• The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) were merged
with the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 31 May 2018.
• The Transgender Persons (Protection and Rights) Act 2018
was passed, covering a range of provisions, and significantly
allowing a transgender person to be recognised as per his or
her self- perceived gender identity.
• The Juvenile Justice System Act 2018 replaced the Ordinance
promulgated in 2000.
• Sindh was once again just ahead with the highest legislative
output, closely followed by the Punjab. Two significant Acts
passed by the Sindh government were the Sindh Maternity
Benefits Act 2018 and the Sindh Home-Based Workers Act
2018.
Administration of justice
• By year end, there were close to 1.9 million cases pending in
over 250 lower, special, and superior courts.
• The National Accountability Bureau filed 440 corruption
references, apprehended 503 accused persons, received
44,315 complaints, and conducted 1,713 complaint
verifications during the year.
• While suo motu interventions by the Supreme Court
proliferated, the long-awaited reform of the criminal justice
system was put on the back burner.
• At the end of the year 4,688 prisoners were on death row. At
least 500 have been executed since 2014, fourteen of them
in 2018.
• The landmark judgment on the acquittal of Aasia Bibi by the
Supreme Court was a welcome sign that, even in a flawed
judicial system, the rule of law was still capable of protecting
an innocent victim.
Pakistan and international human rights mechanisms
• Pakistan has affirmed in its election pledge to the Human
Rights Council that it is ‘firmly resolved to uphold, promote
and safeguard universal human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all.’
• HRCP expressed concern that Pakistan had chosen to only
‘note’ key human rights principles including, among others,
the reporting of investigation and prosecution of security
forces that commit human rights violations; amending
discriminatory laws against marginalised groups, taking
effective measures to prevent the abuse of blasphemy
legislation, and the use of violence against religious
minorities.
• Requests for country visits from UN Special Rapporteurs
on extrajudicial executions; the situation of human rights
defenders; the promotion and protection of human rights
April 16-30, 2019
while countering terrorism; freedom of religion or belief; and
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, remain pending.
• Pakistan has ratified the eight ILO fundamental conventions
but never fully applied them.
Law and order
• As in previous years, there has been a steady decline in
conflict-related deaths, although the 2018 General Election
saw a rise in violent deaths for the period between June and
July.
• During the year, numerous reports emerged of police
blackmail and extortion, torture and harassment during raids,
custodial deaths, refusal to register FIRs, and corruption.
• HRCP monitoring data showed 845 incidences of sexual
violence against women, and 316 crimes in the name of
‘honour’ perpetrated against both men and women. These are
minimum figures.
• Child sex abuse incidents are on the rise. One report showed
an increase of 32 percent in the first six months of 2018
compared to the same period the previous year, a 47 percent
increase in cases involving boys, and a 75 percent rise in
sexual violence against children in the age group of 0-5 years.
• Despite legislation, violence against the transgender
community continued during the year.
• Cybercrime and online harassment across Pakistan have seen
an exponential rise in cases.
Jails and prisoners
• Overcrowding continues to be a major challenge with jails
across the country holding up to 57 percent more inmates
than their capacity.
• In an NCHR report on Balochistan prisons, the need to adopt
a human rights approach in the administration of prisons was
said to be of utmost importance.
• Another NCHR report also observed that conditions for
mentally ill inmates in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prisons were
particularly poor.
• The Supreme Court was told in May that the government had
sent 1,330 persons to internment centres while 253 others
had been released.
• According to the Interior Ministry, the official number of
Pakistanis in foreign prisons was almost 12,000.
Freedom of movement
• The excessive and arbitrary use of the Exit Control List (ECL)
continued to feature prominently in the news.
• Official restrictions on movement were imposed on people
attending political and protest rallies.
• Protests, sit-ins, and traffic snarl-ups inhibited the movement
of citizens across the country.
• The ground-breaking for the visa-free Kartarpur Corridor
connecting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to Dera Baba
Nanak in Indian Punjab was performed on 28 November.
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
• There was no noticeable abatement in violence against
religious minorities, as attacks on people and property
continued to be reported.
• In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court acquitted Aasia
Bibi of blasphemy charges in October. The subsequent
nationwide unrest over the decision forced the government
to agree to a review of the ruling.
• The Islamabad High Court ruled that all citizens should be
identified by their faith and applicants for government and
semi-government jobs should declare their faith before being
considered eligible.
• The government withdrew the nomination of Atif Mian from
the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) following a backlash
over his Ahmadiyya faith.
• The Punjab government passed a landmark bill, the Punjab
Sikh Anand Karaj Marriage Act 2018, providing for the
Truth Tracker 15
April 16-30, 2019
solemnisation and registration of Sikh marriages.
Freedom of expression
• Curbs on freedom of opinion and expression escalated to
unprecedented levels during the period of the elections.
• Media coverage was severely inhibited and journalists
intimidated into self-censorship, most specifically in reporting
on abuses by government security and intelligence agencies
as well as militants.
• The government’s announced intention of forming a ‘Pakistan
Media Regulatory Authority’ was greeted with concern by
the media as another means of restricting the freedom of the
press.
• Pakistan’s internet freedom ranking declined in 2018,
attributed to a problematic cybercrime law, internet
shutdowns, and cyber-attacks against political dissenters,
justified on the grounds of national security.
• A Freedom Network report documented more than 150
violations, including verbal threats, killings, harassment,
arrests, abductions, illegal confinements, and physical
assaults, against journalists and media groups across the
country between May 2017 and April 2018.
Freedom of assembly
• Pre-emptive detention of activists was frequently employed
to restrict or disrupt rallies and protests, particularly in the
months preceding the elections.
• Roads leading to the venues of rallies were blocked and media
coverage blacked out.
• The government was said to be preparing a comprehensive
strategy to prevent violent protests on the road and hate
speech on sensitive religious issues and to ensure that
people’s lives and properties were protected.
• Police frequently used force to hamper or break up peaceful
protests, including visually impaired demonstrators protesting
about the lack of jobs and salaries.
Freedom of association
• Barriers to setting up unions, categories of workers prohibited
from joining unions, limitations on, and methods used to
break up, certain types of strikes, as well as the possibility of
dismissal are factors that inhibit the growth of trade unions.
• The restrictions and banning of INGOs continued in 2018
with 18 ordered to wind up and leave the country by 30
November.
• The restoration of student unions remained pending and
unresolved.
• Workers and supporters of social movements and some
with political affiliations were subjected to intimidation or
detention on charges of sedition and terrorism.
Political participation
• The elections were marred by allegations of pre-poll
manipulation and vote rigging, an issue that was never
resolved, and the pre-poll environment clearly did not offer a
level playing field to all parties.
• Doubts were raised about the fairness of the election process
when security forces assumed control of the polling stations
after the close of polling, and told all polling agents to leave
their posts and come back an hour later.
• Pre-election rallies and gatherings, as well as polling stations,
were once again targeted by bomb attacks although the
incidences were fewer than in the 2013 elections.
• Attempts by the media to draw attention to some banned (as
terrorist) entries in the elections were in vain.
• The rise of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), and
the government’s response, was a significant political
development.
Women
• Pakistan was named once again the second worst country in
16 Truth Tracker
terms of gender equality in the world by the Global Gender
Gap Index 2018.
• Despite the legislation enacted for women’s rights in recent
years, violence against women and unlawful practices persist
and continue to escalate.
• Seventy-five percent of women and girls are involved in
the agriculture sector and 60 percent of their work is being
utilised as unpaid.
• There were more women candidates for general seats in the
2018 general elections than in any past election. For the first
time, transgender candidates contested the elections. The
first Sheedi woman was elected to the Sindh Assembly, and
the first Hindu Dalit woman was elected to the Senate.
• The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018 was
passed giving them the right ‘to be recognised as per his or
her self-perceived gender identity’, and making discrimination
against them in numerous areas unlawful.
Children
• There has been a sharp increase in child sexual abuse,
involving both boys and girls, and reports of abuse appear
with shocking regularity.
• Despite legislation on the employment of minors, this
practice persists in industries and homes and the cases of
abuse of child domestic workers continue to surface.
•
• Only four percent of children in Pakistan receive a ‘minimally
acceptable diet’ according to a UN report.
• In the Thar region of Sindh, 638 children died of malnutrition
in the period 1 January to 31 December 2018.
• The National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC)
Act was passed in 2017, and the Commission has yet to be
constituted.
Labour
• The Sindh government produced a record number of labour-
related legislation, including the first-ever law in Pakistan to
protect the rights of home-based workers (the Sindh Home-
Based Workers Act 2018).
• In general, implementation of international ILO and UN
conventions and covenants relating to labour standards and
human rights is an ongoing problem in Pakistan.
• Scores of mine workers lost their lives in deadly incidents in
Balochistan and other provinces with no evidence of progress
in the implementation of safety and health standards.
• Despite legislation, Pakistan ranked 8th on the Global Slavery
Index 2018, with an estimated three million living in modern
slavery/bonded labour.
• An estimated 12 million children are involved in child labour
in the country.
The elderly
• The current figure of over 11 million senior citizens in
Pakistan is set to rise to over 43 million by 2050 according to
the UNFPA.
• The implementation of existing Acts for the rights of senior
citizens, and the formulation of others, is painfully slow.
• There is a dearth of housing and health facilities for those
unable to live with their families.
• The informal sector accounts for 70% of the economy, yet it
remains out of the ambit of The Employees Old Age Benefits
Act 1976.
• People living with disabilities
• Statistics on the number of persons with disabilities (PWDs)
in the country vary in the absence of verifiable survey data,
but the prevalence of disability has been estimated at 15
percent by WHO.
• Laws fully based on the UN Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities which Pakistan ratified in 2011 have
yet to fully manifest themselves and there is a lot of ground
to make up.
• The Sindh Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
Act 2018, however, emphasises a rights- based approach

modelled on the core principles of the CRPD.
• Schooling, training, and employment of children and people
living with disabilities is a much- neglected area.
• Stigma and superstition attached to disability in Pakistan
prevents the visibility, inclusion, and participation of PWDs in
society.
Refugees and IDPs
• The number of Afghan nationals registered in Pakistan is over
2.8 million, of which 1.6 million hold a Proof of Registration
Card (PoR) card, according to NADRA. There are at least
one million undocumented Afghan nationals residing in the
country.
• A total of 13,584 refugees were voluntarily repatriated from
Pakistan to Afghanistan in 2018, a significant decline as
compared to 57,411 in 2017.
• FDMA estimates that around 16,136 IDP families have yet to
return. Independent analysts, HRCP monitors on the ground,
and organisations working with IDPs say the numbers of IDPs
who were forced to leave their homes in FATA, and who are
currently still displaced, are much higher.
• The government made an announcement about the possible
granting of citizenship to around 1.5 million Afghans born in
Pakistan, but this was later clarified as a move to ‘initiate a
debate’ on the subject.
• The perception that Afghan refugees were all involved in
criminal or terrorist activities continued to persist and, in
some cases, was encouraged as evidenced by reports of
continued harassment and aggression.
Education
• The number of out-of-school children was reported to have
risen from 22.63 to 22.84 million. Another report spoke of a
promising trend as the children between the ages of six and
16 enrolled in schools had risen from 81 percent in 2016 to
83 percent in 2018.
• GEM 2019 showed that just about half of the pupils attain
minimum proficiency in reading and mathematics by the end
of the primary level, but the ASER report 2018 registered an
improvement in learning levels.
• The issue of tuition fee hikes at elite schools was taken up by
the Supreme Court.
• The funding for the Higher Education Commission was
slashed by around Rs5 billion in a mid- term budget released
in October.
• Militants torched 12 schools, mostly for girls, in Gilgit-
Baltistan, the Khyber tribal district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and
Balochistan.
• Cases of corporal punishment continued to be reported
throughout the year from the Punjab, KP, and other
provinces.
Health
• The country’s spending on the health sector is still less than
one percent of its GDP whereas WHO recommends it should
April 16-30, 2019
be around 6 percent.
• The unsatisfactory quality and coverage of public health
services means a high dependence on the private sector
which is too costly for many. As a result, people are driven to
consult unqualified medical practitioners and quacks, often
with dire consequences.
• The country is becoming increasingly depressed, according
to the Pakistan Association for Mental Health. There is no
evidence that Pakistan has developed a coordinated national
strategy to achieve the objectives of WHO’s comprehensive
mental health action plan (2013-2020).
• The control of communicable diseases remains a challenge,
while there is a rising trend of non- communicable diseases—
heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, and various
types of cancers.
Housing
• There were some notable efforts to stop land grabbing and
illegal encroachment, but those practices as well as illegal
occupation and china cutting continued especially in the
major cities.
• With a deficit of roughly seven to 10 million houses in
the country, the government’s pledge to build five million
affordable houses throughout Pakistan might be a major
challenge particularly after the announcement that applicants
would have to bear 20 percent of the total cost of their home.
• The authorities’ operations to evict ‘illegal’ occupants from
residential areas and to demolish illegal structures met with
some strong resistance.
• The frequent reports of roof and wall collapses causing
numerous fatalities expose the substandard quality of
construction in homes and buildings.
Environment
• Air and water pollution, lack of sanitation, and exposure to
heavy metals are responsible for approximately 340,000
deaths annually in Pakistan, according to Yale’s 2018
Environmental Performance Index.
• Pakistan is among the top ten countries most affected by
climate change, with wide-ranging impacts on the population
and economy due to extreme weather events over the last
two decades.
• Balochistan and Sindh, and other parts of the country, were
reported to be experiencing drought- like conditions, with the
Thar region particularly hard hit.
• A World Bank report recommended urgent investments in
faecal waste management systems as well as in the provision
of safe drinking water to prevent transmission of disease.
• Pakistan is forging ahead with the building of coal-fired
plants—Thar coal will fuel nine of the 17 proposed CPEC
power plants—despite the global trend towards replacing
fossil fuels with renewable energy.
• The Punjab government was reported to be conducting a
forensic audit of the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Project in
Bahawalpur amid concerns over the cost of the project and
the electricity being produced there.
Truth Tracker 17
April 16-30, 2019
Comments
Kazakhstan: Testing a 21st century upgrade of faith-
driven Saudi soft power
By James M. Dorsey
A recent study of the popularity of a
Saudi-inspired quietist ultra-conservative
strand of Islam among Kazakh
businessmen suggests that the kingdom
has upgraded its faith-driven soft
power campaign as part of crown prince
Mohammed bin Salman’s vow to promote
an undefined form of moderate Islam at
home and abroad.
The upgrade represents a significant
departure from the kingdom’s more
than four-decade long, US$100 billion
campaign to globally promote ultra-
conservative, anti-Shiite, anti-Iranian
strands of the faith through religious,
educational and cultural activities that
often focused on the lower and lower
18 Truth Tracker
middle classes.
Prince Mohammed has, since coming to
office in 2015, significantly cut funding
of the campaign, focusing it primarily on
regions of geopolitical importance to the
kingdom such as parts of Yemen and the
Pakistani province of Balochistan.
The upgrade retains a key pillar of
the campaign that caters to the
survival strategy of the Al Sauds, the
kingdom’s ruling family, as well as the
strengthening elsewhere of autocracy and
authoritarianism: the principle of absolute
obedience to the ruler.
The Kazakh businessmen, like significant
portions of the militia of renegade Libyan
general Khalifa Belqasim Haftar that
is marching on Tripoli as well as Saudi-
supported Islamic scholars in Algeria, are
followers of Saudi Sheikh Hadi Ben Ali
Al-Madkhali.
Sheikh Al-Madkhali’s father, Sheikh Rabia
Al-Madkhali, is the intellectual father of
a quietist strand of Salafism that projects
the kingdom as the ideal for those who
seek a pure Islam that has not been
contaminated by non-Muslim cultural
practices and secularism.
The upgrade and its influence on
segments of the Kazakh business
community gives Saudi Arabia an
additional string in its bow in the
kingdom’s rivalry with Turkey for
leadership of the Muslim world that
is primarily fought politically and
economically.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, the septuagenarian
Soviet-era Kazakh communist party boss,
who led Kazakhstan since independence
until he resigned last month, long saw
Turkey as a buffer against Russian
domination of Central Asia.
Pan-Turkic sentiment in Kazakhstan,
despite differences with Turkey over
the continued operation of schools in
the Central Asian republic by Fethullah
Gulen, the exiled preacher whom Turkish
president Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds
responsible for a failed military 2016
coup, and other parts of Central Asia has
been fuelled by Russia’s annexation of
Crimea.
Central Asian leaders, including Mr.
Nazarbayev, who retains significant
influence despite stepping down,
hope that increased Gulf investment,
particularly from the United Arab
Emirates, will enhance their margins of
manoeuvrability in a region dominated by
two behemoths, Russia and China.
As a result, Gulf investment alongside
Saudi faith-driven soft power are potential
players in the 21st century’s Great Game,
the rivalry for influence, if not dominance,
of the Eurasian landmass.

The Gulf efforts take on added
significance if Russian scholar Dmitry
Zhelobov’s prediction proves true that
an alignment of Russian and Chinese
interests in the Great Game could prove
to be short-lived.
Mr. Zhelobov warned in a recent interview
that garnered significant interest in
Moscow that China was gradually
establishing military bases in Central Asia
to ensure that neither Russia nor the
United States would be able to disrupt
Chinese trade with the Middle East and
Europe across the Eurasian heartland.
Echoing Mr. Zhelobov, Eurasia scholar
Paul Goble warned that “Moscow has
given remarkably little consideration to
the possibility that China will build on its
soft power in Central Asia to establish
security relationships or even bases and
thus accelerate the decline of Russian
influence there.”
The upgrade to faith-driven Saudi
soft power is evident in the vehicles it
employs. They no longer rely primarily on
Islamic scholars working out of mosques
or educational institutions funded by the
kingdom. Instead, they are, for example,
local businesspeople who operate their
businesses on principles of Islamic law
such as a ban on interest.
“In post-Soviet Central Eurasia, the Islam
of the ‘disinherited’…has today morphed
into something approaching a prosperity
theology,” said Aurelie Biard, the author
of the Brookings study that focusses on
Kazakhstan, a country that effectively
Dr. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, co-director of the University
of Würzburg’s Institute for Fan Culture, and co-host of the New Books in Middle Eastern Studies podcast. James is
the author of The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer blog, a book with the same title and a co-authored volume,
Comparative Political Transitions between Southeast Asia and the Middle East and North Africa as well as Shifting Sands,
Essays on Sports and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa and just published China and the Middle East: Venturing
into the Maelstrom
Comments
Mental health problems in university students
By Dr. Javed Akhtar
Student mental health is a completely
neglected area. The lack of facilities in
the campuses, poor or no career advice
and the uncertain future regarding career
prospects is leading to high degrees of
bans ultra-conservative strands of Islam.
The emerging ultra-conservative business
community is as much a product of the
continued appeal of Saudi-inspired or
Saudi-promoted strands of Islam as it
is a product of the Kazakh crackdown
on ultra-conservative and militant
expressions of religion.
“Saudi Arabia is the homeland of Islam, it
is a desert land, but they received a bonus
from Allah—oil—to help them spread the
true religion. Saudi Arabia is not pure
sharia, but is the closest to it,” said Ilya,
a US-educated Kazakh entrepreneur
portrayed by Ms. Biard.
His community is populated by
entrepreneurs whose Islamic practice,
including the wearing of long beards and
public display of religious rituals such as
praying five times a day, excludes them
from employment in the public sector.
Kazakh law bans prayer in public buildings
and gives the government a veto on
what religions may or may not preach,
according to Joanna Lillis, author of
recently published ‘Dark Shadows, Inside
the Secret World of Kazakhstan.’
Operating businesses ensures that
the community is not dependent on
charitable Saudi funding that is viewed
with suspicion by the government. The
businessmen’s religiosity however gives
them access to the Saudi market as well as
Saudi commercial funding.
“Halal business…has become a vehicle
for a group of economic-cum-religious
April 16-30, 2019
entrepreneurs to engage in Salafi
preaching in Kazakhstan without running
afoul of legal restrictions,” Ms. Biard said.
Their influence is substantial. As
models of piety, they are “reshaping
Kazakhstan’s religious landscape and
forms of communal identity in a Kazakh
society that is increasingly contending
with politicized religious divisions and
competing visions of religious authority,”
she said.
Said Ilya, who won a US$7 million Saudi
contract to build a tuberculosis hospital
for children: Proselytization or dawah “is
dangerous now, it is forbidden by the law,
but we do it anyway. As an entrepreneur,
I want to lead by example, that of a rightly
guided Muslim and show Islam as a way of
life. I have the intention (niyya) of working
for Allah through my business,”
Ilya cropped his beard and adapted his
public style of prayer as a safeguard
against government retribution.
His strategy and by implication that
of Saudi Arabia is an adaptation of
‘the march through the institutions’
propagated by German left-wing leader
Rudi Dutschke in the 1960s during the
student protests.
“As a Salafi, you can be a partisan inside, it
is hidden. You can get as close as possible
to your enemies and still be a Salafi. You
can work in the White House, in the
Kremlin. This is the power of aqeedah
(religious belief system): You can even be
close to Putin and still you are a Salaf,” Ilya
said.
Truth Tracker 19
April 16-30, 2019
anxiety and depression. This is taking high
toll . Considering that young boys and girls
in the universities are our future, this is a
neglect we can’t afford.
Recently the manifestations of this
neglect of mental health in students have
been highlighted in press after number
of tragic events. The daily “ Nation” on
August ,19 ,2018 reported, “ 4 students
committed suicide within a span of few
days in Chitral , a remote district of KP just
after announcement of higher secondary
school results for not being able to achieve
the grades , they or their parents were
expecting.”
The daily “ DAWN” on September
,16,2018 ,published a study that reported
high prevalence of suicidal ideation among
young students especially girls in Karachi”
Sadia Saleem and her colleagues
conducted a survey about mental health
problems in university students of 19 to
26 years age range in Lahore and reported
alarming results regarding student’s mental
health.According to their report 31% of
the university students “fell in the severe
category “of mental health problem. (
FWU journal of social sciences ,Winter
2013 , Vol 7,No.2 ,124 -130).
In February 2019 a final year medical
student was found hanging in his hostel
room apparently for no reported reason
(ARY news.tv). Medical students in other
medical colleges have also reported
suicides.
The college and university year of
an individual are emotionally and
intellectually more demanding than almost
any other stage of life. At this stage an
individual faces a great deal of pressure
and challenges connected to career,
posing a variety of emotional and social
difficulties. The situation gets worse in
developing countries and especially in a
country like Pakistan. Here there are Lack
of resources, poverty , unemployment ,
social injustices, political instability, and
unrealistic expectation of parents from the
growing individual. As a result substantial
number of university students experience
a variety of mental health problems
ranging from mild to severe level.
The more common problems faced by
university student are mood disturbance,
destructive behaviors, interpersonal
problems and identity confusion. Number
of studies have shown that majority of
university student claim to experience
stress, anxiety , symptoms of depression
and un explained physical difficulties.
These experiences have significant
negative effect on their academic
performance and their mental health.
The Writer is a practicing psychiatrist based at Bannu and Ex. Head of Department of Psychiatry Bannu
Medical College. He can be reached at javaiddr2002@gmail.com
20 Truth Tracker
In the background of above mentioned
miserable situation bitter fact is that
majority of students who have these
problems do not receive any therapeutic
or counseling services .In fact, there are
no formal psychiatric/counseling services
available in most of the universities in
Pakistan. There is no career counseling.
Therefore students are under pressure to
adopt one or two careers and when they
fail to follow that, there is hug pressure
from parents and peers. Consequently
significant number of students at the
time of stress resort to unhealthy coping
strategies such as risky use of mobile
technology, different types of drug abuse
such as cannabis , misuse of anxiolytics
and pain killers etc. Recent rise of cocaine
and especially ICE use in college and
university students is an alarming message
for parents and education administrators.
More over this continuing stressful
situation in academic environment is
leading to severe mental disorders such
as depression, drug dependence, anxiety
disorder and even psychosis ( Dunya News
July ,2018).
What is the solution:
In a country where about 60 % of the
total population( web desk Dunya News)
is comprised of youth, there is dire need
for timely intervention. This can help to
prevent substance abuse, psychiatric
problems such as anxiety, depression and
psychosis (a form of severe mental illness).
This can also help to avoid the great
misery of families who have to suffer due
to these illnesses.
Following are few suggestions to
overcome this crisis.
1. Teachers, administrators of
educational institutions and parents
should be sensitized about the nature
of the problem by organizing seminars
and using print and electronic media .
2. Teachers need to be trained for early
detection of mental health problems in
the students and their timely referral
to the specialist care.
3. Student teacher communication
need to be improved to facilitate the
problem solving approach.
4. Counseling services (comprising
of multidisciplinary team)at each
university should be made compulsory
for registration with higher education
commission. A multidisciplinary
team should comprise of at least one
psychiatrist, two clinical psychologists
and two student counselors.
5. Career counseling must be provided
soon after the matric exams. Students
also need to be given opportunities to
gain some experience of work before
actually further education. This will
help to avoid focus only on theoretical
teaching and help students to gain
some experience of the real world.
6. A major source of stress is ETA test
for entry to professional colleges.
Students, especially those opting for
medical and engineering have a never
ending source of stress, even after
FSc exams are over. This year In KPK,
the exam was cancelled or postponed
three times, playing havoc with the
students’ mental health. The ETA and
admission process for professional
colleges need to be streamlined on
rational grounds.
7. Students unions used to provide a
healthy outlet for their frustrations,
helped students build social skills and
broaden their view. Unfortunately,
these were highly politicized but
banning these is not the answer.
Students union should be restored
with clear roles and responsibilities
and with complete independence from
political parties.
8. Access to online and social media must
be regulated, especially in schools.
Parents need to be trained in dealing
with adverse effects of social media,
restricting screen time for children and
encouraging more face to face family
and social time.
9. Almost all higher educational
institutions do not take any
responsibility for the hostels, where
students reside. Since students’
numbers have exceeded much
more than the number that can
be accommodated on university
campuses and almost no new
investment is made in building new
hostels, majority of students are
forced to live in highly expensive
and poor quality accommodations
in the residential areas. The hostel
accommodation needs to be inspected
and regulated to at least provide
minimum standards for students’
accommodation.
10. Clear communication between
students, parents and teachers is
essential. Communication with parents
must not be limited only to academic
results. Each student needs to have a
named mentor, who has responsibility
for communicating with the students
and parents. This will help to identify
problems at earliest possible stage and
identify possible solutions.
These suggestions may appear daunting.
Actions only in a few areas can help
tremendously to improve the mental
health in students. Any investment in
students mental health is investment in
our own future and in the healthy society
that will build the future of nation. We
simply can’t afford to neglect it any more.
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The team has four goals:

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Articles here may be reprinted with permission and credit to TruthTracker. Please contact us for
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Web: www.truthtracker.pk
April 16-30, 2019

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