Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry and Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari on Wednesday condemned the attack on journalist Asad Ali Toor, by unidentified men.
As per the official account of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, SSP Islamabad has been directed to probe the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Federal Minister for I&B @fawadchaudhry condemns the assault on journalist @AsadAToor. SSP Islamabad has been directed to probe the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.
— Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (@MoIB_Official) May 25, 2021
Condemn attack on journalist Asad Toor. Perpetrators are on the CCTV cameras and Info Min @fawadchaudhry has already been in touch with the police to take necessary action.
As per Asad Ali Toor’s video statement, three unidentified men broke into his apartment and tortured him. The three assailants can be seen leaving Toor’s apartment in the CCTV footage, reported BBC Urdu. Journalist Shahbaz Zahid also posted the CCTV footage on Twitter.
Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also called for a full and transparent inquiry of the incident.
The attack on @AsadAToor in Islamabad is highly condemnable. His voice will only grow stronger & louder. The regimes cowardliness on full display when journalists and freedom of the press are under attack . We demand a full & transparent enquiry to expose the truth.
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) May 26, 2021
Amnesty International has also urged authorities to take urgent steps for the safety of media workers in Pakistan.
We reiterate our call to authorities to take urgent steps to provide journalists with greater protection, following years of spiralling threats, intimidation and attacks against media workers in Pakistan. #JournalismIsNotACrime
— Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office (@amnestysasia) May 26, 2021
Journalists from around the country have condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with Toor.
This is extremely disturbing and highly condemnable. All journalists and freedom of expression defenders should condemn it. https://t.co/JtbMmV9LYX
His home violated. Gagged and tied up. Beaten. Asked about his ‘source of funds’. The violence is a message. Knowing Asad, he will hold his head up higher after this. https://t.co/3wad5BTI57
In the last 48 hours there had been series of violent incidents against journalists and attack on Asad Ali Toor most serious of them all. No wonder why Islamabad has become the most dangerous city for journalists. These incidents should not go un-noticed.
Asad Toor’s wound speaks of the lawlessness in federal capital and helplessness of its police. People are not safe even within the walls of their houses. So much for the safe city cameras and journalists safety bills. pic.twitter.com/6SpT31eSD4
The federal cabinet in April approved the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Bill. Last year, journalist Matiullah Jan was abducted in Islamabad but was released after 12 hours while last month, senior journalist Absar Alam survived an assassination attempt in Islamabad. The Freedom Network’s annual state of press freedom report released in April 2021 highlighted a dramatic escalation in the climate of intimidation and harassment of journalists and the media in Pakistan.
Mahira Khan has urged Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari to “lead by example” and look into giving protection to minorities after a 200-strong mob attacked a Christian family in Okara.
According to reports, Christian boys were beaten in a Muslim-majority village in the Okara district of Punjab following which a mob of villagers attacked the Christian community in the area.
Father Khalid Mukhtar, parish priest of St. Thomas Catholic Church in Chak 5 said the attack was sparked following an attack on Catholic youngsters on May 14.
“The boys were cleaning the church when one of the Muslim landlords, passing by the church, accused them of throwing dust on him. They attacked the boys and then raided 15 houses of our community the next day,” said the priest.
Mangta Masih, a labourer lost his thumb when the mob attacked his house.
“We hid our women inside while they tried to break in,” said Masih. “One of them grabbed me from behind and another struck with a sickle blade. I tried to prevent the blow with my right hand. I fell down and they kept beating us with batons.”
He further shared that the attackers were “armed with glass bottles, stones, axes, batons and bricks”.
“Others used stairs to climb to our roofs and started breaking our furniture. We pleaded to spare the women but the attack continued for half an hour,” said Masih.
Another woman who was wounded in the attack said that the mob “broke the locks, grabbed our hair and pulled us out one by one”.
“Young girls were assaulted and left with torn clothes,” said the woman, detailing the horror. Christian activists have been sharing disturbing footage of the attack on social media.
Following the attacks, Father Mukhtar conducted a meeting of parish committee members on May 16 at St. Thomas Church, gathered statements of the injured and filed a complaint at the local police station.
The local deputy superintendent of police visited the site and assured locals that a first information report (FIR) would be registered against the assailants under Section 452 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Meanwhile, Osman Khalid Butt also urged the Federal Minister to take notice and protect religious minorities in the country.
Other sources claim the mob was 200-strong. This is District Okara. @ShireenMazari1 I urge you to take notice – our religious minorities need protection and justice.https://t.co/qO4Uqjonu9
Bloodshed between Israel and Hamas escalated overnight, with at least 35 Palestine Muslims killed in Gaza and five people killed in Israel in the most intensive aerial exchanges for years.
Israel carried out hundreds of air strikes in Gaza into the early hours of Wednesday, and Gazans fired multiple rocket barrages at Tel Aviv and Beersheba in response.
As tensions rise between Palestinians and Israelis, the international media, social media noticed that the coverage of the international press was incredibly one-sided.
Los Angeles Times: “In abrupt escalation, Hamas rockets target Jerusalem and Israel retaliates.” pic.twitter.com/1gyqzCggZu
As tensions rose between Palestinians and Israelis, people voiced their concerns and sympathies on social media.
U.N. Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland tweeted: “Stop the fire immediately. We’re escalating towards a full scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of de-escalation.
Stop the fire immediately. We’re escalating towards a full scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of deescalation. The cost of war in Gaza is devastating & is being paid by ordinary people. UN is working w/ all sides to restore calm. Stop the violence now
“The cost of war in Gaza is devastating & is being paid by ordinary people. UN is working w/ all sides to restore calm. Stop the violence now,” he said.
The world reminded the people of Palestine that they are not alone is such devastating times.
These residential buildings are homes to scores of families who will not only lose their shelter but also their belongings, memories & security. Generations are living in constant shock & trauma. #GazaUnderAttack 30 Palestinians killed, 203 injured. https://t.co/a0PHEL2hlq
Human Rights Minister in PM Khan cabinet, Shireen Mazari said, “Palestinians prevented from praying in Al Quds mosque & killing of innocent Palestinians in Gaza incl children – & all UN can do is express ‘concern’.”
State terrorism by Israel against Palestinians continues unabated. Palestinians prevented from praying in Al Quds mosque & killing of innocent Palestinians in Gaza incl children – & all UN can do is express “concern”! OIC also needs to move beyond rhetoric on Palestine & Kashmir
” OIC also needs to move beyond rhetoric on Palestine & Kashmir,” she added.
However, this has been the heaviest offensive between Israel and Hamas since a 2014 war in Gaza, and prompted international concern that the situation could spiral out of control.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has said that it rejects any attempts to further gag the fundamental right of freedom of expression in the name of preventing defamation and disrespect of the armed forces.
In a statement, Senator Farhatullah Babar expressed grave concern over a bill moved by a PTI MNA and approved by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior seeking to amend the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) to send anyone to jail for two years with fine Rs 500,000 or both for what has been described as ‘defamation of the army”.
He said that Section 500 of the PPC already provides punishment for the defamation of anyone, and the addition of Section 500-A is aimed only at gagging freedom of expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the constitution in name of national security. It is not acceptable and will be opposed at every platform he said.
“The nation has witnessed enough of how behind the facade of ‘national security’ citizens have disappeared mysteriously, national resources diverted, internment centres set up, ex-tribal areas made a no-go area, foreign and security policies hijacked and security establishment’s business and commercial empire expanded exponentially.”
Section 500-A is liable to be grossly misused in the name of national security as Section 295-C has been misused in the name of religion, he said.
“Defence forces working within their constitutional limits are universally admired and do not need any legislation to protect their honor and respect. Similarly, no legislation can stop people from questioning those who transgress their limits with impunity,” he said.
While the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) reportedly tried to block the bill from approval by NA Standing Committee on Interior, saying it was a violation of right to freedom of expression, some government members have also expressed concern.
While Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari had earlier blocked a similar bid to curb criticism, Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry has now said it was an “absolutely ridiculous idea”.
absolutely ridiculous idea to criminalise criticism, respect is earned, cannot be imposed on people, I strongly feel instead of new such laws Contempt of Court laws should be repealed …. https://t.co/iKMuaK6gwU
In a tweet, he said he strongly felt that instead of introducing new laws to quell criticism, the laws dealing with contempt of court “should be repealed”.
Seeking disbanding of the election watchdog, the ruling party has called on the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) to resign for “failing to hold the recently-held Senate elections in a transparent manner”.
“It was a longstanding demand of the prime minister that the power of money should not be used to influence elections,” said Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood while addressing a press conference alongside Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz and Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry.
“For this purpose, the premier wanted the Senate elections to be held via an open ballot.”
Mahmood said it is the sole responsibility of the ECP to ensure transparent polls are held. He said that the government had told the ECP to implement a system wherein it would not be possible for corrupt practices to take place.
The minister called on the election commission to be disbanded, alleging that it had failed to meet up to the standards required of it.
“To ensure transparent elections are held is the responsibility of the election commission. This responsibility was not fulfilled,” he said. “The election commission failed to act as a neutral umpire hence it should resign,” added Mahmood.
Explaining the government’s demand for the ECP to be disbanded, Mahmood said the PTI was the most popular political party in the country yet it did not have confidence in the ECP. He claimed the ruling party was not the only one which didn’t trust the ECP.
Earlier, Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari had also taken a dig at the CEC, saying: “It is unfortunate that he is increasingly creating a partisan image of the ECP which erodes its credibility as well as [the] credibility of future elections under its supervision.”
For the PDM to now cry hoarse about Senate elections when earlier they applauded the obduracy of ECP & the CEC to ensure free, fair & transparent Senate elections despite SC judgement shows how self interest overrides national interest on all counts.
Instead of supporting PM IK & PTI’s demand for open ballot to ensure transparency in Senate elections, PDM’s opportunism & CEC’s partisan approach prevented fair, free and transparent Senate elections. CEC must take prime responsibility for this sorry state of electoral affairs.
The minister had alleged that the CEC was partial and added that “instead of supporting PM & PTI’s demand for open ballot to ensure transparency in Senate elections, PDM’s opportunism & CEC’s partisan approach prevented fair, free and transparent Senate elections”.
“CEC must take prime responsibility for this sorry state of electoral affairs.”
Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would meet a three-member representative committee of the missing persons who have been staging a sit-in in Islamabad for more than a week.
The families of the Baloch missing persons, who have been raising their voice for the recovery of their loved ones for decades, are staging a sit-in in the federal capital against the enforced disappearances.
On Saturday, the human rights minister visited the protest camp and assured that their reservations will be relayed to the prime minister.
“On instructions from the PM, Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari met with the missing persons’ families this afternoon,” said a statement shared by Mazari on her Twitter account.
According to the statement, Mazari told them that the PM wanted them to “end their dharna”.
“He [PM] would meet a three-member representative committee from amongst them in March and Dr Mazari would arrange this meeting,” the statement said, adding that the families have been asked to “hand over the list of their missing persons to Dr Mazari so that their status could be ascertained and conveyed to the PM before the meeting with the families’ representatives”.
“The families requested that priority be given to the missing persons of the 13 families present at the dharna,” the statement added.
Earlier this week, a meeting of the federal cabinet had expressed concern over the longstanding issue of missing persons and directed the authorities concerned to make prompt legislation in the parliament to ensure that there was no missing person in the present government.
Earlier this week, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Vice President Maryam Nawaz visited the camp of the Baloch families. At the time, she urged the army chief and Inter-Services Intelligence chief to play their role to address the issue.
She criticised the government for not reaching out to the protesters, saying that it was the duty of the state to take care of its citizens.
A bill seeking criminalisation of enforced disappearances was proposed by the Human Rights Ministry in 2018. It was sent to the Ministry of Law, but the ministry has yet to clear the proposed legislation despite the passage of a considerable amount of time.
Former prime minister (PM) Raja Pervaiz Ashraf among other opposition members have accused Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari of “making obscene gestures at an opposition MNA” in a claim that has been rubbished by the latter.
“I could not even dare to explain the kind of gestures made by the minister,” media quoted the former premier as saying after yet another session of the National Assembly was marred by ruckus by both government and opposition members during each other’s turn to speak on the floor.
According to the details of Wednesday’s episode in the lower house of the parliament, the government tabled the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill that seeks open balloting in upcoming Senate polls. Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem presented the bill amid loud slogans and protest by the opposition against the said amendment.
As the session continued, a heated exchange of words took place between three members of the parliament when Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Agha Rafiullah tore his copy of the bill and tossed it in the air in front of Speaker Asad Qaiser.
After the incident, the speaker’s desk was surrounded, books were banged on the desks to disrupt proceedings, whistles were blown and Rafiullah claimed that Mazari allegedly hand-signalled the number five at him; taking it as Moutza.
Moutza is the most traditional gesture of insult among Greeks. It consists of extending and spreading all fingers of the hand and presenting the palm towards the face of the person to be insulted with a forward motion. It is often coupled with swear words.
Rafiullah was furious; he refused to tolerate it; brought the matter to everyone’s attention and the commotion almost turned into a quarrel when a couple of ruling party MNAs, including Malik Anwar Taj, accused him of throwing papers on Speaker Asad Qaiser, The Express Tribune reported.
Rafiullah, however, denied the allegation and once again drew the house’s attention to Moutza.
Ex-PM Ashraf expressed annoyance over the alleged insulting gesture, regretted treasury benches’ behaviour and reminded them that they don’t have the numbers needed for making a constitutional amendment.
When given the floor, Mazari, on the other hand, alleged that Rafiullah swore at a woman MNA from the treasury benches and threw papers on Qaiser’s face.
“I was only seeking your attention,” she told the speaker when asked to explain her gestures.
As the opposition-led movement to oust the Imran government gains momentum, Human Rights Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf senior leader Shireen Mazari has alleged that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a joint opposition alliance, is receiving foreign funding.
In an interview with Dawn News, the federal minister claimed that a lot of people who are part of the PDM have received “a lot of foreign funds”. She, however, couldn’t provide any proof.
“If we get the evidence […] but when we receive hardcore evidence, then it will become the responsibility of the government to take action,” she said, adding that “let’s see how things unfold”.
According to Mazari, it had come to her knowledge that that evidence was now surfacing regarding funding for the opposition alliance from abroad.
“[I have] heard that a lot of evidence has been found that funding, encouragement is being sent. You know Pakistan has dissident groups abroad. Every country has them, dissident groups from Pakistan are also abroad, the way they are living, after all they are receiving money from somewhere.”
A similar claim was made by the prime minister of Pakistan a couple of days, when he told a delegation of senior journalists that certain countries were supporting the PDM in its bid to oust his government, Daily Pakistan reported.
It may be noted here that PTI is also case pertaining to foreign funding in the Election Commission of Pakistan. The ECP officials will meet on Dec 31 to discuss the audit of the PTI after multiple delayed hearings.
Meanwhile, PDM Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, flanked by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, addressed a press conference on Wednesday. He had said that the rally at Minar-e-Pakistan on December 13 will be held “at all costs”.
France on Sunday objected to a statement by Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari equating President Emmanuel Macron’s new measures to counter “Islamist separatism” in France with the anti-semitic policies of Nazi Germany, however, the issue was later resolved when both sides held dialogue after a false claim in the cited news article came to light.
Earlier this week, Macron issued a “charter of republican values”, detailing a series of steps aimed at purging France of what he declared as “radical Islam”. One of the measures made it necessary for school-going children to wear an identification number that would be used to ensure they are attending school.
Mazari, who apparently understood that the identification number would be issued exclusively to Muslim children, censured the move, saying through the new measures, “Macron is doing to Muslims what the Nazis did to the Jews” in Nazi Germany.
“Muslim children will get ID numbers (other children won’t) just as Jews were forced to wear the yellow star on their clothing for identification,” she added linking to an online article.
Responding to the tweet, the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs on Sunday issued a statement, calling the minister’s remark “insulting […] blatant lies, loaded with an ideology of hatred and violence.”
The rather unceremonious statement asked Pakistan to “return to the path of dialogue based on respect.”
The publication later amended the article and issued a clarification stating that the law mentioned in the article applies to all children in France, not specifically Muslim children.
The embassy also sent a series of tweets to point out the mistakes in the article.
In response to the French envoy’s message, Mazari deleted her tweet and issued a clarification on Twitter and admitted her mistake. “The French Envoy to Pak sent me the following message and as the article I had cited has been corrected by the relevant publication, I have also deleted my tweet on the same,” she tweeted.
Responding to the minister’s tweet, the French Embassy thanked Mazari for the clarification and apology, and wrote that “freedom of expression and debates are essential in democracies, based on verified and accurate facts.”
Macron on Wednesday unveiled the bill and asked Muslim leaders in France to agree to its instructions as part of a broad clampdown on so-called “Islamic extremism”. He gave the French Council of the Muslim Faith 15 days to work with the interior ministry.
The bill includes measures which include: restrictions on home-schooling and harsher punishments for those who intimidate public officials on religious grounds; giving children an identification number under the law that would be used to ensure they are attending school and a ban on sharing the personal information of a person in a way that allows them to be located by people who want to harm them.
Parents who break the law could face up to six months in jail as well as large fines, it said.
The draft law — which Macron said will strengthen a 1905 law separating Church and state in France — will be discussed by the French cabinet on December 9.
The new bill comes on the heels of three separate instances of terrorism following the publication of blasphemous caricatures by Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly best known for vulgar irreverence, and Macron’s insistence on defending the act in the name of freedom of expression.
Following the publication of these cartoons and Macron’s defense of it, relations between France and the Muslim world grew sour as tens of thousands of Muslims in several countries joined protests, burned effigies of Macron, chanted anti-French slogans and called for a boycott of French goods.
English daily Dawn has landed in hot water “for suggesting that Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari got a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official removed from office on the call of her daughter, Imaan Mazari”.
As per the details, Asif Iqbal of FIA’s cybercrime wing had registered an FIR against singer Meesha Shafi, actor Iffat Omer and seven others for their alleged involvement in a vilification campaign against singer Ali Zafar.
Iqbal, who often uses his social media to share details of different cybercrime laws and punishments, was removed from office after a tweet mentioning Section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Media Crimes Act (PECA) 2016.
Whoever publicly exhibits false information that harms the reputation of a person, is a crime U/S 20 of Cybercrime Act. اگر سوشل میڈیا پرکسی شخص کےبارے Fake News غلط خبرکی تشہیر کی جائے جس سے اسکی بدنامی ہو، جرم ہے جسکی سزا 3 سال قید یا 10لاکھ روپے جرمانہ یا دونوں ہیں۔
A notification by FIA director (cybercrime wing) announced the suspension of assistant director Iqbal soon after the said tweet.
“Service of Muhammad Asif Iqbal, assistant director/senior investigator (BPS-17) cybercrime reporting centre Lahore is hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect till further orders,” read the notification without any reason, prior warning or show-cause notice.
Dawn had quoted an official source as saying that Iqbal was suspended on the basis of the tweet.
It wasn’t later that Twitterati, including prominent ones, started alleging that some influential person in Islamabad was behind the sacking.
Apparently 1 of the ministers involved in getting @AsifIqbalccw suspended. The only competent officer. remember child pornography only conviction even in Pakistan was under his supervision. #JusticeForAsifIqbal -every1 tag @cybercrimefia -meesha shafi mindset can’t pressurise FIA
Amid the claims and the subsequent report by Dawn, hashtags ‘#JusticeforAsifIqbal’ and ‘#SackShireenMazari’ started trending on Twitter.
“Dawn sunk to new lows by publishing a maliciously motivated incorrect news story about how I had an FIA cybercrime official suspended after my daughter tweeted,” Shireen Mazari said soon after.
@dawn_com sunk to new lows by publishing a maliciously motivated incorrect news story about how I had an FIA cyber crime official suspended after my daughter tweeted. FIA put out an immediate rejoinder to the @Dawn story but some are bent on maligning & character assassination pic.twitter.com/OxxHTqpr8T
“[I] have nothing to do with this and to publish a false story implicating me is unacceptable. This false story resulted in vicious online abuse and this reporter should now come to court with evidence,” Imaan wrote.
FIA, on the other hand, has issued a statement saying it suspended Iqbal for acting as its “unofficial” spokesperson.
“Assistant Director Asif Iqbal was suspended and issued an explanation for maintaining a private Twitter account bearing cybercrime wing Lahore. He was acting as a spokesman for the cybercrime wing on his own accord without permission which is against disciplinary rules,” a statement posted by the wing’s spokesperson read.
This provided yet another little twist to a rare case where the agency had sought to discipline one of its own staffers.
