Tag: Shireen Mazari

  • Foreign Minister Qureshi likely to be replaced by Shireen Mazari as govt, army mend Riyadh ties: report

    Foreign Minister Qureshi likely to be replaced by Shireen Mazari as govt, army mend Riyadh ties: report

    Rumours regarding the removal of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, ever since his statement regarding ditching Saudi Arabia for Kashmir’s sake, have gone rife in the federal capital as reports claim he is likely to be replaced by Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari amid Islamabad’s attempts to mend ties with Riyadh.

    Qureshi had earlier this month accused the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) of dilly-dallying on the Kashmir issue in remarks that were seen by Riyadh as an attack on its leadership of the organisation.

    “I am once again respectfully telling OIC that a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) is our expectation. If you cannot convene it, then I’ll be compelled to ask Prime Minister Imran Khan to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir and support the oppressed Kashmiris,” Qureshi had said during an interview.

    Days after his statement, as diplomatic strains occur between Islamabad and Riyadh over the Kashmir issue, it was announced by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa will be visiting Saudi Arabia to discuss regional security issues and Kashmir dispute with the Saudi leadership.

    “Yes, he [Gen Bajwa] is travelling,” the Pakistan Army spokesperson told the foreign media outlet, adding that the visit was pre-planned and “primarily military affairs oriented”.

    However, reports had said that while the two countries are traditionally close and Saudi Arabia in 2018 gave Pakistan a $3 billion loan and $3.2 billion oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis, Riyadh is irked by criticism from Islamabad that Saudi Arabia has been lukewarm on the Kashmir territorial dispute, motivating COAS Bajwa’s fence-building visit Sunday.

    Meanwhile, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari publicly criticised Qureshi, saying his statements had let down both the Kashmiris and PM Imran.

    While her statement was seen as the first step to replace Qureshi in a bid to pacify the Saudis, it suggests that the Imran Khan government is publicly distancing itself from the actions and statements of the incumbent foreign minister.

    If there is any truth to the claims, it won’t be the first time cash-strapped Pakistan will be prioritising relations with Saudi Arabia, as most recently, Islamabad had also pulled out of a Muslim nations’ forum in Malaysia at the last minute on insistence by Riyadh, which saw the gathering as an attempt to challenge its leadership of the OIC.

    Saudia Arabia had already made Pakistan pay back $1 billion two weeks ago, forcing it to borrow from another close ally, China, and Riyadh is yet to respond to Pakistan’s request to extend the oil credit facility.

  • Targeting women

    Targeting women

    A large group of Pakistani women in media have released a joint statement about organised trolling, abuse and harassment they face online. The statement says, “Vicious attacks through social media are being directed at women journalists and commentators in Pakistan, making it incredibly difficult for them to carry out their professional duties.”

    The statement further says that online attacks are instigated by government officials and then amplified by a large number of Twitter accounts, which declare their affiliation to the ruling party.

    They asked the government to restrain its members from repeatedly targeting women in the media, send out a clear message to all party members, supporters and followers, to desist from launching these attacks, whether directly or indirectly and, hold all such individuals within the government accountable and take action against them. #AttacksWontSilenceUs, the hashtag used by the women who released the statement, trended at No 1 on Twitter.

    Targeting women in media is easy as there are only about five percent of women who are journalists in Pakistan. They not only face vile abuse related to their gender, but they also face a barrage of allegations that they take ‘lifafa’ or are paid by Opposition parties. These bullying tactics are used to either silence them and/or discredit them. Last year, a report titled ‘Hostile Bytes – a study of online violence against women journalists’ by Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD) said that 95 percent of women journalists feel online violence has an impact on their professional choices, while 77 percent self-censor as a way to counter online violence. In the recent statement by women media practitioners, self-censorship was identified as a problem as well as hacking attempts of their social media accounts. The mental toll it must take on those who are at the receiving end of this constant abuse is another factor that leads to self-censorship.

    Targeting women is a worldwide phenomenon. In neighbouring India, the trend is quite similar. Amnesty International published a report earlier this year, which said that women politicians in India face a shocking scale of abuse on Twitter. “Women are targeted with abuse online not just for their opinions – but also for various identities, such as gender, religion, caste, and marital status.” It has also been seen how women journalists who do not toe the official government line in India are viciously trolled by the ‘Modi Bhakts’ on social media platforms, especially Twitter.

    The National Assembly’s Human Rights Committee has invited women media practitioners who released the statement to come and highlight their issues in a meeting on Tuesday. Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari also lent her support to the women media practitioners in her tweets. It is important that these issues are raised at the right platforms so that Pakistani online spaces can be safe for women from all spheres of life. A civil discourse is the need of the hour instead of online abuse. We hope that those who are behind such campaigns can actually get past their political differences and ensure that online spaces are used for meaningful discourse instead of bullying.

  • Shireen Mazari takes notice of harassment at Lahore’s private educational institutions

    Shireen Mazari takes notice of harassment at Lahore’s private educational institutions

    Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari has taken notice of allegations of harassment and inappropriate behaviour by instructors at two of Lahore’s premier private institutions. While the minister did not name the institutions, it is being speculated that she is referring to Lahore Grammar School 1A1 Branch (Ghalib Market) and the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

    In a Twitter update, Mazari said that she has taken notice of the matter and that the regional offices have been alerted on the matter.

    The Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) also announced that they have taken notice of matter and said that assistance is available on their helpline 1099.

    Earlier in the day, The Current reported that the management of LGS 1A1 Ghalib Market Branch, including female teachers, had come under fire for covering up harassment and inappropriate behaviour by instructors for years. It is pertinent to mention here that most of the girls studying at the school were minors at the time.

    Read more – Private school in Lahore comes under fire for covering up harassment

    Such incidents had reportedly been going on for the past four or five years and the victims had been reporting the matter to the admin and their teachers. However, their teachers had been covering up for their colleagues and brushing the matter under the carpet. They resorted to victim-blaming and refused to take any action. Strict and immediate action was only taken after the girls shared their ordeal on social media.

    According to details, students have come forward and shared their experiences of being harassed by three teachers namely Aitezaz Rehman Sheikh, Umer Shareef and Zahid Iqbal Warraich.

    Similarly, students and alumni of LUMS shared their experiences of being harassed by instructors and fellow students on a private group. Some of the students have also decided to pursue the matter and their perpetrators through legal channels.

  • Uzma Khan vs Malik Riaz’s daughters: Everything we know so far

    Uzma Khan vs Malik Riaz’s daughters: Everything we know so far

    Actor Uzma Khan has accused the daughters of property tycoon Malik Riaz of assaulting and threatening her.

    In a statement, the actor wrote, “I have been shamed, blackmailed, harassed, been threatened to kill in the past three days. I feel I have nothing to lose now and I have decided to fight the strongest people of Pakistan. For me, it is either I get justice or I will be killed but there is no turning back now.”

    “I will fight against daughters (Amber Malik & Pashmina Malik) of Malik Riaz, who stormed into my house around midnight with 12 men,” she added.

    Uzma also said that she has filed a police complaint against her alleged harassers and requested them to register her FIR and conduct her and her sister Huma Khan’s medical examination.

    https://twitter.com/uzmaaaK/status/1265607087431782402?s=20

    In a follow-up tweet, Khan said that she will share more details in a press conference scheduled to take place on Thursday.

    https://twitter.com/uzmaaaK/status/1265635318251892738?s=20

    According to the actor’s lawyer Khadija Siddiqui, the incident took place on the eve of Chaand Raat. She shared that Malik Riaz’s daughters – Amber and Pashmina – along with Usman’s wife Amna stormed into Uzma’s house with 12 gunmen where they assaulted and injured Uzma and her sister and threatened to kill them. Amna is the daughter of Amber Malik’s husband’s brother.

    They vandalised the house, broke things and even attempted to sexually assault the girls by telling their goons to touch them. Moreso, they filmed everything including the women which is a breach of their privacy. The lawyer added that Riaz’s daughters took away all the belongings of the two sisters, including their clothes and shoes and said that they will set them on fire.

    “We’ve registered a complaint against Malik Riaz’s daughters but the police were not willing to register an FIR against them,” said Khadija, adding that if they are unable to register an FIR, they will take the matter up in court. Uzma’s other lawyer, Hassan Niazi also tweeted that the local police station was not willing to register the FIR and that the SP exited from the police station after asking them to wait.

    However, Punjab Police later clarified that legal action has been initiated against perpetrators.

    FIR registered

    Later, Hassan also shared that an FIR has been registered.

    Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari also shared a copy of the FIR on social media.

    Videos of the incident have gone viral on social media with people, including fellow actors, demanding justice for Uzma and her sister.

    Uzma’s lawyer detained

    Khan’s counsel Hassan Niazi was also detained at Phase 6 police station while his phone has been snatched by SP Furqan Bilal.

    https://twitter.com/uzmaaaK/status/1265704029092544514?s=20

    Malik Riaz, Aamna Usman respond

    Meanwhile, following the incident, Malik Riaz took to social media to say that Usman was not his nephew and that he has nothing to do with the incident. While the relation between Malik Riaz and Usman is still not clear, it has been confirmed that the women attacking Uzma and her sisters in the video were indeed his daughters.

    Usman’s wife Aamna, in a video message also shared her side of the story and asserted that Usman has no relation with Malik Riaz. She said that she repeatedly asked Uzma to stay away from her husband, but the actor paid no heed to her warnings. Aamna also said that the house where the incident took place was Usman’s and not Uzma’s.

    However, Uzma’s lawyers slammed Aamna’s video and said that they will not compromise under any circumstances.

  • Mahira Khan wants more swift action against child rapists

    Mahira Khan wants more swift action against child rapists

    The brutal rape and torture of a 10-year-old student by a Madrassa teacher in Abbottabad’s Mansehra sparked national outrage.

    One of Pakistan’s most vocal actors, Mahira Khan took to Twitter to voice her concern and demanded the authorities to “make an example out of these monsters.” In her tweet, she also tagged the Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari.

    In response to her tweet, the minister said that the perpetrator has been arrested and that efforts are being made to prevent these horrendous crimes. She shared that the Zainab Alert Bill has been passed by the Standing Committee of Human Rights and that “much as we would like to simply catch these monsters and publicly punish them, the government has to go according to the law.”

    She also revealed that a “holistic policy on child abuse” is being prepared on the direction of Prime Minister Imran Khan and “within two weeks it should be ready with all stakeholders being taken on board.”

    Mahira thanked the minister for her response and requested for more swift action to be taken again such issues. She also asserted that more noise should be made so that “a loud and clear message should go out to these predators.”

    Other than Mahira, actor-activist Nadia Jamil has also been raising her voice on the matter of child sexual abuse.

  • VIDEO: British journalist destroys Shireen Mazari on silence over China’s repression of Uighur Muslims

    British journalist Mehdi Hasan has called out the Prime Minsiter (PM) Imran Khan-led Pakistan government for voicing concerns over repression being faced by Muslims across the globe expect the Chinese persecution of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.

    Speaking to Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari on his show, Al Jazeera’s Hasan asked as to why had Pakistan not publicly criticised China on its detention of millions of Uighur Muslims.

    “There’s a quote on your Twitter profile page from the great Muslim leader and the grandson of the prophet, Imam Hussain, that reads ‘those who are silent when others are oppressed, are guilty of oppression themselves’,” he said, adding that in China, millions of Uighur Muslims were being detained against their will in “concentration camps” and yet the Pakistani government had said nothing.

    “In fact, PM Imran Khan has said that he will not criticise China on this publically. Couldn’t the Uighurs say that your silence, Pakistan’s silence, means that you’re guilty of oppressing them too?”

    Responding to the question, Mazari said that the link established by Hasan was “absurd” since her government had talked to China. “When we have evidence, we take it up. But China is an ally of ours, and we will not go screaming on the streets about it.”

    When asked if Pakistan had condemned Chinese actions privately, the minister said that Islamabad had been speaking to the Chinese and “hearing their point of view”.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “You haven’t stood up and spoken about the Uighurs… that’s the problem,” the journalist maintained as Mazari said repression must be called out regardless of who was behind it when asked if she would condemn the Chinese actions.

    PAKISTAN, CHINA & UIGHURS:

    The Chinese government has reportedly detained more than a million Muslims in reeducation camps. Most of the people who have been arbitrarily detained are Uighur, a predominantly Turkic-speaking ethnic group primarily from China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang.

    Human rights organisations, United Nations (UN) officials and many foreign governments are urging China to stop the crackdown; however, officials maintain that what they call “vocational training centres” do not infringe on Uighurs’ rights.

    While the Chinese government has refused to share information about the detention centres and prevented journalists and foreign investigators from examining them, internal documents leaked in late 2019 have provided important details on how officials launched and maintain the camps.

    As part of a campaign seeking relief for Uighurs in China, Islamabad has time and again been called out for raising its voice for Muslims facing Indian oppression in held Kashmir as well as helpless Palestinians, but not for those in China where lie Pakistan’s economic interests — such as the construction of China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

    CPEC is a collection of infrastructure projects that are currently under construction throughout Pakistan. Originally valued at $46 billion, the value of CPEC projects is worth $62 billion as of 2017.

    It is expected to not only benefit Pakistan and China, but also to have a positive impact on Iran, Afghanistan and India with the enhancement of geographical links through improved road, rail and air transportation system with frequent and free exchanges of growth and people to people contact.

  • Shireen Mazari gives her verdict on Abrar ul Haq’s ‘Billo’

    We all know what an avid fan Shireen Mazari is of Coke Studio. No one can ever forget the fiasco that followed when she trashed Momina Mustehsan and Ahad Raza Mir’s rendition of the 1960s classic Ko Ko Korina for Coke Studio 11.

    “Horrendous! Destroyed a great classic – why oh why did Coke Studio allow such a massacre of this classic song?” the Minister for Human Rights had tweeted last year in October when the song had released.

    The 12th edition of Coke Studio is currently underway and two episodes of the season have released so far. The second episode featured a rendition of Abrar ul Haq’s iconic Billo but the bhangra master himself and the song was an instant hit with the masses. The song was trending on all social media platforms and fans thanked producer Rohail Hyatt for bringing it back with zest.

    Mazari also took to Twitter to share her thoughts on the song and said that it is “wonderful.”

    Earlier the minister also applauded Atif Aslam ‘s rendition of Wohi Khuda Hai saying that the hamd was “powerful at so many levels.”

  • Twitter spat after Mazari ‘refuses’ to appear in Geo News show

    Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari and Geo news channels programme host Shahzeb Khanzada are exchanging responses on Twitter, right after the minister refused to come on the anchor’s show.

    The minister yesterday wrote on her Twitter account that “Shahzeb Khanzada’s man messaged me to invite me for the show, adding that, “I, unfortunately, was committed elsewhere! To then go on TV and say I refused to come is an absolute lie. Unfortunate for him to have distorted things [sic]”.

    To which the official account of Geo’s Shahzeb show “GeoASKKS” shared a screenshot of a conversation with Shireen Mazari, in which they invited her on their show and the minister refused to come.

    Shireen Mazari has now again responded to the tweet and wrote: “I specifically asked available for what and said not available for TV show – sometimes one gets requests for comment on an issue for print also”.

    “Anyhow I guess they think it will add the spice they need so I can’t stop them!”, the minister added.

  • ‘Remove Priyanka Chopra as goodwill ambassador,’ Mazari writes to UNICEF director

    ‘Remove Priyanka Chopra as goodwill ambassador,’ Mazari writes to UNICEF director

    Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari has written to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Henrietta Fore regarding the Priyanka Chopra controversy.

    As per the details, Dr Mazari has asked Fore to remove the Indian actor as UN’s Goodwill Ambassador for Peace as she has “made a mockery of the title” by supporting the Modi government’s unlawful actions in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK), besides “supporting a nuclear war”.

    Chopra had come under fire for her patronising and dismissive comments when asked by a Pakistani-American activist Ayesha Malik about her support for war with Pakistan.