Fiday Focus |Gul Bukhari, Annie Zaman, Gulalai Ismail: Three Pakistani Women Talking Politics|

In this Friday Focus episode, three Pakistani women Gul Bukhari, Gulalai Ismail and Annie Zaman discussed three issues.

1. Criminalisation of Criticism on Armed Forces
ISLAMABAD: A new amendment bill passed Wednesday by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior mandates that anyone who criticises the Pakistani forces may now land in prison for two years, along with a fine worth Rs500,000 — or both. The new criminal law amendment bill was proposed and submitted by PTI lawmaker Amjad Ali Khan. The final vote was cast by Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, who also belongs to the ruling party. Nawaz, the chairperson of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior, broke the 5-5 vote tie by voting in favour of the proposed bill, which was consequently passed with a majority. During deliberations on the proposed legislation, leaders of the PPP and PML-N had argued against it. Syed Agha Rafiullah of the PPP, as well as the PML-N's Marriyum Aurangzeb and Chaudhry Nadeem Abbas Rebaira, said it would be used against freedom of expression in the country. They further argued that the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had voted against the bill even though the remaining three provinces were yet to do so. "We stand strong with our institutions. However, criticism in good faith should not be misunderstood. Why are they being made sacred cows," they said. Pakistan's armed forces and their personnel would be free from any deliberate ridicule, insult, and defamation under the criminal law amendment bill. Those who do so would be punishable under Section 500A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), with punishment including jail time of two years, a fine of up to Rs500,000 or both. Critics of the Pakistani armed forces would face trial in a civil court, according to the criminal law amendment bill. (The News)

2. Imran Khan comments about Rape
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An outcry has erupted in Pakistan after Prime Minister Imran Khan blamed a rise in rape cases on how women dressed, remarks that activists denounced as perpetuating a culture of victim blaming. Mr. Khan made the comments on a live television show this week when asked what the government was doing to curb an increase in sexual violence against women and children. Mr. Khan acknowledged the seriousness of the problem and pointed to the country’s strict laws against rape. But, he said, women had to do their part. “What is the concept of purdah?” he said, using a term that refers to the practice of seclusion, veiling or concealing dress for women in some South Asian communities. “It is to stop temptation. Not every man has willpower. If you keep on increasing vulgarity, it will have consequences.”

The uproar was swift. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent group, demanded that Mr. Khan apologize for his remarks, which it called “unacceptable behavior on the part of a public leader.” “Not only does this betray a baffling ignorance of where, why, and how rape occurs, but it also lays the blame on rape survivors,” the group said.

3. Blasphemy Campaing against Amar Jaleel

Sarmad Sultan is a historian and a social media activist, he has been missing for the past 24 hours, and his Twitter Account has been deactivated. His family says that he has gone out of town, however, the speculations are that he has been picked up by security/intelligence agencies.
UN has sent a letter to Pakistan about the concerning press freedom situation in Pakistan and the persecution of journalists including Gul Bukhari, Asad Ali Toor, Absar Alam, Bilal Farooqi, Ajeeb Ali Lakho, Rana Arshad Sulehri, Mian Dawood, Amir Mir, Fakhur Durrani, and Ahmed Noorani.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Monday directed the government to fill the vacant posts of the heads of the National Commission on the Status of Women and the National Commission for Human Rights. According to the activsts, the government has paralyzed National Commission on Human Rights because it has published reports about torture, abuse, and human rights violation by the Pakistan military.

Friday Focus is a weekly podcast of three Pakistani women in which talk about politics and human rights. In today's podcast Gulalai Ismail and Gul Bukhari talked about the ongoing protest in Jani Khel, Bannu against the murder of four boys and about the NAB postponement of Maryam's appearance of 26th March.

LAKKI MARWAT: The residents of Janikhel area of Bannu on Monday placed the bodies of four teenage boys in front of the local police station to protest their brutal murder.Locals had recovered the bullet-riddled bodies of the teenagers from a field the other day and shifted them to the district headquarters hospital. The deceased had been missing for last three weeks. “The boys aged between 13 to 17 years had gone on hunting birds about three weeks ago, but they did not return to their homes,” a relative of the victims told Dawn. He said the relatives had launched a search for them but failed to find their whereabouts. On Sunday, a shepherd was grazing cattle in the fields when his dogs started scratching a place with their paws. He got suspicious and informed the locals, including the victim boys’ relatives, who later dug out the bodies. he victims were identified as Ahmadullah, Mohammad Rahim, Razamullah and Atifullah. According to the residents of Janikhel, the four boys were fond of hunting birds and wild hare in the area. A relative of the deceased said they received the bodies from the hospital and then along with tribesmen took the coffins to the Janikhel police station to stage a sit-in there. He said the families of the deceased had no enmity with anyone.The police said they had registered a case against unknown killers and were investigating the murders. Speaking at the protest demonstration, the tribal elders said the brutal killing of four boys had proved that miscreants and anti-state elements were free to sabotage peace and harmony in the area.They asked the authorities to trace the perpetrators behind the incident. They also asked the government to take measures for restoration of peace in Janikhel and announce Shuhada Package for the victims’ families. (DAWN News, 23rd March 2021)
he National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday postponed the appearance of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz before the watchdog on March 26 (tomorrow), citing the threat of Covid-19 and "public interest". NAB had summoned Maryam on Friday as part of two probes — a money laundering investigation in connection with the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case, and another related to 148 kanals of land that she allegedly purchased in Lahore illegally. A day before her appearance that was expected to turn into a political power show for the PML-N, a high-level NAB meeting was held to review the situation and the recent instructions issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in view of the ongoing third coronavirus wave in the country."The meeting was informed that the NCOC has placed a complete ban on the gathering of all sorts of crowds," a press release issued by NAB Lahore said. It recalled that at Maryam's last appearance before the bureau, the NAB Lahore building had been subjected to "deliberate intense stone-pelting", which was akin to "creating an obstacle" in the NAB investigation. Persons involved in such acts could be jailed for up to 10 years under accountability laws but "despite these legal powers, NAB has so far shown extreme patience and restraint so far", the statement said. It noted that Maryam had been issued notices to appear before NAB investigation teams for a second time on March 26.

General Bajwa's statement about peace with India and cracks in PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement)

Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa on Thursday made a strong pitch for peace with India and sought the world’s help in ending the conflict between the two South Asian nuclear armed rivals.

“We feel that it is time to bury the past and move forward,” the army chief said on the second day of the Islamabad Security Dialogue.

Gen Bajwa, while proposing peace with India, echoed Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had at the inaugural session called for resolving the outstanding disputes through dialogue and establishing ‘civilised neighbours’ like relations.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who spoke after Gen Bajwa, too said that Pakistan was desirous of “co-existence and win-win cooperation”. He called for shedding zero-sum perspectives and preferring cooperation over confrontation.

Army chief says it is time to bury the past and move forward

The emphasis on peaceful ties with India by the civil and military leadership is part of what is being described by the government as a shift towards exploiting the economic potential of the country and reshaping its international image battered by the conflict and violence in the region.

Gen Bajwa explained that the policy decision taken by Pakistan in this regard was a “deliberate” one based on “rationality”. He made it clear that Islamabad had chosen this path not because of “pressure”, but out of “sincere desire” to reframe Pakistan’s image as a “peace-loving nation” and a “useful member” of the international community.

Emphasising the need for peace in the highly tense South Asian environment, the army chief said conflicts because of unsettled disputes were causing huge expenditure on security at the cost of human development, impeding regional connectivity and ultimately preventing the unlocking of the potential of the region.

He underscored that the disputes between the neighbours had to be resolved through “dialogue in a dignified and peaceful manner”. He said Pakistan’s offer of marching towards a “new future” needed to be reciprocated by India.

FM Qureshi too struck a similar tone saying that Pakistan needed a willing partner “that is ready to engage in good faith, that is prepared to eschew belligerence, and that is committed to meaningfully address the factors that have bedeviled peace and security in South Asia for decades.”

The army chief sought the world’s support in making peace with India and said that “a major contribution is to be made by the global players through their cooperation”. He expressed the hope that the Biden administration too would play a role in transforming “the traditional contestation into a gainful economic win-win for the world in general and the region in particular”.

He also dwelt at length on the broader contours of Pakistan’s external policy, especially with regards to China, the United States and Afghanistan.

Both Gen Bajwa and FM Qureshi recalled Pakistan’s contributions to peace in Afghanistan and reaffirmed commitment to support the peace process.

The army chief said Pakistan would continue to emphasise a sustained and inclusive peace process for the betterment of the people of Afghanistan and regional peace.

He mentioned the steps taken by Pakistan for enhancing Afghanistan’s trade and connectivity, including re-energising the Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement, improving economic and trade environment along the Pak-Afghan border by establishing border markets and development of infrastructure, making Afghanistan part of energy and trade corridors binding Central, South and West Asia through land routes and inviting Afghanistan to be part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2021

In this episode of #FridayFocus, Gul Bukhari, Annie Zaman, and Gulalai Ismail discuss the importance of Aurat March in Pakistan, the change it is bringing, and the resistance and backlash it is facing from the conservative sections of the society. Every year on 8th March, women organise in different parts of Pakistan and march for their rights. This year's March was focused on women's right to health, the burden of care-related work, patriarchal violence against women, and economic opportunities for women.

Aurat March 2021 has faced immense backlash with some viewing the slogans raised as an attempt to impose “western debauchery” in Pakistan with the religious clergy also deeming it to be un-Islamic. A plethora of videos and posts, which have gone viral, aim to smear the organinc women rights movement.

Images purportedly showing the French flag brandished at the Aurat March in Islamabad with social media users accusing them of subscribing to a "foreign agenda" also went viral. However, the claim is false as the French flag has blue, white and red stripes. Whereas, participants held a flag with red, white and purple stripes, the banner of the Women Democratic Front, which is the main organisers of the marches in various cities.