Daily Times

Ausaf columnist calls Judaism a cancer: Ms Asma Hadeed’s November 12 speech in the National Assembly speech has been widely condemned by religious elements. The PTI MNA had advocated a less strident approach towards Jews. Maulana Asharaf Jalali, the head of Tehreek-i-Labbaik (Jalali Group), has descried it as an attack on Islam. In his Ausaf column of November 16, Maulana Naveed Masood Hashmi wrote that Judaism is such a cancer in which a thousand cancers are hidden. The Jews are merchants and distributers of this cancer. They try to misguide Muslims by putting beautiful labels on this cancer. Consequently, the thinking of most educated Muslims all over the world has been infected by this cancer.

Al-Qaida and Muslims had nothing to do with 9/11: In his Express column of November 13, Shakil Farooqi wrote that the articles and features published in the special issues of Voice of America and German Times have established that Al-Qaida or Muslims had nothing to do with 9/11. Articles published by some Western newspapers have confirmed that this drama was staged by Israeli agents.

Its real objective was to pave the way for American imperialism. This included to gain control over oil and gas routes in Central Asia, keep Pakistan under pressure by destabilizing it and to paint it as a terrorist country and to paint Islam as a terrorist religion. Siding with the US in its war on terror was the worst decision in Pakistan’s history. He approvingly quoted Noam Chomsky as saying that the US had bought Pakistan’s aristocracy. He also described the US as the greatest enemy of international peace and the biggest murderer of humanity. Shahid Afridi blasted for betraying Kashmiris’ blood: Khabrain (November 15) quoted Sardar Attiq Ahmad, former AJK prime minister, as saying that Shahid Afridi had betrayed the blood of Kashmiris. His statement is extremely insulting. He should seek forgiveness from the whole nation. What does he mean when he says that Pakistan cannot manage its four provinces? Today Pakistan is the nuclear power of the Islamic world. It has the military that has single-handedly eliminated terrorism.

The NATO forces have not been able to eliminate terrorism in Afghanistan. Our military is keeping the ten-times bigger military of India. It is a credit to us in the whole world. Ameerul Azeem, president of the Jamaat-i-Islami central Punjab, has condemned Afridi’s statement, saying that Kashmir was Pakistan’s jugular vein.

Arif Nizami says he opposed military action in 1971: Daily 92 News (November 12) published an excerpt from Arif Nizami’s autobiography. He writes that before the fall of Dhaka I joined Nawa-i-Waqt as a staff reporter, and my monthly salary was fixed at 300 rupees. At the time, Abdul Qadir Hassan was the chief reporter. Once I received a circular that a scholarship had been instituted for journalists in the name of the late UN secretary general Dag Hammerskjold. The applicants were told to enclose their clippings. The applicants were also required to mention the reasons why they should be selected. I wrote a paper, arguing that one reason for the fall of Dhaka was the narrow worldview of our journalists. My reasoning was that in order to end ignorance, I wanted to improve my worldview. Unfortunately, I won this scholarship from Asia. I was one of those young journalists who were opposed to the military action.

Al-Qaeda or Muslims had nothing to do with 9/11. Israeli agents staged this drama. Its real objective was to pave the way for American imperialism. The US is the greatest enemy of international peace and the biggest murderer of humanity

RAW, Mossad and NDS blamed for Samiul Haq’s killing: The Punjab information minister, Fayaul Hassan Chauhan, said on November 6, that Maulana Samiul Haq’s murder on November 2 was not an act of terrorism. It was the result of personal enmity, he added. However, Rana Muhammad Azeem reported in Daily 92 News on November 3, that RAW, Mossad and NDS were involved in Samiul Haq’s murder and that it had been established by evidence. Nawa-i-Waqt (November 3) quoted Maulana Hamedul Haq, MaulanaSamiul Haq’s son and successor, as saying that the Afghan government and certain others posed a danger to his father. Pakistan intelligence agencies repeatedly told us that the international intelligence agencies considered MaulanaSamiul Haq a target. In Saleem Safi’s TV show, Dr. Omar Zakhiwal, the outgoing Afghan ambassador, said on November 17: “We did not see MaulanaSamiul Haq as a threat.” I had a lot of meetings with him. He was a different person in private meetings, he added.

Partab Public Library was destroyed at the time of partition: Prof. Khadim Ali Hashmi, an eminent educationalist and author, told Express (November 13) that Chaudhary Partab Singh Bela, a wealthy Hindu, had established Partab Public Library in Shujabad. Along with his Hindu classmates, he used to visit this library. It had a full section consisting of Quranic commentaries published by Al Azhar University and other Islamic books.  At the time of partition, people vandalized this library. First it was robbed of books and then it was set on fire. After the disturbances were over, books stolen from this libraries were sold on the pavement.

Shakil Chaudhary did his master’s in media and communications at the London School of Economics. He has worked for several English-language newspapers. He has written a book, Handbook of Functional English, for the benefit of those who wish to improve their English skills. He can be reached at shakil.chaudhary@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, November 19^th 2018.