Shireen Mazari scolds EU
Dr Shireen Mazari, the federal minister for human rights, has expressed her grave concern over the human-rights situation for Muslims living in Europe (Dunya, September 19). Mazari believes Muslims don’t have religious freedom in the EU. She has urged the international community to take notice of this situation. She expressed these views during a meeting with the EU ambassador.
Hamid Mir has disclosed that in one of the cabinet meetings, Dr Mazari proposed that there was a need for legislation for the recovery of missing persons. This gave the law minister, Farogh Naseem, a shock (Jang, September 20). He brushed aside this proposal. “By making Musharraf’s lawyer the law minister, Imran Khan has created difficulties for himself.”
Will Pakistan open the Afghan land route for India?
In his 92 News column of September 19, Arif Nizami, the Editor at Pakistan Today, referred to an interview that the US ambassador to Afghanistan, John Bass, had given to India’s Economic Times newspaper. Mr Bass has disclosed:“A couple of months ago, for the first time, the Pakistani government expressed a willingness to start talks with its Afghan counterparts for parameters to enabling trade between India and Afghanistan through Pakistan”. Opening land routes between South and Central Asia will benefit all countries in the region, said the US envoy. It may be added that Pakistan has been saying refusing India’s request to use land routes for trade with Afghanistan, arguing that technical and strategic issues connected to transit trade should be resolved first. Mr Nizami pointed out that the report has not been denied by anyone in Pakistan, so it will have to be accepted as true.
Pakistan brought diplomatic isolation upon itself
Former Interior Minister Senator Rehman Malik lamented in Nawa-i-Waqt (September 17) that Pakistan has been isolated to the extent that our longstanding and dear friends are also not coming forward to help us. Recently, Pakistan received a big jolt when even China and Saudi Arabia did not vote for it on the money laundering-related Financial Action Task Force (FATF). It is not anybody else’s fault. We brought this isolation on ourselves through our flawed foreign policies, non-serious attitude towards the international community and lack of ability to make important diplomatic decisions in a timely manner. In 2013, we antagonised the UAE by not voting for it over Expo 2020, although Pakistan had promised to vote for it. Instead, we voted for Turkey. During the visit of the Iranian president, he was questioned about Kulbhushan Yadav in an unreasonably way, disregarding diplomatic norms.
Jihad is the solution to every problem, says Hafiz Saeed
In one of the cabinet meetings, Dr. Shireen Mazari proposed that there was a need for legislation for the recovery of missing persons. This gave the law minister, Farogh Naseem, a shock. He brushed aside the proposal
Abdullah Tariq Sohail wrote in 92 News (September 20) that Hafiz Saeed has said that problems of the Islamic world would be solved through jihad. “Jihad is a sacred, but how will it solve problems?” asked Mr Sohail. Perhaps Hafiz Sahib is privy to some profound secret that is not there in the books of history and Sharia. The Islamic world has innumerable problems: poverty, unemployment, adulterated food, counterfeit medicines, crime, illiteracy, dictatorship, exploitation by the aristocracy. It would have been better if Hafiz Sahib had disclosed what problem would be solved by attacking which country. We cannot wage Jihad against the United States. For the time being, we also cannot wage jihad against India because we are having track two diplomacy with it. We have already agreed to provide transit routes for Indo-Afghan trade.
Musharraf was sick and tired of Jamali’s habit of lying
Daily 92 News (September 17) published excerpts from Muhammad Asghar Abdullah’s book on the Muslim League. Chaudhary Shujaat had told the author that General Musharraf’s biggest complaint against Prime Minister Jamali was that he had no capacity for good governance. He would not take interest in official matters. Official files would wait his signatures for days. His other complaint was that without taking him into his confidence, Jamali tried to have a direct relationship with the Americans. The general was also sick and tired of Jamali’s habit of lying. When Jamali got wind of the fact that Musharraf was about to fire him, he approached me with the request that he should not be sacked unceremoniously. I conveyed this request to Musharraf and he reluctantly agreed to host a farewell dinner for Jamali.
Imran Khan blasted for including British citizens in his cabinet
Commenting on Zulfi Bukhari’s appointment as special assistant on overseas Pakistanis and human resource development, Hamid Mir wrote that if Nawaz Sharif had made this appointment, Imran Khan, would have furiously declared him a security risk for having included a British citizen in his cabinet. In addition, some defence analysts would have crushed this decision by riding on their unwieldy patriotic tanks. A few months ago, Imran had defended Zulfi by telling me that he was a British citizen. His business is in Britain. How can the NAB call him for an inquiry?
Has an NRO been finalised?
Pakistan’s social media is abuzz with the Dunya columnist Munir Ahmad Baloch’s assertions that an NRP (deal) had been arrived at between the powers that be and Nawaz Sharif. It will be kept secret until December. According to the columnist, at the recommendation of Prime Minister Modi and the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the British government is working out all the details. Two Islamic countries have settled all the matters with the heads of Pakistan’s civil and military heads. The columnist has described Maryam Nawaz as the worst enemy of Pakistan and its national institutions. Among others, Hassan Nisar and Tayyeba Zia have placed this column on their websites. However, Nusrat Javeed has dismissed the reports as childish (Nawa-i-Waqt, September 21).
The writer has studied international relations in Islamabad and media in London. 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. E-mail: [email protected]
Published in Daily Times, September 24th 2018.