otherpakistan.org

Wasim Arif has had some articles or op-eds published in the Pakistani media and they are shared below:

Gojra – The News International Jang, Saturday 31 July 2010

Gojra by Wasim Arif

The ghosts of Gojra continue to haunt Pakistani society a year after the hate crime that was committed there.

Fanish Masih hanged himself in his prison cell after being accused of desecrating the Holy Quran in Jatheki near Sialkot. Before that suicide, the Christian community had been meted out collective punishment for his alleged crime, through the burning of a local church.

Former federal minister Sherry Rehman said afterwards: “Fanish Masih’s death, whether it was suicide or murder, is most tragic as it highlights the misery suffered by our citizens when they face an institutional denial of fundamental rights.”

Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman of the Lahore High Court ordered a judicial enquiry into the Gojra incident. The 258-page report resulting from the enquiry was completed in October, But it has not seen the light of day, although federal minister for minority affairs Shahbaz Bhatti asked the Punjab government to make it public. The Lahore High Court has not acted to ensure that the report is made public.

The recent killing of Rashid and Sajid Emmanuel shows that the situation has not improved for Pakistan’s Christians. The denial of fundamental rights to Christians and other minorities is not only a scar on the collective conscience of Pakistan but a betrayal of the Islamic faith.

In 628 C.E., Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), granted a Charter of Privileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery at Mount Sinai. It consisted of several clauses covering all aspects of human rights. The Covenant of the Exalted Messenger reads:

“This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a Covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far: We are with them. Verily I, the servants, the helpers and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and, by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.

“No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry away anything from it to Muslims’ houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s Covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.

“No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (the end of the world).”

The Charter of Privileges should be made law. Ideally it should be included in any future constitutional amendment. Such constitutional protection will go a long way in the protection of Pakistan’s minorities. Moreover, it will remind the majority Muslim population of their responsibility to protect Pakistan’s religious minorities.

Let the lessons learnt from the Gojra incident be the beginning of the salvation of Pakistani society. The Muslim majority of Pakistan should reclaim their true faith. The pledge of protection promised to Christians in the Covenant should extent to the other minorities of Pakistan. Pakistanis should start living by the ideals and responsibilities of the Charter of Privileges. Only then will there be closure to the Gojra tragedy.

The writer blogs at www.blog.otherpakistan.org. Email: wasim@otherpakistan .org

Exploiting Thar Coal – Daily Times, Friday 19 December 2008

COMMENT: Exploiting Thar Coal -Wasim Arif

There is optimism because the PPP heads the coalition government in Islamabad and is also leading the coalition government in Sindh, and is thus better placed than any other political entity to get rid of the political hurdles once and for all and finally begin exploiting Pakistan’s massive coal reserves

Load shedding has become a serious problem in Pakistan over the last year and a half, and is especially pronounced in the winter months. The recent power riots in several cities are only a preview of the kind of unrest that will face Pakistan if this power crisis is not tackled urgently.

Piecemeal measures will not work. Even the loud and proud pronouncements of the water and power minister, that load shedding will end by December 2009, do not convince many. While many projects, thermal and hydel, are being commissioned, the most effective and long-term solution is coal.

Consider that while Pakistan is facing serious difficulties meeting domestic energy demand, it possesses, in the Thar Desert, around 200 billion tons of coal. Consider also the fact that worldwide, coal provides for 25 percent of basic energy needs. Yet in Pakistan, coal counts for a pathetic 2 percent, despite the abundant and untapped coal reserves that sit untouched in Thar.

The original geological survey of Pakistan in 1992 said that the coal discovered in the Thar desert could meet Pakistan’s energy needs for ‘centuries’. Indeed, if only 2 percent of these coal reserves are utilised, Pakistan can generate 20,000 megawatts of electricity for 40 years. Imagine the amount of energy that could be generated if these reserves were fully and carefully exploited over decades.

Further, while getting coal projects up and running would require significant initial investment, as is the case with all energy generation projects, there will be significant benefit to the economy. Consider that our current energy mix is dominated by imported furnace oil, which is the largest item on our import bill. This is particularly troubling during times of economic crisis. Recent fluctuations in global oil prices, and their impact on Pakistan, are a case in point. Should Pakistan choose to develop its domestic coal reserves, it would provide significant protection against such international shocks.

As is the case around the world, there is concern over the environmental impact of coal power plants, especially regarding carbon emissions and their impact on the environment. However, there is no dearth of appropriate technologies for environment-friendly coal-fired power plants. Further research and development can increase the efficiency and safety of these plants. That, however, add to the cost of coal production and planners may worry about the overall expense. Even then, there is a need to make a choice in the greater national interest. Proponents of coal power in Pakistan argue that after generating power through coal for a few years, once we have freed up money from the import of oil, more can be invested into environment-friendly coal plants.

To sum up, Pakistan has one of the world’s largest coal reserves; it is in desperate need of cheap energy; and the technology for efficient coal-fired power generation is available.

So what, then, is stopping Pakistan from tapping the vast Thar reserves?

As is the case with most development issues in Pakistan, it comes down to the rulers of the day and their bickering. The Constitution of Pakistan declares mining to be a provincial subject. Sindh can claim the Thar coal reserves to be a strictly provincial issue as per the Constitution, and the federation also lays claim, thus there is a tussle between the province and the centre.

However, this bickering is futile and unnecessary. There is no reason that negotiators from Sindh and the federation can’t work out the necessary royalties and benefits that are Sindh’s right under the Constitution. And no other province would oppose that, as the coal would benefit all of Pakistan. The politicisation of the coal issue has set us back by many years already. An occasional ‘coal conference’ in the United States, or a vague statement of intent is not enough. The government needs to act.

However, there is optimism because the Pakistan People’s Party heads the coalition government in Islamabad and is also leading the coalition government in Sindh, and is thus better placed than any other political entity to get rid of the political hurdles once and for all and finally begin exploiting Pakistan’s massive coal reserves.

Wasim Arif is a freelance writer who blogs at www.blog.otherpakistan.org. He can be contacted at wasim@otherpakistan.org

The Other Chaudhrys – The News International Jang, Wednesday 26 March 2008

The Other Chaudhrys by Wasim Arif

The word ‘Chaudhrys’ remains synonymous in Pakistan today with the effervescent Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and his cousin Pervez Elahi. However this article is not about either of them.

It centres on the ‘Other Chaudhrys’ the Chief Justice of Pakistan Ifthikhar Muhammed Chaudhry, his wife and their four children Arsalan, Ifra, Palvasha and Balaj who were released in accordance with the instructions of the new Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani.

It was Euripides who said that ‘those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad’ a phrase that finds resonance with the actions of one General Musharraf on March 9, 2007 That was the fateful day when General Musharraf blundered with his ‘judicial kargil’ committing the supreme folly of dismissing the holder of one of the highest offices in the land the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Even as the nation celebrates now it continues to mourn the fact that its Chief Justice and his family remained under illegal house arrest for nearly five months. Such circumstances never prevailed even in medieval times as the Chief Justice himself remarked in one of his recent statements.

Palwasha Chaudhry is only 16 years old. She had the honour of undertaking a British A level examination under house arrest courtesy of our former colonial masters. She gave hope to a nation starved of hope, through her passionate letter to the nation.

The letter titled ‘I am a proud child’ captured the imagination of the nation because its author demonstrated in the letter a confidence and a sense of purpose beyond her years ‘we should be proud that Allah chose us to sacrifice for this country. Yes it is indeed a sacrifice which we have to bequeath, not for ourselves but for this country’.

Balaj the youngest child of the Chief Justice and is only seven. His angelic features and smile represent the innocence of childhood and the eternal hope of a better tomorrow. Yet Balaj too has been under house arrest even though he is ill and requires regular medical treatment. the whole family continued to suffer but remained steadfast by drawing inspiration from their patriarch and role model, Ifthikhar Muhammed Chaudhry.

Friend or foe no one can fail to admire the resolve of the Chief Justice not least in that now infamous meeting with the khaki king General Musharraf and his sidekicks lasting several hours held in Army House. His utterance of ‘no I will not resign’ must have rocked the sound foundations of GHQ, resulting in an unexpected desi dose of shock and awe that surprised one and all.

today these ‘Other Chaudhrys’ are the heartbeat of an entire nation and the sons of the soil all of whom remain steadfast and supremely confident of their victory and sure in their belief that the struggle of the lawyers t will soon bear fruit.

It is true to sat that the nation has suffered enough death and destruction and Pakistan has had its unfair share of tommy gun and trigger happy dictatorships. From the Ayub era to Musharraf’s rule, Pakistan has remained imprisoned and at the whims of a coterie of khaki kings, who have raped the constitution, put it in abeyance and run the country on the power of a fully loaded gun rather than the will of the people.

The eminent commentator Ayaz Amir hits the nail on the head when he remarks that this is a struggle ‘about the nation’s future, what is our destiny, is it the worshipping of false gods or a republic based upon law as our founding fathers intended?

A lawyer founded Pakistan in 1947. This lawyer worked over sixteen hours a day to create the second Madina hastening his death as the final price, and thereafter breathed his last for a Muslim homeland fashioned on the glorious principles of Islam. Yet a Pakistan founded on truth and justice has so far eluded us, it remains a pipe dream after sixty years but hope has finally arrived thanks to a new Pakistan movement that begun just over a year ago led by the now legendary lawyers movement.

Consequently March 9 is now a date to remember for it has proved to be a defining moment in Pakistan’s history and turned out to be the equivalent of 9/11 for our khaki kings. Furthermore the entire crisis has turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it has served as a wake up call to a comatose nation sleepwalking itself from one disaster to the next.

A few weeks ago the media reported of a 76 year old Iqbal Bali and a 65 year old Jahangir Akhter and their six-day hunger strike to protest at the illegal arrest of the children of the Chief Justice. These are men older than Pakistan itself however such is the magic of the ‘Other Chaudhrys’, no doubt their sacrifices will be written in golden letters. The soil of Pakistan salutes the Chief Justice and his family for they have made Pakistan the land of the pure once again.

The writer blogs at www.blog.otherpakistan.org. He can be contacted at wasim@otherpakistan.org