Cause- Interfaith Dialogue

Inter Faith Harmony

 

The term interfaith or interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions “faiths” and spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional level with the aim of deriving a common ground in belief through a concentration on similarities between faiths, understanding of values, and commitment to the world.

• Interfaith harmony and action has taken place for many centuries. The Emperor Akbar the Great for example, encouraged tolerance in Mughal India, a diverse nation with people of various faith backgrounds, including Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Christianity.
• Muslim Spain is an additional historical example of great religious pluralism.
• Early 20th Century dialogue started to take place between the Abrahamic faiths Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Baha’i
  • The 1960s Interfaith movement gathered interest.
  • 1965 the Roman Catholic Church issued the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate, instituting major policy changes in the Catholic Church’s policy towards non-Christian religions.
  • Late 1960s Interfaith groups joined around Civil Rights issues for African-Americans and later were often vocal in their opposition to the Vietnam War.

It is also a fact that to attain ultimate peace in the world the yawning gulf between Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and the other faiths must be bridged and this can be done only through dialogue.

“In the Bible it finds mention in the expression ‘ Love thy neighbor as yourself ‘; in the Koran it is, no one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself; in Talmud ‘ regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss’, in Buddhism it finds expression in terms such as ‘ hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful’ .”

Inter Faith harmony today has been floated by a team of moderate intellectuals, youth leaders, social activists, educators, academicians and retired civil servants. It also enjoys the support of prominent religious scholars all over the world.

In the first decade of the 21st century, humanity continues to face innumerable diverse challenges and problems such as wars, instability in the Middle East, terrorism, struggles for freedom, global hunger, and poverty and human rights violations. The ecological crisis with climate change is also a major concern. Faith has been in the spotlight, with ongoing tensions between and among faiths, “religiously-motivated” extremism and violence, the debate over “intelligent design”, and forced conversions. The ongoing process of interfaith dialogue has been used as a tool for promoting understanding, harmony, reconciliation and cooperation.

Every religion preaches peace, love and tolerance and no religion on earth teaches hatred, violence and intolerance and terror. After 9/11 the issue of interfaith harmony has become more relevant and at the Prime Minister and President level there is a great stress on it. Government has taken certain initiatives to prohibit spread of hate materials. Peace committees at Districts level have also been set up to this effect. Stress is more on the importance of enhancing the level of tolerance today. Banning of scraf in France and blasphemous caricatures of Prophet (P.B.U.H) have not been taken well by the Muslims.

Conferences such as the Third Regional Interfaith Dialogue at Waitangi, New Zealand, and more like these conferences are helping to plant seeds that hopefully will grow into a culture of understanding, respect, harmony and peace among diverse faiths in the region.

Inter Faith in Action – Declarations and Agreements

Whether as a result of patient dialogue over many years, an attempt to broker peace in times of conflict or the foundation of a new relationship this non exhaustive list gives a taste of one kind of work under taken in inter faith relations.

• Agreement between The Chief Rabbis of Israel and The Archbishop of Canterbury
• al-Azhar
• Alexandria
• Bali
• Cairo
• Globalisation
• Islamabad
• Kaduna
• UN Declaration

Islamabad Declaration, World Council of Religion, September 16th 2004

As a follow up to the Oslo declaration of June 2004, a gathering of Muslims and Christians (Almost 300) met in Islamabad on September 16th, 2004, under the chairmanship of General Pervez Musharaf, the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The gathering included eminent religious scholars and other people of influence in their respective areas.

The occasion was meant on the one hand to launch the World Council of Religions, which emerged out of the Oslo Declaration on inter-religious relationships, and on the other, it was to involve the majority of religious leaders and scholars in interfaith cooperation. The Council is established to promote Peace Justice and Harmony across religious, social and political areas of communities at local, national and global levels.

Statements:

Conference on Cultivating Interfaith Harmony 2006

His Excellency Mr. Ali Awad Al-Aseeri, Ambassador, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: The process of inter faith dialogue should be institutionalized having no political motivations. Sincerity is needed to bridge the gap. Efforts should be transformed into collective actions which will generate sustainability. The need of dialogue became vital after 9/11. Few mislead individuals have committed crimes, terrorists acts and unfortunately labeled them with Islam. Terrorism has no religion. All religions teach us to be good and disciplined human beings. We lack knowledge about other religions and sects, therefore dialogue should be in the form of educational process for achieving positive conclusion. Dominant cultures should not impose any rules for such process.

Ms. Zubaida Saeed, President Women Wing Tehreek Akhuat Islami: All problems faced by man kind should be resolved through united efforts. Inter faith harmony should be discussed at every forum. There should be an international ethical code and institution which has representation of all the religion through their noted scholars. Women along with men should be involved to create a successful strategy.

Allama Sheikh Karamat Ali Imrani, Religious Scholar: Four basic rights are backed and promoted by all the divine religions for human being. They are right to live, right of freedom of thinking, freedom of action and equality among human beings. These qualities are required for bringing all the religions and cultures closer for better world.

 

Seerat un-Nabi & Inter faith Harmony 2007

Mr. Mathew Foreman First Secretary British Embassy: The Prophet (PBUH) preached love of mankind and frequently interacted with the people of other faiths and accorded respect to them. When Christians from Nigeria visited him he received them in the Mosque and held talks with them. He expressed his hope that Pakistan would sign “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” in near future. Government of Pakistan, National Assembly and Council of Islamic Ideology should play their roles in promoting interfaith harmony and Deeni Madaris have to be welcomed in mainstream education.

His Excellency Mr. FinThelgaard, Daanish Ambassador: We must know the culture, values and sensitivities of each other to avoid any sort of misunderstandings. There is a dire need of interfaith harmony. All international organizations should continue their efforts in this regard.

Mr. Martin Cook, Second Secretary, Embassy of Canada: Dialogue has to be something more than tolerance, more than just peaceful co existence, living together but not understanding eachother. Interfaith Harmony is crucial as dialogue between religious and secular forces are necessary for the whole world for better understanding about the similarities and differences.

Sardar Anup Singh, Vice chairman, Inter Religious Peace Committee: Baba Guru Nanak Jee has studied Islam in depth from the known religious scholars of his times. We believe that creating unity among all faiths is the need of time. There will be no dispute or conflict among the followers of different faiths.

Ms. Naila J. Dyal, Chairperson, Christian Progressive Movement: The knowledge of others enhance our lives, it helps us to differentiate between what is true and what is not true. In this regard actions should speak louder than words. There is a need to promote more tolerance and accept reality.

 

Seerat un-Nabi & Inter faith Harmony 2008

Allam Inayat Ali Shakir Chairman TAI: Pakistan doesn’t belong only to the Muslims as the minorities have also sacrificed in the movement to free Pakistan, it is our common home and together we will make it strong and prosperous.

Dr Khalid Masood Chairman Council of Islamic Ideology: The anti0religion sentiment has created arrogance, which has spread hatred among the followers of different religions. We can only promote and strengthen the interfaith harmony in the light of Seerat of our Holy Prophet effectively.

Allama Mohammad Akbar Dars Religious Scholar: No religion on earth permits violence, extremism and terrorism. Such people have different agenda, agenda of hatred. It is the hourto get united against such a handful of people who want to destroy peace and harmony.

Pundit Gurudas Achariya Maharaj Hindu Priest: The Holy Prophet (PBUH) is beacon of light and guidance for the hwole mankind and not only for the Muslims as He was the last Messenger of God. We believe that Hazrat Muhammad existed before universe was created and the Holy Book of Hindus “Rugveda” tells us about His arrival.

 

Seminar on Elimination of Extremism & Interfaith Harmony 2008:

Dr. Muhammad Farooq Ahmed Khan Research Scholar Mardan: We should not let the violence enter in difference of opinion and should refrain from issuing ‘Fatwas” against the oppnonents. We are unknowingly playing in the hands of hidden hands. We must keep an eye on our weaknesses as that other cannot exploit us.

Maulana Nausherwan, Religious Scholar UK: We will have to pay special attention on ways of upbringing of our future generation in order to eliminate terrorism and extremism for ever. If their bringing is on correct foundation, they will always represent balance, true and positive values which highlight the importance of peaceful co existence and tolerance.

Interfaith Conference 2008

The conference is organized by the Muslim World League from an initiative by King Abdullah, whose country hosts Islam’s two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina.  Around 200 participants are attending, including representatives of the world’s major religions. Saudi king opens interfaith conference in Spain with call for unity and reconciliation.

His Excellency King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia: Most of the dialogue (between religions) has ended in failure. To succeed we must emphasize the common link between us which a belief in God.” He said religion could combat many of the problems of modern society. “Terrorism…, the breakdown of families, drugs, exploitation of the weak – all these are the consequences of a spiritual void.” We must always encourage steps in strengthening peace, dialogue and cooperation on the international stage,” he said.

Amity is better than enmity, conciliation is better than confrontation, dialogue is better than deadlock, harmony is better than discord, love is better than hatred, Peace is better than war, tolerance is better than impatience, Understanding is better than conflict, unity is better than division or dissidence and Sacrifice is better than demand.

 

Causes – Kashmir

Kashmir

 

The issue of Kashmir is in our blood and we cannot put it to one side for trade relations. Its the Kashmiris which are important to us not necessarily the territory of Kashmir, as Ch Shujaat Hussain puts it. That is why the composite dialogue process started under President Musharraf has been so key to progress on all issues. It accepts the centrality of Kashmir. This coalition govt has unfortunately not been able to either take the momentum forward on the composite dialogue as can be seen by two failed negotiations. Secondly the high level coalition leadership statements have confused the issue of centrality of Kashmir and pushed the trade and other peripheral issues to the Kashmir cause forward. Thirdly, the coalition has not taken any firm measures to condemn the violence in IHK. Fourthly despite various calling attentions and adjournments on the subject of unmarked grave the assembly did not pass any resolutions condemning this, whilst European parliament did the same recently. This in itself is shameful considering how seriously Pakistan owns the Kashmir cause. Fifthly, the Huriyat leadership visit was not given the same importance by coalition as oppsotion gave it. Nor did govt get an APC on the subject whilst they were in Pak. And lastly no serious effort has been made to take the President’s 4 point plan forward for out of box solutions.  This issue needs to be debated adnauseum in parliament. The following ideas are being put forward not as final thoughts but only as beginning thoughts:

 

Possible ideas which can be debated within party and within parliament for forward movement:

• There is President’s four stage plan towards resolution of Kashmir dispute. The first stage requires India and Pakistan to start talking. Second stage is to accept the centrality of resolving the Kashmir issue for the better relations. Third stage involves elimination of all that was unacceptable to India, Pakistan and Kashmiris. The final stage is to focus on finding a solution that will be a win-win situation for India, Pakistan and Kashmiris.
• Institution of intra-Kashmir dialogue within IHK and AJK and between the Indian and Pakistani zones of Kashmir. This would act as an institutionalized consultation mechanism which would greatly help in eventual determination of the wishes and aspirations of Kashmiri people.
• The gradual incremental normalization of politics within Kashmir in both Indian and Pakistani controlled zones, and devising and implementation of political frameworks which can foster a working degree of internal accommodation and cooperation between the representatives of communities holding radically different basic political allegiances.
• Softening of boundaries across the reconstituted zones of Kashmir and gradually developing of cooperation between then in areas of mutual concern, i.e. transport, tourism, trade and commerce, environment, health, education, and cultural issues and approaches to SAARC issues.
• An important lesson of Irish peace process is that representatives of all political opinions on both sides of the LoC should be involved in the Kashmir peace process.
• There is urgent need to have permanent and durable cease fire by undertaking trust and confidence-building measures on Kashmir which may include steps:

 

(a)    To improve situation inside Kashmir by:

 

·         Extension of ceasefire to Kashmiris fighters in IHK.

·         Reduction of number of security forces deployed in IHK and withdrawal of POTA and other repressive laws applied to the state.

·         Release of political prisoners and lifting of restrictions on international traveling of APHC leader.

·         Facilitating free movement of goods and people between both sides of Kashmir, reuniting divided Kashmiri families and promoting economic and culture exchanges.

·         Facilitating intra-Kashmir dialogue by lifting traveling restricting on Kashmiri leadership to travel Pakistan and AJK.

(b)    To improve the situation on the LoC with :

·         Relocation of heavy weapons which are considered major cause of tension escalation across LoC.

·         Strengthening of UNMOGIP to monitor LoC violation on both sides of the line.

·         Mutual and balance reduction of troops on both sides of LoC.

(c)    For a meaningful dialogue on Kashmir by:

·         Formulizing structure of dialogue in terms of mechanism and issues involved in the dispute.

·         Formal recognition by the two sides that there is no military solution to the Kashmir dispute.

·         Formal recognition by India that Kashmiris status is yet to be settled in accordance with the wishes and aspiration of Kashmiri people.

·         Recognizing that the resolution of Kashmir must be based on the principle of mutual respect for each other and dignity and justice for Kashmiri people.

·         Discarding pursuit of zero sum solution for the Kashmir issue and the de-linking from points scoring domestic agendas.

·         Halting domestic hostile propaganda around Kashmir in the electronic and print media on both sides.

·         Encouraging and initiating intra-Kashmir dialogue on both sides of LoC on the final status of Kashmir.

·         Involving Kashmiris in the bilateral dialogue process on Kashmir.

• Option of external facilitation can also be used if Pakistan and India fail to reach on an agreement. Mediation is considered one of important external facilitation. When both Pakistan and India go for this option they should involve a smaller and neutral country which will have no stake in this region, such as Switzerland or Austria.

 Forward movement on each Composite Dialogue component after a briefing to parliament on status on each. For 100 days Govt has avoided this discussion despite numerous attempts by opposition.

 

Pak sovereign territorial integrity (Pak-US relations)

These days the most dangerous threat facing Pakistan’s sovereign territorial integrity is the threat of US attacking Pakistan through FATA/ NWFP. It seems like a real enough threat and truly President had been warding this threat off with his active policies of balance in the area. The current coalition has failed and has brought us too close to danger. Nonetheless, under these circumstances it is important to send US the right message. Based on brainstorming and collective wisdom here are some thoughts which require parliamentary and national consensus. Message for the US by Pakistanis…potentially…

We condemn the attacks on Pak soil by US.

US needs to get out of a belligerent mode. It must leave Afghanistan but in a phased way. It must announce and project phased withdrawal to cut the stems of hatred of the invader syndrome. Till that is not done US will always be hated in this region. An intelligence oversight committee of parliament is also possible. Drastic diversification of US policy and aid is needed. US should listen and consult with Pak, not dictate and resort to threats. Pak cant be considered ally and enemy at same time. US should stop bullying and making unilateral attacks on Pak. Financial aid is needed for the social sector. A national consensus on US foreign policy is required urgently. Skill development and ROZ assistance is also required. Along with US administration think tanks should also listen to Pak views. US should shift from aggressive to human oriented policies. It needs to give up its colonial imperialist habits. Contradiction within US policies towards Muslim countries and India-Pak different approaches need to go. US should not demonize those who disagree with them. Investment on those sectors of society which are marginalized sectors is also required by the US in terms of aid in Pak. US needs to urgently assist with the socio economic meltdown.  Work on FATA reforms and madrassah reforms is required by Pak. Interfaith dialogue can be useful. The clubbing of ALQ and Taliban is not useful by US. A sensible exit strategy for US from Afghanistan is urgent. Respect of Pak territory is necessary. It is considered that Pak US interests are not in unison since Pak wants to resolve issue with peaceful negotiations whilst US wants to use military might. US has an issue with Pak being nuke which it can never come to terms with. It is a common perception that US has created conflict in the area so that it can stay around. The only way to change US belligerent policy is to resist it; through regional collective effort versus individual country effort. US is considered to have one set of values for itself and another for the world. There is an urgent need to understand each others values. Civilian nuke embargo for Pak is unfortunate. US population is very ignorant of anything beyond their borders and they need to be educated. The aid coming into Pak needs to be fully for Pak not be siphoned back to US in the form of consultancies. Great game ambitions of US are not affordable. If Pak falls to extremism, US would loose all. And thus dialogue not dictation is the need of the hour.

We live in a Hobbesian international system where the failure of US policies in Pak is linked to the clash of fanaticism. This means that the US and Islamic extremist fanaticism is producing a clash in the midst of which Pak is suffering most. In the middle of these extreme positions it is important to have a balance of policies. Clearly the international system of states is beyond a balance of power but a balance in US policy is required to deal equitably with Pak. On the same subject, development in FATA without peace would be useless. Peace would only be possible when the reasons of pushing extremists towards the wall are understood and avoided. They needed to be mainstreamed. For which a balance in Pak society is required starting from the opposition-govt committee on WOT in parliament. Ownership of a political nature across political parties is required. The Afghan withdrawal needs to be projected and phased out with clear goals. US investment in Pak is needed on the infrastructure side with BOT approach. An immediate help with Pak food and oil crisis as well as aid for mainstreaming extremists is required.  President Musharraf’s enlightened moderation root cause analysis needs to be accepted with Kashmir, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan resolutions and projected resolutions in phased manners.

US help is required for resolving Kashmir and not just concentrating on trade issues with India. Water conflict resolution of India is important. I feel it is important for US to study the Pak China model to understand how relations need to be conducted with Pak. There needs to be more technical assistance for climate change issues inside Pak from US.

I wonder how the above concepts are viewed by the nation. I think a discussion in parliament would be useful to get ownership on Pak – US foreign policy. Parliament is such an under utilized mode of resolution of issues. Its such a pity. The more the debates, the better the consensus amongst representatives of the people.

 

Causes – National Languages

As a child and even now I have seen within Pakistan different nations joint together to form one nation – the nation of Pakistan. In their journey towards one nation these separate ethnic groups have not lost their national identity characterized mostly by the different languages, customs, histories and geographies.

Pakistan first is our motto and thus in this day and age of globalization, provincial autonomy concepts seem bizarre at times and yet necessary. Pakistan is a federation and its proper functioning can only be achieved if the federating units function with dignity equality and peace. We have witnessed in our history many provincial harmony issues. It is my endeavour to reduce these tensions within our federating units. One of the softer ways of doing so before resource issues are handled, is through the Language cause.

Each federating unit and more has its own language. By declaring them National languages it gives these units respect and helps vent their provincial harmony issues. After all the analysis of the languages shows that by declaring them as National languages we gain in terms of richness of culture. I have recently moved a bill in the National Assembly which I hope will be accepted. It is inspired by an Uncle (Mr Mujeeb Pirzada an ex PPP MNA). Its components will ensure that English be kept as official langaugae. Whilst Arabic and Persian be taught in schools. This is to increase the understanding of Quran so as to reduce the gaps in our society of the extra religious and the far too modern segment. all Muslims need to know this important language Arabic. Persian for intellectual and regional harmony purposes.

 

Language

 

 

LANGUAGE is more than blood,” in the words of …philosopher Franz Rosenzweig.

 

Languages truly decide the glory, survival or defeat of nations on the battlefields of time…. When ethnic groups give up their language, though words might occasionally survive in linguistic studies or folk songs, they can easily be reduced to fragile, dusty museum-pieces.

 

It is one of the most important ways to escape the circle of deprivation.

Yet, language is a potential source of pride not only for poets and writers but also for children, who need to learn much more about their culture than just a couple of references and paragraphs from some textbooks.

 

Languages of Pakistan

 

• Urdu was chosen as a national language of Pakistan att he time of independence.
• Historical significance as language developed during the Islamic conquests in the Subcontinent during the Mughal Empire and was chosen as neutral language to unite various groups of Pakistan.
• The official language is English.
• Many other languages are spoken in Pakistan regional tongues from largest to smallest are as follows: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Saraiki, Baluchi, Hindko, Brahui, Burushaski, Balti, Shina, Khowar, etc.
• Pakistan has about 1 million native speakers of Persian.
• Arabic is popular due to religious significance. Persian continues to be an important literary language in Pakistan.

• Punjabi 45%
• Sindhi 15%
• Pashto 15%
• Urdu 9%
• Saraiki 10%
• Other 6%
• Balochi 4%

1.     Urdu:

• Urdu is Pakistan’s national language and has been promoted as token of national unity.
• More than 95% of Pakistanis can speak or understand Urdu as their second or third language in many cases, though about than 9% of the population of Pakistan has Urdu as its mother tongue. It is written in modified form of Arabic alphabet.
• First poetry in Urdu was by Persian poet Amir Khusro (1253–1325),
• First Urdu book Wo Maglis was written in 1728
• First time word “Urdu” was used by Sirajuddin Arzoo in 1751.

 

 

2.     Punjabi:

 

• Punjabi is very old language and it was known as
  • Sanskrit in 4000 B.C.,
  • Pali, Prakart and Upbharnash in Ashok-period 273-32 B.C.
  • Hindvi, Lahori and Multani under Muslim period 711-1857.
• Punjabi literature was principally spiritual in nature.
• Among the Punjabi poets, the names of  
  • Sultan Bahu,
  • Bulleh Shah,
  • Mian Muhammad Baksh
  • and Waris Shah are the well known.
• Punjabi is the predominantly spoken language in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The main dialects of Punjabi are Majhi, Doabi, Malwai and Powadhi, Pothohari, Lahndi and Multani in Pakistan.
• Majhi is the standard written form of Punjabi. Punjabi is the fifth top language in the world.
• Famous folk tales of
  • Mirza Sahiban,
  • Sayful Muluk,
  • Yusuf Zulekha,
  • Heer Ranjha,
  • Sohni Mahiwal,
  • Dulla Bhatti,
• The Great Sufi/Saint poetry has been the folklore of the Punjab and still sung   with great love in any part of Punjab.

 

3.     Siraiki:

 

• is an Indo-Aryan language mostly spoken in Southern Punjab and Northern Sindh in central Pakistan by about 80 million people.
• Punjab: Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rahim Yar Khan Regions.
• NWFP: Dera Ismail Khan, Kulachi and in Tank District and also spoken widely in Lakki Marwat
• Sindh: Down to the suburbs of Karachi
• Balochistan: Kacchi plains
• Most celebrated poet in the Saraiki language is Khawaja Farid (1845–1901)
• In Sindh, the most famous poet of Saraiki is Sachal Sarmast.¨

 

4.     Pashto:

 

·         also known as “Pathani” and “Afghani”is an Indo-Aryan language

·         First language spoken by 15% of Pakistanis, mostly in the NWFP, FATA and in Balochistan and Afghan refugees.

·         Major dialect patterns: Pakhto & softer Pashto spoken in Quetta.

·         Khushal Khan Khatak (1613-1689) Famous books are

·         Baz Nama,

·         Fazal Nama,

·         Distar Nama

·         Farrah Nama.

·          Rehman Baba (1633-1708) were some big poets in Pashto language.

 

5.     Sindhi:

• Abu-Rayhan Biruni in his book ‘Mal al-Hind declared the presence of Sindhi in 711 A.D
• Popular language between 14^th & 18^th century
• is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by approximately 41 million people in Pakistan
• Shah Abdul Latif, Sachal Sarmast,Lal Shahbaz Qalandar narrated their poetry depicting the relationship between humans and God.
• Sindhi literature is also spiritual in nature and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (1689–1752) was one of its legendary poets who wrote Sassi Punnun, Umar Marvi in his famous book “Shah Jo Risalo“.

 

6.     Balochi:

• is a Northwestern Iranian language, namely
  • Kurdish due to a large removal of Kurmanci Kurdish tribes from Aleppo to Baluchistan.
• principal language of the Baloch of Balochistan, Pakistan, eastern Iran and southern Afghanistan.
• Also spoken as a second language by some Brahui.
• Designated as one of nine official languages of Pakistan.
• Dialects: Eastern Balochi, Western Balochi and Southern Balochi. (Kalati, Panjguri and Sarhaddi), Saravani, Lashari, Kechi, Coastal Dialects, and Eastern Hill Balochi.
• Writing of Balochi literature began in the second half of the 19^th century.
• Oldest Balochi poetry is of 16^th century belongs to poetry of Mir Chakar’s era.
• Balochi poetry represents political thoughts. Gul Khan Naseer was the leading poet

7.     Shina:

• is a Dardic language
• Spoken by a plurality of people in Northern Areas of Pakistan.
• The Valleys include Astore, Chilas, Dareil, Tangeer, Gilgit, Ghizer, and a few parts of Baltistan and Kohistan.
• It is also spoken in Gurez, Drass, Kargil and Ladakh valleys of Jammu and Kashmir in India.
• There were 321,000 speakers of Gilgiti Shina as of 1981, and an estimated total of speakers of all dialects of 550,000.

·         Dialects: Gilgiti Shina (the main dialect), Astori Shina, Brokskad (of Baltistan and Ladakh), Domaaki, Kohistani Shina, Palula, Savi and Ushojo.

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Causes- reduction in prices

Price Hike Table

 

Sr No	Commodity	Unit	Current Rate in Rs. (9th July)	Previous Rate in Rs. 15th Nov 2007)	Difference in Rupees
1.	Wheat	20 kg	416	295	121
2.	Daal Channa	kg	64	40	24
3.	Ghee	5 kg	775	530	245
4.	Rice	kg	130	80	55
5.	Chillies	250 g	60	35	25
6.	Sugar	kg	35	34	1
7.	Petrol	liter	76	53	33
8.	Diesel	liter	53	47	6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tragedy of the price hike is that instead of govt looking for and explaining ways on how to manage this disastrous upward trend, it keeps blaming everyone but itself. It should not have made pric reduction election promises. Frankly the awaam doesnt want blame games by us or them. It wants a halt and a downward trend! We need to come up with a solution to this price hike. It will lead to disasters which we as politicians will not be able to handle. When other developing countries are managing this global food crisis and oil crisis better why cant we? Where are the economic wizards of this country? Where is the governance of the coalition govt? Call an APC on price hike with all relevant politicians and technical experts and admit as govt that you have failed!

  

 

Causes – Northern Areas

 

The people of Gilgit Baltistan are patriotic Pakistanis and yet not truly Pakistanis constitutionally. Whilst our govt especially the President’s interventions have done more for this area than ever before, their struggle for their rights continues since in some way they are considered linked to the Kashmir dispute. Irrespective I consider it my duty to serve this region which is truly one of the most beautiful areas  in the world. I have submitted a bill which I hope will be included in the PML legal team’s constitutional package response as the coalition govt failed to even mention the area in its package. I have also given half of my development funds to this region. I am trying to resolve their major parliamentary supremacy issues with KANA ministry. And on daily basis I track their issue list and raise questions on what they need. I cant wait for the day that their own representatives will sit next to us in NA and Senate. Inshala one day. Its a cause worth fighting for. They are our biggest assets with our hydel treasures all coming from there and Kashmir.

 

Bill of Rights for the people of Northern Areas of Pakistan

 

 

A bill preferred in the National Assembly of Pakistan to give basic human and constitutional rights to the people of Northern Areas of Pakistan. The Northern Areas of Pakistan occupy a fragile position in the country’s constitutional structure. The people of this region do not have their representation in the country’s parliament. The region was governed under a Legal Frame Work Order approve by the Federal Cabinet. The Northern Areas Legal Frame Work Order was amended into Northern Areas Governance Order in the year 2007.

 

Under Northern Area Governance Order, the region has a legislative Assembly with twenty-four elected members, six women members and six technocrats. The members of the Legislative Assembly elect the Chef Executive, Speaker, and the Deputy Speaker. Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs & Northern Areas is the Chairman of the Northern Areas.

 

The people of the area liberated this region form the Dogra regime in the year 1947-48 without any external motivation or assistance. The region is spread over an area of 72000 sq kilometers having a population of 1.6 million, located din the extreme north of Pakistan. The then leadership of the region opted to annex the area with Pakistan. The then leadership of the region opted to annex the areas with Pakistan and this annexation was done without any pre-conditions that’s the reason people of this area is not included in the country’s political mainstream . The region is divided into seven administrative districts, and thirteen sub-divisions.

 

The Northern Areas of Pakistan occupies very high geo-strategic importance in the prevailing regional and international scenario. The area links itself with China, Central Asian States, and Afghanistan. This region of the country is blessed with enormous natural resources. The Northern Areas have incredible potential in the tourism industry. This part of the country is famed for its magnificent peaks like K-2 (28250 ft), Nanga Parbat (26660 ft) so forth and so on. The area has immense prospective in hydropower generation, the most economical power generation to satisfy the national consumption.

 

The people of Northern Areas have rendered selfless sacrifices in defense of their country Pakistan on all times of test. The people of this region aspire to be included in the country’s political mainstream. There prevails a sense of deprivation among the masses for the form of worst governance they are subjected to.

 

It is felt that it is high time to give these loyal people their basic human and constitutional rights by bringing them into the parliament.

 

It is in the interest of both the people of this backward region as well as Pakistan to constitutionally integrate the Northern Areas of Pakistan with the country. It will help end the sense of deprivation prevailing in the masses.

 

In this regard it is further submitted on behalf of the people of Northern Areas they should be given representation in the National Assembly and the Senate at the FATA pattern, as the Parliamentarians from FATA have demanded establishment of a Legislative Assembly at the patterns of Northern Areas Legislative Assembly. It would be wise enough to give the FATA people a legislative Assembly keeping their representation in the National Parliament intact, like wise it would be pertinent to give the people of Northern Areas their representation in the National Parliament keeping the Legislative Assembly intact. Infact the provisional provincial status is being envisioned before Kashmir issue is resolved.

 

The role and powers of the Chairman Northern Areas be minimized to that of a Governor in the province as representative of the “Aiwan-e-Sadar.

 

The people of this region should be given access to justice through an independent judiciary. The Northern Areas Chief Court be declared as the High Court for Gilgit Baltistan and also brought at par with the Provincial High Courts in the rest of the country.

 

There is a great need to change the name of the area, as Northern Areas is no identity rather is only a direction. The most accepted and historical name of the area is Gilgit & Baltistan denotes all the seven districts of the area. A resolution to the extent of change of name may be brought in the National Assembly to give a name to the people of the region.

 

The people of the Northern Areas feel that the question of their constitutional status remains unanswered due to the Kashmir issue and the UN resolutions thereon. Majority of the people deny any historical link with State of Kashmir, as this region has never been a willing part of Kashmir. This region was captured as a result of Dogra military campaigns during the years 1833-146. Even if, so is the case, the statues of the Northern Areas should be enhanced/upgraded at least to the extent of Indian held Jammu & Kashmir. People of India held Jammu & Kashmir have their won state Assembly and also they have representation in the center.

 

Causes – Information Technology

IT is the future of this country. I have been associated with this industry as a child. I have grown up with IBM computers. My son at 6 months was typing his first keys on IBM’s think pad with baby rom. I have run an IT company with all its GPS, GSM components as Pakistan’s youngest woman CEO of an MNC. We are from the high tech IT age. Pakistan’s growth depends on how fast it transitions itself in this worldwide revolution. In this perspective I have decided to concentrate on a goal of getting govt to push our software exports. I have a lot to learn from the industry specialists. And I intend helping them through the wade of bureacracies so that they achieve their targets and the nation achieves its targets of growth. What follows is a short analysis.

IT Global Potential

• $140 billion outsourcing market.
• Indian Services and software exports are expected to generate around $41bn in 2008.
• Pak is at a mere $160 million software exports of this huge market.
• IT outsourcing is followed by outsourcing in legal, medical, education, designing and other sectors.
• Leading countries making billions of dollars are India, China and Canada.

Next Wave of Outsourcing which could make Pak competitive

• 35% taxes to be applied on Indian IT companies.
• Indian human resources are getting expensive due to high competition amongst companies. High turnover and competitor’s hiring near-by is huge strategic disadvantage
• China has language barrier.
• International customers are seeking alternative outsourcing destinations.  

Pakistan is lagging

• Unfortunately Pakistan is not in top tiers.
• Countries like Philippines, Vietnam and Poland  are riding the next wave.

Barriers to Pak taking advantage of market existence

• Infrastructure Issues.
• Lots of call centers lost contracts or closed due to nationwide internet outage. 4 out of 10 survived.
• Electricity outages, Lack of proper buildings etc.
• Political Uncertainties.
• Emergency, Bombings, Red-zones.
• Market Access / Bad image problem.
• In-effective govt.

Against All Odds

• Average IT entrepreneur is 25-38 years.
• Most are from middle class background.
• Start from little or no-investment.
• Create thousands of jobs for young professionals with three times average national income.
• Bring foreign exchange to country without any side-effects for economy.
• Introduce Pakistan as progressive and competitive nation to the world.

Problems Faced by IT industry in Pakistan

STP Issue

• 7 days vacation notice to ETC despite presidential order guarantee.
• ETC now wants individual negotiations with each company.
• Has given option to go for Rs. 85 per square feet from existing Rs. 48.
• In STP 1 rent has increased from Rs 40 to Rs. 100 Per square feet.

Load-Shedding

• Thousands of man-hours are wasted daily.
• Per man hour costs $15 – $50.
• Millions of dollars are being lost.
• Many companies hide load-shedding issue from customers otherwise they risk business.
• Worker morale is down.
• Cannot meet deadlines. Projects are affected.

Subsidies – or the Lack of it

• STPs are owned by Ministry of Industries and Ministry of Minorities.
• PSEB has no influence over them whatsoever.
• President gave directive to give subsidy to companies. This happened until last year.
• Nobody owns the subsidy now and STPs are multiplying rent by three times from 33 to 100 Rs/Sq ft.
• 15%-25% of profits will get drained.
• Needs to be budget allocation through PSEB.

Human Resources

• With banks and telecoms giving easy money to graduates IT is no more top priority for students.
• Salaries have grown tremendously but to attract people to this sector the total take home salary needs to be raised further.
• It is suggested that IT companies be excluded from professional income tax.

Recommendations  

• IT industry should be exempt from Load-shedding.
• Government should give incentives to boost IT industry.
• There should be IT parks with all required facilities in every large city of Pakistan.
• The Overall technology environment needs to be revamped to handle barriers mentioned above.
• We have to change the Perception in order to Move Ahead.
• Proper Legislations should be drafted and lodged for Data Protection. This is the first thing the foreign investors seek.
• Government should invest in Technology Companies and share their profit on certain projects if needed (Special R & D efforts)  which most companies forget about and just go for implementation.
• Software companies should encourage IT graduates by giving scholarships or building partnerships with educational institutions
• IT policy needs ownership and especially to move to targets it needs a revamp.

 

 

Causes- Climate change

I have been associated with the environmental issues in Pakistan since my internship at IUCN after college. However, its the recent exposure to environmental issues especially from the water challenge perspective that has made this cause, a life threatening cause for me. Its not just a cause worth fighting for, its a cause which if we dont fight for there wont be much left for our children.

With this urgency in mind I have started this journey in parliament to raise the awareness. Our successes will take time but its short term wins which encourage me on this tough journey. One issue at a time… What follows is a perspective on climate change. The productivity grids and the questions I have raised give a larger perspective of what we need to resolve. Govt needs to answer all these questions and we will make sure they resolve them so that the people of Pakistan win!

Global Warming and Massive Challenges for Pakistan

 

Climate Change	Impacts
Global warming Increased precipitation and its uneven distribution Melting of Glaciers and snow Sea level rise Increase in Frequency & Intensity of Extreme Weather events	Uncertainty in water availability Decrease in Crop Yields Newer perspectives for sources of energy Loss of Bio Diversity Increase Health risks

 

Major CC-related Concerns of Pakistan

• Increased variability of Monsoon.
• More rapid recession of HKH Glaciers threatening IRS Flows.
• Reduction in capacity of natural reservoirs due to rise in snowline.
• Increased risks of floods and drought.
• Severe water-stressed conditions in arid and semi-arid regions.
• Food insecurity due to reduced agriculture productivity.
• Upstream intrusion of saline water in the Indus delta; and risk to mangroves, coral reefs and breeding grounds of fish.
• Increase in deforestation.
• Loss of biodiversity
• Increased health risks (heat strokes, pneumonia, malaria and other vector-borne diseases).
•  Risk to coastal areas.
• Risk to energy supply facilities.

Impact of Global Warming on the Glaciers of Himalaya

• Glacier is one of the key indicators of Climate change.
• The world’s average surface temperature has increased between 0.3 and 0.6 oC over the past hundred years. The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, in its third assessment report, revealed that the rate and duration of the warming in the 20^th century is larger than at any other time during the last on thousand years.
• The increase in the global mean temperatures by 2100 could amount anything from 1.4 to 5.8 oC, depending on the climate model and greenhouse gases emission scenario. On the Indian Subcontinent average temperatures are predicted to rise between 3.5 and 5.5 oC by 2100.
• A forecast was made that up to a quarter of the global mountain glacier mass could disappear by 2050 and up to half could be lost by 2100.
• These changes in climate will have effects ultimately on life and property of mountain people.
• Siachen and Pindari Glaciers retreating at an average rate of 31.5m and 23.5m per year.
• Rapid accumulation of water in these lakes can lead to sudden breaching o the unstable dams behind which they are formed. The resultant discharges of huge amounts of water and debris known as Glacial Lake Outburst Floods-often have catastrophic effects.
• The impact of a GLOF event in downstream is quite extensive in terms of damage to roads, bridges, trekking trials, villages, and agricultural lands as well as the loss of human live and other infrastructure.
• Most of the glacial lakes in the Himalayan region are known to have formed within the last 5 decades.
• At least between 3 to 10 years one GLOF event was recorded in Himalayan region.
• These GLOF events have resulted in loss of many lives, as well as the destruction of houses, bridges, fields, forests and reads.
• GLOFs exacerbate land degradation, increase variations in the hydrological regime, degrade biodiversity and trigger many socioeconomic externalities. Climate change will thus intensity and accelerate these impacts and further burden the human and natural systems over a wide area, far beyond the mountain.

Melting of Glaciers in Pakistan

• Glaciers in Pakistan cover 13,680 sq. km which is 13% of mountain regions of the Upper Indus Basin. Melt water from these Glaciers contributes more than 60% to the flows from UIB.
• According to a 1999 report of International Commission for Snow and Ice “Glaciers in Himalayas are receding faster than in any other part of the world and, if the present rate continue, the likelihood of them disappearing by the year 2035 is very high”.
• In 2005, Hewitt reported widespread evidence of glacier expansion in the late 1990s in the central Karakoram, in contrast to a worldwide decline of mountain glaciers.
• These conflicting findings make the impact of climate change on Karakoram glaciers and Indus River flows very uncertain.

Goals  

Global Warming is international phenomenon; it should be seen in its international perspective. No one can alienate oneself from the effects Global Warming cause. Global warming has triggered new challenges for humanity. Impairment caused by Global Warming hits indiscriminately.  Rapid climate change has resulted incredible increase in numbers of natural disasters around the world. One can’t stop natural disasters to happen but there are many techniques to minimize the overall damage they cause. As a proactive and productive member of Pakistani society and a liable member of National Assembly including Member of Standing Committee on Environment, it is my duty to put my share in international and national efforts to curtail and minimize damage cause by Global warming. There are many techniques in my opinion to tackle damages of natural disasters caused by Global Warming, such as;

• Government should establish effectual “Early Warming System”, so that the vigilant measures can be taken before natural calamity.
• If the potential GLOF could be known in advance, the GLOF hazard could be reduced by saving life and properties of local communities. Proper monitoring of potential GLOF through early warning system should be implemented to reduce the physical vulnerability in the water sheds of the Himalayan region if possible most appropriate mitigation measures should be taken.
• Government should have aggressive strategy against natural disasters, for this government officials should hold frequent consultation meetings with institutions, agencies and environment experts.
• Government should have latest technologies such as Landsat TM and ETM+, IRS 1C LISS3, CBERS and ASTER to acquire satellite images vulnerable areas.
• Development of training materials for the inventory of glaciers and glacial lakes using Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing.
• Government should provide GIS and RS software and other technical support to related institutions and agencies.
• Government should train professionals and introduce foreign scholarship programs.
• Establishment of analytical protocols and systems to identify ‘hot spot’ and to regularize GLOF hazard studies.
• Analyze and synthesis the database to locate hot spot and potential GLOF circumstances, and dissemination of the results to concerned agencies.
• Crop maturity cycles need to be studied keeping in perspective the impact of CC.
• Yields of major crops need to be understood so that productivity is not minimized due to lack of info on cc.
• Sowing date alterations required with scientists giving information to Ministry of Agriculture who is passing it to farmers.
• Change in irrigation methods is required. Changes in planting techniques is required.
• Use of new crop varieties is required.
• For water conservation storages need to be looked at on urgent basis.