Happy New Year to all the Guppies on the PA board.
I hope all your new year (only good!) wishes come true!
Here’s a list of the Dailytimes, Pakistanis of the year ( for all the right or all the wrong reasons)
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-1-2003_pg7_49
Daily Times’ Persons of the year 2002
The following people made news in the past year and Daily Times believes that for better or for worse they will continue to impact events of this year. In no particular order:
Mukhtaran Mai
Gang raped by four men and forced to walk home naked, the harrowing story of Mukhtaran Mai grabbed headlines across the world. The incident took place on June 22 in the village of Meerwala near Multan. A jury of village elders from the powerful Mastoi clan sanctioned the gang rape after reports that Mukhtaran’s brother Abdul Shakoor had raped a Mastoi woman. (Medical examinations showed that Shakoor had been sodomized.) Fourteen men were charged in connection with the gang rape. Six were given the death penalty by an anti-terrorism court on August 31, the rest were acquitted. The case shed light on the rueful state of women in Pakistani society and opened an important national debate.
Faisal Saleh Hayat
Rumours to the contrary were confirmed on November 14 when People’s Party stalwarts Faisal Saleh Hayat, Rao Sikander Iqbal and Naurez Shakoor came out at an Islamabad press conference as leaders of the PPP forward bloc. Citing larger national interests as their motivation, the men announced support for Muslim League-Quaid’s candidate for premier Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. Eventually, six of the bloc’s ten members made the Jamali cabinet. Mr Hayat, who had been in jail for his business dealings made Interior minister. He is now boss of the National Accountability Bureau, the same organisation responsible for his Sarwar Road Jail detention. The bloc has increased its numbers and is now known as the Patriots group of the PPP-Parliamentarians. The ‘party’ constitution declares Benazir Bhutto as the Quaid of the group.
Tanvir Naqvi
Described by General Pervez Musharraf as “the hardest working man in Pakistan”, Tanvir Naqvi, former chief of the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB), is the intellectual architect of the sweeping constitutional reforms promulgated by the military-government. The former lieutenant general drafted the Legal Framework Order (LFO) that ratified the April 30 presidential referendum. Rules framed by Mr Naqvi disbarred former premiers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto from contesting the October 10 elections but allowed men like Azam Tariq to slip through the cracks and find their way into the Lower House. Former Law Minister Khalid Ranjha pointed out that the contentious LFO could not be contested since elections were held under it. Daniyal Aziz, member of the National Assembly and Mr Naqvi’s number-two, now runs NRB, an institution that seems to have forever changed the political landscape of Pakistan.
Neelam Noorani
On September 30, this 21-year-old British-born Karachi resident was disqualified from the Miss International beauty pageant held this year in Tokyo after the Pakistani government protested with organisers and stated that Ms Noorani did not represent Pakistan. Her participation in the competition as ‘Miss Pakistan’ ruffled feathers here in the Islamic republic with prominent clerics coming to the fore to tut-tut the young woman’s participation. The story made the front page of the Wall Street Journal and was featured on primetime news shows in the US and in Europe.
Dr Amir Aziz
The Lahore based orthopaedic surgeon Dr Amir Aziz was picked up by FBI on October 21 on suspicion of funding Al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan and assisting in the development of biological and chemical weapons. His detention without charge for 29 days sparked public outrage, with doctors joining politicians and professionals in a series of mass protests at the breach of his human rights. After his release, Dr Aziz confirmed he had twice met with Osama bin Laden, who he described as “in excellent health”. He recalled operating on Laden after the terror mastermind fell from his horse. The revelations came shortly before the arrest two weeks ago of Dr Ahmad Javed Khawaja and eight members of his family on suspicion of Qaeda links, which provoked renewed concerns for Pakistani security.
Azam Tariq, Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar
Vice president of the Jamaat-e-Islamic Liaquat Baloch stunned the world when he went on the record telling Daily Times shortly after the elections that the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal would seek the release of Azam Tariq (founder of Sipah-e-Sahaba, pictured), Hafiz Saeed (leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba) and Masood Azhar (founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed). All three groups, acknowledged by the government as terrorist outfits, were banned in a landmark speech by the president on January 12. Mr Tariq was not only released but he ran for and won a seat in the National Assembly from Jhang. At the swearing-in of Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, he was seated in the front row. “We have been wronged,” he said, “and I have been assured it will not happen again.” Mr Saeed and Mr Azhar were subsequently released on court orders. Each man has come to the defence of the other. After all beards of a feather…
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
Blasted as a Zionist sympathiser, the Pakistan Tennis Federation put the heat on Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and warned him against pairing up with Amar Hadad. Having played with the Israeli national in the Davis Cup earlier, Qureshi was given wild card-entry at the US Open on condition that he play with Hadad. The Urdu press had a time of it slamming the talented tennis player for this. Qureshi, however, has a bright future both on the court and off. The handsome 18-year-old, now a national heartthrob, has joked about taking up modelling fulltime.
Sehba Musharraf
As the most prominent first lady of Pakistan since Mrs Liaquat Ali Khan, the fiery-haired Sehba has lent her support to a number of causes including women’s rights and education. Determined to effect change, Mrs Musharraf has spoken out on issues plaguing Pakistani society at international forums during her official trips to New York and Tokyo among others. Unlike wives of Pakistan’s once most powerful men, Mrs Musharraf is not one for blowing hard earned cash on frivolous items of clothing or accessories. No shrinking violet, Sehba is a modern day Pakistani woman who has stoutly stood behind her man. Here’s to a worthy role model.
Abrar
Fired from Aitchison College in 1996 after his debut single Billo de Ghar whipped up a storm for its purportedly veiled sexual content, geography teacher Abrar-ul-Haq decided to take up music as his day job. Over the past year, Abrar released a string of smash hits with fetching videos that won heavy rotation on music video channels. The hits include Preeto (“Ath saal huay saday one-way affair noo, Preeto hun nikah kar lay (heh heh)”) and Nach Punjaban Nach (the video was banned and women’s rights groups took Abrar to court for the song’s ‘sexist’ content). Abrar was not all tongue in cheek however. His non-governmental organisation Sahara pulled off a number of successful events and the singer discussed future projects with the Punjab chief minister. Seven years since he made his first splash, Abrar reigneth as Pakistani pop’s king.
Shaheen Sehbai
When he refused to retract his story linking Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh to Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Shaheen Sehbai had to face unprecedented government pressure that finally prompted him in March to leave the country and seek asylum in the US. The former editor of The News, Islamabad, now runs an independent webzine called the South Asia Tribune that has won plaudits from newspapers like the Los Angeles Times and rankled the establishment. In fact, General Musharraf lashed out against Mr Sehbai at an event in Washington and his government recently took out advertisements that, without naming the web-paper, warned the Pakistani press from using it as source material. Members of his family in Pakistan are reportedly still being hounded by intelligence agencies. Reporters sans Frontières have condemned this victimisation. *