Re: Is the video of girl in swat a tool used by US to invade Pakistan?
Thousands march across Pakistan; people discard horrific agenda of Taliban; demand ANP to quit
Thousands march across Pakistan; people discard horrific agenda of Taliban; demand ANP to quit
Sunday, April 05, 2009
By Atif Nadeem
LAHORE: Thousands marched in protest across Pakistan against the public flogging of a 17-year-old girl in Swat on Saturday.
The Mall in Lahore echoed with anti-Taliban and anti-terror slogans, with protestors holding placards inscribed with slogans like �Who is the Biggest Terrorist?�, �Together for Peace�, �Taliban Unacceptable�, �Terrorism Means Destruction and Devastation�, �No More Blood�, �Dismantle Jihadis� Infrastructure.�
Talking to The News, many students said terrorists had caused a great harm to social fabric of the society. They said terrorists, mainly the Taliban, wanted polarization of the society but now they should realise that the people stood united to counter terrorism.
They said the Taliban wanted to brainwash young people to implement their agendas through terrorist activities. They said the young people, especially students, had discarded the horrific agenda of the Taliban as they did not respect human rights, particularly the rights of women.
Protestors said incidents of attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team and Manawan Police Training School had scared people who thought terrorists could attack any installation.
They said the people were concerned about their security as terrorists had unleashed violence against them without keeping in mind plights of bereaved families.
They also criticised the law-enforcement agencies for failing to protect the lives of people despite the fact the government had allocated huge funds for their functioning.
Addressing the rally, HRCP Chairperson Asma Jahangir complained that the government had surrendered to the forces of religious extremism and �the masses handed over to the beasts�. She warned the Taliban that the people of Lahore and of the whole country would not put up with violent acts against women.
She said the people of Pakistan would not spare any such person who opted for public flogging of women to impose their own agenda, be they were Taliban or not. She said the women would haunt the government and law-enforcement agencies if they failed to protect women or public lashing of women was repeated. �If the government cannot protect women, then the women should be vested with powers to protect people,� she said, while adding every time when they planned to take to the streets to give vent to their feelings and protest against violation of human rights, they received warnings from the law-enforcement agencies that the Taliban could attack any peaceful protest rally.
Asma said Adviser on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik should use his senses or the women would never forgive him.
Talking about the Swat deal, she said the peace deal between the government and the Taliban in Swat was completely ambiguous as peaceful environment was still lacking in the valley. She said the flogging of women publicly or restraint on freedom of expression was not peace. She claimed the Taliban had forcibly occupied houses of the locally displaced people during the Swat conflict. She said peace always prevailed in Lahore and the people of that city had showed determination and valour to counter terrorism and Talibanisation. She condemned the ANP for taking cowardly stance over the flogging in Swat.
She said the ANP should have condemned the attack irrespective of the time of its occurrence. She said the people of Pakistan would not let Pakistan become a �country of cemeteries�. She said the people would sacrifice their lives for the protection of their country.
Many women said the Taliban wanted to restrict the movement of women who felt insecure on account of such incidents. They said the Taliban extended harsh treatment to women in their strongholds and made women victims of agony and torture.
People from all walks of life participated in the rally. The majority of them were women, students, peace and human rights activists, civil society members and media persons.
Agencies add: Thousands of people, including civil society activists, journalists, human rights activists, students and youth, flocked Islamabad�s roads to protest against the flogging of the teenaged girl. Chanting slogans against the incident, the demonstrators marched from the National Press Club to the Parliament House where speeches were delivered against the heinous act. The protestors demanded the government to take strict action against the perpetrators of the anti-human act. �The perpetrators of this heinous act are not human beings, they are savages. We have to forge unity against them,� said human rights activist Tahira Abdullah. They announced they would continue their struggle against violence against women.
It was also decided that all human rights organisations would take out protest rallies on every Saturday. They urged the government and other organisations to come forward to condemn the violence against women.
Ulema, scholars and intellectuals also condemned the flogging. Allama Inayat Ali Shakir said no religion permitted to insult, degrade or abuse women.
Terming the flogging in Swat an un-Islamic act, he said the perpetrators were enemies of Islam as well as Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan said the brutal incident had nothing to do with Islam or Shariah. He appreciated Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry for taking suo moto notice of the incident. He said thorough investigation must be done and strong action taken against the guilty.
National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza condemned the incident of flogging. �Flogging of a young girl in public without any trial was un-Islamic, inhuman and contrary to any civilised norms in the world,� she said.
She said the Islamic injunctions of punishment for a crime could be exercised and implemented only after fulfilment of certain pre-requisites and adopting proper procedure. �Punishing a person without trial is not permissible in any religion and society of the world,� said Dr Fehmida Mirza.
Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi also condemned the incident and termed it a crime against humanity. He said such type of cruelty was never permissible in Islam or other religions.
Tehreek Minhaj-ul-Quran (TMQ) staged a protest against the flogging, in front of the Lahore Press Club. The participants raised slogans against extremists and terrorists for defaming religion. They asked the government to take stern action against the responsible as torture and humiliation of women was not allowed in Islam.
Non-Governmental Organisations staged a demonstration in Peshawar before the Peshawar Press Club. They urged the government to stop such incidents in Swat and that the NWFP government establish its writ in the province or quit.
