MMA attack on show fascism, says ANP

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
1

Comments, people? This article was interesting considering it happened in area I did not think the MMA had any influence in?

Before anyone asks, yes the present President of the ANP is a Punjabi.

http://www.dawn.com/2002/text/nat5.htm
By Our Staff Reporter

LAHORE, Dec 23: Awami National Party (ANP) president Ehsan Wyne has declared the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal MPs attack on the musical show organized by the Pakistan Medical Association in Gujranwala as a fascist step and terrorism against peaceful citizens.

Talking to a group of reporters here on Monday, he said taking law in ones own hands and torture of citizens in the name of religion was the severest kind of lawlessness.

He said such acts of a handful of religious men had defamed Islam all over the world. The MMA was not authorized to judge which step was Islamic and which was not, he added.

In the presence of national institutions like army and police and at a time when elected governments, both in the centre and in the province, were working, no-one could be allowed to revive the pre-Islamic tribal era when one could attack others when and where one wished so, he said.

He claimed that such a step was exploitation as the newly installed federal government needed MMA’s support in securing the vote of confidence on Dec 30.

Referring to the Punjab chief minister’s direction that the FBI should not be allowed to raid any houses in the province, Mr Wyne demanded that the government should also check MMA parliamentarians from torturing people. Otherwise, he said, the country would suffer like Afghanistan had at the hands of the students of the MMA’s seminaries.

He urged the president, the prime minister and the Punjab chief minister to take note of the MMA’s “fascist” step before it was too late.

2

Zakk, it is too late. MMA will gain power and it will come at the center. It now has too much influence within the power structure that matters in Pakistan -- the military. And they will not arrive via the ballot box. It really is upto the Molvis now to decide how they want to implement their vision of Sharia in Pakistan. Unfortunately, my bet is that too much Saudi money has poured in and you are likely going to see the Saudi model of Islam being forced upon the Pakistan. It didn't work in Afghanistan, and it stand less of a chance of working in Pakistan.

3

MMA crackdown!

The new Islamic government in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province has started a crackdown on cinemas and video shops.

It wants to ban films perceived by Islamists as vulgar and obscene.

The alliance of religious parties, the MMA, won elections in the province and made big gains nationwide by capitalising on growing anti-US sentiment following US-led military operations in Afghanistan.

Twenty-three cinema owners were detained in the first round following a direct instruction given by the new provincial chief minister, Akram Durrani.

Billboards

Special police squads raided cinema houses in the city of Peshawar and brought down posters showing actresses in what the Islamists say are vulguar postures.

The Islamists want a stricter code
Raids were also carried out at dozens of video shops in the city and hundreds of films were confiscated.

The policy is now being extended to the whole of North-West Frontier Province and cinema owners have been warned of stringent punishments if they show movies that are perceived as vulgar or obscene.

Cinema owners are simply shocked and say they only show movies that have already been cleared by the country’s conservative board of censors.

Music ban

But the new provincial government has decided to adopt a more strict Islamic code.

Among its first orders were to ban the playing of music in public transport and for buses to stop midway at the time of prayers.

And some of its members want a complete ban on core education.

The religous party’s success in recent elections was mainly because of their effective campaign against the growing American involvement in the region and their promise to stop the security operation against the Taleban and al-Qaeda in the country.

But with the pro-US administration at Pakistan’s centre, they know it will not be possible to influence foreign policy.

So the Islamists have decided to concentrate on symbolic social issues to please their supporters - something many human rights groups say may push society towards extreme conservatism.

Source: BBC

There have also been reports that girls are being forced to quit college is the Sawat Valley…:frowning:
stoppin girls frm attending college doesnt make any sense…these people are extremists…!!!
We arent gonna get anywhere without education!!..thats the most important factor if we are to progress!

4

What can we do? I mean if you bring up anything opposing this issue, you could very well become the next target as you are opposing Islam.

5

MMA will never let women rule. Without role of women in Pakistan's Society, I don't see a future.

..and MMA consider themselves true Muslims. Idiots!

6

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/111202/main/top15.htm

Taliban supporters ransack circus

QUETTA (AFP) - Taliban supporters led by a provincial legislator ransacked a circus in Balochistan after objecting to such revelry during Eidul Fitr, police said Tuesday.
More than 100 supporters of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) had objected to the circus being held in Loralai, some 430 kilometres southeast of Quetta.
**Led by Maulvi Faiz Mohammad, the area’s elected legislator, **the activists forcibly closed down the circus on Sunday, the last day of Eid, police said.
‘They attacked a circus, killed a caged fox and a pair of Iranian mice besides releasing a pair of doves and looting some Rs 80,000,’ said district police officer Ghulam Rasool Baloch. When police learned of the attack, they dispersed the crowd with tear-gas, he said. No one was injured.
The local politician and the other activists fled the scene, but will be arrested if spotted by police, Baloch said.
Maulvi Faiz has been named as a potential cabinet minister in Balochistan, where the MMA is in a governing coalition with the Pakistan Muslim League (Q). The circus attackers were supporters of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F).
Police said the Taliban supporters objected in particular that the village circus included motorcycle acrobatics and dances by eunuchs

=============================================

Old news but this topic has remind me of this incident. A 80,000 bounty for maulvi sahib is not bad huh. :mad:

7

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by RajputFury: *
What can we do? I mean if you bring up anything opposing this issue, you could very well become the next target as you are opposing Islam.
[/QUOTE]

From the luxury of speaking from USA, there really is not much people in Pakistan are going to be able to do. I am convinced that Pakistan will travel down the road of Iran before real change will come about. Musharaff will likely be around for another 5 to 8 years and genunine politics will stay in cold storage till then, and the Molvis and More Molvis group will keep gaining ground and strength till then, and the population will keep exploding and the percent of people slipping below the poverty line will keep increasing. I am sorry to be such a pessimist but that is really how I see the situation developing.

8

What can one say?

9

ANP and its followers are a bunch of rejected low lives. Likes of Baacha khan, who opposed the creation of Pakistan and it's good that he was not given an inch of Pakistani land to be burried. The same losers are now opposed to the contruction of kalabagh dam. I have mentioned many times before, that these people have no place in Pakistan, and they should be ashamed of calling oneself a Pakistani.

MMA is elected by the overwhelming majority. If they are cracking down on cinema; that show pornos, half naked women in posters and video shops that rent indian videos, it's a great step. Live with it, after all it's a democracy.

10

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by OldLahori: *

From the luxury of speaking from USA, there really is not much people in Pakistan are going to be able to do. I am convinced that Pakistan will travel down the road of Iran before real change will come about. Musharaff will likely be around for another 5 to 8 years and genunine politics will stay in cold storage till then, and the Molvis and More Molvis group will keep gaining ground and strength till then, and the population will keep exploding and the percent of people slipping below the poverty line will keep increasing. I am sorry to be such a pessimist but that is really how I see the situation developing.
[/QUOTE]

With due respect, I hope what you have said doesn't come true!

I think that we should give the MMA a chance to govern in the 2 provinces, but this vagabondism and pure thuggery all in the name of Islam, is the main issue here.

Frankly, I follow a strict deobandi (or what people dewnigrate as Wahabi) form of Islam much in common with many in the MMA, but I would never impose it on others. So the issue is very complex, however the acts committed by the supporters of religious parties is condemnable outright.

11

:k:

MMA should also come farward for the cause of Women, which they don’t. :mad: Why don’t they?

12

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by RajputFury: *

With due respect, I hope what you have said doesn't come true!

I think that we should give the MMA a chance to govern in the 2 provinces, but this vagabondism and pure thuggery all in the name of Islam, is the main issue here.

Frankly, I follow a strict deobandi (or what people dewnigrate as Wahabi) form of Islam much in common with many in the MMA, but I would never impose it on others. So the issue is very complex, however the acts committed by the supporters of religious parties is condemnable outright.
[/QUOTE]

I hope it doesn't come true either. I don't want it to come true. As I said I do give into pessimism. Now if a guy like you gets worried of being called against islam, what chance does a guy like me or most of the people in Pakistan stand?

13

:k: Well said even though I dont think it should be the first step of MMA but rather health and education. But to stop this sort of dirt in society is important as well.
MMA is the only opposition to the chaudry looters of Gujrat and PML.
It is also very important that MMA dosent get hijacked by some ignorant mullahs who dosent have a realistic view upon the affairs of the country. The JI is the most well educated group represented in the NA. I hope they get more influence in MMA.

Anyway if there is some christians reading this I would like to say Happy Cristmas to them all :slight_smile: and may Allah give you and yours families a better new year than 2002. ( I am ashamed of the attacks on your churches and other holy places, no sincer muslim would do things like that ).

14

Respectfully ZII and outlaw; The JI and JUI were some of most actively anti Pakistani groups. They used to refer to Quaid-e-Azam as Kafir-e-Azam and some of the other comments they used to make were a bit to rude to repeat on this forum.
The party you are referring to was the Frontier Congress Party, which no longer exists, and almost all of the leaders you are probably referring to in that party are no longer alive or no longer in active politics.

15

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by outlaw: *
ANP and its followers are a bunch of rejected low lives. Likes of Baacha khan, who opposed the creation of Pakistan and it's good that he was not given an inch of Pakistani land to be burried. The same losers are now opposed to the contruction of kalabagh dam. I have mentioned many times before, that these people have no place in Pakistan, and they should be ashamed of calling oneself a Pakistani.

MMA is elected by the overwhelming majority. If they are cracking down on cinema; that show pornos, half naked women in posters and video shops that rent indian videos, it's a great step. Live with it, after all it's a democracy.
[/QUOTE]

Absolutely spot on. In a democratic election the MMA won 28 of the 35 NA seats from NWFP, while the ANP did not win a single seat. The ANP are nothing but sore losers, and the people of NWFP want nothing much to do with their failed idealogy anymore.

P.S. Those who say they are "speaking from the luxury of America" should accept the democratic will of the Pakistani people. Anything else proves their hypocrisy and double standards.

16

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Malik73: *

Absolutely spot on. In a democratic election the MMA won 28 of the 35 NA seats from NWFP, while the ANP did not win a single seat. The ANP are nothing but sore losers, and the people of NWFP want nothing much to do with their failed idealogy anymore.

P.S. Those who say they are "speaking from the luxury of America" should accept the democratic will of the Pakistani people. Anything else proves their hypocrisy and double standards.
[/QUOTE]

If you will check, I have always stated that MMA should be accepted by the Pakistanis and given a full chance to govern the way they want. MMA is the only party that seems to be standing on its principles ( although there are reports that they have made contrary statements to the Americans, but I discount that as propoganda so far ). However, I do disagree strongly with the policy of no schooling for girls if that is being implemented. Since they are unable to do much to change the policy at the center, they seem to be implement things to please their constituency within NWFP and Balochistan.

17

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by OldLahori: *
Since they are unable to do much to change the policy at the center, they seem to be implement things to please their constituency within NWFP and Balochistan.
[/QUOTE]

And that is fine by me. The two provinces voted to see MMA come to power and the implementation is being done with a mandate. I don't think we are arguing whether having MMA in government is legit or not-- but rather the extremism their ideology may spawn. I think it is wonderful to have religious oriented parties in government, but to have criminals and thugs who commit agression and harrassment under the guise of MMA, is certainly not acceptable. If I follow a conservative Islamic ideology that does not give me the right to harrass minorities, women and those following a different sect of Islam.

18

Old Lahori: You are wrong again. If MMA didn't enjoy wide spread support from Karachi to Kyhber, they wouldn't be ruling two out of four provinces. The people have given their mandate, and your statements such as,"If you will check, I have always stated that MMA should be accepted by the Pakistanis and given a full chance to govern the way they want", holds absolutely no merit. The fact is, they have already been accepted, since people are fed up with the corrupt rulers, including ANP. And who announced,"No schooling for girls", or is it just one of your another bogus statement.

Zakk, don't tell me that Ghaffar khan and his clan did not thrive on regional politics, while running drug smuggling cartels, all over the NWFP. I have yet to hear any benolevent gestures towards national solidarity, from any of the ANP leaders. MMA leaders were the first to announce that they want to serve the masses as servants and not rulers.

19

There had been rigging in the polls....and thats exactly why these people are in power!!
Its a move to decrease American pressure on Pakistan.....The USA wanted democracy in Pakistan and so they got it.....in the form of MMA in NWFP and Baluchistan....the two most important provinces in their military opearation in Afghanistan!
Everyone knew the PML(Q) was gonna form the government in the center even before the polls....and so they did!
The elections werent fair!

20

thats probably how they got that mandate!