Pak Civil socy on memogate: Bid to thwart democracy

Says threatening representative system tantamount to attack on sovereignty of people

KARACHI: Over 30 representatives of the civil society including nongovernmental organisations, labour organisations, academia, women’s rights bodies and media have expressed deep concern over the current political situation in the country where a crisis is being manufactured on frivolous grounds, and is being referred as the so-called Memogate. This has the potential of subverting democratically elected Parliament and the Constitution.

Karamat Ali, Executive Director,
Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research

In a joint statement issued on Saturday the key civil society activists appealed to the people of Pakistan to stand united and firm in support of democracy and to resist all attempts aimed at its subversion. They said the people of Pakistan have made great many sacrifices for the cause of democracy and they should not let any vested interests trample their right to have a democratic and an elected representative system run the country.

“We believe that any attack on the sovereignty of the people will be unjust. It will necessarily lead to conflict and must be resisted,” the joint statement said.

The statement further said: “It is time all conspirators against democracy and the sovereignty of the people be called to account. Sovereignty belongs to the people who have agreed to exercise it through their representatives in a federal, parliamentary, and a democratic system.” Any attempt at arbitrarily altering this arrangement is tantamount to an attack on the sovereignty of the people. Various institutions of the state are supposed to function within their defined constitutional parameters and complement each other but they seem to be working at cross-purposes, to the determent of public interest.

“We emphasise that the role of political parties and political leaders is to represent their constituents’ interests and arrive at negotiated agreements to differences in agreed political forums.”

The role of state's security organizations is to serve the people through stipulated constitutional arrangements, under the command of the executive, and not to define what is or is not in the national interest.

The role of the judiciary is to protect the rights of the citizens from arbitrary abuse of executive power, and not to itself become a source of arbitrary executive power.

The role of the mass media is to help citizens hold powerful interests groups within and outside the state to promote their legitimate interests and hold violators of rights accountable, and not to itself act as an unaccountable interest group.

In our opinion, parliament is the appropriate forum to discuss and investigate this issue and come up with findings.

The following have signed the statement:

1. Karamat Ali, Executive Director, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research,

2. B. M Kutty, Secretary, Pakistan Peace Coalition ,

3. Dr. Kaisar Bengali, Senior Economist,

4. Dr Haroon Ahmed, president Pakistan Mental Health Association

5. Haris Gazdar, Independent Economist

6. Dr. Aly Ercelan, Senior Development Economist

7. Tasneem Ahmed Siddiqui, Chairman, Saiban, Former Chief Secretary Sindh,

8. Arif Hassan, Architect, Urban Planner,

9. Dr. Badar Siddiqui, Ex-President, Pakistan Medical Association,

10. Prof. Arfana Mallah, President Sindh University Teachers Association,

11. Nazim F Haji, industrialist, Former Chief Citizens Police Liaison Committee,

12. Dr. Jaffar Ahmed, Irtiqa Institute of Social Science,

13. Mohammd Tahseen, Executive Director, South Asia Partnership Pakistan,

14. Mohammad Ali Shah, Chairperson Pakistan Fisher folk Forum (PFF)

15. Dr. Abid Qayoum Suleri, Executive Director Sustainable Development Policy Institute

16. Naseer Memon, Chief Executive, Strengthening Participatory Organization, SPO,

17. Jami Chandio, Executive Director, Centre for Peace and Civil Society,

18. Samina Khan, Executive Director Sungi Development Foundation

19. Mehnaz Rehman, Regional Director Aurat Foundation,

20. Zulfiqar Halepoto, Sindh Democratic Forum,

21. Abrar Qazi, Awami President Awami Jamhori Party,

22. Zulfiqar Shah, Institute for Social Movements Pakistan,

23. Jaffar Memon, We Journalists,

24. Ishaq Mangrio, Independent Journalist,

25. Ghulam Fatima, Executive Member BLLF,

26. Punhal Saryo, President Sindh Hari Porhiat Council,

27. Arshad Mehmood, Executive Director Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child

28. Qamar Hayat, Executive Director Sahara Development Foundation,

29. Sheema Kermani, Tahreek –e- Niswa,

30. Sheen Farukh, Inter Press Communications

31. Haris Khaliq, Development Consultant

32. Farooq Tariq, Spokesperson Labour Party Pakistan

33. Lateef Mughal, General Secretary, Peoples Workers Union KESC

34. Aziz Abbasi, President Watan Dost mazdoor federation.

Aman Ki Asha - a prayer for Indo-Pak peace

Sunday, December 18... Just 30 seconds of your time, where ever in the world you are!

On December 18, take out just thirty seconds to Pray for Peace Between India and Pakistan. The prayer can take any form you choose.

Some expressions of support for this initiative include: 

• The Pentecostal Church in Bihar and Jharkhand, with a membership of 20-30,000 people has pledged to participate.
• The Lahore School of Economics is providing a free space for students and their friends to gather and pray for peace on Dec 18.
• "On behalf of Pakistan Youth Alliance and Khudi Pakistan, I express full endorsement for the initiative" - Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi, Chair & Founder Pakistan Youth Alliance, a youth based not-for-profit
  
  organisation and Central Executive Committee Khudi Pakistan, a counter-extremism initiative.
• "We have different groups in Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Jhang, Gojra and Toba Tek Singh. The areas have Christian & Muslim population. We are organising programmes with both communities on December 18, 2011"
  
  - Ashfaq Fateh, Toba Tek Singh.

Those who are not participating through an organised group are of course also welcome to join.

Five ideas to share and work on:

1. 1 - Make and display a sign in different languages saying "Pray for Peace Day! Pray for 30 seconds for peace between India and Pakistan".
2. 2 - Tell ten people you know about this initiative - family, friends, neighbours, co-workers, anyone.
3. 3 - Do fun things like make mock coffins or toilets out of chart paper or cardboard to show where you think the issue of hostile Indo-Pak relations is or should
   be, ie. bad relations should be flushed down the toilet or buried for good.
4. 4 - On Dec 18 or before that as part of awareness raising, include a yoga or pranayam section. For those looking for a bit of guidance on basic yoga postures
   you can try with the crowd, email a request for this to: swati sharan
5. 5 - Talk to NGOS, teachers, parents and get children to do arts and crafts to show their support. They might like to do drawings or origami of a dove
   or whatever. Any kind of creative expression is welcome.
6. 
   
http://www.amankiasha.com/detail_news.asp?id=585

Bus...now look at these Karachi buses!!

   Photographers' delight...ask Mritunjay Bose

Bose was part of The Press Club-Mumbai delegation that visited Karachi and Hyderabad (Sind) last month.

Pak trucks decorated like brides!

Photo feature by Mritunjay Bose...straight from Karachi

Media delegation from Mumbai gets warm reception

MRITYUNJAY BOSE

bureaus@sakaaltimes.com

Karachi, November 14, 2011: A 22-member delegation of Press Club, Mumbai was accorded a warm a grand reception on their arrival to Pakistan. On Monday, the delegation from Mumbai landed at the Karachi airport here and accorded a warm welcome with Karamat Ali, the Executive Director of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research personally present to receive the Indian delegates. Amidst cheers of onlookers, the members of the media delegation were garlanded and welcomed here.

On Tuesday, at the Karachi Press Club, the Mumbai delegation were formally welcomed. The Indian delegation is led by Prakash Akolkar, the Political Editor of Sakal Group, who is the Chairman of Press Club, Mumbai. Veteran journalist Jatin Desai is the chief coordinator and spokesperson of the Indian delegation. This correspondent too is part of the delegation, who would spend seven days in Karachi and Hyderabad in Sindh.

"This is a historic moment for the media fraternity of both the countries. This is just a beginning....many more fruitful exchanges must take place in the times to come," Karachi Press Club Secretary Moosa Kaleem said welcoming the Indian delegation. Several veteran Pakistani journalists, writers, thinkers, political analysts, social activists besides others attended the formal welcome session.

In his e-mail message sent through the Indian delegation, Justice Markandey Katju, Chairman of Press Council of India, said: " The media in Pakistan is playing a historical role. Despite all its difficulties, the Pakistan media by and large is honourably discharging its duty to society. The Pakistan media has made great sacrifices in the face of the bigoted and fanatical elements who want to drag society back into the dark middle ages. With great difficulties and sacrifices of our people, our sub continent has partially emerged from the feudal age. There are reactionary elements in both India and Pakistan who want our society to be thrown back into the dark, feudal age. It is the duty of all persons who want our people to prosper and get a life of dignity ( i.e. getting proper food, employment, medical care, housing, education, etc ) to oppose this reactionary trend."

During the visit, the team is put up at Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, popularly known as PILER-Karachi. During the visit, the delegation would attend a round table discussion on role of SAARC in bringing South Asian people closer. The team would be hosted by several politicians including the Governor and Chief Minister of Sindh. The team would visit the offices and facilities of media houses, viz, Jang Group of Newspapers, The News, Geo TV, Awami Awaz, Daily Business Recorder and The Dawn. The team would also be visiting the office of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum and Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The journalists will also tour Karachi Univeristy, newspaper, the National Museum and Mohatta Palace. The team would also get some time for sight seeing.

Meeting up with the river

MRITYUNJAY BOSE writes about his rendezvous with the Sindhu river in Pakistan and the sense of bonding he felt

This is the river that we all read about in the history books. The one that nourished the great Indus Valley civilisation. You got it right, I am talking about the Sindhu river, or the Indus or the Darya-e-Sindh which flows from the Tibetan plateau, Ladakh and then through the entire length of Pakistan. No matter by which name you call it, the appeal and importance of this ancient river remain the same for us in India and also for people in Pakistan. As a child, I always harboured a dream to visit Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and the Sindhu river. Recently, the dream came true.

I was in Pakistan last month as part of a group of 22 journalists and media professionals from The Press Club, Mumbai. We were based at Karachi and visited Hyderabad for a day. Our visa was restricted to these two places, as was our schedule --- a round-table meeting at the Hyderabad Press Club, deliberations with Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and visit to the some historical places. But deep inside, I wanted to have some time for the Sindhu.

The day came on November 16, when we visited Hyderabad. We started early in the morning from Karachi. As we crossed the toll naka to Hyderabad, the driver of our mini bus told us that we are going over the bridge built on the Sindhu river. Our excitement rose as the bus crossed the river. Almost every one in the team clicked as many photos as they could. But no one was content with just photographs. Most of us were ready to be dropped from one of the engagements to visit the river.

Perhaps, our hosts, the Hyderabad Press Club, knew about our wishes. Or maybe they read our minds. So, they surprised us by taking us to the Sindhu, following our meetings and other visits. A cool breeze welcomed us all, as we lined up near the railings on the river bank; the sun-kissed water of the river too seemed to be happy to see us. It seemed that Sindhu and I know each other for years; the bonding is eternal, the border notwithstanding. We tried our best to soak in the moment and capture as much as we could. Our cameras got busy, with everyone focussing on the river, the fishermen on the boat and the river bank. The fishermen happily posed for us. So did we, for our albums.

Amid the exhilaration and awe of coming face to face with the river, our hosts surprised us again. We were told that we will go for a 15-minute boating on the river. Our team was split into three groups. Local journalists took us to the middle of the river and we listened to them earnestly as they explained the relevance of the river for them, their economy and what it does to maintain the local food basket. Besides the endangered Indus dolphin, it was interesting to know about the Palla fish found in the lower Indus region. This fish is similar to the Hilsa, loved by people in eastern India and Bangladesh. Suddenly, the similarities across the man-made borders became prominent. The divide faded away.

With the sun getting ready to call it a day, we had to move on and say goodbye to Sindhu. But not before we wanted to take a bit of the river with us. One of the prized possessions that I now have is a bottle of water from the Sindhu. It is a treasure that my friends are now coming to see at my home.

(Mrityunjay Bose works as an Assistant Editor (Mumbai) with Sakal Times, a Pune based daily of the Sakal Media Group.)

Sixty years in self-exile: No Regrets - Ask BM Kutty

Dear All,

Following is review of BM Kutty's book appeared in today's Dawn.

Jatin

DAWN 04.12.2011

Reviewed By I.A. Rehman 


Biyyothil Mohyuddin Kutty, widely known as B M Kutty, is a remarkable person in many ways. At the age of 19 he abandoned his home in Kerala and chose self-exile in Pakistan, for reasons that failed to convince many, including Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, as the hand of destiny sometimes hides restless souls’ search for new worlds under the label of wanderlust.

Kutty’s life over the next six decades resembles a ride on a roller-coaster. He has served his adopted country in a variety of roles — he has been a dependable manager in business firms, a trade unionist, a journalist, a publisher, a political worker, a leftist intellectual, a trusted negotiator, a firm campaigner for peace and, last but not the least, the author of an extremely readable autobiography. Aptly described as a political autobiography, (Sixty Years in Self-Exile: No regrets; A Political Autobiography), Kutty’s narrative follows two parallel tracks — one presents the portrait of a proud Mapilla and his ceaseless desire to tilt at the windmills and the other offers a course in the political history of Pakistan.

Kutty writes about his eventful life honestly and with innocent candour. As he moves through a cavalcade of characters of various hues, he has a way of telling who are worthy of his friendship and respect and who of his anger or contempt. Most of the time he maintains his homespun modesty but there are quite a few flashes of well-earned pride. He does not conceal his attraction to the fairer sex and his admiration for women achievers is revealed, among other things, by his decision to dedicate his book to four women — Biriya Umma (mother), Nirmala Deshpande (peace), Benazir Bhutto (democracy) and wife Birjis (love). Nor does he hide his penchant for conspiring against his own career in business administration by taking up the causes of the victims of his benefactors’ malfeasance.

The account of Kutty’s movement from one business house to another and his struggle to raise a family without compromising his principles also offer a good peep into the social fabric of Pakistan during the period 1950-1974 — snapshots of life in Lahore in the early fifties, the rise of Karachi as a industrial and commercial capital in the sixties, and the ways in which society reacted to political upheavals throughout the first six decades of Pakistan’s history. Much may have changed since, except perhaps for the dehumanised factotums who punished Kutty for his innocence by condemning him to solitary confinement.

As for Kutty himself, nothing offers a better key to his character than the last two decades that he devoted to the promotion of peace and labour rights.

The other strand of the narrative is a valuable addition to the material on Pakistan’s political history — it is a fairly detailed account, from a leftist’s point of view, of the country’s journey from one political blunder to another. It is doubtful if Kutty has had a notable predecessor in this area. His strength lies in the fact that he is neither gathering material from a library nor does he present a bystander’s view of the turbulent politics; he is mostly in the thick of battle. Always a conscious believer in communism, he worked for the Awami League, the Communist Party, the National Awami Party, Pakistan National Party, and he has a great deal to tell us, not only about national politics but also about what went on within the progressive political parties and the movements for democracy.

The man Kutty was really devoted to from among the political leaders in his gallery — Mian Iftikharuddin, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, Sardar Ataullah Mengal, Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri and a host of BSO leaders — is Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo. Kutty paid off his debt to Bizenjo by editing his biography, In Search of Solutions, some time ago. Here he presents a broader review of the nine-month tenure of the NAP government in Balochistan, and his own role as Bhutto’s emissary to Bizenjo. He also offers several close-ups of Bhutto in a variety of moods and in the peculiar roles he liked to play. That Bhutto never treated his requests lightly and Benazir invited him to join her government reveals the level of respect Kutty came to enjoy among the political elite because of his professional efficiency, his understanding of politics and his capacity for calling a spade a spade. Students of politics will find in this book a large volume of reference material; some of it not readily available elsewhere.

What Sixty Years in Self Exile tells us about Kutty and his assessment of Pakistan’s political travails are important and relevant and this material should enable serious students to comprehend the present crises. Here and there Kutty’s memory fails him, literary critics may find his prose exceptionally simple, some may question his excessive use of the word “I” (unavoidable to some extent in an autobiography), and professional analysts may challenge his assessment of famous/notorious political figures, but that does not diminish the merit of the work.

It is not the autobiography of a run-of-the-mill politician who promises a revolution without knowing what it means, nor a sermon from a usurper of the pulpit; it is the story of a generation whose capacity to throw up nameless builders of a nation the state did not have the good sense to use. Kutty will find a prominent place in the group of activists who tried to show the path to Pakistan’s glory by fighting for peace, justice and the dignity of labour. States do not achieve greatness by the brilliance or the exertions of their leaders alone; far more important is the role of brief writers and prompters in the wings and Kutty has filled both roles with diligence and a gusto all his own.

The book is a good addition to the splendid works the Pakistan Study Centre of the University of Karachi has issued over the past many years.

The reviewer is secretary general of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

Sixty years in self-exile: No Regrets; A Political Autobiography 
(AUTOBIOGRAPHY)
By B. M. Kutty
Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi 
562pp. Rs600