Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 4 • July 2014
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Book Review: Instant City
2
What did Sindh get out of Pakistan’s budget?
4
Cultural Bypass Surgery
7
Letter to Prime Minister Sharif from U.S. Congress
8
Press Release from Brad Sherman
10
SAPAC Commends Members of Congress
11
Five U.S. Congressmen and Human Rights in Sindh
12
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 4 • Page 2
Book Review:
Instant City by Steve Inskeep Review by Samuel Brooks On December 28, 2009, a large procession of Shi’a Muslims were marching down M.A. Jinnah Road in Karachi for Ashura, a day of mourning the killing of the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson more than thirteen hundred years ago. Although the city police took strict security measures, a bomb had been placed along the procession route in a box meant for disposing old Qurans. “The explosion rips into the body of the crowd. Within two seconds, thick gray smoke has risen as high as a five-story building. The flags and banners at the front of the parade sag as their bearers stagger or fall. People in front of the flags, those with room to run, scurry forward in search of cover. Behind the flags, the rest of the marchers, those who survived, are stuck in the shrapnel and smoke.”3 This is the first scene Steve Inskeep introduces to the reader in his 2011 book Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi. He uses this and two subsequent bombings in February of 2010 as the backdrop for his historical narrative on the development of Karachi since partition in 1947.
Karachi is the capital city of the province of Sindh, and until 1959 it was the national capital as well. It remains the largest city in Pakistan with a population of roughly 23,500,000 people, yet at the time of partition it was home to only 400,000. This explosive rise in population is a main theme in Inskeep’s book and a large factor in his analysis for the tumultuous nature of both its past and present. He uses personal interviews with members of all classes of society to enlighten the reader on Karachi’s politics and culture. The city experienced a period of mass exodus of Hindus and entrance of Muslim refugees from India shortly after independence, which laid the framework for continued religious tensions to this day. From General Mohammad Ayub Khan’s overall failed groundbreaking expansion of Karachi’s suburbs to house incoming refugees, to today’s constantly changing leadership between two main political parties, the MQM and the PPP, Inskeep’s narrative concentrates on the politics of property in Karachi. Indeed, many in the city still believe the Ashura bombings of 2009 were perpetrated by political groups to destroy poorer sections of downtown and make room for newer, high-end retail space. This distrust of government is another constant storyline in the book, as many of the murders and violent acts he speaks of are believed, by local Karachiites, to have been committed by political parties against their dissidents. He maintains that whether or not these stories
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 4 • Page 3 are true, the parties in power are always trying to do what they believe is best for the people there, but there are two sides to every story depending on which ethnic or political group you align with. As one review of Inkeep’s book noted “Within the fabric of Karachi’s story, there are a number of smaller stories woven in. For me, the best was that of Abdul Sattar Edhi, the founder of the Edhi Foundation, the leading charity in Pakistan… Abdul Sattar Edhi is a Mohajir, an immigrant to Karachi who started with very little and even now has very little – he still lives with his wife in a single room. In light of all this, one would think Abdul Sattar Edhi is as close to a saint as one can get. But hold on, Inskeep shows his readers the various facets of Mr. Edhi which makes one pause a bit, especially the admission by Mr. Edhi himself that he is a ‘mentally disturbed person’ and the information that Mr. Edhi takes medicines such as Tegral 200 which is used to treat, inter alia, manic depressive psychosis.”1 This is a common theme in the book as it assesses the different sides of Karachi, both good and bad, both its expectations and failures, just like it does Mr. Edhi. One of my favorite analogies he suggests is near the conclusion;; “we walked up another flight of uneven stairs… Studies show that people are less likely to trip when each step is the same height and depth. American building codes enforce this idea, but improvisation prevails in Pakistan-it’s normal to pick your way up steps of several heights and depths. So it is that Americans make a smooth and ordered climb in a world that was designed for their comfort and safety in ways they may not even realize, while Pakistanis must adjust and learn the feel of every step.” 3 In my own opinion; Inskeep’s book is an incredibly accessible introduction to the history of Karachi. His narrative paints a detailed picture of the city from numerous walks of life, yet he keeps his analysis grounded enough to be understood by those not familiar with Pakistani culture. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking to understand the impacts of partition on the city, as well as those searching to understand its current chaotic nature. The juxtaposition between illegal suburbs with trash-strewn streets and little electricity, and the fenced in, manicured gardens of private clubs and homes could not represent this city more perfectly. There is relative room for upward mobility in Karachi compared to the rural areas surrounding it, but that climb up is not so much a specific path that can be planned in advance, as it depends on luck and good judgment based on deep historic knowledge of Karachi’s, and indeed Pakistan’s, culture and history. “Inskeep has succeeded with a gripping book that helps convey the importance of urbanization for the global community.”2 His writing style jumps around between stories and the plethora of problems Karachi faces in a way that may confuse readers at first, but that by the close of the book one will realize alludes to the fractured and tumultuous nature of the city as a whole. Works Cited: 1.
Washington, Emily. “Book Review of Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi.” Market Urbanism. N.p., 26 October 2011. Web. 24 June 2014.
2.
“WINNOWED.” Steve Inkeep’s “Instant City: Life And Death In Karachi” –Book Review. Winnowed, 4 November 2011. Web. 20 June 2014.
3.
Inskeep, Steve. Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi. New York: Penguin, 2011. Print.
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What did Sindh get out of Pakistan’s budget? By Yussouf Shaheen
The 2014-2015 budget of Rs. 3,936 billion appears to further increase the debt of an already indebted nation. If we go through the budget carefully it appears like it is 95% of Punajab’s budget rather than Pakistan’s entire budget, which means Punjab will essentially get two budgets this year. Let’s first go into the details of how this budget of Rs. 3,936 billion is distributed. Rs. 1,325 billion will be paid as interest and installments of loans. Rs. 700 billion are allotted for armed forces. Rs. 574 billion are allotted for government institution in deficit. Rs. 525 billion are allotted for federal development programs. If we include salaries of federal government in these figures there is a deficit or shortfall of around Rs. 1700 billion. Where will that amount come from? The government will either take new loans or sell national assets. The federal government has imposed new taxes of more than 246 billion. Finance minister
Translated from Daily Sobh Karachi
Ishaq Dar has said the government has also imposed taxes of Rs. 128 billion and another 198 billion will be added by selling national assets. In addition to that, new loans will also be taken from IMF, the World Bank, the Asian Bank, the Islamic bank, and other financial institutions to further indebt an already indebted nation. In the 67 years since the creation of Pakistan only twice have budgets been presented as per available resources and income; all other budgets have presented more than available resources and income, which means taking loans and aid has been made a part of the system. The current government has failed in all industrial sectors except one, and they have especially ruined the agriculture sector. They didn’t even achieve half of their targeted growth rate. The targeted growth rate for agriculture was 4.8 and the government didn’t even attain a rate of 2.12. The current government, which specializes in trade and industry, hasn’t been able to understand the agriculture sector that employs 60% of the population and amounts to 70% in export, including cotton (textile), rice, wheat, sugar cane, and other agricultural products.
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 4 • Page 5 Pakistan’s Export Pakistan’s total export amounted to $21 Billion out of which more than 50% was textile. Except for 4 to 5 items, Pakistan’s export shop has nothing valuable to offer. This is why the maximum amount of export is only between $15 and $21 billion even after all of the government’s efforts. While presenting the budget, the finance minister also said the government will gradually eliminate the SRO system under which the people associated with trade and industry are given income tax and other exemptions from taxes. The finance minister said that last year alone the government wrote off taxes of more than Rs. 477 billion. The finance minister also announced the allocating of billions of Rs. for Bhasha Dam, greater Thal Canal, and other projects while he only minutely discussed projects like Thar Coal and Karachi Circular railway and he avoided discussing funds allocated for those projects. The finance minister also announced a bailout package of Rs. 77 billion for Pakistan railway which employs more than 90,000 people and also has to pay pension to more than 80,000 people. The Pakistan railway system is in debt of more than Rs. 334 billion, which it borrowed to pay salaries and other expenses. Pakistan Railways employs more than thrice as many employees in excess. Rs. 77 billion will be given to Pakistan Railways to pay interest on loans and manage other expenses. Same is the case with PIA, which employs 21,000 people while only 7,000 are required. Out of these, only 3,000 employees have passed 10th grade, but are holding high positions and enjoying high salaries. Muhammed Saleem, an employee of PIA, is paid Rs. 470,000 a month as salary. PIA
employs more than 500 pilots who are paid more than Rs. one million per month as salary and other allowances while PIA only has 20 operational airplanes. We Sindhis have an idea to which province the majority of these employees belong. Almost exactly the same is the case with Pakistan Steel, which was founded by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and had to employ more than one million people, including 100,000 engineers. Previous autocratic governments destroyed Pakistan Steel, which owes Rs. 82 billion in loans. Pakistan Steel requires Rs. 500 million every month to pay salaries and another Rs. 500 million to keep it running. We have been noticing this attitude of central government in the past 67 years regarding how people from one particular province are being employed in these government institutions. Pakistan’s Banks Banks worldwide are incorporated to strengthen and support trade and industry, but the story here in Pakistan is entirely contrary. Instead of playing a role in the development of trade and industry it appears as if banks here are only interested in managing people’s money and earning interest. Manipulating money and cashing checks is their only interest. Instead of utilizing the banks’ money to support trade and industry, they have given it to the government as loans. These loans now amount to Rs. 3,000 billion, and for the installments and interest of those loans the government has allocated Rs. 1325 billion in the current budget. This situation proves the collapse of the banking system in Pakistan. This year alone the government has borrowed more than Rs. 300 billion from local banks and thus the
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 4 • Page 6 government is protecting banks, and banks are earning billions in terms of interest. 64% right over national income Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan in terms of area but all efforts have been made to make it the poorest, most backward, and underdeveloped province. General Ayub Khan imposed martial law in 1958 and all army rulers after that brought a new population formula to facilitate Punjab. As per which Punjab had a right of more than 64% of Pakistan national income. Sindh and Balochistan strongly protested against it but, due to army rule, none of the plights were heard and this formula still continues in the name of NFC. Sindh provides more than 70% of national income and the case is that what people of Sindh earn, the people of Punjab enjoy. Worst is the situation with people of Balochistan many of whom don’t even have access to drinking water.
award amongst all of the four provinces equally so that all of the provinces can develop together, which will result in a stronger federation.
Power Sector Surprisingly, Pakistan is capable of producing 22,000 megawatts of electricity, but only 12,000 to 13,000 megawatts of electricity is produced. According to the government, the rest of 10,000-megawatt electricity has to be produced by furnace oil which costs Rs. 16 to 24 per unit. Selling it at Rs. 6 to Rs. 9 results in a heavy loss for the government. This is not right at all. There might be a little effect of all these issues, but throwing a whole country into darkness in complete injustice. The actual hindrance is the monkey business of power companies created by WAPDA, which gains finances through line losses and other issues. Load shedding in Pakistan is completely artificial and represents the incapability and thievery of these institutions.
The need of the hour is to distribute the NFC
Asa Canto V (Hope):23 from Shah Jo Risalo
َﮂڍ ِﻳﯾﺎﻥن؛ ﻭوﺍاﺭرﻱي ﺁآ ُﺋﻭوﻥن ﺗﻪﮫ ،٬ُ ﻭوﻳﯾﻬﮭ ﭤِﻲ ۾ ﺍاَ ِﮐﻳﯾ ُِﻥن . ﭔﻳﯾﻭو ِﻲ َﭘﺳﺎﻥن ﻧﻪﮫ ﺁآ ُﺋﻭوﻥن ،٬ُ ڏﻳﯾﻬﮭ ﻧﻪﮫ ڏِﺳﻲ ﺗﻭوﮐﻲ ِ Dwell in mine eyes Beloved fair That I can close them now; No one may ever see you there And I nought else shall see.
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Bypass Surgery is effective treatment for those who suffer from heart trouble. What do we mean by Bypass Surgery? As to avoid the heavy traffic or congestion on the main road, a bypass is constructed to divert the traffic, similarly when the blood vessels carrying the blood to the heart are choked, a bypass is made by connecting new blood vessels through which blood can easily pass. Sometimes society, like men, needs a bypass surgery. Today Sindhi Society is passing through a crisis, which can be overcome only through a bypass surgery. We know that language, literature and culture are inter-related. Literature, which is the manifestation of culture, is created by the language. Therefore, it is the language and literature which transmit the culture and civilisation from one generation to another. Thus the process of handing over the cultural heritage to the successive generations is by means of language to literature and from literature to culture. Due to some historical events, this normal channel of cultural transformation is blocked for Sindhi community. Today, Sindhis are scattered throughout India and all parts of the World. Everywhere Sindhis have adopted the local language. In Gujarat they speak Gujarati, in U.P they speak Hindi, and in Karnataka they speak Kannada. Because at many places they do not have the facility to learn Sindhi language in schools, majority of Sindhi children are deprived of learning their mother tongue. With the result that they have no access to Sindhi literature and no knowledge of Sindhi culture. The new generation of Sindhis, due to lack of knowledge of their language and literature, feel that Sindhis do not possess the culture of their own. These youngsters are therefore not emotionally attached to their own roots, feel shy to be recognised as Sindhis, and suffer from inferiority complex. As this channel of access to culture through language and literature is blocked, we need bypass to reach the goal of cultural identity. This bypass can be through the process of vocal culture. Our youngsters can be linked to their cultural roots through dance, drama and music initially and imbibed with the love for language and literature later on. This is the suggested bypass surgery for the health of Sindhi Community.
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Washington, DC – Congressman Brad Sherman, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, was joined by four Members of Congress – Kerry Bentivolio, Adam Schiff, Tulsi Gabbard, and Tom Petri – in sending a letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to express deep concern over human rights violations in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Sindhi activists have been regularly persecuted and detained, and even violently targeted through enforced disappearances and brutal murders. Religious minorities in Pakistan, including Hindu Sindhis, have faced discrimination and attacks by extremists on their houses of worship. The letter urges the Prime Minister to “address the situation accordingly by strongly countering these actions and policies throughout the Pakistani government.” “We are urging Prime Minister Sharif to do everything in his power to protect the Sindh community, as well as religious minorities, from attacks,” said Congressman Sherman. “The Sindhi community includes tens of millions of people in Pakistan who are striving to preserve their language and culture, but Sindhi activists are subject to enforced disappearances and sometimes targeted killings.” “Violence against minorities everywhere is an unacceptable violation of human rights,” said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “In Pakistan, we've heard reports of torture, executions and disappearances of peaceful and politically active Sindhis and Balochs who are Hindu, Christian, Shi’a and other religious minorities. These religiously and politically motivated attacks are abhorrent, and I strongly urge Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take action to address these troubling offenses. The Government of Pakistan must stand up for human rights, and against violent radicals who seek to persecute and kill those with differing beliefs.”
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Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 4 • Page 12 and Appropriation Committee in US Congress. He is
By Hasan Mujtaba • Translated from the Daily Jang Newspaper Five U.S. members of Congress wrote a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan on the 20th of June 2014 in which they have expressed deep concerns about disappearances of political workers in Sindh, violence against minorities, and the human rights situation in Sindh. This letter consists of two pages, is written on the letterhead of the Congress of the United States, and is signed by five Congress members belonging to both the ruling Democrat as well as well as the Republican Party. These five elected members of Congress are quite influential and are popular for getting various bills passed on behalf of both of the parties. Congressman Brad Sherman was joined by four Members of Congress—Kerry Bentivolio, Adam Schiff, Tulsi Gabbard, and Tom Petri—in sending a letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to express deep concern over human rights violations in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Congressman Adam Schiff, who is from California and is a member of the Democratic Party elected from the influential Hollywood area, is a member of the Intelligence Committee and the Appropriation Committee in
the U.S. Congress. He is also an active member of the Sindh Caucus, which consists of various members of U.S. Congress and Senate from both the Democratic and Republican Parties. Congressmen Brad Sherman had heard about Karachi and Sindh in his childhood from his grandfather who was stationed there in charge of the International Labor Organization in the 1950s. Congressman Brad Sherman has been very active in the Sindh Caucus and on Capitol Hill regarding various Sindh related issues, which also includes legislation about Voice of America in the Sindhi language. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is also from the Democratic Party and is the first Hindu member of the US Congress. Congressman Thomas Petri is the most senior member of Congress and is retiring next year. Congressman Kerry Bentivolio is a young, newly elected member from Republican Party and is a teacher by profession. These members of Congress have expressed concern over the human rights situation in Sindh unanimously regardless of their affiliation with Democratic and Republican Parties.
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 4 • Page 13 In their letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; these elected representatives of Congress wrote that Sindhi activists are regularly persecuted for voicing their concerns about government policies. They also wrote that they are greatly troubled by reports of repression and attacks on nonviolent, politically active Sindhis— attacks that include enforced disappearances, torture, and executions. One horrific example of this includes the recent case of Maqsood Qureshi and Salman Wadho who were allegedly shot and then burned alive inside of their car while traveling to a political rally in Karachi. The letter stressed the need for those responsible for ordering these killings, and similar attacks, to be held accountable for these appalling violations of basic human rights. The letter also mentions similar reports regarding Baloch political activists, with mass graves being discovered in the province of Balochistan. The letter also states that the human rights violations are not only political, but also religious in nature. Hindu Sindhis experience increasing encroachments on their ability to freely practice their religion. Accounts of Hindu temples in Sindh being forcibly entered and desecrated represent an affront to the rule of law and basic tenets of religious tolerance. Elected members of the U.S. Congress have also said that Christians, Shi’a, and other religious minorities in Sindh have also deeply suffered. Scores of Pakistani Shi’a and Christians have been killed or injured in attacks, many of them in Karachi and Hyderabad. Christians are regularly detained, tried, imprisoned, and even sentenced to death for allegedly violating blasphemy laws. Houses of worship have been attacked, as well. The letter also includes the fears of the members of Congress regarding certain radical and
violent groups being allowed to act with impunity by elements of Pakistani security forces and, if that is true, they urge Prime Minister of Pakistan to address the situation accordingly by strongly countering these actions and policies throughout the Pakistani government. In the last paragraph of the letter, elected members of the U.S. Congress demanded that the basic provisions of human rights can and should be provided by the Government of Pakistan to Sindhis and the Baloch alike. They urged the Prime Minister to seriously address these concerns and work to make Pakistan a free and fair country for all to live in, where religious minorities are not persecuted and differing political beliefs are not met with violence. This is not the first time a letter has been written by Senators or elected members of Congress to Pakistani head of state expressing concerns over human rights situation in Pakistan. When it comes to bilateral relation or human rights situation, U.S. legislators have written letters to Pakistani rulers (whether democratic or nondemocratic) on various occasions, including in response to the house arrest of Benazir Bhutto and Nusrat Bhutto during Army Dictator Zia’s regime, the military coup against Nawaz Sharif’s government, and the arrest of Sharif Brothers and their cabinet members. Whether it was removal of Chief Justice of Supreme Court or house arrest of him and other judges of the Supreme Court; whether it had been issue of Mukhtaraan Mai, Malala Yousuf Zai or arrest of Shakil Afridi; whether it had been an issue of forced child labor or a ban on the media: Elected members of the U.S. Congress and Senate have always expressed their deep concerns regarding the Pakistani Government, both customarily and historically.
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 4 • Page 14 Clearly Pakistan, and the Sindh province in it, is not a part of any dark island that its affairs, specifically human rights situations, shall not concern or gain attention from the international community, including the United Nations and the United States. But the situation is as they say in Sindhi language, “Physically or violently they are not allowed to act and verbal advises or warnings don’t affect us much.” When only 10 people are killed in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province (which is highly condemnable), it moves foundations of the government. But at the same time deaths of hundreds of innocent people in Sindh, Balochistan, KPK, or Karachi (the largest city of the country) doesn’t even unease the government.
police encounter against terrorists. According to the police statement, Anees Soomro was a criminal; but even if it was the case, aren’t criminals presented before the court? Why are they killed in police custody? Family members of Sindhi and Baluch nationalists and political activists say if their loved ones are criminals their illegal detention must be disclosed and they must be presented in courts.
Before this occurred, a physically challenged active Sindhi nationalist, Munir Choliani, who used a wheel chair disappeared and was killed on the 31st of May 2014. Munir Choliani was kidnapped by armed kidnappers of the State in a Double Cabin Although the ink of while he was on the signatures of the his way home to five members of the Sann from U.S. Congress on Larkana with his Picture of Anees Soomro at a protest, found on Sindh this letter written to family. A few Speaks’ Twitter feed. the Pakistani Prime hours later his Minister wouldn’t dead body was have yet dried, neither would have the tears of found in the nearby town of Bhan Saeedabad. relatives of those killed as a result of violations The weapons that armed forces get in aid kill of human rights when the news came of the less Talibans and more Sindhi and Baluch extra judicial killing of an 18 year old Sindhi nationalists, as well as Urdu speaking political political activist. Suhrab Goth Police Station in activists extra judicially. In Sindh and rd Karachi arrested Anees Soomro on the 23 of Balochistan there are not only gangs, which are June 2014 and the SHO asked his father for a very active in kidnapping for ransom but also bribe of Rs. 500,000, which he could not pay. state elements are extremely active. Isn’t this Anees Soomro’s father had also filed a petition human rights situation an assurance for national in court against his illegal detention. Although security? the court sent a team to raid the police station, by the time they arrived Anees Soomro was moved to an undisclosed location. Ten days later, police disclosed he was killed in a fake
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Sindhi American Political Action Committee
SAPAC is an organization which works to raise public awareness about issues relating to Sindh and the Sindhi people throughout the world. SAPAC emphasizes the significant link between the Sindh region and U.S. national interest. For this purpose, SAPAC aims to advocate on behalf of the Sindhis and to positively influence American policies toward Sindh.
The information and views set out in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of SAPAC.