Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 1 cities and towns of Sindh and will continue till 15th of July. Through these sit-ins and protests Nationalist leaders of Sindh wish to convey a message to international community that already hundreds of thousands settlers have already arrived in Sindh and arrival of hundreds of thousand more IDP’s from North Waziristan due to military operation against extremists will convert local Sindhi population in minority in their own motherland. The same day when nationalists parties alliance; Sindh bachayo committee was revived and protests agaisnts IDPs were announced in my article I had specified multidimensional analyses about Zarb-e-Azb (Military operation against extremists
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Military Operations in North Waziristan
2
The Law of Nature
4
Book Review: The Warrior State
5
Brad Sherman Meets With the Pakistani Ambassador
6
Interview with Dr. Marvin Weinbaum
7
NY Times: Extremists in Pakistan’s Diverse South
12
SAPAC’s First inWebinar Military Operation North Waziristan and
15
protest of nationalists against IDP’s
USAID’s Sindh Assistance Fact Sheet Members of Sindh Bachayo Committee ( Save Sindh Movement) has announced sit-in protests to be held today at two border areas of Sindh; Obaro and Dera Mor Kashmor to block influx of IDPs (Internally displaced persons) from North Waziristan. Protests wouldn’t affect any vehicles from Sindh to other parts of country but all the public transport entering Sindh would be not be allowed. These sit-ins and protests would be held in various
Attack on an Elderly Man in Badin
Ajrak design provided by Indus Crafts.
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Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 2
Military Operation in North Waziristan and Protest of Nationalists against IDP’s July 9, 2014 Translated from the Awamiawaz newspaper Written by Iqbal Mallah
July 9, 2014 Members of the Sindh Bachayo Committee (the Save Sindh Movement) have announced sit-in protests to be held today at two border areas of Sindh, Obaro and Dera Mor Kashmor, to block the influx of IDPs (internally displaced persons) from North Waziristan. Protests won’t affect any vehicles travelling from Sindh to other parts of the country, but all public transportation entering Sindh will not be allowed. These sit-ins and protests will be held in various cities and towns in Sindh and will continue until the 15th of July. Through these sit-ins and protests, the nationalist leaders of Sindh hope to convey to the international community that hundreds of thousands of settlers have already arrived in Sindh, and that the arrival of hundreds of thousands more IDP’s from North Waziristan due to military operations against extremists will turn the local Sindhi population into the minority of their own motherland. On the same day that nationalist parties allied and the Sindh Bachayo committee was revived, protests against IDPs were announced in one of my articles. I had written multidimensional analyses
about Zarb-e-Azb (the military operation against extremists in North Waziristan), the war against terrorism in the region, the settlement of IDPs, and the impact of extremism and threats on Sindh. Keeping in mind the current political situation in the region and in Pakistan, the protest movement announced by the Sindhi Nationalist Alliance Sindh Bachayo Committee against the settlement of IDPs in Sindh is very significant, and thus we must evaluate the influx of IDPs in Sindh and the reaction of Sindhi nationalists against it from various dimensions. Fundamentalism and militancy is no longer a regional issue. After affecting some Asian and Arab countries, extremism has now become a danger for the whole world. The movement of Sindhi nationalists against the influx of IDP’s in Sindh and the military operation in North Waziristan are two separate issues. Supporters of military operation Zar-e-Azb say militants and fundamentalists aren’t only limited to North Waziristan because other big cities or small towns in the country also have presence and influence in Sindh. Whenever they want
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 3 they can target secular thoughts and Sufism anywhere in Sindh. Thus Nationalists like the People’s Party and Awami National Party must also support military operation but shall also build pressure on both the federal and provincial government to start an operation against militant and fundamentalist elements present in cities and villages of Sindh. Because militants occupied and took complete control in various mountain ranges of North Waziristan, the military operation there is being done on a larger scale. It is said that the situation isn’t the same in the plains of the agriculturally rich Sindh, but when we hear news such as of a ban on music in the coastal area of Badin, or the occupation of a town in Sindh where they have implemented Waziristan-like rules, it is high time for nationalists and pro-development parties to play their role.
politics, however, they have never been clear on the national issue of the settlement of outsiders in Sindh. In or outside assemblies, serious issues like this are limited to discussion. Thousands of illegal immigrants come to Sindh and get false domiciles and ID cards made to become legal citizens. We hear news that nonnationals will be registered and those entering Sindh illegally will be deported, but this rarely happens. If only the Sindh government had fulfilled a bit of its responsibilities non-national outsiders would never have been able to illegally occupy lands in Karachi and other parts of Sindh.
It is quite clear that Talibanization was a creation of Pakistan in the era of the military dictator Zia-ul-Haq, and these militants were used for interests of the state. But with the changing situation the state has to change policies of past. Political analysts say that the Pakistani state now wants to eliminate Talibanization. Sindh has always been against fundamentalism and extremism, so Sindh needs to seriously think over changing their mindset about the Pakistani state so that it can save itself from becoming North Waziristan.
No member of the Sindh government contacted Sindh Bachayo Committee when they announced blocking borders of Sindh to stop IDPs, nor did they clarify if these IDPS will be sent back to North Waziristan as soon as the military operation ends rather than allowed to settle in Sindh permanently. The Sindh government has established a single camp where these IDP’s stay and could later be sent back from. Thus, the Pakistani establishment and federal parties must look at this movement of nationalists as a purely national reaction of Sindh. Simultaneously, nationalist parties must also protests peacefully; violence against any traveler must be prohibited. The protest must be dignified and exemplary so that no one can question the Sindhi National Movement.
The Sindh Bachayo Committee’s approach regarding the issue of the influx of IDPs is in the interest of Sindh. The Congress of Sindh National Unity, held under the patronage of Saeen G. M. Syed, who is the founder of Sindhi nationalism, unanimously agreed that any settlers in Sindh after 1954 would be considered outsiders or nonnationals. Due to the government being formed by parties doing parliamentary
In my writings I have constantly foreordained that Sindh is a society of Sufi character being infiltrated by fundamentalism. Fundamentalism can’t be controlled by protests alone. If Sindh doesn’t take adequate notice it might block all the ways to progressive thought, democratic values, and Sufi character. Instead of completely relying on state actions or military operation, we must also
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 4 revive platforms like Bazm-e-Sufiya-eSindh (the Sindhi Sufi Society), which constitutes of all stakeholders, as well as Jashn-e-Latif (Latif Fetival), Sufi Shah Inayat Shaheed Festival, songs of Sheikh Ayaz and cultural activities that can help us save the secular and Sufi values of Sindh and our society. All nationalist parties outside of the Sindh Bachayo Committee have to play a very important role in it.
It’s unfortunate that two nationalist parties, the Taraqi Pasand Party and Quomi Awami Party, aren’t part of the Sindh Bachayo Committee. Syed Jalal Mahmood Shah is a leader who believes in unity of all nationalist parties and if he goes to leaders of both parties I am sure they will be convinced. It’s high time for all nationalist parties to stand united and struggle.
The Law of Nature by Dr. Satish Rohra Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, which means that an object moves from its position depending upon the pressure exerted on it. In other words, the level from which water falls down, it will try to rise up to the same level, with equal force. This law of nature sometimes holds true for our social lives too. The more a person is kept away from an activity, the greater will be his desire to indulge in it. One can talk about the Sindhi language and culture too in the same context. Since there isn’t any attempt to promote the Sindhi language and Sindhi culture in India, there aren’t any positive measures being taken for its upliftment. As against this, the Sindhi speaking community living in foreign countries feels that there is a serious threat to their mother tongue as they are surrounded by other foreign languages/ culture and therefore they need to be alert. This enthusiasm and zest towards the promotion of our language and culture in them, has come about only due to the fear of the culture being under serious threat. Consequently, seminars, meetings, cultural programs, discussions, fairs, etc., are being organized on a vey large scale in various countries. It is quite possible that this feeling of protection and enrichment of the Sindhi language starts on the other side of our boundary and then gets activated in our own nation!! It is a time tested fact that social transformation has been brought about by revolutionaries initially in foreign countries and then in India. Just as was the case of Swami Vivekananda and his new wave of Hindusim, which started in Chicago and later on was spread to India. And very recently, the significance of ‘yoga’ has taken major hold over the Indian minds, only after its acceptance in America and other nations. Therefore, though it may sound absurd, once if the movement towards the promotion of Sindhi culture starts in America, Sindhis in India will automatically follow it and ultimately the movement will gain momentum.
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 5
The Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary World by T.V. Paul Review by Samuel Brooks T.V. Paul’s book The Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary World is a foundational book for anyone hoping to understand the historical aspects of Pakistan’s complex culture, politics, and military. He presents the country through a clear and easy to digest writing style while still remaining objective and academic throughout. The main theme Paul assesses through the book is what he deems the geo-strategic curse— a similar idea to what Richard Auty has called the resource curse. This is the idea that a country seemingly blessed with bountiful deposits of oil or natural resources begin to rely too much on this one resource for its economy and suffers developmentally as a result of not diversifying. Pakistan is located at the crossroads of the Middle East and Asia; it borders Afghanistan and is close to the former Soviet bloc. This location has allowed it to receive enormous amounts of aid from the United States and China, among other sources. This aid was given with few stipulations for reform and development because Pakistan was allowing U.S. forces to use its territory for military bases to spy on the Soviets and for their help in the War on Terror. Paul shows that this aid has allowed Pakistan’s military elite to perpetuate its control over the civil society and allows little incentive to develop its economy, social institutions, and infrastructure. The failure to develop has allowed the military to continue its hyper-realpolitik mentality, especially concerning relations with India. Paul defines Pakistan as a “warrior” state, the basis for the name of the book, because of its continued obsession of reaching hard power parity with its much larger neighbor at the expense of developing its domestic economy and society. This mentality has also contributed greatly to the proliferation of extremist Islamic groups and their insurgents, many of whom were originally trained by the Pakistani or American military to fight to Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. These forces have more and more often turned their sights toward Pakistan’s interior for recruitment and the spread of extremist ideology, especially since the military
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 6 began aiding the US in the war on terror, and they now represent a further destabilizing force within Pakistan. Paul concludes his book by offering steps that must be taken in order to assert civilian control, reduce violence and extremism, and prevent further destabilization in the world’s sixth largest nuclear power. He uses comparisons to other former warrior states to prove that Pakistan has the ability to develop into a modern international society, but unless its political and military elites express the will to do so Pakistan will continue to devolve into chaos, corruption, and violence. The Warrior State is a mentally stimulating and well written account of how Pakistan has become the state it is today. Paul provides evidence for his arguments while maintaining an easy to comprehend dialogue with his readers. I believe the situation in Pakistan would improve significantly if the leaders of Pakistan and the United States were to read and consider his work when drafting future policies and agreements.
Congressman Brad Sherman meets with Pakistani Ambassador Jahil Jalil Abbas Jilani “Today, I met with Pakistani Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani to discuss South and Central Asia security, economic, and political issues as well as the human rights situation in the Sindh province. In response to a letter I sent Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif dated June 20, 2014, along with four other Members of Congress regarding the deaths of Sindhi activists, the Ambassador said he would report back to me on the result of the investigation into the killings of Maqsood Qureshi and Salman Wadho.” From Congressman Brad Sherman’s Facebook page, 2014 July 10
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SAPAC’s Interview with Dr. Weinbaum Written and transcribed by Vibhav Desai and Mackenzie Bolt
SAPAC interns Samuel Brooks, Sara Regen, Vibhav Desai, and Mackenzie Bolt went to the Middle East Institute to talk about human rights issues in Sindh, Pakistan with Dr. Weinbaum. Above is his autobiography, as featured on the Middle East Institute’s website.
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 8 Dr. Weinbaum: I’ve done considerable work in Afghanistan and, earlier than that, in Iran and Egypt. Before coming to the Middle East Institute, I taught at the University of Illinois and worked at the State Department. The idea is to have the Middle East Institute equipped to deal with all the countries in the greater Middle East, and Afghanistan and Pakistan have been a part of their sense about what is in the Middle East ever since 1947, the creation of Pakistan. As an individual, I focus on writing about Afghanistan and Pakistan, consulting, giving lectures, speaking to the media, and writing academic articles, the most of recent of which is on the ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Those are the main responsibilities I have here. I’ve been in residence here since 2003. At MEI we have an interest in Pakistan in all of its political aspects, including the issues surrounding the relationship between the federal government and the provinces, and among the provinces themselves. Of course there is the insurgency going on in Balochistan and the violence in Karachi that draws our attention. Within Sindh, the relationship between Karachi and the rest of the province has long been of interest to us. Sam: The difference between Karachi and the rest of Sindh is interesting. I understand that the areas of Sindh outside of Karachi are run in a way similar to a feudal system. Can you speak on that? Dr. Weinbaum: Sindh does have feudal structures and relationships that have really become the base of the People’s Party, which was a national party, but today it has become the province’s party. If someone were to say it’s a party for Sindh now, that’s probably true. The future of the party rests on whether it is going to be able to maintain its political hold through the feudal system What holds the country together is well illustrated by the social climate of Sindh. I recommend reading the Unraveling by John Schmidt for insight on these issues. Sam: Do you have any suggestions for how individuals in rural Pakistan could someday vote for themselves instead of depending on rural community leaders? Dr. Weinbaum: As the country urbanizes, the feudal system weakens. It doesn’t eliminate it—some of it is brought to the cities as well. Also, the media plays a major role in shaping public opinion. The media is a force for change. We should also recognize, however, that the bonds associated with kinships and clans serve a purpose. In the absence of strong institutions, in the absence of a government that provides social security, this is what people depend on, sometimes just in order to survive. You should not view it as something that should be easily wiped away because something
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 9 would be needed to replace it. Without trust for government institutions, it’s going to be hard to change peoples’ relationships with kinships because they are functional.
Sara: The Prime Minister of India and the Prime Minister of Pakistan are about to meet up in the next couple of months. How do you think this meeting could impact the internal situation of Pakistan? Dr. Weinbaum: I don’t think provincial issues will come into play here much. They’ll talk about trade and building confidence between the two countries, and Kashmir will no doubt come up. This is what is referred to as a comprehensive dialogue. But the Indian Prime Minister is not about to get involved in provincial affairs in Pakistan. However, what’s going on in Karachi has got to be seen as something frightening to them. Karachi is the business capital of the country and if these two countries are going to build their relationship on economic terms, the state of affairs in Karachi has to be of concern to both countries. It is important to appreciate that India does not want to see Pakistan in domestic turmoil because that would lead to destabilizing the region. Many militant groups in Pakistan were created by the military in order to give the military a surrogate force for dealing with India. Militants are going to see this as a time to play the patriots. They will be the first ones to step up and say “we will defend the country.” These
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 10 groups were created with the idea that they weren’t supposed to make trouble domestically. They were made for their value regionally. Vibhav: In 2002, PM Narendra Modi was under scrutiny for not keeping riots that were attacking Muslims under control. Do you think this meeting will positivity influence India’s relationship with Pakistan despite this? Dr. Weinbaum: His behavior clearly labeled him as being anti-Muslim but at the same time there is every indication that he has wanted to get past that. Just as you have zealots on the Pakistan side who are avidly anti-India, you’ve got the RSS who are certainly a near mirror image in India in terms of their feelings toward Pakistan. So, that obviously, as you pointed out, initially there is reason to be suspicious about Modi. Vibhav: Recently he did mention that he was concerned with building better relations with the countries around him to economically boost India.
Dr. Weinbaum: Economics is his forte. It’s how he came to power, because of the promise of what changes economically he could bring to India. And we have a parallel situation with Sharif. If he is going to succeed as prime minister, he has to be able to boost the Pakistani economy. If both men are focused on economic development and strengthening the economy in the region, they have to recognize that only the two largest countries in the
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 11 region are going to be able to cause that. Spending all of their money building up security is a drain on both of them. Someone has to take the first step and they both must be willing to take risks. He’s going to look for ways that Pakistan has responded positively to his tentative overtures. If Pakistan had taken a far more standoffish position he would have had to respond in that way. It requires the reinforcement of both sides for them to move forward. Sam: Pakistan has historically been a garrison state. They invest so much in security that they aren’t concerned about their own development. Are we seeing a change here? Dr. Weinbaum: This was originally because of Pakistan’s bad relationship with India. But now it’s shifted to some extent because Pakistan’s security is more threatened by internal elements that, if they could have their way, would seek to impose a far radical Islamic state. This represents a potential threat to the privileged position that the military holds. They don’t want to share their power with those groups. Now, their relationship with civilians and the government is something else altogether. Pakistan will probably remain, in a sense, a garrison state for some time. Defending against the outside, but also because keeping its guard up due to the internal security challenges it is facing. Mackenzie: There have been a lot of issues related to load shedding and inconsistent energy in Sindh, and this has taken its toll on industries there. Do you see this problem being solved in the foreseeable future? Dr. Weinbaum: It’s a hard situation for anyone to deal with, and the stakes are very high because Karachi is the business center of the country. The city is facing many problems, including an electricity problem, which is a big problem for industry. Sindh is especially hard hit when we’re looking at its effect on industry. The agriculture in Sindh is greatly affected by environmental issues, too. Agriculture is Pakistan’s main economic activity and is going to remain this way for a while. PM Sharif came in saying he would solve the electric problem. But that’s not something that can be solved easily and so many bad decisions have been made previously in the power sector. Not only aren’t there the needed power plants, but there isn’t good management of the grids, either. The toll this has taken has been immense. I know of some businessmen in a city where there is a large textile industry and they’re being forced out of business. Unreliable electricity increases the risk of there being more countrywide instability and violence, too. Sam: We have been doing research about USAID’s work in Sindh and have noticed that dams are being built. Dr. Weinbaum: There is always too much water or too little water—floods and droughts. The long-term problem of global warming is causing floods because snow is melting too
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 12 quickly. The steady flow of the Indus that comes from a gradual melting has been at the heart of the calculations people have made in planting their crops. Mackenzie: So has it become more unpredictable then? Dr. Weinbaum: Yes, it has. Agriculture is still doing fairly well this year but it is always uncertain. . The monsoons are of course unpredictable. But the dams have exaggerated the problem, drawing water away from Sindh. Dams upstream are built to generate electricity but they also reduce the water available for agriculture production downstream. There are no easy answers. Government policy naturally comes in for criticism. It’s true that the Prime Minister is mainly concerned with the wellbeing of the Punjab because that’s his political base. But he’s the Prime Minister of the country, so he can’t afford not to take seriously the water issue elsewhere. What is the organization’s position now on greater Sindhi autonomy? Everyone: We aren’t separatist. Mackenzie: We try to stay neutral on that. We just focus on human rights. Dr. Weinbaum: That’s no doubt wise. While advocates of separatism for Sindh are few these days, there is much to be said for increasingly areas of provincial and meaningful devolution at the local level. Sam: I understand there is a big push and pull between the Sindh provincial government and Karachi’s local government. I’m not sure about their relationship with the federal government, though. Dr. Weinbaum: There are ethnic differences and a history of antagonism between the Sindhis and Muhajars—those who are the descendants of who left India at Partition. Much of the tension has been about share of resources and opportunities for jobs. The government has tried over the years to give some preferences so that Sindhis would be more competitive in achieving government positions and educational opportunities. Karachi has been at the center of difficulties between the two communities. It’s gotten more complicated in the last decade of the heavy influx of displaced persons into the region, mainly ethnic Pashtuns.
At point, this point, discussion to be concluded. concluded due to time restraints. It At this we ran the out of time and thehad interview was a very interesting and informative interview, and SAPAC sends thanks to Dr. Weinbaum for his time and insight. The information and views set out in this interview are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of SAPAC.
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Extremists Make Inroads in Pakistan’s Diverse South By Saba Imitaz and Declan Walsh July 15, 2014 • Courtesy of the New York Times
MIRPURKHAS, Pakistan — In a country roiled by violent strife, the southern province of Sindh, celebrated as the “land of Sufis,” has long prized its reputation as a Pakistani bastion of tolerance and diversity. Glittering Sufi shrines dot the banks of the river Indus as it wends through the province. The faithful sing and dance at exuberant religious festivals. Hindu traders, members of a sizable minority, thrive in the major towns. But as Islamist groups have expanded across Pakistan in tandem with the growing strength of the Taliban insurgency, so, too, are they making deep inroads into Sindh. Although banned by the state, such groups are systematically exploiting weaknesses in Pakistan’s education system and legal code as part of a campaign to persecute minorities and spread their radical brand of Sunni Islam. The growth of the fundamentalist groups, many with links to armed factions, has been alarmingly rapid in Sindh and has brought violence in its wake, according to police officials, politicians and activists. In recent months, Hindu temples have been defaced, Shiite Muslims have been assaulted and Christians have been charged with blasphemy.
A central factor in the expansion of such groups is a network of religious seminaries, often with funding from opaque sources, that provides them with a toehold in poor communities. “If there were three seminaries in a city before, now there are tens of seminaries in just one neighborhood,” said Asad Chandio, news editor of the Sindhilanguage newspaper Awami Awaz. In May, a threatening crowd in Mirpurkhas, a small city in central Sindh, surrounded four members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses who had set up a stall near the railway station. The mob accused the four of blasphemy because they were selling books that contained images of God and Moses. The crowd’s leader was a member of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, a sectarian group that is ostensibly banned by the government, but that is now openly operating, and growing, across Sindh. Fearing crowd violence, police officers led the four to a nearby police station where they were charged with blasphemy — potentially a capital offense. They were taken away in an armored vehicle, and are now in hiding as they await trial. Locals said they were struggling to understand how, or why, the incident had taken place. “There are so many communities here, and we have all lived
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 14 peacefully,” said Francis Khokhar, the lawyer for the four accused. The Sunni supremacist ideology propagated by Pakistani sectarian groups is similar to the one that is proving so potent in the Middle East, where the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, is flourishing. In Pakistan, such groups do not pose a direct threat to the state yet. But their growth in Sindh is a sobering reminder that a future threat to Pakistani stability could stem from the provincial towns as much as the distant tribal belt, where the Pakistani military is trying to disrupt havens for the Taliban and other militants. The provincial government in Sindh, concerned about what one government official called the “mushroom growth” of extremist seminaries, is trying to decide what to do. “Our seminaries have become a source of trouble,” Niaz Abbasi, the home secretary of Sindh, said in an interview. Despite its open-minded image, Sindhi society has always had a fringe of Islamist extremists, particularly within Karachi, the provincial capital, which has seen an increase in violent attacks in recent years. What has alarmed experts, however, is the spread of fundamentalist groups deep inside the province. Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, the group behind the blasphemy charges in Mirpurkhas, sprang from a small town in Punjab Province about 30 years ago, capitalizing on local sectarian and political divides. Once known as Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, it has grown into Pakistan’s dominant vehicle for Sunni sectarianism, trafficking in hatred against Shiites to win popular and political support.
It has been banned several times — first, in its incarnation as Sipah-e-Sahaba, and in 2012 in its present guise. Still, that did not stop its leader, Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, from running for Parliament last year. This year, an election tribunal disqualified the winner and gave the seat to Mr. Ludhianvi. The case is in litigation now. The group also has longstanding ties to the ruthless militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, whose militants have killed hundreds of Shiites in Baluchistan and Karachi in the past two years. Malik Ishaq, the leader of Lashkar, is also a vice president of Ahle Sunnat. Now Ahle Sunnat is on a recruitment drive in Sindh. While it was traditionally centered in Karachi and Khairpur district, about 200 miles to the north, it now has signed up 50,000 members across Sindh, about half of them outside Karachi, said a spokesman, Umar Muavia. A key to its success is an expanding network of 4,000 religious seminaries that offer free classes and food to students from impoverished families. “We give them a religious education,” said Hammad Muavia, a spokesman for the group in the Khairpur district. “We feed and house them, and provide them a bursary that goes to their families. We even pay for their medical expenses. We take better care of the students than even their own parents.” In part, Ahle Sunnat is exploiting the chronic weakness of Pakistan’s education system: Over 3,000 state-run schools in Sindh are not functioning, and those in operation frequently offer a dismal quality of schooling. Less clear are its sources of income. The group says it raises funds from local businessmen and the community, but
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 15 critics say it is principally funded by Saudi Arabia. “Yes, sometimes if there are clerics from Saudi Arabia visiting Pakistan, they contribute to us,” said Mr. Muavia, the Khairpur spokesman. “But there is no relationship with the Saudi government.” The link between madrasas and militancy is often debated by experts; some point out that Pakistan’s most famous jihadi commanders have been educated not at madrasas but at state-run schools. What is clear, though, is that the madrasas offer groups like Ahle Sunnat a toehold from which to project themselves into the community and expose more Pakistanis to sermons that sometimes veer explicitly into incitement of violence against Shiites and other minorities. The group is also using the contentious blasphemy law to cow its enemies. Mr. Chandio, the newspaper editor, said his newspaper received threats from Ahle Sunnat after he published photos of the group’s activists attacking a police van during a blasphemy case. Mr. Muavia, the Ahle Sunnat spokesman in Khairpur, said he had filed several blasphemy cases, but, to his disappointment, the police had rejected them. “The Pakistani government is outraged when blasphemous acts
against Prophet Muhammad take place abroad, but does nothing when they happen at home,” he complained. Other Sunni groups are also expanding in Sindh. Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity that the United States recently designated as a front for the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, has a network of seminaries and carries out relief work during natural disasters. Its leader, Hafiz Saeed, regularly tours Karachi and other major cities in Sindh, evidently unbothered by a $10 million American bounty for his arrest. Also expanding is Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, a conservative politician from northwestern Pakistan. The group held two of the largest political rallies in the province in recent years. Since March, the police have recorded 12 attacks on Hindu and Sikh temples across
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 16 the province, said Iqbal Mehmood, who until recently served as the provincial police chief. Separately, Hindu leaders have accused Muslim groups of trying to forcibly convert Hindu girls to Islam. Across Pakistan, Shiites have been subjected to “an alarming and unprecedented escalation in sectarian violence,” Human Rights Watch recently noted in a report on attacks on ethnic Hazara Shiites in western Baluchistan Province, which adjoins Sindh. Some officials say the groups have flourished in part thanks to the turning of a blind eye by provincial politicians — mostly from the Pakistan Peoples Party that has dominated Sindh’s politics for decades — and the tacit support of the military and its powerful spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence.
During the 1990s, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi “enjoyed a close relationship” with the military and ISI because it was assisting with the fight in Indian-controlled Kashmir, said the recent Human Rights Watch report. For its part, the military denies that it is supporting militant groups. “These groups don’t come up naturally; they are provided backing by the state,” said Mr. Chandio, the newspaper editor. “They can protest anywhere, and close down a city if they want. But when they hold rallies in support of the army and the ISI, they’ve proven who supports them.” Saba Imtiaz reported from Mirpurkhas, and Declan Walsh from London.
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SAPAC’s First Webinar By Sara Regen
On July 14, 2014, SAPAC’s president, treasurer, and executive director had a board meeting to discuss new ways to advocate for the Sindhi people. One of these ways was setting up a webinar. The webinar would allow people from all over the world to video or call in to discuss the issues facing Sindh. Our President, Dr. Maqbool Halepota, and Executive Director, Sufi Laghari, brainstormed topics that would best suit the occasion. The topic for the webinar would focus on connecting the Sindhi diaspora with Sindh leadership on the ground. The webinar would serve as a think tank that would allow for the Sindhi diaspora and the people of Sindh to resolve this problem. The webinar was held on Saturday, July 19. We had three speakers from the Sindhi diaspora and one speaker from Sindh. Dr. Halepota was the moderator for the webinar. The first speaker was Dr. Valeed Shaikh. He is a physician in Minnesota and has served two terms as president of the Sindhi Association of North America. Dr. Shaikh first noted that the Sindhi leadership on the ground is as diverse as the diaspora. He said the problem in Sindh lies in the leadership. No one is exactly sure where the leadership lies. The region of Sindh has futiles who claim to be democratically elected officials. They also have progressive people and nationalist parties that have not performed as they said they would. Dr. Shaikh suggested all the organizations need to be brought under one platform so a meaningful organization can be brought from the diaspora and Sindh itself. In addition, he said the salvation of the Sindhi people does not lie in the diaspora, but in the Sindhi people itself. Until something is done in the homeland, nothing will be accomplished. Dr. Shaikh suggested to set up a school system in Sindh. If all the organizations could come together and produce the school, the Sindhi people and government would see it is possible The next speaker was Dial Gidwani. Mr. Gidwani started his travel business in Chicago. After 15 years of his business starting, he started the American Institute of Sindhulogy. This promoted Sindhu civilization, social media for the diaspora, and nonviolent video games that advocate for Sindhu civilization. Mr. Gidwani said to put the politics aside. Once the politics are out, the people can come together and everything else will be easy. Hasan Mujtaba was our third speaker. Mr. Mujtaba noted there is a human rights problem in Sindh; however, it is intertwined with the rise of religious extremism and fundamentalism. He
Sindhi American Political Action Committee • Volume 2, Issue 5 • August 2014 • Page 18 also said the diaspora has failed from delivering the Sindhis from the crisis of evil. These evils include state terrorism and religious extremism. Mr. Mujtabas’s suggestion for solving this problem was creating a watchdog for human rights and connect the diaspora with the people of Sindh. He also emphasized the emancipation of women’s education and health. Until women received equal rights, no rights will be successful. He also suggested to write the Pakistani government in regards to the honor killings in Sindh. These killings are not done by outside forces, but by the Sindhi themselves. Our final speaker was Imdad Chandio. He is from the Sindh province and had insightful knowledge and suggestions. The Sindhis supporting the Nationalist Movement cannot represent Sindhis on the ground. The Sindhi nationalists must come together and overcome the petty differences. If the Sindhi people want a future, everyone must come together. No one can be forgotten, including the people’s party. Mr. Chandio suggested in order to overcome these differences, everyone working in different sectors and around the world, must unite and build an institution for the poor parts of Sindh. Likewise, conferences should be held on the social economic system in Sindh. This would allow for feedback on all the Sindhi people. The webinar allowed for voices of Sindh and the Sindhi diaspora to come together and discuss ways to bring the two parties together. Overall, SAPAC’s first webinar was a success. Dr. Halepota, Sufi Laghari, the speakers, and the interns all did a wonderful job of focusing on the the issues of Sindh and brainstorming ways to connect the Sindhi people and the diaspora.
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A Brutal Attack on an Innocent Elderly Man in the Name of Religion in Badin, Sindh, Pakistan Reported in Sindhi by Malii Rathore, translated into English by Pirbhu Lal Satyani
Mr. Neto Mal, son of Karo Mal Pachhmai and Hindu Scheduled Caste Meghwar, aged 70, lives in Badin, Sindh. Neto works as a shoe repair man (a cobbler), to feed his family. His shoe repair work station is in front of the shop of Qazi Ishaq Channa. On July 17, 2014, one young boy, Mr. Sajid, son of Mohammad Ishaq Qazi Channa from the Qazi Muslim family, came to Neto and asked, “Can you weave cots? We need to weave two or three cots in our village.” The old man replied, “Yes, I can do that.” and they planned to go to Sajid’s village the next day. The village of Qaiz is 3 kilometers away from the city of Badin. Sajid is the student of Maddrassa (religious seminary) “Mahaz Bin Jabal” in the Badin District, which is being operated by the well-known terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Tahiba. On Friday July 18, 2014, at 5 PM, Sajid came to Neto and said to him, “Let’s go to the village”. Saijd took Neto on his motorbike towards the village. Soon after, Neto realized they had ridden past the village, so he asked Sajid “Why didn’t you stop in the village you said you needed my help in?” Saijd replied, “My friends live in another village and we need to go there.” Soon after, Sajid stopped the motorbike and started to hit Neto on his head. Sajid grabbed Neto’s towel, which was on his neck, and tried to strangle Neto for a long time. Neto is an old man, so he soon fell unconscious, bleeding from his head. Sajid thought that Neto had died, so he left him alone there. From a distance, a few people were standing and had watched the incident. They rushed to the old man and took him to the hospital in the District Badin. After some time, Neto regained consciousness and then shared the entire story. In the meantime his family members came to the hospital, where they spoke with the parents of Sajid. They also called Sajid and demanded the reason for his attempted murder of Neto. Saijd said, “We have learned in the Madrasas that if you kill any Hindu on a Friday, you will reach heaven.” The parents of Sajid gave Rs. 2000 to Neto’s family members and Sajid’s relatives took Neto to the Bone Care hospital in Hyderabad for necessary medical treatment and checkups. There it was identified that Neto had a fracture in his arm and injuries on his head. After some treatment, the Qazi family took Neto back to his home where he is still bedridden. The Qazi family has since threatened Neto’s family members to remain silent and not to share this news with anyone. Otherwise, they warned that Neto’s whole family will not be safe. Later, the teacher of Madrasas Molvi Mohammad Ismail Sehrat came to Meghwar family, and said “If you discuss this with anyone you will have to face dire consequences.” The Meghwar Hindu family said they would not share it with anyone.
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Thank You! Without the support of our donors, there would not be a SAPAC! We would like to thank everyone that has contributed to our organization. We hope to continue receiving support to help us make a positive impact on Sindh’s relationship with the United States! If you are interested in contributing, mail us a check payable to SAPAC. Our address is: Sindhi American Political Action Committee 1050 17th Street NW #600, Washington DC 20036 USA We are a PAC so we have to follow FEC laws. If all of the statements below are true, we can accept your donation.
I am a citizen or permanent resident in the United States.
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Sindhi American Political 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.