Twenty-seven Pakistani languages may extinct soon

Around 27 languages spoken in Northern Areas, Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and surrounding border areas of Pakistan are facing extinction, said a Unesco report.
The report, in connection with International Mother Day observed on Monday (Feb 21), revealed that language is the source of communication, education and progress and their extinction discontinue the transfer of social values to the coming generation and eventually the language are declared as dead languages.
In Pakistan, Punjabi has the highest number of speakers which are 48 per cent of the total population. However, Sindhi language is spoken by 12 per cent, Pashto and Urdu 8 per cent, Balochi 3 per cent, Hindko 2 per cent and Barohi 1 per cent.
The most common languages spoken across the world include: Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi, Bangali, Punjabi and Urdu.
According to a research, Punjabi is ranked 11th and Urdu at 19th position among the most popular languages in the world.
To save languages, as they are the identity of a nation, Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) is giving equal importance to all languages of Pakistan and a comprehensive program has been formulated in this regard.
Chairman PAL, Fakhar Zaman said all the languages spoken in Pakistan are the national languages of Pakistan and Urdu besides being a national language is the official and Lingua of Franca of the country.
“All the languages of the country are Pakistani languages and we should strive to make the mother languages as part of curriculum on the primary level,” he said.
The book consisting of the selection of prose and poetry written in every language from 1947 to 2008 are being published separately by the PAL.
These languages include Urdu, English, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, Brahvi,Seraiki, Hindko, Sheena, Balti, Khawar and Kashmiri.
He said that PAL will organize seminars and conference on National Languages in all province and Islamabad. PAL to give due promotion and status to all the languages and that the mother tongues will be given due importance and financial assistance of the institutions working in this regard will be increased.
He also proposed to the government that Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto and Balochi Universities like Federal Urdu University should be established so that the message of unity, brotherhood and solidarity should be spread through the federation.

Media in Pakistan

I got forward email this week from a friend of mine. I found it very interested and decided to share on FD Blog. Email was about wining notes of one of our young youth in US condulate Lahore's "Speak up & Win" Essay Competition.

Ms. Faiza Idrees Sindhu

Her winning note is:

"Media freedom is an essential for a democratic mode of state governance. Democracy promises the rule of law, the right to differ and oppose, and respect for the views of others. Freedom of press is violated when terms like censor, stop, shut, change, chop ,cut, prevent, prohibit, suppress become everyday command for the voice of pen. Oppression, repression and suppression have always given birth to corruption. Pakistan has an ever changing political scenario; the making and breaking of political coalitions, protests against the policies and policy makers, sectarian crises, inflation and terrorism have become everyday cries.

The expanding media is a new player in the political scene of Pakistan due to the enlarged media space, increased viewer-ship and their heightened political engagement. I believe that free media should be a synonym for a responsible media. Media has a great responsibility; it has to fulfill the decisive task of supporting a free debate, assisting the due representation of all possible viewpoints and giving voice to the silent majority. It has to keep the ruling authorities, state institutions and media itself under the accountability microscope. In despotic and intolerant societies, information is controlled on the basis of the “need to know” and restricted to a powerful few. Right to know and freedom of speech are my natural rights. Free flow of information is helpful for a citizen in forming opinion regarding ongoing political and social issues and public opinion is always helpful for government officials in forming public policies."

2010 - Year of Drone Attacks

The American drones carried out a record number of 124 attacks in the tribal areas of Pakistan in the 12 months of 2010, more than double the number of predator strikes conducted in the 12 months of 2009, killing 1184 people, compared with 2009’s death toll of 760 in 53 such attacks.

According to figures compiled by the Pakistani authorities, on average, the US drone attacks targeting the al-Qaeda and Taliban hideouts in the tribal belt of Pakistan, killed 98 people every month, 23 people every week and three people every day in 2010. These attacks recorded an overall 134 percent increase in 2010 compared with the 2009’s figures, jumping from 53 strikes in 2009 to 124 attacks in 2010.

Similarly, an overall 56 percent increase was recorded in the number of people killed by the drones, compared with the 2009’s figures -going up from 760 deaths in 2009 to 1184 in 2010. The monthly increase in the drone-related killing ratio in 2010 (compared with the 2009) comes to 55 while the monthly increase in the ratio of drone strikes (compared with 2009) comes to an unprecedented 150 percent.

Similarly, while there was 53 percent weekly increase in 2010 in the number of people killed in US drones compared with 2009, an unprecedented 130 percent weekly increase was recorded in the number of attacks in 2010, compared with the 2009.

Most of the drone attacks were conducted on the basis of human intelligence, provided by both Pakistani and Afghan tribesmen, who spy for the US-led Allied Forces stationed in Afghanistan.

The figures show that on average, ten more persons were killed by the American drones every month and two more persons were perished in such strikes every week, compared with 2009’s figures. Similarly, 71 more drone attacks were carried out in Pakistan in 2010 compared with 2009’s figure of 53. And 424 more persons lost their lives in these attacks compared with the 2009’s total figure of 760.

As always, most of those killed by the US drones were innocent civilians. Ten groups remained prime targets of the American predator strikes in 2010, which included the fugitive leadership of al-Qaeda, the commanders of the Pakistani and the Afghan Taliban, the commanders of the Islamic Jehad Group, Uzbekistan Islamic Movement, Islamic Army of Great Britain, Brigade 313, Haqqani Militant Network, Lashkar-e-Islam and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

The escalation of the US predator strikes in the Pakistani tribal areas bordering Afghanistan can be gauged from the fact that these attacks have seen an unprecedented increase since January 2009, when Barack Obama took over the Presidency, replacing George Bush.

According to the month-wise break-up of the drone attacks and the subsequent human losses, 132 people were killed in 11 attacks in January 2010, 82 persons were killed in 10 hits conducted in February, 98 people were killed in 10 more attacks in March, 47 persons were perished in six such strikes in April, 84 people were killed in eight drone strikes in May, 69 persons were killed in seven such assaults in June and 66 more lost their lives in six attacks in July.

But the velocity of the deadly attacks intensified in September 2010 ever since the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) began the air campaign in Pakistan. A record number of 21 drone attacks in September killed 145 people, followed by 16 such strikes in October, killing 136 persons. Another 124 lost their lives in 14 drone attacks in November and 138 more were perished in ten more such attacks in December 2010.

The favourite target of the American drone strikes in 2010 remains North Waziristan, which is generally considered as a haven for the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, the Haqqani Network, al-Qaeda terrorists, and a host of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terrorist groups. Of the 124 strikes carried out in 2010, the largest number of 104 hit their targets in North Waziristan, killing 987 people, 10 attacks in South Waziristan killed 101 people, six attacks in the Khyber Agency killed 82 persons and four such strikes in the Kurram Agency perished 14 more.

As per the region wise ratio, of the 1184 people killed by the US drones in 2010, 83 percent were killed in North Waziristan, 08 percent were killed in South Waziristan, 07 percent were killed in Khyber Agency while 01 percent were killed in Kurram Agency. Similarly, North Waziristan had to face 84 percent of the total 124 drone strikes in 2010, followed by 08 percent attacks suffered by the residents of South Waziristan, 06 percent in Khyber Agency and 03 percent in Kurram Agency.

But still, the number of the people killed in the drone attacks in 2010 was less than those killed in the incidents of suicide bombings across Pakistan. While the American drones carried out 124 attacks in 2010, killing 1184 people, the human bombs killed a record number of 1271 Pakistanis in 53 acts of suicide bombings across Pakistan.

Anti - Corruption Day in Pakistan

As the Anti-Corruption Day is being globally observed today (Thursday), the PPP government has decided not to do so, ignoring it for the third year since it came to power.
The government has turned down the Transparency International’s (TI) request for observing the occasion, which was observed during the Musharraf era in collaboration with the government, TI and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC). A report of global anti-corruption watchdog on Global Corruption Barometers is due to be launched today, examining the most corrupt departments among the Army, media, judiciary, public office-holders, parliamentarians, Customs and others.
The last time this day was observed was in December 2007, a fact confirmed from the NAB officials privy to details. The FIA that has launched the anti-corruption drive is not observing this day either. All those whose task is to eradicate this menace are facing corruption charges, starting from President Asif Ali Zardari, down to Law Minister Babar Awan, who controls the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who has launched a crusade against this menace through the FIA, itself a corrupt department training its guns at the TI chairman of Pakistan Chapter, Adil Gillani.
This day is being globally observed at a time when Pakistan has further gone down in the corruption ranking, from 42nd in 2009 to 34th in 2010, according to the TI report. Adil Gillani, who is facing death threats and prosecution from the government quarters, had recently contacted Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah, Chairman NAB, yet another controversial figure with his eligibility challenged before the Supreme Court.
Contrary to the present practices of non-observance, Pakistan has been celebrating this day since the passage of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2003 in Merida, Mexico. The UNCAC is the first legally binding global anti-corruption instrument.
The International Anti-Corruption Day is being celebrated at a time when the entire ruling machinery is plagued with corruption charges and the latest addition in this respect is the Minister for Religious Affairs, Hamid Saeed Kazmi, who together with former DG Haj Rao Shakeel and Secretary Religious Affairs Agha Sarwar Qazalbash is facing serious charges of irregularities in hiring buildings for Pakistani pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.
Intriguingly, all three of them are close friends of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, whose wife Fuazia Gilani had her loans worth millions of rupees written off through a bargain with the NAB. Likewise, President Asif Ali Zardari stands at the top with regard to charges of corruption for whom the NRO was promulgated by former President Musharraf for a political deal, only to be revoked later on by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Law Minister Babar Awan, under whose administrative control is the NAB, faces charges of receiving fee as lawyer to the Haris Steel Mills’ owner in the Bank of Punjab scandal to buy’ judges’ favour. Interior Minister Rehman Malik, with several accountability references against him pending in courts, ordered the FIA to cleanse the society of corruption.
A recent US diplomatic cable revealed Malik admitting before the US ambassador that he had his past white-washed by instructing the prosecutors to declare before the courts that charges furnished against him were baseless. His three-year sentence restored by the Lahore High Court in corruption-related cases was pardoned by Zardari, who previously had remitted three-month sentences of all prisoners, just to bring out of the bar his crony, Ahmad Riaz Sheikh, a convicted man appointed additional DG FIA (Economic Crimes Wing). Malik had also told the ambassador the government would resort to the same strategy in case the Supreme Court revokes presidential immunity for Zardari.
The FIA, which is on an anti-corruption drive these days, has many corrupt officials appointed at key positions. Instead of cleansing its own department of corrupt elements, the FIA is on the lookout for such elements in other departments.

Village Situation - Case study of NooPur Shah Islamabad

Less than a kilometer from the sprawling residential complex of Pakistan’s prime minister, villagers have to scrabble for firewood in the dirt if they want a cooked meal.

Noor Pur Shahan is typical of many villages in the country, where supplies of cooking gas, clean water, electricity, classrooms, and also hope for the future, are hard to come by.

Improving government services for millions of increasingly frustrated Pakistanis is critical for bringing economic and political stability to a country the United States sees as an indispensable ally in its global war on militancy.

Many say the current system of governance only benefits Pakistan’s political elite and the wealthy. And it’s one that drives disaffected young men to join Muslim militant groups violently opposed to the government, analysts say.

The administration of President Asif Ali Zardari, like many before it, is accused of being too corrupt and inept to ease widespread hardship. It denies the allegations.

But in Noor Pur Shahan, where goats roam on winding roads beneath lush mountains about 8 km northeast of the capital, these denials ring hollow.

“The government only looks after the rich people,” said Mohammad Aleem, an elderly man with a long white beard, as he clutched his cane.

Conditions are unlikely to improve anytime soon. The cash-strapped government slashed development spending after summer floods caused nearly $10 billion in damages.

Securing reconstruction funds may not be possible unless Pakistan persuades Western donors spending will be transparent and accounted for.

The International Monetary Fund, which has kept the economy afloat since 2008, wants Pakistan to implement politically sensitive economic reforms such as imposing new taxes and eliminating electricity subsidies.

WHERE IS THE AID?

Washington has pumped billions of dollars into Pakistan since the country joined the U.S. war on militancy after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Little seems to have trickled down to the poor.

In the center of Noor Pur Shahan is a water purification plant inaugurated in 1963 by former Pakistani military leader Ayub Khan. The water largely flows to government offices in Islamabad. That means most residents are deprived of clean supplies.

Mukhtiar Hussain, a worker at the plant for 32 years, says villagers break pipes to steal water for their homes. “Things have gone from bad to worse,” he said.

Critics accuse the government of neglecting education as well, and warn that social ills will deepen.

At Noor Pur Shahan’s state-funded boys secondary school, over 1,000 students are taught in 12 classrooms.

“There are only 20 computers and one teacher for computer studies,” said principal Iqbal Khan Niazi. The facility has not had clean water for three years. There are no playgrounds.

Umair Akhtar, 18, a villager, believes the army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its history, would do a better job running nuclear-armed Pakistan than civilian governments, even though that would hurt the country’s democratic credentials.

He applied for a job in the CDA but says he has “no money to bribe people.”

Pakistan’s government may be too preoccupied with a host of problems to notice the plight of people like him.

It faces stubborn Taliban insurgents who continue to carry out bombings despite army offensives, a possible showdown with the powerful Supreme Court, and relentless US pressure to help stabilise war-ravaged Afghanistan.

For some Pakistanis, God alone is the answer.

“We want to instil the fear of God in the students and want then to follow the life of the holy Prophet Mohammad. That is the answer to all problems,” said Niazi, the village’s school principal.

Children Protection

In a society where children are perhaps the most vulnerable of all sections of the population, any effort for their protection is welcome. In this context, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has taken a progressive step by passing the Child Protection Bill 2010 in September.
The bill is designed to provide care and protection to children “at risk” through the establishment of a child protection court as well as a provincial commission along with other associated mechanisms. A proposed amendment sponsored by the MMA calling for the age limit of children to be lowered from 18 to 15 was rejected and perhaps rightfully so, as according to international norms adulthood is deemed to begin at age 18.
The KP government has taken a bold initiative considering the fact that both the centre and the provinces have been extremely tardy when it comes to legislation designed to protect children’s rights. Laws have been written up but have been gathering dust for years, either waiting to be taken up in the federal and provincial legislatures or their passage has been blocked on procedural grounds. Hopefully Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s move will prompt the provinces and Islamabad to enact similar laws.
Yet, to truly end exploitation and give the children of Pakistan access to education, health, nutrition and a safe and secure environment, laws must be implemented. There are lots of good laws on the books. It is their implementation which is lacking and which is key to achieving the aims for which they were framed.
Also, some experts are of the opinion that the Child Protection Bill 2010 is a little vague when it comes to describing children “at risk” as well as the assessment procedure that would allow the authorities to determine which children are at risk. These concerns can possibly be addressed in future amendments.

Children at risk

In the event of a disaster, groups that are already disadvantaged, such as women and children, become even more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. In the post-flood situation, apart from the victims’ immediate needs such as shelter, food and medical attention, the protection of children is also a major concern.
According to Unicef, out of the 20 million or so people affected by the floods, over half are children. A report by the agency on the floods’ effect on children says that “children have been or are at risk of being separated from their families, they are at risk of abuse … and have witnessed death and destruction”. There are also reports that boys from flood-affected families are being lured into prostitution in some parts.
In the aftermath of natural calamities worldwide we have witnessed elements taking advantage of children. After the January earthquake in Haiti some American missionaries were convicted of illegally transporting a busload of Haitian children into the Dominican Republic without any paperwork. In Pakistan, after the 2005 earthquake the adoption of children was banned to prevent the risk of child abductions. Though people may be well-intentioned in wanting to take children away from the scene of tragedy, it doesn’t justify ignoring due process. In the current scenario the trafficking and abuse of children cannot be ignored as the state grapples with the post-flood situation. In present conditions, protecting the welfare and rights of minors is more important than ever as the chances of their exploitation are far greater considering that the whole social structure in many parts of the country has collapsed. Vigilance is key in this regard.
The state and society — especially rights organisations — must play a proactive role in ensuring the safety of children so that they are kept from harm. It is also important that a child protection law is passed and implemented at the federal level. Presently, such a law only exists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is essential that the federal government passes a law that can protect children from all forms of abuse both in times of crises and otherwise.