Clipmarks | arifsali's 'pakistan' clips

Say No To Terrorism

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:05:45 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

The Yeh Hum Naheen Foundation is a Pakistan based non-profit organisation that was established under the Societies Act of Pakistan in October 2007, with the following key aims:

To reinforce the point that Islam is a peaceful faith that promotes tolerance and harmony.
To develop an awareness among people regarding the issues of the growing radicalization of Pakistani youth.
To promote better understanding and co-existence of Muslims around the world among non-Muslim communities.
To convey that the majority of Muslims do not support the rise in terrorism, and to deny Muslims the opportunity for involvement in terrorist activities.
To show the positive impact of Pakistan and Muslims around the world, and remove the distance between east and west through media education.

Tags: pakistan, terrorism, muslims

Taboos About Sex Hinder Efforts to Fight AIDS in Pakistan, Study Says

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:48:33 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

In Pakistan, seven times as many men as women are reported to be infected with the AIDS virus, but the country’s taboos about sex make it very difficult to even address the epidemic, researchers are reporting this week.

The findings, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, are by researchers at two Pakistani universities, who said India and Bangladesh, with similarly conservative Muslim cultures, had addressed the issues more openly.

Pakistan has at least 85,000 citizens infected with the virus, according to Unaids, the United Nations AIDS agency.

Islamic law forbids sex outside marriage, and many Pakistanis believe the disease is not a threat in Muslim countries, the authors said. As a result, safe-sex education is rare.

In Pakistan as in many other countries, gay relationships and networks of male sex workers exist.

Tags: aids, sex, pakistan

Pakistani sentenced to die for blasphemy

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:24:45 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.newsvine.com

A Pakistani judge sentenced a Muslim man to death Wednesday on charges he insulted Islam's Prophet Muhammad, a court official said.

Falk Sher, a court administrator, said Judge Shoaib Ahmad Roomi also sentenced the man, Shafeeq Latif, to life in prison and fined him $75,000 on a separate charge of desecrating pages of Islam's holy book, the Quran, in 2006.

Latif was accused of making derogatory remarks about Muhammad.

The trial was held in the eastern city of Sialkot after police arrested him in a nearby village.

Latif's lawyer was not immediately available for comment, but Sher said the defendant had the right to appeal.

Under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, anyone who insults Muhammad can be punished by death. Scores of people, including Muslims and minority Christians, are facing trial under the laws, which human rights groups have demanded be abolished.

New York-based Human Rights Watch urged the government on Tuesday to abolish the death penalty

Tags: pakistan, law, religion, blasphemy

Female Workers Break Stereotypes in Karachi

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:05:07 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Pakistan

Clip Source: www.npr.org

On a narrow, unpaved Karachi street that has never had water service, a handful of men were digging a trench recently. They were digging it for their own water line, at their own expense.

For this part of Karachi, that's normal. But surprisingly, for this part of the world, a woman was supervising the men.

Sabra Khadun has a cold, steady gaze and a stud in her nose. She explains that everybody on the street is donating money for the water line.

She lives in a tiny house, in a settlement that you could call a slum. The living room is painted pastel blue. And there's a cushioned wood couch, big enough to hold a few of her 11 children — four sons and seven daughters. Every child's name begins with the letter "S," just like hers.

It's not unusual to find women in leading roles in Karachi's development. At the city's public universities, female students vastly outnumber the men in key fields like architecture.

People aren't sure why, but it's happening.

Tags: female, women, pakistan

Pakistani boy 'killed by teacher'

Fri, 30 May 2008 18:45:10 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A student of a religious seminary in Pakistan's Punjab province has died after he was punished by his teacher, police say.

Atif, seven, was hung upside down from a ceiling fan by Maulvi Ziauddin for not memorising his Koran lessons, his fellow students told the police.

Atif's condition deteriorated quickly and he died in the teacher's room. Maulvi Ziauddin has been arrested.

Human rights organisation say Pakistani children are often exposed to abuse.

Tags: pakistan, children, human rights

Meeting Pakistan's most feared militant

Wed, 28 May 2008 17:35:20 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Baitullah Mehsud, who heads the loose grouping of militants known as the Pakistan Taleban, has given a rare press conference to invited journalists. They included the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan.

"I hope your trip has been enjoyable so far," our host asks us.

Ordinary garden tea party talk except for two things - the venue and the host.

We are in Pakistan's tribal region of South Waziristan. Our host is the region's top Islamic militant, Baitullah Mehsud.

Commander Mehsud has recently been named in Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. Newsweek has labelled him "more dangerous than Osama bin Laden".

The onus is now on the government - whether they hold to their word, or remain in the alliance with the US."

If that persists,

Mehsud says, the militants will have no choice but return to their path of resistance

"We do not want to fight Pakistan or the army. But if they continue to be slaves to US demands, then we our hands will be forced.

"There can be no deal with the US."

Tags: taliban, pakistan

Pakistani Fashion

Sun, 04 May 2008 20:45:17 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: What the hec, these are gorgeous! More at the source.

Clip Source: www.facebook.com

Tags: fashion, pakistan

India opens up to Pakistan film

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:48:28 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A critically acclaimed Pakistani film on Islam has been released across cinemas in India.

It is the first Pakistani film to get a wide commercial release in India in over four decades.

Khuda Kay Liye (In the Name of God) focuses on the lives of Muslims after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States.

"It's been long that terrorism has been linked with Muslims and it has become synonymous with the community," Shah said, the Reuters news agency reports.

"It was high time that an answer to this was given to the West... That is the only reason that this film has mostly been made in English, to cater to the western audiences."

"It is a very good movie and more films like this should be made," Bollywood director Madhur Bhandarkar said.

Tags: india, pakistan, entertainment

Renowned Pakistani Artist Guljee

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:04:44 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: I'm also clipping from the blog where he has recently given a lengthy interview.

Sad and tragic loss.

Clip Source: in.reuters.com

KARACHI (Reuters) - Ismail Gulgee, Pakistan's most prominent artist, was found murdered on Wednesday along with his wife and a maid in their Karachi home, police said. He was 81.

Gulgee trained as an engineer in the United States before turning to painting works of modern art. He won various awards.

He produced numerous works using the different names of Allah, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York said on its Web site (www.metmuseum.org).

"In these textural works, Gulgee brings the Islamic calligraphy tradition to the modern practice of action painting such as that developed by the American artist Jackson Pollock," the museum said.

Gulgee was born in Peshawar in 1926. His son, Amin Gulgee, is a well-known sculptor.

Clip Source: www.bluechipblog.net

“My biggest wish was that in my country, a time would come when people start having respect for artists. That hasn’t happened. Artists are so vulnerable.

Tags: pakistan, art

Journalists protest in Pakistan

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:15:32 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: geo.tv

Tags: pakistan, journalists, politics

Benazir must take responsibility for blast deaths: Niece

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 19:21:03 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Benazir Bhutto bears the responsibility for the deaths of 139 people in an attack on her homecoming parade by exposing them to danger for the sake of her own "personal theatre", her estranged niece said

Newspaper columnist and poet Fatima Bhutto, the granddaughter of late Pakistani premier Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, also said in an interview that her aunt's return from exile would plunge the country further into turmoil.

"She insisted on this grand show, she bears a responsibility for these deaths and for these injuries," the 25-year-old said

Fatima Bhutto is the daughter of former prime minister Benazir's late brother Murtaza, who was killed by police in Karachi in 1996 amid murky circumstances that led to the collapse of her second term in government.

"They died for this personal theatre of hers, they died for this personal show," she said.

Tags: pakistan, politics

Christian freed after a year: he was innocent.

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 22:05:28 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.asianews.it

Shahid Masih, 18, was imprisoned in September 2006 accused of having blasphemed Islam. His presumed accomplice, a Muslim released on caution nine months ago, also absolved. The Christian’s mother died from heartbreak following his arrest.

Munawar Masih, father of Shahid Masih talking to AsiaNews said “I can not express my feelings in words today; simply I am very happy as well as sad because Shahid’s mother is no more in this world to celebrate this happy moment with us”.

Tags: pakistan, christian, law, religion

Current trends in Pakistan, via a Survey

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 15:34:42 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.dawn.com

WASHINGTON, Sept 12: The majority in Pakistan considers an independent judiciary as their most important long-term goal, followed by a free media and fair and free elections.

The survey, released on Wednesday by a Washington-based anti-terrorism group ‘Terror Free Tomorrow’, also shows that President Pervez Musharraf is less popular in his own country than Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Most Pakistanis, when asked to describe their priorities chose an independent judiciary as their number one priority, followed by a free media, free elections, an improved economy, resolution of the Kashmir dispute and implementing Sharia law.

The poll also shows that PPP leader Benazir Bhutto, who is recognised in the US as a moderate Muslim leader, has a 53 per cent approval rating, followed by Nawaz Sharif at 47 per cent.

Seventy-five per cent of poll respondents said suicide bombings are rarely or never justified.

Tags: pakistan, survey

His Music Lives On

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 05:55:56 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.outlookindia.com

Music, His Dargah

A decade after his death, the qawwal's fame is conquering continents

Nusrat has sold more records than Elvis, claims National Public Radio, USA

Nusrat’s music has been given a new twist by western groups and musicians, such as Eddie Vedder, Peter Gabriel, jazz percussion group Brooklyn Qawwali Party and reggae artist Gaudi

Clip Source: www.outlookindia.com

Hussain recalls another night in Colchester, England, in the early ’80s, when they were slated to perform for half an hour and went on, on popular demand, for six hours. "It was cold, it was raining, but all the white people—entranced—wanted him to go on," he said. Nusrat did not just bring the qawwali out of the dargah and put it on the world map, he also opened it up to Western influences by collaborating with musicians like Gabriel, Michael Brook and Vedder.

Yet, when you hear the jazz musicians, Senegalese jembe and the dub beats jamming with his voice, you also know he wasn’t just a musician but a veritable ambassador of love and music

Tags: music, jazz, pakistan, qawwali

Pakistanis executed for adultery

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 18:36:56 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A woman and three men were shot dead in a public execution in a Pakistani village after tribal elders found them guilty of adultery, officials said.

The death sentences were ordered by a jirga (council) of elders in the Khyber agency area on the Afghan border.

Sex outside marriage is a crime in Pakistan and tribal village councils often punish those involved with death.

Last year, Pakistan's parliament approved a new bill amending Islamic laws on rape and adultery.

The new law dropped the death penalty for people having sex outside marriage.

"We found a man and a woman in a compromising position along with another man who was drunk and had already committed adultery, and the owner of the house,"

Reports said the executions were watched by some 600 people.

Tags: pakistan, adultry, sex