Showkat Ali, Tayyaba Jiwani and Arsalan Samdani

More than a thousand Hazaras have been killed in the

recent past, and this year we lost 250 members in two
bomb attacks. They are forced to escape on boats to
countries like Australia. But these boats are dangerous
on the open ocean and are often packed over capacity,
laments Abdul Khaliq Hazara, Secretary General of the
Hazara Democratic Party, in the following interview.
Q. Could these attacks have been prevented?
A. The Pakistani state has done little to protect the
Hazaras. As I said, some state institutions are involved in
supporting the organizations that carry out these attacks.
There are individuals within the police and FC (Frontier
Corps) who still sympathize with extremist groups.
FC personnel were present at checkpoints when over
1,000-kg of explosives were transported into Quettas
neighbourhoods for the January, 2013 bomb attacks. The
FC was given police powers in Balochistan after these
attacks but still another attack occured the following
month. Meanwhile, nobody involved in these attacks
has been punished. Protecting the Hazara community
and improving the worsening security situation in
Balochistan is not a priority for the Pakistani state. I have
met high-level government ofcials, including President
Zardari, and I conveyed to them that the safety of the
Hazara community did not seem to be a priority for them.
Q. Has the Hazara community mobilized
after these attacks to protect itself?
A. We believe that a community should only take
up arms in situations of anarchy, in the absence of
government and political infrastructure. Fortunately,
Pakistan still has a government with a mandate
to protect its people. There is no civil war in this
country. Therefore, we have always urged the Hazara
community to remain peaceful and pursue democratic
means to express themselves and obtain their
rights. Democracy is the only option available to us.
Q. The attacks this year and the ensuing Hazara protests
generated sympathy and support worldwide. Large
protests and sit-ins were conducted across Pakistan
and major global cities in solidarity with the Hazaras.
Do you have a message for these people and can you
suggest a few ways they could further help your cause?
A. We deeply thank all those who expressed their
solidarity. Collectively, we need to promote respect,
as well as religious and ethnic tolerance across
Pakistan. Finally, we need to show solidarity not just
with the Hazara, but oppressed people everywhere.
* Full interview is available on the PDF website.
Roots of Sectarian Violence:
Interview with Abdul Khaliq Hazara
Dear Readers,

Welcome to the inaugural issue
of Soch Magazine, Pakistan Development
Funds fagship publication. Soch aligns
with PDFs mandate to support Pakistans
marginalized communities in a campaign
for progressive change and sustainable
community development. In addition, Soch
seeks to highlight the tremendous challenges
facing the Pakistani diaspora globally.
This issue focuses on the
marginalization of Pakistans ethnic and
religious minorities, as well as the challenges
they face when forced to immigrate to
countries like Canada, ultimately aligning
with PDFs recent campaigns against
religious and sectarian violence. Though
we may not have been able to do justice
to this complex issue, we hope that our
perspective is successful in generating
constructive debates, while highlighting
the political and economic underpinnings
of religious intolerance in Pakistan. We look
forward to receiving your feedback at soch@
pakistandevelopment.org.
In solidarity,
Soch Editorial Board
In this issue / letter
from the editors
Pakistan Development Fund Soch Magazine Fall 2013 Volume I Issue I
Noaman Al i

The discourse of shame, disgust, and
madness is problematic when talking about
so-called mob violence incidents like the one at
Badami Bagh. I am not saying people dont and
shouldnt have visceral reactions to these events.
The deeper question is what space of moral
superiority are we situated in from which to make
these claims. On what basis are we articulating a
moral superiority?Yes, wedo not consider ourselves
to be religious extremists, and we would (probably)
not go destroying other peoples livelihoods and
property. But as a set of people belonging to a
frankly over-consuming, decadent class, should
we feel no shame or disgust at our own existence?
What diferentiates us from the mob is
that the expropriation we engage in is performed in
civilized ways we use the pen. And of course, we
arenot mad our acts of dispossession and gluttony
are civilized rationality. But is our own positioningin
the system not as violent, if not more, on the whole,
than the worst of mobs. I am not moralizing, but we
should be careful when choosing how we express
our responses, and the moral framework in which
we are doing so. It is one that is creepily close to the
discourse of rationality vs. irrationality, civilization
vs. savagery, good vs. evil that underpins imperialist
and liberal narratives. We have to fght those too.
There is no reason to apologize for, or
excuse, the actions of militant mobs mobilized by
extremist madrassahs, or other forces. The need to
understand these phenomena does not undercut
the need to mobilize against them. But the
question is in what terms are they to be fought? We
cannot fnd in ourselves the capacity to organize
working-class defence leagues, and because we
middle-class types fnd ourselves restricted to
the pen, we try to fnd some intellectual basis for
their actions, and fnding none that satisfy our
conditions of engagement, move on to declare
them irrational. We then turn to railing against
the state for not doing what it is supposed
to be doing that is, protecting minorities.
We present it as an abdication of the
states duties, rather than as the function of the
state, of ruling class power and ideology, to pit
sections of the masses against each other, usingany
availableideological raw material. Fascism is fascism
precisely because it mobilizes popular classes
into reactionary and anti-people stands. Extremist
madrassahs are a conscious strategy of sections of
imperialism, and the ruling classes, to assert their
control over society and destroy bases of social
solidarity amongst the people. But very
importantly, madrassahs serve as ideological
cover to preserve social and economic structures.
Its hardly a secret that politicians, and the
military and bureaucratic elite, use their infuences
in the state to advance their own business interests,
and that often criminal syndicates as well as
criminalized policeforces aretied in with them. They
are also dependent upon imperialism to keep the
staterunningand their own pockets lined. No doubt,
the ways in which the fractions of this capitalist
class are organized and institutionalized leads to
considerable intra-class confict, which radiates
from the very top, for control of the state apparatus.
What the ruling class has done with
Pakistans economy, given its own looting and the
structural imperatives of an underdeveloped, semi-
colonial, semi-feudal polity, is evident. Not least of
all is the development of an expansive informal
sector in which therearemillions of underemployed
young men saddled with social expectations of
provision but no gainful outlets. There is plenty
of frustration, and the level of criminality has
increased to such incredible proportions that fear
feeds into frustration. We must not forget Marxs
dictum that religious sufering is real sufering,
and religion is the sigh of the oppressed. Even
devolved of direct state control, leaders of various
religious groups mobilize to carve out spaces in this
informal economy and build links into networks
of bureaucratic capitalism. The links into criminal
networks no doubt develop from these urges.
It should thus be no surprise to see the
rhetoric ofered by many of these Sunni Muslim
groups mirroring Hindutva and Nazi rhetoric of
blaming the Other be it Shia or Ahmadi - of
grave disruption and control of the political,
social and cultural fabric of society. It should
also come as no surprise that these conspiracy
theories are lapped up by thousands of frustrated
people. It may well provide a sense of security,
belonging and power in frustrating times.
There is no need to resort to crass vulgar
materialism that locates the starting point of every
mob activity in some kind of property dispute.
Given thefoating populationsof the unemployed
and frustrated, and the well-organized networks of
semi-religious leaders and groups, thereareenough
sparks for a fre. But its still remarkable how many
conficts involving violence against minorities end
up having emerged from disputes over property
or fnances. The reason they acquire the colour
they do is because of deeply entrenched structures
of caste and class discrimination, combined with
the explosive mix of fascist conspiracy ideologies.
This is why if not religion, some
other excuse or ideology will be found for
mass riots. Some years back, a mob lynched
two youths in Sialkot supposedly for a robbery.
Typical elitist commentary begins by blaming
the people and the masses for their lack of
education and awareness, or their savagery and
backwardness. Some elitist commentaries try
to force Islam or Islamization into the narrative.
But to blame this on religion (or
madness) is to ignore the many ways in
which violence is mobilized and employed in
Pakistan. It also ignores how many positive
and pro-people initiatives are grounded in
religion. Iqbals point should be well-taken:
The question that faces us is not
one of ascribing madness to religion, but of
assessing how religion is used and mobilized
by diferent social groups and classes.
Again, when it comes to practice, the
point is not that there should not be working-
class defence leagues to protect sections of
the masses from others who have taken up
reactionary ideologies. The shocktroops of fascism
have to be combated. But while organization,
mobilization and demonstrations are necessary,
it is also crucial to point out the relationship of
apparently irrational acts to the very rational and
solid structure of power. And to point out ways of
combating it through a national-popular project
that unites all popular democratic class forces.
In the meantime, feeding into and
repeating imperialist and liberal tropes of a savage
country, a disgusting country, a shameful people
given to religious madness, etc. just wont do. The
question is to understand how those very same
imperialists and liberals are deeply implicated
in protecting the structure of a society in which
bureaucratic capitalists use fascists, mafas, and
other groups to maintain their looting of, and
hold over, a people who are more often than
not proud, cultured, beautiful and reasoned.
2 3
Soch Magazine Volume I Issue I
Sana Ali

The word Saraiki is used to describe the Indo-
Aryan language spoken predominantly in southern
Punjab, southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern
Sindh and northeastern Balochistan. Its prevalence
across such a wide expanse has led to the language
acquiring a variety of local names and dialects.
Despite recent attempts to create a separate identity,
Saraiki is largely considered a dialect of Punjabi.
Attempts to separate Saraiki-speaking
populations from the Punjabi-speaking ones have
their bases in the growing political confict within
the state of Punjab. The neglect of Southern Punjab
by the national and provincial governments has
become increasingly noticeable, encouraging the
unifcation of many dialects under a common name
and giving rise to calls for a separate Saraiki province.
Ethno-nationalism is generally a response to
perceived injustice and economic disparity between
the two groups is evident, according to Dr. Saiqa Imtiaz
Asif, Professor in English at the Bahauddin Zakariya
University in Multan. In this case, the dispute involving
language is not really about language, but instead
about fundamental inequalities between groups who
happen to speak diferent languages, says Dr. Asif.
In the 2009budget allocation, it was disclosed
that out of the Rs 20 billion loan obtained from the
World Bank by the Ministry of Communication to
construct mega roads in thecountry, not a singleproject
was launched in southern Punjab. Out of 18 projects,
eight were started in central and northern Punjab.
Furthermore, it is believed that the
Saraiki area generates more income than the
amount it receives back in the form of government
expenditures. Bahawalpur, for example is a major
producer of cotton and the income earned from its
cotton production exceeds the returns made to the
region, creating a sentiment among the residents
that they are being economically exploited. Indeed,
government data reveals that 43 percent of the
population of South Punjab is living below the
poverty line, compared to the 27.7 percent in Punjab.
The call for a separate state for Saraiki
speakers is centered on the rationale that Bahawalpur
and the Saraiki belt are too far removed from the
powerful Lahore, and thus far have failed to make an
impact on the policies of the Punjab province. There are
also claims that it is due to Saraiki under-representation
among the policy-making clans that hold power in the
province, that has led to southern rural areas of Punjab
being deprived of socio-economic development. It
is hoped that the inception of a separate province
will solve these problems. The new state will be able
to efect a separate budget for itself which should be
substantially higher than the mere Rs. fve billion that
were allocated to the Saraiki belt out of the 490 billion
allotted to thePunjabprovincebetween 2009and 2010.
It is clear that economic deprivation and
inequality has given rise to political restlessness
within Punjab. Apparently the argument for dividing
Punjab is based on economic injustices, but the
push for division has not gained so much traction.
Though several parties have formed to fght for a
separate Saraiki province, there is still a chance for the
provincial and national governments to re-evaluate
their policies toward Southern Punjab and direct
more eforts towards its development. It is time to end
the neglect of the rural Saraiki belt in favour of the
more powerful urban areas. This has not only created
unacceptably high levels of economic inequality
but also a feeling of neglect and other-ing which
will come back to harm the nation in the long run.
Chair, Editorial Board
Tayyaba Jiwani
Content Editors
Muriam Salman
Urooj Shahzadi
Layout Editor
Vajiha Sipra
Translators
Mishail Imran
Hina Athar Khan
Mohammad Tahir
Tayyaba Jiwani
Copy Editors
Azfar Zaheer
Fatema Noorani
Salma Salman
Art & Photography
Hammad Khan
Vajiha Sipra
Sponsorship
For sponsorship requests,
please email fnance@
pakistandevelopment.org.
* For inquiries and comments,
please email soch@
pakistandevelopment.org.
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed here
may not necessarily refect
the ofcial views or stances of
Pakistan Development Fund
Saraiki Nationalism
On Blind Faith
Photo courtesy: Saraiki Magazine
Masthead
Photo courtesy: Reuters
4
Soch Magazine
Once each year we are fed, and
proudly consume, looped footage of fag-
waving, canon-blasting, and anthem-singing
Pakistanis celebrating the formation of a
homeland for the Muslims of South Asia.
The excitement and fanaticism surrounding
Pakistans Independence Day resembles that
of a spectator sport.
Moments of celebration such as
these come once a year and are touching
for many reasons. Admittedly, there is
something energizing about the seeming
harmony of people in a country fraught with
ongoing tension. Amidst attacks from the
Western media, drone strikes and the Taliban,
moments of apparent nation-wide unity
present a glimmer of hope.
Invariably, discussions on
independence lead to the seemingly
rhetorical question of Pakistans identity.
However, between the nations identity
crisis and the ad nauseum public displays of
afection there is something missing in the
public discourse.
If freedom is at theheart of Pakistans
independence celebrations, the question
that ought to be asked is what the state owes
to the very people who are indispensable
to its functioning, yet are not free. Further,
what is the role of the state in promoting
the patriotic narratives, based on the idea
of a homogenous Sunni Muslim identity,
that allow for such oppression to continue?
Same Old Story
The justifcation of the national
narrative was fraught from the beginning
with the reluctance of the Baloch to join the
newly independent state. The Baloch struggle
for freedom is perhaps the longest running
struggle in Pakistan, beginning prior to
Pakistans inception. As a result of theongoing
occupation since March 27, 1948, the people
of Balochistan have sufered immensely.
While 14,000 innocent Baloch have
disappeared and 400 ruthlessly murdered,
the Pakistani state chooses to celebrate its
own freedom while deliberately and violently
withholding that right from its own people.
Generations of Baloch have lived through
the states suppression of fve insurgencies
and more recently have been subjected
to four years of kill-and-dump policies.

In addition to the senseless
loss of life, there is a daily struggle faced
by all those under state persecution. For
the Baloch, these include regular house
raids by armed state representatives,
often followed by interrogation where
attempts are made to implicate them in
Independence For Whom?
Muriam Salman
5
Volume I Issue I
criminal activities. While
being closely monitored,
many are subject to constant
telephone and email threats
including accusations of being
a Kafr, paid agent of Israel, and
anything seemingly anti-state.
Before [during the Zia
period], everything
was done through
proceedings, people
wouldnt just disappear
like today
Anwar Gabol
The need for a
militant separatist movement
in Balochistan is symptomatic
of the deeper rot in the
ideology of Pakistan. What
is lacking from the national
discourse is that history was
not dictated by the needs of
the collective, accountability
is at the discretion of the
powerful few, and the state
narrative is repeatedly
being used to suppress any
dissent against continued
persecution by the state.
Further attempts to
curb resistance against the
state occurred throughout
history in quick succession.
Resistance from the Sindhis,
and later the Bengalis, was
actively and brutally repressed.
In the early years of Pakistans
independence, the closing of
Sindh College, the passing of
the Language Bill and the One
Unit policy, and thereafter the
violent clamp-down on the
1967 anti-Ayub movement
were deliberate attempts
to quash the spread of local
culture in the project that
was the creation of Pakistans
identity. Perhaps the single
largest historical example
of the promotion of a state
narrative was the senseless
slaughter and rampant rape
of hundreds of thousands of
Bengalis (of East Pakistan)
in their quest for freedom of
expression, equal economic
opportunity and language
rights in the 1971 war.
While patriotism is
hugely instrumental in the
imposition of state ideologies
as it provides legitimacy to the
ruling classes, the additional
dimension of the state
representinga religion further
provides divine sanction to
the activities of the ruling
elite. Of course, the casualties
in this drive for power are
all those communities and
individuals who do not adhere
to the dominant state religion.
T h r o u g h o u t
history, this intertwining of
national identity and religion
has excluded non-Sunni
Muslim religious groups
from the homogenous Sunni
Muslim Pakistani identity.
In part, this has stemmed
from amendments to the
Blasphemy Law, a remnant
of British colonial rule that
sought to punish instances of
defamation against all
religions. The addition
of two clauses 295-
B and 295-C to this
archaic law by General
Zia ul Haq in 1986 made
the law more specifc to
cases against Islam and
negligent of the intent
of the accused. Since
then over 1,000 cases of
blasphemy have been
registered in the past 25 years
and the law has been prone
to misuse against Muslims
and non-Muslims alike.
As a sect of Islam that
has been declared heretical by
the state, through an elected
parliament no less, members
of the Ahmadiyya Muslim
community facea uniqueset of
barriers and many have been
subjected to attacks in their
homes, mosques, shops and
villages well before they were
legally declared non-Muslims
by Prime Minister Bhutto in
1974. At the peak of the anti-
Ahmadi movement in 1973-4,
direct attacks on households
were most common. More
recently, Ahmadis are forced to
deal with strict infringements
on their personal lives and hide
any indication that they follow
Islam, such as reciting religious
phrases or even referring to
their places of worship as
mosques. This is in addition to
a constant threat of disclosing
their faith as one quarter of all
targeted religious violence in
the past 18 months has been
geared specifcally towards
the Ahmadi community.
Similarly, the
isolation of the Christian
community has stemmed
largely from the hostility and
discrimination faced over
the years. Many families have
faced signifcant barriers
from being threatened with
the Blasphemy Law.
Chapter Update:
McMaster University
Danyal Ladha
This has been a highly successful
year at PDF McMaster, as the
organization continued to grow
in membership, fundraising, and
volunteers. The new executive team
kicked of their frst event in May,
2012: the Andaaz charity fashion
show, raising over $4,000 for The
Citizens Foundation with over 200
attendees. As the frst semester
rolled in, we hosted our second
annual charity cricket tournament.
Attended by 16 teams across
Ontario, this event managed to
raise $2,400 for our collaboration
on a project with the Association
for Development of Pakistan (ADP)
through which 20 water pumps
were built for public schools in
Kasur, Punjab. For the last event
of the semester, the Mac team
hosted Kashmir: A Forgotten Crisis.
The event was highly educational
and stimulated an interesting
discussion. To start of the second
semester, PDF-Mac collaborated
with the Pakistan Students
Association to host a games night,
Fungama, providing an inviting
atmosphere for students to learn
more about us and meet new
people. In March, we also organized
a Charity Bowl. These three events
collectively raised about $500,
which was put towards the Behbud
Association of Pakistan to buy lab
equipment for a maternity clinic.
For us there is no such thing as
a military rule and a civilian rule,
they are all the same
Anwar Gabol
And there were riots and there was killings
and then the frst time I heard the slogan
Karachi ko benaingain muhajjiristan,
Sindhion ko dalengain qabristanSo that
was my second politicization
Fehmida Soomro
We feel like second class
citizens in our own country.
Its hard to say that were
Pakistani because were
deprived of so many
opportunities.
Maryam Ahmed
Nationalism, that magnificent song that made the people rise against their oppressors, stops short, falters and
dies away on the day that independence is proclaimed. Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth
A Brief History of independence in Pakistan
One Christian by the name of Iqbal Masih recounts a time where a
family member paid to have their refrigerator fxed, only to have it
returned with a part missing. When he confronted the repairman and
asked for a refund, he replied, will you go, will you get of, otherwise
Im going to call people here and tell them you burned Quran pages
right in front of me. And my brother never said anything because
they knew that whats been happening.










Perhaps it is members of the Shia community who have
the most to mourn after having sufered 89%of all deaths in the 203
acts of targeted violence against religious communities in Pakistan in
the past 18 months. Shia Hazara business-owners in Quetta recount
being forced to sell their assets to save the life of a kidnapped
family member, only to later be handed over a corpse instead. Such
economic deprivation and marginalization have left entire families
without a source of income, without any recourse from the state or
its various agencies.
The passport ofce in Quetta itself has become a danger
zone as Shias have been killed waiting in line, making the threat
to life literally inescapable. The attacks have instilled terror in Shia
communities where according to resident Zainab Zaidi, students are
being kept from attending school and writing their exams due to
trauma, fear of attack or kidnapping. Women face telephone threats,
fear attending work or change the frequency or regularity of their
day-to-day schedules. In addition to threats of acid attacks and having
their families targeted, mobility is also limited as local taxis refuse
to take customers who appear to them to be visibly Hazara or Shia.
Most would agree that the senseless loss of life and
degradation of any community is unjustifable. Where the
complications lie is in the accountability. Easily implicated are
the US and other external forces. The problem is further reduced
to poor law enforcement, Wahhabism and police accountability.
Whilethesearecrucialandlegitimateproblems,withcomplex
political and economic underpinnings that need to be addressed,
state complicity in the propagation of their underlying causes cannot
be discounted. The ease with which targeted killings and attacks are
carried out in broad daylight and the virtual lack of response from
government, establishment, and state ofcials reeks of complicity.
In the case of the targeted attacks against the Shia
community, the absence of state accountability of the Lashkar-
e-Jhangvi and its leaders such as Ishaq Malik, is largely to blame.
In the meantime, celebrations of independence and an
idealized unifed identity only promote a false illusion of freedom
in a country where a signifcant proportion of the population lives
under constant threat of persecution and without equal opportunity.
Indeed, independence is, and always was only for the privileged few.
Aftershock
The impending result is the exodus of many
such minorities, or at least of those who can aford it, from
the country. Of all the Canadian refugee claims fled in
2011, Pakistan was among the top fve countries of origin.
As one Baloch, Anwar Gabol explained, families migrate
because they feel unsafe in their own home: we would not go back.
People who have families back there are under threat. There is a kind
of danger that they might be hurt, even if they were not politically
active. Thosewho could aford to leavethecountry aredriven away by
theincreasinghostility at both theParliamentary and grassroots levels
of the Baloch struggle against the domination of the Pakistani state.
Cast of from their own country, many refugees fnd
themselves again isolated and displaced as the other in Canada.
While in Pakistan religious and ethnic minorities are seen as an
impediment to achieving a homogenous national identity, as
migrants to Canada they are seen as undeserving of the same
standard of living as Canadians. It is in these contexts and many
others that patriotism is dangerous in its adaptation for political gain.











While a holistic understanding of the marginalization
caused by other-ing requires examination of other identities
such as gender, sexual orientation, and class, examples of
colonization and state-backed persecution of religious and
ethnic groups are not limited to the communities profled here.
In order to reclaim the history of all people that have
fallen victim to this nationalist ideology, there must be a sustained
efort to break away from the history of the elite and to retake
history for the underclasses. While the start of such change must be
frmly rooted in these communities, the end to such colonization
cannot come without the retraction of the hand of the state. The
national narrative must be rewritten such that the oppressed retake
their agency and are able to contribute to build this as their own.
In the meantime, August 14th ought to be a day spent like
any other: alongsidethoseawaitingjustice. As oneBaloch community
member recounted, these people were not arrested because they
stolea goat, all they aredoingis fghtingfor their rights and freedoms.
*All names have been changed to protect the privacy of
those who kindly took the time to share their stories with us.
Chapter Update:
University of
Toronto
St. George
Anam Ansari
Weve had a busy year at PDF-
UT! Starting of early in June with
our BBQ Bash: Eat for Education
event, we successfully raised $220
in a couple of hours! Alongside
fundraising for charitable causes,
PDF-UTs goal for the year was to
hold academic events to encourage
critical dialogue on campus.
Our frst Discussion Forum
dissected the dynamics of
Pakistans historical relationship
with the United States and its
infuence on national politics. After
the shooting on Malala Yousafzai,
we hosted Dr. Murtaza Haider to
speak at the talk, Malala Yousafzai:
Contextualized. Dr. Haider provided
a historical analysis of the rise
of religious fundamentalism in
Pakistan, and led an engaging
discussion on what the shooting
represents on a national and
international scale. Through this
event, we also raised over $400 for
the Behbud Association of Pakistan.
PDF-UTs second semester started
of with a much-anticipated
Discussion Forum on human
rights abuses in Kashmir, where we
collected over $100 in donations.
Wenext screened thedocumentary,
Saving Face, leading to a discussion
on how citizens can fght for
womens rights in Pakistan. Finally,
ending and celebrating an eventful
year, PDF-UT hosted a music and
games night, Jhoom Le, raising over
$700 for the Behbud Association.
With a lot of interest from
youngsters on campus, it was only
ftting to host our own elections
alongside Pakistans, handing over
PDF-UT to the new executive team.
6 7
What words did she utter in the falsa feld?
when a drink from her hand was refused
what words did she utter in the falsa feld?
when women snubbed her for her own faith
what words did she utter in the falsa feld?
when the pious ladies asked her to convert
what words did she utter in the falsa feld?
when the village asked her to confess
I uttered nothing, did she resist, the Prophet is also
mine.
What words did she utter in the falsa feld?
which made her face a trial
what words did she utter in the falsa feld?
that the judge convicted her
what words did she utter in the falsa feld?
that the people wanted to take her life
what words did she utter in the falsa feld?
that ten million voices arose
I said no words, no words were mine, she said, those
words were not mine
Who said those words, that she had said
what made those words a crime?
Dont ask, she said, I say nothing. The words I couldnt
have said.
Her words were a crime
she could not say them.
her words were a crime
no one could repeat them.
Her words were a crime
so did no one repeat them?
Her words did blaspheme
tell me who repeated them?
The accuser repeated them
not once, not twice, everytime I met them
the cleric repeated them
not once, not twice, but everytime to incite someone
the investigator repeated them
not once, not twice, but everytime he needed to
the witnesses repeated them
not once, not twice, but everytime they were asked to
the judge repeated them
not once, not twice, but everytime he meant to
If I tell you her words were not her words anymore
they were the accusers words
they were the clerics words
they were the investigators words
they were the witnesses words
they were the judges words
If I tell you the words Aasiya is accused of saying,
they were not hers, they were never hers,
they were the words of everyone else
Ignorant men, ignorant women You and I
flthy our words, flthy our souls You and I
guilty be me, guilty be you, guilty be all You and I
*This poem derives from interviews with the accused,
the accusers and casefle of Aasiya bibi
Photos courtesy: Ayesha Shahid
Soch Magazine Volume I Issue I
In the Falsa Field
Has hi m bi n Ras hi d
Even my wife saying please go, dont sit
hereThis is really difcult you know, it is not
your friend, this is not your brotherwife is
the part of you, part of your heart, part of your
mind, so if your wife gonna tell you just leave
here, go please you will die here, you fgure
out how hard it is (sic).
Hussain Jafri
So can you imagine like if happen is one
hundred ffty bomb blasts like killing people
and plus no arrested like what do you do you
think what it means (sic). Zainab Zaidi
S u m a i y a A h m e d
In 1971, the nation of Pakistan
was broken of into two, Pakistan
and Bangladesh: this point in history
could have been prevented if not for
the systematic marginalization of East
Pakistan (later Bangladesh) from the
more dominant, West Pakistan. This
event should have served as a lesson
to prevent further discrimination
against other minorities. The lesson,
though, has not been learned.
The frst three years of my
life were spent in the city of Khuzdar,
Balochistan. My dad, a lecturer at
Balochistan Engineering University,
taught hundreds of Baloch students
throughout his thirteen-year career.
He even conducted elections in
some regions of the province. His
experiences presented me with a
diferent perspective of the province,
one very diferent from that which
many have come to accept in Pakistan.
In his time there, he saw frst-hand
the role of the military, federal and
local governments, and the sardars
in systematically cleansing the local
population.
From 2003 to 2012
approximately 8,000 people were
allegedly kidnapped by Pakistani
security forces in the Balochistan
province. In 2008 alone, an estimated
1,100 Baloch people disappeared,
according to a report by Human
Rights Watch. There have also been
reports of torture by these same
military forces whose role is to protect
civilians. An increasing number of
bodies with burn marks, broken
limbs, nails pulled out, and sometimes
with holes drilled in their heads are
being found on roadsides because of a
kill and dump campaign conducted
by Pakistani security forces especially
by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
and the Pashtun-dominated Frontier
Corps (FC).
The missing and the dead
include Baloch human rights activists,
political workers, armed
fghters as well as ordinary men
and women. The Voice of Baloch
Missing Persons (VBMP) organization
estimated the number at more than
2,200 since 2005. For a province
with the smallest population in the
country, the numbers are astonishing.
Despite its vast natural
wealth as the most resource-rich
of Pakistans provinces, Balochistan
is desperately poor barely 25 per
cent of the population is literate
(the national average is 47 per cent),
around 30 per cent are unemployed
and just 7 per cent have access to
tap water. Thus, it is evident that the
Baloch people have been denied
access to their riches. According to a
recent World Bank report, Balochistan
has the countrys lowest growth
record, the worst infrastructure, the
highest poverty rate, lowest social
indicators for health and education,
and the lowest levels of satisfaction
with government service delivery. The
presence of natural gas in households
is even more discriminately low.
Further, instability in the
province has forced many Baloch to
fee their homes. UNICEF reported
that more than 80,000 people have
been displaced from their homes
due to the confict between Baloch
fghters and the Pakistani state. Their
living conditions are a human rights
abuse on their own. For the displaced
who decide to move to a diferent
city, the situation does not get better.
On the streets of Karachi, the biggest
and most populated city in Pakistan,
one would fnd beautiful children
everywhere, wearing ragged clothing,
picking garbage, and begging for
money children of the Baloch.
The Baloch are economically
marginalized even within their
own province. The 33,000-strong
Balochistan Constabulary has only
900 serving Baloch. The 12,000-strong
Coast Guard has only 90 Baloch on
its rolls, while the famous Baloch
Regiment of the Pakistan Army does
not recruit Baloch ofcers or soldiers
among its ranks. Makes you think
again about equality, doesnt it?
Pakistani media and the
state have been quick to paint the
Baloch struggle for freedom as a
quest for provincial autonomy, an
adventurism of few leaders, wishful
thinking of collegiate youth, and a
campaign by Jews. Yes, they have
even been accused of being Jews. It
is disappointing to note that no one:
the military, government, media or
the general Pakistani populace, has
stopped to think why the Baloch
are struggling for freedom. How
many times have we heard of the
atrocities committed on the Baloch
in mainstream media? Perhaps, the
statistics provided above highlighting
the physical extermination and
economic marginalization of the
Baloch at the hands of the Pakistani
establishment will help us understand
their cause and their struggle. If not,
the lessons of 1971 truly remain
unheeded and unlearned.
9 Volume I Issue I
I want a moment- Dear sir, a little moment
in which I have to do so much.
for I have to gather all the recollections of my
innocence,
and brush away my tears,
a moment to make all my remembrances ft into an
infnite space,
and this millstone, I have to carry around my neck
forever.
There was this moment, not too long ago,
when the grass would smell mellow,
cool droplets would splatter,
and the smell of dampened mud,
drenched with hope and misery,
would smell like home, and when,
the wind would gush and the crows and sparrows
would chirp,
Id look at the trees outside and would wonder
how
happy I was to be me.
The moment when our poverty could not bring
our spirit down,
last Christmas Eve, when had no cake, nor any
lights,
yet we paid fve rupees each for charity at the
service,
and had smiled jovially, and did not feel bad.
The moment of right now has arrived- I am sitting
here,
when you say, What happened, beta? with
concern dripping from your eyes,
I dont know what to say,
because what the moment had withheld in itself,
in its glory and all of its fulfllment,
was so ghastly and irrevocable,
that it cannot be fathomed,
I ran when the fames knocked vehemently on our
door,
the raucous laughter of those unhappy men,
who knew not what they were doing,
keeps replaying in my head as an old, broken flm.
Think of me as a person in this moment dear sir!
a person like yourself, who deserves not this
predicament.
for I did not do you wrong, I did not.
yet now, when my home has been snatched away
from me like a jealous child snatches anothers toy,
I will not wail, nor will I lament,
only revere the moments I was glad I was me I
will conjure my favorite guava tree and fowers in
my mind, and etch them forever.
I will not abuse anyone, nor will I damn,
for I am the moments child,
and this moment here will not last, like those
before it didnt either,
and later, Id still be me, and have it
no other way.
In all moments that have gone by,
And all those which are going to come.
*This poem is narrated by a young girl, a victim of the tragic attack
on the Badami Bagh Christian community in Lahore.
It is disappointing to note
that no one: the military,
government, media, or the
general Pakistani populace,
The Silent War in Pakistan
Moments Child
Noor Af s ar Mi r za
Soch Magazine
8
Chapter Update:
University
of Toronto
Mississauga
Natasha Persaud
Since the UTM chapter was
established two years ago, we have
raised over $4000 through events
ranging from bake sales, BBQs and
talent shows, to beneft the lives
of Pakistanis in need. We have also
been raising awareness on issues
surrounding Pakistan, through
discussion forums and debates.
Previous topics have included the
situation in Kashmir and US drone
attacks on Pakistan. This year,
the Oscar-winning documentary,
Saving Face was screened to raise
awareness about the horrifc
practice of acid-throwing on
women. PDF-UTM has also created
an annual tradition of hosting
a talent show called AWAAZ.
AWAAZ is a night for students to
come out and relax before fnal
exams begin. For our second annual
show, covered by OMNITV and
TVONE, we focused on highlighting
positive aspects of Pakistan.
Overall, PDF-UTM has ofered an
outlet for students to educate
themselves, while dong their
bit to support sustainable and
grassroots development initiatives
in Pakistan. We look forward
to continuing this tradition.
Photos courtesy: Ayesha Shahid
Painting by Baloch artist, Seema Sardarzehi
Soch Magazine Volume I Issue I 10 11
Impatient For Change: Thornclife Tenants Rallies
Testify to a Community Demanding Fairness
Sadia Khan and Zabia Afzal
More than 30,000 people
live in these two square kilometers.
A considerable proportion of them
are South Asian immigrants, a
considerable proportion of them are
from Pakistan. Many are unemployed,
underemployed, and poor. They
are overeducated, overqualifed,
but insufciently endowed with
Canadian experience. They work
multiple jobs, but cannot aford
adequate housing, so must share
overpriced apartments with others
in the same bind. Their landlords,
parasitic by nature, invent ever
more extortionist fees to increase
profts, while their drive to reduce
costs threatens the health and
safety of tenants. The children, who
make up a third of the community,
leave overcrowded homes to go
to overcrowded, under-resourced
schools, where they are denied the
quality public education available to
communities of rich, white, Canadian
children not ten minutes away. They
are culturally ghettoized and treated
as the other. But they have not been
silent.
In June 2011, some of
Thornclifes youngest tenants were
at the forefront of a rally for housing
justice organized by the Thornclife
Park Tenants Association (TPTA).
The TPTA, which consists of a group
of volunteers representing three of
the worst buildings in the area, has
served as a critical organizing force
in the community, channeling the
communities anger and frustration
into collective action. Overdue
maintenance issues, exorbitant
transfer fees, pest infestations and
extra charges for air conditioners
were just some of the concerns that
led tenants to demonstrate. Photo courtesy: Mythri Vijendran
Photo courtesy: BASICS Community News Service
Photo courtesy: Urooj Shahzadi
After almost two years and no improvements in housing
conditions, members of the TPTA again mobilized residents this
summer to send their landlords a strong message. Children from the
TPTAs tutoring program designed posters that set the tone, with
slogans such as, If you dont give us our ACs, Well make you sweat,
and Your smart-meter cant outsmart us, referring to the illegal
monitoring of electricity use per unit to charge tenants extra for
hydro. The vocal young chanters led the adults in the march around
the community. With protesters of every age, here was the past,
present and future of a community that recognizes exploitation
and aspires to end it. There were those, too, who watched from their
balconies, afraid to participate in the protest lest they jeopardize
their already precarious housing situation. Several marchers
also came from outside the community to show their support.
Some of the adults present at the rally have been
involved in the housing struggle since the 1970s. One such
long-time activist, Pat Moore, delivered an inspirational history
lesson to the marchers, sharing the story of how she and a
group of tenantspictured in a photo from 1994 she held up
successfully converted one local building into a co-op which
is now run by tenants. But the fght is not over, the victory is
not complete. With the recent trend towards privatization, this
building too is at risk of being turned over to the private sector,
thus erasing a testament to tenant power in the community.
Finding power in their own languages and
challenging the monopoly of the English language,
protesters were vocal in airing their grievances, frequently
grabbing hold of the loudspeaker from the organizers as the
march progressed. By commanding the attention of their
fellow marchers, neighbours and landlords, the strong voices
of some women in hijabs defed certain gender norms and
characterizations of hijabi women ofered by mainstream narratives.
One uninvited guest at the rally was Councillor John
Parkerhailing from the neighbouring rich, white community,
Leaside Parkwho quickly made evident which side of the fght he
was on. Following his paternalistic pattern of interactions with this
racialized, low-income community, he reinforced racist stereotypes
of immigrants being flthy and irresponsible. In a press release from
the TPTA, the organization declared that it would not stand for this
kind of racism.As far as we are concerned, said Shakeel Ahmed, a
long-time Thornclife resident, we dont have a City Councillor. Every
time he shows up here, he leaves more of a mess than he cleans up.
Hindu minorities, which
form nearly two percent of Pakistans
population, sufer from severe
discrimination and persecution.
Politically, socially and culturally, Hindu
minorities face some of the most
impeding disadvantages as a group, in
a society that is predominantly Muslim.
While their struggle continues to be
highlighted, the state has done little, if
anything, to protect their communities,
instead leaving them vulnerable as
targets of the most zealous minds.
In ofcial school curricula,
Hindus are often taught be an inferior
community. Case studies and reports
done by independent organizations
criticize the school curriculua in
both public and private schools as
well as madrassas, highlighting texts
condemning Hindu practices and rituals.
Textbooks often refer to them
as enemies of the Pakistani state in the
context of its historical confict with
neighboring India. The role that Pakistani
Hindus have played in prevalent cultural
and civil contexts is rarely, if at all, taught
to children. Hindus are often depicted as
un-pure or napak and their religious
and sociocultural practices condemned.
As the fear of the religious
right remains rampant in Pakistani
political circles, what is being taught
to impressionable children in society
is rarely challenged. Uproars rage
anytime a suggestion is made to change
laws that directly impact the plight of
minorities; and this applies strongly to
the biased representation of Hindus in
an overwhelming number of Pakistani
schools.
Politically motivated attacks on
the Hindu community have been a trend
in various localities where they reside.
In Baluchistan, kidnappings of Hindu
persons have been rising, which has left
the Hindu populace to live in constant
fear. Security forces in the province have
been accused by the community for
picking up unwilling Hindu residents for
nationalistic reasons, such as accusing
them of being Indian agents. The
Pakistani states often blames Indian state
agencies for the unrest in Baluchistan
and supporting Baloch nationalist and
secessionist movements in the war-torn
region.
Religious persecution and
harassment add to the list of problems the
Hindu community faces every day. Last
year, an unprovoked assault by a group
of Muslim individuals ransacked a temple
in the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
(KP). The attack came in the aftermath of
a controversial and derogatory flm made
in America insulting the prophet. The
caretakers of the temple asserted that
the men did not even bother to disguise
their identities, shouting slogans such as
Kill the Hindus,kill the children of the
Hindus.
Alas, Hindus in the country have
started to fee, and one could do little to
blame them. In 2005, it was reported that
the Indian government granted nearly
13,000 citizenships to Hindu minorities
coming from Pakistan. This trend is
unlikely to be reversed if the current
status of Hindus remain the same.
12
Soch Magazine
The Hindu Exodus
Muneeb Si ddi qui
The PDF Executive team
undertook several projects last year,
in line with its mandate of advocacy
and activism for marginalized
communities in Pakistan, and
those of the diaspora. This includes
publishing statements, and
organizing open discussion forums
and protests, to understand, criticize
and expose the systemic injustices
and oppression built into the
Pakistani state and society, through
its elites long-standing association
with imperialism, colonialism and
neoliberal economics.
PDFs fve statements
this year, published in both English
and Urdu, aimed to expose the
systemic challenges underpinning
daily catastrophes faced by
Pakistanis oppressed on the basis
of class, gender, ethnic and religious
afliations. These statements
addressed issues such as workers
rights (after the deadly factory
fre in Karachi claiming 300 lives),
unequal access to education, as
well as the states deep sponsorship
and collusion in the promotion of
religious militancy and sectarian
violence in Pakistan.
In addition to statements,
public protests were organized in
Toronto, in response to repeated
religiously-motivated attacks on the
Hazara Shia community in Quetta.
Many from the Greater Toronto Area
came to support the rallies and then
participated in a peoples strategy
session to formulate a list of demands
for the Pakistani government in the
aftermath of this violence.
Throughout the year,
the PDF team organized monthly
discussion forums to ensure a safe,
inclusive platform to talk about
issues such as labour rights, peasant
struggles in Okara, land grabbing
and exploitation in Karachi, as well
as the legacy of colonialism in the
Pakistani state. We also partnered
with the Noor Cultural Center in
Toronto to conduct a four-part
discussion series, challenging
mainstream Western narratives
regarding the issues facing Pakistan
in the context of democracy,
development, religious extremism
and gender discrimination.
The team also paired up
with PDFs university chapters to
support sustainable, community-led
development projects in Pakistan.
This year, funds were raised to
help build water pumps in Kasur
and purchase lab equipment for
a health clinic in Rawalpindi. The
PDF collective hopes to continue
its struggle to re-imagine Pakistan
as a progressive, democratic and
pluralistic entity going into another
year.
Dr. Amina Jamal discusses womens role in Pakistani
society at PDFs Discussion Forum on January 27,
2013, at Academy of the Impossible in Toronto.
Executive Body
Update
Urooj Shahzadi , Nabeel S Ahmed