Talibanization of Pakistan Dear Friends:

In a selfless act of courage, a Pakistani named Ghufran Haider, saved the lives of hundreds of worshipers by throwing himself on a suicide bomber in a mosque in Karachi.

He was severely injured, was hospitalized and has now recovered. He is now in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on temporary visit. He is afraid to go back to Pakistan as he expects to be almost certainly killed by Sunni militants.

Will some public-spirited American journalists kindly interview him in Dubai? To get contact information, please email Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy at sharmeenobaid@hotmail.com

This appears to be a fit case for influential Americans to bring the matter urgently to the attention of the State Department in order to ensure that he is granted asylum in the US. His travel visa in Dubai expires in two weeks or so.

Please read the appeal of Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, which is reproduced below, from the SAJA (South Asia Journalists Association`s) discussion forum.

Thanks!

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Original Message

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From: ``Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy``
To: ``SAJA DISC``
Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2007 5:03 PM
Subject: [saja-disc] Urgent: I need your help

Dear All,

I am writing to you with an urgent matter. Two year ago I did a film for
Channel 4 called ``Pakistan`s Double Game``
http://www.sharmeenobaidfilms.com/pakdoublegame.html

In the film I profiled a young man named Ghufran Haider, a shia who saved the lives of hundreds of worshippers by throwing himself on a suicide bomber in a mosque in Karachi.

He was the first Pakistani ever to stop a suicide bombing and it took a lot of courage on his part to do so.

He was severely injured and his (poor) family had to bear the cost of his operations.

This year, Ghufran`s testimony in court led to the death penalty being awarded to two of the suicide bomber`s accompalices. Now, his family is constantly being threatened and as usual the Pakistani government has done nothing to help him or his family.

He managed to leave Pakistan a few days ago and is currently in Dubai on a visitor visa which expires in 2 weeks. If he goes back to Pakistan, he will almost certainly be killed by the Sunni militants.

He is reaching out to me for help but I dont know how I can assist him, given that I am myself a citizen of Pakistan and not sure where he can claim asylum.

Pakistanis in general never take risks, they seldom give testimony in court and almost never risk their lives, so I feel compelled to help him...

If any of you have any ideas, or know of anyone he can contact who can help him gain asylum, please please get in touch with me...This young man`s life is at stake and for those of us who are fighting againt terrorism, we know how important it is that a voice like his is saved...

Please email me..

Thank you
Sharmeen

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy
www.sharmeenobaidfilms.com

With or Without Musharraf – A Mohajir’s Perspective Re: # 649 Manto

``...Mohajirs, Bengalis and Sindhis... were always way ahead of the Punjabis in their intellectual and political development...``

Gandhi would never have made such a bigoted statement. In the meantime, enjoy this fine fine song. Note the references to `Islam ka sipahi`!
CIAO!

With or Without Musharraf – A Mohajir’s Perspective Re: # 319 Salim

Now, that was a great response! Classy!

With or Without Musharraf – A Mohajir’s Perspective Re: # 231 Bulleya/Romair

``...I am slowly coming to the conclusion that Chowk is an attempt by Urdu speaking Muhajir Pakistanis to infiltrate and influence the minds of us non-Muhajirs...``

It is part of a vast right wing, Judeo-Christian, Indo-Afghan, Hindu, Muhajir conspiracy against West Pakistani Punjabi muslims.

With or Without Musharraf – A Mohajir’s Perspective Re: # 105
What the hell was that? You seem totally confused!

With or Without Musharraf – A Mohajir’s Perspective Re: # 102 Abu
``Bulleya has raised some issues, which I would have discarded as rhetoric from the “enemy”...I agree in principal that OVERALL muslim community would have been better off if we hadn’t created a country for Muslims where majority of the muslims that we sold this dream of Pakistan were not allowed to live in.``

I can`t believe what I am reading. I had only peripherally heard about this, but now that you Muhajirs are coming out of the closet openly, I feel that Nehru/Patel did the absolute right thing by not caving in to Jinnah`s blackmail. By agreeing to Partition, despite the horrific loss of life then, today India has avoided the path to its own Talibanization. The 9% GDP growth rate would not have been possible if the country was constantly debating secularism vs. separate electorates.

Good luck to you folks, but now it is your problem!

With or Without Musharraf – A Mohajir’s Perspective Re: # 101
Bulleya is the same as Romair

With or Without Musharraf – A Mohajir’s Perspective Re: # 93 Bulleya

``...So, I have always found it a bit odd how the most prosperous community in a country, which political and cultural power that far outweights its percentage of the population, can complain that it is not getting a piece of the pie...``

Maybe, the percentage of the pie is not quite as important as the size of the pie, especially if the latter has been shrinking. Maybe, the muhajirs are coming to the conclusion that they would have been better off in undivided India than migrating to Pakistan.

With or Without Musharraf – A Mohajir’s Perspective Re: # 60 Hasanmahmood & Salim Chauhan

Wow! This article, and #60 is an eye-opener. I never realized that there was so much discontent in Muhajirs.

Girls Gone Wild Re: # 1393 Kaalchakra

I have no frikking idea what you meant by that post. Your `intellect` went straight above my head.

Girls Gone Wild Re: # 1389 ZahraJ

``...I am saying that the Muslim countries need to take responsibility for their mess. ...``

Sister, I am in awe of your humble, yet powerful, advice. Too many luminaries on Chowk look in the wrong places.

Girls Gone Wild Re: # 1379 Sattar2
Fair enough. Then, I hope that when you write, `Quran does not give anyone any authority to punish people for apostasy. It emphasizes that this matter rests between individual and Allah alone` you would agree that all `Islamic` governments today that prescribe punishment for apostasy are not only violating the Quran, but also the UN Human Rights Charter. Going further, all individuals, who support and affirm such governments and their Constitutions, are themselves opposing basic human rights. Wouldn`t you agree?

By the way, if the Saudi constitution is the Quran, and Saudis prescribe death for apostasy, then, according to you, they are not really following the Quran, right?

Girls Gone Wild Re: # 1381 ZahraJ

``...What if the US does not change its policies towards Palestine and other muslim countries ? Does that mean that the fanatics and extremists out of frustration will go and kill their fellow moderate and innocent Muslims ? ...``

Sister, to avoid that sorry outcome, I suggest that all `muslim countries` then redouble their efforts to get the US to change its policies. Or, maybe, they could take an even harder path to look inwards as suggested by Tawfix Hamid in The Wall Street Journal. I posted his op-ed piece in post #214 on this board. Check it out.

Girls Gone Wild ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS

Perhaps, the root cause for the issues raised here needs to be examined as this great thinker points out:

``THE brutal killing of a woman minister of the Punjab government recently is illustrative of the convoluted thinking of Islamic extremists. `` The author then goes on to provide an elaborate description of what currently ails the Muslim world, covering topics such as 9/11, Israel, Russia, USA, Iraq`s jehadi hate-fest and leads to the final clincher:

``The best way to counter the threat of Islamist extremism is to remove the root causes that produce such terrorism, namely, by bringing about a fair solution of problems like Palestine and Kashmir.``

QED

Good luck, Zeemax!

Girls Gone Wild Re: # 1325 Sattar2

``...The above statement still adequately rules out killing an apostate! ...``

I think that it is more accurate to state that 3.89 is silent on the matter of unrepenting apostates. No inference (good or bad) can be drawn on what happens to them. Correct? I don`t have any issue with the rest of your post. Thanks.

Girls Gone Wild Re: # 1312 Sattar2
``...It seems 3:89 specifies repentance, followed by amendment...``

However, there is no certain forgiveness for unrepenting apostates (at least not on the basis for 3.89). Therefore, what you wrote in #1248 is not entirely correct, `In Quran Allah says that He will forgive apostates who repent. This adequately rules out killing apostates.`.
What happens to unrepenting apostates is not clear at all based on your citation.