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Mohib’s remarks against Pakistan
THE Afghan National Security Adviser (NSA), Hamdullah Mohib’s disparaging remarks against Pakistan during his recent interaction at Council on Foreign Affairs, after his speech at the UNGA, was highly unbecoming of a person of his stature. Not only that, it was highly irresponsible and utterly biased.
Biased, because the remarks were made by him with nefarious intent to denigrate Pakistan and oblige Afghanistan’s staunch ally India.
Afghanistan’s NSA’s nasty remarks against Pakistan … “Taliban is a proxy of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI, and that Afghanistan didn’t accept domination of the Soviet Union, the then super power, why would it permit a backward country like Pakistan, which is incapable of even feeding its own people, to rule Afghanistan” comes at a time when Pakistan continues to play a key role in coordinating and promoting the Afghanistan-Taliban peace talks, for establishment of durable peace in Afghanistan.
The profoundly derogatory remarks of the Afghan NSA against Pakistan, at this juncture, is utterly brazen and unfortunate.
I am glad that the government of Pakistan has taken serious cognizance of the highly irresponsible and insensitive conduct of the Afghan NSA, Hamdullah Mohib.
Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mahmud Qureshi’s vociferous response to Afghan NSA’s gratuitous comments vis-à-vis Pakistan was but natural.
In fact, it couldn’t have been more befitting. Addressing the party workers in Multan on Saturday, June 5, 2021 Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmud Qureshi lambasted the Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib for his insulting remarks against the country.
Qureshi, as published in the print media, vociferously said: “If you don’t desist from using such language or the accusations you are making against Pakistan, then in the capacity of Foreign Minister of Pakistan, I am saying that Pakistani will never shake hands with you”.
Finally, the fact of the matter is the Afghan NSA couldn’t have made such a blatant and irresponsible statement, and that too at a high profile forum, without the blessings of the head of the Afghan government, President Ashraf Ghani.
Pakistan should, therefore, take this critical issue up with the head of the Afghan government forthwith and demand immediate retraction of the highly derogatory statement made by the Afghan NSA against Pakistan.
If the Afghan government does not respond to Pakistan’s assertion vis-à-vis the issue positively, I would suggest Pakistan should, as a first step, sever its diplomatic ties with Afghanistan.
M FAZAL ELAHI
Islamabad
Real hero
You may have heard about Bajraangi Bhaijaan, who went to great lengths to ensure Munni returned home safely, and here is our hero, Arab Shah, who is known ‘Bhai Jaan’ by the adorable little girls since he has been dropping them off at school for free every day since 2015.
Arab Shah, an auto-rickshaw driver from Peshawar, who is a graduate but could not continue his studies owing to financial constraints, has been providing free transportation to 100+ girls in his area.
Bhai Jan says that he has been doing this with a view to promoting girl-education in his community.
Arab Shah has only one source of income i.e. a rickshaw. With over 100 girls attending school every day, he currently works 20 pick-up and drop-off stints every day without costing the girls’ families a penny.
After dropping them, he drives his rickshaw until 11 p.m. daily to meet his daily family expenses as well as to support the cause of girl-education.
IKHLAQ AHMED
Turbat
Punishing victims of land dispossession
For almost a month during Ramadan, land belonging to poor Harris living in Goths in the vicinity of Bahria Town Karachi were being forcibly occupied by armed guards of the most powerful Land Developer moving with bulldozers and heavy machinery.
Other than a few nationalist parties of Sindh, there was not a word of protest by any major political party.
Had it not been for the alternate social media and few local newspapers, this would have gone unnoticed.
There was a report in “The Guardian” dated 28 May 2021, but even that did not merit any attention.
The Provincial Government, however, was seen “running with hares and hunting with hounds” in the proverbial sense.
Although dispossession of private land for commercial use by private land developers is not allowed by law, nor by the Constitution of Pakistan, which guarantees an individual security of life and private property, this has become a regular feature.
We have witnessed not just private land, but also forest land and amenity parks like Kidney Hill in Karachi being taken over forcibly by this Land Mafia.
All major political parties, PPP, PTI, PMLN, MQM etc., and a few within the paid civil or uniformed elite are on “One Page” as far as Bahria Town is concerned. For them, Bahria Don is Robin Hood of the reverse kind.
On 5th June when these desperate poor Harris with support of a few nationalist parties of Sindh staged a protest outside Bahria Town, which unfortunately did become violent, all the political parties were unanimous in condemning this protest, with not a word about the hapless Harris whose land was occupied.
Such callous disregard of the constitutional rights of these poor people will drive them to desperation and even rebelliousness. It is a recipe for disaster in the making.
ALI MALIK T
Lahore
