THE CANADIAN SENATE Wednesday, May 13, 2015
PAKISTAN BUS ATTACK IN KARACHI
Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer: Honourable senators, I rise today with a very heavy heart. Very early this morning, I awoke to the news that 43 innocent Ismaili Muslims who were riding a bus in Karachi, Pakistan, were senselessly gunned down by six armed individuals who were dressed in police uniforms. They were my brothers and sisters in faith.
Sixty-two people were on the bus on their way to a community centre when the gunmen boarded after cutting off the bus with their motorcycles. Once inside, the gunmen shot indiscriminately at the men, women and children. When the gunmen left, an injured individual drove the bus to a nearby hospital. By the time they arrived at the hospital, most of the passengers had died.
His Highness the Aga Khan, my spiritual leader, stated: This attack represents a senseless act of violence against a peaceful community. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families of those killed and wounded in the attack. Other leaders across Pakistan have expressed their absolute shock at this attack on the Ismaili Muslim community. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, called it ‘‘a deplorable attempt to spread chaos in Pakistan.’’ Honourable senators, the Ismaili Muslim community is one of the most peaceful and charitable communities in Pakistan. They are involved in a number of development projects across the country and work in all segments of society. Their roots in Pakistan are very deep, as they have inhabited that area of the world for hundreds of years. While the community is small, their positive impact on Pakistan is tremendous.
As an Ismaili Muslim and as a Canadian, my heart breaks for the victims of this attack and for their families. Many of those killed had Canadian family members. I understand that one Canadian has lost his father, mother and brother. I know you join me in sending our condolences to those Canadians. I know this chamber will join me in condemning this abhorrent attack on innocent individuals in Pakistan.
As mine are, I know your thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their loved ones in Pakistan and Canada.
Thank you.
Ismailis threathened and killed - senseless acts of terror!
lefigaro.fr/international/2015/05/13/01003-20150513ARTFIG00188-pakistan-une-attaque-contre-un-bus-rempli-d-ismaeliens-fait-43-morts.php
Pakistan : une attaque contre un bus rempli d'Ismaéliens fait 43 morts
ACTUALITE International
Par Eugénie Bastié , AFP, AP, Reuters Agences Mis à jour le
13/05/2015 à 15:53 Publié le 13/05/2015 à 13:39
Une policier pakistanais montre les douilles des balles ayant abattu 43 personnes dans un bus à Karachi.
Les victimes sont en majorité des Ismaéliens, une minorité chiite pratiquant un islam moderne. L'attaque a été revendiqué par un groupe terroriste ayant prêté allégeance à Daech.
Ils sont monté dans le bus, et ont fait feu, indistinctement, abattant une par une au 9mm des douzaines de personnes. Six hommes armés montés sur des motos ont tué au moins 44 personnes dans une attaque terroriste mercredi à Karachi, la capitale économique du Pakistan. L'attaque a été revendiquée par le groupe jihadiste Etat Islamique.
Des chaînes de télévision ont diffusé des images montrant un bus rose criblé de balles et une longue file d'ambulances. «Il y avait six assaillants. Ils sont montés à bord du bus et ils ont ouvert le feu», a déclaré, à Reuters, le superintendant (commissaire divisionnaire) Najib Khan. Une des victimes a affirmé que les assaillants étaient vêtus d'uniformes de policiers, selon le média pakistanais Dawn.
«Le bus avait une capacité de 52 personnes mais il était surchargé avec des douzaines de personnes à bord. La plupart d'entre eux proviennent de la communauté des Ismaéliens», a indiqué le policier à l'AFP. Selon un autre policier, 13 personnes ont été blessées.
Des femmes chiites en deuil à proximité de l'hôpital de Karachi où ont été amenées les victimes de cette attaque sanglante.
«Nous attaquerons les Ismaéliens, les Chiites et les Chrétiens»
Ahmed Marwat, le porte-parole de Jundullah, un groupe taliban dissident, a déclaré à Reuters qu'il revendiquait l'attaque. «Ces personnes tuées étaient des Ismaéliens, et nous les considérons comme non-musulmans. Nous avions quatre assaillants. Dans les jours prochains, nous attaquerons les Ismaéliens, les Chiites et les Chrétiens», a-t-il menacé. Cette organisation sunnite armée, affiliée au départ à al-Qaïda, s'est fait connaître pour ses attaques répétées contre des cibles iraniennes, ainsi que contre des minorités religieuses. En novembre dernier le groupe terroriste a fait allégeance à l'État islamique.
Le Pakistan a subi dernièrement un regain des violences sectaires envers les minorités notamment chiites, qui constituent près de 20 % de la population pakistanaise.
Le bus attaqué appartenait à la Al-Azhar Garden Colony, un centre communautaire ismaélite de Karachi. Les Ismaéliens sont un courant minoritaire de l'Islam chiite, pratiquée par environ 15 millions de personnes réparties en grande majorité en Inde, Pakistan, Syrie et Yémen. Les ismaélites croient que Ismaël, fils de Djafar es-Sâdiq, est le septième et dernier imam.
La pire attaque depuis janvier
Au Pakistan, cette communauté pacifique et apolitique, travaille principalement dans les secteurs de la santé et de l'éducation. Sous l'égide de leur maître spirituel le prince Karim Aga Khan, magnat philanthrope, les ismaéliens pratiquent un islam moderne et progressiste, ce qui en fait la cible privilégiée des intégristes sunnites.
Cette attaque est la pire attaque contre les chiites depuis le 30 janvier dernier, où une bombe avait tué 61 personnes dans une mosquée du district de Shikarpur. Dans le cadre géopolitique global d'un regain des tensions entre sunnites et chiites (exacerbé par l'État islamique), les attaques anti-chiites ont beaucoup augmenté au Pakistan: ces deux dernières années, elles ont fait près de 1000 victimes.
En mars, des attentats suicides ont tué 14 personnes et blessé 80 autres à proximité de deux églises de Lahore. Quelques jours plus tard, une bombe explosait près d'une mosquée fréquentée par des musulmans du courant chiite Bohra, blessant 12 personnes. Le mois précédent, 20 personnes ont trouvé la mort dans l'attaque d'une mosquée chiite à Peshawar.
Pakistan : une attaque contre un bus rempli d'Ismaéliens fait 43 morts
ACTUALITE International
Par Eugénie Bastié , AFP, AP, Reuters Agences Mis à jour le
13/05/2015 à 15:53 Publié le 13/05/2015 à 13:39
Une policier pakistanais montre les douilles des balles ayant abattu 43 personnes dans un bus à Karachi.
Les victimes sont en majorité des Ismaéliens, une minorité chiite pratiquant un islam moderne. L'attaque a été revendiqué par un groupe terroriste ayant prêté allégeance à Daech.
Ils sont monté dans le bus, et ont fait feu, indistinctement, abattant une par une au 9mm des douzaines de personnes. Six hommes armés montés sur des motos ont tué au moins 44 personnes dans une attaque terroriste mercredi à Karachi, la capitale économique du Pakistan. L'attaque a été revendiquée par le groupe jihadiste Etat Islamique.
Des chaînes de télévision ont diffusé des images montrant un bus rose criblé de balles et une longue file d'ambulances. «Il y avait six assaillants. Ils sont montés à bord du bus et ils ont ouvert le feu», a déclaré, à Reuters, le superintendant (commissaire divisionnaire) Najib Khan. Une des victimes a affirmé que les assaillants étaient vêtus d'uniformes de policiers, selon le média pakistanais Dawn.
«Le bus avait une capacité de 52 personnes mais il était surchargé avec des douzaines de personnes à bord. La plupart d'entre eux proviennent de la communauté des Ismaéliens», a indiqué le policier à l'AFP. Selon un autre policier, 13 personnes ont été blessées.
Des femmes chiites en deuil à proximité de l'hôpital de Karachi où ont été amenées les victimes de cette attaque sanglante.
«Nous attaquerons les Ismaéliens, les Chiites et les Chrétiens»
Ahmed Marwat, le porte-parole de Jundullah, un groupe taliban dissident, a déclaré à Reuters qu'il revendiquait l'attaque. «Ces personnes tuées étaient des Ismaéliens, et nous les considérons comme non-musulmans. Nous avions quatre assaillants. Dans les jours prochains, nous attaquerons les Ismaéliens, les Chiites et les Chrétiens», a-t-il menacé. Cette organisation sunnite armée, affiliée au départ à al-Qaïda, s'est fait connaître pour ses attaques répétées contre des cibles iraniennes, ainsi que contre des minorités religieuses. En novembre dernier le groupe terroriste a fait allégeance à l'État islamique.
Le Pakistan a subi dernièrement un regain des violences sectaires envers les minorités notamment chiites, qui constituent près de 20 % de la population pakistanaise.
Le bus attaqué appartenait à la Al-Azhar Garden Colony, un centre communautaire ismaélite de Karachi. Les Ismaéliens sont un courant minoritaire de l'Islam chiite, pratiquée par environ 15 millions de personnes réparties en grande majorité en Inde, Pakistan, Syrie et Yémen. Les ismaélites croient que Ismaël, fils de Djafar es-Sâdiq, est le septième et dernier imam.
La pire attaque depuis janvier
Au Pakistan, cette communauté pacifique et apolitique, travaille principalement dans les secteurs de la santé et de l'éducation. Sous l'égide de leur maître spirituel le prince Karim Aga Khan, magnat philanthrope, les ismaéliens pratiquent un islam moderne et progressiste, ce qui en fait la cible privilégiée des intégristes sunnites.
Cette attaque est la pire attaque contre les chiites depuis le 30 janvier dernier, où une bombe avait tué 61 personnes dans une mosquée du district de Shikarpur. Dans le cadre géopolitique global d'un regain des tensions entre sunnites et chiites (exacerbé par l'État islamique), les attaques anti-chiites ont beaucoup augmenté au Pakistan: ces deux dernières années, elles ont fait près de 1000 victimes.
En mars, des attentats suicides ont tué 14 personnes et blessé 80 autres à proximité de deux églises de Lahore. Quelques jours plus tard, une bombe explosait près d'une mosquée fréquentée par des musulmans du courant chiite Bohra, blessant 12 personnes. Le mois précédent, 20 personnes ont trouvé la mort dans l'attaque d'une mosquée chiite à Peshawar.
thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-318249-Ismailis-contributed-to-Pak-establishment,-development
Ismailis contributed to Pak establishment, development
Sabir Shah
Friday, May 15, 2015
LAHORE: The echoes of the merciless terrorist attack on the Agakhani Ismailis, a major Shia community having presence in more than 25 countries of Africa, Europe, Australia and North America, will be heard for a very long time to come as over 15 million followers of Prince Karim Aga Khan IV have suddenly been left to mourn the tragic loss of dozens of precious lives in Karachi.
Born on December 13, 1936 in Geneva, Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini or Aga Khan IV is the current and 49th Imam of Ismaili Muslims. He has a deep emotional attachment with Pakistan because he happens to be the grandson of the Karachi-born Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah or Aga Khan III (1877-1957), who was one of the founders and the first President of the All-India Muslim League in 1906.
He had flashed headlines worldwide on March 10, 1946, when his followers had weighed him by putting plastic boxes full of gold, diamonds and platinum on the weighing scale in Bombay.It was Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah who had called on the British Empire to consider Muslims to be a separate nation within India.
Hailing from the family of an 18th century Persian king Fath Ali Shah, the title of “His Highness” was bestowed upon Prince Karim Aga Khan by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in 1957, when he had succeeded his grandfather at the age of 20.
Prince Karim Aga Khan’s father Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan (1911-1960) had served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, where he had also gone on to become the Vice President of the General Assembly and Chairman of the UN Peace Observation Committee. He had gained more fame by marrying famous American actress Rita Hayworth.
Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan was nominated by President President Iskander Mirza in February 1958 to represent Pakistan in the United Nations.When Oman had agreed to sell Gwadar to Pakistan for Rs5.5 billion in December 1958, donations were raised and the biggest contribution had come from Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan.
“Aga Khan” is a name being used by Ismaili spiritual leaders since 1818. The current Aga Khan’s first wife Sarah Croker Poole or Begum Salimah Aga Khan had visited Lahore about 15 years ago and this correspondent had conducted her exclusive interview for “the News International.”
Begum Salimah Aga Khan, a former model, had received over $30 million as a divorce settlement, along with some $27 million worth of jewellery, after her 25-year marriage with Aga Khan had ended in 1995.
Research conducted by the Jang Group and Geo Television Network on the Agakhani Ismailis, by consulting author Farhad Daftary’s book “The Ismailis: Their history and doctrines,” the Encyclopedia of Islam, Al-Waiz Abualy Aziz’s book “A brief history of Ismailism” and writer Malise Ruthven’s book “The children of time: the Aga Khan and Ismailis” etc, reveals that the Ismailis were one of the entrepreneurial minorities who had helped innumerable businesses flourish in Pakistan after the country’s inception in 1947.
At partition, Pakistan had a very low industrial base that constituted just four per cent of the GDP because it had neither inherited an industrial economy, nor was its services sector developed to any desirable extent.
According to former World Bank Advisor Gustav Papanek, also a professor at the Boston University, almost all the major industrial families of the post-independent Pakistan belonged to five ethnic groups i.e. the Memons, the Dawoodi Bohras, the Khojas, Punjabi Sheikhs and the Chiniotis.
Having led the Harvard University Development Advisory Service, Professor Papanek had undertaken a study that had revealed that of the 42 major industrial houses that had met magnificent success in Pakistan after its birth, only a few groups such as Hoti, Premier, Packages, Ghulam Farooq, Colony and Noon etc had roots in this part of the undivided India.
This study, which was conducted a few decades ago, had found out that the Agakhani Isamili community had migrated to India in 1840, and had set up its headquarters in Bombay. Other historians claim the Ismailis had migrated to Gwadar city in 1799. But centuries before that, the Ismailis had played a pivotal role in the establishment of the globally-acclaimed University of al-Azhar in Cairo.
Aga Khan’s philanthropic institutions spend about US$600 million per year - mainly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.In Pakistan, the Aga Khan Foundation has till date established a number of welfare projects to provide sustainable solutions to long-term problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and ill health etc, besides focusing on goals like community participation, gender, pluralism and human resource development.
The first institution set up by the Aga Khan Health Service in Pakistan was a 42-bed maternity hospital formerly known as the Janbai Maternity Home at Karachi in 1924.Today known as the Aga Khan Hospital for Women and Children Kharadar (Karachi), this initiative was funded by Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah or Aga Khan III and the philanthropic efforts of a local leather tycoon Seth Bundeh Ali Kassim, who was a member of the Ismaili Supreme Council. Kassim’s business extended to Europe through a Swiss company Messrs Volkart Brothers. Seth Kassim opened many branches of his firm in Sindh and had erected a big factory in Lyari quarter, Karachi to dye leather. In 1917, he had founded the Khoja Ismailia Trading Company with a reserve capital of Rs5 million.
And since then, the Aga Khan Health Service has financed 164 health centres, seven hospitals, maternity home, two medical centres, a physiotherapy unit and seven community dental units to reach over 581,000 people in rural and urban Sindh, Punjab and many parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Few projects undertaken by the Aga Khan Development Network in Pakistan since 1967 include the International Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development, the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, the Aga Khan Cultural Services Programme, the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy, the Balochistan Early Childhood Development Project, the Northern Areas Education Development Improvement Programme, the Building and Construction Improvement Programme, the Chitral Child Survival Project, the Water Supply and Sanitation Extension Programme in Northern Areas, the Northern Areas Community Health Programme and the Flood Relief Programme etc.
Today, several Ismaili community centres operate in London, Burnaby (Canada), Lisbon, Dubai, Dushanbe and Toronto.
Research shows that in 1979, the foundation stone of the first Ismaili Centre was laid in London by the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.Several months later, the then Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney had opened the second Ismaili Centre in Burnaby, Canada. Meanwhile, the Ismaili centre in Dubai is built on land donated by the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.
Part II
Wednesday carnage: Second act of violence against community in Pakistan
The deadly Wednesday morning attack on the Ismaili Agakhani community in Karachi is the second worst incident of its kind since 1982, when over 60 members of this minority sect were killed by a mob in the picturesque Chitral Valley.
Some 33 years ago, an enraged and unruly crowd had set ablaze the Ismaili community buildings in Chitral, including their “Jamaat Khana” or place of worship.
In August 2013, twin hand grenade attacks had killed at least two Ismailis and wounded 28 others in Karachi.
According to law enforcement agencies, some unidentified people had thrown hand grenades inside two different places of worship of Agakhanis in the port city.
Newspaper archives reveal that in February 2014, the Pakistani Taliban had announced an armed struggle against the indigenous Kalash tribe and Ismaili Muslims in Chitral, which was once dominated by members of this sect.
The 50-minute long Taliban video was released on February 2, 2014 on their media wing’s website. In this video message, the Taliban had warned the Kalash tribe to convert to Islam or face death and had condemned the Aga Khan Foundation creating an “Israel-like” state in Chitral.
It is imperative to note that the famous Kalash tribe comprises of 3,500 members only and is currently plagued with gender-based violence and many women have consequently committed suicides in recent years.
It was due to this reason that in August 2013, the then Deputy Inspector General of Police, Malakand range, Haji Abdullah Khan, had established women desks in the Chitral police stations to check gender-based violence and reduce the rising tendency of suicide.
The Taliban video message had stated: “The Aga Khan Foundation is running 16 schools and 16 colleges and hostels where young men and women are given free education and brainwashed to keep them away from Islam. The Foundation’s schools and hospitals, which are free for members of the public, are espionage tools in the hands of foreign powers. Western NGOs are promoting Kalash wine and we warn all those individuals and hotels selling it, they should stop production and selling of wine otherwise they will be sent to hell by the will of God.”
Ismailis contributed to Pak establishment, development
Sabir Shah
Friday, May 15, 2015
LAHORE: The echoes of the merciless terrorist attack on the Agakhani Ismailis, a major Shia community having presence in more than 25 countries of Africa, Europe, Australia and North America, will be heard for a very long time to come as over 15 million followers of Prince Karim Aga Khan IV have suddenly been left to mourn the tragic loss of dozens of precious lives in Karachi.
Born on December 13, 1936 in Geneva, Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini or Aga Khan IV is the current and 49th Imam of Ismaili Muslims. He has a deep emotional attachment with Pakistan because he happens to be the grandson of the Karachi-born Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah or Aga Khan III (1877-1957), who was one of the founders and the first President of the All-India Muslim League in 1906.
He had flashed headlines worldwide on March 10, 1946, when his followers had weighed him by putting plastic boxes full of gold, diamonds and platinum on the weighing scale in Bombay.It was Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah who had called on the British Empire to consider Muslims to be a separate nation within India.
Hailing from the family of an 18th century Persian king Fath Ali Shah, the title of “His Highness” was bestowed upon Prince Karim Aga Khan by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in 1957, when he had succeeded his grandfather at the age of 20.
Prince Karim Aga Khan’s father Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan (1911-1960) had served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, where he had also gone on to become the Vice President of the General Assembly and Chairman of the UN Peace Observation Committee. He had gained more fame by marrying famous American actress Rita Hayworth.
Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan was nominated by President President Iskander Mirza in February 1958 to represent Pakistan in the United Nations.When Oman had agreed to sell Gwadar to Pakistan for Rs5.5 billion in December 1958, donations were raised and the biggest contribution had come from Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan.
“Aga Khan” is a name being used by Ismaili spiritual leaders since 1818. The current Aga Khan’s first wife Sarah Croker Poole or Begum Salimah Aga Khan had visited Lahore about 15 years ago and this correspondent had conducted her exclusive interview for “the News International.”
Begum Salimah Aga Khan, a former model, had received over $30 million as a divorce settlement, along with some $27 million worth of jewellery, after her 25-year marriage with Aga Khan had ended in 1995.
Research conducted by the Jang Group and Geo Television Network on the Agakhani Ismailis, by consulting author Farhad Daftary’s book “The Ismailis: Their history and doctrines,” the Encyclopedia of Islam, Al-Waiz Abualy Aziz’s book “A brief history of Ismailism” and writer Malise Ruthven’s book “The children of time: the Aga Khan and Ismailis” etc, reveals that the Ismailis were one of the entrepreneurial minorities who had helped innumerable businesses flourish in Pakistan after the country’s inception in 1947.
At partition, Pakistan had a very low industrial base that constituted just four per cent of the GDP because it had neither inherited an industrial economy, nor was its services sector developed to any desirable extent.
According to former World Bank Advisor Gustav Papanek, also a professor at the Boston University, almost all the major industrial families of the post-independent Pakistan belonged to five ethnic groups i.e. the Memons, the Dawoodi Bohras, the Khojas, Punjabi Sheikhs and the Chiniotis.
Having led the Harvard University Development Advisory Service, Professor Papanek had undertaken a study that had revealed that of the 42 major industrial houses that had met magnificent success in Pakistan after its birth, only a few groups such as Hoti, Premier, Packages, Ghulam Farooq, Colony and Noon etc had roots in this part of the undivided India.
This study, which was conducted a few decades ago, had found out that the Agakhani Isamili community had migrated to India in 1840, and had set up its headquarters in Bombay. Other historians claim the Ismailis had migrated to Gwadar city in 1799. But centuries before that, the Ismailis had played a pivotal role in the establishment of the globally-acclaimed University of al-Azhar in Cairo.
Aga Khan’s philanthropic institutions spend about US$600 million per year - mainly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.In Pakistan, the Aga Khan Foundation has till date established a number of welfare projects to provide sustainable solutions to long-term problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and ill health etc, besides focusing on goals like community participation, gender, pluralism and human resource development.
The first institution set up by the Aga Khan Health Service in Pakistan was a 42-bed maternity hospital formerly known as the Janbai Maternity Home at Karachi in 1924.Today known as the Aga Khan Hospital for Women and Children Kharadar (Karachi), this initiative was funded by Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah or Aga Khan III and the philanthropic efforts of a local leather tycoon Seth Bundeh Ali Kassim, who was a member of the Ismaili Supreme Council. Kassim’s business extended to Europe through a Swiss company Messrs Volkart Brothers. Seth Kassim opened many branches of his firm in Sindh and had erected a big factory in Lyari quarter, Karachi to dye leather. In 1917, he had founded the Khoja Ismailia Trading Company with a reserve capital of Rs5 million.
And since then, the Aga Khan Health Service has financed 164 health centres, seven hospitals, maternity home, two medical centres, a physiotherapy unit and seven community dental units to reach over 581,000 people in rural and urban Sindh, Punjab and many parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Few projects undertaken by the Aga Khan Development Network in Pakistan since 1967 include the International Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development, the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, the Aga Khan Cultural Services Programme, the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy, the Balochistan Early Childhood Development Project, the Northern Areas Education Development Improvement Programme, the Building and Construction Improvement Programme, the Chitral Child Survival Project, the Water Supply and Sanitation Extension Programme in Northern Areas, the Northern Areas Community Health Programme and the Flood Relief Programme etc.
Today, several Ismaili community centres operate in London, Burnaby (Canada), Lisbon, Dubai, Dushanbe and Toronto.
Research shows that in 1979, the foundation stone of the first Ismaili Centre was laid in London by the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.Several months later, the then Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney had opened the second Ismaili Centre in Burnaby, Canada. Meanwhile, the Ismaili centre in Dubai is built on land donated by the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.
Part II
Wednesday carnage: Second act of violence against community in Pakistan
The deadly Wednesday morning attack on the Ismaili Agakhani community in Karachi is the second worst incident of its kind since 1982, when over 60 members of this minority sect were killed by a mob in the picturesque Chitral Valley.
Some 33 years ago, an enraged and unruly crowd had set ablaze the Ismaili community buildings in Chitral, including their “Jamaat Khana” or place of worship.
In August 2013, twin hand grenade attacks had killed at least two Ismailis and wounded 28 others in Karachi.
According to law enforcement agencies, some unidentified people had thrown hand grenades inside two different places of worship of Agakhanis in the port city.
Newspaper archives reveal that in February 2014, the Pakistani Taliban had announced an armed struggle against the indigenous Kalash tribe and Ismaili Muslims in Chitral, which was once dominated by members of this sect.
The 50-minute long Taliban video was released on February 2, 2014 on their media wing’s website. In this video message, the Taliban had warned the Kalash tribe to convert to Islam or face death and had condemned the Aga Khan Foundation creating an “Israel-like” state in Chitral.
It is imperative to note that the famous Kalash tribe comprises of 3,500 members only and is currently plagued with gender-based violence and many women have consequently committed suicides in recent years.
It was due to this reason that in August 2013, the then Deputy Inspector General of Police, Malakand range, Haji Abdullah Khan, had established women desks in the Chitral police stations to check gender-based violence and reduce the rising tendency of suicide.
The Taliban video message had stated: “The Aga Khan Foundation is running 16 schools and 16 colleges and hostels where young men and women are given free education and brainwashed to keep them away from Islam. The Foundation’s schools and hospitals, which are free for members of the public, are espionage tools in the hands of foreign powers. Western NGOs are promoting Kalash wine and we warn all those individuals and hotels selling it, they should stop production and selling of wine otherwise they will be sent to hell by the will of God.”
nation.com.pk/islamabad/16-May-2015/ppp-moves-na-over-karachi-bus-attack
PPP moves NA over Karachi bus attack
May 16, 2015
Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Friday submitted an adjournment motion in the National Assembly to discuss the Karachi bus attack.
“This attack on Ismaili community in Karachi is clearly an attempt to threaten the minorities and create an impression that they are not safe in Pakistan,” says an adjournment motion submitted in the National Assembly Secretariat by PPP MNAs.
The motion was submitted by Imran Zafar Leghari, Dr Nafisa Shah, Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani, M Ayaz Soomro, Shazia Atta Marri & Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah.
They said that the English leaflets left in the ill-fated bus were promoting terrorists’ agenda.
“The government should not leave any stone unturned to apprehend and punish perpetrators of this terrorist act.
MALIK FOR PROTECTION OF MINORITIES
Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior Rehman Malik on Friday wrote letters to Chief Ministers, Governors and Chief Secretaries of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan to take all necessary measures for the protection of Shia and Aga Khan communities.
“Authorities of KPK and Gilgit Baltistan need to take all necessary measures for the protection Shia and Aga Khan communities in order to halt any unfortunate incident in future,” said Malik the letter while expressing his concern over the security of minorities in the country.
Strongly condemning the cruelty in the recent Karachi attack, Malik expressed concerns over the presence of some pamphlets at the site of the attack by some banned terrorists organization.
“We must not ignore the presence of Daish in Pakistan as in past we had ignored the spread of Taliban in the country,” he said.
“If the Indian spy agency is involved in these attacks, the government must go to United Nations with all proofs and we must not tolerate any foreign involvement in our country,” he said.
“We are proud of our armed forces and they are fully capable of eliminating terrorism from our soil and our ISI and MI are doing their job in a great way,” he added.
PPP moves NA over Karachi bus attack
May 16, 2015
Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Friday submitted an adjournment motion in the National Assembly to discuss the Karachi bus attack.
“This attack on Ismaili community in Karachi is clearly an attempt to threaten the minorities and create an impression that they are not safe in Pakistan,” says an adjournment motion submitted in the National Assembly Secretariat by PPP MNAs.
The motion was submitted by Imran Zafar Leghari, Dr Nafisa Shah, Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani, M Ayaz Soomro, Shazia Atta Marri & Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah.
They said that the English leaflets left in the ill-fated bus were promoting terrorists’ agenda.
“The government should not leave any stone unturned to apprehend and punish perpetrators of this terrorist act.
MALIK FOR PROTECTION OF MINORITIES
Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior Rehman Malik on Friday wrote letters to Chief Ministers, Governors and Chief Secretaries of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan to take all necessary measures for the protection of Shia and Aga Khan communities.
“Authorities of KPK and Gilgit Baltistan need to take all necessary measures for the protection Shia and Aga Khan communities in order to halt any unfortunate incident in future,” said Malik the letter while expressing his concern over the security of minorities in the country.
Strongly condemning the cruelty in the recent Karachi attack, Malik expressed concerns over the presence of some pamphlets at the site of the attack by some banned terrorists organization.
“We must not ignore the presence of Daish in Pakistan as in past we had ignored the spread of Taliban in the country,” he said.
“If the Indian spy agency is involved in these attacks, the government must go to United Nations with all proofs and we must not tolerate any foreign involvement in our country,” he said.
“We are proud of our armed forces and they are fully capable of eliminating terrorism from our soil and our ISI and MI are doing their job in a great way,” he added.
CONSULATE GENERAL OF PAKISTAN
TORONTO
PRESS RELEASE
CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL TO COMMEMORATE KARACHI TRAGEDY
The Pakistani-Canadian community of Toronto is holding a vigil at 6:00 pm on Saturday, 16th May 2015 at the Consulate (7880 Keele Street, Unit #14, Vaughan,
ON L4K 4G7). The event is open to all communities and is being held to commemorate the victims of the Karachi attack in which 44 innocent Pakistanis lost their lives.
All Canadians are invited to join the vigil to express their solidarity with the Pakistani nation in this hour of grief.
Toronto
13th May 2015
TORONTO
PRESS RELEASE
CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL TO COMMEMORATE KARACHI TRAGEDY
The Pakistani-Canadian community of Toronto is holding a vigil at 6:00 pm on Saturday, 16th May 2015 at the Consulate (7880 Keele Street, Unit #14, Vaughan,
ON L4K 4G7). The event is open to all communities and is being held to commemorate the victims of the Karachi attack in which 44 innocent Pakistanis lost their lives.
All Canadians are invited to join the vigil to express their solidarity with the Pakistani nation in this hour of grief.
Toronto
13th May 2015
Asslam o allekum
With deeply grief i condemn the attack on your community as well as the other inocent people including the ismaili community. May Allah rest their souls in peace in janatul fidous aamen
With well wishes from
murtaza akbar jamali
[email protected]
With deeply grief i condemn the attack on your community as well as the other inocent people including the ismaili community. May Allah rest their souls in peace in janatul fidous aamen
With well wishes from
murtaza akbar jamali
[email protected]
To,
The His Highness Prince Karim Agha
The Spiritual Leader of the Ismaili Community
Sub: CONDOLENCE LETTER ON MASSACRE OF ISMAILI COMMUNITY IN KARACHI
Dear Sir,
We strongly condemned the brutal massacre of peaceful
indigenous community of Sindh.We expressed shock and sorrow over the attack
on a bus carrying Ismailis near Safoora Chowk in Karachi which left 43 dead
and 13 wounded. We feel deep grief on this attack represents a senseless
act of violence against a peaceful community. Our thoughts and prayers are
with the victims and the families of those killed and wounded in the
attack, We understand that Ismailis are a peaceful global community that
live in harmony with various other ethnic and religious groups across the
world. The Sindh National Party offered his heartfelt condolences on the
killings of innocent people in the terrorist attack near Safoora Chowk in
Karachi.“Our heart goes out for the bereaved families. The Sindh National
Party and Sindhies and Pakistani nation is accompanied in grief of Ismaili
Community
Thanks
Regards
Ameer Bhanbhro
Chairman
SINDH NATIONAL PARTY
Add:A-26 KDA Kahkashan Bungows
Clifton Bock -5 Karachi Sindh Pakistan
Cell No:+92-300-8286164
The His Highness Prince Karim Agha
The Spiritual Leader of the Ismaili Community
Sub: CONDOLENCE LETTER ON MASSACRE OF ISMAILI COMMUNITY IN KARACHI
Dear Sir,
We strongly condemned the brutal massacre of peaceful
indigenous community of Sindh.We expressed shock and sorrow over the attack
on a bus carrying Ismailis near Safoora Chowk in Karachi which left 43 dead
and 13 wounded. We feel deep grief on this attack represents a senseless
act of violence against a peaceful community. Our thoughts and prayers are
with the victims and the families of those killed and wounded in the
attack, We understand that Ismailis are a peaceful global community that
live in harmony with various other ethnic and religious groups across the
world. The Sindh National Party offered his heartfelt condolences on the
killings of innocent people in the terrorist attack near Safoora Chowk in
Karachi.“Our heart goes out for the bereaved families. The Sindh National
Party and Sindhies and Pakistani nation is accompanied in grief of Ismaili
Community
Thanks
Regards
Ameer Bhanbhro
Chairman
SINDH NATIONAL PARTY
Add:A-26 KDA Kahkashan Bungows
Clifton Bock -5 Karachi Sindh Pakistan
Cell No:+92-300-8286164
Dear Sir,
In the incident in which 46 innocent people martyed in a brutual attck we
are with you in this hour of difficulty.
[email protected]
In the incident in which 46 innocent people martyed in a brutual attck we
are with you in this hour of difficulty.
[email protected]
Waqaf Association for Poor Disable Orphans.(Rgd)
(WAPDO)
H/O Bhimber Azad Kashmir.
Pakistan.
Cell# 0923454163786
Email: [email protected]
No.295/2/2015 Date.14/5/2015
To,
The honorable prince Karim Agha Khan,
Asalam o Aleikum,
The bad news of tyrant, cruel, murder of 43 innocent persons in Karachi is shocking for all of us.
The death of our respectable, honorable brothers, sisters and children aggrieved highly our minds.
We are equally deepened into sorrow and grief of all each others.
We pray! May Allah bless upon all of the loving personalities separated from us and award patience to their relatives by all means.
Yours,
President.(Haji Mohammad Farooq Mirza)
Waqaf Association for Poor Disable Orphans.(Rgd)
(WAPDO)
(WAPDO)
H/O Bhimber Azad Kashmir.
Pakistan.
Cell# 0923454163786
Email: [email protected]
No.295/2/2015 Date.14/5/2015
To,
The honorable prince Karim Agha Khan,
Asalam o Aleikum,
The bad news of tyrant, cruel, murder of 43 innocent persons in Karachi is shocking for all of us.
The death of our respectable, honorable brothers, sisters and children aggrieved highly our minds.
We are equally deepened into sorrow and grief of all each others.
We pray! May Allah bless upon all of the loving personalities separated from us and award patience to their relatives by all means.
Yours,
President.(Haji Mohammad Farooq Mirza)
Waqaf Association for Poor Disable Orphans.(Rgd)
(WAPDO)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-de ... e24442195/
By Robert Remington
Imagine, a Muslim sect that advocates religious tolerance, supports gender equality, educates women, restores ancient monuments, preserves traditional music, engages in institution building and creates wealth to help bring disadvantaged people out of poverty.
It’s no wonder that the Ismailis drive Islamic State crazy.
The killing of 43 and wounding of 30 Ismailis in Karachi by the IS loyalist group Jundullah must not be diminished as another case of sectarian violence perpetrated on a Pakistani religious minority, as described in many media reports. It is an attack on a group that symbolizes all that is a good in a civilized world, a group that represents everything that IS and its ilk seek to destroy.
A tolerant community with an enlightened view of Islam, the Ismaili community through the many tentacles of the Aga Khan Development Network is engaged in life-changing development work in 30 countries. Its non-denominational network of 325 schools, two universities, 11 hospitals and 195 health clinics is supported by tithes from the Ismaili community, grants from donor nations and profits generated by a worldwide business empire of some 90 companies that in 2013 generated revenues of $3.5-billion (U.S.).
Driven by the ethics of pluralism, diversity and respect as espoused by its spiritual leader, the British-born, Harvard-educated billionaire Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the Ismaili community indirectly supports an army of 80,000 employees, more than 90 per cent of whom are non-Ismaili, who bring health, education and economic hope to people in some of the poorest regions of the world.
For noble work such as this, the Ismailis are considered kafir (heretics) by gangs of medieval brutes like Jundullah, which on Wednesday decided to put bullets in the heads of innocent Ismailis in a bus on their way to a prayer service in Karachi.
“Thanks be to Allah, 43 apostates were killed and around 30 were wounded in an attack carried out by ‘Islamic State’ soldiers on a bus transporting Shiite Ismaili infidels in the city of Karachi,” read a Jundullah statement on an IS-linked Twitter account.
The attack has been aptly called an unprecedented horror inflicted on the Ismaili community, who were described after the attack by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as “a very patriotic and peaceful people who have always worked for the well-being of Pakistan.” There has, however, also been sporadic violence against Ismailis in the mountainous northern areas of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan. Last year, the Pakistani Taliban, with whom Jundullah is affiliated, vowed to wage an armed struggle against Ismailis in the northern regions, which I visited in late 2005. There, I met daughters of illiterate farmers who were educated in the Aga Khan system and applying to Western universities in hopes of becoming doctors, teachers and pilots.
This is heresy, according to a 50-minute Taliban video posted in February, 2014, in which a narrator declares, “The Aga Khan Foundation is running 16 schools and 16 colleges and hostels where young men and women are given free education and brainwashed to keep them away from Islam,” adding that the foundation’s schools and hospitals are espionage tools in the hands of foreign powers.
In the past decade, I have visited Aga Khan projects in East Africa, India, Central Asia and Pakistan. I’ve walked the slums of Karachi, Nairobi and Delhi with dedicated Aga Khan workers and volunteers, seeing them bring hope to areas where the Taliban would bring none. How dare these Ismailis. Many, even in Pakistan, dress in Western clothing. When I was there during Ramadan in 2005, they even served me wine, a gracious display of hospitality to a Westerner during their most observant month of self-discipline.
Today, I weep for the innocent victims on that bus in Karachi. To those who buy into the despicable narrative that paints all practitioners of Islam with the same brush, I can only despair.
By Robert Remington
Imagine, a Muslim sect that advocates religious tolerance, supports gender equality, educates women, restores ancient monuments, preserves traditional music, engages in institution building and creates wealth to help bring disadvantaged people out of poverty.
It’s no wonder that the Ismailis drive Islamic State crazy.
The killing of 43 and wounding of 30 Ismailis in Karachi by the IS loyalist group Jundullah must not be diminished as another case of sectarian violence perpetrated on a Pakistani religious minority, as described in many media reports. It is an attack on a group that symbolizes all that is a good in a civilized world, a group that represents everything that IS and its ilk seek to destroy.
A tolerant community with an enlightened view of Islam, the Ismaili community through the many tentacles of the Aga Khan Development Network is engaged in life-changing development work in 30 countries. Its non-denominational network of 325 schools, two universities, 11 hospitals and 195 health clinics is supported by tithes from the Ismaili community, grants from donor nations and profits generated by a worldwide business empire of some 90 companies that in 2013 generated revenues of $3.5-billion (U.S.).
Driven by the ethics of pluralism, diversity and respect as espoused by its spiritual leader, the British-born, Harvard-educated billionaire Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the Ismaili community indirectly supports an army of 80,000 employees, more than 90 per cent of whom are non-Ismaili, who bring health, education and economic hope to people in some of the poorest regions of the world.
For noble work such as this, the Ismailis are considered kafir (heretics) by gangs of medieval brutes like Jundullah, which on Wednesday decided to put bullets in the heads of innocent Ismailis in a bus on their way to a prayer service in Karachi.
“Thanks be to Allah, 43 apostates were killed and around 30 were wounded in an attack carried out by ‘Islamic State’ soldiers on a bus transporting Shiite Ismaili infidels in the city of Karachi,” read a Jundullah statement on an IS-linked Twitter account.
The attack has been aptly called an unprecedented horror inflicted on the Ismaili community, who were described after the attack by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as “a very patriotic and peaceful people who have always worked for the well-being of Pakistan.” There has, however, also been sporadic violence against Ismailis in the mountainous northern areas of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan. Last year, the Pakistani Taliban, with whom Jundullah is affiliated, vowed to wage an armed struggle against Ismailis in the northern regions, which I visited in late 2005. There, I met daughters of illiterate farmers who were educated in the Aga Khan system and applying to Western universities in hopes of becoming doctors, teachers and pilots.
This is heresy, according to a 50-minute Taliban video posted in February, 2014, in which a narrator declares, “The Aga Khan Foundation is running 16 schools and 16 colleges and hostels where young men and women are given free education and brainwashed to keep them away from Islam,” adding that the foundation’s schools and hospitals are espionage tools in the hands of foreign powers.
In the past decade, I have visited Aga Khan projects in East Africa, India, Central Asia and Pakistan. I’ve walked the slums of Karachi, Nairobi and Delhi with dedicated Aga Khan workers and volunteers, seeing them bring hope to areas where the Taliban would bring none. How dare these Ismailis. Many, even in Pakistan, dress in Western clothing. When I was there during Ramadan in 2005, they even served me wine, a gracious display of hospitality to a Westerner during their most observant month of self-discipline.
Today, I weep for the innocent victims on that bus in Karachi. To those who buy into the despicable narrative that paints all practitioners of Islam with the same brush, I can only despair.
scoopnews.in/det.aspx?q=47196
Tragedy descends on Ismailis
By K N Pandita
On Wednesday, a bus carrying about 60 people was on its way from Safoora Chowk in Karachi to Ayesha Manzil Ismaili centre. Six gunmen, dressed in police uniform and riding motor bicycles stopped the bus. They climbed on the bus and one of them yelled “kill them all”. Hell was let loose on innocent people of Ismaili faith. Forty-five were left dead and 13 injured in the attack. The driver was also shot dead, and an injured and bleeding passenger drove the ill-fated bus to the nearest hospital where the injured were admitted for treatment.
In the history of terrorism and communal/sectarian violence in Pakistan, this is the first time that gunmen have made the Ismailis target of their bullets. The dastardly act stands in diametrical opposition to the peaceful and non-violent community that the Ismailis are. The tragic incident brings to my mind six massacres perpetrated by Kashmir terrorists on innocent Kashmiri Pandits during the early phases of terrorism.
Two Pakistan-based terrorist groups, the Pakistan splinter group called Jundullah, and Islamic State (IS), both said they had carried out the attack. However, a little later, Tehreek-i-Taliban-i-Pakistan, that is fighting Pakistan army in Waziristan also claimed responsibility of the attack. This shows that in liquidating Shia community in Pakistan, the main terrorist groups are in complete unison.
Jundullah (literally meaning the “Legions of Allah”) is a splinter group of Pakistani Taliban specifically assigned the duty of carrying Sunni Jihadi fire and brimstone across the western border of Pakistani province of Baluchistan into Iranian part of Baluchistan in the Iranian border town of Zahedan.
On 14 February 2007, Jundullah terrorists had sneaked into Iranian border town of Zahedan and gunned down 18 Shia Iranian Revolutionary Guards almost in identical manner in which they killed 41 Ismaili Shias. Five days later, Iranian authorities announced the execution of one Nasrollah Shanbezehi. He was hanged in public at the site of the bombing. He was said to have been tried and sentenced by a branch of the
Revolutionary Committee.
A day later, on 15 February, Jundullah claimed responsibility for the attack. The Iranian government then arrested five suspects, two of whom were carrying camcorders and grenades when they were arrested, while the police killed the main “agent” of the attack. Among the arrestees was Said Qanbarzehi, a Balochi, who was hanged in Zahedan prison three months later. He had been sentenced to death at the age of 17 along with six other Balochi men. In all 68 persons were indicted and given capital punishment by the Iranian government. Ever since, Jundullah has not had the guts to embark on another killing spree inside Iranian territory.
Who are the Ismailis? Students of Islamic studies have to know the history of Ismailis because it is one of the most important Shia sects that initiated the great intellectual movement of reason and rationality in Islamic society in the 10-11th century A.D.
Ismaili Shias, in common with other Shia Muslims, revere Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, but they also revere the Imam Ismail who died in 765 AD. They consider the house of Aga Khan descending from Imam Ismaili after whom they are called Ismailis. They interpret the Koran symbolically and allegorically. They live in more than 25 different countries.
Spiritual leader Prince Karim Aga Khan is a philanthropist and business magnate. He gives his name to bodies including a university, a foundation, and the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has encouraged Ismailis settled in the industrialized world to contribute to those communities.
Ismailis consider the Aga Khan their hereditary spiritual guide. They mostly inhabit the Himalayan region of northern Pakistan, but also have a significant presence in Karachi where they run businesses and charities, and tend to use community-built accommodation and transport.
A decade ago, I had the opportunity of visiting Badakhshan Mountain ranges in Southern Tajikistan in connection with a seminar organized by the Aga Khan Foundation in the southern town of Khorog with a sizeable population of Ismailis holding steadfast to their traditional culture. It was during this seminar that I had the opportunity of meeting and talking to Prince Aga Khan for a while.
Contribution of Ismailis to rational sciences in Islamic civilization has not been surpassed so far despite the fact that this contribution began as early as the 10th-11th century A.D. Central Asian and Iranian thinkers of those times had drunk deep from the fountain of Greek philosophers, Plato, Aristotle, Galen, Hippocrates, Plotinus and others whose renowned works in Greek were translated by the polyglots of the day into Arabic. These Arabic texts of Greek masters generated the urge for logic and reason among the Muslim scholars of Central Asia and Iran. Thus began the age of reason in Islamic history, and a host of Ismaili scholars led by great philosophers like Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, Al-Farabi, al-Kindi, Abul Haitham and others laid great stress after Greek philosophers, on logic as the key to all knowledge. They went to the extent of saying that delicate and sensitive theosophical matters like prophet-hood, scriptures, mythological lore, miracles etc. all could be debated through the instrument of logic.
Obviously, when Ismailis dragged logic to that extent, the orthodoxy retaliated and it was with the emergence of Al-Ghazali in 12th century A.D that opposition to logic and the process of reason began and blind faith attained dominance with the Muslims. Supported by the muscle of feudal structure of Muslim society of Iran, Khurasan and Central Asia of those days, the era of reason receded but the struggle for supremacy of reason was carried surreptitiously by the Ismailis for a long time.
In fact the turmoil and conflict that we find within the Islamic fold today is the spill-over of the conflict that began in 12th century. Modern times being the age of advanced science and technology, have exacerbated the conflict and the orthodoxy feels that it can survive through the unleashing of violence only.
This is why the Jundullah and TTP bear a grudge against the Ismailis. They targeted a large number of Ismailis in Karachi. But given the international influence and reach of Prince Aga Khan and the great humanitarian works that his Foundation is doing in many parts of the world including Karachi, the massacre is bound to cause ripples in Pakistan politics. This is the reason why the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Army chief both lost no time in flying into Karachi to take stock of things.
Interesting to note is that it was the Aga Khan Foundation unit in the University of Karachi that had deputed a team of surveyors to examine the possibility of establishing overland connection between Pakistan and Tajikistan. Even behind the contemplated project of supply of Rogan electricity in Tajikistan to Pakistan is the hand of Aga Khan.
It is a travesty that a people and their organizations committed to rendering support for the development of Pakistan and other societies are made the target of bullets by the terrorists.
(The author is a well-known Professor, Scholar, Political Analyst and a Columnist on national and international affairs; He is not only the first Kashmiri to obtain Ph.D. from Teheran University but is also the first to have worked in close collaboration with a number of Central Asian Academies of Science particularly the Tajik Academy. His travelogue titled My Tajik Friends won him Sovietland Nehru Award 1987)
(Opinions expressed in write-ups/articles/Letters are the sole responsibility of the authors and they may not represent the Scoop News)
Tragedy descends on Ismailis
By K N Pandita
On Wednesday, a bus carrying about 60 people was on its way from Safoora Chowk in Karachi to Ayesha Manzil Ismaili centre. Six gunmen, dressed in police uniform and riding motor bicycles stopped the bus. They climbed on the bus and one of them yelled “kill them all”. Hell was let loose on innocent people of Ismaili faith. Forty-five were left dead and 13 injured in the attack. The driver was also shot dead, and an injured and bleeding passenger drove the ill-fated bus to the nearest hospital where the injured were admitted for treatment.
In the history of terrorism and communal/sectarian violence in Pakistan, this is the first time that gunmen have made the Ismailis target of their bullets. The dastardly act stands in diametrical opposition to the peaceful and non-violent community that the Ismailis are. The tragic incident brings to my mind six massacres perpetrated by Kashmir terrorists on innocent Kashmiri Pandits during the early phases of terrorism.
Two Pakistan-based terrorist groups, the Pakistan splinter group called Jundullah, and Islamic State (IS), both said they had carried out the attack. However, a little later, Tehreek-i-Taliban-i-Pakistan, that is fighting Pakistan army in Waziristan also claimed responsibility of the attack. This shows that in liquidating Shia community in Pakistan, the main terrorist groups are in complete unison.
Jundullah (literally meaning the “Legions of Allah”) is a splinter group of Pakistani Taliban specifically assigned the duty of carrying Sunni Jihadi fire and brimstone across the western border of Pakistani province of Baluchistan into Iranian part of Baluchistan in the Iranian border town of Zahedan.
On 14 February 2007, Jundullah terrorists had sneaked into Iranian border town of Zahedan and gunned down 18 Shia Iranian Revolutionary Guards almost in identical manner in which they killed 41 Ismaili Shias. Five days later, Iranian authorities announced the execution of one Nasrollah Shanbezehi. He was hanged in public at the site of the bombing. He was said to have been tried and sentenced by a branch of the
Revolutionary Committee.
A day later, on 15 February, Jundullah claimed responsibility for the attack. The Iranian government then arrested five suspects, two of whom were carrying camcorders and grenades when they were arrested, while the police killed the main “agent” of the attack. Among the arrestees was Said Qanbarzehi, a Balochi, who was hanged in Zahedan prison three months later. He had been sentenced to death at the age of 17 along with six other Balochi men. In all 68 persons were indicted and given capital punishment by the Iranian government. Ever since, Jundullah has not had the guts to embark on another killing spree inside Iranian territory.
Who are the Ismailis? Students of Islamic studies have to know the history of Ismailis because it is one of the most important Shia sects that initiated the great intellectual movement of reason and rationality in Islamic society in the 10-11th century A.D.
Ismaili Shias, in common with other Shia Muslims, revere Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, but they also revere the Imam Ismail who died in 765 AD. They consider the house of Aga Khan descending from Imam Ismaili after whom they are called Ismailis. They interpret the Koran symbolically and allegorically. They live in more than 25 different countries.
Spiritual leader Prince Karim Aga Khan is a philanthropist and business magnate. He gives his name to bodies including a university, a foundation, and the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has encouraged Ismailis settled in the industrialized world to contribute to those communities.
Ismailis consider the Aga Khan their hereditary spiritual guide. They mostly inhabit the Himalayan region of northern Pakistan, but also have a significant presence in Karachi where they run businesses and charities, and tend to use community-built accommodation and transport.
A decade ago, I had the opportunity of visiting Badakhshan Mountain ranges in Southern Tajikistan in connection with a seminar organized by the Aga Khan Foundation in the southern town of Khorog with a sizeable population of Ismailis holding steadfast to their traditional culture. It was during this seminar that I had the opportunity of meeting and talking to Prince Aga Khan for a while.
Contribution of Ismailis to rational sciences in Islamic civilization has not been surpassed so far despite the fact that this contribution began as early as the 10th-11th century A.D. Central Asian and Iranian thinkers of those times had drunk deep from the fountain of Greek philosophers, Plato, Aristotle, Galen, Hippocrates, Plotinus and others whose renowned works in Greek were translated by the polyglots of the day into Arabic. These Arabic texts of Greek masters generated the urge for logic and reason among the Muslim scholars of Central Asia and Iran. Thus began the age of reason in Islamic history, and a host of Ismaili scholars led by great philosophers like Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, Al-Farabi, al-Kindi, Abul Haitham and others laid great stress after Greek philosophers, on logic as the key to all knowledge. They went to the extent of saying that delicate and sensitive theosophical matters like prophet-hood, scriptures, mythological lore, miracles etc. all could be debated through the instrument of logic.
Obviously, when Ismailis dragged logic to that extent, the orthodoxy retaliated and it was with the emergence of Al-Ghazali in 12th century A.D that opposition to logic and the process of reason began and blind faith attained dominance with the Muslims. Supported by the muscle of feudal structure of Muslim society of Iran, Khurasan and Central Asia of those days, the era of reason receded but the struggle for supremacy of reason was carried surreptitiously by the Ismailis for a long time.
In fact the turmoil and conflict that we find within the Islamic fold today is the spill-over of the conflict that began in 12th century. Modern times being the age of advanced science and technology, have exacerbated the conflict and the orthodoxy feels that it can survive through the unleashing of violence only.
This is why the Jundullah and TTP bear a grudge against the Ismailis. They targeted a large number of Ismailis in Karachi. But given the international influence and reach of Prince Aga Khan and the great humanitarian works that his Foundation is doing in many parts of the world including Karachi, the massacre is bound to cause ripples in Pakistan politics. This is the reason why the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Army chief both lost no time in flying into Karachi to take stock of things.
Interesting to note is that it was the Aga Khan Foundation unit in the University of Karachi that had deputed a team of surveyors to examine the possibility of establishing overland connection between Pakistan and Tajikistan. Even behind the contemplated project of supply of Rogan electricity in Tajikistan to Pakistan is the hand of Aga Khan.
It is a travesty that a people and their organizations committed to rendering support for the development of Pakistan and other societies are made the target of bullets by the terrorists.
(The author is a well-known Professor, Scholar, Political Analyst and a Columnist on national and international affairs; He is not only the first Kashmiri to obtain Ph.D. from Teheran University but is also the first to have worked in close collaboration with a number of Central Asian Academies of Science particularly the Tajik Academy. His travelogue titled My Tajik Friends won him Sovietland Nehru Award 1987)
(Opinions expressed in write-ups/articles/Letters are the sole responsibility of the authors and they may not represent the Scoop News)
In the name of God, the Beneficial, the Merciful.
The Canadian Council of Muslim Women is devastated to hear of the murders of Muslims of the Ismaili community in Karachi on May 13,2015.
Children, women and men were returning home on a bus, when about 6 attackers boarded the bus and started shooting indiscriminately killing
43 people and wounding 19 others. A militant group called Jundallah –Soldiers of God- has claimed responsibility.
Tragically, these murders are only one of a string of killings of Muslims by other Muslims, only because one group differs from another.
What a mockery these Muslims are making of the teachings of Islam, and how tragic that there seems to be no leadership which can counterbalance such violence and hatred.
Some Muslims only pay heed to those parts of the Quran which are about conflict and strife, without any deep understanding of the context of these Quranic verses.
Why don’t these people read the innumerable verses about tolerance and acceptance of diversity?
For example, that God has ordained MERCY on himself, not justice, not revenge not punishment, but mercy.
So who are these people who so mistakenly take on the role of soldiers of God to kill His believers?
What have they achieved, except for more strife and hatred ?
God’s statements in the Quran encompass all peoples, including all Muslims, when He says,
“Among God’s wonders is the creation of the heavens and earth, and the diversity of your tongues and colours; for in this, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are possessed of innate knowledge.”
And again,
“For every community faces a direction of its own, of which God is the focal point. Vie therefore with one another in doing good works.”
Read what God states in the Quran,
“Those who believe and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, and do righteous deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.”
If God is so compassionate in acknowledging the differences between communities, then surely God is cognizant of diversity amongst Muslims.
These differences do not divide us but show how wonderful is the creation of God.
We are saddened to have to pray for these innocent Muslims and can only say - Inna lillahi wa inna illaihi rajioon – From God we have come and to God we shall return.
As the Canadian Council of Muslim Women we are proud to embrace our diversity and not that which divide us.
The Canadian Council of Muslim Women is devastated to hear of the murders of Muslims of the Ismaili community in Karachi on May 13,2015.
Children, women and men were returning home on a bus, when about 6 attackers boarded the bus and started shooting indiscriminately killing
43 people and wounding 19 others. A militant group called Jundallah –Soldiers of God- has claimed responsibility.
Tragically, these murders are only one of a string of killings of Muslims by other Muslims, only because one group differs from another.
What a mockery these Muslims are making of the teachings of Islam, and how tragic that there seems to be no leadership which can counterbalance such violence and hatred.
Some Muslims only pay heed to those parts of the Quran which are about conflict and strife, without any deep understanding of the context of these Quranic verses.
Why don’t these people read the innumerable verses about tolerance and acceptance of diversity?
For example, that God has ordained MERCY on himself, not justice, not revenge not punishment, but mercy.
So who are these people who so mistakenly take on the role of soldiers of God to kill His believers?
What have they achieved, except for more strife and hatred ?
God’s statements in the Quran encompass all peoples, including all Muslims, when He says,
“Among God’s wonders is the creation of the heavens and earth, and the diversity of your tongues and colours; for in this, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are possessed of innate knowledge.”
And again,
“For every community faces a direction of its own, of which God is the focal point. Vie therefore with one another in doing good works.”
Read what God states in the Quran,
“Those who believe and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, and do righteous deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.”
If God is so compassionate in acknowledging the differences between communities, then surely God is cognizant of diversity amongst Muslims.
These differences do not divide us but show how wonderful is the creation of God.
We are saddened to have to pray for these innocent Muslims and can only say - Inna lillahi wa inna illaihi rajioon – From God we have come and to God we shall return.
As the Canadian Council of Muslim Women we are proud to embrace our diversity and not that which divide us.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/05/20 ... at-killed/
World
Pakistan arrests suspects in attack that killed 47 Shiites
Published May 20, 2015Associated Press
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan's interior minister on Wednesday announced a breakthrough in the case of last week's Karachi bus attack that killed 47 minority Shiite Muslims, saying police have arrested the suspected mastermind and several gunmen involved in the assault.
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan's announcement in Islamabad came just hours after the army said it had killed 13 militants in airstrikes in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
Khan said the arrests were the result of an "excellent coordination between police and intelligence agencies" in Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital. The minister did not say when the arrests were made or give any details on the affiliation of the gunmen. He said some of those arrested confessed to taking part in the attack.
Both a Pakistani militant group linked to the Islamic State, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria, and a Pakistani Taliban splinter group have claimed responsibility for the May 13 assault during which gunmen stormed a bus with members of the Ismaili Shiite branch, forced them to bow their heads, then shot and killed them.
Sindh province's chief minister, Qaim Ali Shah, said during a televised news conference Wednesday that the arrested men were the same people who last month killed Sabeen Mahmud, a women's rights activist gunned down after she hosted a discussion forum about nationalists in the country's Baluchistan region, which has been engulfed in a low-level insurgency for years.
Mahmud's killing drew international condemnation.
Earlier Wednesday, the military said its jets killed 13 militants in latest airstrikes near the Datta Khel village in North Waziristan, where the army has been carrying out a major operation against local and foreign militants since last June.
There were no further details on the identity of the suspected militants. Pakistani tribal areas are off limits to journalists.
North Waziristan was once considered to be the headquarters of the Pakistani Taliban, who have been trying to overthrow the government. Pakistan says it has cleared 90 percent of the region since launching the June 15 operation.
World
Pakistan arrests suspects in attack that killed 47 Shiites
Published May 20, 2015Associated Press
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan's interior minister on Wednesday announced a breakthrough in the case of last week's Karachi bus attack that killed 47 minority Shiite Muslims, saying police have arrested the suspected mastermind and several gunmen involved in the assault.
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan's announcement in Islamabad came just hours after the army said it had killed 13 militants in airstrikes in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
Khan said the arrests were the result of an "excellent coordination between police and intelligence agencies" in Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital. The minister did not say when the arrests were made or give any details on the affiliation of the gunmen. He said some of those arrested confessed to taking part in the attack.
Both a Pakistani militant group linked to the Islamic State, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria, and a Pakistani Taliban splinter group have claimed responsibility for the May 13 assault during which gunmen stormed a bus with members of the Ismaili Shiite branch, forced them to bow their heads, then shot and killed them.
Sindh province's chief minister, Qaim Ali Shah, said during a televised news conference Wednesday that the arrested men were the same people who last month killed Sabeen Mahmud, a women's rights activist gunned down after she hosted a discussion forum about nationalists in the country's Baluchistan region, which has been engulfed in a low-level insurgency for years.
Mahmud's killing drew international condemnation.
Earlier Wednesday, the military said its jets killed 13 militants in latest airstrikes near the Datta Khel village in North Waziristan, where the army has been carrying out a major operation against local and foreign militants since last June.
There were no further details on the identity of the suspected militants. Pakistani tribal areas are off limits to journalists.
North Waziristan was once considered to be the headquarters of the Pakistani Taliban, who have been trying to overthrow the government. Pakistan says it has cleared 90 percent of the region since launching the June 15 operation.
Pakistani Americans Stand in Solidarity With Victimized Isma
http://www.newsindiatimes.com/pakistani ... d-ismailis
News India Tims - seen on 2015-06-02
Pakistani Americans Stand in Solidarity With Victimized Ismailis
SKOKIE, Ill.
A public seminar was hosted by Muhammad Tauseef Siddiqui of Ay- Zindagi Radio Chicago here at the Holiday Inn, May 20, to show solidarity with and grief for families of the 44 unarmed Ismailis, including women and a child, killed at the bus attack in Safoora Goth, Karachi, Pakistan, May 13. The atrocity was thoroughly condemned as a cowardly act of terrorism by community leaders, members of various political parties, and also by Vice Consul-General of Pakistan in Chicago and master of ceremonies Saman Muneeb. The press release was from Pakistan Times reporter Syed Khalil Ullah.
“We strongly condemn the attack and express deep sorrow over the loss of innocent lives. We will support efforts to bring all those responsible to justice and stand ready to provide assistance to the investigation,” said Muneed.
The evening began with Qur’an recitation by Chaudhry Riaz and poetic praise (hamd) of God by Amjed Rana. A minute of silence was observed for the victims.
“We are here today to strongly condemn the heinous attack on a bus in Karachi, resulting in the deaths of dozens of members of the Ismaili community. Chicago Pakistanis stand with the Ismaili community,” said Siddiqui. “Only conducting meetings to condemn is not a solution for this tragedy. We need to do practical work, get all resources together,” said Abdul Jabbar Memon, an Ismaili.
“I am from Karachi and know the Ismaili community since I was a child. They are a peaceful community and in many respects the pride of our society,” said Naim Ahmed, member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who is also on the Council of Pakistan American Affairs. “Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah, Aga Khan III, 48th Imam, helped institute Aligarh Muslim University. Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan, made lasting contributions to world politics for the benefit of Muslims. He was a founder and first president of All-India Muslim League. This attack is not on the Ismaili community but on the 20 crore Pakistani people,” he added. “The founder of our nation Muhammad Ali Jinnah belonged to the Ismaili community,” observed Jameel Ahmed Khan, chairman of Pakistan Parade Committee
Other speakers were Arshad Mirza, Ali Akhter (Chairman and Deputy Secretary of PTI North America), Younus Salman (leader of MQM Chicago). Amir Chaudhary (leader of PML Nawaz), Mirza Nusrat Husain (president of PPP Illinois), Shohail Shams (MQM Chicago) and Iqbal Jamsaid. Among the participants from across Chicagoland were Hameed Ullah Khan, Herbert Frances, Asif Saleem, Ejaz Khan, Kamran Siddiqui, Saleem Mukhi, Nasir Shaikh, Zafar Manhia, Shoaib Hassan, Javed Riaz, Athasham Nizami and Jamal Siddiqui.
The closing supplication was performed by Ahmed Kareem Jhangra.
News India Tims - seen on 2015-06-02
Pakistani Americans Stand in Solidarity With Victimized Ismailis
SKOKIE, Ill.
A public seminar was hosted by Muhammad Tauseef Siddiqui of Ay- Zindagi Radio Chicago here at the Holiday Inn, May 20, to show solidarity with and grief for families of the 44 unarmed Ismailis, including women and a child, killed at the bus attack in Safoora Goth, Karachi, Pakistan, May 13. The atrocity was thoroughly condemned as a cowardly act of terrorism by community leaders, members of various political parties, and also by Vice Consul-General of Pakistan in Chicago and master of ceremonies Saman Muneeb. The press release was from Pakistan Times reporter Syed Khalil Ullah.
“We strongly condemn the attack and express deep sorrow over the loss of innocent lives. We will support efforts to bring all those responsible to justice and stand ready to provide assistance to the investigation,” said Muneed.
The evening began with Qur’an recitation by Chaudhry Riaz and poetic praise (hamd) of God by Amjed Rana. A minute of silence was observed for the victims.
“We are here today to strongly condemn the heinous attack on a bus in Karachi, resulting in the deaths of dozens of members of the Ismaili community. Chicago Pakistanis stand with the Ismaili community,” said Siddiqui. “Only conducting meetings to condemn is not a solution for this tragedy. We need to do practical work, get all resources together,” said Abdul Jabbar Memon, an Ismaili.
“I am from Karachi and know the Ismaili community since I was a child. They are a peaceful community and in many respects the pride of our society,” said Naim Ahmed, member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who is also on the Council of Pakistan American Affairs. “Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah, Aga Khan III, 48th Imam, helped institute Aligarh Muslim University. Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan, made lasting contributions to world politics for the benefit of Muslims. He was a founder and first president of All-India Muslim League. This attack is not on the Ismaili community but on the 20 crore Pakistani people,” he added. “The founder of our nation Muhammad Ali Jinnah belonged to the Ismaili community,” observed Jameel Ahmed Khan, chairman of Pakistan Parade Committee
Other speakers were Arshad Mirza, Ali Akhter (Chairman and Deputy Secretary of PTI North America), Younus Salman (leader of MQM Chicago). Amir Chaudhary (leader of PML Nawaz), Mirza Nusrat Husain (president of PPP Illinois), Shohail Shams (MQM Chicago) and Iqbal Jamsaid. Among the participants from across Chicagoland were Hameed Ullah Khan, Herbert Frances, Asif Saleem, Ejaz Khan, Kamran Siddiqui, Saleem Mukhi, Nasir Shaikh, Zafar Manhia, Shoaib Hassan, Javed Riaz, Athasham Nizami and Jamal Siddiqui.
The closing supplication was performed by Ahmed Kareem Jhangra.
Getting the Motives Right
By Hussein Rashid
The recent attack against Ismaili Muslims in Karachi, Pakistan, will be read by most as part of a simple narrative of an ongoing Sunni-Shi’ah conflict. Unfortunately, as consistent fear-mongering has demonstrated with Sharia, bandying about non-English words conveys a facade of knowledge without any guarantee of any actual understanding. As is the case with most political violence, here is more to this attack than a simple retelling of a religious clash. There is a deeper history that is masked by using inappropriate vocabulary, and misusing it is allowing the most extreme voices to set the agenda.
Contrary to popular opinion, history shows that there is not a 1,400-year old conflict between Sunni and Shi’ah. Instead, we need to understand the violence in Pakistan as having a strong political rationale. To miss what this attack was about allows slogans about Islam to triumph over real knowledge of the religion and region, dishonors the victims of terrorism and ultimately weakens U.S. national security.
The Ismaili community is a small Shi’ah community that is different from the Ithna’ashari, or Twelver, Shi’ah community that dominates in Iraq and Iran. It is the only Shi’ah community to have a present, living Imam, (a divinely appointed successor to Prophet Muhammad) in the Aga Khan.
The office of the Shi’ah Imam, not to be confused with the Sunni imam, or prayer leader, represents one of the greatest threats to movements like Daesh, otherwise known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Daesh has a nihilist vision of an Islam that can only destroy, not construct, and their use of grandiose titles like “Islamic State” and “caliph” are flailing attempts to show they can build, not just kill. Shi’ah communities, like Sufi orders, offer an alternative authority structure and vision of what it means to be Muslim to the nihilists. There are important theological differences, and these are manifest in the histories that are told and the actions that communities take.
The key is that as long as Shi’ah and Sufi groups exist, with their structures, hierarchies, and well-established means of interacting with the outside world, nihilists cannot claim to be the sole and logical representation of “Islam” in the world. The Aga Khan, for example, established one of the largest hospital networks in Pakistan, a constructive and ethical engagement with the faith. This story is less often told in the media when juxtaposed against ISIS’ atrocities.
Even a week after the attacks in Pakistan, we still do not know who is responsible for them. There are many groups who want to claim credit for these attacks because these nihilist groups offer nothing but death, and they reap political benefits if they can say they are the most destructive. They are operationally interchangeable and can only compete in the realm of body counts. They benefit when we describe Muslim communities as “sects” because that implies a true Islam to which they can lay claim. This naming is not part of the Muslim tradition — it only gives the nihilists legitimacy.
All of these groups are the spawn of the Wahhabi movement. This movement, which originated in the 18th century, and eventually rose to power by allying with the British Empire to kill rival Muslims, cannot be considered Sunni. It represents an innovation, creating a new community of interpretation.
The terrorist attack that killed 47 Muslims, many women and children, continues to demonstrate the depravity of nihilist groups. However, to read it as part of an ongoing conflict rooted in theology makes too easy an analogy between Christianity and Islam and misses the deeper lessons. We need to move beyond simple labels of Sunni and Shi’ah, and not give the most depraved elements of a society and opportunity to claim legitimacy for themselves.
Hussein Rashid is a professor of religion at Hofstra University, a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow with the Truman National Security Project. He works at the intersection of religion, art and national identity. Views expressed are his own.
http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2015/05/2 ... ves-right/
By Hussein Rashid
The recent attack against Ismaili Muslims in Karachi, Pakistan, will be read by most as part of a simple narrative of an ongoing Sunni-Shi’ah conflict. Unfortunately, as consistent fear-mongering has demonstrated with Sharia, bandying about non-English words conveys a facade of knowledge without any guarantee of any actual understanding. As is the case with most political violence, here is more to this attack than a simple retelling of a religious clash. There is a deeper history that is masked by using inappropriate vocabulary, and misusing it is allowing the most extreme voices to set the agenda.
Contrary to popular opinion, history shows that there is not a 1,400-year old conflict between Sunni and Shi’ah. Instead, we need to understand the violence in Pakistan as having a strong political rationale. To miss what this attack was about allows slogans about Islam to triumph over real knowledge of the religion and region, dishonors the victims of terrorism and ultimately weakens U.S. national security.
The Ismaili community is a small Shi’ah community that is different from the Ithna’ashari, or Twelver, Shi’ah community that dominates in Iraq and Iran. It is the only Shi’ah community to have a present, living Imam, (a divinely appointed successor to Prophet Muhammad) in the Aga Khan.
The office of the Shi’ah Imam, not to be confused with the Sunni imam, or prayer leader, represents one of the greatest threats to movements like Daesh, otherwise known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Daesh has a nihilist vision of an Islam that can only destroy, not construct, and their use of grandiose titles like “Islamic State” and “caliph” are flailing attempts to show they can build, not just kill. Shi’ah communities, like Sufi orders, offer an alternative authority structure and vision of what it means to be Muslim to the nihilists. There are important theological differences, and these are manifest in the histories that are told and the actions that communities take.
The key is that as long as Shi’ah and Sufi groups exist, with their structures, hierarchies, and well-established means of interacting with the outside world, nihilists cannot claim to be the sole and logical representation of “Islam” in the world. The Aga Khan, for example, established one of the largest hospital networks in Pakistan, a constructive and ethical engagement with the faith. This story is less often told in the media when juxtaposed against ISIS’ atrocities.
Even a week after the attacks in Pakistan, we still do not know who is responsible for them. There are many groups who want to claim credit for these attacks because these nihilist groups offer nothing but death, and they reap political benefits if they can say they are the most destructive. They are operationally interchangeable and can only compete in the realm of body counts. They benefit when we describe Muslim communities as “sects” because that implies a true Islam to which they can lay claim. This naming is not part of the Muslim tradition — it only gives the nihilists legitimacy.
All of these groups are the spawn of the Wahhabi movement. This movement, which originated in the 18th century, and eventually rose to power by allying with the British Empire to kill rival Muslims, cannot be considered Sunni. It represents an innovation, creating a new community of interpretation.
The terrorist attack that killed 47 Muslims, many women and children, continues to demonstrate the depravity of nihilist groups. However, to read it as part of an ongoing conflict rooted in theology makes too easy an analogy between Christianity and Islam and misses the deeper lessons. We need to move beyond simple labels of Sunni and Shi’ah, and not give the most depraved elements of a society and opportunity to claim legitimacy for themselves.
Hussein Rashid is a professor of religion at Hofstra University, a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow with the Truman National Security Project. He works at the intersection of religion, art and national identity. Views expressed are his own.
http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2015/05/2 ... ves-right/
11th June 2015
23rd Mahe Shabaan 1436 A.H.
Dear Respected Members,
Salamun Alaykum
Kindly find the attached letter of condolence sent to the Aga Khan Foundation by the AFED Chairman and the letter of acknowledgement from the Aga Khan Development Network.
Respectfully,
Mombasa Jamaat Secretariat
To download this letter of condolence by the AFED Chairman please click here
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/9299f6797 ... 4f47f7.jpg
To download the letter of acknowledgement please click here
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/9299f6797 ... f23015.jpg
23rd Mahe Shabaan 1436 A.H.
Dear Respected Members,
Salamun Alaykum
Kindly find the attached letter of condolence sent to the Aga Khan Foundation by the AFED Chairman and the letter of acknowledgement from the Aga Khan Development Network.
Respectfully,
Mombasa Jamaat Secretariat
To download this letter of condolence by the AFED Chairman please click here
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/9299f6797 ... 4f47f7.jpg
To download the letter of acknowledgement please click here
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/9299f6797 ... f23015.jpg
thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-319508-Pakistan-of-the-Ismailis
Pakistan of the Ismailis
Zaigham Khan
Friday, May 22, 2015
[Pakistan of the Ismailis] The past is another country, and 1906 is located at a distance of more than a century. In that eventful year, the imam of the small Ismaili Muslim community led the process of forming a political platform for South Asian Muslims at a meeting of the All-India Muhammadan Educational Conference in Dhaka. Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III suggested the name of the party – All India Muslim League – and was elected its first president.
Seven years later, a young Mumbai based lawyer, also belonging to the Ismaili community, left the Indian National Congress and joined the party founded by his spiritual leader. We know how this charismatic lawyer turned the party into the voice of Indian Muslims and changed the course of history by founding a new state 34 years later when he was a terminally ill old man.
Sometime before Jinnah returned triumphantly to the city of his birth as the father of the new nation, some Hindu families in my village in District Muzaffargarh were facing a dilemma. Like hundreds, perhaps thousands of Hindu families in India, they had revered Ismaili imams as their spiritual mentors. Keeping with the tradition of mysticism in India, Aga Khan had never asked them to convert. But these were different times, and Aga Khan had finally ordered them to convert to Islam if they wanted to keep the connection. They found it easier to leave their religion than disobey their spiritual mentor. With the help of local Muslims, they converted to Islam in a simple ceremony held at a Sunni mosque, though they chose to embrace the Ismaili denomination.
As a schoolgoing boy, I would meet some men from these families at the Deobandi Jamia mosque where they used to pray every Friday with other Muslims. Everyone knew that Ismails were required to say their prayers at the largest Muslim mosque in the area if a mosque of their own denomination was not available. These Ismaili families later shifted to Multan where they became part of the thriving Ismaili business community.
Multan, the historic city they shifted to, was itself once a centre of Ismaili dawat (preaching). In fact, Ismailis had set up a Muslim state in the area more than a thousand years ago that was terminated violently in 1010 AD by Mahmud Ghaznavi, revered in our textbooks for desecrating a Hindu temple. One of the major shrines in Multan also belongs to a 13th century Ismaili saint, Pir Shams Sabzwari, visited by Muslims of all denominations.
Going back to my own Deobandi mosque, I saw Ismailis praying there till the 1980s, the decade when the Middle East, with its heavy baggage of violent sectarian history, arrived in this part of South Asia. In 1990, a 14-year-old boy killed a crippled Shia worshipper at a Sunni mosque in Muzaffargarh considering his regular presence an abomination for the sacred place. Incidentally, the mosque was built by the Shia owners of a nearby factory.
I went to interview the boy at the district prison. He appeared unrepentant and told me that he was inspired by speeches of a sectarian religious leader based in Jhang. A local lawyer explained to me how leaders of the sectarian organisation patronising the boy had easy access to the district administration and received half a dozen arms licences every day.
Starting its journey as an Islamic state, Pakistan by now had become a sectarian state where Ismailis, along with Shias and non-Muslim minorities, were misfits. Takfiri fatwas, that declare individuals and rival sects to be infidels, are a very old hobby of our religious entities. Some clerics used to call Jinnah Kafir-e-Azam – the Great Infidel – as a retort to his popular title. In the case of Iqbal, clerics had gone much further with Maulvi Abu Muhammad Didar Ali, khateeb of the Wazir Khan mosque in Lahore, issuing a proper fatwa declaring Iqbal an infidel. Interestingly, in the case of His Highness Aga Khan, it was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who raised the question of him not being a perfect Muslim while Iqbal defended his teachings through an article.
For South Asian Muslims, such confrontations were more of an amusing sideshow, not something that affected their day to day lives. Unlike the Middle East where empires with rival sectarian allegiances had created much bad blood, in South Asia there was enough space for Lal Shahbaz Qalandar to turn himself into an eagle and fly unhindered and for Shah Waliullah to carry out his scholarly work.
What changed things in Pakistan for Ismailis – and for everyone else – was the attitude of the state. Over time, the Pakistani state has assumed a sectarian character and its religious institutions have become blatantly sectarian. Take the example of the so-called International Islamic University in Islamabad. How this university employs followers of one sect and promotes teachings of that specific sect to its students has never been a secret. A recent report of an intelligence agency leaked to the media points out that the university “intentionally promotes sectarian doctrine at its campus”. And we are talking of a state-owned and run ‘premier centre of Islamic learning’ with the president of Pakistan as its chancellor.
On the more practical side, the state has patronised militant jihadi organisations belonging to a small number of sects. Thanks to these organisations, some of whom have fallen from grace while others remain precious assets, the takfiri fatwas are no longer empty edicts; they are backed by the firepower of extremist organisations that can easily cow down state institutions and functionaries. No wonder the attack on Ismailis in Karachi was preceded by a fatwa against the whole denomination from one of the country’s largest and most influential madressahs. The head of the same madressah has also issued a fatwa against a federal minister who has been forced to explain his position like a chastised schoolboy.
Violent extremism is only a fruit of the tree the state itself had planted. Perhaps the biggest challenge of our times is to de-sectarianise the Pakistani state and return it to the joint ownership of all Muslims denominations and followers of other faiths. The way Ismailis have maintained stoic silence over the brutality wreaked on the community says a lot about the environment of fear that surrounds them.
Once upon a time, His Highness Aga Khan and Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah gave voice to the aspirations of all Muslims of South Asia. It is now our turn to speak on behalf of our Ismaili brothers and sisters.
Pakistan of the Ismailis
Zaigham Khan
Friday, May 22, 2015
[Pakistan of the Ismailis] The past is another country, and 1906 is located at a distance of more than a century. In that eventful year, the imam of the small Ismaili Muslim community led the process of forming a political platform for South Asian Muslims at a meeting of the All-India Muhammadan Educational Conference in Dhaka. Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III suggested the name of the party – All India Muslim League – and was elected its first president.
Seven years later, a young Mumbai based lawyer, also belonging to the Ismaili community, left the Indian National Congress and joined the party founded by his spiritual leader. We know how this charismatic lawyer turned the party into the voice of Indian Muslims and changed the course of history by founding a new state 34 years later when he was a terminally ill old man.
Sometime before Jinnah returned triumphantly to the city of his birth as the father of the new nation, some Hindu families in my village in District Muzaffargarh were facing a dilemma. Like hundreds, perhaps thousands of Hindu families in India, they had revered Ismaili imams as their spiritual mentors. Keeping with the tradition of mysticism in India, Aga Khan had never asked them to convert. But these were different times, and Aga Khan had finally ordered them to convert to Islam if they wanted to keep the connection. They found it easier to leave their religion than disobey their spiritual mentor. With the help of local Muslims, they converted to Islam in a simple ceremony held at a Sunni mosque, though they chose to embrace the Ismaili denomination.
As a schoolgoing boy, I would meet some men from these families at the Deobandi Jamia mosque where they used to pray every Friday with other Muslims. Everyone knew that Ismails were required to say their prayers at the largest Muslim mosque in the area if a mosque of their own denomination was not available. These Ismaili families later shifted to Multan where they became part of the thriving Ismaili business community.
Multan, the historic city they shifted to, was itself once a centre of Ismaili dawat (preaching). In fact, Ismailis had set up a Muslim state in the area more than a thousand years ago that was terminated violently in 1010 AD by Mahmud Ghaznavi, revered in our textbooks for desecrating a Hindu temple. One of the major shrines in Multan also belongs to a 13th century Ismaili saint, Pir Shams Sabzwari, visited by Muslims of all denominations.
Going back to my own Deobandi mosque, I saw Ismailis praying there till the 1980s, the decade when the Middle East, with its heavy baggage of violent sectarian history, arrived in this part of South Asia. In 1990, a 14-year-old boy killed a crippled Shia worshipper at a Sunni mosque in Muzaffargarh considering his regular presence an abomination for the sacred place. Incidentally, the mosque was built by the Shia owners of a nearby factory.
I went to interview the boy at the district prison. He appeared unrepentant and told me that he was inspired by speeches of a sectarian religious leader based in Jhang. A local lawyer explained to me how leaders of the sectarian organisation patronising the boy had easy access to the district administration and received half a dozen arms licences every day.
Starting its journey as an Islamic state, Pakistan by now had become a sectarian state where Ismailis, along with Shias and non-Muslim minorities, were misfits. Takfiri fatwas, that declare individuals and rival sects to be infidels, are a very old hobby of our religious entities. Some clerics used to call Jinnah Kafir-e-Azam – the Great Infidel – as a retort to his popular title. In the case of Iqbal, clerics had gone much further with Maulvi Abu Muhammad Didar Ali, khateeb of the Wazir Khan mosque in Lahore, issuing a proper fatwa declaring Iqbal an infidel. Interestingly, in the case of His Highness Aga Khan, it was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who raised the question of him not being a perfect Muslim while Iqbal defended his teachings through an article.
For South Asian Muslims, such confrontations were more of an amusing sideshow, not something that affected their day to day lives. Unlike the Middle East where empires with rival sectarian allegiances had created much bad blood, in South Asia there was enough space for Lal Shahbaz Qalandar to turn himself into an eagle and fly unhindered and for Shah Waliullah to carry out his scholarly work.
What changed things in Pakistan for Ismailis – and for everyone else – was the attitude of the state. Over time, the Pakistani state has assumed a sectarian character and its religious institutions have become blatantly sectarian. Take the example of the so-called International Islamic University in Islamabad. How this university employs followers of one sect and promotes teachings of that specific sect to its students has never been a secret. A recent report of an intelligence agency leaked to the media points out that the university “intentionally promotes sectarian doctrine at its campus”. And we are talking of a state-owned and run ‘premier centre of Islamic learning’ with the president of Pakistan as its chancellor.
On the more practical side, the state has patronised militant jihadi organisations belonging to a small number of sects. Thanks to these organisations, some of whom have fallen from grace while others remain precious assets, the takfiri fatwas are no longer empty edicts; they are backed by the firepower of extremist organisations that can easily cow down state institutions and functionaries. No wonder the attack on Ismailis in Karachi was preceded by a fatwa against the whole denomination from one of the country’s largest and most influential madressahs. The head of the same madressah has also issued a fatwa against a federal minister who has been forced to explain his position like a chastised schoolboy.
Violent extremism is only a fruit of the tree the state itself had planted. Perhaps the biggest challenge of our times is to de-sectarianise the Pakistani state and return it to the joint ownership of all Muslims denominations and followers of other faiths. The way Ismailis have maintained stoic silence over the brutality wreaked on the community says a lot about the environment of fear that surrounds them.
Once upon a time, His Highness Aga Khan and Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah gave voice to the aspirations of all Muslims of South Asia. It is now our turn to speak on behalf of our Ismaili brothers and sisters.
newslinemagazine.com/2015/06/flight-of-capital/
Flight of Capital
By Waleed Tariq 13 June 2015 No Comment
While addressing a press conference in Karachi on May 18, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar disclosed that the country’s law enforcement agencies were close to arresting those behind the killings of Ismailis in the bus attack in Safoora Goth. Two days after Nisar’s visit to the provincial capital, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah announced that four of the Safoora attackers were in custody, and that they had allegedly also confessed to the murder of social activist and T2F director Sabeen Mahmud. Those arrested are said to be graduates of the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology and the Karachi University.
On May 13, 60 Ismaili followers of the Aga Khan, travelling on a bus belonging to Al-Azhar Gardens, an Ismaili gated community on Super Highway, to a community centre in Ayesha Manzil, were stopped by gunmen near Safoora Goth and fired upon indiscriminately. At least 45 people were killed and 13 injured.
Karachi has long had a reputation for sectarian violence. As faith-based killings by groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Al-Qaeda, who consider Shias infidels, continue countrywide, the May 13 attack on Ismailis is perhaps the worst incident of its kind in recent years. And the manner in which it was carried out provides an uneasy contrast with the peaceful image of this tiny Shia minority.
But Aga Khanis have been targeted in the past too. In August 2013, twin hand grenade attacks at jamaat khaanas in Karachi’s Metroville and Ayesha Manzil areas had killed at least two Ismailis and injured 28 others. The Taliban had also announced an “armed struggle” against the Ismailis in Chitral, accusing the Aga Khan Foundation of brainwashing people away from Islam.
Earlier in March, a time-bomb explosion outside Saleh mosque – belonging to the Dawoodi Bohra community in Karachi’s Aram Bagh area – claimed the lives of two men. The explosion took place right after Friday prayers. In September 2012, at least seven people of the same community, including an infant, were killed in twin blasts that rocked the Karachi neighbourhood of North Nazimabad.
In Karachi, both Ismailis and Bohras are largely known for their business enterprises and philanthropic ventures such as schools, hospitals and in socio-economic development projects. Prince Karim Aga Khan is a major contributor of development funds for the country and both the Shia minority sects contribute significantly to the economy through their businesses, mainly in the manufacturing and tertiary sectors.
“The topmost priority for Ismailis is education and health. While Karachi was shut down for a day after the Safoora attack, the Aga Khan educational and medical institutions were working in full force,” says a university professor who belongs to the Ismaili community and asked for anonymity. “The Aga Khan community has a different system of welfare. It does not want to create dependency, but there should be respect and alongside the person’s need should also be fulfilled.”
“We have the oldest educational institutions in Karachi, including primary and high schools,” says a Bohri entrepreneur based in Karachi, who also requested anonymity. “Bohris are also involved in healthcare. Burhani Diagnostic Centres all over the city provide emergency services even to other communities on minimum charges, and often free of charge.”
000_Del6415956Coupled with poor infrastructure and non-availability of civic services such as water and electricity, Karachi has also been in the throes of a devastating law and order situation, i.e. bomb blasts, rising extortion demands and target killings during the last three decades. This has obviously impacted business. Over the years, there has been a combination of transfer of capital, reduction in further investment, and cautious planning of new ventures by entrepreneurs.
“The terrorism issue, compounded by blatant corruption, has disheartened businessmen. Due to the worsening security and safety environment, many businessmen came to the logical conclusion that transferring part of their capital to foreign lands would be a prudent step,” said Majyd Aziz, former president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), in an email interview to Newsline.
Businessman Amin Hashwani adds, “Criminal elements are there in every society and will manifest themselves in many forms whenever there is a vacuum created due to maladministration, lack of meritocracy, or ill-founded political priorities. Karachi, unfortunately, has suffered very badly in all of these areas for many decades.”
The question remains: Can particular incidents such as the recent attacks on Bohris and the Aga Khanis, who are essentially business-oriented, hurt their commercial interests, thus affecting the economy of Karachi?
“I do not think there will be any additional impact on their businesses. Keeping in view the situation of Karachi, over the years everyone has adjusted,” says political economist Akbar Zaidi. “The economy and business of Karachi was most affected in the late ’80s and early ’90s during the rise of the MQM. There were regular strikes, and scores of industrialists and other entrepreneurs shifted their businesses to Punjab, and other countries, including the UAE. As far as business activity is concerned, I do not think it will be affected by the Safoora incident. These communities will continue to trade.”
Explaining his point further, Zaidi says in Karachi there have been times when entire markets were ravaged by fires but life goes on. With a population of 20 million now, he adds, one sect or individual does not have enough control that it could hurt the city’s business interests for long.
The Bohri entrepreneur, speaking in his personal capacity, agrees with Zaidi. “We [Bohras] haven’t reached the stage where we should be thinking of moving our businesses abroad. But for those who want to go out for better prospects, such incidents provide them an additional reason to justify their position.”
However, Aziz has a different point of view. “Whenever there is a major tragedy due to terrorism, the business community feels the government is totally incapable of dealing with the situation. The Safoora Goth massacre gave further credence to their opinions. If the trend to reduce capital exposure in Karachi and transfer to other comparatively safe environments continues, this would have a depressing impact on the economy.”
kharadar-jamatkhana-colorThe former KCCI chairman claims Dubai has been a recipient of over US$ 7 billion in transfers from Pakistan into its real estate sector since the property boom in the UAE. “Full-page advertisements in newspapers attract Pakistani investors to buy property in Dubai everyday. This is a dangerous signal and the government has not been able to control it.”
Still, all cannot be measured in monetary terms. There are invisible opportunity costs that are paramount.
“A fear factor is being created in the community, and the youngsters have a feeling of uncertainty,” says the Ismaili professor. “The youngsters of our community settled abroad are persuading others to come. Aaja aaja tu bhi aaja, tu bhi idher aaja.”
While the elders of the community are rooted in this country, adds the professor, such incidents cause the younger generation to seriously think about moving.
“People have no hope in Pakistan’s future. After the incident, I’ve heard youngsters saying that it is probably time to leave Pakistan. ‘When we have the resources, sponsorship and an opportunity; why don’t we leave Pakistan?’ Hum Pakistan se bahir reh kar Pakistan ki zyada khidmat kersaktey hain. Yahan to survival he mushkil hai. Zinda rahaingay to contribute keraengay na.”
However, the migratory trend is not limited to the entrepreneurs or the minorities. It’s not just the Shias, Sunnis, Ismailis, Bohras, or Christians who want to leave Pakistan.
“I think, many people, including youngsters, if they get a chance to leave Pakistan, they will. This is because they do not feel safe here, and there is uncertainty about their career prospects,” contends Zaidi. “When I ask my students whether they will leave Pakistan if provided an opportunity, the answer is always yes. They may have issues such as permission from parents or the lack of resources, but they all wish to move.”
Aziz revealed that over the years nearly 1,500 Memon families have migrated to the UAE. In many cases, women and children shifted while men shuttle between Karachi and Dubai. This gathered speed during the Dubai real estate boom and the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi. “Kidnappings, corruption and political instability spurred the decision to shift capital and family,” he says.
As estimated, Karachi generates 65 per cent of Pakistan’s revenue. Hence, one can argue that if the metropolis’ security situation improves, there can be better economic prospects for everyone. For this purpose, the ruling PML-N government in September 2013 initiated the Karachi operation to rid the city of criminal elements. The resolve was given momentum with the announcement of the National Action Plan (NAP) after the Taliban attacked the Army Public School in Peshawar in December last year. Furthermore, time and again, the country’s civil and military leadership has expressed its resolve to take “the Karachi Operation to its logical end.”
“These actions give hope. As long as there is hope for better days ahead the innumerable losses that this city has suffered for so long are all reversible,” says Hashwani. “The people of this city have demonstrated unprecedented resilience in the past. All they need is some hope to turn things around, which in my opinion is, once again, slowly creeping back.”
According to police data available with Newsline, due to the surgical operation, average killings in a day have reduced from 7.6 in 2013 to 2.62 in 2015.
Meanwhile, as far as the national economy is concerned, there have been significant developments. The International Monetary Fund has said that the economy has improved due to prudent fiscal and monetary policies. But, as Hashwani says, economic policies have a greater impact on a national level. Karachi has a specific law and order situation, and the city needs a decent infrastructure, business-friendly environment and all the political players on the same page.
Aziz, who is also a director at the Zarai Taraqqiati Bank Ltd, wants the operation to be intensified otherwise people will lose faith. “The police has to be immediately depoliticised and ordered to ignore and disregard political pressure. Mere optics during the operation does not bode well. Businessmen are watching the situation in a worrisome and cynical manner,” he says. “The ball is in the court of General Raheel Sharif, who must order all-out action against criminals and terrorists, no matter where and under whose patronage they are. Peace in Karachi is vital if there is to be a safe and secure Pakistan.”
Flight of Capital
By Waleed Tariq 13 June 2015 No Comment
While addressing a press conference in Karachi on May 18, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar disclosed that the country’s law enforcement agencies were close to arresting those behind the killings of Ismailis in the bus attack in Safoora Goth. Two days after Nisar’s visit to the provincial capital, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah announced that four of the Safoora attackers were in custody, and that they had allegedly also confessed to the murder of social activist and T2F director Sabeen Mahmud. Those arrested are said to be graduates of the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology and the Karachi University.
On May 13, 60 Ismaili followers of the Aga Khan, travelling on a bus belonging to Al-Azhar Gardens, an Ismaili gated community on Super Highway, to a community centre in Ayesha Manzil, were stopped by gunmen near Safoora Goth and fired upon indiscriminately. At least 45 people were killed and 13 injured.
Karachi has long had a reputation for sectarian violence. As faith-based killings by groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Al-Qaeda, who consider Shias infidels, continue countrywide, the May 13 attack on Ismailis is perhaps the worst incident of its kind in recent years. And the manner in which it was carried out provides an uneasy contrast with the peaceful image of this tiny Shia minority.
But Aga Khanis have been targeted in the past too. In August 2013, twin hand grenade attacks at jamaat khaanas in Karachi’s Metroville and Ayesha Manzil areas had killed at least two Ismailis and injured 28 others. The Taliban had also announced an “armed struggle” against the Ismailis in Chitral, accusing the Aga Khan Foundation of brainwashing people away from Islam.
Earlier in March, a time-bomb explosion outside Saleh mosque – belonging to the Dawoodi Bohra community in Karachi’s Aram Bagh area – claimed the lives of two men. The explosion took place right after Friday prayers. In September 2012, at least seven people of the same community, including an infant, were killed in twin blasts that rocked the Karachi neighbourhood of North Nazimabad.
In Karachi, both Ismailis and Bohras are largely known for their business enterprises and philanthropic ventures such as schools, hospitals and in socio-economic development projects. Prince Karim Aga Khan is a major contributor of development funds for the country and both the Shia minority sects contribute significantly to the economy through their businesses, mainly in the manufacturing and tertiary sectors.
“The topmost priority for Ismailis is education and health. While Karachi was shut down for a day after the Safoora attack, the Aga Khan educational and medical institutions were working in full force,” says a university professor who belongs to the Ismaili community and asked for anonymity. “The Aga Khan community has a different system of welfare. It does not want to create dependency, but there should be respect and alongside the person’s need should also be fulfilled.”
“We have the oldest educational institutions in Karachi, including primary and high schools,” says a Bohri entrepreneur based in Karachi, who also requested anonymity. “Bohris are also involved in healthcare. Burhani Diagnostic Centres all over the city provide emergency services even to other communities on minimum charges, and often free of charge.”
000_Del6415956Coupled with poor infrastructure and non-availability of civic services such as water and electricity, Karachi has also been in the throes of a devastating law and order situation, i.e. bomb blasts, rising extortion demands and target killings during the last three decades. This has obviously impacted business. Over the years, there has been a combination of transfer of capital, reduction in further investment, and cautious planning of new ventures by entrepreneurs.
“The terrorism issue, compounded by blatant corruption, has disheartened businessmen. Due to the worsening security and safety environment, many businessmen came to the logical conclusion that transferring part of their capital to foreign lands would be a prudent step,” said Majyd Aziz, former president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), in an email interview to Newsline.
Businessman Amin Hashwani adds, “Criminal elements are there in every society and will manifest themselves in many forms whenever there is a vacuum created due to maladministration, lack of meritocracy, or ill-founded political priorities. Karachi, unfortunately, has suffered very badly in all of these areas for many decades.”
The question remains: Can particular incidents such as the recent attacks on Bohris and the Aga Khanis, who are essentially business-oriented, hurt their commercial interests, thus affecting the economy of Karachi?
“I do not think there will be any additional impact on their businesses. Keeping in view the situation of Karachi, over the years everyone has adjusted,” says political economist Akbar Zaidi. “The economy and business of Karachi was most affected in the late ’80s and early ’90s during the rise of the MQM. There were regular strikes, and scores of industrialists and other entrepreneurs shifted their businesses to Punjab, and other countries, including the UAE. As far as business activity is concerned, I do not think it will be affected by the Safoora incident. These communities will continue to trade.”
Explaining his point further, Zaidi says in Karachi there have been times when entire markets were ravaged by fires but life goes on. With a population of 20 million now, he adds, one sect or individual does not have enough control that it could hurt the city’s business interests for long.
The Bohri entrepreneur, speaking in his personal capacity, agrees with Zaidi. “We [Bohras] haven’t reached the stage where we should be thinking of moving our businesses abroad. But for those who want to go out for better prospects, such incidents provide them an additional reason to justify their position.”
However, Aziz has a different point of view. “Whenever there is a major tragedy due to terrorism, the business community feels the government is totally incapable of dealing with the situation. The Safoora Goth massacre gave further credence to their opinions. If the trend to reduce capital exposure in Karachi and transfer to other comparatively safe environments continues, this would have a depressing impact on the economy.”
kharadar-jamatkhana-colorThe former KCCI chairman claims Dubai has been a recipient of over US$ 7 billion in transfers from Pakistan into its real estate sector since the property boom in the UAE. “Full-page advertisements in newspapers attract Pakistani investors to buy property in Dubai everyday. This is a dangerous signal and the government has not been able to control it.”
Still, all cannot be measured in monetary terms. There are invisible opportunity costs that are paramount.
“A fear factor is being created in the community, and the youngsters have a feeling of uncertainty,” says the Ismaili professor. “The youngsters of our community settled abroad are persuading others to come. Aaja aaja tu bhi aaja, tu bhi idher aaja.”
While the elders of the community are rooted in this country, adds the professor, such incidents cause the younger generation to seriously think about moving.
“People have no hope in Pakistan’s future. After the incident, I’ve heard youngsters saying that it is probably time to leave Pakistan. ‘When we have the resources, sponsorship and an opportunity; why don’t we leave Pakistan?’ Hum Pakistan se bahir reh kar Pakistan ki zyada khidmat kersaktey hain. Yahan to survival he mushkil hai. Zinda rahaingay to contribute keraengay na.”
However, the migratory trend is not limited to the entrepreneurs or the minorities. It’s not just the Shias, Sunnis, Ismailis, Bohras, or Christians who want to leave Pakistan.
“I think, many people, including youngsters, if they get a chance to leave Pakistan, they will. This is because they do not feel safe here, and there is uncertainty about their career prospects,” contends Zaidi. “When I ask my students whether they will leave Pakistan if provided an opportunity, the answer is always yes. They may have issues such as permission from parents or the lack of resources, but they all wish to move.”
Aziz revealed that over the years nearly 1,500 Memon families have migrated to the UAE. In many cases, women and children shifted while men shuttle between Karachi and Dubai. This gathered speed during the Dubai real estate boom and the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi. “Kidnappings, corruption and political instability spurred the decision to shift capital and family,” he says.
As estimated, Karachi generates 65 per cent of Pakistan’s revenue. Hence, one can argue that if the metropolis’ security situation improves, there can be better economic prospects for everyone. For this purpose, the ruling PML-N government in September 2013 initiated the Karachi operation to rid the city of criminal elements. The resolve was given momentum with the announcement of the National Action Plan (NAP) after the Taliban attacked the Army Public School in Peshawar in December last year. Furthermore, time and again, the country’s civil and military leadership has expressed its resolve to take “the Karachi Operation to its logical end.”
“These actions give hope. As long as there is hope for better days ahead the innumerable losses that this city has suffered for so long are all reversible,” says Hashwani. “The people of this city have demonstrated unprecedented resilience in the past. All they need is some hope to turn things around, which in my opinion is, once again, slowly creeping back.”
According to police data available with Newsline, due to the surgical operation, average killings in a day have reduced from 7.6 in 2013 to 2.62 in 2015.
Meanwhile, as far as the national economy is concerned, there have been significant developments. The International Monetary Fund has said that the economy has improved due to prudent fiscal and monetary policies. But, as Hashwani says, economic policies have a greater impact on a national level. Karachi has a specific law and order situation, and the city needs a decent infrastructure, business-friendly environment and all the political players on the same page.
Aziz, who is also a director at the Zarai Taraqqiati Bank Ltd, wants the operation to be intensified otherwise people will lose faith. “The police has to be immediately depoliticised and ordered to ignore and disregard political pressure. Mere optics during the operation does not bode well. Businessmen are watching the situation in a worrisome and cynical manner,” he says. “The ball is in the court of General Raheel Sharif, who must order all-out action against criminals and terrorists, no matter where and under whose patronage they are. Peace in Karachi is vital if there is to be a safe and secure Pakistan.”
-
agakhani_1
- Posts: 278
- Joined: Wed May 20, 2015 7:57 am
Does ISIS represent true Islam?
Now a days, news of ISIS telecasting almost all TV channels and also prints in all Newspapers about their massacre killing of innocents human beings even small kids!!
just an example :
1, The ISIS massacre of 770 in Iraq.
2, 74 children executed by ISIS for 'crimes' that include refusal to fast, report says!!!
Questions arise here is; are they really follows on Islam, Quran, Hadiths and Prophet Mohd teaching?
-Does ISIS represent a true Islam?
-Does Islam teaching such kind killing?
- Does this kind killing has any connection with Jehad?
just an example :
1, The ISIS massacre of 770 in Iraq.
2, 74 children executed by ISIS for 'crimes' that include refusal to fast, report says!!!
Questions arise here is; are they really follows on Islam, Quran, Hadiths and Prophet Mohd teaching?
-Does ISIS represent a true Islam?
-Does Islam teaching such kind killing?
- Does this kind killing has any connection with Jehad?
As Received:
ISIS is not Islam. It is a terrorist organization which came to existence with the destabilization of Iraq and Syria.
What ISIS is doing is what was wanted by those who destabilized those 2 powerful Middle-East countries.
When a crime is committed, try to see to whom the crime benefit and you will know who is the culprit.
Al-Qaeda did not exist in Iraq up to the time Bush created an artificial man-made catastrophe in an otherwise relatively stable country which had Education, Water and Electricity for all. Something scarcely available nowadays.
Al Qaeda and Isis were created by the Western World when it started fighting against those who were protecting the minorities, the Ismailis, the Druzes and the Christians in Syria and Iraq.
Israel was not comfortable with the existence of strong Arab neighbor and succeeded in it plan to destabilize them because of the stupidity of the Muslims and the joint power of the 2 brothers in blood; Israel and Saudi Arabia which is the source of most of the "Islamist" terrorism in the world..
ISIS is not Islam. It is a terrorist organization which came to existence with the destabilization of Iraq and Syria.
What ISIS is doing is what was wanted by those who destabilized those 2 powerful Middle-East countries.
When a crime is committed, try to see to whom the crime benefit and you will know who is the culprit.
Al-Qaeda did not exist in Iraq up to the time Bush created an artificial man-made catastrophe in an otherwise relatively stable country which had Education, Water and Electricity for all. Something scarcely available nowadays.
Al Qaeda and Isis were created by the Western World when it started fighting against those who were protecting the minorities, the Ismailis, the Druzes and the Christians in Syria and Iraq.
Israel was not comfortable with the existence of strong Arab neighbor and succeeded in it plan to destabilize them because of the stupidity of the Muslims and the joint power of the 2 brothers in blood; Israel and Saudi Arabia which is the source of most of the "Islamist" terrorism in the world..
-
agakhani_1
- Posts: 278
- Joined: Wed May 20, 2015 7:57 am
Thanks,
Very informative reply.
I think Israel supporting these kind terrorist grops in fear that if Muslim countries unitrd then it will be bad for Israel future! Muslims countries may be attacks all together and may be they can destroy all israeal! Thus israel future become very doubtful, to avoid this kind scenarios Israel helping ISIS.
Very informative reply.
I think Israel supporting these kind terrorist grops in fear that if Muslim countries unitrd then it will be bad for Israel future! Muslims countries may be attacks all together and may be they can destroy all israeal! Thus israel future become very doubtful, to avoid this kind scenarios Israel helping ISIS.
Ya Ali Madad:
My personal opinion.
This website whose name starts as Ismaili n dedicated to cause of MHI.
So any statements made by members good,valid or otherwise can be taken
as an Official Ismaili view/statement and even be distorted to/as statement MHI by via media.
Sensitive topic n statement which are active and can can have effect on ismailis in affected regions should be openly discussed in print in this forum.
Certain topics n geopolitical analysis should be restraint and sensitivity should be maintained on it.
Looking at many official letter posted by many indiviuals n institute of their sympathy to the recent event.They have may taken this as 'official' site of Ismaili and MHI.
Next posting may be as notional Attorney General of ALI
My personal opinion.
This website whose name starts as Ismaili n dedicated to cause of MHI.
So any statements made by members good,valid or otherwise can be taken
as an Official Ismaili view/statement and even be distorted to/as statement MHI by via media.
Sensitive topic n statement which are active and can can have effect on ismailis in affected regions should be openly discussed in print in this forum.
Certain topics n geopolitical analysis should be restraint and sensitivity should be maintained on it.
Looking at many official letter posted by many indiviuals n institute of their sympathy to the recent event.They have may taken this as 'official' site of Ismaili and MHI.
Next posting may be as notional Attorney General of ALI
Two policemen guarding Ismaili community flats killed
http://www.dawn.com/news/1219690/two-po ... ats-killed
Two policemen guarding Ismaili community flats killed
Imtiaz Ali — Updated Nov 15, 2015 09:51am
KARACHI: Two policemen deployed for the security of the Ismaili community’s residential complex were shot dead at a checkpoint in the Sachal area on Saturday noon, according to officials.
Police constables Ali Raza, 50, and Ghulam Jaffer, 46, were targeted at the checkpoint set up outside Jeewani Heights, off the Superhighway, by four armed motorcyclists, said Gadap SP Chaudhry Saifullah.
The attackers also took away their official weapons, the officer said.
Both policemen were rushed to the nearby Dow varsity hospital where doctors declared constable Ali Raza dead on arrival, said Sohrab Goth DSP Khalid Khan. He added that the other constable, Ghulam Jaffer, who sustained gunshot wounds in the head died during treatment later in the evening.
According to the police, constable Ali Raza was posted at Sachal police station some four months ago. He was a resident of Bhitaiabad and originally hailed from Pano Aqil. Constable Ghulam Jaffer was posted at the Sachal police station about six months ago. He was a resident of Sachal Goth and originally belonged to Kotdiji.
With the murder of the two police officials, the number of policemen killed in the city during the current year reached 80, said a police spokesperson.
‘Eighty police officials have been killed in Karachi so far this year’
The police investigators said all the attackers wore helmets. Three of them were clad in shalwar kameez while their accomplice wore a shirt with trousers, the officials said.
The Gadap SP believed that the attack was carried out in a way that the policemen could not get a chance to retaliate.
“The picket was set up at a sensitive place,” said additional inspector general of police Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar while talking to the media at the crime-scene.
Mr Mahar, who visited the crime-scene along with Karachi-East DIG Munir Ahmed Shaikh, did not specify the nature of the area’s sensitivity.
Police sources said some police posts were established in the vicinity to keep a strict watch on criminals and to protect the community in the area after the May 13 targeted attack on their bus in which over 45 Ismaili community members were shot dead.
DSP Khan confirmed to Dawn that the police picket was set up for the protection of Ismaili community members as they resided in Jeewani Heights.
“There should have been at least four policemen at the picket,” said the city police chief. But the SHO concerned displayed ‘negligence’ by deploying only two policemen there. He said there was also negligence on the part of the officer that the policemen had not been provided with bulletproof jackets.
Asked as to how bulletproof jackets could have protected them when hitmen shot the policemen in the head, the police chief said the Sindh government had been asked for the procurement of light-weight bulletproof helmets as the old ones were heavy.
About the unabated killing of policemen despite the Rangers-led targeted operation in Karachi for the past two years, additional IG Mahar said the city that had been in the grip of violence for the past three decades could not be purged of criminals within just one or two years.
He added that the killing of the policemen might be a reaction to the ongoing operation against the criminals. About the latest killing of the two policemen, he said the attackers used 0.9mm pistol and 30-bore pistol in the attack and took away official weapons. He said the police investigators later collected 14 spent bullet casings from the crime-scene.
He said a forensic report might help the police investigators to identify the group involved in the deadly attack and to determine if the same weapons were used in other murder cases.
Following the killings, the police launched a search operation in surrounding areas. “We searched homes and flats in surrounding areas but no one was detained as we don’t want to arrest innocent persons,” said the Sohrab Goth DSP.
Meanwhile, the DIG East suspended and reverted Sachal SHO and head mohrrir on charges of negligence.
Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2015
Two policemen guarding Ismaili community flats killed
Imtiaz Ali — Updated Nov 15, 2015 09:51am
KARACHI: Two policemen deployed for the security of the Ismaili community’s residential complex were shot dead at a checkpoint in the Sachal area on Saturday noon, according to officials.
Police constables Ali Raza, 50, and Ghulam Jaffer, 46, were targeted at the checkpoint set up outside Jeewani Heights, off the Superhighway, by four armed motorcyclists, said Gadap SP Chaudhry Saifullah.
The attackers also took away their official weapons, the officer said.
Both policemen were rushed to the nearby Dow varsity hospital where doctors declared constable Ali Raza dead on arrival, said Sohrab Goth DSP Khalid Khan. He added that the other constable, Ghulam Jaffer, who sustained gunshot wounds in the head died during treatment later in the evening.
According to the police, constable Ali Raza was posted at Sachal police station some four months ago. He was a resident of Bhitaiabad and originally hailed from Pano Aqil. Constable Ghulam Jaffer was posted at the Sachal police station about six months ago. He was a resident of Sachal Goth and originally belonged to Kotdiji.
With the murder of the two police officials, the number of policemen killed in the city during the current year reached 80, said a police spokesperson.
‘Eighty police officials have been killed in Karachi so far this year’
The police investigators said all the attackers wore helmets. Three of them were clad in shalwar kameez while their accomplice wore a shirt with trousers, the officials said.
The Gadap SP believed that the attack was carried out in a way that the policemen could not get a chance to retaliate.
“The picket was set up at a sensitive place,” said additional inspector general of police Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar while talking to the media at the crime-scene.
Mr Mahar, who visited the crime-scene along with Karachi-East DIG Munir Ahmed Shaikh, did not specify the nature of the area’s sensitivity.
Police sources said some police posts were established in the vicinity to keep a strict watch on criminals and to protect the community in the area after the May 13 targeted attack on their bus in which over 45 Ismaili community members were shot dead.
DSP Khan confirmed to Dawn that the police picket was set up for the protection of Ismaili community members as they resided in Jeewani Heights.
“There should have been at least four policemen at the picket,” said the city police chief. But the SHO concerned displayed ‘negligence’ by deploying only two policemen there. He said there was also negligence on the part of the officer that the policemen had not been provided with bulletproof jackets.
Asked as to how bulletproof jackets could have protected them when hitmen shot the policemen in the head, the police chief said the Sindh government had been asked for the procurement of light-weight bulletproof helmets as the old ones were heavy.
About the unabated killing of policemen despite the Rangers-led targeted operation in Karachi for the past two years, additional IG Mahar said the city that had been in the grip of violence for the past three decades could not be purged of criminals within just one or two years.
He added that the killing of the policemen might be a reaction to the ongoing operation against the criminals. About the latest killing of the two policemen, he said the attackers used 0.9mm pistol and 30-bore pistol in the attack and took away official weapons. He said the police investigators later collected 14 spent bullet casings from the crime-scene.
He said a forensic report might help the police investigators to identify the group involved in the deadly attack and to determine if the same weapons were used in other murder cases.
Following the killings, the police launched a search operation in surrounding areas. “We searched homes and flats in surrounding areas but no one was detained as we don’t want to arrest innocent persons,” said the Sohrab Goth DSP.
Meanwhile, the DIG East suspended and reverted Sachal SHO and head mohrrir on charges of negligence.
Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2015
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1102206/saa ... ary-court/
By News Desk
Published: May 12, 2016
The Express Tribune > Pakistan
Saad Aziz among 5 'hardcore terrorists' sentenced to death by military court
The Express Tribune > Pakistan
Saad Aziz among 5 'hardcore terrorists' sentenced to death by military court
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Saad Aziz among 5 'hardcore terrorists' sentenced to death by military court
By News Desk
Published: May 12, 2016
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Saad Aziz was suspected of killing T2F director Sabeen Mahmud over a year ago, as well as being involved in Safoora Goth bus attack. PHOTO: FACEBOOK
Saad Aziz was suspected of killing T2F director Sabeen Mahmud over a year ago, as well as being involved in Safoora Goth bus attack. PHOTO: FACEBOOK
Army chief General Raheel Sharif confirmed on Thursday the death sentences of five ‘hardcore terrorists’ involved in various acts of terror, including Saad Aziz, who was arrested last year for the murder of rights activist Sabeen Mahmud.
#COAS confirms death sentence to 5 hardcore terrorist perpetrator f Safoora bus attk,Sabeen Mahmud's killing,IED near Saleh Masjid-Mil Court
— Gen Asim Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) May 12, 2016
Eyewitness identifies Saad Aziz as American professor’s primary shooter
“Today Chief of Army Staff confirmed death sentences awarded to five hardcore terrorists who perpetrated Safoora Chowrangi bus attack and were also involved in IED blast near Saleh Masjid Karachi, killing of a social worker Sabeen Mahmud and attacks on LEAs,” a press statement issued by the military’s media wing, ISPR, said.
“These convicts were tried by military courts,” the communiqué added.
Mahmud, the director and founder of The Second Floor (T2F) café, was shot dead by gunmen in the upscale Defence Housing Authority neighbourhood of the metropolis on April 25, 2015.
Later in May 2015, at least six gunmen had shot dead 45 members of the Ismaili community abroad a community bus in Safoora Goth, on the outskirts of Karachi.
Details of convicts:
Saad Aziz s/o Abdul Aziz Sheikh – Tried on nine charges
Tahir Hussain Minhas s/o Khadim Hussain Minhas – Tried on 10 charges
Asadur Rehman s/o Atique ur Rehman – Tried on four charges
Hafiz Nasir s/o Afzal Ahmed – Tried on five charges
Muhammad Azhar Ishrat S/O Ishrat Rasheed Ahmed. – Tried on five charges
Saad Aziz was to film the Safoora bus carnage
According to the military’s media wing, these five convicts were active members of al Qaeda, a global terror outfit.
“They were involved in attacking a bus of Ismaili community at Safoora Chowrangi in Karachi, which resulted in death and injuries to the passengers.”
“They were also involved in attack on Saleh Masjid Karachi, killing of a social worker Sabeen and attacking law enforcement agencies.”
The convicts admitted their offences before the trial court, the statement added.
By News Desk
Published: May 12, 2016
The Express Tribune > Pakistan
Saad Aziz among 5 'hardcore terrorists' sentenced to death by military court
The Express Tribune > Pakistan
Saad Aziz among 5 'hardcore terrorists' sentenced to death by military court
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Saad Aziz among 5 'hardcore terrorists' sentenced to death by military court
By News Desk
Published: May 12, 2016
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Saad Aziz was suspected of killing T2F director Sabeen Mahmud over a year ago, as well as being involved in Safoora Goth bus attack. PHOTO: FACEBOOK
Saad Aziz was suspected of killing T2F director Sabeen Mahmud over a year ago, as well as being involved in Safoora Goth bus attack. PHOTO: FACEBOOK
Army chief General Raheel Sharif confirmed on Thursday the death sentences of five ‘hardcore terrorists’ involved in various acts of terror, including Saad Aziz, who was arrested last year for the murder of rights activist Sabeen Mahmud.
#COAS confirms death sentence to 5 hardcore terrorist perpetrator f Safoora bus attk,Sabeen Mahmud's killing,IED near Saleh Masjid-Mil Court
— Gen Asim Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) May 12, 2016
Eyewitness identifies Saad Aziz as American professor’s primary shooter
“Today Chief of Army Staff confirmed death sentences awarded to five hardcore terrorists who perpetrated Safoora Chowrangi bus attack and were also involved in IED blast near Saleh Masjid Karachi, killing of a social worker Sabeen Mahmud and attacks on LEAs,” a press statement issued by the military’s media wing, ISPR, said.
“These convicts were tried by military courts,” the communiqué added.
Mahmud, the director and founder of The Second Floor (T2F) café, was shot dead by gunmen in the upscale Defence Housing Authority neighbourhood of the metropolis on April 25, 2015.
Later in May 2015, at least six gunmen had shot dead 45 members of the Ismaili community abroad a community bus in Safoora Goth, on the outskirts of Karachi.
Details of convicts:
Saad Aziz s/o Abdul Aziz Sheikh – Tried on nine charges
Tahir Hussain Minhas s/o Khadim Hussain Minhas – Tried on 10 charges
Asadur Rehman s/o Atique ur Rehman – Tried on four charges
Hafiz Nasir s/o Afzal Ahmed – Tried on five charges
Muhammad Azhar Ishrat S/O Ishrat Rasheed Ahmed. – Tried on five charges
Saad Aziz was to film the Safoora bus carnage
According to the military’s media wing, these five convicts were active members of al Qaeda, a global terror outfit.
“They were involved in attacking a bus of Ismaili community at Safoora Chowrangi in Karachi, which resulted in death and injuries to the passengers.”
“They were also involved in attack on Saleh Masjid Karachi, killing of a social worker Sabeen and attacking law enforcement agencies.”
The convicts admitted their offences before the trial court, the statement added.