Premier Li Keqiang has said “the tree of China-Pakistan friendship” was planted decades ago, nurtured by successive leaders and “is now exuberant with abundant fruits.”

The two day visit, of the Chinese premier is being taken with an affirmative welcome from all sectors of the Pakistani society. It is also being taken as a positive sign that the Premier, in his first tour abroad, has made sure to re-assure the friendly ties between the two countries, even though an interim set-up is being run in the country. The Premier met the interim PM, the President and the expected PM, who is yet to take in office, in these two days.

In February, Beijing had signed a pact with Pakistan over the construction and development of the strategic port of Gwadar, which could connect China to the Arabian Sea and Strait of Hormuz – a gateway for a third of the world’s traded oil, if a road net is built from the Karakorum Highway to Gwader. This project is a long-pending dream of China, and it would only be essential for China to affirm this pact with the new set-up, in the fast changing global scenarios of the time. The Gwader project not only brings a promise of prosperity to the people of Baluchistan, but offers the whole nation of Pakistan a vibrant economy, competing in world trade, in the near future.

One could say that Gawader holds more gold than it shows, as it has the potential to convert the regional power-play in favour of Pakistan. Once China, long-time, tested and trusted ally of Pakistan, is in the Arabian Sea, the aspired naval hegemony of the US fleet and of their friends the Indians, would be crushed to rubble. The regional polarity may shift towards the Pak/China/Afghan nexus, potentially causing change in the flux of the geopolitics of our time.

The trade between the two countries was at a $12 billion figure last year, and is targeted to a $15 billion within the next two years. This is in contrast to $61 billion worth of trade between China and India, forecasted to grow to a $100 billion by 2015. Still, the situation doesn’t become better by an inch, for India, as in the Premier’s visit to India, 3 days ago, the question of ‘settling the long-running border disputes between the two countries’ overshadowed all talks of trade and pacts. The Ladakh issue echoed throughout the tour and PM Singh said that India and China had “agreed that our special representatives will meet soon to continue discussions seeking an early agreement on a framework for a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable boundary settlement”.

But things between China and Pakistan have been running on a different note; China has been working with Pakistan on two nuclear reactors, each with a capacity of 300 MW, at Chasma in the Punjab province; the JF-17 fighter jets, jointly produced by the two countries is another salient project; and Gwader will prove to be a crown for both the countries.

There are about 10,000 Chinese people and more than 120 Chinese companies in Pakistan, working on networking, infrastructure and energy projects. In the past providing security to these foreigners has been an issue for Pakistan, it is of prime importance that security and respect be ensured for our Chinese friends in the coming time. Pakistan also needs to assure China that its concerns over Uighur militants, living in northwest Pakistan, will be removed and for that reason, getting rid of the TTP menace is a prerequisite.

Pakistan has lost a lot in its past relations with powerful friends that have never hesitated to stab us on our backs; we have blistered our sovereignty and suffered irreparable damages on our economy and social structure in trying to win the illusive favors of our so-called friends. It is time for Pakistan to seek its own respect now in the community of nations and stretch its arm of friendship only to those who know how to respect us and who can deal with us on equality basis.

China’s gesture of arriving to a friend’s place with a bouquet of six JF-17 Thunder jets that escorted Premier Li’s plane upon entering into Pakistani airspace is a befitting way of giving the message of how friendships are kept and sustained with respect and honour.

May Pak-China Friendship Prevail!

“It is not just that two women were buried, but justice itself was buried in graves all across the state.”

by Mahwish Qureshi

In the afternoon of 29^th May, 2009 at Bongam, Shopian district of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, two young women left home for their orchard; and never returned.

Neelofar and Asiya were sisters-in-law. Neelofar was married to Asiya’s brother, Shakeel, and had an infant son. Asiya was a school-going teenager.

In the evening, Shakeel started searching for his sister and wife and later, at night, he sought the help of local police and together, they searched them throughout the countryside.

The local police stopped the search at midnight, promising to resume at early morning. Around 5:30 a.m., Shakeel started to search again. An hour later, the local police joined him and immediately, Neelofar’s body was found at a spot near Zavora Bridge, over the Rambi Ara Nallah. The depth of the stream around the spot was about 2.5 feet, with fast flowing water, but certainly not that strong a current that could drown an adult girl. (t was the very same spot which had been carefully searched by the family and police till 2:30 a.m.).

Asiya’s body was found further downstream from Zavora Bridge. Those who helped in retrieving their bodies saw enough to believe that this was a clear case of rape and murder, as the dead bodies showed visible signs of injuries and wounds.

Two post-mortems were performed on each one of them. Although the first post mortem report negated drowning as the cause of death of Asiya and Neelofer, yet, it was finally put out by the police that the deaths were caused by drowning.

Neelofar’s body was found in the very place where the police and family had looked for them the previous night; implying that it was not there at 2:30 a.m., but was found at about 6 o’clock. And no one admits to having seen it happen despite the high security in the area.

For the accidental drowning of two women, in such shallows as this nallah (brook) where no one had ever or would ever drown, one would need to be more than just naive to believe it possible!

Their dead bodies were buried after a controversial beginning to the criminal investigations at the end of May, 2009, following a great deal of public protests in Shopian against the police and district administration.

A trail of cover up was set by the police immediately after, which included a refusal to even file an FIR. The government appointed an Enquiry Commission, owing to the pressure by the people in Shopian.

The Commission too, concluded that the bodies could have been brought there by some agency, since no single individual could dare to execute such an act in a high security zone. It could not, however, find out who was responsible for the rapes and murders, since the police had not collected any evidence from the site.

That is the tragic reality of life in Jammu and Kashmir –  two young women found dead, no convincing explanation for the deaths or for the inexplicable appearance of the bodies, at a spot which had been thoroughly searched just a couple of hours ago and is surrounded by the District Police Lines, an army outpost and a CRPF camp.

As predicted and to the utter disgust of Kashmiris, this Shopian incident of rape and murder was officially declared a case of ‘drowning’, and justice got buried somewhere in the files of government offices.

In cases of human rights abuse, and predominantly in cases of rape, there is not only a systematic refusal by the Indian government to ensure justice or set up an element of accountability among the security forces; rather, every effort is made to cover up such heinous crimes.

The Shopian incident symbolizes the injustices meted out to the people living in a highly militarized state. This sad incident not only marks the level of fear psychosis, as well as the denial of security and the basic rights to the people living in this region, but also reveals the utter refusal of those at the helm of affairs to bring the culprits of gross violations of human rights to justice.

The last two decades in Kashmir are marked by massive brutalities on the Kashmiri people at the hands of the Indian security forces. Till date, no culprits in uniform have been convicted or punished.  Despite many accusations, with serious evidence, very few cases were ever investigated. In a minor number of cases, prosecution took place. And in none of them has justice ever been delivered.

The Shopian incident is not a case in isolation; it is a chapter out of a long history of human rights abuse, along with utter impunity that men in uniform enjoy in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. These men in uniform have been accused in thousands of cases of disappearances, molestations, sexual assaults, torture, humiliation, encounters and other forms of harassment. The state has a long list of the victims of such violence, none of whom has ever received justice.

Like every year, dozens of organizations in Kashmir assembled in solidarity all over the valley, seeking justice for Asiya and Neelofar, this year as well. A seminar entitled “Struggle for Justice” was held by the Majlis-e-Mushawarat Shopian, which had spearheaded the agitation following the double rape and murder of Neelofar and Asiya; while the little innocent 4 year old Suzanne, the adorable son of Neelofar, still waits for his mother and aunt, Asiya. His days and nights pass asking his dad Shakeel Ahangar, “Papa, Mama kab aayegi?” (When will Mom come back?)

Ah! You, the Human Rights Organisations of the world, can you bring his mother back? Ah! You, the so-called largest democracy, can you answer Suzanne’s innocent question?

Kashmir remembers its martyrs, its sisters who have been raped, its daughters who have been molested and brothers who have disappeared. The democratic thugs of India may forget this, but how can the oppressed Kashmiris; as they have only their martyrs, memories and scars? The shrieks and cries still echo in the green, lush fields of Shopian. The flowing waters of Rambi Ara Nallah are the memorial of this gruesome incident, reminding Kashmir of its Asiya and Neelofar.

You can hear the melancholic tunes of its waters, reminding Kashmir “never to forgive and never to forget!”

Mahwish Qureshi is a Peace & Political Activist with a strong belief of Socio- constructivism through the mirror of Islamic System. She is currently working in the field of Training & development and can be reached at missterriouss@gmail.com . She tweets@Ms_Terrious

by Sara Saad

A few days ago, the deadly incident of the explosion of a CNG cylinder in a school bus claimed 17 innocent souls, provoking panic among the public, leaving the city of Gujrat in grief. If truth be told, factual evidence proves that it was caused due the negligence of the bus driver, who probably didn’t change the CNG kit after its expiration date. This happened on a bright sunny day, when the bus was only a few miles away from school. According to the concerned officials, an FIR has been lodged against the culprits, who will be further questioned on this crucial matter at later stages. We strongly condemn such incidents, even if our words make a very small condolence with the loved ones of the victims.

CNG has always been looked upon as a popular alternative of diesel and petrol, in all kinds of transport vehicles, as it drastically reduces the travelling expense. It is apparently more environment-friendly as well, compared to petroleum. It, however, remains undeniable that this cheap replacement has resulted in more fatalities than any other fuel. The unethical practice of selling, reselling and usage of expired CNG kits has all been due to a lack of appropriate checks and balances by related authorities. An additional unfortunate fact is the issuance of illegal certifications, for the installation of substandard CNG kits in public and commercial vehicles, by the authorities.

Every so often, public and private owners keep the CNG kits in a barely serviceable condition to avoid big expenses – in other words, just to make more money - posing a risk to millions of lives. They don’t believe in timely removal and disposal of CNG cylinders, as they don’t recognize the deadly consequences of using CNG kits beyond their safe-life. Perhaps they have more voice than the people who travel on these vehicles, so they don’t care much about preventive measures.

Regardless of several callings from the Sindh High Court at different occasions, the OGRA miserably failed to put into practice the laws and policies made for the installation and sale of the CNG kits; even though the OGRA have been bound to ensure the safety and security of the natives of this nation. It has no suitable placement and arrangement of the Vehicles Examiners, who could have a strict control on reselling and installation of substandard CNG kits. There are also many system-protected transportation giants who are illegally selling these kits. Unfortunately, this has been a neglected truth.

The episode has cast a very negative image of Pakistan on the global community. This is because we live in an empirical age, where such incidents can be very hurting to any economy, as it shows the regulatory bodies to be unconcerned when it comes to the enforcement and execution of proper law and order in Pakistan. This negligence causes numerous deadly events every year, but is overlooked by the related authorities, as the hype stays only for a few hours and then hastily dies away. Sometimes, the area, where the incident takes place, also matters. For instance, the incident took place in Gujrat, which has a minor population, so it became easier for the authorities to sweep the issue beneath the rug.

I pose a question here to those who talk about change: Where is the change? Where is the new beginning? As such, a major event has taken place, but not a single politician was spotted at the scene of the incident to share the grievance and sympathize with the affected, which is very disgraceful on their part. I believe that their visit, though not on a massive level, but could have, if only slightly, answered the unhappiness of many. Regrettably, this has become a social dilemma, which defines how unconcerned the authorized figures of our nation are.

Transportation plays a substantial role in the success of any economy. The air, railways and sea transport have been well taken care of; the only neglected one is the road. I personally propose to the winning parties, forming the next regime, to revisit and resolute this issue by formulating and regularizing new policies. There needs to be made major amendments in the rules – as well as their implementation thereby – regarding the installation of CNG kits, tracking systems, proper disposal methods and safety standards in all vehicles.

Sara Saad is currently teaching at SICAS and is a student of Masters in Business Administration, and can be reached at sarasaaad@gmail.com