Pregnant Woman Miscarries After Being Sprayed With Pepper Spray

By Matt Stopera

This is horrible. A pregnant protester named Jennifer Fox has miscarried after being pepper sprayed and hit in the stomach by Seattle police officers during a peaceful protest last week. ….

“I was standing in the middle of the crowd when the police started moving in,” she says. “I was screaming, ‘I am pregnant, I am pregnant. Let me through. I am trying to get out.'”

At that point, a Seattle police officer lifted his foot and it hit her in the stomach, and another officer pushed his bicycle into the crowd, again hitting Fox in the stomach. “Right before I turned, both cops lifted their pepper spray and sprayed me. My eyes puffed up and my eyes swelled shut,” she says. ….

Read more » BuzzFeed

Pakistani Ambassador Is Forced Out Over Memo

By SALMAN MASOOD

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Husain Haqqani, the embattled Pakistani ambassador to the United States, resigned Tuesday in the wake of accusations that he had sought American help to rein in the powerful Pakistani military.

Although he had hoped to stay on, Mr. Haqqani offered to resign last week. But on Tuesday, the prime minister said he should resign so that an investigation into the accusations could be “carried out properly.”

The accusations center on a memo that Mansoor Ijaz, an American businessman of Pakistani origin, said Mr. Haqqani asked him to have delivered to Adm. Mike Mullen, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. According to Mr. Ijaz, the memo asked for American help in heading off a possible military-led coup and promised concessions in return.

The accusations, which Mr. Haqqani denies, created a political storm in Pakistan, where anti-American feelings run high and Mr. Haqqani is considered by some to be an apologist for the United States.

He has also made enemies among some in the military for his criticisms of the army before he became ambassador. Some analysts believe that the military’s leaders, who wield the real power in the country, pushed for the government to oust Mr. Haqqani.

Some American officials on Tuesday expressed concern that Mr. Haqqani’s exit could complicate attempts by the United States and Pakistan to repair badly strained relations. …

Read more » The New York Times

PAKISTAN: A senior surgeon belonging to the Ahmadi sect is abducted with his son and remains missing

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

HRC-STM-167-2011 (November 3, 2011) – A senior surgeon belonging to the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam has been missing since October 30, 2011. He was traveling in a car with his son of eleven years. The car was found abandoned far away from his home.

Baloch blood on our hands : DAILY TIMES EDITORIAL

Finally the Federal Ministry of Human Rights has woken up to the woes of the people of Balochistan and taken notice of the rising number of deaths in the province. The human rights ministry has decided to form a task force that will probe human rights violations in Pakistan’s largest province. A report was earlier compiled by the interior ministry’s Crisis Management Cell (CMC). According to this report, Rs 900 million has been spent by deploying 17 regular units and paramilitary troops to put an end to rising violence in Balochistan. This is astonishing considering that the money is being spent on the same forces that the Baloch people hold responsible for their miseries. A military operation is going on in the province and the ‘kill and dump’ policy being pursued by the military and its intelligence agencies is no secret. Various NGOs and human rights organisations, both local and international, have documented this in their reports. The human rights ministry’s task force needs to take into account how deploying more paramilitary troops is part of the problem, not part of the solution, to the ongoing crisis in Balochistan. Although it is not in the hands of the federal and/or the provincial governments to end the military operation since they do not call the shots when it comes to the military’s policies, it is pertinent for the human rights ministry to act according to its nomenclature by persuading GHQ that its policies in Balochistan are hurting the federation.

Killing innocent Baloch whose only fault is to ask for their basic and just rights is criminal. Thousands of Baloch are missing. Tortured and bullet-riddled bodies of Baloch missing persons are found every other day in the province. Under these circumstances, pursuing a repressive policy is not just the height of injustice but also a threat to the country’s unity. The military made the same mistake in East Pakistan. Instead of learning from past mistakes, our military keeps making new and more senseless mistakes.

The need of the hour is to stop the military operation at once. The Frontier Corps (FC) has terrorised the Baloch for many years now. It is time to stop their brutal activities. Kidnapping, torturing and murdering our own Baloch brethren is not something that can be allowed to take place. Baloch insurgents have taken up arms in frustration. The calls for ‘freedom’ are a result of the FC’s ‘kill and dump’ policy.

Trying to solve the crisis in Balochistan through military means is a disaster waiting to happen. This is the fifth military operation in Balochistan. The last four operations only alienated the Baloch further and this one could well be the last nail in the federation’s coffin. A political solution is the only way out of this quagmire. Talking to the Baloch leadership — those in the mountains and those in exile — can bring peace pack. The democratically elected civilian government may be weak but it should not sweep this issue under the carpet because in the end, the blood of the Baloch will be on the hands of the whole Pakistani nation that silently watched this massacre and did not raise its voice. Let us not bloody our hands any further; let us raise our hands for justice instead.

Courtesy » Daily Times

The Case of a Curious Memo

PTH is proud to publish this exclusive piece written by Ali Aftab Saeed (who made his mark as the creator of the famed Aalu Anday song by the beghayrat brigade band). Ali is remarkable for his clarity on progressive politics and he dispels the myth that Pakistan’s youth have been brainwashed by right wing media and doctored history textbooks. All power to him and hundreds of thousands like Ali – who need a voice. PTH is a platform where we value the energy and creativity of Pakistan’s youth which will define our future and heal this bruised country. Raza Rumi

Let’s start with a simple thought, why does one write a letter to someone? Clench that answer in your mind and now ponder on why the President of Pakistan would write a letter when he has Husain Haqqani for lobbying his message directly. I mean, that puts us to question the job of the diplomat in the first place.

This is not the first attempt to alienate the army and Zardari. This cannot just be a coincidence that every time these sort of attempts are made or controversies are created including this one, Zardari and Kiyani have a meeting, they resolve all these rumors and move ahead diplomatically. No exceptions will be made this time. Besides, Kiyani doesn’t have a lot options to play along either primarily because he is on extension not to mention the growing popular antagonism of the army officers he has to face. Secondly, the PML-N is ruthless on army these days, that is why the Public Accounts Committee is asking for a representative from the army to give explanations for NLC scandal and justifications of how was railway owned property sold to a private country club, Royal Palm? All the land which the army had docketed as A Class commercial and sold is being asked to be recovered. This coupled with PML-N’s unwavering demand to form a Committee on the Abbottabad incident and PNS Mehran adds to Kiyani’s precarious disposition. ….

Read more » PAK TEA HOUSE

No evidence Zardari sent memo: Pentagon

PENTAGON: Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby has said that the memo sent by Pakistani origin US citizen Mansoor Ijaz was not credible and Mike Mullen was confident that it was not sent by President Zardari.

In a statement, Pentagon Spokesman Kirby said former US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen neither knew Mansoor Ijaz and nor did he ever communicate with him.

Kirby said Admiral Mullen knew intermediary who brought secret memo to him, adding that the memo was not signed and was not credible.

There was nothing in the memo that indicated that it was from President Zardari, he added.

Courtesy » The News