Here’s what’s happening across the border: Asia Bibi’s lawyer left Pakistan on UN, EU directives; Pak’s female comedian says it is always difficult for women.
PTI officials attend event where mullahs demand Asia Bibi’s death
Pakistan-American writer and columnist Mohmmad Taqi has tweeted a video of what seemed to be a prayer ceremony for slain religious leader Samiul Haq, where slogans were raised demanding death penalty for Asia Bibi.
It was attended by defence minister Pervez Khattak, Pakistan National Assembly spokesperson Asad Qaisar, among others. In the video Mullahs could be heard shouting slogans against the Supreme Court verdict, acquitting Asia Bibi of blasphemy charges —“Tere khoon se inqilab aayega” (a revolution will come with your blood), “Asia Bibi ko phaansi do”.
The #PTI’s best and the brightest, including the Speaker National Assembly and Defense Minister of #Pakistan at a religious conference calling for death to #AasiaBibi #blasphemy https://t.co/AtWmFDmzF9
— Mohammad Taqi (@mazdaki) November 5, 2018
The video used the words “PTI’s best and brightest”, hinting at the government’s silence over the ongoing protest against Asia Bibi’s acquittal.
Meanwhile, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a far-right political alliance in Pakistan, announced Monday that it plans to organise a “million march” in Karachi this Thursday against the SC verdict, reports Dawn.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, whose party is a part of the MMA alliance, had announced last week that a ‘million march’ would be held in the port city.
Thursday’s march will be Rehman’s second major act of protest after he led a rally in Peshawar last Friday holding Imran Khan’s government responsible for the unrest over the Asia Bibi verdict.
Asia Bibi’s lawyer says he left Pakistan on UN directive
Saif-ul-Malook, the lawyer who represented Asia Bibi and successfully won the case for her, said Monday that it was on the directives of the United Nations and the European Union that he left Pakistan against his wishes citing a threat to his life, reported The News International.
Malook, who is now in the Netherlands, was speaking at a press conference in the Hague. He said he got in touch with a UN official in Islamabad last week after the agitations broke out against the Supreme Court’s verdict on Asia Bibi.
He was quoted as saying: “And then they (the UN) and the European nation ambassadors in Islamabad, they kept me for three days and then put me on a plane against my wishes”.
Malook went on to say that he had made it clear to the officials that he did not want to leave the country unless he got Asia Bibi out of “the prison”.
“They were of the view that I was the prime target to be killed, and that my life was in imminent danger. For three days they did not let me open the door, one day I called the French ambassador and said I do not want to be here,” he added.
This female comedian is breaking the glass ceiling
Pakistani comedian and YouTuber Faiza Saleem talks about how it feels to play characters that give her the liberty to perform as she wishes as opposed to the roles given by someone else, Maliha Rehman writes in Dawn.
Rehman writes that for Pakistani women pursuing a career in comedy is nothing short of “an unconventional choice”.
“As a woman I do know that I have to push harder for work opportunities”. She adds that the audience is “unfortunately more accepting towards a male cracking a certain kind of joke than a female”.
Saleem says, “There is a lot of self-censorship when I write down jokes and particularly when we’re improvising on stage as theKhawatoons. Sexual innuendos, political and religious jokes are absolute taboos”.
Khawatoons is Pakistan’s first all-female improv comic group.
The comedian says though she has been offered roles in big projects with stellar cast, she is often given the character of a “fat girl who forlornly daydreams about the boy she can never get”. This, she says, is unacceptable to her and clearly refuses to undertake.
Saleem says social media has enabled her to work on her own roles and characters.
Pak minister says govt planning to regulate social media
The Pakistan government has decided to regulate social media platforms citing that they often go unchecked and that forming a legislation in this connection remains a challenge, reported The News International.
Making this announcement, information minister Fawad Chaudhry Sunday said fake news was a challenge considering how there exists a large pool of social media users who can fall victims to such incidents.
The minister was speaking at panel discussion titled, ‘There is no Truth: Only Narrative’. He also mentioned that the proposed Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority would also be tasked with regulating social media.