ISLAMABAD: Custodians of shrines, commonly known as pirs (spiritual leaders), are considered as vital part of Pakistani politics.
They enjoy a vast support of their followers both in rural and urban areas of the country that makes them power players in electoral politics.
The shrines of spiritual leaders are spread across Pakistan, especially in Punjab and Sindh provinces, besides the country’s federal capital – Islamabad.
The custodians of these shrines either contest elections from platforms of different political parties or announce their support for a particular candidate or a political party.
Their influence over the thousands of devotees make them a power players in electoral politics as devotees look to the pirs for guidance during the elections. Leaders of the key political parties visit them to seek their support.
“Basically, we are a conservative society and people still consider the pirs as their spiritual guide and take pride in becoming their devotees,” Professor Tahir Malik, political analyst and academic, told Arab News.
He said that in Punjab and Sindh provinces some pirs not only contest the elections, but are elected to the Parliament with ease as well. “They are electable candidates in their respective constituencies and change their political loyalties to remain in power and keep hold on their devotees-cum-constituents,” he said.
He added that shrine guardians participated in 1937 and 1946 elections of the subcontinent (partitioned into the two separate countries of India and Pakistan in 1947), emerging as a formidable force on the basis of their strong religious following.
“The pirs and their politics will keep thriving in Pakistan while superstitions and illiteracy persist,” he said, adding that control over the devotees is, however, waning with the increasing sway of the Internet and social media.
According to a research by Dr. Adeel Malik, a professor of development economics at the University of Oxford, there are around 64 shrines in Punjab province with direct political connections.
Multan district in Pakistan’s Punjab province has the highest number of shrine families in politics followed by Jhang, Rahim Yar Khan, Okara, Taunsa Sharif and Chishtian.
This research found that around 16 percent of the 342 members of the National Assembly that completed its five-year term in May belonged to shrine families.
For the 2018 elections, many shrine families are contesting the election from South Punjab while others support candidates and political parties of their choice.
Punjab remains the major battlefield for political parties for its number of seats in the National Assembly.
The province has 141 seats in the Lower House of the Parliament out of the 272 in which candidates contest direct elections.
It is said that the party to win Punjab can easily form a government in the center. This increases importance of the pirs and landlords in the province who emerge as the electable candidates for every political party.
The pirs, besides being guardians of the shrines, own vast extracts of agricultural land in their respective areas and collect donations from followers. This makes them virtually invincible in their constituencies.
Fayyaz Raja, a political analyst at a private television channel, said that the pirs and their followers traditionally supported two major political parties – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party – in the polls.
“This time the majority of them have switched to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf due to the Khatam-e-Nabuwat issue,” he told Arab News.
An amendment in Khatam-e-Nabuwat (finality of Prophethood) clause, now withdrawn, prompted a row in November last year and will cost the outgoing ruling party, PML-N, in this election, Raja believes.
Custodians of some shrines are contesting elections as independent candidates, he said, adding they would become part of a political wheeling and dealing after the elections to form the government and get ministries of their choice.
Raja said that in the past couple of months, PTI chairman Imran Khan has been exploiting the issue of Khatam-e-Nabuwat and has succeeded in getting support of different shrines.
“It is quite normal for these pirs to switch political loyalties ahead of the elections,” he said, “this time they have used Khatam-e-Nabuwat as the pretext and switched to PTI to become part of the power game.”
Shrines; the other invisible power in Pakistani politics
Shrines; the other invisible power in Pakistani politics
- According to research, around 64 shrines in Punjab alone have political connections
- Political analysts say pirs change their political loyalties before elections to retain political influence and a keep a hold on followers
Six soldiers killed in militant attack in Pakistan’s northwest — army
- Pakistan has seen rise in attacks in recent weeks which it blames on militants operating from Afghanistan
- Afghan Taliban say they do not allow Afghanistan’s territory to be used by militants against other nations
ISLAMABAD: Militants opened fire on a security post in northwest Pakistan late on Thursday, killing at least six personnel, the military said in a statement on Friday.
Pakistan has seen a rise in militant attacks in recent weeks, with many of them taking place in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan where Islamabad says groups like the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, are hiding and from where they daily target security forces convoys and check posts, and carry out targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials.
Militants, particularly from separatist groups, have also repeatedly struck in the southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.
“In general area Ladha, South Waziristan District, a group of [militants] attacked a security forces’ post,” the military’s media wing said in a statement.
“Own troops fought bravely, foiling the attempts of intrusion and killed five [militants]. However, during intense exchange of fire, six brave sons of soil, having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat.”
In a second incident on Sept. 19, the army said it foiled an attempt by a group of seven militants to infiltrate the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area of Spinwam in the North Waziristan district:
“The infiltrators were surrounded, effectively engaged and after an intense fire exchange, all seven [militants] were sent to hell. A large quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives was also recovered.”
Islamabad says militants mainly associated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) frequently launch attacks from Afghanistan and has even blamed Kabul’s Afghan Taliban rulers for facilitating anti-Pakistan militants. Kabul denies the charges.
On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the international body was “particularly worried” about the penetration of militants from Afghanistan into Pakistan, calling on Kabul not to allow its soil to be used by terror groups.
“We are particularly worried… when we look into the neighboring countries, we are particularly worried with the fact that there is a penetration of terrorists from Afghanistan into Pakistan and that that is creating, of course, many innocent victims and being a threat to Pakistani security,” Guterres told reporters in response to a question about what the UN planned to do about militants using safe havens in Afghanistan to launch attacks in Pakistan.
“So, one of the things that is absolutely essential is that Afghanistan controls its territory and doesn’t allow terrorist groups from any other country to operate from Afghanistan.”
Much-debated Pakistan Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Ordinance becomes law
- Supreme Court cases to be heard by bench comprising chief justice, next most senior judge and SC judge nominated by CJ
- The law is widely seen as curtailing the powers of the senior judiciary to initiate cases on their own through suo moto proceedings
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday signed into law the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Amendment Ordinance 2024, legislation widely believed to have curtailed the powers of the country’s senior judiciary and which was passed by parliament last year but blocked by the top court.
The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 was passed in the last days of the first term in government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. However, before the law could be enacted on April 21, 2023, an eight-member bench constituted by then Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial issued a stay order on it on April 13, 2023.
“Every cause, appeal, or matter before the Supreme Court shall be heard and disposed of by a Bench comprising the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the next most senior judge of the Supreme Court and a Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the Chief Justice of Pakistan from time to time,” the ordinance, which was signed into law, said.
One provision, which is widely seen as limiting the power of Supreme Court judges to initiate cases of public importance or fundamental laws on their own through suo moto proceedings, said a bench hearing a matter under Article 184(3) of the constitution would decide and identify through a “reasoned and speaking order” the question of public importance in the case and what fundamental right it was seeking to enforce.
Article 184 of the constitution confers original jurisdiction, the authority to hear a case at its initiation, often referred to as Public Interest Litigation, in the form of judicial review to Pakistan’s Supreme Court. Clause (3) of Article 184 is cited as the source of suo motu powers. In essence, it gives the apex court the extraordinary power to assume jurisdiction over any “question of public importance with reference to the enforcement of any fundamental right”.
Under the new law, each case would be heard in turn, that is the cases filed first will be heard first, and a reason furnished for taking up cases out of turn. All hearings will be recorded and transcripts publicly available.
Hearings on petitions against the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 began in September 2023 and were broadcast live by Pakistan’s state television.
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa had taken up the petitions challenging the law as his first order of business shortly after taking oath the same month and had constituted a full-court bench of the apex court comprising all 15 judges.
UK announces support for seven climate change projects in Pakistan
- Initiatives include solar farms, electric bikes, reducing emissions and converting agricultural waste to energy
- Global organizations, such as the UN, see Pakistan as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change
ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom will support seven climate change projects in Pakistan including building solar farms and using AI to reduce emissions, the British High Commission said on Friday.
Global organizations, such as the United Nations, see Pakistan as one of the countries most vulnerable to extreme weather and climate change, with floods wreaking havoc in 2022, killing more than 1,700 people and displacing millions.
“Projects building floating solar farms, using Artificial Intelligence to reduce emissions, converting agricultural waste into clean energy sources, and building zero-emission electric motorbikes will receive UK specialist support,” the British High Commission said on Friday.
The support will be provided through the Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA), a £12.6 million technical assistance program funded by International Climate Finance, a UK government commitment to support developing countries respond to the challenges and opportunities of climate change.
The projects will get one-on-one specialist support, including on financial, gender equality and social inclusion issues to strengthen proposals for secure funding from investors.
The projects include building a 500MW floating solar project in Keenjhar Lake that will generate clean energy and reduce fossil fuel dependence. Another project will offer an AI-powered platform to reduce emissions while the Quintech Sciences project will focus on eco and health-conscious segments.
The biochar project will help convert agricultural waste into biochar, a stable solid, rich in carbon that is made from organic waste material or biomass that is partially combusted in the presence of limited oxygen. The project aims to boost crop yields and reduce the reliance on synthetic fertilizers. The Vlektra project will aim to enhance the production capacity of the zero-emission electric bikes.
Finally, the Pakistan Environment Trust project will transform agricultural waste into a clean energy source for industries while a state-of-the-art facility will also be established to produce Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (R-PET) resin to reduce the need for plastic and lower carbon footprint.
Speaking about the support, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott said the range of the projects depicted Pakistan’s climate leadership at its best.
“It is also an example of the UK working in partnership with Pakistan to find home-grown solutions to tackle big issues,” she said in a statement. “I look forward to seeing how these proposals progress on the international stage and wish them the very best.”
Two Pakistani women military peacekeepers receive UN Gender Advocacy Award
- Recipients are Major Sania Safdar who served in Cyprus and Major Komal Masood who served in Central African Republic
- Created in 2016, award recognizes military peacekeepers who have best integrated a gender perspective into peacekeeping
ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistani women military peacekeepers have received the UN’s Gender Advocacy Award, Radio Pakistan reported on Friday.
Created in 2016 by the Office of Military Affairs within the Department for Peace Operations (DPO), the award recognizes military peacekeepers who have best integrated a gender perspective into peacekeeping activities. Each year, the awardee is selected among candidates nominated by Force Commanders and Heads of Mission from all peace operations.
“They include Major Sania Safdar, who served in UN Peacekeeping Mission Cyprus, and Major Komal Masood who served in the Central African Republic,” Radio Pakistan said about the 2024 recipients.
“[Officers] have been recognized for their outstanding performance and commitment in promoting the ideals of the UN,” PTV, Pakistan state television, said.
According to ISPR, the Pakistan army’s media wing, both officers had “demonstrated exceptional professionalism, dedication and made significant contributions to the Mission’s peace and stability efforts especially with regards to advancing women’s meaningful participation in peacekeeping operations.”
Major Radhika Sen, an Indian peacekeeper who was deployed with the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, received the 2023 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award. Major Sen served in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from March 2023 to April 2024, as the Commander of the Indian Rapid Deployment Battalion’s (INDRDB) Engagement Platoon.
She helped create Community Alert Networks that allowed community members, including displaced women and girls, to voice their security and humanitarian concerns so the Mission could better address their needs. She also facilitated English classes for children as well as gender and vocational training, encouraging women to start a union to advocate for their rights in local peace and security discussions.
Uncertainty continues over PTI rally tomorrow as permission pending with Punjab administration
- Lahore High Court orders administration to respond by 5pm to PTI’s request to hold Lahore rally on Saturday
- PTI last organized a rally in Islamabad on Sept. 8 to press for release of Imran Khan, jailed since last August
ISLAMABAD: Uncertainty continued over whether the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan would hold a planned rally in the eastern city of Lahore tomorrow, Saturday, as the district administration had not given permission for the public gathering by Friday afternoon.
The PTI organized a large rally in Islamabad on Sept. 8 to press for the release of Khan, jailed since last August on a number of charges, including corruption and treason. The Islamabad rally was previously planned for July and then August but was postponed both times after permission was revoked over what officials described as security threats and concerns about unrest.
After the Islamabad gathering, the PTI announced it would hold its next rally in Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab, and had filed for permission with the district administration.
“The Lahore High Court has ordered the [district] administration to respond to the permission sought by PTI leadership by 5 p.m. today [Friday],” the PTI said in a statement to the media after the court hearing.
“PTI is holding a jalsa [rally] tomorrow in Lahore, with public joining from across the country.”
In anticipation of thousands of PTI supporters arriving in Lahore for the rally, the party said a “massive crackdown” was taking place in Punjab and especially in the provincial capital, Lahore. There was no comment from the Punjab government or police.
Because of roadblocks placed by the administration, PTI supporters and leaders traveling to Islamabad for the last rally had also widely complained they had been unable to reach on time. A policeman was also injured, as police and supporters clashed on the way to the rally venue on the outskirts of the capital. The gathering was otherwise largely peaceful.
The PTI says it has faced an over year-long crackdown since protesters allegedly linked to the party attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after Khan’s brief arrest that day in a land graft case. Hundreds of PTI followers and leaders were arrested following the riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.
The party says it was not allowed to campaign freely ahead of Feb. 8 general elections, a vote marred by a mobile Internet shutdown on election day and unusually delayed results, leading to accusations that it was rigged and drawing concern from rights groups and foreign governments. The election commission says polls were free and fair.
The PTI says it won the most seats in the general election, but its mandate was “stolen” by a coalition led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which it accuses of forming the government with the backing of the all-powerful military. Both deny the claim.
The PTI’s main aim in holding rallies is to mobilize supporters for the release of Khan. He was convicted in four cases since he was first taken into custody last August, all of which have either been suspended or overturned by the courts.
Khan remains in jail, however, on new charges brought by the national accountability watchdog regarding the illegal sale of gifts from a state repository while he was prime minister from 2018-22.
