In response to Trump’s first tweet of 2018, where the U.S. President accused Pakistan of harboring terrorists and taking the money that we gave them for air to use for their own personal gain.  Trump’s tweet sent Pakistan into a furious Twitter debate. Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Khurram Dastgir Khan (@PakMnstrDefence) posted: “Pak as anti-terror ally has given free to US: land & air communication, military bases & intel cooperation that decimated Al-Qaeda over last 16yrs, but they have given us nothing but invective & mistrust. They overlook cross-border safe havens of terrorists who murder Pakistanis.” This is clearly the Minister of Defense calling out Trump on the failures that the United States’ have and how Pakistan has assisted in the war on terror.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/leezamangaldas/2018/01/02/trump-brings-in-the-new-year-with-polarizing-pakistan-tweet/#5cc46dda2b35

Tweet 1:

@ImranKhanPTI: “Disgusted by & strongly condemn the filthy language used by Rana Sanaullah & Abid Sher Ali against out PTI women. In the past 30 yrs these people have always disrespected women which is against our religion & culture. I want to thank our women for coming out in such huge numbers!” Apr 30, 2018. https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/437669-Imran-Khan-condemns-Rana-Sanaullah-filthy-language-against-women

This tweet by Pakistani politician serving on the National Assembly and leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, is a fierce women’s rights activist. When Rana Sanaullah used hateful remarks against women on Monday, which was clearly misogynistic. However, after looking into Imran Khan’s background a bit more, I was able to see that he has quite a controversy following his public image. He is known as a playboy and socialite, possibly only advertising women’s rights to have more women follow him and his policies?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imran_Khan#Controversies

Sarah Belal. “Being an activist in Pakistan is hard but when I men Malala my work seemed validated”. Published in Dawn, Pakistan. 30 March 2018.

1. From the perspective of Sarah Belal, Director of the Justice Project Pakistan, this blog describes what it was like for a group of activists to meet Malala. These twenty activists were all female human rights protectors were invited to meet with her. This is impressive because while all the activists had known about each other through their common works, they had never gotten the chance to be in the same room together. Each was beyond excited to meet someone whom they consider their hero and a pathfinder in an uncommon profession.

2. While this article is mainly about what is was like to meet Malala, underneath it seems like so much more. For these activists, most days are taxing and paved with difficulty. Meeting someone who has impacted the world you’re working in is important and Malala is a hero to these women. The struggle as female rights’ activist in countries like Pakistan is immense. With the need to break stereotypes surrounding the word ‘woman’ and the constant frustration of a government and people forcing inequality on women, there is nothing more vital than these activists. The best way for collective action to not only be formed, but almost more importantly, maintained, is hope. Hope is exactly what these activists got in meeting Malala.

3. https://www.dawn.com/news/1398502/being-an-activist-in-pakistan-is-hard-but-when-i-met-malala-my-work-seemed-validated

 

Sitting atop the beautiful mountain range of Nanga Parbat was a family of markhors. This family typically spent its day sleeping and grazing on the steep and elevated mountainside. Every once in a while Papa Markhor will travel to the other side of the Nanga Parbat mountain to speak with another family of markhors. He normally discussed the predators in the area that both families lived, the changing conservation laws, and hunters in the area. This was done to ensure that both families were well informed.

Today started very similar to other days: it was beautiful outside and the morning sun relieved some of the chill that the night had brought. Father Markhor was headed to the other side of the mountain. He kissed each of the baby markhors goodbye and promised his wife that he would return before the days end. With that sweet farewell he began his trek up the mountain.

When he didn’t return for many hours Mama Markhor became worried. She fed each of the kids and put them to bed. Late in the night Papa Markhor returned home limping and sharking from pain. He had been making his normal trek up the mountain when a huge snake stopped him. This snake had hissed at Papa Markhor, telling him that he could not pass. Without warning, the snake lurched at Papa Markhor, biting at his legs and sending him running to his family.Never again will Papa Markhor journey to the other side of the mountain and he won’t let his children travel either. It is far too dangerous with that large snake on the hunt.

Help Received: http://www.wwfpak.org/species/Markhor.php

https://www.dawn.com/news/1385506

“Manipulating Pakistani Minds” Published in Dawn, Pakistan. January 27th, 2018. The author prefers to remain unnamed, however he or she teaches physics in Lahore and Islamabad.

Eighteen months ago a lawyer-activist Asma Jehangir filed a petition in the Supreme Court wherein she challenged the state’s media behavior on multiple counts. The petition identifies three major power related industries in the government: the information of ministry, privately owned media (overseen by Pemra) and ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations). In Article 19A of the Constitution, it asserts the public’s right to authentic and unbiased information, which it has not be getting. The petition has so far gone on without a hearing.

In the race to shape the public’s mind, the military is also a solid contender. Mobile transmitter broadcasts have lead to violent murders throughout the country. Gang wars have been started after inflammatory, local newspapers stoked the fires. While PTV has often been criticized for uncritically carrying the state’s narrative, most Pakistani private TV channels only thinly mask the agenda of their owners or sponsors. Sympathy to murders and terrorists is abundant and the broadcasts of lies, rumor, and idiocy are selling fast. Journalism has visibly reduced and degraded national cultural quality.

The article offers a seeming solution to this issue of corruption in the media: by the “creation of libel and defamation laws being vigorously enforced by the courts. Disclosure of financial information, respect for truth and evidence, and adherence to basic journalistic ethics must be insisted upon.” I feel as though this is not nearly enough to stop corruption in any regime and it seems too simple to actually work. Things must change on a much larger scale in order for a stable media setting to be established.