Police in Kerala opened an investigation against India’s deputy minister of information technology on Tuesday for allegedly stirring religious hatred on social media after bomb blasts at a Jehovah’s Witnesses convention in the southern state.
Homemade bombs exploded, killing three people and wounding 50 in the attack on Sunday that targeted a three-day event organised by the Christian-based religious movement a few miles northeast of the city of Kochi.
More than 2,000 people were attending the convention in the state, where the Jehovah’s Witnesses have a strong presence.
Police arrested a man after he posted a video claiming responsibility for the attack, accusing the religious group of being anti-national.
Hours after the blasts, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, condemned the blast in a post on social media that went on to accuse Kerala’s ruling Communist party of appeasing radical organisations such as the Palestinian group Hamas.
Chandrashekhar used former US state secretary Hillary Clinton’s 2011 quote, “You can’t keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbours. You know, eventually those snakes are going to turn on whoever has them in the backyard” and used hashtags #HamasTerrorists and #KochiTerrorAttacks.
Last week, the former head of Hamas, Khaled Mashal, virtually addressed a rally organised by a local Muslim group in Kerala calling for solidarity with Gaza, media reported.
Kerala’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Modi’s Hindu nationalist party was trying to destabilise the state, home to millions of Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
Vijayan said Chandrashekhar’s allegations that the Kerala government permitted protests against Israel were false.
Chandrashekhar’s aide told Reuters that the criminal case filed by the Kerala police would be addressed by the minister’s lawyer.
Bangladesh’s skipper Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and elected to bat first in Pakistan’s seventh game of the ICC World Cup.
The match is being played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Towhid Hridoy replaced Mahedi Hasan for the Bengal Tigers, meanwhile, Pakistan made three changes to their side with Fakhar Zaman, Agha Salman and Usama Mir, coming back into the side to replace Imamul Haq, Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan.
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim and Haris Rauf.
Bangladesh: Litton Das †, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam.
The Supreme Court is hearing the first-ever intra-court appeals (ICAs) against its Sept 15 majority judgment that declared amendments to the accountability laws as illegal.
The larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and including Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi took up two ICAs — one filed by the federal government and the other by former SSGCL managing director Zuhair Ahmed Siddiqui.
On Oct 26, the Supreme Court had also issued a circular for the information of all concerned that any appeal filed in the top court against the decisions taken on petitions moved under Article 184(3) of the Constitution should be moved in the form of ICA.
The circular issued by the registrar’s office had explained that “Section 5 of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 provides that an appeal will lie before this court against an order passed by this court while exercising jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution”.
Today, the federal government, in an application dated Oct 30, urged the apex court to adjourn the hearing till the week starting from Nov 6 due to the unavailability of its counsel.
The plea, submitted by Advocate on Record Anis Muhammad Shahzad, stated that the counsel for the government, Makhdoom Ali Khan, had been “granted general adjournment” till Nov 3, and went to Paris.
He was scheduled to return on Nov 4 but found out on Saturday (October 28) that the hearing had been fixed for today. The application further said that all return flights to Pakistan on Oct 28 and 29 were “completely sold out, making a timely return impossible”.
During the hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan appeared before the court as the federal government’s counsel while Farook H. Naek was present as Siddiqui’s lawyer.
The hearing
At the outset of the hearing, AGP Awan came to the rostrum and informed the court that Khan was abroad and had sought adjournment of the hearing.
Here, CJP Isa noted, “We have also received a few other applications.”
He then asked Naek if he was supporting the SC verdict on the NAB law or opposing it, to which the latter replied that he was opposing it.
The chief justice then observed, “You have written that according to the practice and procedures [law], a five-member bench should hear the NAB amendments case.” He then asked Naek to present his arguments if he was still maintaining the same position.
“If you satisfy [the court] on this point, then we won’t proceed to the merits of the appeal. In that case, we will restore the petitions against the NAB amendments and constitute a new bench” the CJP stated.
He went on to ask if the counsel would “take back his point” and directed him to wait for the detailed verdict on the law clipping CJP’s powers.
At this, Naek said, “Please do not do this. Proceed with the current appeals. If this is done, then cases in the NAB courts would begin.” Justice Isa then noted, “See, Makhdoom Ali Khan has taken this ground in his application.” Here, Naek requested that he be made a respondent in the case as well.
The CJP then mentioned that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s detailed dissenting note on the apex court’s verdict had also been released. “If the petitioner wants, he can also make amendments in the plea after the dissenting note’s [release],” he added.
Justice Isa observed, “If you would file a review petition, then we will not hear the intra-court appeal.” Naek then informed the court that he was withdrawing his review petitions.
At this point during the hearing, the CJP asked the assistant lawyer of the federal government’s counsel whether he was “using the attorney general’s office as a shield”, to which the lawyer replied in the negative.
The chief justice then noted that if the merits were reviewed under the Practice and Procedures Act, the appeals would be restored. He reiterated that the detailed verdict of the NAB law case should be waited for.
However, Naek said that waiting for the order would cause a delay and urged the court to continue with the proceedings “without delay”.
CJP Isa stated that the Practice and Procedures Act had now come into force and under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, the right of appeal had been granted.
At this point during the hearing, Justice Minallah observed that the case was of “interpretation”. “How is the federal government the affected party in this case?” he asked.
The judge went on to note that the word used in the practice and procedures law was “person” and therefore, an affected party could file an appeal.
Here, CJP Isa said, “Not everything was done away with through the NAB amendments. Only the forum was changed through the NAB amendments. No one was acquitted from allegations through the NAB changes.”
Siddiqui’s lawyer, Naek, argued, “Going to the NAB court again in the verdict would affect my right.”
AGP Awan then asserted that the federal government was the affected party, hence, it had filed an appeal.
The chief justice then observed that after the detailed verdict of the practice and procedures law, the NAB would hear ICAs. Expressing the apprehension that “NAB courts would pronounce a sentence”, Naek urged the SC to suspend the verdict on the accountability law tweaks.
Here, CJP Isa said, “We can say that till the Supreme Court’s verdict [is announced], the NAB courts do not give a final decision.” AGP Awan also requested that the apex court suspend the directives issued in its previous order.
Govt’s appeal
The federal government in its appeal had requested the apex court to set aside the September 15 majority judgement that had declared amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) illegal.
Moved through senior counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan, the government had taken the plea that the majority judgement was opposed to the facts of the case and contrary to the law.
On Sept 15, the Supreme Court by a majority of two-to-one had ruled that the public representatives who benefited from the amendments made by the PDM government in the NAO will have to face corruption references again.
Through the ICA, the federal government had argued that PTI Chairman Imran Khan, who had challenged the amendments, was given opportunities during the hearing not only to make verbal submissions for 27 hearings but also to make submissions in rebuttal, whereas the federation was restricted only to answering queries from the bench.
Similarly, the ICA said the respondent (Imran) was allowed three months’ time to file his written submissions but the federation’s request for a grant of the same time or at least three weeks had not been entertained.
Having left with no other option, the written submissions were hurriedly prepared and filed by the federation on Sept 12, as yet another government’s request seeking postponement of the case or constitution of a full court bench for hearing the petition in view of the SC (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 was also not decided.
Thus, the majority judgement is contrary to the principles of natural justice and due process of law and against the dicta law laid down by the SC larger bench in the 1990 Amanullah Khan case, it added.
The ICA emphasised that a number of references were returned or transferred to other fora under the amendment act and as per the information provided by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), no acquittals were ordered under the amendment act.
On the contrary, a number of acquittals were ordered pursuant to the amendment ordinances promulgated during the PTI government and in some cases NAB had gone in appeal and in others, the accused had done so.
The majority of the appeals and petitions are pending before the high court but none of the accused, whose references were returned or transferred pending to other fora or appeals, were parties before the SC and the facts of their cases were not before the top court, the ICA contended.
Under-invoicing solar panels and bags filled with cash to move dollars informally are so last century. There are more high-tech ways to remit money across borders without alerting the authorities, and one such way is through cryptocurrencies.
The new hawala/hundi guy is stablecoins like Tether (commonly known as USDT). Stablecoins are different from regular free-floating cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin in that they seek to ensure price stability within the crypto-verse. Their goal is to maintain a constant value, regardless of wider crypto market fluctuations, and are often pegged to different assets such as fiat currency.
USDT is the most popular stablecoin, and it is pegged to the value of the US dollar. So whether the dollar to PKR exchange rate is at Rs250 or Rs350, a single unit of USDT will always be worth $1.
Locals can use rupees to buy USDT to buy Bitcoin. In this case, think of USDT as a token at a university cafeteria: you use rupees to buy a token, which you present at the buffet line to be able to purchase lunch. The token is not legal tender, i.e. you cannot use it to buy a packet of Kurkure at the local khokha, but you can use it to purchase samosay in the buffet line.
Given the challenges of transferring foreign currency inside and outside the country, many are turning towards the ease of USDT, which, when transferred, can be converted back into fiat money.
On one hand, the government is trying to incentivise remittances. On the other hand, IT professionals working for overseas clients bemoan the challenges of bringing home their hard-earned dollars. People are leaving the country, but the inflow of official remittances is falling. This is in part because remittances have moved towards stablecoins.
“I am 100 per cent sure it is happening,” says Shabbar Zaidi, former chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue. “It is a form of hawala/hundi, with a different structure. Pakistan’s potential for remittances is about $40 billion, but it is spread over small amounts,” he said.
In FY23, Pakistan received $27bn in remittances, down from $31.3bn in FY22. This indicates that nearly $10bn might have been diverted towards various informal channels, including stablecoins. Instead of the hassle of formal channels to send money, a person in the US can send transfer remittances in 15 minutes because it is a faster process where no physical cash changes hands.
“Some people use the business-to-business market to transact in USDT. Even when dollars were not easily available, USDT could be bought, which could then be used to trade in cryptocurrencies or be kept as a hedge,” says payment expert Moiz Hussain, chief financial officer (CFO) at Neem Exponential Financial Services.
“Many companies that export, as well as freelancers for international firms, opt to be paid in stablecoins like USDT. So if you sell to a company in the US, instead of sending dollars, they convert it to USDT and send it to Pakistan,” says Hussain.
While 1 USDT is equal to $1, the PKR to USDT rate fluctuates at a premium. So if USD is trading at Rs300 in the open market, USDT could be trading at Rs305.
“USDT mirrors USD, but crypto’s fluctuations impact USDT. When the crypto’s market is down, people sell crypto to liquidate their positions, which increases demand for USDT and pushes up its price. So the gap can increase from Rs5-6 to Rs8-9,” Hussain explains.
While for a lot of laypeople, the intricacies of the cryptoverse are still baffling, the adoption rate in Pakistan is one of the highest in the world, according to blockchain data platform Chainalysis, which ranked the country number eight on the 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index.
“Regardless of the exchange rate, the pace at which crypto is being purchased in Pakistan continues to grow,” says Zeeshan Ahmed, country general manager at Rain Financial. “Remittances have moved from banking channels to crypto channels, and a lot of freelancers are being paid in it as well.”
However, the volume or percentage of informal trade being conducted in stablecoins is hard to gauge. “Cryptocurrency is difficult to track because of its nature. However, common sense dictates that if more people are moving abroad, but remittances are declining, then the money is being moved by some means,” says Ahmed.
His hypothesis is supported by observations in Chainalysis’ recent report, which notes that a high share of activity happening in Pakistan is through peer-to-peer exchanges, common in emerging markets or countries with stricter capital controls.
“A need for wealth preservation in the face of high inflation and currency devaluation appears to be the reason many Pakistanis have turned to crypto,” says the report, quoting Ahmed. Since the bulk of Pakistan’s transaction volume, especially the purchase of stablecoins, takes place through informal P2P markets, it can’t easily be identified on-chain, states the report.
Over the last decade, cash in circulation has jumped from 28pc to 41pc as a percentage of bank deposits and from 22pc to 29pc as a percentage of total money, according to an article in Dawn. This means that a lot more people are walking around the country with wads of Rs5,000 notes in their pockets. Higher cash in circulation indicates an increase in the informal economy.
When the money needs to be transited across borders, the use of USDT comes in handy. While many, even those in the upper echelons, appear to be blind to crypto, those with some tech knowledge have more enlightened ways of remaining under the radar.
At least 13 people were killed and around 50 injured when two trains collided in southeast India, officials said on Monday, updating an earlier toll of eight.
The accident occurred late on Sunday after one of the passenger trains overshot a signal between the towns of Alamanda and Kantakapalle in Andhra Pradesh state.
A preliminary investigation found that “human error” had led to the collision, the railway ministry said in a statement.
“Thirteen passengers have been killed and 50 others are injured. Rescue operations are going on,” top local government official Nagalakshmi S. told reporters.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had spoken with the country’s railway minister about the “unfortunate” derailment.
“Authorities are providing all possible assistance to those affected,” Modi wrote on social media.
India has one of the world’s largest rail networks and has seen several disasters over the years, the worst in 1981 when a train derailed while crossing a bridge in Bihar state, killing an estimated 800 people.
In June, a three-train collision killed nearly 300 people in Odisha state. In August, at least nine people were killed when a coach parked in southern India caught fire as a passenger tried to make tea.
Earlier this month, four people were killed after an express train derailed in Bihar.
Why do countries have national data protection laws? The general idea is to safeguard individuals’ data and privacy, balance key interests of the state, and not hinder business growth in an increasingly digital and globalised economy.
The global proliferation of data protection legislation can be largely attributed to the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by the European Union, a classic case of the ‘Brussels Effect’ — the idea that entities outside the EU have to end up complying with EU laws and standards for many reasons such as its influence on global markets.
Both India’s DPDPA and Pakistan’s PDPB draw inspiration from the GDPR — in letter and spirit. It does not take a policy genius to realise that blindly copying any legal text, let alone an industry-defining legislation without considering local context is a bad idea. So is arbitrarily curbing internationally recognised norms and rights in the name of contextualisation. While each country is entitled to regulate data protection according to its needs, any particular selection of rights and obligations has consequences within its borders and beyond.
India’s DPDPA has been praised for its enterprise and startup-friendly provisions, however, many concerns have arisen regarding broad exemptions, limited grounds for processing data, and the government’s arbitrary power to make changes to the law. The law’s passage brings valuable lessons for Pakistani policymakers as they craft their own data protection law.
The most recently available draft of the PDPB has received major criticism from local and international policy observers, digital rights activists, and industry leaders for failing to address individual rights and business interests.
Issues relating to over-reliance on consent, undue state surveillance of citizens’ privacy, and stringent compliance requirements for organisations have been identified as some problematic aspects of the proposed law. The bill’s approval came without any meaningful consultation with relevant stakeholders, which can be judged by the fact that it is largely unclear which version of the draft bill has been pushed through.
Did I even consent to that?
The law is heavily reliant on the use of ‘free, specific, informed and unambiguous’ consent for lawfully processing data under Section 6 of the bill. While this may seem logical on the surface, it comes with its own issues. Consent is an appropriate basis for processing only if a person is offered control and a genuine choice on how their data is used. In reality, this is not always the case.
Companies regularly employ dark patterns that manipulate users into providing consent for a range of data processing activities. These requirements are often excessive and go far beyond what is necessary for using any particular service or digital application. Think of a mobile app whose primary feature is playing music but does not work unless you grant it access to your phone’s camera and microphone as well. Since these permissions are usually bundled together, users are not even aware of what they are saying yes to. Such consent is hardly informed.
Another example is pre-ticked or opt-out boxes, which nobody bothers unchecking while browsing websites or downloading apps on their devices. True consent differs from opting out. A lack of objection to the default state is not equivalent to a deliberate and unambiguous choice.
A connected issue is the age of children who can consent without seeking permission from parents or guardians. Under the PDPB, no one below 18 years of age can consent on their own accord. While it is important to ensure the safety of minors online, it is counterproductive and overly paternalistic to outright block teenagers’ participation in this digital age and economy. Imagine the compliance costs involved in devising a robust consent-seeking mechanism, monitoring and enforcing it every time a 16-year-old wants to create an Instagram account.
The EU places significant importance on safeguarding the privacy of children, as seen by the substantial lawsuits worth hundreds of millions of Euros filed against social media companies. However, even they believe that excessive surveillance of children above the age of 13 is not warranted. While the GDPR mandates the age of 16 for consent, it offers member states the flexibility to lower it to 13. Even the DPDPA which also has 18 as the age of consent, allows the government to specify a lower age of consent for organisations it deems safe for processing children’s data.
How did you get access to my data?
A notable exception to processing by consent under the Pakistani legislation is the category of legitimate interests. The bill defines legitimate interests as anything permitted under law. Under what law? Any law? Who knows.
This overly expansive criterion gives organisations enough flexibility to routinely circumvent the consent requirement for using people’s data for a broad range of activities that may not always align with the interests of the subjects. Allowing such a significant degree of discretion to organisations is unlikely to instil trust among individuals in their privacy and data being protected.
The legitimate interests criteria are a feature of GDPR as well. Unlike the PDPB, it does not define legitimate interests. However, it restricts processing where individual fundamental rights and freedoms override any legitimate interests. No such caveat exists in the PDPB.
Surprisingly, the Indian data protection law does not include legitimate interests as a lawful means of processing data. Rather, it introduces a category of certain legitimate uses that is fairly well specified. In fact, the specification is the only good thing about it. It adds a long list of intrusive data accesses on grounds such as the performance of state functions under any law and in the interests of sovereignty, national security, and integrity. The kind of exceptionalism that would make ‘Big Brother’ proud.
If the DPDPA casts a shadow of Big Brother, its Pakistani counterpart displays him in 4K. It’s one thing for organisations to handle personal data in pursuit of legitimate interests, but it reaches a different level when the state gains direct access to sensitive information. The bill, under Section 32, mandates organisations to share sensitive personal data with the government on vague grounds such as “public order” or “national security”. This blatant infringement of the right to privacy under Article 14 of the Constitution will shake the confidence of citizens, businesses, and foreign investors alike.
Even though the DPDPA allows the processing of personal data on abstract grounds such as national security, it does not have any provisions for sharing sensitive data with the government. In general, it is not uncommon to find national security exceptions in all types of laws including data protection.
The European data protection law as a whole does not apply to national security issues because the subject matter is outside the scope of EU law and is left to member states. That being said, it doesn’t facilitate government access to sensitive personal data on any other type of vague grounds. Even for matters relating to criminal convictions, it permits processing data, provided that appropriate safeguards are in place for the rights and freedoms of the subjects.
Regardless, the state has no business ordering organisations to hand over sensitive personal data of their users. The ‘sensitive’ in the term loses all value if the data can easily be shared with government authorities without any substantial grounds. Activists and observers are rightly worried that such draconian measures will delegitimise the value of having data protection legislation for citizens and outsiders.
Where did my data go?
All data is personal, but some is more personal than others. Typically, in data protection laws globally, you will encounter the two terms ‘personal data’ and ‘sensitive personal data’. Personal data, which constitutes the majority of all data, is subject to the standard application of the text and most of its provisions. In contrast, sensitive personal data which includes details such as religion, ethnicity etc, is generally prohibited from processing, save for a few clearly articulated exceptions. This framework is commonly found across data protection laws, including the PDPB, DPDPA, and the GDPR.
In an inexplicable move, the drafters of the bill in Pakistan have gone a step further by introducing a novel term to the mix: ‘critical personal data’. The rationale for this creativity is not provided, likely because there isn’t any or that the actual motives might not sit well with the public.
The bill defines critical personal data as “personal data retained by public service providers (excluding data available to the public), data identified by sector regulators, and classified as critical by the Commission, or any data related to international obligations.” If you think that’s just the way legal-speak works, you are mistaken. Most lawyers would not be able to make sense of this definition either. Not only is it exceedingly vague, but it is also open-ended, as the proposed commission can potentially classify anything under the sun as critical personal data.
One may ask, well, so what? Whether there are two or three different categories of data, what’s the big deal? None of this would be particularly interesting if this new invention of critical personal data wasn’t subject to data localisation under the bill — meaning the data has to be processed and stored locally and cannot be transferred outside of Pakistan. Many commentators fear this is a really bad idea.
Data localisation raises concerns among businesses offering services and products beyond Pakistan’s borders. It would diminish the competitiveness of local businesses, as they will be unable to utilise more cost-effective and reliable international cloud service providers. Freelancers and startups will encounter difficulties providing a range of digital services to offer optimal client experiences. Foreign investors and companies will be hesitant to store data within the country and/or do business here.
It may potentially lead to other countries declaring Pakistan’s data protection regime as inadequate for cross-border data transfers and other engagements. It also raises apprehensions among citizens whose data would inadvertently be subject to unlawful surveillance and government access. Overall, restricting cross-border data flows and data localisation could have severe repercussions on the country’s export potential and economic development and safeguarding the right to privacy. In short, the outcome is likely to be disastrous for key stakeholders.
Despite its many flaws, the Indian law, in contrast, generally does not impose any general restrictions on cross-border data flows — with the exception of cases where the government restricts transfers to certain blacklisted countries or enacts other types of restrictions. Earlier, draft versions of the text did contain data localisation obligations that were done away with in the published Act. The DPDPA, however, does not affect cross-border data transfer restrictions within existing sector laws in areas such as banking and telecommunication.
This is a more flexible approach compared to mandating data localisation obligations for all international transfers, which is likely to dissuade foreign companies from entering the local market and prevent local businesses from engaging with international entities on favourable and equal terms.
The EU has had its fair share of struggles with devising effective cross-border data transfer mechanisms, with the EU-US data transfer agreements in particular being amended 3 times and counting. However, this only alludes to the fact that despite issues with cross-border transfers, major economic players in the world believe that data localisation is not the answer. The GDPR emphasises that international cooperation on the protection of data is the way forward despite regulatory discrepancies between the two systems.
The discussion above tries to address just a fraction of the gaps within the existing PDPB draft bill, especially those relating to cumbersome compliance requirements such as unrealistic timelines and bureaucratic hurdles.
Pakistani policymakers should recognise that a robust national data protection law hinges on respecting individuals’ privacy and autonomy, scrutiny of terminology, thorough assessment of conflicting interests, and a forward-thinking perspective on fostering innovation and economic advancement. This cannot be achieved without engaging in substantive participatory dialogue and discussions with all significant stakeholders.
Asim Jamil, son of renowned Islamic scholar Maulana Tariq Jamil, passed away in Punjab’s Talamba on Sunday, his family said.
Confirming the news in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Tariq Jamil said the “accidental death” had turned the atmosphere mournful.
“We request you all to remember us in your prayers on this sad occasion. May Allah grant my son a high place in heaven,” he added.
Two people died while 25 others were injured after a 22-wheeler trailer carrying Afghan families overturned near the Grand Trunk Road in Punjab’s Attock, officials said.
Attock police spokesperson Naeem confirmed the injuries and casualties to Dawn.com.
He said the trailer, with five Afghan families aboard, was travelling from Sangjani to Afghanistan. “The vehicle overturned after one of its tyres burst,” the official said.
A statement issued by Attock’s Hazro Town police identified the deceased as 55-year-old Salman Khan and 60-year-old Bibi Gul. It said the bodies and wounded persons were immediately moved to the Tehsil Headquarter Hospital Hazro.
Meanwhile, four critically injured people were referred to Rawalpindi.
A number of Afghan families from across the country have made the journey back to their home country in recent days as the caretaker government’s ultimatum for all undocumented immigrants to leave Pakistan by the end of October nears.
There are more than two million undocumented Afghans living in Pakistan. According to officials, about 60,000 Afghans have “voluntarily” left the country through the border in recent weeks.
Pakistan has failed to combat rising impunity for crimes against journalists despite legislation for their safety, according to Freedom Network’s Annual Impunity 2023 report released on Sunday.
The report titled “One step forward, two steps back — Pakistan legislates on the safety of journalists, but still fails to protect them” was launched ahead of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, which falls on November 2.
“Since the promulgation of safety laws for journalists first by the Sindh government and then the federal government in late 2021, Pakistan continues to record an alarming increase in persecution of journalists, especially by government authorities and state agencies, including kidnapping, physical assaults and serious legal cases against them including on unproven charges of sedition, treason and electronic crimes, in the two-year post-legislation period,” it said.
“The Sindh Assembly passed the ‘Sindh Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners Act-2021’ while the National Assembly passed ‘Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act-2021’ in the span of few months,” it recalled.
According to the report, Pakistan was failing to use the important legal instruments to combat rising impunity for crimes against journalists despite passing laws in this regard for two years.
It highlighted that at least 37.5pc violations — 93 out of total 248 cases in period between August 2021-August 2023 — were recorded in Islamabad alone.
Sindh was the second worst region in Pakistan with 22.5pc of the violations (56 cases), the report said, adding that it was ironic that most attacks against journalists were reported from regions that legislated for their safety.
The report further highlighted that 11 journalists were also killed or lost lives in line of duty during the same period.
“Pakistan was ranked 157 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Border’s World Press Freedom Index in 2021 before the laws were passed,” it said, adding that the country had improved its media freedom rank to 150 due to the two laws in 2023.
“It is very disturbing to see the good work of the two legislatures diluted by not making the laws fully operational to provide protection to journalists,” Iqbal Khattak, Executive Director of Freedom Network, reacted to the report’s findings.
“Both the federal and Sindh governments are responsible for effectively dysfunctionalising their own laws and therefore delaying and effectively denying justice to journalists,” he said.
Failure of governments
The report went on to say that the federal Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act was passed by the National Assembly during PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s tenure.
“In these two years, both the Khan and Sharif governments failed to establish a safety commission mandated by the law which meant that in effect the federal law remained non-operationalised and hence failed to help a single of the 93 journalists in Islamabad that were killed, attacked, injured, threatened or harassed in the two years since its enactment. The two governments also failed to enforce the law,” it said.
Highlighting that a similar situation prevailed in Sindh, the report said: “The Sindh Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners Act was passed in June 2021 by the provincial assembly and notified officially in August 2021.
“But the Commission for the Protection of Journalists and other Media Practitioners (CPJMP), proposed by the law, was only notified one year late in December 2022 with respected jurist Rasheed A Razvi appointed its first chairperson.”
It added that the Sindh government failed to provide either an office, staff or formal budget for the commissions’ operations until Aug 2023.
“Thereby procedurally hampering its operations and severely restricting the commission’s ability to provide protection, relief, and justice for the growing number of violations against journalists and media entities in Sindh province,” the report noted.
It stated that the Commission Chairperson Razvi used to come to the aid of several journalists in Sindh “who were either kidnapped or attacked by issuing notices to the provincial authorities, including law enforcement agencies, to either recover or safeguard the journalists”.
“His orders were complied, indicating that if resourced properly, the commission can help reduce impunity of crimes against journalists and media in Sindh,” it added.
Recommendations
The report also made three recommendations for the country to benefit from these laws. These include “urgent formation of a safety commission under the federal Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, appropriate and adequate resourcing, including budget, office, and staff for Sindh’s commission, and an enactment of similar journalists’ safety laws by Balochistan, KP, and Punjab after legislative assemblies are elected in these provinces” following the 2024 provincial elections.
“Pakistan has a golden opportunity to become one of the strongest global performers in combating impunity for crimes against journalists with presence now on its statute books of the two specialist journalists’ safety legislations,” the report said. “But for this promise to materialise, these three recommendations must be implemented on priority.”
At least one person was killed and several others were injured after multiple explosions at a convention centre in the southern Indian state of Kerala on Sunday, local media reported.
The incident took place during a Jehovah’s Witnesses convention at the centre in Kalamassery, about 10 kilometres (6.21 miles) northeast of Kochi, reports said.
Police could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses are a nontrinitarian millenarian restorationist Christian denomination.
Local newspaper Mathrubhumi said at least three explosions occurred inside the convention hall, with more than 23 people injured. The injured have been rushed to hospitals.
“The explosion occurred seconds after the end of a prayer as part of the day’s event. The first blast took place in the middle of the hall. Seconds later, two more explosions rocked simultaneously on either side of the hall,” TA Sreekumar, regional spokesperson for the Jehovah’s Witnesses told mathrubhumi.com.
Iranian teenager Armita Garawand died on Saturday a month after falling into a coma following a disputed incident on Tehran’s metro, local media said.
“Armita Garawand, a student in Tehran, died an hour ago after intensive medical treatment and 28 days of hospitalisation in intensive care,” reported the Borna news agency affiliated with the youth ministry.
The 16-year-old ethnic Kurd was hospitalised in Tehran after she fell unconscious on the metro.
Her case was first reported on October 3 by Kurdish-focused rights group Hengaw, which said she had been critically wounded during an incident on the underground train network.
Authorities say she suffered a sudden drop in blood pressure and denied that any “physical or verbal altercations” had taken place between her and other passengers.
But rights groups have said the teen was critically wounded during an alleged assault by members of Iran’s morality police.
It came just over a year after the death of Mahsa Amini, also a young Iranian Kurd, following her arrest by the morality police for allegedly breaching Iran’s strict dress code for women in an incident that sparked mass protests across Iran.
On Saturday, Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted doctors as saying that Garawand had “suffered a fall resulting in brain damage followed by continued convulsions, a decline in brain oxygen and a cerebral oedema after a sudden drop in blood pressure”.
The slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is frequently heard at pro-Palestinian rallies and protests worldwide.
At first glance, one might wonder why anyone would object to a defiant call for an end to the decades-long oppression and occupation of Palestine. However, this simple chant has recently become a subject of debate regarding its interpretation, which many, including Jewish groups, claim is antisemitic.
People participate in a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Melbourne, October 15, 2023. — Reuters
In the midst of the many bans on pro-Palestinian marches, which include restrictions on waving the country’s flag, wearing traditional keffiyeh, and even uttering the simple phrase “free Palestine” in Europe, the chant is becoming increasingly targeted by regulations.
In Vienna, authorities banned a pro-Palestinian demonstration earlier this month, just before it was set to begin, because the “from the river to sea” slogan was included in their online invitations.
What started as a call to end an apartheid-like system in Israel and Palestine, is now conflated with being equal with antisemitism and a call for the destruction of the state of Israel as well as the Jewish population in the region by the Western authorities.
Later, the Austrian police retracted their policy and said, “According to current jurisprudence, the sentence ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ does not constitute incitement to hatred.”
Demonstrators take part in a protest in support of Palestinians in Vienna, Austria October 11, 2023. — Reuters
However, this is only one such instance.
Public prosecutors in the German capital Berlin say the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is a call for the erasure of Israel, and have moved to make its utterance a criminal offence.
In the UK, Home Secretary Suella Braverman made a public declaration in which she expressed her belief that law enforcement should step in, indicating that the chant conveys an “expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world”.
“It is not just explicit pro-Hamas symbols and chants that are cause for concern. I would encourage police to consider whether chants such as ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ should be understood as an expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world and whether its use in certain contexts may amount to a racially aggravated section 5 public order offence.”
But what does this chant actually mean?
The origins of the phrase go back to the 1940s. The river the chant refers to is the Jordan River which lies to the east of the West Bank and Israel while the sea is the Mediterranean Sea, on the west. The area in between consists of 7 million Palestinians who live under Israeli rule.
The entire land between the river and the sea used to be historically Palestine.
Upon the conclusion of the British Empire’s mandate over historic Palestine, the United Nations put forth a proposal to divide the region into separate Jewish and Palestinian states. The plan, which saw 62 per cent of land going under Israeli control, was rejected by Arab leaders.
Once the British left, the Nakba, or “catastrophe” took place that resulted in more than 700,000 Palestinians being displaced. In 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) was formed with the aim of representing the Palestinian people and their national aspirations.
Dated May, 2021— Infographic courtesy: Al Jazeera
After the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel seized control of the West Bank and Gaza and annexed East Jerusalem.
By the 1970s, the PLO changed their stance and by 1988 officially accepted the two-state solution with 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital of Palestine.
However, Israel’s stance towards the two-state solution remains unclear. On one hand, it has said a Palestinian state must be demilitarised so as not to threaten Israel, therefore continuing their military occupation of Palestinian territories.
On the other, the government has claimed the entire land as “exclusively” Israeli. “The Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestionable right to all areas of the Land of Israel,” the current Israeli PM Netanyahu has said.
The Israeli separation wall divides East Jerusalem and the Palestinian West Bank town of Qalandia. — AFP
The proponents of the slogan argue that currently, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and West Bank as well as in Israeli territory are under Israeli control and systematic discrimination which many have called an apartheid.
“There is today in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967 a deeply discriminatory dual legal and political system that privileges the 700,000 Israeli Jewish settlers living in the 300 illegal Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank,” said the UN Special Rapporteur in 2022.
The Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev (left), built in a suburb of the mostly Arab East Jerusalem, and the Palestinian Shuafat refugee camp behind Israel’s controversial separation wall. — AFP
“Living in the same geographic space, but separated by walls, checkpoints, roads and an entrenched military presence, are more than three million Palestinians [in the West Bank], who are without rights, living under an oppressive rule of institutional discrimination and without a path to a genuine Palestinian state that the world has long promised is their right.
“Another two million [now 2.3m] Palestinians live in Gaza, described regularly as an ‘open-air prison’, without adequate access to power, water or health, with a collapsing economy and with no ability to freely travel to the rest of Palestine or the outside world,” the special rapporteur added.
Segregated Israeli highway near Jerusalem that features a large concrete wall separating Israeli and Palestinian traffic. Many have labelled this roadway as an ‘apartheid highway,’ asserting that it is part of a deliberate system of segregated roads intended to exclusively serve the interests of Israelis. — AFP
On the other hand, Nearly half a million Jewish settlers reside in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, despite the fact that international law deems settlements on occupied territory to be illegal.
The Israeli barrier at the Palestinian town of Abu Dis in the Israeli-occupied West Bank east of Jerusalem. — Reuters
While the Israeli army controls these areas, Palestinians, in both Gaza and the West Bank, have no democratic right to the state that controls their lives.
Demonstrators rally during a “Stand with Palestine” march in solidarity with Gaza, in Dublin, Ireland, October 14, 2023. — Reuters
Furthermore, the bias, the displacement, the suppression of opposing voices, and the loss of life and injuries continue to befall Palestinians living in Israeli territory as well. They all constitute elements of a system intentionally structured to favour Jewish Israelis while adversely affecting Palestinians.
The phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is just that: a call for all seven million oppressed Palestinians — across the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranian Sea — to be finally liberated from all forms of occupation.
In a small town some two hours away from Lahore, Yasmin Bibi proudly welcomed us to her shop in Renala Khurd right outside her home. The business owner was accompanied by her husband, Asif, who she says has supported her throughout her career.
This is not how it has always been. With few options available, she started her retail business many years ago selling candy on a charpoy. In 2019, she expanded her merchandise to include other household products. She has never looked back since.
“Today my children are able to go to school, we are able to eat well,” she said.
In 2019, Bibi was approached by Nestle under the Nestle BISP Rural Women Sales programme. The programme was initiated in 2017 in partnership with the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), a national safety net system, among the largest of its kind in South Asia, that aims to uplift women out of poverty. The programme falls under Nestle’s larger ‘rural deep outreach’ project.
BISP is a federal cash transfer programme that provides women with a quarterly stipend — currently at Rs8750. BISP also acquires the largest national database on the economic conditions of women across Pakistan. It is this database that Nestle uses to determine and recruit potential areas and sales agents.
Goodwill or profit?
Nestle claims that the main premise of the programme is to uplift the rural women of Pakistan and put them on the path to prosperity.
With 375 beneficiaries in Renala alone, where the project was first piloted in 2017 and almost 3,000 across 26 districts in Pakistan, the project has been largely successful in achieving what it had set out to. It has since expanded to 26 districts across Pakistan, most recently Larkana and Sukkur.
According to Sheikh Waqar Ahmad, Head of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability at Nestle Pakistan, “We now plan to cover BISP beneficiaries in the rural belt of Hyderabad district with an ambition to reach 5,000 women nationwide by 2025.”
“Rural women play a key role in achieving sustainable development and contribute significantly to the economy,” he added.
But this may prompt one to think: is this an opportunity to create sales, market products and establish Nestle’s presence in areas that have previously been left out of the global corporate establishment’s reach, or a genuine effort to lend women a hand out of poverty?
Perhaps both, perhaps one more than the other depending on whom you ask.
Rahat Hussain, a spokesperson for Nestle Pakistan, said: “This programme is part of our creating shared value efforts where we as an organisation want to be a force for good.”
Of course, ‘good’ under corporations comes with strings attached, and in this case, the good is directly proportional to the number of sales earned by the corporation. However, under the programme, Nestle BISP sales agents earn a higher profit margin than their regular counterparts — 8-12 per cent compared to the regular 4pc. Trickling down, participants of the programme earn an average incremental income of around Rs5,000 to Rs10,000.
The principle of ‘creating shared value’ (CSV) is an emerging and increasingly popular one among corporations. It is driven from the perspective that profit and social good need not be mutually exclusive. It takes a step away from the idea that corporations must think of social good and sustainability as an afterthought to redeem them of the impact they have on society, and incorporates these values within the business model. Thus, with increasing their own sales and profits, corporations aim to also benefit other stakeholders along the way.
Nestle USA writes, “In the past, corporate investment in community and environmental initiatives were often seen as ‘obligations’ or simply philanthropy: added costs that had to be borne to minimise operational risks and protect reputation. CSV redefines many of these obligations as opportunities to strengthen the business long-term — adding value for shareholders and our stakeholders.”
According to Adnan Mushtaq, Nestle’s Rural Deep Reach project manager, “This project is purely operating from a CSV angle.”
“Rural sales account for only about 1pc of all Nestle sales in Pakistan,” said Mushtaq. (Dawn.com has not been able to verify the sales statistics).
“We also do not bring in our regular micro-distributors into these areas because we want to help develop the capacity of the BISP beneficiaries. And we give them higher profit margins for this reason,” he explained.
However, from Rs1m in its pilot year, annual sales from Nestle BISP sales agents have increased to Rs169m today.
Similar models have been adopted by multinational companies worldwide and in South Asia. A prime example is Unilever’s Shakti Amma project in India from 2010, which also targeted women from villages and rural areas. Today, there are 160,000 Shakti Ammas in India who serve as micro-entrepreneurs and sales agents for the corporation. It has been replicated in countries across the developing world, with our own local variation called the ‘Guddu Baji’ project.
Let’s break down how the project exactly works.
How does it work?
Within the outlined towns and villages, Nestle representatives shortlist women who have the potential to become sales agents. Many, like Yasmin Bibi, already have some experience with sales, or there are women who themselves or whose families run small shops. While there is no scientific criteria, things to look out for include socio-cultural factors, such as families’ permission, community participation, work background, sales potential etc.
In Renala, Abida Tabassum works as the rural territory executive for sales. She is among the key persons guiding the participants through the process — from recruitment to sales.
Abida Tabassum with Yasmin bibi. — Photo by: Nestle Pakistan
Tabassum explained that sometimes, conversations with families make a big difference in removing hesitations and addressing any questions they may have.
The shortlisted sales agents then buy stock from Nestle depending on their purchasing power. In lower-income neighbourhoods, products are mainly sold in sachets, keeping price points and affordability in consideration.
The key products that are targeted for this programme are Everday (tea whitener), Bunyad {powdered milk), and Cerelac. The latter two are mainly products for children and infants to provide nutritious food and supplements. On average, Tabassum said that women are able to buy stock of up to Rs 2,500.
The beneficiaries are then trained on pricing and best sales practices. A crucial aspect of the programme is training the sales agents on nutrition awareness and demand generation for the products within their communities. Additionally, Nestle also organises awareness sessions on nutrition for mothers and residents. Tabassum explained that in areas where these sessions have been conducted, demand for Nestle Bunyad and Cerelac has gone up significantly.
Sajida Jafar, a micro-entrepreneur from Renala who sold vegetables and other items on a cart, would ask customers if they had children at home and would advise them to buy “the iron-rich Bunyad for deficient children or Cerelac for infants”.
Sales agents fall under three categories under the programme. The first are micro-distributors. Microdistribution is a sales category that mainly serves rural areas that are difficult to reach with existing distribution channels. Micro-distributors serve as the connection between companies and retailers by providing stock to multiple retailers in an area. Nestle micro-distributors earn a 3 per cent profit on the stock they sell.
The second category is the retailers or shop owners. Under the Nestle BISP programme, retailers earn a larger profit margin compared to regular retailers.
Under the third category fall the door-to-door sales agents, or women who buy stock and sell it from their homes. Many micro-distributors also do both — sell to other retailers and sell products directly to the consumer — the latter allows them to earn a higher cumulative profit. Sajida bibi is one such entrepreneur. She runs her own shop and distributes products to 12 other stores in her area.
Mushtaq estimates that of the current 3,000 beneficiaries, 40-50pc are shop owners while the remainder are door-door-sales agents or micro-distributors.
Akhuwat microfinance loans
Nestle has also partnered with Akhuwat, a non-profit organisation that provides interest-free microfinance loans. Through this partnership, beneficiaries looking to upscale or start their businesses are provided with loans averaging Rs15,000 to buy Nestle stock.
Mushtaq explained that Nestle provided Akhuwat with Rs2 million to redistribute as loans. “Since this is not an area we have expertise in, we took Akhuwat on board,” he said.
“Akhuwat has strict standards and mechanisms to provide loans and their recovery rate is exceptional. During our project, we have not had a single case where a beneficiary has defaulted on her loan.”
Akhuwat runs background checks, such as determining the ability to repay loans or whether the beneficiary or their family owes loans to other people or organisations.
“We recommend people for loans but the selection is an entirely independent process. We do not interfere with it,” said Mushtaq. So far, 250 participants have taken loans from Akhuwat while about 750 applicants have been rejected.
Towards better lives
For Yasmin Bibi, the biggest blessing to come out of her financial stability is that her children are now able to go to school. The journey, however, has not been easy. Her husband, Asif who stood next to her, joked, “If we start telling you about the challenges, you won’t be able to listen”.
He pointed towards his now-cemented home adjoining the shop and said, “We did not have a roof over our head or four walls around us. Our family had separated us from our home. We had a makeshift roof made of bamboo. We started selling candies and that is when appi Nasreen (Abida’s predecessor) came to us.”
“We were very poor. I thank Allah for giving us a livelihood.”
A year after enrolling in the programme, Yasmin also began placing other products in her shop. Today, her shop makes sales of about Rs60,000, a large percentage of which are Nestle sales. With her daughter’s wedding coming up, she has also added freshly cooked samosas and pakoras to her shop to gain extra income.
She proudly ushered her way inside to show her currently under-construction home. “We are making renovations here,” she said.
And yet, the programme has not been as transformative for all. For some, it has given a nominal increase in their monthly income at best.
Asiya* from Renala now owns three shops. Her husband started the business when he was diagnosed with an illness and had to leave his job in a factory. Her shop was already running well and for her, Nestle profits amount to a mere Rs1,000-1,500, including sales from the relatively higher-in-demand fruit juices.
“People from the village prefer fresh milk, they have cows in their homes,” she said, explaining that Everyday does not have a huge demand in her area.
“The earnings I get from Nestle are much less compared to other, local products such as fruit, paapar, vegetables, which have higher profit margins,” she explained.
Sajida Bibi, on the other hand, recounted her journey from where she began. “Before this, there was only poverty. My husband was diagnosed with a heart condition and was unable to work. All our savings went towards his treatment. My children were unable to go to school. My eldest daughter had to miss out on two years of her schooling. Even our relatives stopped visiting us because they thought ‘they are just going to ask for money’.”
Sajida decided to take matters into her own hands and began selling products on her husband’s cart. This is when Nestle approached her. “They told me, ‘buy these products from us. God will give you barakah’. At first, I only bought one string each of Everyday, Bunyad and Cerelac.”
Her sales gradually grew higher and today she owns a store and distributes stock to the other shops in her area. Her children are back in school and her daughter has started ninth grade.
Sajida Jafar. — Photo by: Nestle Pakistan
Lubna Mushtaq had a similar story. Hailing from Chak 5 in Okara, her husband too was unable to work due to an illness. Nestle approached her and sold a small amount of products to her. She proudly said: “Today I have boxed products as well [not just strings of sachets]. I am able to make sales of up to Rs60,000 of which I get about a Rs6,000 profit from Nestle alone. I also have other products and fruits and vegetables at my shop. I provide stock to other shops in the area too with my son on our donkey cart.”
“I have also employed a shopkeeper to look after the store. My shop is still running while I am here,” she smiled.
“We are in a much better position than we were before. My husband is happy too. My kids are doing much better. I am doing much better.”
Lubna Bibi. — Photo by author.
While Nestle sales alone have not been sufficient to run a household for many, the programme has allowed women to set up and upscale their businesses by adding more products with time, or for others such as door-to-door sales agents, it has been a source of supplementary income to support their households.
Challenges and support
In a male-dominated society, women running businesses, especially a business that requires going outside the home or interacting with other people — particularly other men — has raised eyebrows. But the support has been greater.
Lubna Bibi recounted the words she would sometimes have to hear: “yeh kya tum mardon mein jaati ho, mardon mein meeting karti ho.” [What is this going out among men and meeting with men?].
“‘Officers come and you to go to shops with them’ they’d say. But my husband would say, ‘it’s okay. I have given her permission myself to go. We have to work, we can’t stay hungry’.”
“It’s not like anyone else is going to take care of us. Fine, if anyone wants to give us money, we won’t do this,” said Lubna.
Lubna said seeing women running businesses has made a change. Her daughter looks up to her and wants to run a shop as well after finishing her education.
Sajida too has been on the receiving end of unkind comments. “People say, ‘yeh kya drama kar rahi hai?’ [What is this drama?] Some people don’t even let the women in their families meet me out of fear that they might want to do the same or might learn something from me.
“Others are more supportive. They say it is good that I am earning and supporting my children.”
In a lesser-common example, Salma Bibi from Renala Khurd, inherited the business from her in-laws. Her mother-in-law had been running a small store on the ground floor of her home along with her husband since 1985. When her mother-in-law got injured and could not work anymore, Salma Bibi and her husband took over.
Salma Bibi. — Photo by: Nestle Pakistan
A few years ago, Nestle approached her: “Abija baji came to us and explained the programme to us very nicely. We then started selling Nestle Bunyad and their other products.”
“We also run a milk business. But Everyday is still quite popular. We ourselves use Everday for tea at home.”
“Since we kept Nestle products, our sales increased quite a bit and we are doing much better now, Alhamdulillah. I have six daughters and all of them are studying,” she said.
Nestle BISP beneficiaries Sughra, Lubna and Salma bibi from left to right. — Photo by author
Salma Bibi is also one of the beneficiaries who secured a loan from Akhuwat to upscale her business. “When they saw our shop and how well it is doing, they gave us a loan of Rs40,000,” she said.
People around her too have criticised her for running a business. Her husband, however, has remained a source of great support. “Even today, when I had to come here with Abida baji, he said go. Whenever Abida baji calls you, you should definitely go,” she said, with great admiration towards Abida.
Lubna chimed in, “Other than the sales, this has given us great confidence and self-esteem. We are able to answer and interact with people confidently.”
Empowered women empower women
Although the number of female entrepreneurs is quite limited as compared to their male counterparts, becoming financially able has allowed women to become stronger, productive members of the community, countering stereotypes and persisting through challenges.
It has given young girls the ability to dream bigger, to think that they too can be entrepreneurs and take up roles traditionally reserved for men.
Importantly, this has given women the ability to be in positions where they are able to help and uplift other women.
Sajida pointed to a young woman in a black chaadar. “Her husband has recently left his job. She has three kids. I told her, take some stock from me, you can pay me back later. Just take it with you and try to sell it,” said Sajida.
Even though the woman lives only two streets down from Sajida’s shop (and her home), she encouraged her to start and told her she would help her along the way.
Within the ambits of capitalist development, the project seems to be achieving what it is set out to. It is creating shared value for both, the corporation itself while also generating income and livelihoods for rural women. As a result, women have been able to not only become self-sufficient but also decision-makers and active members of their communities while setting examples for young girls.
*The beneficiary’s name has been changed for anonymity.
Header image: Yasmin bibi showing the products available in her store. — Photo courtesy: Nestle Pakistan
After Hamas launched a surprise offensive on October 7, resulting in the loss of 1,400 Israeli lives, Israel carried out withering air raids on Gaza that have displaced hundreds of thousands, killed over 7,000 Palestinians and left scores more wounded.
Amid this unprecedented development, readers are besieged by a flow of information full of words and terminologies often mentioned in the context of Israel and Palestine that they may not be familiar with.
Dawn.com has compiled a list of words that can help you understand the news stories coming out of Palestine and Israel.
This list is in alphabetical order.
Antisemitism
While addressing the nation from the Oval Office last week, US President Joe Biden urged Americans to fight both Islamophobia and antisemitism, without equivocation.
“We can’t stand by and stand silent when this happens. We must without equivocation denounce antisemitism. We must also without equivocation denounce Islamophobia,” he declared.
Antisemitism is a certain perception of the followers of the Judaism religion or Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.
Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.
Apartheid
Last week, in a post on their X account, Iran’s mission to the United Nations warned that if “Israeli apartheid’s war crimes and genocide” are not stopped then the situation could spiral out of control with “far-reaching consequences.”
The apartheid refers to a policy or system of segregation or discrimination. In the case of South Africa, it was the racial segregation under the all-white government of South Africa which dictated that non-white South Africans (a majority of the population) were required to live in separate areas from whites and use separate public facilities, and contact between the two groups would be limited. The different racial groups were physically separated according to their location, public facilities and social life.
Balfour Declaraion
The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 expressing support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, that was then part of the Ottoman Empire. The declaration was named after Arthur Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary at the time.
Palestinians argue that the declaration disregarded the rights and aspirations of the Arab population living in Palestine at the time. It remains a controversial document that played a pivotal role in the creation of the Israeli state in 1948.
Esteemed Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said stressed that the declaration “was made by a European power about a non-European territory in a flat disregard of both the presences and the wishes of the native majority resident in that territory, and it took the form of a promise about this same territory to another foreign group, that this foreign group might, quite literally, make this territory a national home for the Jewish people”.
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian civil society movement that aims to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians. Taking inspiration from the South African anti-apartheid struggle, the BDS initiative hopes to exert pressure on Israel, encouraging its adherence to international laws.
Boycotts encompass the withdrawal of support from Israel’s regime, complicit Israeli institutions and international companies engaged in actions that violate Palestinian human rights. Divestment campaigns seek the disinvestment of funds from Israel and companies that contribute to Israeli apartheid.
Sanctions campaigns aim to compel governments by banning business with illegal Israeli settlements, ending military and free-trade agreements and suspending Israel’s membership in international forums such as UN bodies and FIFA.
In the UK, an anti-BDS bill is being proposed that is designed to stop councils and other public authorities from conducting boycotts, divestment and sanctions campaigns against Israel.
Colonialism
Colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another and is frequently used to describe the settlement of North America, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, India and Brazil, places that were controlled by a large population of permanent European residents.
The term colony comes from the Latin word colonus, meaning farmer which tells us that the practice of colonialism usually involved the transfer of population to a new territory, where the arrivals lived as permanent settlers while maintaining political allegiance to their country of origin.
Ethnic cleansing
“Israel has already carried out mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians under the fog of war,” Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestine has warned.
“Again, in the name of self-defence, Israel is seeking to justify what would amount to ethnic cleansing,” she said.
Ethnic cleansing is a well-defined policy of a particular group of persons to systematically eliminate another group from a given territory on the basis of religious, ethnic or national origin. Such a policy involves violence and is very often connected with military operations.
Gaza Strip
Gaza is a coastal strip of land that lies on ancient trading and maritime routes along the Mediterranean shore. Held by the Ottoman Empire until 1917, it passed from British to Egyptian to Israeli military rule over the last century and is now a fenced-in enclave inhabited by over 2m Palestinians.
Genocide
Earlier this month, caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani slammed Israel for “committing a genocide” against Palestinians.
Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of the United Nations defines genocide as: “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
Golan Heights
The Golan Heights is a rocky plateau in south-western Syria, about 60km (40 miles) southwest of Damascus and covers about 1,000 sq km. It has a political and strategic significance which belies its size.
Courtesy Wikipedia.
Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the closing stages of the 1967 Six-Day War. Most of the Syrian Arab inhabitants fled the area during the conflict. Israel’s 1981 annexation was not globally recognised and Syria demands the return of its territory.
The area became a point of contention once again when Israeli strikes reportedly killed two people near the Syrian town of Beit Jinn in Israeli-occupied Golan Heights recently.
Great March of Return
Between March 2018 and December 2019, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip held the “Great March of Return” (GMR) demonstrations, demanding the right of Palestinian refugees to their villages and towns in what is now Israel and the cessation of the Israeli blockade.
These demonstrations involved thousands of participants who would gather every Friday and on specific occasions at five designated points along the border fence. Additionally, smaller protests occurred during the week at the beach and at various locations near the fence at night.
The UN says that about 1.4m people have been displaced in Gaza in the current conflict — which is over 60 per cent of the entire strip’s population.
According to Article 13 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “everyone has the right […] to return to his country”.
Hebron Protocol
The Hebron Protocol was an agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) signed in 1997. It aimed to address security and administrative arrangements in the city of Hebron, located in the West Bank.
The protocol divided Hebron into two areas: H1, which was placed under Palestinian Authority control, and H2, which remained under Israeli military control.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US Presiden Joe Biden that Hamas’ atrocities on Oct 7 were the “worst since the Holocaust”.
The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi German regime and its allies and collaborators. The Holocaust was an evolving process that took place throughout Europe between 1933 and 1945.
Intifada
The Arabic term intifada, literally means “shaking off,” when applied to conflicts usually takes on the meaning of an “uprising”, “popular resistance”, or “rebellion”
The first Intifada began in December 1987 after a traffic accident in which an Israeli truck crashed into a vehicle carrying Palestinian workers in Gaza’s Jabalya refugee camp, killing four. Stone-throwing protests, strikes and shutdowns followed. It ended with the Madrid Conference in 1991, although some date its formal termination as 1993 with the onset of the Oslo Accords. At least 1,500 Palestinians and 400 Israelis were killed in the violence.
Palestinian school girls returning home from classes pass a line of Arab men being frisked by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip in 1986 after a Jewish man was stabbed and seriously injured. —Reuters
The second or al-Aqsa Intifada began in 2000, and, while many of its actions and effects are still playing out today, most authorities assign an end date of July 2005. At least 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis were killed in the ensuing violence.
Palestinian police exchange fire with Israeli soldiers during clashes near Netzreem Jewish settlement in Gaza Strip, October 2000. —Reuters
A recent Dawn report said that Palestinian deaths from the Israeli siege of Gaza are the most that Palestine has ever witnessed, exceeding the first and second intifada combined.
Iron Dome
On Oct 24, a senior defence official announced that the Pentagon is increasing its support for Israel by supplying them with complete Iron Dome air defence systems.
—Via IDF
The Iron Dome is a part of Israel’s defence system. It is designed to shoot down incoming rockets. Developed between 2007 and 2011, the dome has a success rate of 95.6pc, according to the IDF.
Islamophobia
Islamophobia is an extreme fear of and hostility toward Islam and Muslims which often leads to hate speech, hate crimes, as well as social and political discrimination.
According to Georgetown University’s Bridge Initiative, a multi-year it can be used to rationalise policies such as mass surveillance, incarceration, and disenfranchisement, and can influence domestic and foreign policy.
Islamophobia was originally developed as a concept in the late 1990s by political activists to draw attention to rhetoric and actions directed at Islam and Muslims in Western liberal democracies.
The UN observes March 15 as the international day to combat Islamophobia.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF)
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) serves as the primary military organisation of the State of Israel. It comprises three distinct branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and the Israeli Navy.
It has said it would intensify strikes on Gaza ahead of a planned ground invasion, as UN agencies warned of a “catastrophic” humanitarian situation in the blockaded territory.
Kibbutz
On Oct 7, Hamas fighters attacked a music festival which was held in a field outside the Re’im kibbutz, about 5.3km from the wall separating Gaza and southern Israel.
A kibbutz (plural: kibbutzim) is a communal settlement in Israel that is owned and shared equally by the people who live there and run it. The first kibbutz was founded in 1909; currently, there are about 270, with a total population exceeding 120,000. Adults live in private quarters, while children are generally housed and cared for as a group.
Nakba
The mass evacuation of Palestinians has given Gazans memories of the “Nakba”.
The Nakba, or “catastrophe”, refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, which has been likened to the “ethnic cleansing of Palestine and the near-total destruction of Palestinian society”.
The creation of Israel entailed the forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland to establish a Jewish-majority state.
Arab villagers fleeing from an unidentified area in the Galilee in October 1948.—Reuters
Between 1947 and 1949, at least 750,000 Palestinians from a 1.9m population were made refugees beyond the borders of the state.
Naksa
Al Naksa or the Naksa, also known as the day of “defeat” or “setback”, is observed by Palestinians on June 5 each year.
Similar to Nakba, it commemorates the displacement of Palestinians that occurred during the Six Day War in 1967, which resulted in Israel’s occupation of the rest of historically Palestinian areas of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip as well as the Syrian Golan Heights and Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.
Destroyed Egyptian armour lines the sides of a Sinai road after it was hit by Israeli jet fighters during the 1967 Six Day War.—Reuters
Neocolonialism
Neocolonialism is a process by which former colonising countries exploit the rules and regulations of their former colonies that are now independent, underdeveloped or less developing, for indirect domination.
Predominantly neocolonialism has been noticed in economics, although this economic exploitation is intertwined with political and cultural exploitation.
Oslo Accords
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Chairman Yasir Arafat on 13 September 1993, redrew the geopolitical map of the entire region when they signed the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Governing Arrangements (DOP) for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and Jericho, marking one of the most momentous events in the twentieth-century history of the Middle East.
The DOP was signed in Washington, with President Bill Clinton acting as master of ceremonies, but it had been negotiated in Oslo and initiated there in late August.
The first part was mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO. The second part, the Declaration of Principles, set an agenda for negotiations on Palestinian self-government in the occupied territories, beginning with Gaza and Jericho.
Thirty years later, the goals of these accords remain unachieved.
Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO)
There are currently two governments in control of the Palestine territories. Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO)/Fatah governs the West Bank region whereas Hamas is in control of Gaza.
The PLO, established in 1964 as a coalition of resistance groups, political parties, and various Palestinian civil society organisations, achieved global recognition as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people” by the mid-1970s.
The PLO had agreed to end its policy of armed resistance and, as a result, the PLO’s presence and government were recognised by the international community.
During the 1996 elections, the electorate handed the PLO a landslide victory and the mandate to rule the West Bank and Gaza. However, the 2007 armed conflict between PLO and Hamas in Gaza led to the ouster of the PLO from Gaza.
Rafah crossing
The Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt’s Sinai region is the sole route for aid to enter Gaza directly from outside Israel and the only exit that does not lead to Israeli territory.
The crossing is controlled by Egypt.
It has become a focus in the intensifying conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have headed towards south Gaza after Israel warned them to leave Gaza City and the enclave’s north.
The only likely route for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza is via Rafah from Egypt’s Sinai region. It is also the only exit point for Gaza residents seeking to flee.
Egypt is wary of insecurity near the border with Gaza in northeastern Sinai, where it faced an insurgency that peaked after 2013 and has now largely been suppressed.
Settler colonialism
Israel’s occupation is illegal and indistinguishable from a “settler-colonial” situation, which must end, as a pre-condition for Palestinians to exercise their right to self-determination, the UN’s independent expert on the occupied Palestinian territory told the UN General Assembly last year.
Settler colonialism is an ongoing system of power that perpetuates the genocide and repression of indigenous peoples and cultures.
Essentially hegemonic in scope, settler colonialism normalises the continuous settler occupation, exploiting lands and resources to which indigenous peoples have genealogical relationships. Settler colonialism includes interlocking forms of oppression, including racism, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, and capitalism.
Shebaa Farms
The Shebaa Farms is a disputed region between Lebanon and Israel situated near the Hermon mountain range at the Lebanon-Syria border.
The Shebaa Farms were seized by Israel during the 1967 Middle East conflict and are a part of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Syria and Lebanon, on the other hand, claim that it belongs to Lebanon’s territory.
There have been conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon at their border. The latter launched rockets at three Israeli outposts in Shebaa Farms and in retaliation, the former hit a Hezbollah outpost in Lebanon.
Two-state solution
The two-state solution is an agreement that would create a state for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip alongside Israel.
It would see an independent Palestinian state established alongside the existing one of Israel — giving both people their own territory.
It is the official position of the UK, US, United Nations — and even Israel itself — but many now say there is little hope of achieving it.
West Bank
The landlocked West Bank — the larger of the two Palestinian territories — is home to some three million Palestinians.
—Courtesy Wikipedia
Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC, the West Bank, like the Gaza Strip, has been dominated by many different powers throughout its history.
Zionism
Zionism is a nationalist movement calling for the establishment of an independent state for the Jewish people in its ancient homeland of Zion.
“I don’t believe you have to be a Jew to be a Zionist, and I am a Zionist,” said Joe Biden when he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet during his visit to Israel.
Zion is a place name often synonymous with Jerusalem in the Hebrew Bible.
Anti-Zionism is the belief that a Jewish state should not exist.
