U.S. Drone Kills 16-Year-Old Pakistani Boy Days After He Attends Anti-Drone Organizing Meeting

A group of Pakistanis met in Islamabad late last month to discuss the impact of U.S. drone strikes in their communities. One of the attendees was a 16-year-old boy named Tariq Aziz, who had volunteered to learn photography to begin documenting drone strikes near his home. Within 72 hours of the meeting, Aziz was killed in a U.S. drone strike. His 12-year-old cousin was also killed in the Oct. 31 attack. "People were aware of the threat to them. Yet they volunteered—Tariq, in particular, because he, at his age in that remote community, was familiar with computers, was excited about the idea of being able to document the civilian casualties," says reporter Pratap Chatterjee, who met Aziz days before he was killed. As part of a larger investigation on the CIA-led U.S. covert drone war, Chatterjee and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reports that drone strikes in Pakistan have killed at least 392 civilians, including 175 children. "I question as to whether the CIA is really attempting to identify people before they kill them," he says. "It would have been so easy for the CIA, the ISI, to come question these kids, to have taken them aside, even put them in jail or interrogated them... But instead they chose to kill them." [includes rush transcript]

A group of Pakistanis met in Islamabad late last month to discuss the impact of U.S.

 

Watch video at http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/7/us_drone_kills_16_year_old

 

www.democracynow.org

 

Fw: Please Sign this White House petition for making a law against Blasphemy

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Muhammad Umer Farooq

 

Please vote for to implement this Law. http://wh.gov/WhJy
We need to reach 25,000 by tomorrow.
----------------------------------------

Kind Regards,

Muhammad Umer Farooq
Senior Technical Consultant (SAP Business Objects - Certified/ Adobe Flex)
H-6 Major Road F-11/3
Islamabad, Pakistan
Converge Enterprise Services
+92 51 2225194-5 (W)

+1 734 446.5505 (W)
+92 322 4493607 (M)
mfarooq@convergeservices.com

www.convergeservices.com

http://pk.linkedin.com/pub/muhammd-umer-farooq/1b/753/900

Shahbaz Sharif's daughter gets sweeper beaten up for not selling before time

یہ خادم اعلیٰ کی صاحب زادی مسز رابعہ عمران ہیں اور ان کے والد خود کو پنجاب کی عوام کا خادم کہتے ہیں .. مگر ان کی بیٹی ایک بیکری ملازم کو اس لیے ایلیٹ فورس سے مار پڑوا رہی ہیں کہ اس نے وقت سے پہلے ان کی خدمت کرنے سے انکار کرنے کی ہمت کی ... یہ بھول گئی ہیں کہ یہ طاقت ہمارے ووٹ کے بل بوتے پر ہی ملی ہے

 

1

http://www.siasat.pk/forum/showthread.php?138486-Shahbaz-Sharif-s-daughter-gets-sweeper-beaten-up-for-not-selling-before-time-cctv-footage

 

2

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Join-Pakistan/125610937483197

 صانکی یدم

مساجد کے ناموں میں ایک نام (مسجد یہ چیز تو میں نے کھائی ہوئی ہے)  بہت ہی حیرت سے سنا جائے گا۔ مسجد یہ چیز تو میں کھائی ہوئی ہے اصل میں ترکی لفظ Sanki Yedim Camii کا اردو ترجمہ ہے۔ یہ مسجد ترکی کے مشہور شہر استنبول کے ایک محلے فاتح میں واقع ہے۔ اور اس کی وجہ تسمیہ کے پیچھے ایک بہت ہی سبق آموز قصہ ہے۔

مشہور عراقی مفکر اسلامی اور مؤلف اورخان محمد علی (1937-2010) نے اپنی شہرہ آفاق کتاب (روائع من التاریخ العثمانی) میں اس مسجد کے بارے میں تفصیل سے ذکر کیا ہے۔ لکھتے ہیں:

استنبول شہر کے ایک محلے فاتح میں ایک غریب مگر مخلص اور دردمند دل رکھنے والا شخص خیرالدین آفندی رہتا تھا۔ خیرالدین آفندی کا جب بھی بازار  سے گزر ہوتا اور اسے کوئی کھانے کی چیز اچھی لگتی یا کبھی پھل، گوشت یا پھر کسی مٹھائی وغیرہ کے کھانے کا دل کرتا تو وہ اپنے آپ کو کہتا صانکی یدم، یعنی یہ چیز تو میری کھائی ہوئی ہے یا اس کا مطلب یہ بھی بنتا ہے کہ فرض کیا یہ چیز میری کھائی ہوئی ہے، اور اس کے ساتھ ہی وہ اس چیز کو کھانے پر خرچ ہونے والے پیسوں کو علیحدہ کرتا اور گھر جا کر ایک صندوقچی میں ڈال دیتا۔

مہینوں اور سالوں تک یہ شخص اپنے آپ کو دنیا کی لذت سے محروم رکھ کر پیسے اکٹھے کرتا رہا اور یہ تھوڑے تھوڑے پیسے اس صندوقچی کو بھرتے چلے گئے۔  حتیٰ کہ بیس سال کے بعد وہ دن آن ہی پہنچا جب خیرالدین آفندی کے پاس اتنے پیسے جمع ہو چکے تھے کہ وہ ان سے اپنے محلے میں ایک مسجد تعمیر کر سکتا تھا۔ محلے میں مسجد کی تعمیر ہونے پر جب اہل محلہ کو اس غریب مگر اپنے مقصد کیلئے اس قدر خلوص نیت کے ساتھ جدوجہد کرنے والے شخص کا قصہ معلوم ہوا تو انہوں نے اس مسجد کا نام ہی صانکی یدم رکھ دیا۔

حاصل موضوع: ہم لوگوں کو اپنا ذہن اور اپنی سوچ تبدیل کرنے کی ضرورت ہے کہ ہمارے پاس کسی رفاہی

Fw: HPC Heart Wrenching & Heart Warming Time With Syrian Refugees...

 

----- Original Message -----

From: ILyas Choudry

Asalam-Alaikum.

After Jordan, I and Brother Irfan Khurshid spent two days in Lebanon visiting several Syrian families.

This was an amazing trip.

I want to share some quite touching moments.

See some of the attached pictures: I will send some more, if possible.

I will not be mentioning the names of the places, where we met these families: Some of you will know, where they are.

Now the Government of Lebanon has not allowed tented refugees camps.

So local Lebanese are hosting most of the Syrian families, and some are living in temporary huts made of bricks & corrugated metallic roofs, along the sea; and AlhumdulilAllah are being helped by NGOs, including Helping Hand For Relief & Development (HHRD): Much much more assistance is needed.

We distributed food ration & children gifts; and met some Syrian families, who are living in an apartment complex being constructed, and owner has given them the place to live at nominal rent (which is being paid by a local NGO): These families were middle to lower middle class in Syria, and are in trauma living away from home in one bedroom apartments: Most of the brothers were injured and in real bad condition: One of them has lost his legs: Other had brain injuries: Hopefully we will relate the story of Tasneem from this place soon.

We also met Syrian families at an abandoned school, which has been converted into refugee camp, where majority of the children were orphans, having lost their fathers: Some children were few months old.

Wherever we went, we tried our best to make the children feel happy: So we played games: Like teaching them how to do high fives; having race with them; hold smaller kids & run with them among the older kids; gave them cookies, chocolates, chips, etc.

When we tried to take the pictures, each kid wanted to sit in our lap (maybe missing their fathers).

Tears came to my eyes, when one small kid asked me to bend down and he kissed my cheek: This was after we gave them cookies, chocolates, & chips: I thought where I have come from (USA), we take these things for granted for our kids, and look this kid is so happy that he has given a special kiss on my cheek: The Gift of my lifetime.

After this kid kissed me, I also hugged, kissed him on the head.

Another kid looked at me, longing for similar gesture: So I took his hand and kissed it: Many kids saw this, and began to ask for my hand, kissed my hands, and put my hands on their eyes: I wanted to cry aloud, but had to control myself: Totally heart wrenching.

Later on we went to a rehab and prosthetic center, where we met a lady, who read us a poetry in Arabic (we have the video).

In the poem she said something like this - World: So much has happened and you are quiet: Why Why.

Do you know who is this lady: She is a lady, who has lost two of her legs, lost her husband, lost her two children of four and two years: And do you know she was smiling, saying Allah SWT had written this in her fate and she has totally accepted it with a smile: Her only wish is to return back to a happy and prosperous Syria, living among her fellow country-persons: Another totally touching story to listen to: Really I was dumbfounded for a while imagining, if I do not have two legs & still have to live, what state will I be in? But here is someone, she has lost everything, but in actuality, she has gained so much in achieving the Faith in Allah SWT, in coming out of this extreme hardship.

There was one kid here, all smiles, having lost one leg: He loves to bike, but had never got one in life: His main concern was not to have lost the leg, but main concern was how will he ever ride a bike: Such a passion for something we take for granted: Doctor working on his prosthetic is confident that soon he will able to bike and the first bike he will get is from his doctor: We told the boy that although the determination he has shown in these painful times, he has already won all of the races, but InshaAllah he will be winning bike race competitions as well.

We also met five other young persons in their late twenties and early thirties, with legs lost, and getting excellent treatment.

We went to a nice hilly area, where on the hills, there are nice apartment buildings; but at the bottom of the hills, we saw homes made of bricks, and on top they have metallic roofs: People of Lebanon, over here make small huts like homes by making bricks themselves, and then housing their relatives from Syria.

We met a Syrian sister, whose Brother-in-Law had made a home for her and nine children.

She lost her husband: Not just lost her husband: Her husband was killed and then burnt: This is happening to many men in Syria that they are not only killed, but in fact they are burnt.

It was absolutely nightmarish, to listen to such a story from a widow: But again she has reconciled with this situation and trying very hard.

Outside we met her and other Syrian children in the area, and played a few games with them: Smiles of these children are worth millions.

These are just a few stories that we learned & saw.

There are hundreds and thousands like these; these stories are simply piling every day; and you know just a short visit to them make them feel happy: Really something that can be felt and not written in words.

These were few Syrian stories, but then we also went to a Palestinian Camp, and believe me; I never ever imagined such a horrible place to live: Absolutely unimaginable conditions they are facing: I have seen many Kutchi Abadis in Pakistan, which are almost similar to what I saw here.

But never thought people do Wadu and take shower with Saltish Water, which causes skin diseases: We did Wadu for Mughrib and our mouths were sour for many hours: As they say in Urdu: To punish someone, send him or her to Kara Pani: That is what this place is.

Imagine living in a place, where streets are about two to three feet, dark, no fresh air or even sunlight coming, have all the utility wires and pipes in the open going over your head and sometimes around your feet: Not suitable for human habitat at all, but our Palestinians Brothers & Sisters in humanity are living here for decades: How & Why? Cannot answer that.

We learned from there that there are many Orphans there and they need our support.

More to come InshaAllah.

ILyas Hasan Choudry

Aaj ki baat

 

Hijab

 

BAKHEEL aur SAKHI

assalam o alaikum,

 

The era of competition goes on. Everyone is running to defeat his/her competitor. All means and ways (either wrong or right, good or bad) being adopted to win the race....the race that ends at death and everyone will be the soil particle sooner or later. Here i m quoting the words of Hazrat Salman Farsi (RA) that is a food for thought to all competitors so they might think over what they r doing wid their fellows:

 

  " Jab SAKHI marta hai to zameen aur iskay nigraan farishtay kehtay hein "Aay Rab! apnay banday ko iski sakhawat ki

     waja say maaf karday" .

 

    Aur jab BAKHEEL marta hai to kehtay hei hein "Aay Allah is banday ko Jannat say rok day

     jaisa k isnay teray bandon ko duniya mein us cheez say roka tha jo to nay us kay HAATH mein di thi"

 

Plz fwd this msg to all as we all hv BIG things in our hands that might be a little but good advice or the correct guidence(journalists can guide the nation with correct or true news), can be a good post? rank that he or she deserves, can be a proposal of a right partner or even  the amount of money,  to share with human fellows i.e relatives, class-mates, colleagues, poor, rich, youth, elders etc...

 

Make urself, ur life beneficial to humanity rather than a burden on the day of Judgement

 

May Allah protect us from narrow hearts and narrow minds, aameen