8-14 January 2018 - 16-min

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8 8 - 14 January, 2018 C Neighbourhood News www.NewDelhiTimes.com NEW DELHI TIMES Emergence of Radical Political Groups Raises Concern in Pakistan oncerns are being voiced in Pakistan about how a few radical groups with proven terror ties have been allowed to rebrand themselves as political parties. Taj Haider, one of the prominent and founding members of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which has been in power five times since 1970, told VOA the country is again seeing the trend of extremist groups camouflaging themselves to enter into politics. “Religion and politics cannot go hand in hand, but unfortunately this is our new reality. We have seen the recent by-elections in Lahore and Peshawar where militantturned-political parties were able to mobilize people and gather votes,” Haider said. “And these so-called new political parties, with proven terror records, look determined to contest the upcoming elections in 2018.” In a recent high-level party meeting presided by PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of Pakistan’s slain Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the government was sharply criticized on its inability to forcefully implement the National Action Plan and bar proscribed groups from entering the political sphere. The National Action Plan is a 20-point strategy devised to combat extremism in 2015 that clearly states no banned groups can operate in the country by changing their names or identity. Analysts say many other political parties are also agitated and wary about the recent political dynamic that has allowed radicalized groups to enter the political arena. “The government has repeatedly said it will not allow the hardliners to enter into politics, but the reality is different, these parties are going into masses,” Rasul Baksh Raees, a prominent analyst from Pakistan told VOA. “As long as these proscribed groups stick to their extreme ideologies and violence, they will be a danger to the society and democracy itself.” PPP’s acute criticism came as Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and leader of Jamaat-ud- Dawa (JuD), inaugurated the office of his newly launched political party Milli Muslim League (MML) in the eastern city of Lahore. Pakistan’s Election Commission rejected MML’s party registration application in October, citing its link to Jamaat-ud- Dawa, a U.S. designated terror-sponsoring organization. But MML looks determined to contest the upcoming state and provincial elections. The party has several offices, has launched a website, and has a social media team spreading its messages through Facebook and Twitter. Pakistan’s government has repeatedly emphasized it will not tolerate any political party with a proven record of promoting violence and terrorism to use democracy and political means to spread their extreme ideologies. But critics still say the government is not doing enough to stop radical groups from entering politics. “Look what happened in Lahore’s recent by-election and who can forget the power show by extremists on the roads of Islamabad. The government was totally helpless,” Raees said. During the Lahore election in September, a MML backed independent candidate secured the fourth position in the race. The by-election was also contested by Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TeL), another extremist religious party created to carry-on Mumtaz Qadri’s mission, the bodyguard who killed Punjab’s Governor Salman Taseer in 2011 after he had demanded reforms in the controversial blasphemy law. Mumtaz Qadri was later sentenced to death. In November, thousands of followers of the Islamist group Tehreek-e-Labaik blocked Islamabad roads for weeks and demanded the resignation of Law Minister Zahid Hamid, after accusing him of blasphemy. The government eventually surrendered to hardliners’ demands after Pakistan’s military played the role of mediator. The experts say the emerging trend of politicizing militancy is a danger to democracy. They also point out the sectarian and hardline rationale will further complicate the situation in the country that has been trying to combat terrorism for more than a decade. “Imagine when these hardliners, through political parties, will spread their extreme views on the grassroots level. What will be the future of this country?” Raees said. But some politicians dismiss the blending of radicalized groups into politics. Haider believes the people of Pakistan can differentiate between politicians and extremists and will not allow militantturned-politicians to thrive. “If you look at the past, the religious parties including the Jamaat-i-Islami [an old religious party], despite having a huge following, were never able to clean sweep or get majority in the electoral process of the country,” said Haider. “Even now, with all these efforts, I believe Milli Muslim League or Tehreek-e-Labaik will not be able to pull large numbers during the general elections. Religious or sectarian votes are scattered in the country and can’t be unified and will not help these newly established political parties to win a prominent number of seats.” Credit : Voice of America (VOA) Photo Credit : AP Photo
8 - 14 January, 2018 9 Canada News Toronto theater A director resigns over alleged misconduct prominent Toronto theater company said that it has accepted the resignation of its founding artistic director following allegations of sexual assault and harassment by actors under his employ. The move comes after four women held a news conference about the accusations and four fellow actors resigned in a show of support for the women, saying they would not work at the Soulpepper Theatre Company until Albert Schultz had no role with company. Katie Saunoris, a spokeswoman for the Soulpepper, said Schultz’s resignation is effective immediately. The board of directors previously suspended Schultz on 3rd January pending an investigation. “Mr. Schultz’s resignation will allow Soulpepper to focus on its core mission: to provide a safe community for its exceptionally talented group of professionals,” Saunoris said in an emailed statement. Four women revealed they had filed lawsuits alleging he exposed himself, groped and otherwise sexually humiliated them. “I know that I can’t work there knowing what I know,” actor Ted Dykstra said in a show of support. “It’s because I know these women and I believe their stories.” The allegations of sexual misconduct have roiled Canada’s theater community in a way similar to that previously seen in Hollywood, Washington and the U.S. media world since reports about movie mogul Harvey Weinstein surfaced in early October. “The ‘Me Too’ campaign has shown that for the first time ... people are listening and that people care,” Patricia Fagan, one of the women who brought a lawsuit, said at the news conference. Schultz confirmed the resignation and plans to “vehemently defend” himself. “I have made this decision in the interest of the future of the company into which I poured the last 20 years of my life, and in the interest of the aspirations of the artists and administrators of the company,” he said. Also, his accusers said they were motivated to come forward because of what they described as hypocrisy and unsafe working conditions at the theater company. One of them, Kristin Booth, said she went public after statements from Soulpepper touting anti-harassment policies that she says she never saw. Fellow actress Hannah Miller said it was hard to speak out knowing the damage it could do to the theater. “The implication that we are ruining something is maybe the reason why it’s so hard,” Miller said. Fagan’s lawsuit charges that Schultz assaulted her during a rehearsal of “Twelfth Night” in 2000, when he tried to show her what he wanted by “pushing his penis against her buttocks.” Booth says Schultz questioned her about her sex life with her fiance and suggested they get a hotel room together. On another occasion, she alleges, he pressed his “erect penis against her body” while hugging her. The women’s lawyer, Alexi Wood, said Soulpepper did nothing to protect the actresses from Schultz. Soulpepper said its “priority is to create a workplace where all its employees feel safe” and it “takes all allegations of harassment very seriously.” Soulpepper bills itself as Toronto’s largest not-for-profit theater company, and Schultz has played a key role in its repertoire. He is also an executive producer on “Kim’s Convenience,” a play-turned-TV show aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. “While this has been a tremendously difficult chapter in Soulpepper’s history, today’s decision ensures the organization is able to move forward with confidence and remain a leading Canadian theatre company,” Saunoris said. Credit : Associated Press (AP) Photo Credit : AP Photo Prosecution: conductor played role in 47 deaths in Quebec he prosecution says the train conductor T involved in a 2013 derailment that killed 47 people in Quebec played a significant role in the tragedy because he didn’t apply the brakes sufficiently after parking the oilladen convoy. Prosecutor Sacha Blais said in closing remarks that Thomas Harding applied only half the required level of brakes and didn’t test them to ensure they worked properly before leaving for the night. A runaway train carrying crude oil from North Dakota derailed in Lac-Megantic and exploded on July 6, 2013. Harding and former colleagues Richard Labrie and Jean Demaitre are each facing one count of criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people. They have pleaded not guilty. Credit : Associated Press (AP) C NEW DELHI TIMES Ex-hostage Boyle makes video court appearance anadian ex-hostage Joshua Boyle will remain in jail following a brief appearance via video link at a preliminary hearing on 3rd January after he was charged with 15 offenses, including sexual assault, following his release from captivity in Afghanistan. A justice of the peace granted lawyer Ninetta Caparelli’s request for adjournment so the defense can work on a bail plan. Boyle had a beard and wore an orange jumpsuit in the appearance, which lasted a few minutes. Boyle, his wife Caitlan and their three children were freed in October in Pakistan, five years after the couple was abducted by a Taliban-linked militant group during a backpacking trip in neighboring Afghanistan. The children were born in captivity. The purported acts allegedly occurred between Oct. 14 and Dec. 30 after Boyle returned to Canada. A publication ban bars reporting information that could identify the alleged victims. The charges include eight counts of assault, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of unlawful confinement and one count of causing someone to “take a noxious thing, namely Trazodone,” an antidepressant. There is also a charge of uttering a death threat and a charge of misleading a police officer. Before the matter was adjourned, Justice Norman Boxall was told Boyle has retained prominent Ottawa criminal lawyer Lawrence Greenspon as part of his defense team, although Greenspon was not in court. No family members of Boyle or his wife attended. Boyle’s attorney’s issued a statement after the hearing, saying he is presumed innocent. “He has no criminal record and has never been in trouble with the police. As Mr. Boyle has only just been charged, we are waiting to receive more information (disclosure) about these allegations so that we can respond to them appropriately in court,” the statement said. In a statement to the Toronto Star, Boyle’s wife wrote, “I can’t speak about the specific charges, but I can say that ultimately it is the strain and trauma he was forced to endure for so many years and the effects that that had on his mental state that is most culpable for this.” “Obviously, he is responsible for his own actions,” she added, “but it is with compassion and forgiveness that I say I hope help and healing can be found for him. As to the rest of us, myself and the children, we are healthy and holding up as well as well we can.” Taped to the Boyle family’s front door at their apartment in Ottawa was a handwritten sign asking the media to respect their privacy. A woman speaking to young children could be heard inside, but they didn’t respond to a knock on the door. Boyle told The Associated Press in October that his wife had been hospitalized in Ottawa, but did not specify why she was taken to the hospital. Boyle also told AP that he and his wife decided to have children even while held captive because they always planned to have a big family. “We’re sitting as hostages with a lot of time on our hands,” Boyle said. “We always wanted as many as possible, and we didn’t want to waste time. Cait’s in her 30s, the clock is ticking.” Boyle said then that their three children were 4, 2 and “somewhere around 6 months.” “Honestly we’ve always planned to have a family of 5, 10, 12 children ... We’re Irish, haha,” he wrote in an email in October. The parents of Caitlan Boyle, who is from Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, said after the rescue that they were elated she had been freed, but they also expressed anger at their son-in law for taking their pregnant daughter to Afghanistan. Pakistani soldiers rescued the family in an operation Oct. 11 aimed at their captors from the Taliban-linked Haqqani group. The Pakistanis caught the Haqqani fighters at some point after they had moved with their captives across the border from Afghanistan. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the operation was based on a tip from U.S. intelligence. Boyle was once briefly married to Zaynab Khadr, the older sister of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr and the daughter of a senior al-Qaida financier who had contacts with Osama bin Laden. The Canadian-born Omar Khadr was 15 when he was captured by U.S. troops following a firefight and was taken to the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay. Officials had discounted any link between that background and Boyle’s capture, with one describing it in 2014 as a “horrible coincidence.” Boyle and his family met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the leader’s office last month. Credit : Associated Press (AP) Photo Credit : AP Photo www.NewDelhiTimes.com
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8-14 January 2018 - 16-min

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