Hamza Network

Backdrop of Fierce Hong Kong Protests

2019-07-03T03:22:00.000-07:00

Hong Kong is part of china but enjoys its own sovereignty and socio-economic system. The laws of China are not applicable to the denizens of Hong Kong, and they enjoy immense freedom of speech. Hong Kong was basically a British colony back in the 18th century, and the people had been governed by Britishers for a long time. In 1997, this region had been returned to China but on the stipulations of sovereignty and autonomy. According to stipulations, Hong Kong would remain an autonomous region until 2047, and in 2047, it would completely be merged in the federation of China, and the laws and everything of China would then also be applicable to the citizens of Hong Kong. But the people of this autonomous region are not happy with the strict surveillance laws of the Republic of China, and they raise their voices against the clauses which allow the merger of Hong Kong with China. They fear that China would suppress them, and their right to freely articulate themselves would be crushed. They are not exaggerating in their fears, given the clumsy human rights situation in China.

The majority of the things are being controlled by the Communist Party government, and you might be imprisoned or punished if you try to do protest against the Chines government. China also encroaches upon the freedom and independence of the people of Hong Kong by subtle tactics. The recent initiation of extradition bill is the continuation of the same muzzling, which China has been doing for many years.

Recent stormy protests in Hong Kong started when the legislative council of Hong Kong decided to pass an extradition bill, which would allow the citizens of Hong Kong to be extradited to China to face criminal investigation. Let's take a detailed look at how the recent event has unfolded.

Background of Extradition Bill

A few months ago, a couple from Hong Kong decided to spend their holidays in Taiwan. Both of them went into Taiwan and booked a room in a hotel there. They enjoyed a fascinating journey and captured memorable moments. They also visited historical places and observed the beauty of Taiwan. But a tragic incident happened when they were about to come back to Hong Kong. The boy killed his girlfriend due to some severe altercation. So when the boy returned back to Hong Kong, his girlfriend was not with him. On investigation by Hong Kong authorities, the boy revealed that he had killed his girlfriend in the hotel in Taiwan. So authorities in Hong Kong decided to persecute him, but they could not do so because the crime was not committed on Hong Kong soil. The crime was committed in Taiwan, and there was no law in Hong Kong, which could allow extraditing criminals to other countries where the crime was originally committed. Authorities then started working to devise a framework to extradite the citizens of Hong Kong to other countries and vice versa.

Keeping the shortcomings in the Hong Kong constitution in mind, the legislative council proposed a bill and included the countries to which the people could be extradited. But the real problem started when they also included China in the name of countries where the people could be extradited. This inclusion of the name of China sparked an uproar among the people of Hong Kong, and they started storming the streets. According to the leaders of the protesting parties, it was another attempt by China to subdue and suppress the people and to restrict the basic rights of free speech. Protesters claim that if the bill passes, it will be the last nail in the coffin of the freedom of Hong Kong as China would then be able to arrest anyone who opposes its policies. Protesters are determined not to compromise on freedom principles. They are also worried about the future of their generations. Millions of people are gathering in the main squares and streets of Hong Kong to oppose the extradition bill. The interesting thing is that the protests are also being observed outside Hong Kong, such as in Los Angeles, London, and New York.

China's Stance

China is saying that it has nothing to do with the bill and that the bill is proposed by the local members of the legislative council. China is also condemning the protests in harsh words and claiming that the leaders of the protests just want to create chaos in tranquil Hong Kong.

Independent Opinion

Independent analysts and experts are not convinced with the stance of China. Analysts argue that the majority of the members of the legislative council of Hong Kong are businessmen, and these businessmen have vested and personal interests with China. So they have proposed this bill on the behest of the Chinese ruling party and that China has already tightened the noose around Hong Kong.

Now its time for the legislative council of Hong Kong to introspect and not to do those things which are being perceived as harmful by indigenous citizens. We hope that better sense would prevail among the ruling cadres of Hong Kong.

Solution to Afghan Conflict

2019-07-02T02:11:00.001-07:00

President Ashraf Ghani is on an official visit to Pakistan nowadays, and he has talked to senior Pakistani government officials. He has come to Pakistan to get the help and support of Islamabad in solving the Afghan quagmire. Afghanistan has been termed as the graveyard of empires, given the fact that the indigenous people of Afghanistan have always fought valiantly against foreign occupations. In the middle of the 19th century, the British Empire tried many times to suppress and subdue the people of this mountainous region but failed miserably every time and had been forcefully expelled by brave Afghans. USSR also invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and, just after one year of their incursion, had been forced to get out of Afghanistan. After the collapse of the USSR, America also attacked this country in 2001, and the President of America arrogantly boasted that he would crush the Taliban.

It has been 18 years since the arrival of foreign forces in Afghanistan, and still, the Taliban are invincible. Experts in America should realize that they would never be able to defeat the Taliban.

The best way of achieving peace and stability in Afghanistan is the withdrawal of foreign forces. Everything will be settled after withdrawal, and therefore, stakeholders, including Ghani Administration, should start working on a comprehensive withdrawal plan.

Some people might argue that Afghanistan will become a battleground for civil war, and different factions that are now fighting against the common enemy will start fighting against each other to grab the power. Their argument holds water given the fact that there were bloody conflicts among Afghan Mujahideen after the withdrawal of the Red Army back in 1989. Different landlords started fighting each other to show their prowess and to get some leverage in a future political settlement. But this time, it hoped that the people have learned from their past mistakes, and one party would not try to enforce their ideology on others. Taliban have also said that they do not want to rule the whole of Afghanistan alone. So there will be a Milli government in Afghanistan, which entails the demands of all stakeholders.

NATO forces have used all sorts of modern weaponry and sophisticated surveillance system, but still, the results are not in their favor. American buckets have been dwindled due to extravagant expenditures, and the debt on it is on the rise. America has tried everything in 18 years, but nothing has changed for them. It is high time for the American administration to introspect and start thinking about the prosperity of their own people rather than indulging in foreign conflicts. The majority of the people of America are not in favor of this war, and they want the money to be spent on them. During the election campaign, President Donald Trump also promised that he would end protracted American conflicts and would call American soldiers back. It would be productive for America as well as for the whole region as there would be more chances of trade and economic prosperity would be on the rise in Afghanistan.

Obituary: In memory of my late father

2019-07-02T02:05:00.000-07:00

My father was born in 1953 in a remote village in Narowal district. He got his early education in a local government school and later moved to Lahore for higher studies. After completing his educational career, he joined Airport Security Force as an Assistant Sub Inspector and outshone himself in various activities. He had been an honest officer throughout his career and had never compromised on his principles. When he reached the age of 40, he started having some problems with his stomach and felt that it was becoming difficult for him to perform his duties to the fullest. He had a severe stomach problem, which compelled him to take early retirement from his service. Therefore, he took early retirement from ASF on the medical basis at the age of 40.

His Love for Books

My father had been an avid book reader throughout his life, and the curiousness of knowledge had always engulfed him. His love for books can be ascertained by the fact that there are more than one thousand books in his personal library, and he always advised us to ponder over quality books. After retirement, he decided to further his educational career and, subsequently, did his Masters in Political Sciences.

His Exposure with School and Colleges

My father wanted to establish an educational institute where he could inculcate profound teaching to young minds. It would also have proved a source of income, so he went ahead with his plan of establishing a school. I still remember that he used to exempt certain students from school fees because of the difficult financial situation of the families of those students. He also used to confer gifts and toys to those children who would wear neat and clean clothes. He was also very interested in keeping the streets of town clean, and for this purpose, he, along with his students, used to clean the streets by himself on a weekly basis. All of his students were impressed by his humbleness and his desire to sacrifice for the well being of others.

Unfortunately, circumstances did not allow him to carry on with his dream of an educational institution, and he had to close the school just after some years of its establishment. He then started doing a job as an English teacher in different schools and colleges. He was also the teacher at Syed Modoodi Institute, aka Mansoorah Degree College. Meanwhile, his health was coming to rock bottom, and it was becoming extremely difficult for him to teach the students. Keeping the condition of health in his mind, he resigned from the job of Teacher at Syed Modudi Institute at the age of 60 and started living a relaxed life.

His love for Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

During his critical health, he often used to pray to Allah that he only wanted to live till the age of 63 years because 63 years was the age of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) when he left this mortal world. His love for the Prophet PBUH was such that he did not want to live more than him. On this particular prayer, we used to argue with him vociferously and countered his arguments by saying that we wanted to see you alive for hundreds of years. But he never listened to us and kept praying to Allah for the lifespan of 63 years. So in 2017, after reaching the age of 63, Allah had accepted his prayer, and subsequently, he died on 12 March 2017 at the age of 63.

His remarkable services for the development of our town

After taking retirement from ASF, my father permanently shifted to Lahore and bought his own property here. At that time, there were only two to three houses, and there was no facility of gas, electricity, or sewerage in our town. Nobody was interested in the development of this backward area, and people did not even have an urge to buy a piece of land in this isolated land. It was he who initiated certain efforts to develop our area by the integration of electricity and gas. He then established a local Town Society whose main task was to resolve the matters of people. It was due to that Town Society that our town saw the rays of development and therefore, problems of electricity and gas had been resolved.

He was also responsible for naming and numbering of the streets and houses of our town. Initially, our town did not have any name, so he with the suggestions of other people named our town Ittihad Park(Park of Unity). The name was later changed to Ibrar Shaheed Street when a young boy named Abrar sacrificed his life for the protection of our town. He was killed by robbers during his duty, and naming of our town after him was basically a tribute to him by us.

My father is still being hailed as the most hardworking and punctual social worker who did everything to preserve the rights of the people of the town.

His obsession with the poetry of Allama Iqbal

My father was the passionate and enthusiastic reader of the poetry of Allama Iqbal. He wanted to see the traits of Shaheen (Eagle) in us. He was so obsessed with the philosophical poetry of Iqbal that he used to sing the Persian and Urdu couplets of Allama Iqbal after praying for the Fajr. It was also the wake-up call for us, given the fact that we used to sleep tight even after Fajr prayer. So basically, he wanted to do the same thing to us what Allama Iqbal had done to the sleeping Muslims of the subcontinent.

He never missed an opportunity to visit the functions being held on Iqbal day and Pakistan day at Alhamra Hall or Aiwan e Iqbal. He was a true patriot whose role models were Allama Iqbal and Dr. Israr.

His utilization in the establishment of Mosque

Initially, our town was not developed, and there was not a single mosque nearby where Muslims of our town could pray. My father, with the collaboration of one of his friends, decided to build a mosque in our town, and auspiciously, an old woman decided to allocate her land for the mosque. She devoted her land and solved the problem of building the mosque. Construction started, and just after one year, a functional mosque had been established. My father was responsible for financial aspects, and it was his job to pay the salaries of Imam and other mosque employees. My mother often tells us that due to the shortage of funds by the general public, father used to pay the salary of Imam through his own pension, which he would receive from ASF. He was also very active on the matters of the mosque, and due to his relentless efforts in serving the mosque, people still pray for him and say that the development of mosque would not have been possible if he did not pay attention to it.

His final years

In 2015, he had been diagnosed with TB. This disease became very hard for him to curtail because he was also suffering from severe stomach problems. When someone suffers from TB, doctors advise the patient to improve dietary plans and consume more nutritious and proteins. They also suggest eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. But it was not possible for my father to consume a large number of fruits given his already deteriorated stomach. His stomach was not able to digest even simple foods, and he had been very careful and vigilant throughout his life about consuming food. So doctors gave some medicine and recommended some important instructions for him. He was regular in taking medicines of TB, but due to a low diet, those medicines proved detrimental for his lungs. Although he had recovered from TB, the perpetual consumption of medicine put catastrophic fibrosis on his lungs. Just after some months of his recovery from the TB, he started having problems while breathing. We took his health very seriously and got him admitted to a private hospital. There he felt a dramatic improvement in his health, and he once again became hopeful for living an energetic life. But his hopes immediately faded when once again, he started feeling problems with his lungs as well as stomach. We took him to many reputable Doctors, but all of them had told us that pulmonary fibrosis had inflicted his lungs badly and that there was no coming back. It was the most horrible and frightening news for us as all the doctors had told us that he would only be able to live for 6 to 7 weeks. During his final weeks, he suddenly stopped talking, and his voice became very dim. We once again took him to a private hospital, and the management of the hospital decided to admit him. They provided him a separate room where all medical equipment was available. Doctors tried their best to save his life, but they could not have gone against the striking order of Allah. He died on 12 March 2017 around 11:00 AM. His funeral was held after Ishaa prayer the same day. More than 2000 people attended his funeral.

My tribute to my father

He was the most important person for all of our family. He injected profound teachings into our souls, and we will always try to keep his legacy alive. My father was a person who had invested all his resources and time for the humble cultivation of his children. He was the person who felt the utmost pleasure in helping others. He used to conduct a family meeting on a weekly basis and tell us that all of you would remember me after my departure from this world. He was also a regular diary geek, and we have plenty of his diaries in which his whole life has been saved. He has mentioned everything that had happened to him in his diaries. If I had to choose between meeting my father again and all the worldly gains, I would choose the former. He will always live with us in the form of his teachings, and we will continue to propagate his messages and accomplish his missions.

May Allah shower His countless blessings on his grave, and may he acquire the highest place in Jannah. I also pray to Allah to ignore his sins if he had committed any and give us the strength to fulfill his unfinished missionary work. Ameen.