Opinion Opposition within

Pakistan’s railway minister Ghulam Bilour was quoted by Dawn on September 23: “‘I announce today that if somebody kills this blasphemer [the filmmaker,I will give that person a prize of $100,000… I also invite Taliban and al-Qaeda brothers to be partners in this noble deed,’ he said,adding that given the chance he would kill the filmmaker ‘with my own hand and then they can hang me’… ‘We are not against freedom of expression,but the misuse of freedom of expression to hurt religious sentiments of others is totally wrong and intolerable…’ ‘If any international court declares me guilty of announcing the bounty,I am ready to be hanged in the name of the Holy Prophet’”.

Bilour has earned flak across the world for this statement. His party,the once left-wing Awami National Party,has condemned it and so has the PPP,which leads the coalition the ANP is a constituent of. But if there is any applause for Bilour,it has come from none other than his “Taliban brothers”. The Express

Tribune reported on September 26: “We have totally forgiven him and removed his name from our hit list,’ Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan said. Ehsan said that Taliban shoora,a top consultative body,had met on Tuesday and ‘praised Bilour for his sacrifice for the cause of Islam’… On September 28,another report stated that Bilour was unfazed by this ‘mercy’: ‘So what if the Taliban have removed my name from their hit list? I can also die from a heart attack.’ When asked if the ANP will ask him to retract the bounty offer,the minister said he expected that the party ‘will not do so’,adding that he will attend party meetings whenever he is summoned. ‘I gave the statement because of the love of Prophet Muhammad I have in my heart — I don’t mind people agreeing or disagreeing with me,’ said Bilour.”

Zardari’s red letter day

PAKISTAN Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf is once again in the Supreme Court’s crosshairs for the so-called Swiss letter. Extension after extension can at best be a reprieve for Ashraf. Law Minister Farooq Naek submitted a draft of the letter to be sent to the Swiss authorities regarding corruption cases against Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari. Daily Times reported on September 27: “[The deadlock between [the judiciary and [the executive is still unresolved over the NRO issue as the Supreme Court has warned the federal government to revise the draft of the letter… in accordance with the directions given in the… NRO judgment by October 5,otherwise contempt of court proceedings would be resumed against PM Ashraf forthwith. A five-member bench of the apex court… said: ‘No further adjournment would be granted to cause the delay in the matter’…”

Not second-class anymore

FOR a country infamous for rights violations,the Supreme Court granting equal rights to transgender individuals deserves loud applause. Dawn reported on September 26: “A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikar Muhammad Chaudhry heard the case pertaining to the rights of the transgenders. The apex court ruled that the transgenders also have the right over family inheritance… No one can deprive them from their right to their inheritance. The apex court ordered that equal rights should be given to the eunuchs in all fields of life including education and employment in a dignified manner. The Supreme Court directed the authorities to send copies of the court order to federal and provincial governments and also directed strict implementation of the order.”