.Sculptures of Buddha demolished by Mullah Fazlullah (Pro-Taliban)

Written by: Jawad Mazhar (ROD/Special Correspondent for BosNewsLife in Pakistan)

Swat Valley, Pakistan, Nov 23^rd, (ROD/BosNewsLife): When the Taliban destroyed two Buddhist statues in Afghanistan in the spring of 2001, there was an international outcry. But similar incidents are now occurring in northwest Pakistan, where radical Islamists blew up a sculpture of Buddha in broad daylight on Nov 14^th, 2007.

The phenomenon is new and disconcerting. Even the Pakistani government describes it as "Talibanization" Parts of the country are now in almost exactly the same situation as neighboring Afghanistan was when the Taliban were still in power there.

This is especially the case in the formerly peaceful Swat region, where a militant Islamist leader has even proclaimed an "emirate." And just as in Afghanistan, the Islamists` hatred is directed, in part, against the traces left by the ancient Buddhist civilization in the region.

Islamists inspired by the Taliban recently destroyed an important Buddhist sculpture 40 meters (131 feet) tall and about 1,300 years old in the north-western part of the Swat Valley.

Sources have revealed that Islamists were able to act without any interference from the local administration -- in broad daylight. Their first destruction attempt left the sculpture undamaged; the second damaged the Buddha’s face, shoulders and feet. The culprits had used large machines to drill shafts into the historic monument. They then filled the shafts with explosives and detonated them; it was not the first of its kind. As recently as September of this year, gunshots were fired at a rock effigy of Buddha in the same region.

The demolition of the Statues of Buddha was carried out on the orders of Mullah Maulana Fazlullah; Mullah Maulana Fazlullah is currently the strong man in the Swat region, notwithstanding his youth: He is only 28 years old. He thinks of himself as part of the Taliban movement and accepts only one authority: Mullah Omar. He has even proclaimed an "Islamic emirate" in his area of influence, and he commands a militia estimated to comprise some 4,500 men.

But Buddhist artifacts are not the only thorn in the Islamist`s side. He also emulates the Taliban’s religious and moral terror in other respects. For example, he threatened members of the Christian minority in the region -- about 1,000 people -- with death if they do not convert to Islam through unsigned threatening letters, a local Member of District Government, Kamran George told BosNewsLife a few days ago. On another occasion a Christian girl’s school was closed down and was allowed to re-open on the condition that all girls wear Burqa (Islamic Veil used by women).

Fazlullah even prevented the implementation of a polio vaccination program supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the New York Times reports. Fazlullah claimed the vaccinations would make men impotent.

Souls of Sahista & Asma ask the Humanity! What was there fault?

Written by: Khadijah Shah (ROD)

RAWALPNDI, PAKISTAN >>> This is a story of a girl named ASMA AZEEM. She lived in the village named GARI AFGHANA. She was only 8 years old when her mother died because her father AZEEM JALAL used to beat her with batons. He was unemployed and uneducated. He used to drink and was addict of hashish. One day he came home late night, he found her daughter bed ridden and suffering badly with typhoid. Her mother SHAISTA cried in front of her husband and begged him to refer to some quack as they cannot afford any doctor. He started beating his wife with his boots and steel plates that were present in the kitchen, on her face. Blood started shedding from her nose and her three teeth broke at the very spot. She was shrieking with agony and Asma was crying for help. Then AZEEM lit the fire and burnt Shaista’s hair. The fire damaged her skull as well as burnt her skin all over her face. When she was at her last breath the neighbors came at the door and started knocking and pushing it. Azeem took Shaesta in their bedroom and locked the door. He tore her clothes and threw her on the floor. Then he started kicking on her breast, Shaesta was totally helpless as she was already burnt but could feel extra pain on her breast. Azeem’s 6 friends came and locked the neighbors in their homes. Shaesta’s breast was badly injured and bleeding and her ribs were broke as well. At that time she was only 25 years old and Asma was her only child. She died on the spot at 4:00 (AM) as she could not bear the brutal thrashing which lasted for 2 hours. Then Azeem’s friends came who were also addict of hash, they cut Shaista’s sexual organs with axes and knives and afterwards the whole body into pieces and then threw it into gutter and started urinating on it. Then one of them brought the bottle of acid and threw the acid on the body so that all the evidences should end. 2 of Azeem’s friend were left behind with Asma alone. They raped her together and prick her sensitive parts like lips, cheeks and breast so brutally that she also died. They threw acid on Asma’s genitals and ran away. When Azeem came home, he saw Asma and started beating himself madly. Police came and arrested him. He tried to explain to the police about his friends, but they won’t believe him. The Court sentenced him to death after 5 months, but 2 months before his execution AZEEM poisoned himself in jail and died on 27 May, 2004. During the interrogation Police asked him about the reason of killing his own wife and child so brutally, he said that that night he lost all his money in JUWA (gambling which is unlawful in Pakistan) and he even sold his wife and child to his friends so that he could win his money back but all ended in smoke.

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info@raysofdevelopment.org
00923216032504, 00923216012462, 00923068989406
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Head office ROD: 43-Rehmat Park, University road, Sargodha, Pakistan.

A teenager sodomized by countless men through out the night.

Written by: Jawad Mazhar (ROD)

Christian youth was critically manhandled and sodomized by several
unidentified Muslim men on the night between June 2 and 3 rd after he picked up a quarrel with his Muslim age fellow while playing Cricket in a play ground near District Headquarter (DHQ) Hospital MandiBhawaldin,the ROD has learnt.

The trouble for 16-year-old Christian man, Imran Masih started when his Muslim friend, Naveed called him by the words " Essai and Choora," the bywords for Pakistani Christians used often by the Muslims to disgrace them.

Not knowing that his protest against the unwelcome language would make his position more vulnerable, the youth expressed his anger in a bid to stop Naveed from using the offensive language against him. This triggered a physical altercation between them. Naveed's father, Muhammad Sadique, an ambulance driver of the DHQ Mandibahwaldin as well as the private driver of the Medical Superintendent, Amjad Iqbal arrived at the scene of incident and took the Christian youth to his home under the pretext of "reconciliation".

As the Christian youth entered Sidique's drawing room several Muslim men, who were waiting for their "victim" started forcing the minor boy to convert to Islam. Imran did not knuckle under the pressure and refused to embrace Islam. This angered the Muslim men and they started thrashing Imran with kicks and fists while some even bit him at his chest and other parts of his body to bully him into submission.

The Rays of Development (ROD), a non-governmental organization that investigated the case told ANS that most of the assailants were drunk. " They threw liquor on his face and slapped and kicked him before subjecting him to sexual abuse", Farhan Mazhar , Chairman of the ROD told ROD fact finding team.

He went on to say that the Muslim men tucked his mouth in a sofa and stood on his hands and feet. Later, they subjected him to sexual abuse one by one, he added. The Muslim men allegedly continued to bugger the Christian youth throughout the night between 2 nd and 3rd June and threw the unconscious youth in the street outside their house.

Imran was picked up by his family members the next day."Imran could not move any part of his body. He was not in his senses. We wondered what had happened to him, " Imran's family members told ROD. The youth revealed the traumatic incident to his family when he restored his senses after some time.

Imran's mother, Kaneez bibi, who is a janitor at the hospital took his son to the Medical Superintendent of District Headquarter Hospital Mandi Bhawal Din for medical examination but he told her she was lying and showed him the door.

When the family approached the City Police Station Mandi Bahawldin for lodging a Police First Information Report (FIR) the police used dilly-dallying tactics and told them they should first obtain the Medical report.

The family members of the victim told the ROD that the hospital authorities and the Police kept them shuttling from the hospital to the police station and vice versa.Imran's family members further told ROD that the Police have been pressurizing them for reconciliation. The high-ups of local district administration, and some local members of the provincial assembly Punjab are allegedly forcing the Christian family not to file the FIR. They threatened them with dire consequences if they did not change their mind, the ROD has learnt.

The police filed a fake theft report against Imran wherein he has been accused of stealing cash worth Rs 50,000 (US$ 833.3) and a mobile phone. The ROD also learnt that the police did file a report number 82 but have not filed FIR against the Muslim men who manhandled and abused the Christian youth sexually.

The accused are yet to be brought to the book despite the passage of a week. The incident has only come as a strain on the budget of the poor Christian family. After they are shunned treatment from government hospital the family is buying basic medicines like painkillers from the private chemists.

BUSINESS RIVAL BURNT RAFIQ MASIH’S SOURCE OF INCOME.

On May 7th, Monday, 2007 Rafiq Masih’s Wooden Cabin Was Burnt To Ashes, Where He Was Running a Cycle Repair Business.Rafiq Masih is resident of Sultan colony. He had been running a cycle repairing cabin shop for last six years, in front of Sher Zaman Town gate # 1, Sargodha, Pakistan.

About five months ago Muhammad Ashraf Machi started bicycle repairing work about 100 meters away from Rafiq Masih’s cabin. Muhammad Ashraf used to purchase spare parts from Rafiq Masih at whole sale price. Few days before the incident Rafiq Masih denied to sell the spare parts at whole sale price and demanded Muhammad Ashraf to pay retail prices. At this Muhammad Ashraf threatened Rafiq Masih.

After two days of this incident, on Monday, 7th 2007 at 18:00 Rafiq Masih as usual closed the cabin and locked it and went to market to buy spare parts. Afterwards at 20:00 Rafiq’s wooden cabin was found in blazing flames. People living in the surrounding tried their best to put off the fire. At 20:25 Mr. Mazher ( unknown ) called the Fire Brigade Department. In the mean time police patrol also arrived at the scene. Police patrol also informed the F.B. department through their Control Center.

Following are the drivers of those engines which were sent to extinguish
the fire.

Fire brigade Engine # 6667 2717
Driver’s Name: Mumtaz Hussain Muhammad Hanif.

When Rafiq Masih returned from the market he was informed about the incident but till then the whole cabin had turned into heap of coal and Fire brigade engines had put the fire off.

Rafiq Masih, with the help of a ROD Activist Kashif Riaz has filed an application to register a case against Muhammad Ashraf Machi on Tuesday 8th , 2007. the application number is 224 in Cant Police Station Sargodha. No action is taken against the accused till this day. The Cant Police neither register a F.I.R. nor arrested anyone. The Police also denied providing photocopy of the application of Rafiq Masih.

Although there is no solid proof against Muhammad Ashraf even then Rafiq Masih is firm that Muhammad Ashraf has burnt his wooden cabin .

Reported by:

Zimran Elias, Nadeem Samuel, Imran Mazher, Jawad Mazher, Adnan Saeed, Asher Emmanuel.

Report sent by:

Chairman ROD Ferhan Mazher
www.raysofdevelopment.org

Women forced and destined in to Prostitution

Written by: Khadijah Shah (ROD)

Sara Iffat was a 25 year old girl who lived in Jhang Batar, a village near Rawalpindi. She was an illegal child of a policeman named Wahab-ud-Din. He misused Sara’s mother Asifa like a tissue paper assuring her that he will marry her. Before this he raped two girls with his friend and exploited those girls who were sexually appealing. One day he told Asifa that he is going to marry her on that very day. She was emotionally involved with that corrupt man and trusted him. One day he invited her to his house and told her that he wants her to meet his parents. But when she went there, there was no one present in the house except Wahab and his two friends. He gave her a drink in which wine was mixed. She drank it and started loosing her senses. His friends locked the doors and he tied her hands and legs with rope. He took off her clothes and poured wine all over her body. She tried to stop him but he taped her mouth. His friends started to shoot her video and Wahab started fucking her. She was crying in agony but there was no one to save her. After Wahab used her he offered her body to his friends and they started biting her so bitterly that her body started bleeding. When she came to senses Wahab abused her and started hitting her face. She ran away from there and went to her house but when her family members came to know about her they started despising her and threw her out of the house. She became pregnant and she courageously decided to give birth to the child. She tried case on Wahab but no one was able to do anything. Though he was a corrupt person but he was the man of influence, power and authority who cannot be accused. She then went to a women organization and asked for some help. She started living there but she was so much mentally obsessed that she became insane after giving birth to Sara. When Sara was 14 years old it was detected that her mother was suffering from breast cancer. She tried to arrange money but all her efforts ended in smoke. The only possibility was to sell her body to the male dominated society as men used to watch her lustfully. She decided to leave that place as she could not see her mother in such a dreadful condition. Then onwards she sold her body, by joining a bar, and sent money for her mother’s treatment. But sad to hear that her mother died when she was only 18. Due to this shock she became an Asthmatic patient. There was no way back for her so she stayed there.

One day she was suffering with the tormenting pain of menses and she refused to entertain any man. The manager of the bar was enraged due to her behavior and started beating her. He took her to his farm house and invited two men, filled with lecherousness. She tried to save herself but when she started shouting one of them cut off her tongue and they raped her and then cut her hands and legs and threw her into a river and she got drowned. Next day her dead body was found and due to some evidences the manager was arrested as the truth comes forth sooner or later. The world is dominated by corruption as the manager was released on bail which shows us that there is no end to the sufferings on women. They suffered in the past in the shape of Asifa and in present in the form of Sara. The steps should be taken against such corruption otherwise the future is disastrous.