China’s world?

Aasim Sajjad Akhtar 




THE world order is changing. More than five centuries after Western European powers initiated the modern era of maritime trade and colonisation, a non-Western nation, China, has emerged as a genuine contender for global supremacy.

For most of the 45 years since it realigned itself with the global capitalist order after the death of Mao Zedong, Beijing has tread carefully. It has meticulously cultivated economic ties with the West, particularly after the end of the Cold War signalled the outsourcing of manufacturing industry to East Asia.

Having enjoyed rapid economic growth under the regime of neoliberal globalisation, China’s ambitions have become decidedly less inhibited. The most recent example of this is Beijing’s ground-breaking mediation between the long-feuding Saudis and Iranians. The Chinese have even offered to broker between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Not so long ago, such diplomacy was Washington’s calling card alone. But the US is now unable to project unchallenged supremacy in international diplomacy; it is barely managing to maintain a common position with other Western powers like France and Germany on geopolitical conflicts like Russia-Ukraine.

Indeed, non-Western pacts like BRICS and the SCO loom large on the world stage, with talk of de-dollarising global commodity trades such as oil becoming widespread.

Here in Pakistan there has been much hyperbole about moving away from our historical dependence on Washington and deepening our ties with Beijing (and its allies, including Moscow). Between 2015-2018, in fact, the political and intellectual mainstream was awash with uncritical support for CPEC; who can forget the rhetoric that CPEC would be a game changer for Pakistan?

Time has watered down these simplistic slogans, and it is worth recalling that the Pakistani state — the military establishment in particular — has always rented out our strategic location to the highest bidder. We need to move beyond establishment-sponsored rhetoric and engage in substantive debate over whether the majority of the people in Pakistan would benefit from a China-centric world order.


Will a China-centric world benefit Pakistan?

The experience with CPEC so far is instructive. While Chinese companies and Pakistani authorities mine for coal in Thar and celebrate the setting up of power plants, local communities thirst for water.

While TV and social media celebrities gush over Gwadar’s scenery, roads and port facilities, local communities protest for basic amenities, dignity and livelihoods. While GB serves as the gateway for CPEC, its people are increasingly resentful of mining, road-building and other contracts for outsiders.

Clearly, most of the aid that came into Pakistan for CPEC ‘early harvest’ projects has exacerbated our rapidly growing, unsustainable debt burden. Indeed, one reason for the IMF’s continued dithering on the $1.3 billion tranche is its concern that its monies will be used to pay off Chinese debt.

One can debate whether Chinese loans are more or less exacting than the IMF’s and other Western donors’. But the fact is that Chinese ‘aid’ is not a freebie. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s already suffocated industrial sector has hardly benefited from the flood of cheap Chinese manufactured goods that are ubiquitous in markets around the country. Whether future CPEC projects will turn these patterns on their head remains to be seen.

Put simply, if China is to be a global power of different repute to the US, its interventions must demonstrably contribute to the welfare of Pakistan’s working masses rather than buttressing the power of the establishment, property dealers, constr­u­ction lobbies and big traders.

In­­d­e­­ed, a Chinese-cen­­tric world or­­der will have to live up to Beij­ing’s own rhetoric about building an ‘ecological civilisation’. Last year’s floods made clear that Pakistan’s peripheries bear the brunt of global warming and other effects of climate change.

There can be no uncritical celebration of coal-fired power, mineral exploration and infrastructural development without a reckoning of what this will mean for already devastated local ecologies.

The prospect of Western hegemony being displaced is certainly a welcome one for the majority of the world’s people who have been subjugated by Euro-American imperialism for centuries.

The US establishment is certainly fearful of Beijing’s rise, which is why it is patronising a China-bashing campaign; many Western progressives are rightly resisting Washington’s prosecution of what they see as a ‘new Cold War’. But as we approach the 137th commemoration of the workers revolt of 1886 — May Day — it is necessary to demand that the prospective Chinese rulers of our putatively shared world demonstrate their commitment to working class internationalism and live up to the principles of the Chinese revolution.

The writer teaches at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2023

Tragedy at sea

DAWN
Editorial 

Published April 28, 2023

YET another migrant boat tragedy is in the news, once again with Pakistanis among the dozens who died in a terrible accident that occurred off the coast of Libya recently. The story follows the heartbreaking pattern of earlier ones, where migrants from crises-hit countries cram into unsafe boats in a desperate attempt to reach greener pastures. Two boats were involved in the tragedy; one of the boats was reportedly ferrying 80 passengers when it sank. According to the International Organisation for Migration, 441 migrants and refugees drowned in early 2023 when trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe, the highest number of deaths in the past six years over a three-month period.

Aside from Pakistan, the migrants were mainly from Syria, Tunisia, Egypt — countries with authoritarian rulers and/or security and economic issues. It is a shame that people are ready to undertake perilous sea journeys to reach safer countries, as they see no hope in their own. For instance, in Pakistan, as if the economic and environmental crises were not enough, a protracted political predicament and security challenges are sending a signal to many that their future at home is bleak. While the political, military and judicial elite squabble, the poorest are caught in a storm of crises with no solutions in sight. Even with the knowledge that death and serious injury are never far away from dangerous routes out of the country, these people still opt to go. As they embark on these treacherous journeys in search of better socioeconomic opportunities, they have no choice but to travel on unsafe, overcrowded boats. Criminal smuggling networks profit from their fears and exploit illegal migrants who cling on in the hope of opportunities in another land. Even as they engage in power battles, our politicians and institutions should spare a thought for those whose life is so difficult that they are willing to risk life and limb for distant shores.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2023

HISTORY: THE BIRTH OF THE PAKISTAN ARMY

Dr Muhammad Ali Shaikh 
Muslim soldiers of the erstwhile British Indian Army, who were assigned to the Pakistan Army in the wake of the division | Writer’s collection


"There are armies which guard their nation’s borders, there are armies which are concerned with protecting their own position in society, and there are armies which defend a cause or an idea. The Pakistan Army does all three,” writes Stephen P. Cohen in his article, Pakistan: Army, Society and Security.

Though presently ranked as the ‘seventh most powerful army in the world’ by the Military Strength Rankings 2023, the Pakistan Army had an extremely humble beginning. The very idea of the creation of a Pakistan Army went through sheer opposition from both British colonial rulers as well as the native army officers.

Once the idea was accepted, its implementation too witnessed a series of obstacles. Still, the will of the concerned people made it possible to surmount all those impediments and give birth to an army that was destined to attain world ranking. This article recounts the roots, challenges and the genesis of the Pakistan Army during its formative phase.

Field Marshal Gen Claude Auchinleck, the last Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army, supervised the creation of two separate armies for India and Pakistan as the Supreme Commander of both the armies

BRITISH INDIAN ARMY ROOTS

The roots of Pakistan’s army are in the British Indian Army (BIA). Three hallmarks of the BIA were unity and discipline in the rank and file, the highest degrees of professional competence acquired through the world class training, and unwavering respect for the chain of command.

The British had developed the Indian army as a ‘monolith’ unit in an otherwise highly fragmented Indian society. They did it by creating an isolated and controlled environment of cantonments.

“The British Indian cantonments or military camps were self-contained units with everything the army needed: shops, housing, barracks and even brothels,” writes Shuja Nawaz in his book Crossed Swords. This saved the soldiers from unsavoury influences of divisions based on caste and creed.

Pakistan’s army faced a number of obstacles at the time of its coming into being. Unlike the Indian Army, which inherited the lion’s share of infrastructure and resources from the pre-existing British Indian Army, the Pakistan Army often had to contend with sabotage as well

The Indian soldiers, on their part, proved to be a great asset for the British empire during both the world wars. In the Second World War, the British mobilised around 2.5 million Indian soldiers to fight on their side at various fronts all over the world, with a significantly large number of soldiers hailing from the regions comprising present-day Pakistan.

After the end of the six-year long Second World War, an economically weakened Britain agreed to grant “self-government” to India by June 30, 1948. Subsequently, the date was advanced to August 15, 1947, when the two “dominions” of Pakistan and India were to attain “autonomy and sovereignty.” Nevertheless, the British desired to retain the command of the joint army in the aftermath of the partition, “like jealous parents, reluctant to let go of the reins of power,” remarks Nawaz.

BRITISH RELUCTANCE

Emotionally and intellectually still engrossed in their past rivalry with Russia and the Soviet Union and fearing inroads of communism and Soviet influence in South Asia, the British ardently advocated a joint army for Pakistan and India, under their command. However, there were not many takers for their position among both sides of the Indian political leadership.

In that situation, the British at least wanted to delay the handing over of commands for a couple of years. In his brief, the British Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck told Viceroy Lord Mountbatten that it would take “from five to 10 years to satisfactorily divide the Indian Army” quotes Ishtiaq Ahmed in his book Pakistan: The Garrison State.

Auchinleck was not alone in his aversion to the bifurcation of the Indian army into Pakistani and Indian parts. Mountbatten’s chief of staff, Lord Hastings Ismay, went to convince the Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah to favour the idea of the British retaining the joint command and control structure. But Jinnah remained unmoved.

According to Ahmed in The Transfer of Power 1942-47, Liaquat Ali Khan conveyed a message to the viceroy in unequivocal terms: “He [Liaquat Ali Khan] and Mr Jinnah were resolved that they would not take over the reins of government in Pakistan unless they had an army on the spot, and under their control.”

In the final outcome, it was agreed by all that most of the division of army would take place before the partition but that it would continue till the completion of the transfer of assets. Till that time, the administrative control of both the armies would remain with a joint headquarters under command of the British commander-in-chief, who would be designated as the Supreme Commander of both the armies. It was also decided that British officers would be retained in both the armies till the division was complete.

Governor General Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah at the Pakistan Army’s Presentation of Colours Ceremony, in February 1948 | Courtesy: UK’s National Army Museum


DISSENT WITHIN THE RANKS

Initially, many native officers too were against the division of the British Indian Army. For instance, the senior-most native officer, KM Cariappa, who later rose to the position of the Indian army chief in 1949, told Lord Ismay that the Indian army “should take over power” after the British left.

In response, Ismay told him that, “[the] proposal was not only wholly impractical, but highly dangerous, and that, throughout history, the rule of the army had always proved tyrannical and incompetent and that the army must always be servants and not masters,” Nawaz quotes from the letter Ismay wrote to Mountbatten.

Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, who served as India’s finance secretary, also recalled a similar conversation in his book The Emergence of Pakistan, when Cariappa and a Muslim army officer approached him voicing their disagreement with the military’s division plans. Instead, they favoured a jointly controlled army, arguing that, “It was better for the army to take charge of both the dominions than be divided.”

Perhaps the most notable opponent of the army’s division from present-day Pakistan was Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan, then a major who later rose to be Pakistan’s army chief and president.

At the “break-up” party organised at the Staff College Quetta, where Khan served then, he asked his senior, Col SD Verma: “Sir, what are we celebrating? This should be a day of mourning. As a united country we could have been a strong and powerful nation. Now, we will be fighting one another.”

However, political events overpowered these sentiments and the division of the army became certain. In the closing days of the partition, Hindu and Sikh army officers arranged a farewell in Delhi in honour of their departing Muslim colleagues. Gen Cariappa, on behalf of the hosts, presented a silver trophy to the departing colleagues.

In his speech, he expressed his sentiments, saying, “We shall meet each other frequently as the best of friends and in the same spirit of good comradeship that we have had the good fortune to enjoy all these years.”

Just three days later, four Muslim officers, who had attended that farewell, were killed along with their families by Sikh rioters on their way to Pakistan.

DIVISION BLUES

One of the most hotly debated issues among the political and military leadership of British India then was Pakistan’s share in the combined military assets of the BIA. Auchinleck suggested that the division of assets might take place “either on the present Muslim and non-Muslim ratio in the armed forces or in proportion to the total population of Pakistan areas as compared to Hindustan.”

This was further elaborated by Mountbatten in his report, published on August 1, 1947.

He wrote: “I should explain that we have been working on the basis of communal proportions in dividing the fighting services, the smaller partner by far being, of course, Pakistan. In the case of the Army this was the obvious method of dividing the actual soldiers…, and it worked out at a rough proportion of 70:30. In the case of the Navy it worked out at about 60:40, but as India have a far bigger coastline with more harbours and a far greater proportion of the trade to guard, the actual ships were divided in the proportion of 70:30.”

Elucidating the situation in the case of the air force, he wrote: “When it came to the Air, the communal proportions worked out at 80:20. As there were ten squadrons to divide (2 transport and 8 fighters) the India representatives claimed 8… [but the] “Committee recommended that on the analogy of the naval partition, the proportions should be 70:30, since Pakistan had the North-West Frontier to guard.”

Under the division formulae, it was decided that the Muslim soldiers domiciled in the areas constituting Pakistan would become part of the Pakistan Army, while all the non-Muslim soldiers domiciled in the rest of India would become part of the Indian Army. In the case of Muslims from India, or non-Muslims from Pakistan, they were given the option to serve in either state, subject to the opted state’s concurrence. Deviation from this principle was to result in the soldier’s discharge from service.

Pakistan was the most disadvantaged in the case of fixed military assets, such as training institutes, military production factories and facilities, as well as workshops. For instance, out of 46 training institutes, only seven came in Pakistan’s share.

In the case of repair and maintenance workshops, the three most important ones, dealing with armoured fighting vehicles, radars and crystal-cutting were located in India. In the case of ordnance factories, Pakistan got only three from a total of 17 while, in the case of ordnance depots, Pakistan got only five smaller ones, as all the major ones were located in India.

Then, while India inherited a fully functional army General Headquarters (GHQ) in Delhi, Pakistan had to transform the erstwhile headquarters of BIA’s northern command in Rawalpindi into its GHQ. It was very disadvantageous, as Pakistan’s political capital Karachi and its military capital Rawalpindi were separated by a long distance, while India had both these power centres located in Delhi, facilitating decision-making.

SABOTAGE AND SUBTERFUGE

As most of the moveable assets of the BIA, such as arms, ammunition, transport and equipment were stored in the facilities located in India, it required Pakistan’s share to be transported to it. But every move in that direction on the part of the British authorities was vehemently opposed by the Indians, compelling Auchinleck to complain of their “intolerable” behaviour, wrongly desiring the British officers to “do down Pakistan at all costs during the partition of the armed forces.”

With the passage of time, the situation only worsened, prompting Auchinleck to write another note on September 28, 1947 stating: “I have no hesitation whatever in affirming that the present Indian cabinet are implacably determined to do all in their power to prevent the establishment of the dominion of Pakistan on a firm basis.”

Elaborating further, he wrote: “Since 15th August... the situation has steadily deteriorated and the Indian leaders, cabinet ministers, civil officials and others have persistently tried to obstruct the work of the partition of the armed forces.”

After the dispute arose on Kashmir, India cast off even the semblance of fair play in honouring the division of BIA assets. In this regard, Indian army officer (later Lt Gen) S.P.P. Thorat wrote in his autobiography, From Reveille to Retreat, that as “We were sending trainloads... to Pakistan, each one of us was painfully conscious that we were indirectly helping Pakistan to kill our own men.”

Thorat admitted that he tried his best to convince the British high command to stop or at least slow down the supply to Pakistan, but in vain. He then approached Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Patel who advised him not to be “too prompt in doing your duty.”

“From then onwards, there was a sharp decline in the quantities of arms and ammunition sent to Pakistan, but a corresponding increase in innocuous items to make up the tonnage,” Nawaz quotes Thorat.

Attaining the Character

All these difficulties notwithstanding, the Pakistan Army formally came into being in August 1947 with British Gen Frank Messervy taking over as the first army chief. In due course of time, the Army selected the number 786 as its identity, which numerically represented the Quran’s opening verse. This number was “emblazoned on all gate posts and vehicles, as a reminder that this was the army of a Muslim country,” notes Nawaz.

Since then, there has been no looking back. Building upon the legacy of the BIA in the areas of discipline, professional competence and chain of command, and adding to them the element of faith, its earliest leadership, having the experience of fighting two world wars, led the Pakistan Army from strength to strength.

It proverbially rose from the ashes to claim its position in the world’s top-ranked armies, giving the nation a force it could be proud of.

The writer is a Sindh-based author and academic. He has served as vice-chancellor of Sindh Madressatul Islam University, Karachi.

He tweets @DrMAliShaikh and can be reached at drshaikhma@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, April 23rd, 2023

PAKISTAN

Muslims aren’t this way elsewhere

Pervez Hoodbhoy 

IF even the Chinese are not safe here in Pakistan, who is?

Because of CPEC and Pakistan’s national interest, the Chinese are the most privileged and protected of all foreigners. Multiple layers of police and specially created army units keep them from harm’s way. Also, they are advised to keep a low profile and minimise contacts with locals, whether in Islamabad or Karachi or anywhere in Balochistan.

But, as this week’s events showed, even these precautions could not protect the Chinese from maddened, religiously charged mobs.

Work at the Dasu hydropower project stopped after a supervisor objected to long prayer breaks taken by workers. For the locals, this was blasphemy. Whisked away by helicopter to a lockup in Abbottabad, this man was luckier than Priyantha Kumara, the Sri Lankan manager of a Sialkot factory. Also accused of blasphemy, he was tortured to death and his corpse burnt by his workers.

Afghanistan excluded, such mediaeval age horrors are unknown in other Muslim-majority countries. Nor is blasphemy busting a national preoccupation elsewhere. Apart from dedicated mountaineers, who in his right mind would want to vacation in a country where the population is ready to burst into flames at the slightest provocation?

Elsewhere, tourists of all nationalities and religions are eagerly solicited and welcomed. The souks of Morocco and Egypt bustle with Americans, Europeans, Russians and Israelis, while Indonesia and Malaysia are popular destinations for Australians. Although UAE is formally under Sharia law, its relaxed social mores encourage people from everywhere to enjoy Dubai’s wonders.

Raging lynch mobs are common in Pakistan but unusual in other Muslim countries.

Pakistan is different. Scarcely any foreigner — white, Chinese or African — is visible on the streets or in the bazaars. Enrolment of foreign students in our universities is near zero. Major airports in Pakistan, constructed at enormous cost, are economically unsustainable for want of traffic. They have barely a handful of international flights daily with most passengers being Pakistani workers or expats.

Adding to the general perception of Pakistan as a dangerous place, earlier this week, Sweden announced indefinite closure of its embassy. Not far from it is Denmark’s embassy, car-bombed in 2008. Two other European embassies are said to have also quietly shut down or restricted their operations. Even in normal times, diplomats in Islamabad stay largely within the Red Zone, making only an occasional foray for vacations up north.

We are exceptional in other ways too. Lest memories fade, let’s recall that not only did Osama bin Laden find shelter in Pakistan, he was also hugely popular. According to the 2006 Pew Global Survey, the percentage of Pakistanis who saw bin Laden as a world leader grew from 45 per cent in 2003 to 51pc in 2005. In contrast, an identical questionnaire in Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon showed his popularity dropping by 20 points.

What makes Pakistan so unique and different from other Muslim countries? To this end, I will make three observations.

First, those who run Pakistan have long assumed that religion alone can stick together Pakistan’s various regions. Maximum amounts of this epoxy must therefore be injected everywhere possible, particularly in education. Although the breakup of 1971 proved plentifully that the glue wasn’t strong enough, they chose to draw exactly the opposite conclusion. To quote Gen Ziaul Haq (1981), “Take the Judaism out of Israel and it will fall like a house of cards. Take religion out of Pakistan and make it a secular state, it would collapse.”

Elsewhere, one does not see such nervousness. Turkey? Egypt? Iran? Indonesia? Morocco? Being historically formed nation states, they are comfortable with Islam and do not have existential worries. Their national narratives are free from apocalyptic scenarios of disintegration and destruction.

Second, starting in the 1980s, Pakistan’s generals and clerics became symbiotically linked via the Kashmir jihad. Their so-called military-mullah alliance (MMA) created madressahs that became jihad factories. These eventually spun out of control. The 2007 Lal Masjid insurrection turned Islamabad into a war zone, leaving hundreds dead. It showed how impotent the state had become when confronted by the forces it had nurtured.

That impotence is glaringly evident today as well. Even in heavily policed Islamabad, it is estimated that two out of three mosques and madressahs are built on encroached land. Civic authorities stand helpless before this anarchy, unable to demolish hastily constructed structures. Government attempts to have the same prayer time for all mosques in Islamabad also foundered. Madressah reform is dead in the water. Instead, now that the Single National Curriculum is being implemented, regular schools have been turned into madressahs.

Compare this helplessness with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, or elsewhere. These states tightly regulate where mosques can be built. Even the design and architecture — pleasing aesthetics being mandatory — is specified. More importantly, they spell out what can be said or not said during Friday sermons. This limits hate speech. Hence, there are no lynch mobs and no Mashal Khans or Priyantha Kumaras.

Third, the purist fantasy of a theological state (specifically those of Ziaul Haq’s Nizam-i-Mustafa or Imran Khan’s Riyasat-i-Madina) is very much alive in Pakistan. Why demagogues can profitably use such slogans is easy to see. In a country that is deeply unequal, corrupt and plagued by huge class asymmetry, people yearn for an unblemished past when everything was perfect.

But note! The leaders of autocratic and authoritarian countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, or Turkey are not peddling hype of some imagined past. Instead, Prince Mohammed bin Salman has vowed to transform the hardline kingdom of Saudi Arabia into an open society that empowers citizens and lures investors. While Recep Erdogan may privately ache for restoration of the caliphate abolished by Ataturk in 1924, only 8pc of his supporters want this.

For stability and prosperity, Pakistan will have to shed its illusions and become a normal country. This means that its diverse peoples must be held together consensually through shared needs and interdependence, not through some ideological diktat. The hyper religiosity promoted through state institutions and the toxic education in our schools is not getting us admiration anywhere. Instead, it is producing a wild, uncontrollable population. Even our friends now fear us.

The writer is an Islamabad-based physicist and writer.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2023

ATC grants bail to Chinese national arrested on blasphemy charges

Nisar Ahmad Khan 

Published April 28, 2023 

MANSEHRA: A Chinese national arrested on charges of committing blasphemy was set free and shifted to an undisclosed location on Thursday after he was granted bail by an anti-terrorism court in Abbottabad.

The judge granted the suspect’s bail plea after he furnished a bond of Rs 200,000 as surety.

The petitioner was arrested in Upper Kohistan district on April 16 after a mob blocked the Karakoram Highway accusing him of committing blasphemy while exchanging arguments with labourers over long prayer breaks at the project site.

The FIR of the incident was registered at Kamila police station, Upper Kohistan, under sections 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 6/7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Two lawyers represented the petitioner in the court. The Chinese national was not brought to the court for security reasons. A deputy public prosecutor was also present in the courtroom,

Record shows no offence committed by suspect, court rules

The lawyers contended that their client was innocent, terming the blasphemy charge against him false.

The Joint Investigation Team, which was set up to probe the matter, placed records of statements made by the accusers and the Chinese national before the court.

Naseeruddin, the SHO of Kamila police station and main complainant in the case, appeared in court with records.

The judge ruled in his order that three labourers — Gulistan, Shafi, Qadir — and their interpreter Yasir, had lodged the FIR on April 17, two days after the alleged incident on April 15.

He observed that the three were neither able to produce evidence in support of their accusations in the court, nor could they prove charges in their statements before the JIT.

The judge, said in his order that Yasir, the interpreter, was 35-40 feet away from the Chinese national, simply assuming that the former had uttered sacrilegious remarks.

“Section 295-C of PPC says whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation or by any imputation or innuendo or insinuation, directly or indirectly defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to be fined in light of the available record,” the judge quoted from the section pertaining to blasphemy.

He further ruled that the case did not come within the ambit of “reasonable ground” as the blasphemy charge was the “result of a misunderstanding” and that the police station concerned in Kohistan had registered a “false case” against the Chinese national.

The court ruled that according to record, no such offence was committed by the accused and hence he was granted bail.

Maulana Waliullah Tohidi, a member of Ulema Jirga constituted by clerics after the alleged incident, said the release of the Chinese national was a judicial matter and “we accept it wholeheartedly”.

He said, however, that Yasir the interpreter should be put on trial for “instigating the people of Kohistan to take to the streets”. “We (Kohistanis) are patriotic Pakistani and will never allow anybody within the country, or outside, to sabotage the Dasu project at any cost,” the Maulana added.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2023

Pakistan releases Chinese national charged with blasphemy

By RIAZ KHAN

yesterday

This is a locator map for Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the Kashmir region. (AP Photo)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A Chinese national arrested in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy has been released from a high-security prison after a court granted him bail, a defense lawyer and local police said Friday.

Under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, which have been widely criticized by rights groups, anyone convicted of the offense can be sentenced to death. Often, just a mere accusation is enough to provoke mobs to riot and even attempt to lynch those suspected of blasphemy.

The suspect, identified only by one name, Tian, was part of a group of Chinese working on the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan. He was accused of blasphemy earlier this month after he criticized two drivers working on the project for taking too much time to pray during work hours.

Hundreds of residents and laborers in the town of Komela then blocked a key highway and demanded his arrest. They alleged that Tian insulted Islam, a charge he denied.

His lawyer, Atif Khan Jadoon, said Tian was granted bail by a judge in the northwestern city of Abbottabad on Thursday. He was released after depositing a bond of 200,000 rupees ($700), Jadoon said.

It was not immediately clear if Tian would have to remain in Pakistan to face trial or if he would be allowed to go back to China. The Chinese Embassy had earlier said it was looking into his case.

During his detention, Tian was briefly hospitalized after feeling unwell, authorities have said but provided no other details. He pleaded not guilty during an earlier appearance in court and insisted he did not insult Islam or the Prophet Muhammad, according to his lawyer.

The arrest of Muslims and non-Muslims on charges of blasphemy are common in Pakistan, but foreigners are rarely detained. Police at one point said they arrested Tian to save him from an attack by angry crowds.

In 2021, a mob lynched a Sri Lankan man at a sports equipment factory in the eastern Punjab province. The crowd later burned his body in public over allegations that he had desecrated posters bearing the name of the Prophet Muhammad.

In related developments, Pakistani police said Friday that a lawyer from the minority Ahmadi community was arrested for blasphemy in the southern port city of Karachi.

Pakistan declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974. They have since frequently been targeted by Muslim extremists, drawing international condemnation.

The detained lawyer, Ali Ahmad Tariq, was arrested on Thursday, allegedly because he had added a Muslim honorific to his name in official documents, prompting a Muslim resident to complain to the police.

The development drew condemnation from human rights groups and Ahmadi community activists. A spokesman for the community, Amir Mehmood, denounced the arrest.

PAKISTAN
Death and garments

Rafia Zakaria 

Published April 26, 2023 

THIS past Monday marked the 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse. Rana Plaza was an eight-storey building that housed five different garment factories in Dhaka. On the morning of April 24, 2013, the building collapsed killing 1,134 workers. Around 2,500 people were injured as a structural fault in the construction of the building trapped them beneath the rubble. The anniversary was marked by vigils and commemorations, especially among the workers who were fortunate enough to have survived the catastrophe. Several protests were also held in Bangladesh where the safety conditions faced by those who work in garment factories still leave a lot to be desired.

Here in Pakistan, in 2012, a fire broke out in a garment factory in Karachi’s Baldia Town, killing over 260 workers in a tragedy that has been termed as the country’s worst industrial disaster.

More recently (around two weeks back) four firefighters were killed in a bedsheet factory that collapsed after a massive fire broke out, possibly caused by an electric short circuit. According to observers, the fire raged for several hours. It spread as there were no fire extinguishers; moreover, the goods that had been stored exceeded their capacity, perhaps contributing to the collapse. The manufacturing unit itself was located in a congested area, making it difficult for the firefighters to douse the flames.

It is worth noting that the fire erupted not long after close to 50 brands and retailers signed the Pakistan Accord that aims to protect labourers in the textile industry. This accord, which includes signatories such as H&M, Zara, Mango, Marks & Spencer and Primark, is modelled along the lines of a similar agreement for Bangladesh that was signed soon after the Rana Plaza tragedy.

The Pakistan Accord seems to have done little to ensure progress on textile workers’ rights.

The Pakistan Accord asks brands to undertake inspections of the manufacturing premises to ensure that safety standards are being maintained. It asks for remediation measures and independent committees to monitor worker safety awareness programmes. It also asks for an independent complaints’ procedure and various local capacity-building measures to allow workers and communities to address problems before a tragedy occurs. The agreement is between the international garment workers’ unions UNI Global and IndustriALL, and various brands. Unfortunately, the months since this agreement was signed do not seem to have produced much progress or change in the way safety is managed at garment factories.

The lack of oversight implicates both local and global actors. On the global front, fashion brands are always trying to cut corners, not least because the extremely high inflation in Western markets means that those who can offer the lowest price to the sticker-shocked customers automatically have an edge in the competition. Such is their depravity that a survey that was released some months ago found that fashion brands are often uninterested in implementing safety measures that decrease their profit.

When some errant fashion brands were contacted following the results of the survey, they issued statements about how seriously they were taking the issue. At the same time, change has been less than forthcoming. Since last year, many retailers have taken advantage of the economic crises facing South Asia by driving production costs down even more.

Meanwhile, last summer, hundreds of workers at a clothing factory in Faisalabad were all left without pay for months. The factory made hundreds of thousands of clothes for a fashion brand named Missguided, which found itself caught in a dire financial crisis, owing £17m to its suppliers. When the owner of the factory was contacted about the desperate situation of the workers, he blamed the fashion brand for keeping him in the dark. Apparently, Missguided owed £2 million to the factory. Unless that money came through, there was no way the workers could be paid. Another factory located in Sialkot which also made clothes for the same brand also owed money to its workers who laboured for months on end in the hope that they would finally be paid.

The female garment workers in Bangladesh were (at least until the Covid-19 pandemic) touted as a success story. The women that worked in these factories were seen as agents of cultural transformation as they became earners, which gave them a lot more power in the family structure. Some of these gains are being lost as the world economy slows down. Another dangerous factor is the looming threat of climate change. According to a mapping of Bangladesh’s garment-producing areas, the failure of the industry to become sustainable will mean that a large chunk of the garment-producing areas will be flooded and under water by 2030.

In the meantime, the survivors of the Rana Plaza collapse 10 years ago are still suffering. More than two-thirds of them are unemployed. Others have to bear the physical and mental trauma caused by injuries sustained and the post-traumatic stress disorder of watching so many people die. Their families have also faced negative consequences of losing the wages which had been so instrumental in raising their standard of living.

The slowing down of the world economy post-Covid-19 is the worst thing that could have happened to the garment industry. With the demand for clothes now flagging — owing to the global economic recession as well as efforts to lower consumption to halt the effects of climate change — those with the least power suffer the most. In this tale of abuse and exploitation, the loser is the garment worker whose choices are reduced — it boils down to either working in unsafe conditions or not working at all. Despite the fact that the Rana Plaza tragedy exposed just how horrific the consequences of ignored safety measures can be, garment workers can only keep their mouths shut and spend hour after hour making clothes for the rich people living far away, and who care little for economic and social rights of workers living in a far grimmer world.

The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy.
rafia.zakaria@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2023

SCHLOCK TV, SHOCK TV

RIP

Jerry Springer, Host of Rowdy and Controversial Daytime Talk Show, Dies at 79

Carmel Dagan
Thu, April 27, 2023 


Jerry Springer, the former Cincinnati news anchor and mayor who came to preside over the controversial and extremely profitable talk show bearing his name, has died. He was 79.

Springer died Thursday at his home in the Chicago suburbs. The cause was pancreatic cancer, Jene Galvin, a lifelong friend and spokesman for the family, confirmed to People. “Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word,” Galvin said in a statement obtained by Variety. “He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on.”

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“Jerry Springer Show” began its multi-decade run in 1991 and, in 1998 at the height of its popularity, beat “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in the ratings, drawing 12 million viewers.

Like Geraldo Rivera, Springer signed on for a show that he thought seemed like the logical next step in his journalism career — a show not unlike “Donahue” that would take a serious look at a variety of important issues. But as with “Geraldo,” the pressure to score big in the ratings pretty quickly meant Springer and his new producer, Richard Dominick made significant changes to make the show stand out and draw a bigger daytime audience as the content of daytime TV in general became much more provocative and coarse.

While the signature moment of “Geraldo” was a brawl between neo-Nazis and Jews that resulted in throwing chairs and a broken nose for Rivera, “Springer” — if not Springer himself — was more interested in sex than in politics. The “Springer” show’s most controversial episode involved a man “married” to a horse.

Gerald Norman “Jerry” Springer was born in Highgate, London, England, to Jewish refugees from Germany (the area is now part of Poland). Both of his grandmothers died in Nazi concentration camps.

In January 1949, when Springer was just shy of 5 years old, the family emigrated to the U.S., settling in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York. He and his sister, Evelyn, grew up in a small apartment. Springer earned a B.A. in political science from Tulane University in 1965 — becoming “a full-fledged member of the civil rights and antiwar generation,” according to a 1989 profile in People magazine — and a J.D. degree from Northwestern University in 1968.

Springer became a political campaign adviser to Robert F. Kennedy, according to a 1998 profile of Springer in Slate written by David Plotz. After Kennedy’s assassination, he joined the Cincinnati law firm of Frost & Jacobs (now Frost Brown Todd).

Springer spearheaded the effort to lower the voting age in Ohio, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of ratification of the 26th Amendment. He impressed local Democrats, and at 25 he ran for Congress as a Democrat in 1970, taking 45% of the vote in a traditionally Republican district. Three days after announcing his candidacy, Springer, an Army reservist at the time, was called to active duty and deployed to Fort Knox; he continued with his campaign after discharge.

Springer was elected to the Cincinnati City Council in 1971 but resigned three years later after admitting at a press conference to hiring a prostitute. Springer managed to win back his seat in 1975. In 1977, when he ran again, Springer received more votes than any other candidate for the council, which meant, under local law, that he was elected mayor. While mayor he initiated change in the local jails. When neo-Nazis applied to march, Springer was conflicted, having lost relatives in the camps. But he was a staunch advocate of the First Amendment, and allowed them to march.

In 1982, Springer sought the Democratic nomination for governor of Ohio but finished a distant third.

Springer considered runs for the U.S. Senate in 2000 and 2004, but opted against it.

Springer began his career in broadcasting while still an undergraduate at Tulane, on the university-operated, progressive format college radio station WTUL-FM New Orleans. While mayor of Cincinnati, he offered commentaries that appeared on album-oriented rock radio station WEBN-FM under the banner “The Springer Memorandum.” These commentaries proved popular, leading to a full-time job in broadcasting: Springer was hired as a political reporter and commentator on NBC affiliate WLWT, at the time the station with the lowest-rated news show in the Cincinnati market. Later, after he’d been named primary news anchor as well as managing editor, he sought a catchphrase in the tradition of great television newsmen. With the help of some fellow station employees, he devised his signature line: “Take care of yourself, and each other.” Within two years he was Cincinnati’s No. 1 news anchor, together with partner Norma Rashid. He was the most popular anchor in the city for five years, according to Plotz’s 1998 Slate article, drawing 10 local Emmy Awards for his nightly commentaries, which would eventually become his “Final Thought” on “Springer.”

Springer remained a commentator at WLWT until January 1993, 16 months after the debut of “The Jerry Springer Show.”

In 1997 — after “Springer” had had more than time enough to become what we think of today — NBC-owned station WMAQ-TV Chicago hired Springer to serve as a news commentator, in reaction to which longtime popular news anchors Ron Magers and Carol Marin resigned. In response to audience dissatisfaction with these resignations, Springer bowed out as commentator after just two appearances.

Springer appeared as himself in a number of movies and TV shows, and played the president of the United States in the 2004 Dolph Lundgren film “The Defender.”

He essentially portrayed himself in the 1998 film “Ringmaster,” which provided a behind-the-scenes look at potential guests who apply to a “Springer”-like show; Springer’s character was named Jerry Farrelly.

He hosted NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” for two seasons, replacing Regis Philbin, and the GSN network gameshow “Baggage” from 2010-13.

Springer appeared twice on Broadway, the first time as a replacement for the Narrator in “The Rocky Horror Show” for a few days in late 2001, the second time as a replacement as Billy Flynn in the musical revival “Chicago” for about two weeks in 2009.

“Jerry Springer: The Opera,” a musical written by Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee and based on the TV show, had many outrageous scenes, profanity, a scene in which the Springer character hosts a talk show in hell where, in the words of the New York Times, he tries to “referee a quarrel among Satan, a diaper-clad Jesus (who confesses to being partly gay), a Mary who is a teenage unwed mother, Adam, Eve and God the Father, wearing a white Elvis suit, who belts out one of the show’s signature arias: ‘It ain’t easy being me. It so ain’t easy being me.’” The musical was a huge hit in London, running from April 2003 to February 2005 before a U.K. tour in 2006. When it aired on BBC in January 2005, however, “It generated so many complaints that some BBC executives asked for police protection,” the Times said.

The controversy in Britain, together with financial conflict among the producers, probably account for why the musical has not yet seen a Broadway mounting, though after productions in Chicago, Memphis, Minneapolis and Las Vegas, it was performed at Carnegie Hall in January 2008 in a concert version with Harvey Keitel in the title role, the only nonsinging part in the show.

Springer delivered the commencement address at his alma mater, the Northwestern University School of Law, in May 2008. Many students criticized the choice of speaker, but he drew a standing ovation from about half the audience, and reviews of the speech were generally positive, according to an article on law firm marketing agency website one-400.com. In his speech he declared: “I am not superior to the people on my show, and you are not superior to the people you will represent. That is not an insult. It is merely an understanding derived from a life spent on the front lines of human interaction.”

Springer penned an autobiography, “Ringmaster,” that was published in 1998.

“Jerry Springer was much more than a talk show host who redefined television. He was a savvy politician, pop cultural icon, and devout and loyal friend who was most proud when he spoke up for the marginalized and unrepresented,” reads a statement from NBCUniversal. “He connected equally with both the powerful and the man on the street. Strangers would open up to him and he loved nothing more than to give them a voice. We deeply mourn his loss and are fortunate to have been partners in a career that was truly astounding and a life that emulated the very best of us.”

He is survived by his wife, Micki Velton, to whom he had been married since 1973, and a daughter, Katie.

Suncor to buy TotalEnergies' Canadian business for up to $6.1B

Deal's final value will hinge on the price of Western Canadian Select crude and certain production targets

Jeff Lagerquist
Thu, April 27, 2023 

Suncor says the acquisition is expected to add 135,000 barrels a day of net bitumen production capacity and 2.1 billion barrels of reserves to its oilsands portfolio.

 (AP Photo/ THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Suncor Energy (SU.TO)(SU) has agreed to buy the Canadian operations of French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies (TTE) in a deal worth up to $6.1 billion, both companies announced late Wednesday.

Calgary-based Suncor and TotalEnergies say the deal's final value will hinge on the price of Western Canadian Select crude, Canada's main oil benchmark, and certain production targets. Under the terms, Suncor will pay $5.5 billion in cash, plus up to an additional $600 million, depending on those details.

"These are valuable oil sands assets that are a strategic fit for us and add long-term shareholder value," Suncor CEO Rich Kruger stated in a news release. "The acquisition also introduces flexibility and optionality into our long-range capital plan, providing us with further discretion in respect of the timing and scope of future oil sands developments."

If approved, the deal gives Suncor full ownership of the Fort Hills oilsands mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta. TotalEnergies EP Canada holds a 31.23 per cent working interest in the project. Suncor would also gain a 50 per cent working interest in the Surmont in situ asset in the same region. ConocoPhillips (COP) owns the other half.

For TotalEnergies, the deal continues its exit from Canada's energy patch. In 2020, the company wrote off $9.3 billion worth of oilsands assets, and cancelled its membership in the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

Suncor says the acquisition is expected to add 135,000 barrels a day of net bitumen production capacity and 2.1 billion barrels of reserves to its oilsands portfolio.

Subject to closing, the transaction will have an effective date of April 1.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Greg Pardy calls the deal "pricey" but positive on the whole, in a note to clients Thursday morning.

"From where we sit, this transaction looks strategically sound for Suncor, and while it appears pricey, it also removes the company's longer-term risk as it relates to bitumen supply into its upgrading operations," he wrote.

In its news release, TotalEnergies said it received "several unsolicited offers" for its Canadian assets, adding that the deal with Suncor materialized "over the last month."

Toronto-listed Suncor shares climbed 1.13 per cent to $40.39 as at 9:39 a.m. ET. The stock has fallen about seven per cent year-to-date.

Controversial bill to regulate online streaming becomes law


CBC
Thu, April 27, 2023 

Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez prepares to appear before a Senate committee in Ottawa Nov. 22, 2022. Rodriguez, the minister responsible for C-11, has dismissed criticism of the bill as inaccurate. 

(Justin Tang/The Canadian Press - image credit)

A controversial government bill to overhaul Canadian broadcasting laws to regulate streaming services has passed the final hurdle in the Senate and received royal assent Thursday evening.

After years of debate, the Senate gave its final approval Thursday to Bill C-11, also known as the Online Streaming Act. It received royal assent shortly after.

The bill makes changes to Canada's Broadcasting Act. The legislation requires streaming services, such as Netflix and Spotify, to pay to support Canadian media content like music and TV shows.

It also requires the platforms to promote Canadian content. Specifically, the bill says "online undertakings shall clearly promote and recommend Canadian programming, in both official languages as well as in Indigenous languages."

The changes give the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Canada's broadcast regulator, broad powers over digital media companies, including the ability to impose financial penalties for violations of the act.

The government says the legislation is necessary to impose the same regulations and requirements in place for traditional broadcasters on online media platforms. Right now, broadcasters are required to spend at least 30 per cent of their revenue on supporting Canadian content.

"Online streaming has changed how we create, discover, and consume our culture, and it's time we updated our system to reflect that," a government news release on the bill says.

The Conservatives have slammed the bill as an attack on freedom of expression.

"Under this archaic system of censorship, government gatekeepers will now have the power to control which videos, posts and other content Canadians can see online," a Conservative webpage on C-11 says.

The public debate has been contentious, with supporters saying the bill will boost the Canadian media and arts sectors, while critics warn that the bill could over-regulate the internet.

Internet companies affected by the legislation also have criticized C-11. The online video sharing platform TikTok warned the bill could affect its users, despite the government insisting the regulations won't cover user-generated content.

"Without the legislative clarity they asked for, digital-first creators are now left to simply hope that the government keeps its promise not to regulate user-generated content," a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.

Google, YouTube's parent company, launched a public campaign against the legislation, saying it would negatively affect users' experience on the platform.

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, C-11's sponsor, has dismissed much of the criticism of the bill from the Conservatives and tech companies, describing it as inaccurate.

The bill's journey through Parliament has been difficult. Rodriguez tabled the legislation in the House of Commons in February 2022. Nearly a year later, the Senate sent C-11 back to the House of Commons with amendments. The House accepted most of the amendments but rejected others.

One of the most contentious points of debate is whether C-11 would apply to user-generated content, such as podcasts and online videos. The government has insisted that the legislation is not intended to regulate independent content creators.

One of the Senate's amendments would have added protections for some types of user-generated content like comedy acts and instructional videos. The House rejected that amendment, arguing that it could create loopholes for streaming giants.

The House sent the bill back to the Senate, and — after days of further debate — C-11 received formal approval from the upper chamber on Thursday.

Mike McArthur/CBC

Sen. Paula Simmons, who said she sought to quiet the firestorm of disinformation surrounding the bill, endorsed an amendment that would have added further protections for individuals who post content online.

She ultimately voted against the bill but said the claim that the bill amounts to censorship is "fearmongering."

"We may think it's nanny-statism to a certain extent, trying to get us to eat our vegetables. You know, eat your kale, eat your yogurt, watch your Cancon. That is not the same thing as censorship," she said told CBC Radio's The House in an interview airing Saturday.

Sen. Andrew Cardozzo, a former CRTC commissioner, said broadcasting rules needed to be updated to address the change in technology.

"You think of TikTok five years ago, TikTok only referred to the sound that a clock made," he told The House.

Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press

Conservative senators argued that the upper chamber should stand its ground and force the government to accept its amendments.

Sen. Leo Housakos said he was "disappointed" when the bill passed.

"I'm disappointed … that the Senate didn't stand its ground given the fact that we've heard from so many stakeholders that are so concerned about this piece of legislation," he told The House.

The government put forward a similar version of the bill in 2020 but it died when Parliament was dissolved in August 2021.

Bill's effects in practice still a mystery

The bill's broad language means it's unclear what it will do in practice — an aspect of the legislation the Senate has acknowledged.

For example, the bill says Canadian broadcasting should "serve the needs and interests of all Canadians, including Canadians from racialized communities and Canadians of diverse ethnocultural backgrounds, socio-economic statuses, abilities and disabilities, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and ages."

"Precisely what this would mean in concrete terms for broadcasters is not yet known," a Senate page on C-11 reads.

"Another complicating factor is that the bill would give the CRTC new powers — but exactly how or even if the CRTC would make use of them cannot be determined through an analysis of the bill alone."

But the government is expected to clarify many areas of uncertainty through a policy directive to the CRTC. A Senate amendment that the House of Commons accepted requires the CRTC to hold public consultations on how it will use its new regulatory powers.

Striking federal public service workers fined for BBQ in front of PMO

CBC
Thu, April 27, 2023 

Dana McDonald, who took the cellphone video of officers, says she was in 'disbelief' when tickets were issued. Bylaw says they had already warned protesters before issuing tickets. (Jean Delisle/CBC - image credit)

Several federal public service workers who remain on strike say they were fined $615 each for grilling hot dogs on the sidewalk in front of the office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

A group of striking workers set up a canopy covering folding tables, as they have done each day this week, on the sidewalk at the corner of Wellington and Elgin streets. The tables featured signs with the logo of their union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), and were joined by a grill used to feed workers.

Jean Paul Surette says he was grilling hot dogs for his fellow workers on Thursday morning when officers with Ottawa police and the City of Ottawa's bylaw department approached the canopy.

Surette said bylaw have issued tickets to five people for "impeding a highway" — the sidewalk in front of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) — since Wednesday. The fine that goes along with the ticket is quite steep, too, at $615.

"A little intense for hot dogs," he said.

More than 150,000 workers with PSAC have been on strike for more than a week now, fighting for better wages, the ability to work from home and other issues.

The wieners were a hot ticket that kept morale high during the four hours on the picket line, according to Surette.

"What do we want? Hot dogs! When do we want them? Now!" workers were heard chanting on cellphone video as officers began issuing tickets.

Dana McDonald, who took the video, said they "just want to go back to work."

Others on the picket line said officers warned them about setting up their tent and playing music from a speaker.

Strikers will fight the fines

The city's head of bylaw Roger Chapman told CBC a complaint was made about the tent and table on the sidewalk in front of the PMO, and protests are prohibited from encumbering public roads and sidewalks.

"The City respects an individual's right to take part in a demonstration, but we ask that it be done in a respectful manner that does not block a sidewalk causing accessibility and safety concerns for others," read a statement from Chapman.

Jean Delisle/CBC

Chapman said warnings were issued before fines were handed out Wednesday and Thursday. Similar enforcement is happening at Tunney's Pasture, he said.

"All enforcement action occurred as [a] consequence of individuals not following direction from officers to remove the tent, tables and chairs from the sidewalk and continuing to pose an accessibility and safety risk to the public," he said.

Surette believes the tent and grill were placed away from the busier spots on the sidewalk, which should have sufficed. The canopy and grill was placed between large planters and the building where few people walk.

He said workers have contacted their union and challenge the tickets.

OTTAWA BY LAW ENFORCEMENT DID NOT TICKET THE FREEDOM PROTESTERS WHEN THEY HELD SEVERAL BBQ'S IN FRONT  OF THE PMO

SO WHO IN THE GOVERNMENT CALLED BYLAW ENFORCEMENT OUT AGAINST THE UNION

PSAC federal workers take to Toronto Pearson Airport to 'escalate' strike action

CBC
Thu, April 27, 2023 

Hundreds of people gathered at Toronto Pearson Airport's Terminal 1 for a 'priority picket line.' More than 150,000 civil servants represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada walked off the job last week. (Paul Borkwood/CBC - image credit)

Hundreds of public servants took to Toronto Pearson Airport Thursday for a "priority picket line" they hope will speed up talks with the federal government and settle a large-scale labour disruption that started last week.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents more than 150,000 civil servants currently on strike, in a news release Thursday called the demonstration an "escalation" of their job action so far.

"We're here because our lives have been disrupted by the federal government and it's time for them to feel some disruptions themselves," Craig Reynolds, the regional executive vice president for the Ontario branch of the union, told CBC Toronto.

The union says about 500 workers were shuttled into the area with buses for the protest. But Reynolds says members would rather be at work.

"It's a shame. We deserve better and we'll be here, we'll continue to escalate until we get a fair contract."

Paul Borkwood/CBC

Give yourself extra time if flying, airport says

Toronto Pearson Airport said the demonstration may cause delays in accessing the airport. This morning, it said it experienced "minor disruptions" in its departure curbside areas and advised all travellers to plan around the protest.

"We're working together with Peel Regional Police to ensure traffic can continue moving, but advise travellers to give themselves extra time if flying from Pearson today," a statement from the airport reads.

The strike affects a significant portion of the national capital's largest employer, disrupts about 30 departments and affects a range of services, including processing of income tax returns and passports.

Among the union's key issues are pay increases in line with the rising cost of living and a remote work policy enshrined in the next contract.

The federal government has offered a nine per cent raise spread out over three years, a move that negotiators say would add $6,250 to the pocket of the average worker.