By Bronwyn Curran
Published in TheNews on Saturday, April 30, 2011
As the author of a 2006 book on the Mukhtaran Mai case and a former Islamabad-based Western female news correspondent, I must raise a voice of dissent amidst the shrill reaction to the Supreme Court’s acquittal of 13 of 14 men accused in Mukhtaran Mai’s case.
In 2005-2006, after many months painstakingly poring through every police statement, medical record, witness testimony, and cross-examination transcript in this case, coupled with multiple visits to Mirwala, Jatoi and Dera Ghazi Khan for extensive interviews with members of both sides of this case, I reached the same conclusion as the Supreme Court has in 2011. The Lahore High Court reached the same conclusion in 2005. Indeed, I would challenge anyone who has the opportunity to pore through all such records and interview members and associates of all sides in this case to come up with any conclusion other than that 13 of the 14 accused are innocent.
May I stress that fundamental to that conclusion (shared by myself, the Supreme Court and the Lahore High Court) is that Ms Mai is indeed a victim of a heinous crime. The question is: of what? The Supreme Court and Lahore High Court find that Ms Mai is a victim of rape, hence their maintenance of Abdul Khaliq’s conviction for rape.
It is my belief that Ms Mai is a victim of two heinous crimes here. One is sexual assault: the kind of sexual assault experienced by women forced to marry against their will, and by women handed over by their men folk as compensatory chattel to settle a feud.
Which leads me to what I believe is the paramount crime here: Vani. Under current laws, Ms Mai’s men folk would be convicted for handing her over to the Mastoi family to atone for her teenage brother’s alleged misbehaviour with a teenage Mastoi girl. The tradition of handing women over to atone for their male relatives’ wrongdoing, known also as Swara, was outlawed by the Pakistan government in January 2005.
The police and court records shows that both the prosecution and the Mastoi family agree that it was Ms Mai’s men folk who presented her to the Mastoi family after many hours negotiating, via a local cleric, to resolve a feud. The feud had erupted earlier that day when Mukhtaran’s brother Shakoor was seen with the Mastoi girl Salma in the sugarcane field between the two families’ homes.
The prosecution’s version of what happened next is well-known. There is also a little-credited defence version; the other side of the story. For what it’s worth, the defence version fits the pattern of many a feud and its resolution in rural Punjab and Sindh: to settle the feud, the perpetrator’s family hands over a female to the victim’s family to be married off to one of their men.
I have met the women of the Mastoi family and heard their vivid accounts of what happened that night. They showed me the shoddy room in their home where, they say, they saw Abdul Khaliq bring Mukhtaran Mai to spend the night with him after a ‘sharai nikah’, an on-the-spot marriage without a certificate. For what it’s worth, they recall Ms Mai being thrown out one or more days later and sent back to her family, in a state of disgrace.
What happened to Ms Mai was outrageous, unsolicited, and must be punished. But the evidence, cross-referenced with my own protracted field research and interviews, suggests that what happened is considerably different from what is alleged by the prosecution.
I would beseech anyone who is concerned with justice and human rights to examine this case in real detail, retrace its genesis and comb through the records, and ask themselves whether a dangerous miscarriage of justice lies beneath the famous Mukhtaran Mai story.
I urge the detractors of the Supreme Court’s brave decision to objectively examine whether the 13 acquitted men, who have each spent between six and nine years in jail despite earlier acquittals, have been wrongly accused and imprisoned.
Perhaps the most obvious wrongful imprisonment is of the eight men accused of being part of an alleged panchayat. These men, who lived 3.5 hours travel from Ms Mai’s village on the other side of the Indus, were acquitted in the original 2002 trial for want of evidence. It is worth reading what the original trial judge had to say about how those men came to be arrested and why he released them without charge. This is the same judge who convicted four others of gang-rape and two of aiding and abetment. Astonishingly, these eight acquitted men were re-arrested two and a half years later in reaction to the storms of outrage that followed the Lahore High Court’s 2005 acquittal of five out of six convicted men. They have been in jail for the six years since 2005, without charge. Where are the human rights advocates standing up for them?
Apart from a wealth of inconsistencies in statements to police and witness testimonies, the paucity of evidence affects many celebrated aspects of the prosecution story. The allegation that Shakoor was molested by three Mastoi males is pure fabrication and easily revealed as such on any study of the case. The claim of Ms Mai being paraded naked before hordes of people was thrown out in the original 2002 trial, yet nevertheless has embedded itself in many re-tellings by media and rights groups. The presentation of the Mastoi tribe as wealthier and more powerful than Ms Mai’s clan was discounted in the original 2002 trial, when police admitted under cross-examination that Ms Mai’s family owned more land and had more powerful connections than the Mastoi family, well before this story began.
It is also my belief that Ms Mai is a victim of characters around her who have used her, her family, the local police and courts for their own purposes. Talk to any lawyer in southern Punjab and they will tell you how often false cases are filed between enemies. It’s my belief that Ms Mai was shamefully taken advantage of and had little control over events once the charges, filed not by her or her family but by two unrelated men, went public.
The charge of gang-rape was brought to the police by the cleric Abdul Razzaq and a local journalist-cum-rights monitor who had heard rumours after Razzaq made claims in a Friday sermon. Ms Mai was not involved in the lodging of charges. Some hours later, she was hauled into the police station unceremoniously in the back of a police truck. There she found a statement already written by the cleric in her name. She was told to attest it with a thumbprint. As is well-known, at that time she could neither read the statement, nor write her name. How was she to know what she was attesting with her thumb?
The next day the charge was in a local newspaper, the following day in national and international press, and just three days later Ms Mai had a cheque for 500,000 rupees in her hand from President Pervez Musharraf. No investigation had taken place, and Ms Mai was already both an international heroine and wealthier than any illiterate villager from a wretched Indus backwater could have ever dreamed.
The writer is a former AFP news editor
TheNews Link :
http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?IDD406&Cat9&dt4%2F30%2F2011
By Dr Ghayur Ayub
On the map of Pakistan, the Kurram agency resembles the closed beak of a bird pecking its way into Afghanistan. The Himalaya mountains close off the valley from the north, south, and west, leaving an opening at the east for the Tal-Parachinar road to run through the picturesque meadows alongside the tortuous Mar Toi (the dead river), linking Tal with Parachinar-the residing town of the top political and military administrations. During the British Raj, the valley was used as a buffer zone to counter Afghanistan interference into what was then undivided India. Without disturbing the tribal culture, the British government through the political agent, ruled the region by combining the western judicial system with the local Jirga system. In this way, the PA made good use of his authority (which was brutal at times in the shape of FCR) and kept the tribal society in check. After the partition of India, the Kurram valley became part of Pakistan as a tribal belt inheriting all the original traditions, including the style of governance. The system worked satisfactorily for decades despite sectarian divide between Sunni and Shia. Pakhtunwaly played a harmonising role abating hate reaching its crescendo during the infrequent skirmishes between the sects. Two major charters of tribal culture helped calm down sentiments in such clashes; the Tiga and the Lokhai systems. A truce was maintained through the Tiga system which was enforced by Jirga; and individual social and business interests were preserved in enemy territory through Lokhai system during the skirmishes. There were no road blocks, beheadings, kidnappings for ransom or random killings seen in recent upsurge of Taliban.
The change started when the pro-American and pro-Israeli royal family of Iran was deposed through a religious revolution, threatening western interests in the region. They saw an observable tilt in the new regime’s policies towards Palestine. The rousing welcome given to Yaser Arafat on his first official visit to Tehran was seen with great concern. The Arab royalties on other hand, saw themselves next in line to losing their thrones through identical revolutions in their countries. This became a common factor of interest between them. For them the Iranian revolution needed curtailment and the best way to do that was to give it a sectarian shape. Thus Khumeni’s Islamic revolution was propagated as Shia revolution and Saudi Arabia influenced by Wahabism became the launching pad to counter its spread. The events including the Iran-Iraq war, propaganda against Khumeini, and the emergence of a sectarian hate in neighbouring countries such as Pakistan was all part of the policy. Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was used as a stone to kill two birds; the expansion of Soviet Union and export of Iranian revolution. Jihad led by the Wahabi zealots was successful on both accounts- it disintegrated the Soviet Union and ignited a fire between the two major sects of Islam. Its fall out on the tribal belt of Pakistan was beyond comprehension especially in areas where Shia presence was prominent. The fire spread rapidly when general Babar’s sponsored Taliban took over Afghanistan, adversely effecting the life of the Shias in Kurram and Aurakzai Agencies.
The Shias in these two agencies have been increasingly targeted by the surging Taliban ever since. The sane elements in the Turi-Bangash tribes in Kurram agency and Ali Khel, Stori Khel and Feroz Khel tribes in Aurakzai agency want honourable peace with the Taliban. In return, they expect the Taliban to tolerate other sects. But the Taliban accept peace on their terms according to the strict sectarian edict they follow. Two other factors encourage the Taliban in their aims; first, the weak policies and poor governance of the government of Pakistan; second, the trickled down sectarian zeal introduced by general Zia in some army ranks, files and its agencies. The Taliban’ intentions were seen recently in a failed peace deal between the Turi Tribes of Kurram and Haqqani Network of North Waziristan brokered by Rehman Malik under the close scrutiny of ISI. The aim of the deal was to give safe passage to Haqqani group through Shaheedano Dand and Ahmadi Shama posts in Lower Kurram into Zazi Maidan of Paktia and Muqbal areas of Khost in Afghanistan. It is important to note that these routes are already under partial control of Taliban. It is the routes passing through Shia dominated areas of the Upper Kurram, namely Borki, Kharlachi and Tari Mangal which Taliban wish to have access to. By having control over these posts, the Taliban want to make Kurram Agency a logistically useful sanctuary, thus opening new routes leading from North Waziristan to Afghanistan. This would be like a death sentence for the Kurmi Shias as they know that the Taliban would rather see them annihilated than survive as a result of peaceful negotiations.
They were proved right within two months of the deal as on March 25, 2011, three minibuses carrying Shias from Peshawar to Parachinar were attacked by the Taliban at Bagan in lower Kurram killing 15 and injuring 37. They then hijacked the two remaining minibuses with 45 passengers, including women and children on board. According to a news story, they were taken to North Waziristan. In another incident a few months earlier, a Jirga of both Shia and Sunni was convened by the Commandant of the Kurram Militia in which he invited Javed Ibrahim Paracha from Kohat- who is known for his pro-Taliban and anti-Shia sentiments, and hated by the Shias. They blame him for the frequent attacks on Shias passengers at Doaba and Japanese Tunnel near Kohat on the Tal Peshawar road. The Shia Maliks in Jirga doubted the Commandant’s intentions shown by his action.
Similarly, in January a convoy of 24 trucks carrying food supplies and medicines to Upper Kurram was looted and then torched at the village of Durrani near Sadda in Lower Kurram. The Shias held colonel Sajjad responsible for the attack as the convoy was under the protection of the Kurram militia. They linked the attack with the camps at Pir Qayyum, Sateen and Shasho in Lower Kurram which are operated by the Haqqanis and the Taliban. Their worries don’t stop there; they fear that with the help of the army and the unconcerned government officials, these elements would extend their influence to their bases in Tari Mangal, Mata Sangar, Makhrani, Wacha Darra and Spina Shaga in Upper Kurram. Spina Shaga is supposed to be a common platform of Gulbadin Hikmetyar and the Haqqani networks and Mata Sangar is a possible hideout of Siraj Haqqani. In another case a few weeks earlier, armed men from North Waziristan kidnapped 20 Shia residents of Kurram, whose whereabouts is still unknown.
The Kurmi Shias feel embattled on the face of these linkages. They find themselves trapped and insecure both from the Taliban on one side and the unconcerned civilian and army administrations on the other. To make the things worse, they find their MNA Sajid Hussain Turi shrugging his shoulders of responsibility because of his weak personality and lack of political vision. He is known for his feeble nerves and bad reputation making him prone to even weak pressures. So they are stuck between the careless civilian and military officials having no hold on the Taliban and the aggressive Taliban spreading their wings in their backyard. For them, it is a question of survival in their homeland where death has become as easy and cheap as sipping water from a stream.
They find their beautiful valley is burning in a fire lit by the successive poor policies of zealous Zia and moderate Musharaf; a fire which is different from the one seen in rest of the tribal areas. A fire based on emotions against Taliban and disgust about the indifferent attitude of the government. The sad part of it is that a large number of known politicians and intellectuals consider the Taliban as saviour of Islam. They look at the anti Taliban Muslims as Zionists and American sympathisers and if they have a Shia background than they are labelled as Iranian agents. In short, the Kurmi Shias are in a precarious position landlocked by fanatic Taliban and their sympathisers making their life a living hell, burning in emotions full of anxiety and hostility. There is a Persian proverb for people like them which states ‘Tang Amad Ba Jang Amad’. After getting disappointed from continuous failure by the government, in desperation, they have started looking for alternate venues to safeguards their families and maintain their livelihood. In pursuance of an optimum survival they are turning to Afghan government, NATO, and even Hezbollah. This is a bizarre situation, the likes of which was once seen in early 20th century when a prominent Shia Turi Tribe Chief, Noor Khan (alias Dur Khan) sought British help when he found Shias under siege in identical circumstances. How unfortunate it is that both the Taliban and the government are pushing the peace loving Kurmi Shias to the brink where they might take law in their own hands and follow the example of certain tribes in Baluchistan.
The end
By Yvonne Ridley in Benghazi
Just a few weeks ago I stood on a public platform and vigorously slammed proposals for Western military intervention in Libya.
The hasty scramble by the Americans, French and Brits lacked strategy and a clear goal.
To me it appeared to be yet another oil-fuelled, reckless act by gung-ho leaders who would end up being sucked in to a long military campaign as futile as the Bush-Blair adventures into Iraq and Afghanistan that we are still paying for in terms of wasted lives.
“Here we go again,” I said. “Another imperialistic adventure with the long-term aim of getting our grubby hands on other peoples’ oil.”
To those few Libyans present, I warned they would live to regret this pact with the West that I likened to jumping into bed with the Devil.
Being very conscious of the fact I’m not a Libyan and desperate at not wanting to be seen as another opinionated Westerner sticking my nose into matters I didn’t understand, I sought the views of many Libyan friends and contacts.
Their reaction was mixed, but more often than not I was told that without outside help the Libyan people would be slaughtered by Gaddafi who himself described those who opposed him as cockroaches that needed to be crushed.
To justify my stand I reasoned that all revolutions are bloody and that the heroic people of Tunisia and Egypt had paid the blood price in their hundreds to win freedom.
I even recounted Malcolm X telling people that if they were not prepared to die for it they should remove the word freedom from their vocabulary.
Of course making grand statements from platforms in central London is one thing but going to see for myself what was happening on the ground was something else.
My few days in Libya proved to be extremely humbling, illuminating and provided me with a reality check.
I was wrong about opposing military intervention. No if, buts or maybe – I was wrong, wrong, wrong.
The people of Libya would have been brutally crushed without mercy if the West had not responded to their cries for help.
Perhaps the greatest shame is that Arab leaders stood by emotionless as the Libyan people begged everyone and anyone for help to bring down Gaddafi.
Some of those Arab leaders had no such hesitation in answering cries for help from the oppressive royal regime in Bahrain … obviously the Saudis and rest of the GCC cabal felt uncomfortable helping to bring down an evil, brutal, dictator who routinely abused and oppressed his people while happily propping up another.
It could have been an opportunity for the rising regional power Turkey to step in to the breach but to the massive disappointment of the Libyan people Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to become embroiled.
So in the end the West did intervene and although the blood of innocents is still flowing in the streets at least it is not a torrent.
And maybe this is a war led by no one, with no particular aim but the enforcement of the No Fly Zone has prevented a massacre.
That is the view held by one of Libya’s spiritual leaders Sheikh Mohammed Bosidra who told me: “We had no choice. It was either make a pact with NATO or be crushed. It was a matter of survival, as simple as that.”
However many have already paid the ultimate blood price. Each town and city has a special place for its martyrs, and there are many. Faces of young men stared back at me from family portraits proudly hung in the central square Benghazi and what struck me was how young they were.
In Derna, more portraits of the sons of Omar Al-Mukhtar hung in the town centre and some of the bodies have been buried in a cemetery next to the tombs of three Sahaba and 70 other martyrs who fought against Roman and Byzantine forces in 692AD.
“We have a very fine tradition of producing martyrs in Derna and that is why Gaddafi hates the people of Derna more than anywhere else in Libya,” one woman told me.
And then she pointed to a French Tricolore and a Union Jack whispering: “Thankyou, we will never forget what you have done for us.”
I admit I felt uncomfortable, even a fraud, on several different levels by accepting her thanks. Usually I end up apologizing for the deeds of various British governments and Empire so this was something new for me.
We are still not clear what is the endgame of the NATO-led force, but the Libyan people are crystal clear in one thing: Gaddafi must go.
Only then can they begin to work out the next move, and it won’t be easy.
The Transitional National Council, says it is committed to liberate every part of Libya from Aamsaad in the east to Raas Ajdair in the west, and from Sirte in the north to Gatrun in the south.
But from what I could see the mission is unstable and unpredictable, chaotic, disorganised and confused.
However, what is undeniable is the bravery and courage of the Libyan people who we in the media routinely refer to as rebels … these people are not rebels. They are shopkeepers, students, doctors, businessmen and mechanics who have never owned a gun or wanted to pick one up in anger, until now.
And yet there they are, tens of thousands, prepared to die for freedoms and liberties they’ve never known in Gaddafi’s 41-year rule.
I was moved to tears by a regiment of young men who marched, rallied and chanted demanding to be sent to the front lines in Misrata to help their brothers in arms.
Their personally-delivered message in Benghazi was to the members of the interim government and they were extremely critical of some elements of the TNC who they said were more interested in parading around with bodyguards intoxicated with the little power they had than making real decisions.
The criticism of the leadership was stinging but reassuring that these young men were not blind to the shortcomings of their own. Too often in the Middle East people are blind and unquestioning in their loyalty to their leaders.
It is clear to me that once Gaddafi is gone – and he will go – that the Libyan people will not replace him with another tyrant or a Western puppet. Whatever government and constitution they choose will be one of their own making.
But first we in the West must give them all the help and support they need to accomplish the removal of Gaddafi until it is time for NATO to go in a dignified exit.
And who knows, for once, Western intervention might just be regarded as a force for good.
* British journalist Yvonne Ridley is European President of the International Muslim Women’s Union.
By Yvonne Ridley
Welcome to Tora Land, declares the headline on a magazine rack which caught my eye as I was swept along in the rush hour inside Cairo’s chaotic train station.
The bold declaration on the glossy front page confirms two things. The first is that Egyptians have a great sense of humour and the second is that the Peoples’ Revolution continues to have a seismic impact on the country’s political landscape.
Tora is the name for a notorious prison complex on the outskirts of Cairo and since most of the former government – including Hosni Mubarak’s two sons – are now resident there you can begin to understand the tongue-in-cheek headline.
Everyday there are new arrests, new charges among the corrupt elite and it seems no one is immune from the Egyptian prosecutors.
This has, for many, turned in to a revolving door revolution as those once in prison for daring to stand up to Mubarak and his iron rule are now on the outside while their tormentors are replacing them behind bars.
It is indeed poetic justice … but sadly not for all; it seems there are some buried so deep inside the brutal prison system that they’ve been all but forgotten.
As the Egyptian Revolution hurtles breathlessly towards its 100th day there is still a group of prisoners who appear to have been abandoned in all of the excitement heralded by the arrival of the Arab Spring.
The forgotten few number just over 100 residents of Al’aqrab that, an Arab word which means the Scorpion.
It’s an apt name for a prison buried away in the desert sands that once concealed the treasures of Tutankhamun. Now those grains hide even more secrets that mask the real depth of wickedness and depravity plumbed by Egypt’s Last Pharaoh Hosni Mubarak.
The Scorpion Prison is a hellish institution that former prisoners told me became the blueprint for Guantanamo, the world’s most notorious jail.
In fact this is Egypt’s own version of Guantanamo.
The high security super max is two kilometres from the main entrance to the official Tora cluster of prisons where former government ministers now reside in comparative comfort.
Some of the monsters who served Mubarak will even have signed off on the torture endured by the Scorpion inmates whose day-to-day existence is quite different to those which house the Mubarak sons.
Many of the detainees have been held for years without trial or charge for simply expressing an opinion vocally or in written articles critical of Mubarak’s regime. Other were convicted of trying to overthrow Mubarak … the irony is that they did far less than those who rallied bravely in Tahrir Square just a few weeks back.
But while the revolutionaries are rewarded for heroic deeds and derring do with hard won freedoms and liberties, the 100 or so languishing behind the high walls of The Scorpion fear the have been completely forgotten.
Their voices remain unheard in the forboding complex hidden behind an imposing seven metre high wall that is protected by heavily fortified, armour-plated gates.
According to the Ikhwan website Al’aqrab was the brainchild of a group of officers who spent five years training in the US under the FBI.
On their return the Scorpion and its H blocks were built and opened by May 30 in 1993.
Prison staff have the power to cut off water, light and electricity and close individual windows at the flick of a switch as punishment. Twenty other cells are used purely for solitary confinement.
It seems the ‘American idea’ worked so well that the Scorpion model was replicated in the spring of 2002 at the US military base Guantanamo Bay in Occupied Cuba.
As I relayed the description of its interior to Moazzam Begg, Director of the London-based NGO Cageprisoners, he winced in recognition. The layout was, indeed, familiar to the former ex-Guantanamo detainee who spent three years in the American version of The Scorpion.
Mubarak’s Ministry of Interior moved detainees from Liman, Istekbal Tora and Abu Zaabal to the new supermax jail and it is thought at one point around 20,000 so-called enemies of the state were being held without trial or charge.
But there could be other political prisoners held elsewhere in the prison system in Egypt – at this stage, we simply don’t know.
But rumours abound of what has gone on behind the high walls of The Scorpion even today and include harrowing tales of torture, abuse and years of solitary confinement without sunlight.
While all of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political prisoners have now been released from across Egypt the agony continues for the inmates of The Scorpion Prison that is so well hidden from the nearby Cairo-Alexandria desert highway and is about 20 kilometres south of the Egyptian capital.
Most of the men belong to the now defunct group Talae al-Fatah, Jihad, al-Gama’h Al Islamia and other Islamic groups and although the majority signed so-called “adoption of repentance papers” years ago they are still held with little or no prospect of a trial.
Some have gone years without family visits, whipping, flogging and electric shock treatments as well as collective punishment has defined the “Scorpion Experience”. Of the 20,000 or so who have passed through its gates around 15 per cent are believed to have died.
The secretive and sinister Ministry of Interior has succeeded in hiding these men from the outside world in all that time but even today it seems justice is as elusive as ever. Let’s hope they will soon be able to join in and enjoy the Arab Spring and celebrate the 100th day of the Egyptian Peoples’ Revolution – if justice is going to be one of the cornerstones then the sooner these men are set free or put on trial the better.
* British journalist Yvonne Ridley is a patron of Cageprisoners – it’s website is http://www.cageprisoners.com
by Dr. moeed Pirzada
Tragedy in New York & in Lahore?
We have just heard that a Pakistani consular officer in New York has shot and killed two US citizens. This happened at the junction of Amsterdam Ave and West 123rd, almost close to Harlem. Police thinks that the two boys he killed, one Latino and one Afro-American might have been trying to rob him, and a pistol has also been found at the site, but they are not sure. What they know however is that a security van that rushed to help him from the Pakistani Consulate in New York over ran an old lady who was trying to juggle her way at a zebra crossing next to a red light. This lady died after reaching the hospital. Some sources are reporting that this Pakistani consular person, Mohammad Omar Khan, was actually an ISI officer under the cover of diplomatic status, he had also served in Waziristan, this might help explain how he shot 14 times from his hand held automatic gun without missing once, it looks like he was trained to shoot. On the net someone has found his picture shaking hands with Gen. Hameed Gul…Oh my God! what will happen now?..I am surfing the screens of Fox, CBS, CNN America (from Atlanta & not from London), NYPD is coming under pressure, Prof David Shapioro, from Harvard Law School just explained that diplomatic immunity does not hold in this case, it has never been tested to that level, no diplomat ever murdered in this country, and is never that strong for Consular or Technical staff anyway, Tom Friedman and Steve Cohen furiously told an anchor person that this proves what they always feared: Al Qaeda connection with ISI, Farid Zakria also accepted that he always under-estimated the risk from Pakistan. Indian Foreign minister who was on a prior engagement in Washington DC is about to hold a press briefing at the Indian Embassy in DC…..he is probably going to speak about Mumbai & 26/11…some investment bankers and gold traders are also advising that poster boy, David Cameron, to issue some kind of statement that can benefit British commercial interests in South Asia…
Don’t worry! Fortunately this has’nt happened, only the reverse has happened, a US Consular Officer in Lahore, Raymond Davis, has shot 14 times and killed two motorcyclists and a Consular vehicle that came to rescue him later killed another pedestrian. Police believes Raymond is telling the truth and only truth, how could they not? foreign office babus disclosed that Raymond will be exported away by the US Embassy in a day or two, there is no other option, this is how it works. Don’t worry! this is no big shit, we are all safe. And this is where we are wrong. Unless we understand the dynamics of mass politics we get more unsafe with every incident that exposes these double standards. We are facing a different kind of wrath, because the country we live, an ocean of humanity of 180 million watches, hears, breathes into this contradiction day in and day out and this makes them angry, and their anger causes instability. They think we the liberals, ruling politicians, civil military bureaucracy, the columnists in English papers are all pieces of shameless shit, devoid of self-respect. They end up connecting events like Aafiya Siddiqi, Drone Attacks, Aimal Kansi, Black Water, Denuclearization of Pakistan, Bhutto hanging and what not, event that are obviously not connected…and should not be, but this is how public collective mind and narrative works, unfortunately it also works the same way in the US and rest of the world…
Many American friends have often wondered why there is so much anti-Americanism in Pakistan? though I think the term anti-Americanism is over blown, an exaggeration, a misnomer, and whatever it represents is almost similar to the kind of feeling US print and media generates about Pakistanis within the US itself and you don’t have to do much to feel that; just read New York Times for a few days…but lets accept for a moment that what Pakistanis suffer is an anti-Americanism..I will argue that this so called anti-Americanism is directly proportionate to the stooge mentality of the ruling civil military bureaucracy and the ruling elites in Islamabad, this is a result of the asymmetrical relationship between the US and Pakistan in which the Pakistani public sees that its governing elites are never able to orchestrate and echo what they feel; in a globalizing world where geographical sovereignty increasingly amounts to little this feeling of helplessness is akin to the subjugation people felt in the days of colonization, the post colonial Indian intellectuals and political class fashioned an elevated rhetoric and practiced policies that helped them to grow beyond that helplessness, for Pakistani public, with its servile civil military bureaucracy, it never ended…today this lingering saga is the single biggest cause of anti-west and anti-American feelings…
And many who pose as liberals, fail both Pakistanis and the Americans when they hesitate in speaking the truth, friendship exists only when one can explain and contribute to better understanding. This is one such moment, a difficult moment, for Pakistani governments,ruling politicians and their allies, media and off-course for the US Consulate in Lahore and for the embassy in Islamabad. They need to understand that every action helps create a consciousness. Death of two common citizens may not be much of an event, for accidents and tragedies abound, but for the symbolism involved and its effects on collective psyche they need to tread carefully. It is quite possible that Raymond Davis is speaking the truth, and the two boys in Lahore- Faizan and Faheem – were indeed robbers who were making threatening gestures, and it is true that diplomatic immunity if insisted by a state has no limits, yet in the larger interest of US-Pakistan relations, trust and stability in this region, it is important that facts be diligently checked and counter checked. Does self defense justifies shooting 14 times? why all or most shots have penetrated from the back? Had these boys doing such acts before? were they really returning from a court proceeding and carrying a gun because of family feud as their families claim? Could Raymond have erred in his judgment? could he have panicked because of the impressions in his own mind? What kinds of weapons US diplomats carry inside Pakistani cities? What was Raymond’s exact role in Pakistan,since this James Bond style shooter hardly fits the description of a standard State Dept diplomat? …could the security of US diplomats be improved through better coordination with Pakistani security agencies rather than arming them like Rambos on Pakistani streets? with a double license to kill? these are difficult and painful questions but important especially since many of us have raised them in the past, and I have posted clips of interviews when Hamid Mir asked Hillary Clinton and earlier I asked Anne Patterson similar question on the same issues, to this day Pakistani government and the US Embassy has failed to clarify but now it may be the time to take stock of this situation…and the larger risks….
Due Process is an essential part of American value system, it must be respected here; it will look ugly, unbearable and politically expensive, if two weeks down the time line Raymond Davis is found relaxing with his girl friend on the coast of Florida or selling his bravado story to Rolling Stone…”How American marine stared in the eyes of the death & shot his way out?”…let us write a new chapter in US-Pakistan relations that can inspire trust for future and stability…I hope so! I am a dreamer!
Dr.Moeed Pirzada
Director World Affairs
Dunya News, Pakistan
Ph: +9251-2821345
By Afshan Bangash
The bitter truth of Pakistan today is not just about a battle between religious extremists and moderates but also about a terrifying hidden conflict between ‘haves’ and ‘havenots’ or rather ‘have-nothings’ and ‘have-everythings’.
Affluence often breeds liberal temperaments. Deprivation and poverty always breeds extremism. The brutal class-divides in Pakistani society have gradually prompted large sections of general public to embrace religion as an exclusive means of attaining any authority, if at all, against the feudal lords and wealthy elite who receive prizes of government positions to rule over people. Apart from the flamboyant wealth of these feudal lords and elite, their disrespect for the public values is a constant source of resentment among the suffering masses.
So what really killed Salman Taseer? Extravagance of his lavish Western life-style, or his utter dismissal of the values and beliefs of the poverty stricken-Pakistani masses, the multimillionaire political leaders rule down on? When Taseer’s opponents mounted a campaign against him by releasing family pictures to the media, in which the family appeared partying, they not only successfully aimed at exposing Taseer’s ‘waywardness’ and ‘un-Islamic’ ways but also managed to fiercely enrage the sentiments of millions.
Pakistan’s elite have learnt through a number of incidents in the near past, that armed guards can be even more dangerous than any outside predator. The “have-nothings” in the uniforms and armed with modern weapons, being close witnesses to the extravagant, high-priced lifestyles of the “have-everythings” may become extremely envious and resentful and seek to find the justification of such emotions in the interpretations of religious teachings. This also explains why even a section of the middle-class educated elite is unwilling to blatantly oppose the controversial aspects of blasphemy law which is evident from the showering of rose petals by a section of lawyers, when Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of Salman Taseer, was brought to the court. There is a thin line between the emotion of envy and rage and religious extremism is sometimes the only way out for the deprived when these two emotions merge.
So who really killed Taseer? The creators of Pakistan’s first Constitution 1956, who declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic deviating from Quide-e-Azam’s vision of Pakistan reflected in his address to the constituent Assembly August 11, 1947. Or the democratic Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who, for his own political gain, went further, declaring Islam as the state religion under 1973 constitution and making it illegal for Ahmedis to describe themselves as Muslims. Or the Aamir e Aazam Zia-ul-Haq, who mandated harsh punishments for blasphemous individuals putting the vulnerable sections of society such as women and religious minorities at risk of abuse. Or the twice elected PM Nawaz Shareef, who proved himself and his party to be the last nail in the coffin of religious tolerance and sanity by strengthening a law which is wide open to abuse where hearsay can be conveniently used to get some one convicted.
Another contributor appears to be the Pakisatni media. As the demon of hatred and extremism eats away on the conscience of Pakistani society, the media is showing a clear tilt toward the Right. Certain Media sections aired declaratory edicts inciting murder and mayhem and gave significant coverage to the so-called religious leaders, publicly offering suparis to murder the allegedly blasphemous Aasia Bibi. By doing so, these media sections made themselves a party to the culpability of mullahs. The champions of truth in news media were heard condoning Taseer’s murder in the name of religion.
It is worrisome to see how the ultra-conservative Deoband leadership, collaborated by the Barelvi clerics were able to bring tens and thousands of people on to the streets during the months of December 2010 and January 2011, getting disproportionate coverage on almost all the TV channels.
The prime contributor in Taseer’s killing remains the PPP led government is the dealt with the threats made to kill their own Governor in Punjab with criminal negligence. Mr Babar Awan, the Federal Minister for Justice, stated on an occassion that he did not have any intention to support any amendments to the Blasphemy laws, the cause his colleague Taseer stood up for. Just a few days before his ghastly murder, Taseer had to complain that the government was “not willing to face the religious fanaticism head on.” The voices like Atta-ur-Rehman, the minister of tourism, got stronger who was heard last month describing the Taliban as “true followers of Islamic ideology.”
Although the ecstasy of power Pakistani elite experience is understandable but it must not be displayed in vulgar ways. The high-priced lifestyles often dismiss the religious and moral values shared by the people of this war-poverty-flood-hunger-disease-stricken bankrupt nation. Refraining from dismissal of those values publicly was, certainly, not a very heavy a price for attaining governorship of the country’s biggest province. Expenditures of Presidency, the PM house, the alleged £2m Harrods furnishings, the Bruno Magli suits, chartered plane for a diner with Angelina Jolie, the imported-and-later-disapproved Siberian leopards, or the 27, 000$ dollar Atlantis Palm Jameirah wedding bills did not provoke a Qadri to gun-down a leader. Qadri needed a religious excuse, the singular authority he believed he still had against the ruling elite living an enviably lavish and resentfully ‘un-Islamic’ life.
Pakistani media should think about giving a proportionate coverage to the enlightened and moderate sections of society instead of cashing on the disproportionate coverage of the hate-mongers announcing head-moneys and issuing fatwas of death.
Most importantly, the practice of using religion for political gain prevalent in the country since 1956 must end now. Pakistani authorities, present as well as for the years to come will have to realise that no amount of security will work, when the extremist mindsets and factors that nurture them continue to be tolerated. Until the state takes firm action against the hate campaigns, many more Qadris will spring up to kill anyone who dares to tread the path of agreeing to disagree, saying what must be said and doing what must be done.
By Afshan Bangash
The bitter truth of Pakistan today is not just about a battle between religious extremists and moderates but also about a terrifying conflict between ‘have-nothings’ and ‘have-everythings’. So what really killed Salman Taseer? Extravagance of his lavish Western life-style, or his utter dismissal of the values and beliefs of the poverty stricken-Pakistani masses, the multimillionaire political leaders rule down on?
Affluence often breeds liberal temperaments. Deprivation and poverty always breeds extremism. The brutal class-divides in Pakistani society have gradually prompted large sections of general public to embrace religion as an exclusive means of attaining any authority, if at all, against the feudal lords and wealthy elite who receive prizes of government positions to rule over people. Apart from the flamboyant wealth of these feudal lords and elite, their disrespect for the public values is a constant source of resentment among the suffering masses. When Taseer’s opponents mounted a campaign against him by releasing family pictures to the media, in which the family appeared partying, they not only successfully aimed at exposing Taseer’s ‘waywardness’ and ‘un-Islamic’ ways but also managed to fiercely enrage the sentiments of millions.
Pakistan’s elite have learnt through a number of incidents in the near past, that armed guards can be even more dangerous than any outside predator. The “have-nothings” in the uniforms and armed with modern weapons, being close witnesses to the extravagant, high-priced lifestyles of the “have-everythings” may become extremely envious and resentful and seek to find the justification of such emotions in the interpretations of religious teachings. This also explains why even a section of the middle-class educated elite is unwilling to blatantly oppose the controversial aspects of blasphemy law which is evident from the showering of rose petals by a section of lawyers, when Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of Salman Taseer, was brought to the court. There is a thin line between the emotion of envy and rage and religious extremism is sometimes the only way out for the deprived when these two emotions merge.
So who really killed Taseer? The creators of Pakistan’s first Constitution 1956, who declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic deviating from Quide-e-Azam’s vision of Pakistan reflected in his address to the constituent Assembly August 11, 1947. Or the democratic Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who, for his own political gain, went further, declaring Islam as the state religion under 1973 constitution and making it illegal for Ahmedis to describe themselves as Muslims. Or the Aamir e Aazam Zia-ul-Haq, who mandated harsh punishments for blasphemous individuals putting the vulnerable sections of society such as women and religious minorities at risk of abuse. Or the twice elected PM Nawaz Shareef, who proved himself and his party to be the last nail in the coffin of religious tolerance and sanity by strengthening a law which is wide open to abuse where hearsay can be conveniently used to get some one convicted.
Another contributor appears to be the Pakisatni media. As the demon of hatred and extremism eats away on the conscience of Pakistani society, the media is showing a clear tilt toward the Right. Certain Media sections aired declaratory edicts inciting murder and mayhem and gave significant coverage to the so-called religious leaders, publicly offering suparis to murder the allegedly blasphemous Aasia Bibi. By doing so, these media sections made themselves a party to the culpability of mullahs. The champions of truth in news media were heard condoning Taseer’s murder in the name of religion.
It is worrisome to see how the ultra-conservative Deoband leadership, collaborated by the Barelvi clerics were able to bring tens and thousands of people on to the streets during the months of December 2010 and January 2011, getting disproportionate coverage on almost all the TV channels.
The prime contributor in Taseer’s killing remains the PPP led government is the dealt with the threats made to kill their own Governor in Punjab with criminal negligence. Mr Babar Awan, the Federal Minister for Justice, refused amendments to the Blasphemy laws, his colleague Taseer stood up for. Just a few days before his ghastly murder, Taseer had to complain that the government was “not willing to face the religious fanaticism head on.” The voices like Atta-ur-Rehman, the minister of tourism, got stronger who was heard last month describing the Taliban as “true followers of Islamic ideology.”
Although the ecstasy of power Pakistani elite experience is understandable but it must not be displayed in vulgar ways. The high-priced lifestyles often dismiss the religious and moral values shared by the people of this war-poverty-flood-hunger-disease-stricken bankrupt nation. Refraining from dismissal of those values publicly was, certainly, not a very heavy a price for attaining governorship of the country’s biggest province. Expenditures of Presidency, the PM house, the alleged £2m Harrods furnishings, the Bruno Magli suits, chartered plane for a diner with Angelina Jolie, the imported-and-later-disapproved Siberian leopards, or the 27, 000$ dollar Atlantis Palm Jameirah wedding bills did not provoke a Qadri to gun-down a leader. Qadri needed a religious excuse, the singular authority he believed he still had against the ruling elite living an enviably lavish and resentfully ‘un-Islamic’ life.
Pakistani media should think about giving a proportionate coverage to the enlightened and moderate sections of society instead of cashing on the disproportionate coverage of the hate-mongers announcing head-moneys and issuing fatwas of death.
Most importantly, the practice of using religion for political gain prevalent in the country since 1956 must end now. Pakistani authorities, present as well as for the years to come will have to realise that no amount of security will work, when the extremist mindsets and factors that nurture them continue to be tolerated. Until the state takes firm action against the hate campaigns, many more Qadris will spring up to kill anyone who dares to tread the path of agreeing to disagree, saying what must be said and doing what must be done.
The End
Seminar – The Assassination of the Governor Punjab and the Context of Blasphemy Law. Date: 12th Jan 2011 (Wednesday) Time: 7pm Location: Room G3, Russell Square Building, SOAS School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London Thornhaugh Street, London WC1H 0XG Note: This event is free and open to all. After the recent barbaric assassination of Salman Taseer, the Governor of Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab – Pakistan is again standing at a crossroad. Salman Taseer’s crime: To show support to Aasia Bibi – a victim of the Blasphemy law. He was in support of efforts to get her pardoned by the President of Pakistan, whilst also supporting/suggested changes in the implementation of the law, which at times has been used for the wrongful victimisation of religious minorities. SOAS Pakistan Society is holding a talk/seminar in the wake of this tragic event and we are honoured to have the following panel. SPEAKERS: Dr. Tahir Kamran Iqbal Chair, University of Cambridge Former Head of History Department, Government College Lahore. He has worked on extremism and terrorism. Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed Jinnah Chair, University of Oxford An academic and prolific writer on security issues in South Asia and politics of the Muslim world. Dr Tahir Wasti PhD in Law, SOAS He worked on Islamic law in his PhD. The development of Islamic law and its application in the Muslim world. Prof. Asad Ali Social Anthropology, Harvard University He covered blasphemy issue in his PhD at Chicago University Title: ‘Adjudicating Muslims: Law, Religion and the State in Colonial India & Post-Colonial Pakistan.’
Contact: Sheharyar Khan (President) 07403167905
Amir Ali Khan (General Secretary) 07888756837 Email: soaspaksoc2010@gmail.com
by Faarigh Jazbati
ایک اہم پہلو جو عام طور پر نظر انداز اور فراموش کر دیا جاتا ہے وہ فوجیوں کی عوامی، سیاسی، خارجہ، تزویراتی اور قومی سلامتی کے معاملات میں ان کی خاموش مداخلت کو قبول کرنا ہے . یہ خاموش مداخلت کئی طریقوں سے ہوتی ہے ، کچھ توبراہ راست فوج کی طرف سے ہوتی ہے ، کچھ سیاسی حلقوں کی غیر ارادی دعوت کی وجہ سے ہوتی ہے اور کچھ ٹی وی کے سیاسی پروگراموں کے میزبانوں کی نا سمجھی ، بے عقلی اور سیاسی بھولپن کی وجہ سے ہے.
آج میرا موضوع سیاسی پروگراموں کے میزبانوں کے سیاسی نا پختہ پن کی بات کرنا ہے. آیا یہ جان بوجھ کر ہے، بھولپن کی وجہ سے ہے یا یوسف کے پردے میں زلیخا بول رہی ہے اسکا فیصلہ میں آپ سب پر چھوڑتا ہوں.
چلیں اور کیا پہیلیاں بھجوانا ، میرا مدعا آج سیاسی پروگراموں میں ریٹایرڈ فوجی جرنیلوں کی بطور مہمان تبصرہ نگار کے بلانے سے ہے . ہر دوسرے پروگرام میں ان چلے ہوئے کارتوسوں کو تبصرے اور راۓ دینے کیلئے بلا لیا جاتا ہے. پروگرام چاہے خارجہ امور پر ہو یا انٹللجینس معاملات پر، غیر ملکی مداخلت پر ہو یا دہشت گردی پر، قومی سلامتی کے امور پر ہو یا ریاستی اداروں کے آپسی تعلقات پر، تزویراتی معاملات ہوں یا عدالتی معاملات ، یہ نام نہاد فوجی ماہرین اپنی گھسی پٹی راۓ اور تبصرہ دینے کیلئے ہر پروگرام میں موجود ہوتے ہیں. خاص طور پر وہ ماہرین جن کے تجربات اور خیالوں کی پرواز ہی اس حالت اور مشکلات میں پھنسنے کی وجہ تسمیہ ہے. ہمیں کب ماضی میں ان کے تجربات سے فائدہ پہنچا ہے جو اب ان سے مستفید ہوں .
اگر ہم بی بی سی ، سی این این ، سکائی نیوز ، فوکس نیوز وغیرہ کا مشاہدہ کریں تو معلوم ہو گا کہ ان ٹی وی چینلز نے خارجہ امور، قومی سلامتی، انٹلیجنس ، تزویراتی معاملات اور حتیٰ کہ خالص فوجی معاملات پر بھی غیر فوجی ماہرین کو بھرتی کیا ہوا ہے، یہ یا تو ان کے اپنے ماہرین ہوتے ہیں یا مختلف تھنک ٹینک سے منسلک ماہرین ہوتے ہیں اور اپنے اپنے حلقہ عمل کے ماہر ہوتے ہے .مثال کے طور پر اگر بی بی سی کے نیوز نائٹ پروگرام کو دیکھیں تومیزبان جرمی پکسمین سفارتی اور خارجہ امور پر عمومَا مارک اربن کوراۓ دینے کیلئے بلاتا ہے جو کہ خود بی بی سی نیوز کا ملازم ہے. ضرورت پڑنے پر ان ماہرین سے راۓ لی جاتی ہے اور ریٹایرڈ فوجی حضرات کوصرف اشد ضرورت پڑنے پر ہی بلایا جاتا ہے . ٹی وی چینلز کے اپنے ماہرین ضرورت پڑنے پرنا صرف ان معاملات میں قومی راھنمائی کا فریضہ انجام دیتے ہیں اور راۓ عامہ کو ریاستی حکمت عملی سے ہم آہنگ کرتے ہیں بلکہ مشکل حالات میں ریاستی کارروائی نامے کو آگے بھی بڑھاتے ہیں. یہ ریاستی اداروں کو بیجا تنقید اور غیر ضروری دباؤ سے بھی بچاتے ہیں اور ایک بفر کا کام کرتے ہیں. یہ غیر فوجی لوگ عوام الناس کو اطمینان تسلّی اور اعتماد بھی بخشتے ہیں کہ ان کے معاملات اور ریاستی امور خالص پیشہ وارانہ ، قابل، اہل اور عوامی لوگوں کے ہاتھ میں ہیں اور وہ عمدہ اور صحیح طور پر ان سے عھدہ براہ بھی ہو سکتے ہیں اور ہو رہے ہیں.
اس سلسلے میں سب سے اہم ذمہ داری سیاسی جماعتوں پر عائد ہوتی ہے کہ ہر وقت فوجی مداخلت فوجی مداخلت کا رونا پیٹنا چھوڑ کر کچھ عملی کام بھی کریں . سیاسی جماعتوں کو چاہیے کہ ان تمام حکومتی اور ریاستی امور پر تھنک ٹینک قائم کریں اور اپنے اراکین اسمبلی اور عام سیاسی کارکنوں کی ان امور پر تربیت کریں تا کہ وہ بھی ان معاملات کو سمجھیں اور ان کے بارے میں راۓ قائم کر سکیں اور راۓ دے سکیں . یہ بات ہییت مقتدرہ کے اس پروپیگنڈہ کا بھی مونہہ توڑ جواب ہو گا کہ عوام اور سیاسی قیادت ان امور سے نا واقف، نابلد اور نااہل ہے اور ان پر ان معاملات میں بھروسہ نہیں کیا جا سکتا.
آخر میں ایک گزارش اور استدعا ٹی وی چنلز سے عمومی طور پر اور پروگرام میزبانوں سے خصوصی طور پر کہ وہ سیاسی جماعتوں کے اوپر بھی پروگرام کریں اور ان سے یہ سوالات کریں کہ وہ عوام کی سیاسی اور ان امور پر تربیت کرنے کیلئے کیا کچھ کر رہی ہیں ، ان مختلف معاملات پر ان کے پاس کون کون سے ماہرین ہیں ،ان کا ماہرانہ پس منظر کیا ہے تا کہ عوام کو بھی تو پتہ چلے کے کون سی سیاسی جماعت کتنے پانی میں ہے. اور سب سے اہم بات، جب ان امور پر بات کرنی ہو تو سیاسی جماعتوں سے اصرارکریں کہ کسی ایرے غیرے کو بھی بات کرنے کیلئےبھیجنے کی بجاۓ اس شعبے کا ماہر بھیجیں اور اس کا تعارف اس شعبے کے ماہر کے طور پر کروائیں اور عوام کو پتا چلے کہ یہ سیاسی جماعت ان امور سے کتنی واقف ہے اور ان کا وسعت علم کتنا ہے اور ان کی فکری گہرائی کتنی ہے
. سیاسی جماعتوں کو مجبور کریں کہ ان مختلف امور ( یعنی خارجہ، تزویراتی، قومی سلامتی، سفارتی، انٹلیجنس، اقتصادیت ، دہشت گردی ،غیر ملکی مداخلت وغیرہم ) پر علیحدہ علیحدہ لوگ مقرر کریں اور جو جماعتیں ایسا نا کریں ان کو کھل کر بےنقاب کریں اور عوام کو بتائیں کہ یہ نا اہل لوگ ہیں اور ان کا مقصد صرف لوٹ مار اور عوام کو بے وقوف بنانا ہے .
فوجی حضرات کو ٹی وی کی سکرین سے چلتا کریں اور ہم بھی تو دیکھیں ان کے بغیر ٹی وی کے پروگرام کتنے اچھے لگتے ہیں.
by Faarigh Jazbati
Iftekhar A. Khan
The US is surreptitiously seeking Saudi help to negotiate with the ‘good’ Taliban in Afghanistan. After eight years, $243 billion sunk (John Kerry’s estimate), thousands of Afghans massacred, and hundreds of US-led NATO troops killed, where does the war stand? What is the compelling need to change the strategy when Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda cohorts have been neither captured nor liquidated which was the sole objective to invade the sovereign state. Many among the ‘coalition of the willing’ battling in Afghanistan have either withdrawn their troops or given deadlines to pull out of the black hole. Despite this, the western governments have been deluding their populations into believing that the Taliban would target them, if their troops withdrew. It’s far from the truth. Afghans are an insular nation; they have always lived within their own boundaries and pursued their centuries old lifestyle. Neither do they interfere with their neighbours not to talk of targeting the West thousands of miles apart.
Having suffered hugely in men and taxpayers’ dollars, one of the options US now contemplates is to negotiate with the Taliban instead of sending more troops, as demanded by General Stanley McChrystal. Certainly, the dilemma of the military generals is that they don’t want to live with the stigma of defeat. And when they anticipate one coming, they always quote shortage of either troops or equipment. However, often there is no dearth of either; what is lacking is the willingness to take human losses – the body bags. United Kingdom has despatched only 500 more troops, while France has refused to send any. “Will not send one more soldier,” said French President Sarkozy, yet insisting that the war must go on. If the Afghan war is for a good cause, why not send more soldiers, Mr President? Zibignew Brensisky, former US national security adviser, has suggested hiring “native forces instead of deploying own troops.” Mind you, “native forces” to kill the natives – a ploy frequently employed by the white world.
While bullish military generals demand for more troops, their civilian counterparts advise against it. Even the hawkish Defence Secretary, Roberts Gates, is weighing the strategy of compromise with the Taliban. Conceivably, the US is on the verge of losing the war in Afghanistan, hence the furtive moves to negotiate with the ‘good’ Taliban. However, the problem is how to distinguish between the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ Taliban, as both share the common goal of ridding their country of the occupation forces.
Anyway, when the US considers negotiating with the Taliban, it will exert immense pressure on us (Pakistan) against making peace agreements with the tribesmen in FATA. But what is good for the imperialist power may not be good for us. Undoubtedly, we are bearing the brunt of the war in the tribal areas as elucidated by an editorial published in this newspaper on November 14: “Destabilising of the country is progressing as designed by our external detractors and their local supporters which must be a matter of serious concern for the nation.” Who are the external detractors and who are their local supporters is the question that needs to be answered.
The US-led NATO forces might quit Afghanistan without facing long-term consequences because western powers neither share common boundaries nor religious ties with the Afghan people. But our situation is different. We share common heritage and religion with the tribesmen in FATA who have been part and parcel of the nation. What would be the point to change policy, which we will have to, after we had suffered death and destruction? Therefore, shift in policy as advised is the only way out.
The writer is a freelance columnist. Email:pinecity@gmail.com
by Sardar Shahid Abbasi
ھارون رشید کے کالم شیر لسی پیتا ھے کے جواب میں
جب بھی عظیم مزاح نگار مشتاق یوسفی کے بارے مین سوچتا ھوں۔تو ذھن کے کسی گو شے میں یہ خیال آتا ہے کہ یوسفی صاحب کو مرحوم لکھوں۔کیونکہ میں نے جو بھی عظیم یا معیاری ادب کے بارے میں پڑھا یا سنا ھے۔وہ ما ضی کے حوالے سے ھی ھے۔ آج کے اس گٰئے گزرے دور میں اتنے نابغہ روزگار لکھاری کا وجود کسی نعمت سے کم نھیں۔ان کی کتاب “آب گم”کا ایک کردارعلماء فضلا کو علماء فضلہ لکھتا ھے۔آج مذکورہ کردار کی غلطی کس حد تک “غلطی” لگتی ھےیا سرے سےغلطی لگتی بھی ھے یا نہیں۔یہ تو الگ بحث ھے۔لیکن فی لحال ھارون رشید نے آذاد کشمیر کے حوالے سے جو سیا سی افلاطونی بگھارنے کی کوشش کی ھے۔اسکا تھوڑا سا جائزہ۔ اسکی مثال اس کم فہم باغبان کی سی ھے جو ایک ھاتھ سے پودا لگاتا ھے اور دوسرے ھاتھ سے اکھاڑتا جاتا ھے۔ھر سطر لکھنے کے بعد اس کی تردید فرض کی طرح کی گئی ھے۔ان کے کالم بتاریخ16 اکتوبر 2009 کے حوالے سے (ایک بات کی وضاحت کرتا چلوں کہ یھاں ھرگز میرا ارادہ سردار سکندر حیات خا ن پر تنقید نھیں ھے۔) یہ گزارش کرنا چاھتا ھوں کہ ھارون رشید صاحب نے جب یہ کالم لکھا ھے تو وہ شاید حالت وجد میں تھے جہاں ھم جیسے گناہ گاروں کی رسائی نھہں ھے۔جناب ھارون رشید رقم طراز ھیں کہ انھیں کسی آفیسر نے بتایا کہ سکندر حیات کسی کی بات نیں مانتے اور ڈٹ جاتے ھین۔اور با قی سارے سیاسی کلرک۔مزید اس پر بحث سے پہلے یہ گزارش کردوں کہ ھمارے مذھب میں سنی سنائی بات کو آگے بڑھانے کی کس طرح ممانعت کی گئ ھےاورایسے فعل کے مرتکب انسان کے جھوٹے ھونے پر جس طرح مہرتصدٰیق ثبت کی گئ ھے۔یہ بات ھارون رشید صاحب سے بہتر کوئی نہین جانتا۔بلکہ اپنے فرمودات میں وہ کئ بار اس کا حوالہ بھی دے چکے ھیں۔یہاں بر برسبیل تذکرہ یہ بات بھی گوش گزار کردوں کہ کچھ عرصہ پھلے مجھے کسی نے بتایا کہ ھارون صاحب بغیر “چسکی” لیے ایک لفظ بھی نہیں لکھتے(میں گمان بلکہ یقین رکھتا ھوں کہ یہ بات غلط ھے)۔اب ھارون صاحب کے اصول کے مطا بق تو یہ سچ سمجھ لینا چاھیے۔اور اس کو پھیلا بھی دینا چاھیے اور آج ھر ایک کو علم ھے کے انٹرنیٹ کے ذریعے یہ کام چنداں مشکل نہیں ھے۔اب آتے ھیں اصل موضوع کی طرف۔جب موصوف سردار سکندرحیات کو ڈٹ جانے والا قرار دیتے ھیں(جس پر مجھے کوئی اعتراض نہیں ھے)اور باقی سب کو سیاسی کلرک تو اس “باقی سب میں”راجہ فاروق حیدر بھی شامل ھیں جن کو موصوف صرف ایک سطر اوپر انتہائی اجلا کھرا صاف اور بےداغ سیاستدان(اس پر بھی مجھے کوئی اعتراض نہیں) قرار دے چکے ھہیں۔اس کا دوسرا مطلب یہ ھے کہ یا تو (بقول ھارون رشید صاحب کے) فاروق حیدر با قی سب میں شامل نہیں ھیں یا پھر وہ اجلے اور صاف نہیں ھیں۔بھتر جواب تو کالم نگار ھی دے سکتے ھیں۔جیسا کہ پہلے عرض کیا کہ موصوف سردار سکندر کو ارادے کا پکا اور ڈٹ جانے والا قرار دیتے ھین۔ لیکن اگلی ھی سانس میں بے نظیر بھٹو اور سردار قیوم کی سفارش پر مجبور ھوتے بھی دکھاتے ھیں۔ اب اس بات کی وضاحت بھی وھی کر سکتے ھیں کہ ان کے فرمودات پرمشتمل پہلی لائن درست ھے یا دوسری۔یا پھر جوں جوں اور جو جو منکشف ھو تا گیا زینت قلم بنتا گیا۔ایک ایسے مزدور کی طرح جو سڑک بناتے ھوئے اپنے آگے کی مٹی پیچھے پھینکتے ھوئے اپنی ھی بنائی ھوئی سڑک کو بند کرتا چلا جاتا ھے میں اس بات کو سو فیصد موصو ف کی اپنی فیکٹری کی مینوفیکچرڈ پراڈکٹ سمجھتا ھوں۔ لیکن اگر یہ درست بھی مان لیا جائے تو کیا “حضرت واعظ” میرے علم میں اضافہ کرنا پسند فرمائیں گے کہ سفارش کرنے والازیادہ برا ھوتا ھے۔ یا عھدہ اور اختیار رکھنے والا جو سفارش قبول کرتا ھے۔اگرچہ میں اپنے آپ کو صرف آزاد کشمیر تک ھی محدود رکھنا چاہتا ہوں۔ لیکن تھوڑی سی دل پشوری ھو جائے تو برا کیا ھے۔محترم اگے چل کر مسلم لیگ ن کا دائرہ کار آزاد کشمیر تک نہ بڑھانے پر نواز شریف کو بھی جلی کٹی سنا رھے ھین ۔ میرا تو ان کے لیے مفت مشورہ ھے کہ آپ خود ھی کیون نہیںمسلم لیگ ن کی بھاگ دوڑ سنبھال لیتے۔نہ آپ کو سونے سے بھی قیمتی مشورے فلش ھوجانے کا کوئی ڈر ھو گا اورنہ قوم آپ جیسے عظیم ھر فن مولا کی خدمات سے محروم رھے گی۔اب پاکستان کے “عطیم دانشور”کو کون سمجھائے۔کہ ریاستی جماعت کا وجود تحریک ازادی کشمیر کیلئے کیا اھمیت رکھتا ھے۔
ھماری بدقسمتی ھے۔ کہ ھمارے ملک مین زیادہ تر استاد صحافی اور عالم وہ بنتے ھے جو کسی اور شعبے میں بری طرح ناکام ھو جا تے ھیں۔امریکہ کی سابق سیکریٹری آف سٹیٹ میڈلین البرئٹ نے اپنی کتاب مین کسی مفکر کا قول تحریر کیا تھا کہ خدا تو تاریخ کو بدل نہین سکتا لیکن تاریخ دان بدل سکتے ھین۔موجودہ کیس میں بھی خدا نے تو واقعات کو کسی اور طرح ظہور پزیر کیا تھا لیکن ھارون رشید صاحب اگر اس کو تبدیل کرنا چاہتے ھیں تو کس کی مجال ھے کے دم مارے۔موصوف نے آج ھی نہیں 6 جنوری 2009 کے بعد(جب سردار عتیق احمد خان کے خلاف تحریک عدم اعتماد منظور ھوئی تھی) فرمایا تھا کہ یعقوب خان اگر محنت کریں تو سردار قیوم کے ھم پلہ ھو سکتے ھین۔اور اب سردار قیوم اور سردار عتیق کا نام ونشان نہین ملے گا۔اب آپ کو بھی اور جنھوں نے آپ سے یہ کالم لکھوایا تھا(کیونکہ میں خواب میں بھی نہیں سوچ سکتا کہ اس قسم کا حقیقت سے عاری کالم آپ جیسا باشعور آدمی لکھ سکتاھے)ان کو بھی علم ھو چکا ھو گا۔ کہ وہ کس طرح سے دوبارہ جلوہ گر ھوئے ھیں۔اس پر اتنا ھی کیونکہ یہ موضوع نہین ھے۔ میں کسی کا تقابل تو نہیں کرنا چاھتا۔ لیکن آپ کی تفھیم کیلیے یہ گزارش کرنا چاھتا ھوں کہ اردو ادب میں اگر آپ کا اور الطاف ھسین حالی کا تقابل کیا جائے تو جو فرق نکلتا ھے۔ وہ اس سے کئی گنا کم ھو گا جو سردار قیوم اور ھاجی یعقوب کے تقابل سے نکلتا ھے۔اس سے آپ فرق یقینا سمجھ گئے ھوں گے۔
لیکن جب آپ کا “حسن کرشمہ ساز” جلوہ گر ھو تا ھے تو شکسپیئر کے ڈرامے “میکبتھ” سے ایک اقتباس یاد آتا ھے۔کہ
Fair is foul and foul is fair hover through the fog and filthy air
۔مولانا وحیدالدین خان نے اپنی کتاب “رازحیات” میں لکھا ھے کہ مولانا شبلی نعمانی سے کسی نے پوچھا کہ بڑا آدمی بننے کا سب سے آسان نسخہ کون سا ھے ۔تو انھوں نے جواب دیا کہ کسی بڑے آدمی پر کیچڑ اچھالنا شروع کر دو۔اور شاید ھارون رشید صاحب پچھلے کئی عشروں سے بڑا آدمی بننےسے بڑا آدمی بننے کی کوشش کر رہے ہیں۔کبھی نہ کبھی تو کامیابی ھو ہی جائے گے
Sardar Shahid Abbasi
Former Secretary to
Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan
Former President & Prime Minister of
Azad Kashmir
by Aneel SALMAN
Three tragic events in Pakistan have prompted the defense and political analysts to question the security situation and credibility of the Pakistan Army. Bomb explosion in Peshawar (09 Oct, 2009), Suicide attack at the World Food Program office (05 Oct, 2009) and the planned attack on Pakistan’s Pentagon (Army Headquarters) (10 Oct, 2009) gives a strong message of future terrorist attacks in Pakistan. The design behind these three events is completely different. The attack in Peshawar market was meant to create fear and panic amongst the general masses, already half dead due to the price hikes, poverty and unemployment. The attack on the WFP offices was a signal to international community that a suicide bomber can reach you despite the strong buffers. The GHQ attack was meant to show the vulnerability of our security forces.
The Swat operation and subsequent death of Taliban Chief Baitullah Mehsud broke the back bone of Talibans and situation within Pakistan border became temporarily calm. Nomination of the new Taliban chief in Pakistan, Hakimullah Mehsud, General McChrystal’s request for more troops in Afghanistan, approval of the Kerry Lugar Bill and political statements regarding military operation in South Waziristan have stirred up the hornet’s nest again in Pakistan.
The new skipper Hakimullah Mehsud is in his late 20s and according to some experts still in “pampers” with no experience and capacity to run such a demanding job. The lad made his public appearance on 04 October which cleared the doubts of him being anything but ready and prepared to take the battle head on. In the interview with five tribal journalists he declared that Taliban will avenge the killing of Baitullah Mehsud by striking back at Pakistan and the US. His message was loud and clear: You target our senior Taliban figures and we will strike back hard, fast and without mercy. It is indeed ironic that no proactive measures were taken to appease this young lion out to prove to his men and followers his leadership mettle.
“Resources will not win this war, but under-resourcing could lose it,” said Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Last month he requested for an additional 30,000- 40,000 in Afghanistan, without which US could lose the war. After a round of National Security meetings, analyzing counter insurgency in Afghanistan and situation in Pakistan, the Washington Post reported on 13 October 2009 that the U.S. military is deploying 13,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai also supported the request of additional troops made by General McChrystal. On the other side Vice President Joe Biden, proposes a different approach of counterterrorism strategy “Pakistan First” which focuses on using Special Forces and technology to reduce the number of al Qaeda insurgents on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. According to the Noble Prize Winner For Peace President Obama war in Afghanistan is a “war of necessity” and sending more troops would win the war and bring peace in the region.
Uncle Sam can buy anything with a dollar and has now given the green signal to the generous economic assistance package to Pakistan under its Kerry Lugar Bill. But let us not forget that this is not the first time Pakistan has been offered money: Gen Zia ul Haq in the 70s and 80s used it to create the deadly breed of Taliban against Russians as the good lapdog of the American government; and in the more recent past, Gen Pervaiz Musharraf used more US hand outs to crush the very same Frankenstein created by his predecessor to prove his loyalty to the US of A. It seems increasingly clear now that where military colonization of a land and people fail (as in Iraq), the capitalist imperialist project for American hegemony falls back on the more reliable form of colonization…economic. Bernd Debusmann describes Washington’s dilemma as a Catch-22 situation, “You need to defeat the Taliban to build a state, and you need to build a state to defeat the Taliban. There cannot be security without development or development without security.”
Under the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009, the Congress approved the Kerry Lugar Bill to triple aid for Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year for the next five years. The offer is lucrative, the only difference is that this time the deal is not with a military dictator, rather with a “democratic leader” albeit one of the most corrupt and vile men in the country Asif Ali Zardari. Unfortunately, for the American Congress and intelligentsia, the Pakistani Army has not been that impressed with the green.
The Government of Pakistan and the military have rarely seen eye to eye on things in this country, especially when the Army is in the barracks and not the benches. Even now there is a power struggle going on between the President and the Commander in Chief, a struggle which has become even more pronounced since this economic aid does not come without its basket of strings and conditionalities. The Bill brings the Pakistan Army under the microscope with its demands for more top brass accountability and audits on military spending, the big red herring. Plus, it is claimed that the money coming in will make the fragile Government strong and empower civil authorities. Gen Kiyani, the Commander in Chief of the Army, is 13 months away from his retirement and there are rumors that President Zardari is looking to replace him. Even though this statement has been refuted officially, but if Zardari even dreams of such an act he needs to recall the Nawaz-Musharraf episode in 1999. At the end of the day, even with so many voices against military dictators, this scribe believes that the people of Pakistan still trust their military leadership and see them as their last resort and saviors if the democratic governments fail to fulfill their promises and start wagging their tails in front of the West.
Let us, however, not get hasty in painting the Army black (or even white) just because it is saying no to a potential diamond mine. If ever before America’s intentions towards Pakistan were double faced and hidden behind billions of dollars, it is now. With this Bill they seem to be playing their infamous game “Divide and Rule” by weakening the strongest institution (Pakistan Army) and experimenting with a corrupt civilian Zardari government.
The international and especially the Indian media had a field day criticizing the security failures and Pakistan Army credibility after the GHQ attack. Very ironic since both the US, UK and Indian media have short term memory losses given how easily they forgot their own security lapses on 9/11, 7/11 and then the Mumbai attacks. If anything, we should now accept the harsh reality that a terrorist attack, especially a suicide attack, can happen any time, any place, be it a market, diplomatic enclave or military headquarters. What is needed is not just intelligent proactive measures as for example in the case of the GHQ lapse where the police had already warned the Army after military uniforms and bomb raw material was found in one of their raids, but also deep soul searching in terms of how much and how little should one country be interfering in the problems and issues of the other. What is needed also is an alive citizenry. Sadly, we in Pakistan have become a sloth loving nation…people like me are content to do our bit by writing down our frustrations in one article or other, but no one is willing to come out on the streets to demand and make real change. I truly wonder what will happen if the people of Pakistan rose up against their corrupt leaders and these fanatical Talibans. Will they not run like hell with tails between their legs? Or maybe I am just being too idealistic.
This series of terrorist attacks has left little options for the Government of Pakistan, but an army offensive against the militants in South Waziristan is an option that needs far more thought and frankly wisdom. South Waziristan, the semi-autonomous tribal belt along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, is the main bastion of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and almost out of the control of Pakistani government. USA claims that Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants who fled Afghanistan after the 2001 are holed up in the region. Extremism and terrorism have been growing fast in the region in recent years due to its economic underdevelopment. The 10,000 or so Taliban militants are well trained and have rich experience of fighting against the government and the U.S. army. They have building infrastructure in their strongholds for many years and given their tactical isolation would be well prepared for a ground operation. No doubt, the Pakistan army carried out successful operations in Swat and wiped out (so claimed) Talibans from the region. But, going into Waziristan could lead to an all out war for which the people of Pakistan need to be better prepared with spillover effect of terrorist attacks in the urban hubs of Pakistan. As our soldiers head into this “waster land” the Government needs to monitor the movements of local Islamic groups, increase their secret information networks and take proactive counter terrorism measures.
Political gurus fear that the militants would come back after a military operation if the Pakistani government is unsuccessful in establishing its authority in the tribal areas, improve the living standard of the local people and get extremism under control. This will be a long journey for the Government to clear the militants and finally end the war on terror.
Aneel Salman, an academic, based in New York, USA. Research fellow at Center for Public Policy and Governance, Forman Christian University Pakistan. He can be reached at salmaa@rpi.edu
Dear Aslam Baig Sahib,
I heard you over this program called, Jirga somedays back and as usual you were at your best spitting more and more venom as usual and somehow rejecting your involvement in anything to do with the making of IJI and illegal distribution of funds by ISI during your tenure as COAS.
Dear General Sahib, let me remind you of your oath and recorded statement at Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1997 ((Human Rights Petitition 19/96 filed by Air Marshal Asghar Khan) in which you gave out the statement (actually quoting the illegal money which was used to make IJI) that, “the money was donated by Mr.Younas Habib and ISI was acting under the directions of higher authorities. As chief of the army staff at that time, when I was informed of this matter my only concern was that the money received by the ISI was utilized properly and an account was maintained and beyond that I had no concern with the money……”.
It’s astonishing because Gen.Durrani who was then Ambassador in Germany when approached by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the former spy-master wrote an affidavit, confirming that he had received instructions from you as COAS General Beg to provide ‘logistic support’ for the disbursement of donations made by certain ‘businessmen of Karachi’ to the IJI election campaign of 1990, and was told that the operation had the blessings of the government. Interestingly Gen.Sahib, let me remind of your meeting with Nawaz Sharif with General Durrani – your ISI Chief during 1991 when you discussed plans to raise money through “DRUG OPERATIONS” something which Kamran Khan a reputable journalists wrote quoting Nawaz Sharif who according to Kamran Khan ‘refused such a plan’ to support him. As citizen of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, I am shocked,
embarassed and angry at the Chief General of Pakistan to even think in such terms!
General Beg – the world remembers you and since the recent revelations of your own cronies and partner in crime , it’s high time you should come clean too. Iqbal Haider whose now a Human Rights Activist defended General Nasurullah Baber and in a recorded statement (record could be verified by the SC Registrar anytime) said, “ISI was involved in politics”. Lt General Hameed Gul, a former ISI chief, was on record as having boasted that it was he who created the IJI, and another ISI chief, Lt General Javed Nasir, had taken credit for creating the MQM Haqiqi…”. Statements which amazes us as both of these political parties had been associated with violence and links with terrorists organizations apart from the right wing nature of there politics.
Additional to this, in affidavit of Gen.Babur to the Supreme Court of Pakistan (HRC 19/96) included Asad Durrani’s (your ISI Chief) confidential letter to the later Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto which read like:
“My dear Prime Minister,”A few points I could not include in my ‘confessional statement’ handed over to the director, FIA. These could be embarrassing or sensitive. (a) The recipients included Khar 2 million, Hafeez Pirzada 3 million, Sarwar Cheema 0.5 million and Mairaj Khalid 0.2 million. The last . . . . . . . [illegible] someone’s soft corner that benefited them. (b) The remaining 80 million were either deposited in the ISI’s ‘K’ fund (60 m) or given to director external intelligence for special operations (perhaps the saving grace of this disgraceful exercise. But it is delicate information.) [Noted in the margin of this paragraph, by the writer in his own hand: "This is false. The amount was pocketed by Beg (Friends)"]
Another claim by your own General and that’s General Sahib is where things gets more interesting. If the idea is to put Gen Beg on the mat: he was merely providing ‘logistic support’ to donations made by a community ‘under instructions’ from the government and with the ‘consent’ of the military high command. In any case; I understand he is implicated in some other deals in the same case… Asad Durrani claimed – fair enough but “money worth 60 million PKR which were supposed to be made to ISI’s K Fund were went to your pockets?
Friends? Naseerullah Babar also filed in court a copy of a bank account sheet headed,
“G/L Account. Activity Report. Account 12110101 G. Baig (sic.)” The column heads read “Transaction, Date, Particulars, Debit, Credit.” The numbered transactions took place between October 23, 1991, and December 12, 1993. The first transaction listed was “Cash-P.O. Karachi Bar Association A/C Gen. Baig (sic.), debit, 5,05,680″ (advocate Mirza Adil Beg, Aslam Beg’s nephew, the then president of the KBA, confirms that the KBA received the money). In January 1992 USD 20,000 was sold @ 26.50 and 5,30,000 was credited to the account. Thereafter all debits: “Arshi c/o Gen. Baig (sic.) 2,90,000; Cash paid to Gen. Shab 2,40,000; Cash Friends 1,00,000 [Aslam Beg's organization, FRIENDS, Foundation for Research on National Development and Security]; Cash TT to Yamin to pay Gen. Shab 3,00,000; Cash TT to Yamin Habib 12,00,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000 ; Cash paid through YH 10,00,000 ; Cash Friends TT to Salim Khan 2,00,000 ; Cash 1,00,000 ; Cash Towards Friends 5,00,000 ; Cash Asif Shah for Benglow 35,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000 ; Cash TT through Yamin for Friends 1,00.000 ; Cash paid to Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim 2,00,000 [he confirms having received the money from General Beg as fees and expenses for defending him in the contempt of court charge brought against him - PLD 1993 SC310] ; Cash paid through TT to Yamin for Friends ; Cash paid to Fakhruddin G Ebrahim 1,28,640 [he confirms receipt for fees/expenses for contempt case] ; Cash Guards at 11-A 10,500 ; Cash TT for USD 240,000 Fav. Riaz Malik to City Bank (sic.) New York 68,76,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000; Cash Guards at 11-A 10,500 ; Cash Mjr. Kiyani 10,000; Cash mobile phone for Col. Mashadi 28,911 ; Cash TT fav. Qazi Iqbal and M Guddul 3,00,000 ; Cash Mjr. Kiyani 10,000 ; Cash TT to Peshawar 3,00,000 ; Cash deposited at Karachi A/C EC [Election Commission] 3,00,000 ; Cash Guards 24,000 ; Cash TT to Quetta 7,00,000 ; Cash mobile bill of Col. Mashadi 3,237 ; Cash TT to Peshawar Br. 4,00,000 ; Cash deposited at Karachi Br. 4,00,000 ; Cash Guards 11,520 ; Cash TT to Peshawar for EC 2,00,000 ; Cash TT to Quetta for EC 2,00,000 ; Cash Guards 5,760 ; Cash Mjr. Kiyani 5,000 ; Cash A/C Guards 8,640 ; Cash th. YH 2,00,000 ; Cash A/C Guards 5,760 ; Cash TT to Salim Khan 1,00,000.”
It’s alarming and shameful that you even with such solid evidences against you have the guts to actually deny things with so much calmness… by the way, I emailed Farku Uncle and he replied, “yes baba”.
General Aslam Beg you are a traitor to this country and the least you could do is : to publicly come up like Brigadier Imtiaz, Brigadier, Asif Haroon, General Asad Durrani, General Naseer say, “I AM SORRY”.
Regards,
Ali K.Chishti
akchishti@hotmail.com
C52-Karachi University Staff Town,
Karachi
AKC.
In Pakistan, all roads lead to some undeveloped sector of Islamabad, ending on some plot allotment through a shady side street. Brig Imtiaz, whose conscience has awoken suddenly after a 17 year coma, apparently is also an NRO beneficiary.
In a hastily called press conference, ex-Director FIA Malik Mumtaz, has revealed the facts behind Brig Imtiaz’s incarceration and the confiscation of his illegally acquired property. After the promulgation of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), Brig Imtiaz was among the blessed few on whom the NRO has shone its light of grace, mercy and forgiveness. Armed with a clean slate and looking for new beginnings, the first thing Brig Imtiaz did was to reclaim his confiscated plots and property.
The second thing Brig Imtiaz wants to do now is to secure his property and business interests which are now threatened if the Supreme Court repeals the NRO. In the service of this noble cause, Brig Imtiaz has joined forces with MQM and the Establishment in creating the artificial “Jinnahpur-was-concocted” scandal.
The obvious target of the Establishment is the newly-restored judiciary and its independence. The Establishment is afraid of the Chief Justice of Pakistan because he might:
1. Overturn the NRO, re-confiscate looted wealth/plots, and imperil the Establishment itself
2. Apply Article 6 on ex-dictator Musharraf and embarrass the Army
3. Punish the MQM for the May 12th, 2007 killings in Karachi
The battle lines are drawn and lowly pawns like Brig Imtiaz, armed with stupendous lies, have rode into battle that is being waged daily on our TV screens.
Let the Games begin!
———————————————————-
بریگیڈئر امتیاز کیخلاف مقدمات ری اوپن کئے جائیں، ملک ممتاز:
اسلام آباد (اُردو پوائنٹ اخبار تازہ ترین۔27اگست ۔2009ء) ایف آئی اے کے سابق ڈائریکٹر ملک ممتاز نے کہا ہے کہ این آر او کے تحت اربوں روپے کی قرق جائیداد واپس لینے والے بریگیڈیر ریٹائرڈ امتیاز کے خلاف کرپشن کے مقدمات ری اوپن کئے جائیں۔ اسلام آباد میں پریس کانفرنس سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے ملک ممتاز کا کہنا تھا کہ بریگیڈیر امتیاز کو بے نظیر حکومت میں ہارس ٹریڈنگ کرنے کے الزام میں فوج سے ریٹائر کیا گیاتھا جبکہ انکے خلاف اسلام آباد میں قیمتی پلاٹ اور پلازےحاصل کرنے کے انکشافات ہوئے جس پر انہیں آٹھ سال قید اور ستر لاکھ روپے جرمانہ کی سزا بھی سنائی گئی لیکن این آر او کے تحت نہ صرف انکی سزا معاف ہوئی بلکہ قرق شدہ اثاثے بھی بحال کردیئے گئے انہوں نے متعلقہ حکام سے اپیل کی کہ قومی دولت لوٹنے والے افراد کے خلاف خارج مقدمات کو ری اوپن کیا جائے ۔
Source: Urdu Point
By Aamir Ghauri
Pakistan is riding tumultuous waters and seemingly pushing nowhere.But that is not wholly true. It is heading for disaster unless skippered right.
The government born out of Musharraf-Bhutto deal is on a short lease not by default but by design. Desperate attempt by President Zardari to thrust Bilawal on to the party stage is recognition of personal incapacity. His team is either dysfunctional or non-existent. His chosen prime minister is limp needing permanent scaffolding to sustain position but is unlikely to secure one against the falling, failing presidential palace.
In a nutshell, Pakistan People’s Party is facing internal and external threat — mortal threat. Internally, party workers are disillusioned after the murder of the last Bhutto standing. Hopes of getting something from the crippling elite cadre is keeping them in line. Old guard is long gone and the latest “kids on the block” are busy doing what their party is rightly or wrongly best known for. Externally, the military is happy to see the most potent political threat rot and the political opponent, Nawaz Sharif is gaining ground. Muttahida Qaumi Movement is keen to capture Sindh’s urban areas for good, a goal looking increasingly achievable. Mullahs are getting stronger in rural Punjab and could pose a murderous threat before too long. And to top it all, the party has a history of making political blunders in Balochistan and Frontier during earlier power stints and is continuing with them.
But it can’t be said that all is lost. There are signs of rejuvenation nonetheless. Not supported by the party leadership, it seems the centre is slowly but definitely shifting towards Punjab for reasons not too difficult to understand. The PPP has historically been associated with Sindh because of Bhuttos, who needed support from Punjab to reach the pinnacle of power. Its political appeal was, however, more than any other political party in the country. Successive military rules have not only cemented PPP’s public appeal as the only credible opposition party but also created a cache of pliable politicians in Punjab by creating this or that Muslim League. All that changed when Musharraf overthrew Nawaz Sharif in 1999.
Punjab under Sharifs now represent the opposition to Pakistan Army’s political ambitions while Sindh is standing shoulder to shoulder with the ancien regime – be it Zardari’s PPP or Altaf Hussain’s MQM. Situation can grow grimmer if PPP does not change course. One, the army will love to see PPP crumble to provincial crumbs thereby leaving Sharif’s PML-N alone to fight the
fight for people’s politics. Second, loss of public faith in politics and politicians will be enhanced irreparably. Thirdly, Sharifs will become too strong for the PPP’s political future but more dangerously will left alone be on a collision course with the military sooner than later. Hence needed, a change of course and a change of face.
Zardari-Gilani represents a political elite that is a dying breed in Pakistan.
The lawyer-civil society-media confrontation with Musharraf has proven that point to an extent. Those standing with or favouring military junta would self-destruct if not sooner then later. The Chaudhrys of Gujrat are just one case to remember. The PPP leadership needs to go to a fresher, fairer, fighting but most importantly educated leadership. Aitzaz represent that genre. I am not alone in saying that. He has proven himself to be shrewder than expected. By leading the charge against Musharraf, by abdicating the Bar to Kurd, by attracting the young, by engaging the West, by talking sense and by remaining loyal to the party, he is sending all the right signals. And may be the military, in time will back him as well. Why? Not because he is from the educated middle class, not because he studied at Cambridge and been called to the Bar in England, or because he is no feudal lord with private jails and Swiss accounts. But because he listens to the military’s anguished leadership too. And who knows by tomorrow he might be able to lock horns with Sharifs in Punjab and elsewhere.
Pakistan army and its international backers do not like Nawaz Sharif at this particular juncture. Not because he does not want to listen and work with the most powerful group in the country — the army — but because he is aware of his own strength. Army, to my humble understanding, does not like a leader in Pakistan – a leader who can challenge army’s gargantuan authority
across the provincial divide. Nawaz Sharif has the capability of healing Pakistan’s wounds. But he will have to wait for his turn if it ever comes.
Pakistan needs both, the Sharifs and a robust PPP. Both need to attract young, educated and motivated men and women to their cadres to build a stronger Pakistan. The army needs to parade back – if not dramatically then inch by inch. Pakistan cannot afford any more adventurism – internally or externally. The time and space around us is changing fast. Our neighbours do not trust us neither do our friends. Our path is laden with innumerable mines
and survival would demand we pace ourselves right with right leaders in place.
Aamir Ghauri is the editor of London-based weekly The Asian Journal.
aamoghauri@yahoo.com
Aqil Sajjad
Finally the judges who colluded in the Nov 3 attack on the judiciary and the jiala judges inducted after Nov 3 are out. This was the unfinished business of restoring the judiciary to its Nov 2 status, and today, we can fully celebrate the victory of the lawyers’ movement.
In addition to a stinging indictment of Musharraf, it is also a big blow for the PPP, which was on board with Musharraf in Nov 3 and used it as an opportunity to get him to appoint its own favourites in the judiciary. This was the reason the PPP never protested Nov 3 seriously, BB herself was playing a double game on the judiciary issue, then after her assasination, Zardari and the others picked up from where she had left and tried their best to maintain the Dogar court. In one of the most blatent displays of complicity, Latif Khosa personally attended the PCO oath ceremony of Ahsan Bhoon, one of the PPP judges inducted into the LHC, and also openly defended Mr. Bhoon on Geo TV during the live coverage of the first long march.
The struggle for the judiciary’s restoration also revealed some people whose commitment to democracy and principles ends where the PPP starts. There were those who were actively involved in the movement when Musharraf was in power, made passionate speeches about the independence of the judiciary, and demanded the unconditional restoration of Iftikhar Chaudhry. But as soon as the PPP came into power and its opposition to the restoration of the judiciary became clear, they started coming up with all kinds of twisted arguments against the continuation of the lawyers’ movement. They suddenly started finding faults with CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry, claimed that he had become politicized, argued that the lawyers’ movement had become right wing, insisted that this was now a PML-N project for overthrowing the PPP and coming into power, and last but not the least, used the PPP’s favourite scare mongering tactic by saying that taking to the streets would result in a military take over. Fortunately, the civil society did not listen to them, the movement continued without these PPP B-teams, and today, the the judiciary has finally been restored to the Nov 2 status.
With the judiciary restored, one hopes that the PPP and its B-teams have learned a lesson from all this, and will hopefully show better adherence to principles in the future. One also hopes that the judiciary will zealously guard its hard-faught independence, and strike down any attempt to mix the executive with the judiciary, whether it is in the form of a political party trying to appoint its own favourites as judges, or whether it is the attempt to revive the colonial institution of the executive magistracy.
The Need of a Vision
Aneeza Qazi
It is usually the conversation with my friends and colleagues that starts me thinking. It usually goes something like this: “The situation is very bad in your country, isn’t it? “Yes, its not good.” “ But now, is the whole country behind this war against extremists”? “Well I would say the vast majority is”. “But I remember last year you were cursing “MO-shaaraf” for killing his own people. Do you now feel his strategy was right?” It is only the last sentence that literally sets me on fire. “He is the very reason why things have reached this point. If we can somehow eliminate his 8 years of darkness out of our national history, things will suddenly look much brighter”. But this particular comment got me thinking and I kept on wondering what is the difference between “then” and now. Why do we support the military action against the militants now and did not in the past? We really need to understand this difference.
It all started with our (meaning our army’s) aims and delusions of grandeur. They created and cultivated the “jihadi” element as our “B” team. During Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, this B team was used by US to get to their own ends, while they (meaning our army, to be more precise) exploited the jihadi element to stay in power. It is true that many Pakistanis felt with their hearts for the Afghans across the borders and many even went to fight for them. Sadly, the intentions of the Pakistani government were not so noble and the support being extended to Afghanistan was for reasons other than fraternity. At that time, it was our mistake to play the religion card. Army, and those so-called masterminds, always thought that the jihadis were their reserve force and could be controlled. It was wrong and unfair to brainwash simple individuals and promote a certain type of ideology to get material gains. In other words, exploiting religion. We can now see how uncontrollable the Frankenstein’s monster has become.
It is a sad thing that military dictators have been using one reason or the other to legitimize their reign in power. The second major milestone came after 911 when the same jihadi elements, promoted and trained by CIA, became the bad boys. Again we were unfortunate to have had a military dictator in power, who used the Taliban as bogeymen to get the dollars out of the American to line his and his generals’ pocket. The “war against terror” was unleashed in Afghanistan and then crept in through the border to Pakistan. We followed the US diktat with the “B team” mentality working at the back of our mind. While we were allowing the Americans to kill scores of our civilians in the name of collateral damage, we were not able to locate and shut down an FM radio from spewing venom in Swat. What could have been controlled by our intelligence network, a few firm stances and lots of welfare work in those areas, reached explosive limits and finally the uncontrollable state that it is in now. They thought they were smart enough to fool the US into giving them more and more pittance as a reward for their “doing more”. “Do more” we did indeed! But only to the advantage of palatial mansions constructed in the name of GHQ in Islamabad. That era of double game ended with Musharraf’s government collapse. Or did it?
Comes 2008 and the much venerated elections. After years we have an elected government. True that they had a baggage of past problems but instead of meticulously getting to work, we saw them indulging in one misadventure after another. From deferring and dithering about the restoration of judiciary to their brazen, brainless and tactless meddling in Punjab, they jumped from one folly to the other. The so-called air of “reconciliation” blowing in the country brought soot and filth with it. They finally woke up to the fact that nations are not given unlimited time to resolve their problems so something needed to be done. Then we saw them swinging to the other extreme and striking deals from a position of weakness with the terrorist militants. We should thank Mr. Fazlullah and his band of yahoos to have been so utterly reckless that they left the government with no option but to embark on a military operation, and that is how we see army doing what it is doing in Swat. It was the ruthlessness of the so-called saviours of religion that tilted the sentimental scale of the nation against them. The mockery they made of religion with their ill intentioned actions, helped eliminate the soft corner for them in the hearts of many.
But where do we go on from here? We have a war going on in our territory, a war that was never ours but has now become our struggle for survival. We have thousands of IDPs waiting to go back to their homes or settle down for good in other areas. We have the economic meltdown, the power crisis. Every day is bringing a new challenge. The first thing to do is to have a clear policy and timeline regarding our operation against the militants. It should be the government calling the shots. The current commitment and progress of army is commendable but it is too soon for us to forget the fact that not so long ago the same army was showing blatant incompetence in effectively fighting militants. Our 60 years history has taught us this one lesson really well that army is best when doing its own task and worst when poking its excessively large nose where it should not. Having said that, unless the civil administration and government rise to the occasion, army will always be looked up to even in areas they should not venture in. So it is of paramount importance for our current government to formulate a clear short term and long term policy regarding the ongoing operation. Any cowering under “agencies” or “establishment” pressure is not going to be helpful. That can only be achieved by making parliament stronger which in turn can best be started by implementing the Charter of Democracy. It is in government’s own interest, if they can only see it.
One of the reasons these militants gained stronghold in Swat and other areas was the lack of administrative and judicial system. People should now clearly see the policy and plans regarding the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Swat. The government should be seen to be doing something in terms of development and not merely paying lip service and distributing cheques.
One of the reasons for the public’s sympathies (if only ideologically) with the militants has been their opposition of US. America is seen as the enemy of Islam. US has done everything in the past to make its approach towards Pakistan to be regarded with suspicion. At this point in time, by some strange twist of fate, our own and US interests have converged. However, we should only allow as much convergence as is there and not go overboard in following US diktat. We should follow their agenda as long as it suits our purpose. We are fighting militants because they are endangering our country and our ideology and not because US thinks we should. This message should come out loud and clear in our dealings with US. How we can begin to do that is by strictly taking a stand on drone attacks. We are fighting the militants ourselves, we do not need US intervention but only help when we ask for it. Period. Moreover, we don’t need money like alms, we should ask for concessions in exports, wavering of debts, power agreements to give a few examples. We should show some vision for once in our life, keeping our long term strategic interests in mind. Sadly, the present government has not taken advantage of the winds of change that blew in the US. Bush administration was not willing to treat us as equals but not having being able to impress our due importance on Obama administration is our own fault. We do not seem to have an iota of national pride and tact is an art unknown to our leaders. When our own President (who had no business being there in the first place as the constitutional head of government is PM) goes and begs and grovels in front of American president and takes his son along to present as a model to gain sympathies over his wife’s death, what kind of reasonable treatment can you expect from US! When the President constantly talks about US supporting “his democracy”? What exactly is the message he is trying to convey? It is sad to see that while Obama took a strategically different approach towards the Muslims in the world (example his stance on Palestine), his approach towards Pakistan has been the same – a mere useful tool to fight US war. And it is not he who is to blame but our own leadership, which fails to keep its own interests in sight and act intelligently and honourably in the country’s interest. Not only US but the way we let ourselves be bullied by India is also shameful. Diplomacy is an art and sadly our leaders need to take major lessons in that. Being firm does not mean going on an open confrontational path.
The ongoing war against the militants is a test of fire for the country. In last 3-4 years, Pakistanis have matured as a nation as they did not in the last 50 years. We took a stand for judiciary, irrespective of political or religious affiliations. This unified approach on military action against terrorists is a similar blending of schools of thoughts. People from all walks of life, from all levels of religious inclinations are getting together firmly on this one stance, that this, at least, is not on. It does not matter if somebody is for secular Pakistan or for a theocratic country, they agree on one thing: what this band of yahoos is doing to our country is not acceptable and that enough is enough. What is also different between now and “then” of Musharraf’s times is that we have an elected government and that should make a big difference. Our leaders should realize their power in this respect. They should not be searching for reeds to hang on to for legitimacy. They have people’s mandate, they should sense people’s will. It is in times like these that the need for true leadership becomes dire for the country. Leadership, that harnesses and channelises thr collective sentiment to a direction and to new heights. Sadly, when we look around we do not see anyone capable of this. Yet, in history even if there were not natural leaders in command, the ones who had the responsibility of leadership thrust on them, rose to the occasion. Our leadership must keep in mind that mediocrity is not a fault but selfishness and egoism is. The lack of capability and vision can be compensated for by utilizing the collective wisdom of intelligentsia and by empowering the parliament but the delusion of adequacy of one person or a group has destroyed many a stronger nations.
A letter to prsident Asif ali zardari
Assalam-O-Alaikum
Your Highness
Sir
I take a great pride in calling youself my ideal personality. Sir you have achieved what nobody can even think of achieving. Despite the fact that if you were not the widower sorry husband (as BB zinda hai you repeatedly telling us since she died) of BB and the son in law of ZAB and with all your given abilities i.e your personality your IQ level your qualification and above all your wisdom you could have only gone to maximum level of a foreman in atomic energy or to the post of headmaster in gov high school kharian. But you have showed us if one is hardworking, determined, focused and fortune enough to be a husband he can achieve any thing. ‘Impossible is nothing’ Addidas not Aids. Sir under your leadership our beloved country has progressed so well in so much less time. As you know swat valley is now most sought out tourist place in the world thanks to Maulana Atta ur rehman for his great work in the field of tourism. I would request you to please confer him Pride of Performance award as soon as possible before he leaves for a schedule visit to receive his honorary doctorate degree from Harvard university for his great contribution in the world of tourism.
Sir I would also like to congratulate you for the grand opening of first overseas campus of Oxford University in South Waziristan. All praises to Vice Chancellor Bait ullah mahsud how he transformed himself from a warrior to great scholar and educationist. Sir we know you are under tremendous pressure from Prsident Obama to send Rehman Malik to US as he wants to make him his chief security adviser. Sir we people of Pakistan assure you that we can sacrifice anything for Rehman Malik and we are ready to eat even roti (as we were eating grass since your great father in law aksed us to do so) if they put sanction on us. Sir I still remember the day when you were begging the whole world for money but see we are the biggest donor on earth now. Since we have already achieved the maximum level of development a nation can achieve and ahead is only Allah Mia now we no more require the service of mobile phones therefore I surrender my mobile to you and I ask everyone to do so.
Sir since we the people of Pakistan wants you to remain the life time president of this country but your son Bilawal benazir Bhutto has almost finished his studies and is ready to take the job i.e to rule us I request you to arrange a great coronation ceremony upon his return. He must have learned a lot about Pakistan now e g that Pakistan wasn’t the part of UAE before partition and ZAB wasn’t hanged by Sheikh Zaid bin bunyan and that Pakistan has four provinces and baluchistan is not in Iran.
I would also like to take the opportunity to congratulate Altaf bhai for making MQM largest party of New York and inspiring millions of people by his Fikar O Falsafa.
My last extolment to PM Gilani for being elected as a director general of Oxford dictionary board for his impressive command and contribution to English language.
Yours truly
Adil noushad
MEaN AT THEIR BEST
PAKISTAN ARMY
aneel SALMAN
Shalimar hotel is a nice and cozy Pakistani restaurant in Troy, New York. After a long day my evenings are spent at the corner table with a hot cup of tea and conversation with Javed Sahib (owner of the hotel). He shares his fond memories of the good old days in Pakistan while I talk about the present gloomy times. Who is the culprit? was the question that popped up after reading a small news feed in Dawn where the proud sons of Pakistan Army beat the senses out of a young DMG officer to feed their inflated ego. On 8th july 2009, Ali Qamar a 35th common DMG officer posted as Camp Incharge Sheikh Yaseen IDP Camp, Mardan was vandalized, brutally beaten, physically and verbally abused by army officers and jawans, while on duty. The two sons of the nation Lt Haider and Major Asad of 32 cavalry were apparently tired of fighting against terrorism/ Taliban and their idea of taking a break was to show their muscles to a civilian officer, who is also a son of the same nation, and who was doing official duty when attacked. It is indeed a shame to see the petty ego of these officers. This is not the first instant when army has attacked a DMG officer or civilian institutions. But how can we question these junior officers when their top brass Ayub Khan, Zia ul Haq, Musharraf already abused the country.
Atif Majeed, a fulbright scholar, after hearing this incident shared this story, “ During Ayub khan regime one poet came to Faiz Sahib who was smoking at the Pak tea house. He said Faiz sahib meray pass aap kay liyee baree buree khaber hai? فیض صاحب، میرے پاس آپ کے لئے بہت بری خبر ھے (I have a bad news for you) Faiz asked what happened? He said Pakistan ab mazeed nahi chul sakta. Yeh sun kay Faiz sahib nay baray sakoon say kush lagaya aur kehnay lugay meray pass thumaray liyee is say zaida buree khabar hai aur woh yeh kay yeh mulk hameesha isi taran chalta rahay ga. یہ سب سن کر فیض صاحب نے بڑے سکون سے کش لگایا اور کہنے لگے میرے پاس تمھارے لئے اس بھی بری خبر ھے. وہ یہ کے یہ ملک ہمیشہ اسی طرح چلتا رھے گا ” Faiz sahib statement is very much true even today.
It is believed that Pakistan Army is the strongest and dominant institution in Pakistan. This white elephant takes 20% of the national budget to protect us from the foreign elements. We can witness their so called war against Talibans where they are unable to control their own creation, displacing millions of IDPs and outrageous spillover effect in the form of suicidal bombings in the urban hubs of Pakistan and above that all they vent their anger by beating a DMG officer. USA is fighting war against terrorism and Pakistan army is fighting a perpetual war against democracy. Every democratic leader has been forced to abdicate by army. The generals ruled the country for 34 years out of 62 years of its total existence. Dr. Ayesha Siddiqua, in her book ” Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy “, mentions that army’s private business assets are worth around $17 bn and it owns a handsome share of the country’s business and land. The top brass, as a result, appear to be more interested in leveraging control over businesses, properties and politics. If this is the mind set how we are suppose to win any kind of war against any enemy.
Pakistan’s three Infamous A’s: The Army, Allah and America. We blame the Islamic fundamentalists and USA for all the chaos in Pakistan. But if we take a closer look the real culprit seems to be Pakistan army. Every political scientist claims that democracy is an answer to most of the problems in Pakistan but there are certain pre requisites to practice democracy. Thanks to Pakistan army it has not only destroyed but paralyzed the political thinking of people. It is like a ruthless corporation whose objective is to maximize profit. The way Zia ul Haq paralyzed the country no dictator has ever been able to achieve, he changed the very character and role of Pakistan army. The third ‘A’ America was the biggest sponsor of Islamic fundamentalism, religious terrorism and Islamisation of Pakistan Army. A breed of Taliban was created to fight the Russians and to please the US because the army was getting huge amount of dollars in aid. The business plan was pretty sustainable as high quality heroine from the poppy grown in the wastelands of war in Afghanistan and the areas along the 1500km long Pak-Afghan border. The black capital coming from the drugs trade was shared with different warlords and the leaders of different Islamic fundamentalist parties and Islamic mercenary outfits involved in this reactionary insurgency.
Musharraf regime is another golden chapter of Pakistan’s history; billions of US dollars were given to Pakistan Army to curb terrorism. Pakistan army again made us proud as terrorism not only increased but crossed the borders and entered our cities. It changed the demography as fear lurks in every heart. People are scared to socialize or go to any public place. One of the key causes of the judicial and political crisis in his regime was the disappearances of ordinary citizens at the hands of military intelligence. Zaid Zafar presented this scary situation through a 24 minutes documentary “Missing in Pakistan”. The documentary highlighted how an average Pakistani citizen can easily draw a stark connection between US ideals and policy with the realities in Pakistan.
What right does the army have to intervene in the affairs of civil administration? Their job is to protect the borders and not abuse the civilians. If they are requisitioned to assist the civil administration they should be confined to supporting not taking over! If they had done their job at the borders we would not have terrorism within Pakistan. It takes ages to build an institution but few people destroy it in the name of their egos or vested interests. Islam gives us the message of peace and harmony and if the pivotal institutions are unable to work in harmony then we are destroying Pakistan with our own hands. It’s time to realize our weaknesses and restrain from past mistakes that have brought Pakistan to its present state.
(The writer is a Fulbright Scholar, pursuing his doctorate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY, USA. Research fellow at Center for Public Policy and Governance, Forman Christian University Pakistan. He can be reached at salmaa@rpi.edu)
