Denying the obvious

The remarks by a Foreign Office spokesman on Jan 1 that Pakistan has no terrorist infrastructure on its soil is going to be taken with a very big pinch of salt – by even many Pakistanis. But before more from us, let's summarise what the FO spokesman said. He said that the Pakistan government was committed to the war against terror and to fighting terrorism, which is good for the simple reason that Pakistan has been one of the countries hit hardest by this scourge. He also said that talk that 'rogue elements' of the ISI were involved in such acts was incorrect and baseless. While this may be true, the fact remains that it was none other than General Pervez Musharraf who as president and army chief had publicly said that the possibility that some former members of the intelligence services were sympathetic to the extremists and the Taliban and were helping them in material and moral terms could not be ruled out.

However, the main bone of contention should be the FO's remarks on the existence of terrorist infrastructure since its spokesman seems to believe that there is none on Pakistani soil. To that one would question whether FATA, specifically the two Waziristan agencies and whether the Northern Areas are part of Pakistan or not. The reason for asking this is that in the case of Waziristan various high officials of the government and state, including General Musharraf, at some point in time since Sept 2001, have publicly said that there exist facilities where those fighting the state of Pakistan and committing terrorist acts receive training and other assistance. Members of the government have in fact also said on record -- and this has been proudly proclaimed by the extremists themselves -- that there exist even some places where suicide bombers are 'produced', through a regimen of indoctrination and training in the use of weapons, suicide vests and so on. In addition to this, several independent media reports have strongly suggested that such camps exist not only in FATA but also in parts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir where proxies sent to India to fight the 'jihad' were trained. Perhaps, these camps may have closed down or more likely assumed a lower profile. However, following the Mumbai attacks and India's accusation against the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jamaat-ud-Daawa a facility outside Muzaffarabad was closed down.

And if this is not enough to convince the FO, and the establishment since policy statements on such issues do not come without the approval and/or guidance of the establishment, it could be asked where the suicide bombings and other instances of terrorism that have hit Pakistan with a vengeance in the past two years or so originated from. And what about the existence of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and the stranglehold it enjoys over large swathes of FATA, what about the Swat Taliban and their grip over the once peaceful valley – indeed what about the reach of the extremists even in settled NWFP districts like Bannu, Kohat and Dera Ismail Khan? Are the extremists, who seem to be clearly in control in such areas and to whom most if not all acts of terrorism inside Pakistan are traced to, foreign aliens who train in other countries and are teleported to Pakistani soil to carry out their nefarious activities? Such claims do nothing but undermine the already low credibility that the government (or at least sections of it) has on such matters. The Foreign Office statement may have been made for domestic consumption but it should remember that most Pakistanis -- and certainly the rest of the world looking and scrutinizing our every move -- are not fools.


First it was sugar, then atta, then water and electricity, and now even basic necessities which are either produced or imported in abundant quantity seem to have run out. This is what has been happening for the past few days in Lahore and prior to that had also taken place in Quetta and Peshawar. It is extremely hard for motorists and motorcyclists to find petrol or CNG in these cities of late and there seems to be no explanation for the shortage. While, reportedly, the president has finally taken notice of this situation, the petroleum minister should have promptly come to the rescue of consumers and clarified the situation. Is the supply of these essential items indeed short or are the petrol and CNG station owners deliberately selling less of their products, in protest against the recent reduction in petrol prices? One shouldn't forget the recent act by CNG stations all over the country to sell CNG at a far higher price than that set by the government, simply because of a faux pas of the then petroleum minister.

One wouldn't be at all surprised if the latter were indeed the case because in Pakistan it is usually not all that difficult for segments or sectors of the economy to come together and form a cartel to pressure the government for their own vested interest and exploit their customers for greater profit. However, if indeed there are problems related to supply the government should take immediate measures to make both products available to end users. And if the retailers are doing this deliberately, then they should be penalized and made to offer their stipulated services.


The month of Muharram has brought with it a visible increase in security in all large cities and many towns. As indeed happens each year, the authorities have promised 'fool proof' measures to prevent sectarian tensions bubbling over into violence during the month of mourning. This is, frankly speaking, a promise that simply cannot be kept. No matter how many policemen or paramilitary troops are deployed, it is impossible to watch every street corner, every mosque across the country, hour after hour and day after day. The terrible repercussions of sectarian violence have been seen this year in the Kurram Agency where hundreds were killed in intense fighting, in Dera Ismail Khan and in other places. The fear of terrorist violence too, seen during Muharram in past years, is high given the fact that suicide bombers seem able to strike at will.

There can be no doubt there is a need to bring the situation under control. Over the past two decades, thousands have died senselessly in attacks motivated by sectarian hatred. Professionals have been gunned down in targeted killings in major cities. Clerical leaders have been murdered, places of worship targeted. This situation must change. Muharram after all is a month that has great sanctity to all Muslims. This sense of unity must be restored. Mere security measures cannot achieve this. We need also to make a wider bid to turn back the tide of hatred that we have allowed to grow and sweep over us, by enacting relevant laws, clamping down on inflammatory material freely available in the market and ensuring that school curriculums aim to create a national whole rather than promoting fissures along the lines of ethnicity, religion or sect.