A question regarding May 2
January 2nd, 2012
Leader of the opposition, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of the PML-N, who has generally take a more pro-military and anti-American stance than his party leader Nawaz Sharif, has now decided it would be a good idea to blast Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for his remarks wondering how Osama bin Laden was able to hide in Abbottabad for so long. That statement by Gilani, in the mind of Chaudhry Nisar, was tantamount to a “charge sheet” against the military and would provide further grist to the anti-Pakistan international community. It seems Chaudhry Nisar, a politician who is extremely interested in finding out who wrote the memo that landed on the desk of General Jim Jones and in how US Navy SEALS were able to enter Pakistani airspace, is far less curious about how Osama bin Laden led a comfortable life in our country for so long.
Joining him in that lack of interest is the Abbottabad commission that is investigating the May 2 capture of the al Qaeda leader. So far, the commission has focused its investigations on whether the US violated our sovereignty in the raid. The answer, as the commission has deduced and as anyone could have told it without the need for dozens of witnesses, is that yes our sovereignty was violated and that, in fact, the US had always maintained that it had little interest in such niceties if it would prevent them from capturing Osama bin Laden. The Abbottabad commission has also shown its keenness on investigating such ancillary matters as how many Americans did former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani issue visas to. But it has been completely silent on the not insignificant matter of Bin Laden’s presence in the country. The protestations of Chaudhry Nisar and the Abbottabad commission notwithstanding, the fact is that the prime minister has raised a powerful point. If our sovereignty is all that precious, why then is the military not the slightest bit outraged that Osama bin Laden was able to live in Pakistan without our knowledge? And does the military’s lack of interest actually mean something more sinister? No matter what the answer to that question, it means that the military and its intelligence agencies are either guilty of incompetence or tacit collusion. This more than anything else, including questions of sovereignty, is what should be investigated.
Quetta suicide attack
January 2nd, 2012
The suicide attack in Quetta on December 30, that targeted the son of former federal minister Naseer Mengal and killed at least 13 people, and for which the proscribed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed credit, has to be condemned even by all those sympathetic to the Baloch cause. The attack marks a terrifying escalation by the separatist movement as this is the first time the BLA has aped the tactics of terrorist groups and carried out a suicide bombing. Apart from the needless loss of life in the attack itself, the BLA has ensured future bloodletting as retaliatory attacks are all but ensured. And by resorting to such barbaric tactics, it will end up hurting the legitimacy of the Baloch’s struggle to get their due rights. The sentiment in Balochistan has been increasingly tending towards separatism over the past few years, which makes it very hard for the government to negotiate with the representatives of this movement. The separatists even rejected the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package proposed by the PPP-led government soon after it came into power. But this does not mean that the government should be lethargic in giving the Baloch the rights they deserve, just like people of other provinces. Indeed, attacks like the one on Mengal’s son only highlight the urgency of doing so. There is still time to win over those Baloch, who support the separatist movement but are not an active part of it.
The best tack for the government to take is to finally implement the Balochistan package that was announced more than two years ago. Exiled Baloch leaders should be allowed to return and work has to begin on development projects in electricity generation. The Baloch people also need to be convinced that their resources are not being stolen by Punjab and instead will be used for the progress of the province. These steps, which for some reason the government has not shown much interest in taking, are actually the easy part. Other necessary measures like getting the security forces out of the province are gargantuan in comparison.
The fire of revenge
January 2nd, 2012
Revenge is a fire that blinds sanity and, quite often, leads to heart-wrenching brutalities. We witnessed one such gruesome incident on December 29 in Gujranwala. Fourteen people, including four children and four women, were killed when a group of armed men attacked a cluster of houses belonging to their enemies. The gunmen fired indiscriminately on helpless women and children. Later, the attackers set the houses on fire, making sure no one managed to escape. The violence was triggered by two murders earlier in the day, when two relatives of the attackers were killed. The reason was a long-standing feud over land and property. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that such crimes have taken place and it surely won’t be the last. Last year, two brothers were brutally bludgeoned to death in the neighbouring district of Sialkot, after being accused of robbery. The similarity in these two, otherwise unrelated incidents, is the sheer violence and rage that led to the loss of lives. There is a greater need to reflect why such intense hatred and violence has seeped into the depths of our social and political culture.
Indeed, violence has become all too pervasive in our society and the easy availability of illegal weapons has compounded the problem. The state’s authority has waned over the years and police has repeatedly failed to maintain law and order. In this incident as well, police is accused of being a mere bystander while the gunmen went on a rampage. Shahbaz Sharif, the Punjab chief minister, has ordered an immediate inquiry. Few low-ranking police officials have been suspended. But these steps are clearly not enough and can be dismissed as mere cosmetics. Verbal promises and lip service will not suffice. Such inquiries in the past have yielded unsatisfactory results. The need is to make sure that a meaningful inquiry is held this time with conclusive results and effective implementation. Police and other law enforcing agencies have to ensure that no one takes the law into their hands and recourse to law should be followed at all costs.