Still searching
May 14th, 2012
As the Supreme Court continues its effort to recover persons who have gone missing in Balochistan, it has noted that the province had turned into a kind of war zone —— a situation that adds to the chaos prevailing there and consequently makes it difficult to recover those who have disappeared. Clearly frustrated, the three-member bench of the Court, headed by the Chief Justice, has shown its displeasure at the Frontier Constabulary (FC) in its last hearing and asked who had given it the right to pick up persons at their homes.
The Chief Justice was also displeased with the IGFC’s non-appearance in Court despite having been summoned. At a previous hearing, the Court had shown similar displeasure at the failure of the heads of the ISI and the MI to appear in it, and noted that had police officials possessed the courage to speak the truth, the task of recovering missing persons would have been easier.
We all know why the police are reluctant to speak out. The distortions of power that exist in our country mean there are few who would be willing to speak out against those responsible for these disappearances. To do so would be to invite trouble. This issue of secrecy has emerged as a key factor in our failure to recover missing persons. While human rights monitors have repeatedly pointed to their involvement, there are few who dare question them. People, too, are apparently being kept in the dark, with the advocate-general Balochistan seeking an in-camera discussion for a briefing on some cases. The Court has agreed to the suggestion, expressing the hope that this will help recover missing persons.
What is most frightening of all is that even as the hearings continue, the pattern of disappearances has also continued. This is evident by the fact that in a previous hearing the Supreme Court was told that seven people who were picked up in Quetta had reappeared at their homes a few days ago. No doubt they, like others before them, will have been asked to maintain silence about their disappearance. Meanwhile, other people continue to be picked up; the basic problem remains unchanged and this is not a comforting thought at all.
Who will protect the weak?
May 14th, 2012
It seems that in our land, where the military has held power for so many years, even the dead are not spared that dreaded sound of marching boots. Christians buried at a graveyard at Narang Mandi, located between Lahore and Sheikhupura, have been the latest to encounter it, with the burial place, used by the Christian community since before Partition, recently taken over by a retired military officer who says he has ‘recently discovered’ that the 10-kanal piece of land, in fact, belongs to him. The retired military officer, who is also the uncle of a sitting PML-N MPA has already built a boundary wall, reducing the graveyard to less than a third of its original size, and planted crops on the seized land. His nephew has said he does not back his uncle — but then military men rarely need civilian support. Others have taken similar actions in the past.
The pleas of the Christian community have gone unheeded, though they are fortunate in the fact that an assistant secretary has shown sympathy and urged the police to address the concerns of the ‘marginalised’ minority community. The local SHO of Narang Mandi says that he will look into the matter, but the picture seems a little grim. Since the local Christians spoke to this publication, they say they have received more threats. To add an even uglier twist, the retired military officer says that the Christians are being incited by a person belonging to the Ahmadiya community, who is opposed to him as he “does not treat him like a Muslim”. This seems to be a rather cowardly attempt to involve religious extremists in the matter. The retired officer does not so far appears to have produced proof that the land belongs to him, or even that it was taken away from the Christians in 1983, as he claims. All these issues require investigation.
But it is also necessary to look at the broader dimensions of the affair. Minority communities across the country have been mistreated for too long; their vulnerability has been taken advantage of by people with power. This issue needs to be tackled head on and stopped before further damage is done.
Wildlife wisdom
May 14th, 2012
It is clear that we need to develop some sense of wisdom about the wildlife in our country to prevent it from disappearing altogether from our lives. The fact that so many animals are hunted or poached means that there is a real threat that they will become extinct, robbing us off a form of life which can never be replaced.
According to a report from Quetta, the footprints of two leopards were recently spotted by local villagers in the Takato range towards the north of Quetta during the recent snowfall in the area. The leopards are believed to have migrated from the border of Afghanistan and local people say that they also attacked a goat in a village. A few years ago, a black leopard was reportedly spotted in the Chilton range. Wildlife experts working in the area for the conservation of the animals fear that the leopard may be hunted down and killed. They point out that poaching and hunting — sometimes abetted by the local Wildlife Department officials — is common. Many kinds of animals have suffered as a result. In 2000, only eight to 10 markhors remained in the region. By 2012 their number had risen to 300 thanks to efforts by NGOs.
But the risk to animals of all kinds still remains. It is reported that influential persons are allowed to hunt endangered species in return no doubt for money, and at times certificates are issued to them stating that the markhor they killed had been found dead in the mountains. Leopards would of course be a ‘valued’ trophy for some. There is, therefore, a need to ensure that that those who have ventured into the Takato range, presumably in search of food, are protected. Similar problems of course exist across the country. The press recently reported the killings of Himalayan Black Bears by army helicopters firing on them presumably for ‘fun’. The notion that the hunting of endangered species is acceptable must be eradicated. Unless this happens the threat to animal life everywhere in the country will continue to grow. We have already lost too many species with numbers falling rapidly. We must do more to save those that still remain.