Loss of sanity
July 6th, 2012
As a nation, we seem to have collectively lost our sanity. Incidents that highlight our society’s extreme intolerance take place on a regular basis and yet, we do nothing to reform this state of affairs. The latest such tragedy took place at Chanighot in Bahawalpur, where an enraged mob beat up and set alight a deranged man accused of desecrating the Holy Quran. The incident stems from growing intolerance and hysteria over blasphemy and the failure to amend laws that lay down a death sentence, as well as the failure to introduce reforms that could help ensure that the law is not misused and those accused of blasphemy, at least, have access to a fair trial before a court of law.
This is not the first instance of an accused being killed for alleged blasphemy before a court verdict has been delivered. In this case, the accused was arrested by the police after being blamed for desecrating pages of the Holy Quran. Soon after news of the alleged blasphemy spread, a mob surrounded the police station where the accused was being held. It may be noted that Bahawalpur and most of southern Punjab is home to hundreds of seminaries and the various organisations that run them. This may explain the terrible sequence of events that followed. The police station was attacked, vehicles parked outside burnt and despite resistance from the police, who tried to dissipate the mob through using tear gas canisters and batons, the alleged blasphemer was dragged away. In what must have been a horrific spectacle, he was then burnt alive in public. His screams of agony moved no one to intervene and police officials, some of whom had also been injured in the attack, stood by helplessly.
According to a police official, the man in question was mentally unstable. Two FIRs against 1,500 to 2,000 people have been filed but not a single one of these persons has actually been named in them. This latest outrage makes it clear that the law needs reform without delay. But even if it is reformed, the only way to actually control such incidents is to reform the mindset that believes in murder and violence in the name of faith and in taking the law into one’s own hands. Without that, we will continue to witness such bigotry and intolerance, whose perpetrators actually believe that what they did was right.
Clash of institutions
July 6th, 2012
The stand-off between the Supreme Court and the government could threaten our system of checks and balances. Shaken by the corruption allegations against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s son Arsalan Chuadhry and finally finding itself in the crossfire after years of popularity, the Supreme Court has essentially declared itself beyond the purview of financial accountability. Some would say that by claiming that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) cannot probe the conduct of judges, including whether they were given additional plots of land, the Supreme Court has elevated itself above those that it judges.
Having been stung by Yousaf Raza Gilani’s disqualification by the Supreme Court and with his replacement, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf facing the same threat, the PPP is on course to pass a law exempting government officials from charges of contempt of court. The PPP may be using standard legislative powers to protect itself but the end result is likely to be as hurtful for the separation of powers and can lead to a further clash between institutions. Even if the Supreme Court, in the judgment of the government, had overreached by charging Mr Gilani with contempt, to pass a law based on that would be a folly. Recall that in 1997, the Nawaz Sharif government wanted to pass an almost identical law to reign in the Supreme Court, when Sajjad Ali Shah was chief justice. Sharif’s supporters then went on to raid the Supreme Court, an act that certainly qualifies as contempt and should have been severely punished. The PPP, blinded by its own narrow interests, seems not to have realised that.
The fact is that every institution needs to be kept in check by other independent government institutions. The PPP has already submitted itself to the mercy of the Supreme Court in the case of Mr Gilani. One can only hope that further confrontation between the executive and judiciary does not take place.
Renaming Gaddafi Stadium
July 6th, 2012
One of the several despotic regimes that were swept away by the revolutionary tides of the Arab Spring was that of Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. The dictator, who ruled his country with an iron fist for 42 years, was ousted from power in 2011 after a rebellion and was killed soon after. With his removal from power, along with other great changes that have taken place in Libya, another possible change that is being talked about is the renaming of Pakistan’s largest cricket ground, the Gaddafi Stadium. The ruling Libyan National Transitional Council has unofficially asked Pakistan to rename the Gaddafi Stadium. This message was conveyed to the Pakistani embassy in Tripoli.
The Libyan dictator had enjoyed a warm friendship with former Pakistan prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and as a mark of that friendship, the erstwhile Lahore Stadium, was renamed after Gaddafi following a speech he gave at the second Organisation of Islamic Conference summit in 1974 in Lahore, where he supported Pakistan’s right to develop nuclear weapons.
The world is changing fast and so should Pakistan. We cannot remain stranded in a 1970s ideological time warp. Gaddafi might have been a friend of Pakistan’s but we have to move on and as a gesture of goodwill to Libya, acceding to its request will not be an unwise move. Pakistan is full of heroes who served the country diligently and their contributions should be accorded the recognition they deserve. In such a scenario, it would be advisable and appropriate to rename the country’s premier Test centre after someone who has served Pakistan cricket conscientiously. Stalwarts like Justice AR Cornelius, who was the true pioneer of the country’s cricketing structure, Pakistan’s first Test captain Abdul Hafeez Kardar and Air Marshal Nur Khan could be considered for this honour. Such a gesture would be a fitting tribute to the services that the true heroes of Pakistan have rendered for the country.