Degrees of protest

September 16, 2012

It would not be unreasonable to say that Pakistan on Friday was braced and expecting the worst. Security was enhanced everywhere in anticipation of at the very least mass rallies and possible violence and civil disorder. The very reasonable concern was that the destructive events surrounding the blasphemous film that has appeared on the Internet and which have engulfed many of the countries of the Maghrib, would engulf us too. That did not happen. There were dozens of protests all across the country, but the numbers in attendance were below what many expected, with the total for the entire country probably in the tens of thousands rather than the hundreds of thousands. There were calls denouncing America and for the killing of blasphemers, but there was a notable lack of violence and minimal damage to property. The crowds came together peacefully, listened to what were highly-charged speeches in some instances, and dispersed without burning cars, looting shops or causing general mayhem. Members of civil society groups have made protests in a range of ways including via the social and electronic media and our government has equally made its views known. A commendable restraint was exercised in respect of limiting access to the internet, and the selective blocking of blasphemous sites or material will be overseen by a group mandated to intervene as necessary.

In the frenzy of reporting about events following the murder of the American ambassador to Libya prominence has been given to crowds targeting western embassies or fast food outlets. Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Tunisia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Kuwait have seen varying levels of violent protest, some of it severe. The uprisings of the Arab spring have removed many of the pro-American regimes and the strong-men who headed them. Those regimes either suppressed Islamic expression or severely limited it, often violently. New governments are finding their feet, and Islamists are everywhere moving into positions of power via democratic process. That said, protests against the film are not uniformly spread across the Muslim world. Levels of protest in the three countries with the largest Muslim populations – Pakistan, India and Indonesia each with populations of over 150 million Muslims – are significantly lower than in Libya with six million and 10 million in Tunisia. Some parts of the Muslim world are not protesting at all – Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Russia and China as well as Europe and the US have seen minimal protest but have significant Muslim populations. It would seem that in Pakistan, contrary to expectations, cooler heads have prevailed and this is exactly as it should be. Strong but dignified and peaceful protest earns us a lot more respect than does chaos and violent disorder. And if this is the beginning of a trend then we both support and welcome it.

Rauf’s resignation

September 16, 2012

The resignation of the Sindh Minister for Industries and Commerce, Abdul Rauf Siddiqui, over the Karachi fire sets a precedent that the people of this country have sought for decades. Is it a sign that the people’s representatives are at long last beginning to understand the weight of responsibility that sits on their shoulders? The answer to this question will depend on whether Siddiqui’s resignation prompts genuine soul-searching among his colleagues as the fallout from the deadly factory fire that claimed nearly 300 lives in Karachi last week grows. Surprising as it may be to see someone fall on their sword in this culture of impunity, the real need of the hour is a root and branch overhaul of safety and labour standards – something the economics of power and politics of greed could yet stymie.

Perhaps the best course of action is for a high-powered and independent inquiry committee to be set up to determine why factories such as Ali Enterprises are able to operate in blatant violation of the existing rules, how the laws can be tightened to make compliance more effective, and to make recommendations on how to insulate the relevant departments from political and other kinds of pressure. Even in a declining state, labour safety standards can and ought to be raised in Pakistan’s major industrial hubs. The staggering scale of the tragedy in Karachi ought not to obscure similar threats that exist in other industrial hubs. Lahore witnessed a large incident with a grim death toll the same day as Karachi but has seen far fewer recriminations. This is all the more reason to ensure that the short national attention span, particularly of lawmakers and administrators, does not move on from the Karachi disaster without long-term reform in place. At the very least, the country owes it to the memory of those who died so needlessly last week.

Disturbing details

September 16, 2012

The Scotland Yard probe into the murder of MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq some two years ago in London is beginning to produce some interesting results. It turns out that Dr Farooq, who had sought and received political asylum in the UK 12 years ago, was planning to launch his own completely independent political party. As a means to revive what he saw as a flagging career, Dr Farooq had launched a Facebook page and was using the social network to build a support base. Scotland Yard appears to believe these developments may have been a factor in his murder. Revelations made to this newspaper by a Scotland Yard source add a different dimension to the entire case. The obvious question is: who would have lost out had Dr Farooq been able to set up a brand new party? The answers might be lurking somewhere in the murky soup of Pakistani politics. Scotland Yard has also said that eight persons, all Pakistanis, are being questioned in the case. Some 3,000 people have already been interviewed in detail, and other interviews are continuing. The London police have also put out an appeal for any new information that could provide insight. An award of 20,000 British pounds is being offered for any information about the murderers or help in discovering who bought the knives used for the stabbing. Obviously there are still many aspects of the case that need to be solved.

It also seems danger still hovers. Dr Farooq’s widow, Shumaila Farooq and their two young sons are living at a secret location in the UK on the assumption that they could be targeted. It is uncertain what information about her husband’s activities in his last days may have been provided by Shumaila. It is to the credit of the British police that it has diligently kept up efforts to discover the truth. At home, we are too used to a culture in which crimes are committed and then forgotten about altogether within months. There are many unsolved murders on our records – Benazir Bhutto’s being one of them. While the British force investigating the Imran Farooq case has been reduced from 84 to 40, the probe goes on in full swing. It is just possible that this probe may have earthshaking consequences for the Pakistani political scene as speculations have started that some London-based Pakistani politicians may be thinking of returning home. In any case, this is an example we need to learn from. If we finally discover who killed Dr Farooq, and if the political links are established, Pakistani politics may be heading for another round of turmoil.