A vicious circle
October 19th, 2012
When it comes to bringing suspected sectarian terrorists to justice in Pakistan, we seem to be moving in circles. Militants are captured and paraded by the police with much fanfare, locked up — then released due to ‘lack of evidence’. In the meantime, terrorist violence and targeted killings continue with frightening regularity. Hence, the capture of Hafiz Qasim Rasheed, the Sindh chief of a Lashkar-i-Jhangvi faction, announced by the police in Karachi on Wednesday, should be met with some circumspection. The suspect, believed to be involved in over 100 sectarian killings, has been arrested twice before but released on both occasions due to — once again — ‘lack of evidence’. Malik Ishaq, one of the founders of LJ and linked to 43 cases involving 70 murders, has also been either acquitted or granted bail in most cases. The reason? Lack of evidence. A report on Thursday also claimed one of Malala Yousufzai’s attackers was captured by security forces in 2009 but released as no evidence was found against him. There are allegations that sympathisers within the police and other state organs either suppress evidence against the militants or don’t work hard enough to collect it.
Simply capturing suspected militants and presenting them in front of the media is not enough. For there to be any permanent disruption of terrorist activities the captured men must be tried and punished so that they are not back on the streets soon after their capture. The militant captured in Karachi very clearly told mediapersons he would kill more people if given the chance. While statements like these make headlines, they are not enough to lead to a conviction; as per the law, only a statement recorded in front of a judicial magistrate has legal value.
Also, militants often deny earlier confessional statements in court. In many cases witnesses turn hostile for fear of their lives due to intimidation from militants. This can scuttle a strong case and is reflective of the state’s inability to make significant progress on an effective witness protection programme.
For militancy to be countered the justice system needs to deliver. A number of complementary steps should be taken to ensure suspected terrorists are convicted. These include proper investigations carried out by capable, unbiased officials, strong prosecution as well as a protection programme that gives witnesses the assurance that they or their families will not lose their lives for testifying against a terrorist. Protection must also be given to the judges, lawyers and police officers involved in the cases. More than anything else, the will of the state is required to convict and punish terrorists.
The hungry millions
October 19th, 2012
There was a time — not too far in the past — when the general reality in Pakistan was that while people were poor, few went to bed hungry. With an economy based on agriculture, a sector that constituted the single greatest source of employment, most citizens had access to enough food, even though of the most basic variety. This is no longer the case. Over the years, the number of citizens who do not have access to sufficient quantities of food has been steadily increasing, and caloric intake has been compromised in even middle-income households. The situation faced by the poor is extremely disturbing. For some time now, various groups have been sounding the alarm. Unicef last year likened the levels of malnutrition in post-flood Sindh to those in Chad and Niger, while Oxfam International said that over a quarter of the population was undernourished. A survey undertaken earlier during the year showed that two-thirds of the population spends between 50 and 70 per cent of income on food alone.
Despite these stark realities, Pakistan has failed to come up with a concerted action plan to fight hunger and malnutrition. Committees have been formed, persons appointed and much paper has been moved around, but little difference can be seen on the ground. On Tuesday, the Minister for National Food Security and Research Mir Israrullah Zehri informed the Senate that according to the National Nutrition Survey 2011 (conducted by the Benazir Income Support Programme) around 58 per cent of the population is food insecure, while nearly 30 per cent suffers hunger or severe hunger. It is unfortunate then that there has been no action, as in the case of the National Zero Hunger Programme announced earlier by the then prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. That announcement, Senator Zehri was forced to admit in the Senate this week, has yet to be given formal approval. Meanwhile, a draft Zero Hunger Action Plan prepared by the World Food Programme still lacks operational details. Time is indefensibly being wasted; it seems that our decision-makers have no idea of what it means to not know where the next meal is coming from.
Caught in the act
October 19th, 2012
The CCTV system is there to nab terrorists, thieves, shoplifters and other criminals. But here it has the habit of shooting the powerful in action. In Lahore alone, the CCTV has been guilty of spying on a PML-N lawmaker breaking the norms at the airport. It has also disclosed a credit card fraud, again involving a PML-N lawmaker. In its latest trick the CCTV has captured Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s daughter at a bakery, her finger raised at a young man identified as an employee. Further footage shows a youth being slapped and kicked by plainclothesmen outside the same bakery, watched closely by sleuths in Elite Force uniform. There is said to be a few hours’ gap between the two incidents but the two were linked in an FIR which took a whole nine days to lodge.
The FIR was registered on Oct 16 — only after the chief minister took notice of the incident upon his return from a foreign trip. By then, courtesy of the footage, there were plenty of people questioning why no case had been registered against Mr Sharif’s daughter. She is not seen in the footage where the boy is being beaten but allegations are that the thrashing was connected to her visit to the bakery a few hours earlier. Police and the PML-N have tried to de-link her from the affair; meanwhile her husband, who is not to be seen in either footage, courted arrest on Wednesday. This rather unexplained arrest came amid a rising chorus for equality before the law. The case is being dubbed as a test of Mr Sharif’s principles and casts a shadow on his politics. Those who have tried to get him over his Danish school delicacies — opponents who couldn’t quite stomach his sasti roti — are keen instead to have cake at his expense.