Confront the extremists not civil society


By Shireen M Mazari

Wednesday, JUNE 06, 2007

Every week brings more issues to the fore -- issues that will define our future in terms of civil society--state relations and within that, undoubtedly, civil--military relations. The state still seems unprepared to adopt a more holistic and conciliatory approach towards civil society -- as if restrictive measures on the media and threatening measures against civil society will somehow stem the tide of frustration and anger that rises in an ever stronger wave. Electronic media channels suddenly losing their sound or simply disappearing from the air only helps to fuel further dissent. Even more reckless is the attempt to try and put the whole judicial and political conflict within the framework of a civil-military conflict. This is an attempt to absolve the political ruling elite along with the whole machinery of the state -- including the law enforcers and bureaucrats -- of its responsibility.

Issues of state responsibility, especially in the context of May 12 mayhem in Karachi are also being deliberately lost sight of and sleaze has been made to rear its ugly head through the wall chalkings and sloganeering in that city. Fortunately for the country, civil society across the nation has not accepted this tack and the bag of dirty tricks has failed to achieve its purpose. Instead, there is a growing interest in Britain on how its government may be supporting violence in Pakistan through one of its citizens.

On a more critical note, no one in Pakistan can deride those who have and are laying down their lives for their country, nor wish to see the disintegration of the professionalism of the military institution. The issue is of constitutionalism, division of power and rule of law and fighting for the freedoms guaranteed to all under this still valid document -- with all its debatable amendments over the decades.

It is through this document that the people of Pakistan have chosen to define their political, social and economic rights and the relationship between the state, its institutions and the people as well as the relationship and distribution of power amongst the different organs and offices of the state. There can be no sacred cows in a political and social compact and, at the end of the day, it is only the people of the country who matter and it is the citizens who must be respected above all else within the context of the national polity. Without the nation, what is there for the state to defend and protect?

Which brings me to an issue which impacts the core of our nation's well-being and which has tended, in many ways, to be overshadowed by the intensity of the judicial crisis. In fact, it is both the judicial crisis and the actual danger posed by the extremists challenging the writ of the state that will shape our nation for the future and define our internal social compact. While the state has been flexing its muscle to stem the rising tide of political dissent centering around the judicial crisis, it has seemed to allow the law breakers of the Jamia Hafsa/Lal Masjid combine to run rampage with no fear of state intervention. Not only has the area of their control now become a fortified haven for extremists, with members of the public being encouraged to bring in their petitions and grievances, in what is an effort to create a state within a state, the Jamia Hafsa brigade has sought to go into the wider Islamabad area and intervene in institutions like the nursing college and so on.

The net result has been to terrorise the minorities even further with officialdom succumbing to the extremist pressure and acting against the Christian nurses through "inquiries" based on random charges. Once again, the evils of the blasphemy law have been brought to the fore, making it imperative for all those committed to enlightenment and moderation to work for the removal of this law. Given that we are a Muslim majority state, do we really need this protection against our already marginalised minorities? Is our faith so weak in Pakistan that we need to protect it through laws when we have already declared ourselves an "Islamic Republic" through our Constitution and have asserted the primacy of our faith in no uncertain terms? In practice, also, so far the blasphemy law has been used primarily to terrorise the hapless minorities who are also citizens of this country and as committed -- if not more so -- to its well being.

For those of us who have been proven right in their fears that the state's bizarre accommodation of the extremist law breakers in the midst of Islamabad would snowball into an ever larger problem, we see the Jamia Hafsa/Lal Masjid combine not only increase their demands and fortify their positions but also take hostages and now move out into a wider space to terrorise the minorities. Soon the terrorisation will spread to the mainstream population also -- especially those of us who do not subscribe to the extremist viewpoint. The Jamia Hafsa-Lal Masjid combine have already gotten away with taking the law into their own hands; now they are moving into the field of implementing their agendas against civil society at large and the state remains merely an observer -- and an indulgent one at that.

If the state is in a mood to flex its muscles, it should surely be against these extremist law breakers, not the media which simply reports ground realities or civil society which is employing peaceful means of protest. If the state can have dialogue with extremists, surely it should be able to adopt a policy of national reconciliation, embracing all its citizens and all shades of opinion -- barring those groups that have violent agendas out of consonance with our Constitution. Of course, in times of crisis there is a tendency to adopt a siege mentality and there are many vested interests that advise this erroneous course to the leadership. Yet this is exactly what has to be avoided. Leadership demands magnanimity and accommodation, not confrontationist posturing.

Political confrontation in Pakistan is acquiring a dangerous turn, which is deliberately being created and which the nation cannot afford. Yes, we have our problems but they still remain manageable with an altered approach by the state -- where it accommodates political dissent but ensures the writ of the state against the extremists that are bent on challenging this writ. So far the opposite is happening which is probably why, some of our official representatives abroad have become so confused that they are declaring India as a role model for Pakistan! Come now Ambassador Durrani, with all our problems, do we now also want to add on a caste system, heightened poverty, state-sponsored massacres (Gujarat) and even more terrorisation of minorities? Surely there are other ways to adopting and maintaining a parliamentary democracy? Detente with India does not have to mean replicating the Indian model. Is this where all our problems are leading us to now? If so, that may be our long-term national tragedy.



The writer is director general of the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad. Email: smnews80@hotmail.com


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