14.07.2013 Courage and clarity: Malala’s UN speech
ON her 16th birthday, Malala Yousufzai made her country proud once again. The composure, poise and maturity of Malala on display at the United Nations were truly a sight to behold. Leave aside her age, the fact that she had been shot in the head less than a year ago infused the moment with a great deal of poignancy. As ever, though, Malala sought to move the subject away from herself. “Malala Day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights,” the young activist said. Malala is truly the pride of Pakistan. And yet, even as perhaps the sole beacon of hope in this country where hope and inspiration are all too difficult to find, Malala’s speech, and her mission, will perhaps not gain the kind of attention and sustained coverage it deserves.
The reason why Malala has not reached the iconic status inside Pakistan that she deserves is dis-piritingly familiar: at age 16, Malala has the kind of clarity and sense of purpose that a divided Pakistani society simply does not. And therein lies the central challenge to putting Pakistan on the road to a stable and secure future. How exactly and who exactly will provide the leadership to drag society from its state of confusion towards coalescing against some clear and coherent principles? In particular, how will Pakistan inch towards a zero-tolerance policy towards non-state actors, the very forces that tried to kill Malala and have killed many thousands of Pakistanis over the years?
The answer to those questions is much murkier. The obvious candidates are the political leadership and the army high command. But it is difficult to know if they can ever truly be brought on the same page given the long and treacherous history of institutional tensions in Pakistan. Unhappily, while the urge is to suggest that they must somehow provide the leadership the country deserves, there is little historical evidence, nationally or even internationally, to suggest that will necessarily be the case. In the absence of that clarity, however, Pakistan’s drift towards extremism, militancy and terrorism and a declining state seems to be a near certainty. The only unknown there is the timeline: will it happen sooner than later or will a slow-motion downward spiral play out? The trend, though, can be checked and reversed even. Whether cataclysmic events act as the trigger or statesmanship prevails before that, the slide towards chaos is only inevitable if Pakistan and Pakistanis let it become so.
Serious allegations: MQM in the spotlight
THE MQM’s activities, particularly that of the party’s chief, have been in the news recently after a British TV programme revealed various details that have emerged in the course of MQM leader Imran Farooq’s 2010 murder investigation. As reported in the BBC Two’s Newsnight programme, Altaf Hussain is being investigated after a large amount of money — around £400,000 in cash — was discovered in raids conducted by the London Metropolitan Police from two properties connected to him. While it is normal for parties to raise funds from supporters for political activities both in Pakistan and abroad, the discovery of such a large amount of cash in a foreign country is bound to raise eyebrows. Some experts are of the view that this may lead to money laundering charges, though no one has been formally charged yet and the MQM has denied all accusations of wrongdoing. However the broadcast has opened up a Pandora’s Box. Many of the points raised in the programme were already being discussed in the public domain, though perhaps in hushed tones, while other revelations were new.
It is quite possible that the funds in question were personal donations or money meant for party use. For most Pakistanis it is understandable, and perhaps even acceptable, to have such a large amount of cash without declaring it for tax purposes. But the British authorities, who follow a very strict tax regime, may not understand this practice. Therefore, the MQM and its leadership need to move very carefully in this regard. Instead of describing the investigation as a conspiracy or criticising media reports as “character assassination” of its leader, the MQM needs to cooperate with and satisfy the London police because what is important here is for the party to clear its name in the eyes of the British law enforcement authorities, not just its supporters in Pakistan. Full cooperation must also be extended in the Imran Farooq case as the MQM leadership has also said it wants the killers to be brought to justice.
Syrian dissidents’ infighting: Al Qaeda making inroads
THE murder by a jihadist militia on Thursday of a powerful Free Syrian Army commander highlights the country’s drift towards anarchy. Commander Kamal Hamami belonged to the FSA’s supreme command and wanted to discuss military operations with rival leaders when an Al Qaeda-linked group shot him. The killers belonged to the ‘Islamic State of Iraq and Levant’, which later said it would kill the entire leadership of the FSA’s supreme military council. Originally confined to its country, the Islamic State of Iraq merged a few months back with extremist Syrian groups to acquire its present nomenclature. This infighting among the rebels has helped President Bashar al-Assad, whose government has gone on the offensive and gained some important military victories, including the capture of Qusayr from the rebels. His government could now concentrate on wresting Homs from the dissidents.
Even though the Syrian civil war is more than 27 months old, its character underwent a radical change over the last year, with the spirit behind the Arab Spring giving way to a sectarian conflict. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are lending political, financial and military support to extremist elements at a time when around two-thirds of Syria is not under the Assad government. This has enabled Al Qaeda to make a major effort to turn Syria into a base of operations. As a report says, even Pakistani Taliban have managed to find their way to the country and work in tandem with those having a larger Islamist agenda. This could destabilise the entire Middle East. While there is a split in the Western world over arming Syrian rebels, America and Russia should try to revive the Geneva peace conference move, now in limbo, to end the slaughter which has so far cost 100,000 lives.