Saturday, January 11, 2014

An intrepid policeman

SP MOHAMMAD Aslam Khan was for long a marked man — no surprise considering the maverick fashion in which he dealt with criminals and terrorists in Karachi. As some of his colleagues and family members indicated, the slain officer, targeted in a brutal bombing in the metropolis on Thursday which also saw at least two other policemen die, knew he’d go down fighting. While Karachi’s most colourful cop had survived several earlier attempts on his life, including a devastating attack on his residence in 2011, this time around Chaudhry Aslam’s luck had unfortunately run out, as a powerful bomb sent his vehicle flying into the air. The officer was given the sobriquet of ‘Chaudhry’ by his police colleagues and the media thanks to his unorthodox style; rarely ever seen in uniform, Aslam would descend from his vehicle, pistol in one hand, cigarette in the other, evoking the image of a law enforcer from the Wild West. His career was not without controversy, as allegations of staging fake encounters continued to dog him. Yet it was clear that Chaudhry Aslam went after criminals and terrorists without prejudice, hounding political militants, gangsters and religious extremists with equal fervour. His bravery was widely known as he would accompany his men to shootouts involving suspects and remain unruffled even after an attempt on his life.

Chaudhry Aslam’s brutal killing also illustrates the extremely disturbing extent of the reach of the militants and their operational capabilities. It is chilling that the Mohmand chapter of the outlawed TTP — as claimed — orchestrated the deadly hit with such precision. The militants’ malice towards the policeman was understandable; he was one of the key officers at the forefront of the Sindh police’s anti-extremism efforts. It was earlier thought that religious militants sought to use Karachi’s size and resources simply to lie low and recuperate. However, it is now becoming increasingly clear that the militants are using the metropolis as an operational base. Chaudhry Aslam’s killing is further proof of growing Talibanisation of the city. The attack was well-planned and without an active network in Karachi the militants would not have been able to eliminate such a high-profile police officer. For example, it is likely they had inside knowledge about their victim’s bomb-proof vehicle being out of commission.

The incident, yet again, makes us question the logic of talking to the militants. Even after the latest high-profile assassination, some political parties insist the state talk to the TTP. They have a right to advocate talks — even after witnessing what the militants are capable of. The only caveat is that, clearly, the TTP would much rather let the bombs and guns do the talking. The state needs to seriously ponder over how many more men, women and children Pakistan will lose to militant violence before it decides to take firm action to uproot terrorism.

No mass transit systems

IT is not so much the dearth of funds and technology that has hindered the creation of a modern mass transit system in our cities as the lack of political will on the part of successive governments to develop public transport. Indeed, foreign parties have often shown an interest in laying the foundations of an efficient public transport system in the country, and Lahore’s Metro Bus Service, completed with the help of Turkish expertise and inaugurated last year, is a prime example of how determination and cooperation can ease the life of commuters in big cities. But that is a rare example. None of the major cities in Pakistan have a proper mass transit system, and, for the most part, have hardly shown serious commitment towards developing one. So when Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal expresses his hope, as he did on Thursday, that the Karachi Circular Railway project would get off the ground soon, with Japanese cooperation, one can only take his remarks with a pinch of salt. The KCR has been subjected to a combination of disinterest and indecision, with the result that this project has been in limbo for several years now.

Other cities do not have a better story to tell. Over the decades, populations in all major cities — Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Rawalpindi etc — have swelled substantially, but there is no modern transport system for the millions of commuters. With the very obvious advantages of a mass transit system, that can play a major role in reducing road congestion, saving on fuel, and bringing down high levels of carbon emissions, it is sad that the centre and the provincial governments should pay little heed to the need for a comprehensive transport network. There are examples in our own neighbourhood that can be studied. For instance, Delhi’s metro system, despite occasional snags, transports some 2.5 million passengers each day — and this figure is set to increase as the rail network expands. Unfortunately, in Pakistan those whose job it is to create such a system either hate to travel by public transport or are too far removed from a reality where poor people have to spend hours on the road before they can reach their destination.

Zardari’s secret weapon?

POLITICS is sometimes a theatre of the absurd, and never more so than in this part of the world where a native loquacity meets a hankering for the limelight. So it was outside the accountability court in Islamabad on Thursday where former president Asif Ali Zardari arrived to face five references against him, including a money laundering case, involving $60m. His longtime spiritual mentor, Pir Mohammed Ejaz, who was part of the entourage, enlightened the reporters present that it was due to his meditation that Mr Zardari in 2006 had been freed from “the bad spell he was under”, which enabled him to access the $60m allegedly stashed in a Swiss bank since almost two decades. The gentleman also revealed that he had been “protecting Mr Zardari from hardships since 2001”, thereby shedding some light at last on one of the biggest mysteries of our times; that is, our erstwhile head of state’s ability to successfully sidestep all manner of scurrilous attacks on his probity.

Mr Zardari is not alone among Pakistani politicians in his reliance on a spiritual guide. Former premiers Raja Pervez Ashraf and the late Benazir Bhutto are said to have also consulted their favoured pirs. Nor, it is rumoured, has the business-minded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif eschewed the practice. However, while Pir Ejaz’s intercessions on behalf of Mr Zardari may have been a force for good for the latter, for many ordinary people, far from finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, such ‘guidance’ often goes hand-in-hand with them parting with their hard-earned money. On the supply side, there is no shortage of unscrupulous individuals willing to exploit religion for worldly gains. The media does not help either by promoting the practitioners of esoteric spiritual arts in the vulgar race for ratings. Perhaps the country as a whole would benefit if its leaders set an example of relying on logic to steer the ship of state.