September 13, 2016
Eid reflections
The occasion of Eidul Azha at the end of the Hajj – one of the biggest gatherings of mankind in the world – marks the togetherness of Muslims around the world, no matter where they live and what their race is. This message was driven home clearly by the Imam-e-Kaaba in the Hajj sermon, which Sheikh Al-Sudais standing in for Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh who is not well. It was stressed that Muslims need to put up a collective struggle to combat violence and defeat terrorism and that Islam is a religion of peace and it should not take outside intervention to maintain peace amongst Muslims. This of course is a relevant message in the times we live in and where Islam has been increasingly vilified as a faith. Eid is a time for sacrifice and no part of the world has sacrificed more in the recent years than the Muslim world. It is hard to think of a Muslim country which is not in a state of war. In Syria, nearly half a million people have died in a civil war that keeps raging more fiercely than ever. Brutal violence has been such a part of daily life in Syria that a ceasefire beginning on Monday that is supposed to last only 48 hours is being touted as a major celebration. Iraq is little better, with the Islamic State fighting the government to a bloody draw in most of the country. Even Turkey is facing militant attacks. The Islamic State, more than any other militant group, has done more to shatter any semblance of peace in the Muslims. Its allies, like the Boko Haram in Nigeria, are equally brutal. What makes matter worse is that, in trying to fight the IS threat, many Muslim states and their allies in the Western world have ended up committing atrocities of their own. The civil war in Yemen has been made worse by outside intervention. The bombing campaigns in Syria and Iraq have not stopped IS or ended civil wars.
Muslim countries are torn apart right now, by internal and sectarian divisions or by terrorism. Pakistan has not been an exception to these problems and suffered years on end by being riven by militancy, with its weak democracy and a less than enviable record of how its poor and vulnerable have been treated. For the Muslim world, then, the year ahead looks to be one of great sacrifice too. What is needed is deep refection and a strong resolve to tackle the problems and challenges facing us. Many of us will not be celebrating Eid in the expected manner because of the acute financial pressures they face and the rising inflation which makes it harder and harder for many families to mark the event as they did in previous years. Yes, the poorest of the poor will receive charity – many eating meat for the only time in the year when they are able to do so. But there are many others who are too proud, too dignified to seek charity. They suffer instead in silence. Increasing ostentatiousness adds to their plight and contributes to the growing social divide in our country. Eid should be an occasion when we consider ways to bridge this divide and bring people together everywhere regardless of their differences – creating the equitable, society that Islam envisages.
Ghani’s route
Afghan President Ahraf Ghani seems to be becoming more anti-Pakistan by the day. His latest outburst was threatening to cut off Pakistan from Central Asia should Pakistan not allow Afghanistan to use the Wagah border to trade with India. Pakistan has responded by saying that Afghanistan is still allowed to use the Wagah border to send goods to India; under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement it is only India which is not allowed to use Pakistan as a transit point in trading with Afghanistan. What prompted Ghani to launch this tirade was Pakistan’s decision to require Afghan nationals to carry valid identification to cross the border at Torkham. While the merits of that policy can be debated, Ghani comes off as hypocritical for his criticisms since Afghanistan has always accused Pakistan of not doing enough to control the movement of militants. The Afghan president wants it both ways, with Pakistan somehow managing to stop militants from crossing between the two countries while allowing Afghans to move freely. This, needless to say, is impossible. Ghani cannot seriously expect Pakistan to be used as a transit point for Indian goods going to Afghanistan since that would require Pakistan to negotiate a treaty with Narendra Modi, a hardliner who has shown little inclination to pursue diplomacy with Pakistan.
Afghanistan is already planning to give India access to Central Asia thanks to the Chahbahar port deal which sets up both rail and road access for India. Pakistan was deliberately excluded from that deal. For Afghanistan the main issue with Pakistan is what it considers our use of militant groups against them. It is undoubted that many leaders of the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network have been based in Pakistan with not much action taken against them – at least till Zarb-e-Azb was launched. But it is equally true that Mullah Fazlullah is based in Afghanistan and Ghani’s government seems to have no interest in apprehending him and his men. Afghanistan’s close relationship with India is based not only on a mutual loathing for Pakistan but also the pursuit of better economic ties. Being able to transit in Pakistan would greatly reduce transportation costs for both India and Afghanistan while giving Pakistan extra revenue in the form of transit fees. But such an agreement is impossible at a time when all three countries accuse each other of sponsoring terrorism on their soil. Perhaps, at a later date, if ties are improved, the matter can be raised again.