Attack on police academy

THE death toll is shocking as is the seeming ease with which militants were able to attack a police training academy outside Quetta city; our thoughts must turn to the injured and the families of those who died. The first line of defence for much of Pakistan are this country’s police forces — often targeted, unduly vulnerable and unconscionably under-resourced across most of the country. Particularly in Balochistan, where the police are institutionally marginalised in much of the province and where other security forces dominate, the plight of the law enforcers was already grim. Care then should be taken to help the larger police community recover from this devastating attack and protect morale. More than seven years since the Manawan Police Academy attack in Lahore, the failure to protect law enforcers in their own training camps is a grim testament to the state’s failure to improve its institutional capacities.

Necessary also is a familiar, but important, set of questions to be asked of the security establishment when it comes to the safety of Quetta. After more than a decade of near-total control of the security policy in the province, all that seems to have changed is who is automatically blamed for particular acts of violence. Where earlier Baloch separatists were principally blamed, now alleged Indian- and Afghan-sponsored militants are reflexively accused. To be sure, Balochistan remains a hotbed of armed Baloch dissidents and hostile foreign interests. It is not a figment of a febrile imagination that outside elements continue to not only support some Baloch insurgents, but also seek to destabilise Pakistan in a murky tit-for-tat strategy. However, none of that changes the reality that much of Balochistan is effectively a vast no-go area for most Pakistanis and that security strategies are unable to establish normality, let alone peace, in the province. Part of the problem is surely the knee-jerk reaction to major incidents, typified yesterday by yet another high-level security meeting in Quetta, where once again old talking points appear to have been rehashed.

Finally, with competing claims of responsibility by IS and a faction of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi for the attack, it is time to acknowledge that it perhaps does not matter which splinter or sub-group was the architect of the attack. Zero tolerance is the only way ahead — a policy both in principle and in practice when it comes to taking on militant groups. While every attack does demand a detailed inquiry, it should also solidify the state’s resolve to dismantle all militant groups. Blaming sanctuaries across the border or even foreign support is a political game when strong action is called for. The counter-insurgency successes in Fata are a symbol of what is possible when commitment is total and resolve unshakeable. Militants want to terrorise the public and make the state tremble; it is time the tables were emphatically turned.

Curbs on MQM

AS various factions and spin-offs of the MQM struggle to portray themselves as the ‘genuine’ representatives of urban Sindh, it is clear the security establishment is in no mood to tolerate what is being called ‘MQM-London’, better known as the pro-Altaf Hussain faction. On Saturday, the Rangers hauled away three Karachi-based leaders of the pro-Altaf group from the city’s press club, scuttling plans by the party to address a news conference. The paramilitaries had taken up positions outside the Karachi Press Club, sealing approaches to the building. On Oct 15, the Rangers were also present outside the KPC at an MQM-London press talk; on that occasion, the men in uniform allowed the event to go ahead, though they kept a close eye on visitors to the KPC. Such tactics are unacceptable; in fact restrictions such as these on activities within the KPC were not even used during Gen Ziaul Haq’s dictatorship. On Sunday, Sindh government officials said the three MQM leaders were being held for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance as “their activities were prejudicial to the public peace and order”. Pro-Altaf cadres have also been picked up from Hyderabad while some of the faction’s offices have been demolished by the authorities.

These actions of the state are unacceptable primarily because it is undemocratic to disallow a political party from carrying out lawful activities, such as holding press talks or taking out rallies. The fact is that there is as yet no ban on MQM-London. So why the restrictions? In fact, a Sindh High Court bench, in response to a petition, called on law enforcers to “act strictly in accordance with the law” in the matter of the arrest of another pro-Altaf leader. Indeed, Altaf Hussain’s Aug 22 speech may well have crossed the boundaries of legitimate free expression — as is often enough witnessed in the MQM supremo’s case — while the party’s history of using violence as a political tool is quite well known. Yet the authorities, instead of crushing the MQM’s political activities, need to bring evidence of wrongdoing to court. Using high-handed tactics to clamp down on the pro-Altaf faction will only strengthen its narrative of victimhood and may alienate ordinary supporters from the state. The MQM should be allowed to carry out legitimate political activities, while any evidence of illegality must be produced in court. Come election time, the people of Karachi can decide who best represents them.

Blaming taxpayers

THE reason given for the low tax base of the country by the prime minister’s special assistant for revenue has to be rejected outright. According to Mr Haroon Akhtar, people themselves are to blame for the state’s lax revenue effort because there is widespread evasion, the self-assessment scheme is misused and tax notices are seen as ‘harassment’. It is true that there is a culture and mindset of tax evasion in this country, and the deep mistrust that exists between citizens and the state greatly complicates the task of broadening the tax base. But the tax effort is not a voluntary programme in any country, and governments are reasonably expected to advance the revenue interest of the state in spite of stiff opposition from vested interests in addition to the nimble efforts of the citizenry to evade and subvert the effort.

Mr Akhtar was probably trying to tell his audience of business leaders to be more forthcoming about their tax affairs, and complain a little less. But his tactless phrasing caused the message to miss its mark. Indeed, people are reluctant to pay taxes, but the real problem is the non-enforcement of tax rules. The FBR is seen as corrupt, and a culture of periodic amnesties and ad hoc exemptions has helped create the negative attitude Mr Akhtar referred to. The PML-N itself has contributed to the problem by politicising the tax efforts of previous governments, and then walking down the same path, bypassing parliament to implement key decisions and offering amnesties of its own once in power. The only reason Mr Akhtar came to the conference with no vision beyond a simple blame game is because his own party is at a loss on how to broaden the country’s tax base. This is the main reason why he had little option but to assign blame. Recourse to such language and narratives sets into motion a destructive series of exchanges. Surely, people in official positions ought to exercise greater care.

Published in Dawn October 26th, 2016