For journalists
While hundreds of journalists have been killed around the world over the last decade, with violence spiraling upwards in many countries including Pakistan, the murderers often escape without punishment. The International Day Against Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, marked on November 2, is intended to highlight this problem. Over 700 journalists have been killed globally since 2013. Motives vary from action by state agencies, criminal gangs and mafias to the death of reporters and cameramen invariably at the front line of conflict and war. To end such crimes, it is essential that those responsible be penalised under the law. We can see that this does not always happen in our own country. In fact, most often, it does not happen at all. In 2005, Hayatullah Khan was kidnapped in North Waziristan, his body found six months later handcuffed and mutilated. Despite protests led by his small children, we still do not know clearly who killed him. The same is true in other cases, including that of Saleem Shahzad murdered in Islamabad in 2011, as well as other deaths which seemed to have resulted directly from the professional action of these media professionals.
The problems journalists face in Pakistan have been highlighted by the ‘most resilient journalist’ award given to Geo TV’s senior journalist Hamid Mir by the prestigious UK-based International Free Press organization. Mir had survived an assassination attempt in 2014 as well as facing other threats with courage while refusing to give up his determination to present the truth before audiences. This is the primary role of journalists. It is unfortunate that so many have been killed simply for performing what is their duty. Governments around the world, including our own, have failed to do enough to protect media professionals. The fact that those who murder them are so often not successfully prosecuted can only embolden others to target journalists. Such killings have taken place all over the country. We need to find ways to protect journalists better and allow them to bring forward the information that every citizen has the right to access.
Karachi killings
Questions over what the priorities of NAP in Karachi are were raised once again after a spate of apparently sectarian killings hit the city. On Friday, three members and two apparent sympathisers of the ASWJ – a banned sectarian organisation – were shot dead within half an hour in two separate incidents. These killings came a week after five members of the Shia community were shot dead at a religious event. Law enforcement seemed to make little progress in connection with the incident. However, following Friday’s murders both the police and the Rangers were immediately spurred into action, arresting ex-PPP senator Raza Abidi. The politics of Karachi is uniquely conducive to aggravating ethnic and sectarian tensions. That the groups here are all armed to the teeth acts as a multiplier. Thus, when there are incidents of target killings, the toxic brew of turf politics and sectarianism comes to boil. In the matter of Abidi’s arrest, it is unclear what kind of connection has been established by the security outfits involved, but in this case quite a few have found the high-profile arrest a bit strange only a day after the incidents. The ASWJ is itself a banned extremist organisation that nonetheless is able to hold rallies openly and even contest elections.
It is not just about impressions. The Sindh government has refused to name the 93 madressahs it has put on the terrorism watch list as madressah representative bodies have begun to exert pressure on the government to stop ‘intrusion’ in their affairs. By not naming the madressahs under suspicion, it has opened itself to criticism from both religious groups and the broader citizenry. The Sindh government had recently warned that militant groups are closely tied to many madressahs and use them for fresh recruits. It has a responsibility to ensure that madressahs are only being used to impart education, and not to instil hate. The responsibility of tackling sectarianism extends to the law-enforcement authorities too. When the Rangers-led operation began, it was also targeting the TTP and other militant groups but now it seems to be focusing almost exclusively on the political parties in the city. While getting these parties to change their violent ways is important, so too is putting an end to sectarian violence. Militant groups which have been banned should not be permitted to operate so openly and their well of recruits has to be dried up. This is a question both of political and law-enforcement will with the government working hand-in-hand with the Rangers before more needless blood is shed. This must be done if Karachi is to avoid becoming the heart of sectarian strife in the country once again like the 1990s. If one looks at the increasing number of attacks and counter-attacks, this is a real possibility.
Sharbat Gula
The fate of the iconic ‘Afghan girl’ Sharbat Gula has now been decided. A special anti-corruption and immigration court has ordered Sharbat to be deported and also sentenced her to 15 days in prison, including time served, after she pleaded guilty to illegally staying in Pakistan, forgery, tampering with documents and cheating. The decision has been met with outrage both internationally and locally. Amnesty International called it a grave injustice and accused Pakistan of violating the principle of non-refoulement – sending a refugee back to a country in which they are liable to be persecuted. Sharbat Gula had to be shifted from prison to hospital because she is suffering from Hepatitis C, a common affliction among refugees living in squalid camps. The Afghan government reacted to the deportation order by promising to roll out the red carpet for her and international attention to her case should hopefully ensure that she is at least given a home and protection. Ultimately, though, Pakistan has still made the decision to deport a refugee to a country in the midst of a war. This is in violation of the 1951 Refugee Convention. Even though Pakistan has refused to ratify that convention, primarily because of the rights it would give to Afghan refugees, we should still aim to live up to its principles. In this case, we have sadly failed.
There are at least tens of thousands of Afghan refugees stuck in the same position as Sharbat Gula. They are unable to return to their home country and end up acquiring fake identification because that is the only way they can get jobs to feed themselves. If the state is serious about cracking down on fake identification which may be used by militants, it needs to target not genuine refugees but those who accept bribes in return for issuing fake IDs. We have the responsibility to respect the rights of the refugees who are already in Pakistan, not just on humanitarian grounds but also because we have been so deeply involved in the wars fought in Afghanistan since 1979. But the Afghan government too has a responsibility to ensure conditions are improved so that refugees can return home. The special treatment it is promising Sharbat Gula should be given as a matter of course to every refugee who comes back to Afghanistan. And the Western world needs to realise that just because every other refugee wasn’t on the cover of National Geographic doesn’t make them any less worthy of their attention and concern.