Triggering a crisis

September 17th, 2012

The controversial film, Innocence of Muslims, put on YouTube by individuals in the US, backed by anti-Islamic pastor Terry Jones, who is based in Florida, has created a crisis across the Muslim world. There have been huge protests across North Africa and the Middle East, perhaps, most notably in Egypt, where angry crowds are bolstered by supporters of the ruling Islamic Brotherhood. In scenes witnessed on previous occasions as well, the mobs stripped off US flags from buildings and burnt them, along with effigies of Pastor Jones, whose desire to spark hate-filled behaviour amongst Muslims, has once again been successful.

Surely, some provision must exist within US laws to reprimand derogatory attacks on particular religious or ethnic groups, intended to incite anger. It is difficult to imagine that such false and offensive diatribes against African-Americans, Jews or other communities would be tolerated to any degree had it occurred in the US itself. Sectary of State Hillary Clinton’s condemnation of the film is appreciated, but perhaps, more concrete action needs to be taken on the part of the US to pacify the vexed crowds and reassure them that the US is against such blatant misuse of freedom of expression.

The chaos has spread to Karachi as well, where after the Friday prayers, the Jamaatud Daawa staged an angry protest and demanded that Jones be handed over for justice to be delivered. In Islamabad, too, other groups staged a series of rallies at various places, including outside the Lal Masjid — a symbolic place for many hard line forces. Some of the marches were backed by the Jamaat-e-Islami as well.

It is hardly surprising that we see such outrage. Even worse is the fact that it appears to have been very deliberately provoked by placing the highly offensive film on a public website and then going out of the way to promote it. What Washington does not appear to realise is that such actions will not curtail the growing hatred for it, thereby making global issues harder to resolve. At a time when we need cooperation and peace, such actions only create more anarchy and distrust amongst nations.

Why shouldn’t Hindus run away?

September 17th, 2012

Some people in the establishment in Pakistan will probably smile triumphantly at the news that “dozens of Pakistani Hindu pilgrims who reached the Indian state of Rajasthan on September 9, say they don’t intend to return to their country”. The establishment will rebuke the government for not placing an embargo on their movement out of Pakistan and will probably succeed in getting it to stop any families from the Hindu community from going out of the country in future.

The Hindus visiting India mostly said that they would come back. No sane person can expect a persecuted and scared community to tell the truth about what they will do next after the Supreme Court backed off from inquiring into cases of alleged abduction and marriage of Hindu girls after ullema came out threateningly, proclaiming that Hindu-Muslim marriages after the girl ‘embraced’ Islam were according to sharia. Once in Rajasthan in India, the stricken community was more outspoken and expressed their unhappiness about the abnormal trend in Pakistan of marrying Hindu girls after making them run away from their parental homes.

There is no telling what the Indian government will do: treat them as Pakistani citizens and push them back into Pakistan or take a humanitarian view and accept them for naturalisation as Indians. But in Rajasthan, there were ‘social workers’ aplenty, who took care of them as they arrived. The Samenath Lok Sangathan (SLS) wants India to give them the country’s nationality and help them settle in India and not go back to Pakistan where, by Pakistanis’ own admission, religious extremism is rampant to an extent that even fellow Muslims are not safe. This kind of a thing has happened to thousands of Christians, Bahais, Ismailis, etc, now settled in the West.

The Hindus who arrived in Rajasthan for ‘pilgrimage’ are from the cities of Sanghar and Hyderabad in Sindh. They are the Bheels traditionally targeted by our waderas for bonded labour. They said, according to BBC: “We are feeling insecure because of the alarming rise in Islamic extremism in Pakistan. We would rather die here (in India) than go back to Pakistan.”

Our TV channels are striving to prove that the Hindu girls who married Muslim boys did so with consent. One TV field reporter went to the house of a Hindu bride and heard her recite the Quran and assert that she had decided to embrace the superior faith and was no longer willing to meet her parents. At the conclusion of the interview, he turned triumphantly to the viewers and proclaimed that proof was finally available to give the lie to the Hindu parents’ plaint in the court that their daughters had been forcibly converted.

The question, alas, is not whether there is freedom of religion in Pakistan; it is whether a community feels safe about preserving their religion, which is protected under the law and under sharia. What the Hindu community is pointing to is the changed environment in Pakistan, wherein conversion to Islam has picked up. After 65 years, the Muslim majority community has suddenly become so exemplary that it attracts Hindu girls — and not so much Hindu boys although that may start happening too — to Islam at such a high rate. It is the duty of the Pakistani state to create conditions in which the minority communities are not pushed so far down in the scale of well-being that its youths find it more tolerable to convert.

One factor is the condition of life which has plummeted for the non-Muslims; the other is the increased victimisation of them under various forms of blasphemy in which even the law relating to the desecration of the Holy Quran and the law about the insult of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) are often clubbed together in the mind of the common man, who then proceeds to inflict death on the accused through vigilante action while the police stand aside and admire this shameful summary justice. The other irony is that there is no real freedom of religion: Muslims embracing Hinduism would be immediately killed.

Dr Khan’s new version of nuclear proliferation

September 18th, 2012

In an interview given to a national daily, Pakistan’s ‘father of the bomb’ Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan has opened another debate about who was responsible for nuclear proliferation in Pakistan, which resulted in spreading the bomb technology to North Korea, Iran and Libya through him. He said it was then-prime minister Benazir Bhutto who “had asked for the transfer of nuclear technology to the two countries that she had named”. If he has tried to prove that he did nothing on his own but followed orders, he contradicts himself when he says that he did not obey the next elected leader, prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and forced his hand by threatening to go to the media: “Nawaz Sharif tried to convince me to win international sympathy by staying silent in response to the Indian nuclear tests”.

Dr Khan has earlier tried to prove through the publication of a North Korean letter that the Pakistan Army was backing him when he transferred crucial technology to the pariah state to enable its final nuclearisation. It is also a matter of record that the army turned against prime minister Benazir Bhutto when it suspected her of agreeing to ‘cap’ the nuclear programme of Pakistan. It appears that both the elected leaders he worked under sought to find a less dangerous course with Pakistan’s nuclear programme.

Dr Khan had a good word to say for ex-army chief Aslam Beg, who survived the Bahawalpur crash: “When the aircraft of General Ziaul Haq had met an accident, the chief of the army at the time decided to hold elections in the country without delay of even a moment”. The fact is that proliferation was begun by Dr Khan, much before General Zia died, and there is evidence that he and Aslam Beg passed on nuclear secrets to Iran without telling General Zia who wanted no part of the developing Iran-Arab conflict and especially no Arab-angry reaction by helping to nuclearise Iran. Nawaz Sharif felt that Beg was conducting his separate nuclear diplomacy with Iran and went on record about it after being deposed.

In 1980, General Zia was under pressure to come to the help of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), created in reaction to the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Whether or not he secretly promised ‘military teeth’ to the GCC may never be known, but he was conscious of the fact that he had to handle Iran carefully. He had committed the folly of imposing zakat on the Shia of Pakistan the same year under advice from Saudi Arabia.

A dossier released by London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in 2007, as a ‘chronology of Dr AQ Khan’s proliferation’ indicates that he had visited Iran’s reactor at Bushehr in 1986. Iran approached Dr Khan’s ‘network’ to close a three million dollar deal for centrifuge technology. The IISS dossier, distinguishes between ‘Pakistan government’ (meaning General Zia) and ‘Khan network’ (excluding General Zia). Iran, later, disclosed the details of the despatch of centrifuges to Iran, by Dr Khan, to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). According to IAEA, he made the sale to Iran of all the required elements in 1987, in Dubai.

Dr Khan now wants to somehow validate what he did by taking on board the elected leaders of Pakistan, but the fact is that he kept quiet when they were deposed from power one after the other, basking in the privileges the army had allowed him. He knew that ‘India policy’ and ‘nuclear policy’ were not in the hands of the politicians in Pakistan and he spared no thought to the ethical and moral dimensions of what he was doing. There was a steady growth industry of self-advertisement by journalists patronised by him and an understandably grateful nation wanted him to become president of Pakistan after the ouster of Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

However, Dr Khan is wise in welcoming the thaw in Indo-Pak relations. He knows that nuclearising Pakistan was of no use after General (retd) Pervez Musharraf committed the folly of launching the Kargil Operation in 1999. He also must know that the bomb he made is of no use in the face of al Qaeda terrorism. In fact, the bomb is a grave risk to the world as Pakistan’s internal order breaks down under this new challenge.

Taking on the world

September 18th, 2012

As the fourth edition of the World Twenty20 kicks off in Hambantota, Sri Lanka today with the hosts and Zimbabwe locking horns, Pakistani fans will be hoping for the national team to produce a performance to match the one that it conjured up in the 2009 edition, when Younus Khan’s men surprised everyone to lift the trophy. Pakistan’s run-up to the event has seen them defeating Australia 2-1 in the recently held series in the UAE, which must have given the team management much heart. However, it is important to note that this was only the first such win in a Twenty20 series by the national team this year. To come out victorious in a global event will require a much improved show, especially with the bat, as mind-boggling batting collapses have become all too frequent in recent times. As Pakistan launch their campaign on September 23 against New Zealand, captain Mohammad Hafeez will need to lead from the front with the bat, to ensure that his team is able to post competitive totals throughout the event.

One aspect of the game that should not cause too much worry and will play a crucial role in the team’s progress is its bowling department. Saeed Ajmal — inexplicably not even considered worthy of a nomination for the International Cricket Council Cricketer of the Year Award — has shot up to the top of the Twenty20 bowlers’ ranking, while Shahid Afridi is also among the top 10.

The nature of this format of the game is such that it does require some level of luck to succeed. However, with the advent of numerous Twenty20 leagues the world over, and with players now having extensive experience of playing this format and adapting their styles to suit the game, the luck factor may not count for as much as it did in the earlier editions. Over the years, Pakistan have displayed a natural flair for Twenty20 cricket and although recent results may not reflect this entirely, it will be foolhardy for opponents to underestimate their chances. However, notwithstanding the immense talent at their disposal, Pakistan will still have to play out of their skins to have a shot at dethroning the defending champions, England.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Rain and ruin

September 19th, 2012

Perhaps, we have become just a little immune to disaster; unwilling to acknowledge it when it occurs. The accounts coming in from Sindh and Balochistan describe the havoc that has been caused as being as terrifying as that seen in 2010 and 2011. But somehow, this time around, we seem to be hearing less about the floods, with a kind of glazed indifference hanging in the air. It is hard to explain quite why this should be the case.

In Sindh, the scenes suggest that oceans have rolled out across parts of the province. According to official sources, 95 per cent of Jacobabad is stated to be under water. Children who had been stranded in villages where no one could reach them, died due to sickness and neglect. The situation in other districts, notably those in the north, is said to be little better.

Authorities say that hill torrents rolling into Sindh from Balochistan have added to the problems occurring there. Balochistan itself faces peril and over a million people are stated to have been rendered homeless in the two provinces. Vast tracts of land have been destroyed and over 100 deaths have been reported. The toll of illness, as stagnant water collects, is no doubt still to come.

The prime minister has announced a two billion rupees relief package for Sindh. After surveying the situation, the UN has also said it will do what it can to help. But the fact remains that just months ago, as the monsoon season began, major humanitarian agencies had warned clearly that they were short of funds, given the expenditures of the past two years.

It is also true that misuse of funds that were previously allotted has made donors reluctant to give more to Pakistan. Efforts at home, from the government and other institutions, must get underway to manage matters better and to prevent further suffering. We must also ask if more could have been done to prevent the disaster on the scale on which it occurred and whether we have learnt anything at all from our encounters with floods over the past few years. By now, we should be familiar with the devastation they can cause, affecting millions within days.

Culling of infected sheep

September 19th, 2012

A lot of people should lose their jobs for allowing over 21,000 Australian sheep infected with salmonella and actinomyces to be imported into Pakistan, even though the sheep were previously rejected by Bahrain for being diseased. The first person to go should be the Sindh livestock and fisheries secretary, who lashed out at the media for printing test reports which showed that the sheep were infected. The executive director of the company which imported the sheep should also be shamed into resignation, not only because he was willing to release the animals into the market but also because he denounced the media for indulging in “fake” propaganda.

Punishment must also be accompanied by introspection. This incident was a clear case of Pakistan willing to let itself be used as a dumping ground for products that would be outright rejected by rich countries. As strongly as we should protest to Australia for assuming it could unload the animals in our country, the government also needs to avoid instantly taking a defensive posture when such public health scandals are brought to light. Now that the sheep have been confirmed as infectious, the government needs to ensure that they are culled in a safe and speedy manner and that there is no possibility of a single sheep making its way to our market.

Pakistan also needs to set safety standards for imports that match those that other countries have placed on us. Countries such as the US, Japan, South Korea and Jordan all banned the import of Pakistani mangoes for over a decade until we recently changed our vapour treatment of mangoes to mandate hot water treatment. It is time for us to be similarly careful about what food items and animals we allow into our country. Doing any differently would confirm that our government is hungry only for the almighty dollar. There is no way we should countenance boosting our foreign exchange reserves on the back of our health and safety.

Blocking blasphemy

September 19th, 2012

After a high-level meeting in Islamabad involving the interior ministry, the information technology ministry, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority and the Federal Investigation Agency, the government decided to block the video sharing website YouTube and prevent access to the blasphemous anti-Islam film, which has caused fury and violence across the Muslim world. The sense of outrage is understandable but we also need to ask if this is the best way to handle the situation. YouTube did not make the film; it exists only as a space where people can share videos. Millions of Pakistanis who have access to the internet, use YouTube regularly, not only for recreational purposes but also for educational and professional reasons.

Currently, Pakistan has no formal agreement with Google, which owns YouTube, to censor inflammatory or blasphemous content at the source. In the case of obviously offensive content, such as the film, perhaps, an agreement with Google would make sense in which, instead of blocking the whole website, blasphemous videos could be blocked for users in Pakistan. Of course, the wider principle that content should not be blocked is a utopian concept because anti-hate speech laws exist in all countries, even in the US. It would be safe to also say that most Muslims, in Pakistan and elsewhere, would not want to watch such offensive material in the first place.

On a somewhat related note, the threat by the interior minister to cancel visas of Google staff working in Pakistan was unnecessary, especially since Google did not make the blasphemous film. We need to ensure that the decisions taken regarding net usage are rational and do not establish dangerous precedents which can be misused in the future. More thought is needed on how to handle these sensitive issues so that steps are not taken in panic, possibly causing more harm than good. Banning YouTube plays right into the hands of the makers of the blasphemous film, giving them attention they don’t deserve.

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Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Shattered peace

September 20th, 2012

One of the most peaceful of Karachi’s many diverse communities has faced its first taste of sectarian violence. The aftermath, alongside death, has been shock and disbelief, as well as terror. The two bombs, both home-made devices laden with three to four kilogrammes of explosives and packed with pellets and ball bearings, went off in quick succession of each other via remote control in Karachi’s Hyderi market.

The first bomb, placed close to a tree, was positioned close to a Jamaat Khana as the Bohri community finished prayers. The second bomb went off minutes later in the centre of the street, packed with vendors and shops — the area towards which most worshippers go after prayers. It was as a result of this second explosion that most deaths occurred. Those killed included a woman and a 12-year-old girl. In all, there were eight deaths and some 21 injuries.

The blasts signal an expansion in sectarian violence and also the folly of ignoring it for too long. Keeping a low profile, staying away from Shia-Sunni strife and focusing chiefly on business in which many members of the tiny Bohri community are involved, has clearly not paid off for it. The community has been unwillingly drawn into the net of sectarian violence — its hopes that a devotion to peace could protect it, having faded entirely.

There are no answers for the minorities; sooner or later, they will be hit. A terrible mistake was made nearly two decades ago, when sectarian groups were not clamped down upon as they first began to take form. Today, we are paying the price. The Karachi bombings are the latest example of this and forewarn us that further turmoil may lie ahead if measures are not immediately initiated to tackle sectarian forces. This need must be treated as a war no less significant than the one being waged against militants in the north; both battles have to be won if we are to succeed in saving our country from the terrible demons that have taken hold of it.

The truth behind the flames

September 20th, 2012

We still do not know what ignited the fire at the Karachi garments factory that killed over 250 people. This is frightening, since it means we have no clue as to how to prevent similar infernos in the future. The Sindh government tribunal, set up to inquire into the reasons for the blaze, has not come any closer to the truth thus far. Electrical engineers have dismissed claims by firefighters that a short circuit triggered the fire, stating there is no real evidence of this. The firefighting department, as well as others, have yet to come up with full reports. The observation by the chief of the tribunal stating that highly caustic, possibly inflammable chemicals used at the plant could have been a factor, certainly needs to be examined.

Some highly significant facts have been emerging. Perhaps, more will surface as the inquiry continues. The rules related to electrical safety, for one, date back to pre-Partition times. These should have been updated a long time ago. The provincial energy and electrical department also says that the suspension of factory inspections, decided by the Sindh cabinet in 2003, may have increased the risk with the practices of many factories possibly going undetected. This matter needs to be looked into by involving all parties concerned. However, there are other still more frightening facts. In a city where high-rise buildings dot the skyline, the tribunal has been told that the firefighting department can only reach a height of 100 metres. This is alarming and cause for great concern for those working in such buildings. What is more, there is only one snorkel in Karachi where firefighters say at least 50 are needed.

These are all matters that need to be taken up urgently. We must hope that the tribunal hearings can succeed in playing a part in ensuring this and by doing so, help prevent another tragedy as awful as the one that took place at Ali Enterprises. Realisation must be followed up by implementation for any of this to happen.

The menace of swara

September 20th, 2012

On September 10, the police arrested 10 men who are implicated in the ordering of a 13-year-old girl to marry an elderly man in Mingora, in order to settle a feud between two families. The tradition, known as swara, is a Pashtun custom of forcibly marrying girls to men of rival families to settle disputes. In this case, the girl was used to compensate for an extramarital affair her brother had with a woman from the other family, else the girl’s family would have had to pay Rs253,000 or face imprisonment.

One of the most disturbing aspects of this story is that the jirga took place at a police station, which later arrested the offenders. Hopefully, the public pressure that ensued once the story appeared in the media, changed the minds of the authorities. The police, along with the jirga, are at fault for trying to make the girl act against her will. This is highly condemnable as the police are responsible for protecting the rights of citizens.

Conversely, the girl and her family who raised their voice and reported the case to lawyers and the court should be commended for their courage because in Pakistan, often stories only get public attention after a wrong has been committed, rather than before, when someone comes forward to bring attention to an imminent tragedy. The positive outcome in this story is that attention was brought to the issue and action was taken before injustice was delivered.

Now, facing pressure from the courts, the police have formed a committee to investigate the case. While it is a welcome move, a committee should not have to be formed every time tragedy or scandals strike. Specialised teams should already be in place to investigate specific issues that plague our society, such as swara and ‘honour’ killings, domestic, child and labour abuse, youth labour and beggar gangs. Additionally, a committee should be overseeing or working collaboratively with jirgas, if they must exist at all, to ensure their rulings in all cases are just.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Attack on military targets

September 21st, 2012

Over the last year, there has been a definite shift in the strategy of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Instead of carrying out massive attacks in large cities where hundreds of helpless civilians are the chief targets, the militants are now concentrating on military targets. Thus, we see attacks like the ones on the Kamra air base and the PNS Mehran, which are meant to destabilise the chief foe of the militants. This has now been followed by an attack on a PAF van in Peshawar, which killed eight people and injured 25 others. There are some who may be tempted to heave a sigh of relief that the TTP are at least not targeting civilians in urban centres the way they used to or to assume that their changed focus is a sign of weakness. Believing either proposition is a mistake.

The Taliban may have been slightly weakened by military operations but not only do they remain a potent force, they may also have become a more tactically astute one. Right now, the only threat they face to their power in the tribal areas is the possibility of a military operation in North Waziristan. By hitting the military hard and exposing its security weaknesses, the TTP is trying to warn the army off. The militants are essentially saying that if the military does attack them in North Waziristan, then such attacks will intensify and expose even more problems for sensitive military installations. It is up to the military now to call the TTP’s bluff and go ahead with the proposed North Waziristan operation. There is only one good way for the army to stop the TTP from attacking it and that is by defeating it completely.

The attack on the PAF van also raises once again the uncomfortable possibility of insider help. It is an open secret that there are some in the lower ranks of the military who may be sympathetic to the militant cause so the possibility that the TTP is being fed information from the inside cannot be discounted. The only way to tackle this is by first severely punishing those who have militant links and simultaneously carrying out a massive indoctrination programme, similar to the de-radicalisation one used on ex-militants, to prevent a shifting of loyalties because we cannot afford to lose this battle.

The march of death

September 21st, 2012

With each passing day, the death toll in Karachi rises steadily. It is hard to explain who is behind the killings or why the victims were the ones chosen. It appears that ethnic, sectarian, criminal and political motives may all be involved. The killings take place sporadically with people falling prey in various pockets across the city. In most instances, gunmen driving past on motorcycles are responsible while occasionally, other methods are used. Over the past week, there have been more deaths resulting from the unrest, raising the total even higher.

According to a statement by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, at least 800 people have been killed so far this year. Other accounts suggest the number has already crossed the 1,000 mark. These are alarming numbers, fit to paralyse the citizenry. So far, despite the many statements we have heard form Interior Minister Rehman Malik and others in the government, there have been few arrests and little success has been achieved in tracking down those behind the murders. This does not carry much hope for the future.

The law-enforcement authorities and district administration need to improve their methods as this is the easier part of the task. What is more demanding is the need to work out a policy for Karachi, which incorporates all the diverse problems it faces. Only if we understand these fully and acknowledge that they exist can there be any hope of bringing the killings to an end. Till then, they will continue on a virtually daily basis as is happening now.

A solution can only be found with the participation of all the political parties that wield influence in Karachi. Without their full cooperation and support, it will be difficult to initiate a process that will lead to some consensual effort to change this fast-becoming reality of daily violence and death in a major city of the country.

Wasted potential

September 21st, 2012

Earlier this month, the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child released a report titled, “The State of Pakistan’s Children Report 2011”, which stated that 25 million children in Pakistan are out of school — the second highest rate in the world — while seven million children have not even received primary schooling. Several dismal statistics appeared citing reasons why so many of Pakistan’s children are out of school, leading to the overall theme that a disturbed lifestyle negatively impacts school participation. Militant destruction continues to cause disturbance while minority children have the lowest enrolment rates due to security concerns. In 2010, ten Ahmadi students and one teacher were expelled from a school in Hafizabad because of their religious leanings. Children are also missing out on school due to a lack of teachers and learning materials or due to damaged buildings following natural disasters.

While one cannot blame parents for their apprehensions about sending children to school due to security reasons, they must realise the benefits of education — as should parents who send their children to work instead of to school. It should partially be the government’s responsibility to help poorer families obtain that education for their children and it should be strictly mandated. Parents must also be made aware about family planning based on socioeconomic capabilities as they must understand that a child’s education will cost money. However, education is the best gift they can give to enable their children to be self-reliant, think independently and make life decisions based on sound reasoning.

There is no doubt that Pakistan’s youth has talent, as we have seen in the past with Arfa Karim, Pakistan’s computer prodigy and Shadab Rasool Abro, a scientist in the making from Khairpur, who won a $250,000 US scholarship for his work on modern biochemical research. The reported statistics are not merely numbers; they are a breadth of wasted potential that could fuel Pakistan’s advancement from a developing country to a First World nation.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Chaos and capitulation

September 22nd, 2012

What was supposed to be a day for Pakistanis to show their love, respect and reverence of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), instead turned out to be a day of murder, arson, looting and much mayhem. The government may have thought that by declaring September 21 “Youm-e-Ishq-e-Rasool”, it may have grabbed the initiative from the religious and conservative elements and that the protests and outrage may perhaps have channelled into one single day. However, the events of the past two days, in particular Friday, suggest that this was a grave miscalculation. The decision seems to have only galvanised and emboldened those elements in society who believe that by burning public and private property, destroying cars and injuring and killing innocent passers-by, they are somehow expressing their love for the Holy Prophet (pbuh). To many of those who we saw burning public and private property on our television screens on Friday, the government’s holiday announcement translated into a licence to do as they saw fit, and in most cases, this was to damage and destroy whatever they could find at arm’s reach.

One fails to understand, for instance, how the burning of two cinemas and the Peshawar Chamber of Commerce building was linked in any way to protesting against a vile blasphemous film. Likewise, pelting cars owned by Pakistanis, or destroying shops, offices and homes owned by our fellow countrymen and women. Or, for that matter, burning tyres and blocking roads. Of course, the rage and anger is expected of any Muslim, in the face of such blasphemous material, but that rage needs to be expressed in a manner so that we don’t end up burning and destroying our own property and people.

What has been troubling so far also is that a lot of the violence seems to have been carried out by young men and teenaged boys, usually of school or college-going age. In some instances, it has been reported that they were brought to the protests by their teachers, who egged them on to chant “Death to America”. Surely, there could be an alternative way to teach our students the very important and much-needed lesson that blasphemous material will not be tolerated. They need to be told, indeed, those protesting on Friday needed to be told, that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) was an exemplar of tolerance and patience Himself and that their violent actions were only damaging and tainting the name of Islam in the eyes of, not only the rest of the world, but also other Pakistanis — the majority of whom were equally outraged but did not approve of the wanton resort to violence and mob rule.

Furthermore, by declaring a day of protest, the government seemed to have caved in to the extremists and ceded to them the initiative of expressing the nation’s outrage. No wonder, then, that we saw banned outfits leading some of the protest rallies which then turned violent. Having made the decision, the government, it seems, also had little idea of what was to follow, though our experience with past protests should have told us that violence usually follows. This failure to anticipate and plan was evident from the timid way in which the protests were handled, and the government’s response bordered close to capitulation if not outright appeasement. For instance, most of those arrested after the violence of September 20 in Islamabad’s Red Zone were released a few hours later after a ‘deal’ between the maulanas leading them and the local Islamabad administration. In any other civilised country, the arrested protesters would have been booked and prosecuted for vandalism and arson. Without realising it, most Pakistanis think that Islamabad is ‘safe’, but history shows that it has always been dominated by illegally constructed mosques and madrassas acting as havens of terrorists since General Ziaul Haq got Lal Masjid to act as the watering hole of extremists.

The future, pardon the cliché, is not very bright because we have a state that is simply not willing to stand up to reason and logic and doesn’t want to or, perhaps, can’t, stand up to the extremists and take away the initiative from them on issues that matter most to all Pakistanis.

UN team’s visit

September 22nd, 2012

Pakistan has a habit of crying ‘sovereignty’ every time foreigners attempt to do what it should already be doing. Trying to kill hardened militants should be the number one priority for the government and the military but instead, both have made themselves hoarse complaining about US drone strikes, which in most cases do exactly that. Similarly, were we seriously concerned about the hundreds of ‘missing’ people; we should have tried and addressed that issue on our own and prevented it from developing into a situation where a team from the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) had to be invited to visit Pakistan. The issue is serious enough to merit sustained hearings on it by the country’s apex Court where it has, very admirably, tried to hold the powers that be, to account.

However, the irony is that while the UN team came to Pakistan at the invitation of the ministry of foreign affairs, it was unable to meet several senior officials and functionaries — these included the chief justice, senior military commanders, including the IG of the FC in Balochistan and heads of intelligence agencies.

This gives the impression that certain sections of the government work at cross-purposes, especially since the UN team was here at the government’s invitation. It also reinforces the views laid out by the team, in their press conference, where it said that the disappearances were linked to military and paramilitary operations in the war on terror, and in the case of Balochistan, the insurgency going on in that province. It also noted a wide disparity in the numbers of disappeared people, saying that Baloch groups quoted thousands of people, while the government claimed the figure was “under 100”. Its recommendations that the intelligence agencies be brought under greater government control and that the state needs to understand the need for respecting the rights of even those accused of waging war against the state make sense. The government has talked a good game on Balochistan but clearly, it does not seem to be calling the shots on this issue. Those who have been detained incommunicado should be charged or released. That is the only way forward in Balochistan.

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Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Alienated from the state

September 23rd, 2012

The Youm-e-Ishq-e-Rasool on September 21 wreaked destruction and death on Pakistan that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) would not have appreciated. What it manifested was not the wrath of Muslims but the alienation of Muslims of Pakistan from the state they live in. Their mind was, however, full of views spread by the state itself, liberally assisted by the media prescribing international isolation as the only honourable course to adopt. When a halfwit in California made a film not worth watching by any standard, the Pakistani mind was ready to use it to challenge the very idea of a democratic Pakistan.

Twenty-six people were killed in three major cities seen most vulnerable to al Qaeda and its Pakistani affiliates: Karachi, Peshawar and Islamabad. Private and public property was destroyed, including banks, shops, cinema houses, cars, motorbikes, churches and foreign food franchises. The government’s decision to vent the rage of blasphemy was proved wrong.

In Karachi, violence hit its high water mark simply because the city has been seeing a lot of it lately, infiltrating the minds of the people not given to violence in the past. In Peshawar, the thinking of al Qaeda was clearly upfront as the city appeared to be in the hands of mobs ruled by extremist ideology, with the provincial government losing control of the situation. In Islamabad, diplomats cowered as they saw a repeat of the past when General Ziaul Haq had literally overseen the destruction of the American embassy. In less violent Lahore, the Jamaat-e-Islami got its student commandos to kick up agitation before attacking the US consulate.

The mobs were made up of cadres from the madrassa network, workers of religious parties, school and college students and urchins from the slums that ring Pakistani cities. Al Qaeda and the Taliban sat back and saw its growing population of allies do its work. The central point in their thinking was the abdication of the state from its Islamic obligation to punish America and its allies for having offended the Muslims. The mobs demanded that Islamabad call in the ambassadors and ask them to apologise and that the US hand over the producer of the offending film or suffer the humiliation of ending diplomatic relations with Pakistan.

Television channels reflected the alienation of Pakistan’s teeming millions from the state. One discussant said that Pakistan will regain its lost honour only after converting to khilafat from the abominated system of democracy, an unholy transplant from the West. Another TV anchor castigated the foreign minister as a “model girl” talking about normalising relations with America, while Pakistanis wanted the head of the blaspheming American film-maker.

Elsewhere in the Muslim world, protests against the blaspheming film were impressive, but not as menacing, partly because al Qaeda had not yet acquired as dominant a position as in Pakistan. The Arab Spring has made it possible for al Qaeda to show its flag in states where it could not have dared to enter before. Failing states such as Iraq, Somalia and Yemen were already becoming comparable with Pakistan and Afghanistan, but now Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and many African states with Muslim communities are also becoming vulnerable.

Pakistan is ground zero for the ‘revolution’ our politicians have been predicting, although with the self-deluding thought that it will favour them after ousting their rival politicians. The attempt of the government to ‘join in’ rather than to resist the muscle of al Qaeda failed and served to highlight the truth about the spreading disorder in the country. The PPP should tell the GHQ that it is not India, the US and Israel planning the destruction of Pakistan through the bribe-taking Taliban, but al Qaeda working through erstwhile jihadi heroes of Pakistan.

The police received a lot of beating on Friday and more is on the cards. As some of the policemen have received bullet wounds from guns fired from the mobs, it is safely assumed that the next round will be more scary.

Building bridges

September 23rd, 2012

Pakistan and India appear to be going about the task of building relations stone by stone and brick by brick. This is a sensible way to ease tensions which have kept the two countries apart for so many years. Things, of course, worsened after the Mumbai attacks of 2008. The fact that things are on track again and are proceeding stage by stage shows the level-headed approach employed by the two neighbours. Trade is a key area where cooperation could benefit both nations immensely.

For this reason, the series of agreements reached in Islamabad during talks with the Indian Commerce Secretary, SR Rao, are encouraging. Pakistan has agreed to consider opening up the Wagah-Attari border for trade, while the possibility of using other land routes — some of them closed for decades — was also discussed. There was also an agreement that under the South Asian Free Trade Agreement, the number of items on the sensitive list would be reduced by both nations to around 100 by 2017. Discussion was also held on issues concerning licensing, certification, lab testing and quality control.

There was progress in other areas as well. India offered the opportunity for banks in both countries to open branches across the border. This step, of course, would facilitate trade and make it easier for businessmen on either side to deal with practical matters. Another extremely important suggestion also came from India offering Pakistan 500 megawatts of electricity, provided that the required infrastructure would be set up. This is something Pakistan should not miss out on given its current situation vis-a-vis the energy crisis. Gas transmission across the border, another step which could help both countries meet energy requirements, was also discussed, including the joint development of solar and wind energy.

The steps laid out are something that the neighbours need to work towards as they offer huge potential. Indeed, it is a tragedy that people of both countries have been deliberately denied these benefits for so long as a result of the political factors, which had kept Islamabad and New Delhi apart. It now appears that bridges are being built. We must hope they will be completed soon.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Punitive action

September 24th, 2012

The Supreme Court of the country has shown no tolerance for parliamentarians holding dual nationality. Delivering its verdict on the case on September 20, not only has it ordered 11 members of the National and provincial assemblies to vacate their seats, but also informed them that further proceedings will take place against them and that they will need to pay back all the monetary costs involved in their tenure as MNAs or MPAs. The letter of the law has then been followed, though there may be room for debate on whether a person holding dual nationality is necessarily any less patriotic than one who only holds a Pakistani passport.

While this is a separate debate altogether, the Court has already delivered its ruling, and a firm one, too. The MNAs who now stand disqualified are Zahid Iqbal‚ Farahnaz Ispahani‚ Farhat Mehmood Khan and Jamil Ahmad Malik. Apart from them, seven members of the provincial assemblies will also have to vacate their seats. In addition, those who still sit in the houses have been asked to submit new declarations under Article 63(1)(c) of the Pakistan Constitution, stating that they are not dual nationals of any country. The article mentioned by the Court has come up quite often before and tackles the issue of the honesty and integrity of parliamentarians. Even in the past, our political system has seen several violations where this law should have been used.

One such violation was picked up by the court in its handling of the case involving Interior Minister Rehman Malik. The Court noted it had proof that the minister renounced his British nationality in 2012, and not in 2008, as he had previously told the Court. This, the bench noted, meant that he could not be considered an honest person, as is required by the law of the land. It remains to be seen how this matter will proceed and eventually settle. But certainly, quite regardless of what other matters are involved in the dual-nationality affair, a culture of truth needs to be created, especially expectant of those holding public office.

Attacks on cinemas

September 24th, 2012

There has to be a limit to senselessness. After all, human beings have been gifted with the capacity to reason and think. But we saw this ability vanish completely on Friday, as destruction struck everywhere. It is not known why a decision was made by the mobs to attack cinemas. Two were burnt down in Peshawar, while at least five were set ablaze or attacked in Karachi. There may have been a ‘copycat’ element to the burning of the cinema halls as word of the first such incident from Peshawar made it to various news channels.

The violent scenes seen on Friday were a result of the short video made in the US, but this vitriolic video was never aired in any cinema house anywhere in the world that they were made the target. It exists essentially on YouTube — a video-sharing website that has already been controversially blocked in Pakistan. The owners of the cinemas in both Peshawar and Karachi had nothing to do with the making of this short video; nor, of course, would they ever have considered airing it.

The burning of the cinema halls simply inflicts great damage on those who run them and also threatens the livelihood of the staff employed there. The people of this country cannot afford such mayhem in already difficult economic times. Struggling businesses need to be able to survive. It will take millions to reconstruct some of the cinemas which have been badly damaged.

The action taken by the frenzied hordes, which took to the street against the cinemas, simply shows the lack of sense behind the entire “protest”. All we have seen is mass destruction which hurts only people at home. Cinemas are a vital form of entertainment in any society. Blaming them for a video created by bigoted individuals in the US is nothing less than complete madness. Other wreckage left behind during the rampage proves the same point and demonstrates the extent to which we have lost our ability to use our minds rationally and retain our dignity. We have further become the laughing stock of the world.

Double standards

September 24th, 2012

Whenever Western governments have faced the question of banning speech and works of art that will likely incite violence from Muslims, they have hidden behind the rhetoric of free speech. In the case of the US, there actually is a precedent, however imperfectly applied, that it constitutionally protects speech that is hateful and could even directly lead to violence. France, however, which has allowed the publication of cartoons mocking the Holy Prophet (pbuh), has no such excuse. This is a country which has a history of restricting free speech in the interest of public order. It is also one of the handful of European countries which have actually made Holocaust denial a crime punishable by imprisonment. In 1990, France passed the Gayssot Act, which outlawed questioning the existence of crimes against humanity and punished any infraction with one to five years of jail time. When challenged in the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the law was upheld as being necessary to guard against anti-Semitism.

Given the presence of such laws in France, clearly the publication of the caricatures against the Holy Prophet (pbuh) could have been prevented on the grounds of public safety. It would also not be a stretch to call France out for having a double standard when it comes to Muslims. The ban on the hijab targeted Muslims while the rise of far-right politicians such as Jean-Marie Le Pen and his daughter Marine has shifted the debate in France in a somewhat xenophobic direction. In fact, as a colonial power it had a policy, more or less, of repressing the cultures of its subjects — and one needn’t look farther than Algeria in this regard.

By allowing the publication of the cartoons, France has shown that it is home to a glaring double standard. Anti-Semitic material is banned under French law but anti-Islamic material and expressions are not. No wonder that Muslims the world over, not just in France, seem to think that many European countries have a different policy for them and another for the rest of the world.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

The bounty business

September 25th, 2012

Why does so much controversy always seem to be stemming from our country? This time around, Railway Minister Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour’s offer of a $100,000 bounty for the head of the man who made the controversial video, Innocence of Muslims, finds us in the eye of the storm.

Bilour, a veteran ANP leader, should know better. As he himself has accepted, he is, in fact, instigating murder and thereby committing a crime. The fact that he is aware of this and willing to bear the consequences does not alter his intended-to-incite statement. At a time when we need the frenzy over the video to fade away, Bilour has created more hype by calling on elements of al Qaeda and the Taliban to kill the film-maker and also appealing to the ‘rich people’ to donate money for this cause.

Fortunately, the federal government has had the good sense to completely dissociate itself from the ‘bounty’ offer. A spokesman said an explanation would be sought and the ANP leader spoken to. Indeed, members of the ANP themselves seem stunned by Bilour’s comment and his assertion that he is answerable only to the Holy Prophet (pbuh), They have asserted that his statement reflects his views alone and not the party’s. An ANP MNA, Bushra Gohar, has described Bilour’s statement as a criminal act. Bilour deserves to be penalised, though the danger following this would be that he will be upheld as a hero by extremists, creating further problems for taking such an action.

No one with any degree of wisdom condones the film. But what we do need to understand is that its makers would be hit hardest if Muslims simply chose to ignore it and refused to further its publicity. Bilour has done just the opposite; his ‘reward for head’ saga will only complicate matters. It seems obvious that, at the very least, he needs to be removed from his cabinet post and persuaded to refrain from making any further calls to seek death or demand extremist acts in this fashion. Such actions only push our country further away from a place in the civilised world.

Rimsha’s plight

September 25th, 2012

As news stories about the violence sparked by the anti-Islam film abound, there is a danger that the plight of the young Christian girl Rimsha Masih will be relegated to the inside pages. Rimsha was accused of blasphemy and released on bail when it emerged that her accuser may have planted the evidence. Bail, however, is not the same as complete exoneration, which is exactly what Rimsha deserves. Now that the police have submitted a written statement to the court declaring that she is innocent and it was a set-up by cleric Khalid Jadoon Chishti, the judge needs to do the right thing and dismiss the case against Rimsha as being frivolous and unfounded. Then, Chishti needs to face trial for falsely accusing this helpless girl and probably putting her life in danger.

The idea of going on trial for Rimsha pales in comparison to the dangers she will likely face should she go back to her home. Those accused of blasphemy have often been targeted by enraged mobs and seldom found security thereafter. Rimsha’s best shot at a normal life lies in a foreign country. Pakistan is no place to live even for those who have merely been accused without any basis of offending religious sentiments. It is now the government’s job to provide her with foolproof security and arrange for her safe passage out of Pakistan. Meanwhile, the prosecution, which has already disgraced itself with its conduct, needs to let go of the case. The prosecutor is now claiming that Rimsha is 21 years old and not 12, as originally claimed. This is a mere smokescreen for bigotry as Rimsha’s age has absolutely no bearing on her innocence.

Ideally, the next step taken by the government would be to repeal the blasphemy laws but that is simply not possible in the current climate. Instead, the laws need to be balanced a bit by making the punishment for false accusations tougher. Politicians, the police and courts need to start treating those who make false accusations of blasphemy with the same toughness they currently reserve for child minorities.

Water racket

September 25th, 2012

The recent decision by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB ) to close its last six water hydrants is meant to make it harder for people to steal water. The actual effect is likely to be the opposite, as the price of water in the city will increase, while doing little to thwart the water tanker mafia. The hydrants were meant to serve those residents who did not have access to piped water, but the KWSB could do little to compete with the hundreds of illegal hydrants in the city. Over the last few months, numerous illegal hydrants were closed but the net effect was still negligible. Despite the closure of the official hydrants, the tanker mafia will still continue to steal water from the piped system and sell it at a high margin to consumers. In fact, it will probably cite these closed hydrants as an excuse to justify a further increase in prices. Some would say that the reason the KWSB has taken only this cosmetic measure is because some elements within it may be colluding with the tanker mafia. Meanwhile, those who suffer will be the residents who will notice a significant drop in the water pressure supplied to them along with intermittent supply.

What is needed to combat the tanker mafia are concrete reforms. One such reform would be to introduce water metres in the city so we can keep track of exactly how much water is being consumed in each area and household. Then, like the KESC does with electricity, it could reduce the supply of water to those areas where there is more theft. It could also check for theft at the source. Currently, the KWSB uses acoustic-sensory devices to detect if water is escaping from a pipe, but this method is better suited for leaks than theft. Standard international techniques, like devices sending a signal if there is a change in the pressure waves along pipes, would be more effective. As long as elements within the KWSB are colluding with the tanker mafia, however, such reforms are just pipe dreams.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Zardari-Clinton meeting

September 26th, 2012

The meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session saw the president take up the issue of the anti-Islam video, stating categorically that “Pakistanis are deeply dismayed at the film”. The president also quite rightly expressed the view that a few individuals “should not be allowed to endanger world peace in the garb of freedom of expression”. While the president’s statements may not bring about any concrete change in the US position on the matter, which has stated that it will not ban the video, the fact that the concerns of the Pakistani people, and Muslims at large, were communicated at the highest level, is the right approach towards registering the hurt and anger that was caused. In such matters, it is important to communicate the Muslim viewpoint to the people in the West at an intellectual level, instead of resorting to measures which only confirm the stereotypes of Muslims being intolerant and violent.

Ever since the low point of the Salala attack, relations between Pakistan and the US have been moving in the right direction. Nato supplies are, once again, being transported through Pakistan and threats of cutting off aid have been muted. A new US ambassador to Pakistan, Richard Olson, has been appointed, who had a chance to meet the president in New York. Even on seemingly unsolvable issues like the Haqqani network, Pakistan has signalled a slightly greater willingness to carry out a large-scale military operation in North Waziristan. And while we continue to officially condemn drone attacks, at least in private, the reality of these strikes is acknowledged.

While things might be going better than expected in the short term, the fact remains that long-term strategic divergences are just being papered over for now. Our population also remains stubbornly anti-American and there is every possibility that the next elections will bring forth a political leadership that is less inclined towards engaging the US. Things might be looking less bleak at the moment, but there are many bumps in the road ahead. However, the latest parleys between the two countries do give some hope of a stable relationship to form in the future.

Kidnapped

September 26th, 2012

In continuation of the series of kidnappings that has shaken the Hindu community in Sindh and also Balochistan, two Hindus were kidnapped while travelling between Khipro and Mirpur Khas in a car. The reasons are unclear but logic suggests that Seth Sharo Mal Deewan and his cousin Dr Washu Mal Diwan were kidnapped for ransom. This is usually the case when wealthy Hindus are abducted. The fact that the amounts demanded as ransom are often paid jointly by a community under siege contributes to the high number of incidents taking place with criminals confident that they will be handed over the money they seek. The minority community naturally has little choice in the matter and has persistently complained of lack of assistance from the police.

For a long time, Sindh was considered a safe haven for Hindus. This is no longer the case. They have come under threat even in areas like Mirpur Khas, where Hindus and Muslims have lived side by side for generations, in some places making up an equal part of the population. The latest incident suggests why things could change soon. Reports of a planned exodus by Hindu families to India continue to come in. The latest report estimates nearly 1,000 families planning to leave their homes from various parts of Pakistan for India, while others have already migrated for the same reason.

The situation does not say much for our ability to protect minorities. The spate of kidnappings has been continuing for far too long. So, too, have other forms of harassments such as the coerced conversion and marriage of Hindu girls. The sense of insecurity among Hindus has clearly reached a peak. The question now is whether it is too late to turn things around. The statements made by politicians have not brought any results to the fore till now. This says very little for the law and order situation in various parts of our country, while the inability to protect our minuscule population of minorities have weakened over the years and consequently placing them in greater and greater peril.

Compensation for cinemas

September 26th, 2012

After the devastation caused to cinemas across the country on September 21, the Pakistan Film Exhibitor’s Association is demanding that the government compensate it for the losses it suffered. This is an idea the government needs to consider, not just for cinema owners but for every business that suffered damages during the protests, not least because the government ended up encouraging people to come out on the streets by declaring the day a national holiday. Security is the sole responsibility of the state and it has failed so miserably in the task that it must now bear the costs of damage and recovery. Small business owners usually cannot afford insurance and scarcely have the resources to build their enterprises from the ground up. The initial package announced by the government is a start but these funds must be disbursed immediately and more should be forthcoming.

Cinema owners, in particular, have been in dire need of government assistance even before their cinemas were destroyed. For decades, a pointless government ban on showing Indian movies, coupled with the decaying local industry, brought the cinema industry to its knees. Just as the ban was lifted and the industry started its slow recovery, along came the protestors. Compensating cinema owners for these losses is not only vital for them, but also for a country that has few avenues of entertainment and public spaces to speak of.

Now that it has been established that cinemas will be a prime target during religious protests, the government also needs to go beyond monetary help. It should provide security at cinemas just as it should at the franchises of Western fast food chains because these are often the first sites in the protestors’ crosshairs. However, ideally, the government should ensure foolproof security everywhere since the police seem to disappear into thin air when mobs attack. Next time, the government should not be caught without its guard on and if it is, it should ensure that it restores all that has been destroyed.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga