Daily Times Editorial Jan 1, 2013

Happy New Year? The outgoing year 2012 proved a real annus horribilis for Pakistan. Terrorism, targeted political and sectarian killings, breakdown of law and order and the rise of violent crime, the energy crisis that has grown from just electricity and taken into its fold gas as well in the middle of one of the coldest winters for some time, all this is compounded by an economy seemingly in free fall and arguably on the verge of meltdown. All this, despite being worrying, would still be acceptable if 2013 promised something better, but that is a tall ask. As though things were not bad enough, December 30 saw one more dastardly bombing of a bus in Mastung, Balochistan. The bus was carrying Shia pilgrims on their way to Iran. Twenty were killed, 25 others injured in the fireball the bus was reduced to after, reportedly, being struck by a car bomb along the highway. This is by no means the first such incident. Previous such massacres had given birth to tall claims by the security forces that in future all such buses would be accompanied by a security detail. This latest incident indicates that such claims were either hot air in the first place or fell prey to the usual inertia that all government authorities, but dangerously the security forces too, are prone to. This is precisely what the terrorists rely on. Lapses and gaps in our security arrangements are what they wait for. The result is predictable, as in Mastung, for which the Jaish-ul-Islam has claimed responsibility. But no one knows if such tragedies will shake up what appear to be the indifferent authorities to the mayhem terrorists are wreaking in general, and the specific targeting of Shias in particular. The Shia Hazara community in Balochistan, centred mostly on Quetta, has virtually given up on Pakistan, given the blood, gore and pain that has been and continues to be inflicted on them. Is this what a responsible state looks like? The security forces in that province seem too busy in carrying out brutal military operations in the interior of the province (e.g. Mashkay, where villages have been destroyed, including women and children) and continuing with their kill and dump policy of extra-judicially eliminating all dissidents. Since they operate without any control by the elected politicians, whether at the Centre or in Quetta, there is no one, not even the Supreme Court, that can restrain them from this suicidal course. The wisdom that the province’s troubles stem from long standing political and rights issues and need a political solution has yet to sink in into the impermeable minds of the military establishment. If the Shias are feeling under siege in today’s Pakistan, other minorities are not far behind. Christians, Hindus, Ahmedis, all fear for their lives and properties in a country its founder envisaged as a protective haven for all minorities, religious and denominational. How far we have travelled down the road away from Mr Jinnah’s vision. If there is one factor we can isolate that is the mother of all factors that have led us to this pass, it can be summed up in our megalomaniacal intervention in Afghanistan since the last four decades. This project has given rise to the misconceived and mistaken policy of nurturing, arming, supporting jihadi extremists, an endeavour that has predictably come back to haunt us with a vengeance. The sooner the enterprise of projecting power in the neighbourhood, whether in Afghanistan or against India in Kashmir is done away with, the better the chances that the country may over time be able to scotch the Hydra of terrorism and return us to a peaceful, prospering state and society at peace with itself, the region, and the world. But this needs a courageous, committed leadership, waiting for which may be risky if you hold your breath.

Daily Times editorial Dec 30, 2012

YouTube unblocking/blocking The government does not seem to know what it is doing or indeed should do about YouTube. It may be recalled that the government blocked YouTube some time ago on the grounds that the blasphemous material on YouTube was not being removed by the hosts, Google Inc. The material in question was the trailer of a blasphemous film posted in the US. The government approached Google to have the material removed or blocked but Google indicated its inability to do so as it had no agreement with Pakistan, unlike some other countries, allowing it to accede to such requests. Thus the ‘ban’ on YouTube came to acquire a semi-permanent character. Lo and behold then, joy broke out in the ranks of YouTube-starved Pakistanis when Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced on Friday that the government was about to unblock YouTube within 24 hours. True to its word, the government did – for one hour! According to media reports the ‘ban’ was reimposed on the orders of the prime minister. A case of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing? What the government has to do is update its knowledge of the internet. The ‘ban’ on YouTube did not work completely, since YouTube fans could circumvent the block and gain access through other hosting sites. This is the ubiquitous nature of the internet. Many countries have tried to deprive their citizens of access to this or that website considered unacceptable, only to find that their ‘firewalls’ could be, and were, breached. Google now requires the Pakistan government, in the absence of an agreement on blocking offensive material, to approach it through the US government since it is not bound by Pakistani law or wishes. We await with bated breath the next scene in this suspense drama. Admittedly, blasphemous material is liable to evoke an emotive, even violent reaction from people of deep faith. However, a tendency has been observed in recent years that the violence manifests itself in mindless fashion on ourselves and our own country. Who that damages surely does not need to be spelt out, except to say that we only harm ourselves and reinforce stereotypes so common about Muslims as illogical, emotional people who cannot think straight. In the brave new world of instant communication globally, we need to take a mature and considered attitude to such provocations, because that is all they are, attempts to get our goat and see us riled up. The more mature and cool we are in dismissing such rubbish in the manner it deserves, the better we will end up serving ourselves, our faith, and the values that make that faith great, based on the example of tolerance and forbearance in the face of provocation set by none other than Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

Daily Times Editorial Dec 30, 2012

Taliban diktat The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) seems to be on a political-strategic offensive these days. Through well timed approaches to the media, first through a letter written by a senior Punjabi Taliban leader Asmatullah Muawiya some days ago, and now a video showing TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud sitting with reportedly estranged deputy Waliur Rehman, the TTP has sought to dispel any notion of differences or splits within the movement as speculated in the media in recent days. Also, the purpose of these initiatives appears to be to pose as an organisation prepared for talks with the government for peace. However, closer examination of the conditionalities attached by the TTP to any proposed talks indicate that the whole exercise is a non-starter and probably only aimed at exploiting the divisions in the polity and society at large on the approach to be taken to the Taliban menace. Hakeemullah Mehsud has said yes to talks, no to laying down their arms unless and until Pakistan’s laws and constitution are recast on what the TTP considers correct Islamic lines, i.e., according to their own narrow interpretation of Sharia. Not only that, in a flip on what he considers US diktat that the military and government follow, for which he cites so-called broken deals with the TTP in the past, his own diktat centres on breaking ties with the US, stopping ‘interference’ in Afghanistan, and concentrating (waging war against?) India instead. The craziness of this diatribe can be demonstrated by reference to the fact that it was the Taliban who consistently violated deals struck with the government and military in the past, using the breathing space provided by these abortive agreements for consolidating and extending their strength. The timing of the release of the video is also something to contemplate. It follows three major actions by the Taliban in recent days: the attack on the Peshawar airport, the assassination of Bashir Bilour, and the kidnapping of 22 paramilitary soldiers after an assault on check posts. These attacks demonstrated the capability of the Taliban to strike high profile well guarded targets even as the territory they control has shrunk over time because of the military and security forces’ campaigns. Hakeemullah goes on in the video to say that they assassinated Bashir Bilour because he had made himself a legitimate target by his consistent resistance to the Taliban and all they stood for. He said their struggle was however not against any individuals but the democratic system and all who support it since they consider it is un-Islamic. But the most chilling message in the video is when Hakeemullah asserts that they would follow the lead of the Afghan Taliban after the withdrawal of the US/NATO from Afghanistan by 2014 because the TTP, Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda are one. Then comes the ultimate feather in the terrorist cap. Hakeemullah proudly claims he and his comrades in the TTP are prepared to have their heads cut off for al Qaeda. We owe a vote of thanks to Hakeemullah Mehsud for vindicating our long held position that the nexus amongst the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda and its affiliated groups is an undeniable fact of life that can only be ignored at our own peril. Now having been offered this incontrovertible proof of the Taliban on both sides of the western border and al Qaeda being one and the same thing, one hopes the foolishness about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban can be relegated where it belongs: in the dustbin. Unfortunately though, the TTP is playing cleverly on the divisions within our polity and society, proof of which can be found in the divergent reactions to the TTP conditional and unacceptable offer of talks on their dictated terms. Without falling for these diversionary and divisive tactics, it would be in the fitness of things if the elected and other political forces were to unite on a consensus to take definitive action against this existential threat to the state and society. For this purpose, the expected meeting between ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan and President Asif Ali Zardari to try to achieve such a consensus will be closely and anxiously watched by all those who want to see the back of the terrorists.

Daily Times Editorial Dec 27, 2012

Karachi’s unending woes Sectarian and targeted killings continue daily to extract a high price in Karachi. On Tuesday, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) leader Maulana Aurangzeb Farooqi was attacked by armed gunmen on motorcycles. The Maulana received a bullet in his leg and survived, but four police guards and two of his private guards were killed. The attack was so sudden and swift that the guards had no time to retaliate. Inevitably, the attackers got away. Partly in retaliation, partly business as usual in the city, another 15 people were killed in various parts of the metropolis. The ASWJ supporters came out in protest after the attack on their leader, resorting to aerial firing at the hospital where he had been taken and elsewhere torching at least two vehicles and clashing with the police and Rangers rushed to control the rampaging crowds. Tension spread and caused the city’s markets to close and transport to disappear off the roads. The ASWJ has called for a strike in Karachi today and mourning throughout Sindh. Their spokesman Maulana Saeed Akbar demanded security for his group’s leaders, otherwise they would launch a long march on January 11 over the continued killing of Deobandi leaders. There is an emerging pattern to the mayhem in Karachi, although many questions remain unanswered. The preferred modus operandi of the gunmen appears to be using motorcycles as a highly manoeuvrable and swift means of sudden attacks and ambushes and then speeding away through the densely packed streets of the city before they can be identified or apprehended. Some of the victims of the fallout of the attack on Maulana Farooqi may well be retaliatory sectarian attacks, particularly if the victims were Shias. That sets the parameters of one of the many layers of havoc being wreaked on Karachi. But that is not the whole or even a sufficient explanation for the endemic violence that has the city in its grip for some time and which shows no signs of going away. To the sectarian wars of Karachi must therefore be added the ethnic divide, jihadi terrorists, land and criminal mafias, and just plain criminals taking advantage of the disturbed conditions. Some of the bodies recovered in the streets and alleys of Karachi on almost a daily basis show signs of torture before being killed and dumped. Clearly these are signs of extremely cruel targeting killings of rivals of one kind or another. The gentle, cosmopolitan Karachi of days past has become a distant and hazy memory. Unfortunately the response of the authorities is hardly anything to hold up as an example of responsible governance and the will to tackle a situation that has brought the industrial and commercial capital of the country virtually to its knees. The political turf wars amongst ostensible allies in the coalition government fields armed militias that seem to be engaged in an all-out struggle of each against all. The sectarian outfits, like the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, received a new lease of life by reinventing themselves under new names and banners such as the ASWJ. The ‘ban’ on them therefore exists only in the breach. A disturbed law and order situation offers a heaven-sent opportunity to proliferating mafias and criminals to ply their deadly trade at the expense of the citizen. Having argued many times before in this space that the ultimate responsibility for handling and improving Karachi’s situation lies squarely with the political parties and leaders that are part of the ruling coalition in Sindh, and having been disappointed at their paralysis and/or indifference, there seems little point in reiterating that unless the major and relatively minor coalition allies come together on a compact to relieve Karachi of its unending woes, there cannot be any chance of relief for the hapless citizens of the city. With elections looming, the fears about other parts of the country assailed by terrorism, such as Peshawar, not being able to conduct elections peacefully must also apply to the largest city of the country with its layered complexities. Are the ruling coalition partners in Sindh listening?

Daily Times Editorial Dec 26, 2012

Jinnah’s legacy Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s 136th birthday and the Christian community’s Christmas yesterday were commemorated/celebrated under a pall of gloom, uncertainty, fear and insecurity that has the country in its grip. Without getting into the controversy of the nuances surrounding what kind of Pakistan Mr Jinnah envisaged, the minimum consensus probably acceptable to most if not all schools of thought is that he wished for a democratic welfare state without discrimination against any section of the people, especially minorities, and in which religion would be the private affair of the individual citizen and have nothing to do with the business of the state. In the context of the religious divide that preceded and accompanied the partition of the subcontinent as it achieved independence, many partisan and motivated schools of thought have sought valediction of their own interpretations of what Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be in one or the other of Mr Jinnah’s statements over the years, none of which suggest that he went beyond basing himself on the most egalitarian principles enunciated in Islam. He certainly made clear that Pakistan would not be a theocratic state to be ruled by mullahs with a divine mission. Yet 65 years after it came into existence, Pakistan resembles Jinnah’s vision only in the breach. Jihadi terrorism seeks precisely to turn Pakistan into a theocracy based on the narrowest possible interpretation of religion, rooted in the Wahabbi/Salafist purist, literalist tradition that most other schools of thought in Islam disagree with, especially in the subcontinent, home to a vibrant, tolerant, inclusive Sufi culture. These fanatics and their fellow travellers want to finish off all other denominations within Islam, whether Barelvi (Sufi shrines have been attacked over the years), Shia (declared deserving of being murdered), or religious minorities (Christians celebrated Christmas while cowering in fear, Ahmedis and Hindus are suffering attacks, graveyard desecration, forced conversions and marriages, etc). How would Mr Jinnah have viewed our present state and predicament? And how did we come to this pass? Mr Jinnah’s enlightened, modern, moderate views on the kind of state and society he wanted Pakistan to be were overtaken soon after his death by the pressure from the mainstream religious lobby to overturn Mr Jinnah’s vision. The first blow may have been the Objectives Resolution in 1949, but this opened the gates to a steady, irreversible turning of the state first and foremost into an increasingly religiously oriented entity. General Ziaul Haq delivered the coup de grace to the remains of Mr Jinnah’s project and went further in facilitating the rise of religiosity throughout society. That and the Afghan involvement caused whatever dams or obstacles remained in the path of the extremist jihadi ideology to be burst or cast asunder one by one. As a result, today’s Pakistan is under siege from the fanatical terrorists. If any further proof of this assertion is needed, the assassination of ANP’s senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister Bashir Bilour should clinch the argument beyond doubt. ANP’s Chief Minister Hoti and party head Asfandyar Wali Khan have in the midst of their grief at the fall of their close comrade, appealed to the political forces throughout the country to consult each other on the way forward. The ANP’s view is that it is time the political forces and the other institutions of state come to a consensus on the need for decisive action against the terrorists. This means not sitting passively in defensive mode waiting for the terrorists to wreak their havoc but to actively seek out and destroy the terrorists’ sanctuaries in the wild and woolly tribal areas while proactively rooting them out of the cities and the rest of the country through sustained, coordinated intelligence and police work, backed up with the firepower where needed of the paramilitaries and even the regular army. Without this political consensus behind the effort, the military may not feel inspired to go the whole hog, despite the losses it and the other security forces are suffering at the hands of the terrorists. Political ownership and a strategically coordinated effort is the only way whatever is left of Mr Jinnah’s legacy can be rescued from the pit of oblivion it is threatened with.

Daily Times Editorial Dec 25, 2012

Tahirul Qadri’s agenda Dr Tahirul Qadri has burst on the national scene after a long absence from the country with a huge rally at Minar-e-Pakistan, Lahore. The slogan on which the multi-million media campaign leading up to the equally if not even more expensive rally, claimed to have been paid for exclusively by the Doctor’s supporters, was based, and which formed the essential theme of Dr Qadri’s address, is: Siyasat Nahin, Riasat Bachao (Save the State, not Politics). What exactly this slogan means, what are its implications for the polity, and what might be Qadri’s agenda have attracted comment in the media. Most analysts and the variegated leadership of the political class seem to converge on the conclusion that in essence the demand put forward by Qadri to implement various Articles of the constitution before holding elections is an unrealistic and ill-timed initiative that can only lead to a postponement of the elections round the corner if seriously taken up. The notable exceptions are the MQM, which sent a top leadership delegation to the rally, congratulated Qadri on his ‘success’ and regaled the public with Altaf Hussain’s statement from London that he backed Qadri’s stance. Imran Khan too has, in contrast with his own party’s leaders, exhibited a soft corner for Qadri, saying the good doctor has taken up the PTI’s agenda against corruption. Of course Qadri is convinced that there is nothing wrong in delaying the elections, which the constitution too allows beyond the stipulated 90 days. Qadri has also issued an ultimatum to the government to do as he says otherwise a four million march of his followers and supporters will descend on Islamabad after January 14. While Dr Qadri has gone to some lengths to reject any suggestion that he is being instigated or supported by any secret agency or the establishment, most observers are suspicious of the closeness of Dr Qadri’s ostensible agenda and the rumoured toying by the establishment with the idea of postponing if not cancelling the elections in favour of a selected interim setup of uncertain duration (the Bangladeshi model modified to our peculiar circumstances?). Needless to say, based on our history, such an adventure would be an unmitigated disaster. On terrorism, Dr Qadri calls the jihadi extremists and suicide bombers making life hell for the people “sons of the soil”, whom he will support as far as drone strikes are concerned but not to the extent of terrorist actions. When a long absent religious cleric with political ambitions suddenly re-emerges from the woodwork, one is within one’s rights to ask what has prompted this rebirth. Dr Qadri’s track record is hardly inspiring. His political party, the Pakistan Awami Tehreek failed to make any dent in the 1997 elections despite an alliance with the then Benazir-led PPP. In 1999, he openly supported Musharraf’s coup, garnering a parliamentary seat in the rigged elections of 2002 into the bargain, which raises questions about his current posturing vis-à-vis opposing military takeovers and dictatorship. Many of the Articles of the constitution he wants implemented before any elections are a legacy of the Ziaul Haq dictatorship, which the post-2008 elections parliament has been unable to do away with despite the 18th Amendment. The interim setup Dr Qadri wants to oversee the elections should either be composed of, or at least have representation from the judiciary and army. Now if that is not opening the door to an extra-constitutional intervention/setup, it would be difficult to imagine anything more obvious. As to the impact of this or any future marches or rallies Dr Qadri may decide to stage, it remains to be seen. Most politicians seem sceptical of the purpose and thrust of Dr Qadri’s campaign. Whether they consider him (and his possible supporters in the establishment) as a sufficient threat to accelerate their efforts to agree a consensus caretaker prime minister and setup also remains to be seen. If Manzoor Wattoo is to be believed, that consensus is tantalisingly close. The political forces inside and outside parliament are agreed that a free, fair, transparent election that would see the peaceful transition from an elected government serving out its full term for the first time in Pakistan’s history to another elected government would be an event of momentous proportions in helping democracy to grow firmer roots and open the door to a better future. The critics of our present day democracy of all shades and hues have yet to come up with a better idea.

Daily Times Editorial Dec 23, 2012

Transition in Washington It is not unusual for second term US presidents to make changes in their administration. This is not always reflective of any dissatisfaction with the incumbents, only that eight years in the same job sometimes proves too much for some people. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has indicated she will leave to spend more time with her family. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta also seems poised to take flight. General Petraeus has resigned as head of the CIA over an extra-marital affair. In the first signs of the transition to come in Washington, as widely expected after the withdrawal from consideration for the post of US Secretary of State by the US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, President Barack Obama has announced that Senator John Kerry was his choice for Hillary Clinton’s replacement. Senator Kerry brings an impressive set of credentials to the job. A fifth term senator and an unsuccessful contender for the presidency in 2004, he is also the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a position that he has used to good effect to gain friends and confidence virtually all over the world. President Obama is not unjustified in thinking that Mr Kerry’s confirmation will have smooth sailing through Congress. Credentials and experience of foreign affairs notwithstanding, Senator Kerry has an unenviable task before him. The possibility of President Obama nominating former Republican senator Chuck Hagel to replace Mr Panetta at Defence has led observers to comment that the possible induction of two people on key posts who agree with the president’s plans for reducing US military involvement could mean an early US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Questions still linger whether post-withdrawal Afghanistan will see peace return or a continuing civil war that the Afghan security forces trained by ISAF will have a hard time controlling. Nevertheless, it is clear that President Obama is determined to reverse his predecessor George Bush’s military adventures abroad, Iraq having already seen a US withdrawal and Afghanistan poised to follow suit. The US resembles today a colossus with feet of clay, the world’s pre-eminent military power by many times but a country going through one of the worst recessions since the Great Crash of the late 1920s. The incoming secretary of state will have his job cut out for him when he tackles some of the thorny and intractable issues engaging Washington’s attention. First and foremost is the conflict with Iran over its nuclear programme, followed in quick succession by the war raging in Syria, the Middle East in turmoil over the (continuing) Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the unanticipated results of the Arab Spring, managing the transition in Afghanistan in a satisfactory manner, consolidating relations with Pakistan, and overseeing the new strategic thrust of the so-called Asia pivot. The US under Obama may be turning the page on a decade of wars overseas, but the world today is far more complex, in flux, and in a process of the realignment of power amongst older and newer emerging centres. President Obama underlined that Kerry will have to cope with using US power responsibly, a formulation that simplifies a very complex task in an increasingly complex post-cold war world. Kerry is considered a friend of Pakistan and has in the past acted as an informal trouble shooter for President Obama, notably over the Raymond Davis affair, the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and the killing of Pakistani border troops by a NATO attack that virtually unravelled the relationship, now slowly but surely on the mend. He will remain etched in Pakistani memory as one of the authors if not prime mover of the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act that offered Pakistan $ 7.5 billion in economic assistance over five years. While Islamabad will welcome dealing with an old friend at State, the world will watch the new inductee to see if some of the old and intractable issues like the Palestinian misery tend towards a more positive role by Washington and not, as in the past, blind support to Israel. Kerry may also be well placed to manage the Iran problem through diplomacy rather than sabre-rattling. If he can pull off an Afghanistan withdrawal amidst a negotiated political settlement of that long running war, the relationship with Islamabad will also be benefited in its wake. We wish Senator Kerry good luck in his tough new assignment and hope he lives up to the world’s expectations of him and his country.