Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Business Recorder Column October 15, 2024

State vs. citizens

 

Rashed Rahman

 

The twists and turns preceding and accompanying the holding of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement’s (PTM’s) Jirga in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) could not be described as anything but mind boggling. Initially, the police and security forces attacked the venue in Jamrud while preparations were still afoot. The toll of this (as it turned out later, quite unnecessary use of force) was four killed. Then Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi railed against the alleged calls by the PTM to ‘take up arms’ against the state, announcing the PTM had been banned, and ruling out therefore the Jirga being allowed. But lo and behold, within a day or so, Mr Naqvi sat looking perplexed with KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who led the drive to reverse harsh actions against the Jirga, held the PTM ban ‘in abeyance’, facilitated the Jirga’s arrangements, and even allowed political parties to attend it. Despite this about turn, the KP government’s spokesperson, Barrister Saif, again ruled out allowing the Jirga by a proscribed outfit. For this unnecessary legerdemain, he was roundly attacked by his own PTI for being an establishment ‘tout’. However, it seems wiser counsel had overridden the all too familiar knee-jerk reaction by the state to dissent, any dissent, no matter where it came from and for what reason.

The PTM is a grievance platform of the people of KP, especially the tribal regions, against the results visited on them by terrorism and the security forces’ anti-terrorism campaigns over the last two decades. Manzoor Pashteen, the PTM leader, outlined for the Jirga and a wider audience at home and abroad, what these events had wrought on the Pashtuns. The total number of displaced people is 5.7 million, of whom 2.3 million are still displaced, 76,584 people have been killed, including 1,375 tribal elders and 3,000 religious figures, with 6,700 people still ‘missing’. The toll of houses and mosques either completely or partially destroyed is 370,000. This is a snapshot of what the people in KP, particularly the tribal areas, have suffered. Is it any wonder then that a movement such as PTM should have arisen to question this past record and argue against any repeat of it? Whatever is the share of the terrorists of the TTP and their ilk in this human and material toll, the security forces too have their share of blame for conducting all out, indiscriminate military operations without any regard for the local populace. This runs counter to the wisdom acquired by counter-terrorism operations the world over, which aways strive to avoid, as far as possible, innocent civilian casualties and make great efforts to keep the local populace on their side. Pashteen also lamented the extraction of the natural resources of KP and Balochistan without any benefit to the locals. Pashteen put forward the demand that security forces and terrorist groups like the TTP should vacate the tribal areas within 60 days. If this was done, he argued, peace would naturally return and be maintained by the proposal to form an unarmed Pashtun Milli Lashkar to keep the peace.

Amongst the other notable voices at the Jirga, including PTI, Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and others, it was a matter of some satisfaction to hear Dr Mahrang Baloch, who has been leading a peaceful campaign against the enforced disappearance of thousands of the loved ones of bereft families in Balochistan. Is the Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s (BYC’s) demand that these missing persons be produced or, if there is any charge against them, be arraigned before a court of law, an anti-state posture? After all what she and her comrades are demanding is according to the law of the land. Why then, is she and her movement labelled ‘anti-state’ and treated accordingly? Coming from a conservative, still largely tribal society, Dr Mahrang Baloch has set an unprecedented example of courage and steadfastness, along with her colleagues, of struggling for human rights and justice. Is this an anti-state crime? Dr Mahrang Baloch has been chosen by Time magazine as one of the outstanding women from all over the world. But when she tried to fly to New York on the magazine’s invitation to an investiture ceremony, she was detained at Karachi airport for five hours, harassed, and finally not allowed to fly. As if this were not enough, a day or so later she has been indicted in a case of terrorism allegedly because of her contacts with, and working for, the Baloch insurgent groups.

What is the message the state is conveying through such shenanigans? That the state is everything, its citizens nothing, even when they seek their legitimate rights. All the state will end up doing by its failure to engage the dissenting voices (as, finally, in the Jamrud Jirga) and carrying on its unwise repressive actions against peaceful movements of citizens such as PTM and BYC is to convince the youth of the affected Pashtun and Baloch communities that there is no justice to be had by such peaceful remonstrations and demonstrations. If so, where will this large body of disgruntled youth end up? More than likely in the embrace of the very forces they are prematurely accused of being part of. A self-fulfilling prophecy if ever there was one. Who, or what, will this help?

 

 

 

 

 

rashed.rahman1@gmail.com

rashed-rahman.blogspot.com

Thursday, October 10, 2024

Research and Publication Centre's (RPC's) weekly Bhaitak, Saturday, October 12, 2024

Research and Publication Centre's (RPC's) programme of regular weekly Bhaitaks continues Saturday, October 12, 2024, 4:00 pm. This is an informal, open discussion forum on all aspects of Pakistan's crises: ideological, political, economic, social, cultural, etc. This week we hope to welcome eminent historian and intellectual Dr Mubarik Ali.

All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

RPC address: 2nd Floor, 65, Main Boulevard Gulberg, Lahore (next to Standard Chartered Bank, above Indesign showroom). 

Rashed Rahman

Director, Research and Publication Centre (RPC) (on Facebook)

Editor, Pakistan Monthly Review (PMR) (link: pakistanmonthlyreview.com)

Cells: 0302 8482737 (operates WhatsApp) & 0333 4216335.  

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Business Recorder Column October 8, 2024

Battlefield Islamabad

 

Rashed Rahman

 

What was proclaimed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) leaders as a peaceful march on Islamabad to demand, among other things, the release of their leader Imran Khan from jail turned out to be anything but. All day on October 5 and 6, 2024, the federal capital was reduced to a virtual battlefield. This occurred not the least because the PTI marchers, particularly those from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) led by Chief Minister (CM) Ali Amin Gandapur came armed with slingshots, marbles, stones, tear gas shells and what have you, including, alarmingly, weapons. The last came from official KP sources and these were also dipped into to provide vehicles, rescue ambulances, and even heavy machinery to clear any blockades on the roads. The clashes of these militant protestors resulted in the death of one policeman and injuries to 31. Casualties, if any, on the side of the protesters are not so far known. However, during the pitched battles on Islamabad’s thoroughfares leading to D-chowk, the protestors’ desired destination, and certainly afterwards, the police arrested over a thousand PTI supporters, including, according to the police, some Afghans and KP police personnel in plain clothes. The Inspector General (IG) police Islamabad claimed the protestors (rioters?) inflicted damage worth Rs 154 million on federal government assets including police vehicles, etc.

As expected, the coalition government rounded on the PTI after the smoke cleared and the roads had been rendered passable again. It accused PTI of everything from seeking to disrupt the preparations for the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Islamabad, embarrass the country while the visiting Malaysian Prime Minister was still here, repeat the by now infamous May 9, 2023 assault, disturb the progress the country was making towards economic stability, and even, flatteringly, seeking to make revolution! It may be noted, according to the IG police Islamabad’s statement, that an unprecedented 8,800 police had been deployed to quell any disturbance, along with Rangers and army units on standby if needed. All this points to the government’s approach of not taking any chances with what was perceived as an invasion of, if not assault upon, Islamabad.

CM Ali Amin Gandapur once again pulled off his ‘disappearing’ trick. The police raided KP House in Islamabad where Gandapur was believed to be present, but strangely failed to nab him. Since Gandapur remained incommunicado overnight (like he did last time), this set off a flurry of calls by the PTI to produce him or the courts, etc, would be moved for his recovery. Lo and behold, our very own ‘Zorro’ then appeared in the KP Assembly’s session the next day to regale his party and the House with his flamboyant language against the federal government. With due respect, this ‘vanishing’ act business has been used once too often, rousing suspicions about Gandapur and his role in these goings on. While in practice he has pitched KP against the federal government and Punjab, he cloaks these fiendish tactics in a litany of victimhood complaints.

Amidst the expected post-violence arrests of PTI workers and supporters and the inevitable registration of a plethora of cases under all the provisions of the CrPC and anti-terrorism laws the police can think of, the unanswered questions remain: what does the PTI want? What is it aiming for? What do its tactics suggest is its strategy? Is there a strategy or is it spiralling desperation? The last may not be as fanciful as one might think since there is a discernible hardening of attitude towards PTI and its disruptive campaign which, if nothing else, seems aimed at ensuring there is no ‘business as usual’, thereby eroding the government’s efforts at political stability leading to economic revival. This hardening appears to extend from the government to its perceived establishment backers. A loss of patience with the PTI may lead to bringing forth the court martial of Lt-General (retd) Faiz Hameed, with the possible inclusion of Imran Khan.

Whatever the days ahead hold, one thing is crystal clear. The country is not about to enter the realm of peace and stability leading to enhanced political credibility (something in short supply as far as this government is concerned) and economic progress. Ruction and conflict seem the only things on the menu for the foreseeable future. Thinking minds among us (yes, there are still a few left of this dwindling tribe) are increasingly fearful that the country is plunging into a black hole from which even light cannot escape.

 

 

 

 

 

rashed.rahman1@gmail.com

rashed-rahman.blogspot.com

Friday, October 4, 2024

The October 2024 issue of Pakistan MonthlyReview (PMR) is out

The October 2024 issue of Pakistan Monthly Review (PMR) is out. Link: pakistanmonthlyreview.com

Contents:

1. Vijay Prashad: She was brutally killed before she could write her story for the world.

2. Berch Berberoglu: Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict and Class Struggle: A Critical Analysis of Mainstream and Marxist Theories of Nationalism and National Movements – I.

3. W B Bland: The PakistaniRevolution – III: The parliamentary facade.

4. Fayyaz Baqir: My life and struggle – VIII: Peasant Warriors.

5. Mohammad Ali Talpur: The Rise of Baloch Nationalism and Resistance – XIV: Gwadar.

6. From the PR Archives: May 2019: Global capitalist imperialism today.


Rashed Rahman

Editor, Pakistan Monthly Review (PMR) (link: pakistanmonthlyreview.com)

Director, Research and Publication Centre (RPC) (on Facebook)  

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Weekly Bhaitak at Research and Publication Centre (RPC), Saturday, October 5, 2024, 4:00 pm

Research and Publication Centre's (RPC's) programme of regular weekly Bhaitaks continues Saturday, October 5, 2024, 4:00 pm. This is an informal, open discussion forum on all aspects of Pakistan's crises: ideological, political, economic, social, cultural, etc. This week we will discuss the impasse: judicial, parliamentary, political.

All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

RPC address: 2nd Floor, 65, Main Boulevard Gulberg, Lahore (next to Standard Chartered Bank, above Indesign showroom). 

Rashed Rahman

Director, Research and Publication Centre (RPC) (on Facebook)

Editor, Pakistan Monthly Review (PMR) (link: pakistanmonthlyreview.com)

Cells: 0302 8482737 (operates WhatsApp) & 0333 4216335.  

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Business Recorder Column October 1, 2024

Unending conflict

Rashed Rahman

 

Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrullah along with 20 of his commanders in a strike in Beirut has done nothing to sate the Zionist state’s bloodlust. Israel continues its unrelenting attacks on Lebanon, claiming the assassination of another top Hezbollah commander, Ali Karake, and an Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander, General Abbas Nilforoushan, in the strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters. The strike seems to have been aimed at a meeting of Hezbollah’s leadership, with the Iranian commander in attendance. There are speculative reports in the media that an Iranian mole working for Israel gave away the location and timing of the top Hezbollah conclave. As expected, Hezbollah and Iran promised revenge, but the latter is unlikely to fall into Israel’s trap of an all-out war. Retaliation, if and when it comes, and will probably be only after Nasrullah’s funeral, will likely continue the pattern of rocket, missile and drone attacks that have defined the bulk of the exchanges with Israel since October 8, 2023, one day after the spectacular attack on Israel by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which has buried the Abraham Accords seeking normalisation of Israeli ties with the remaining regional Arab countries, authored and conducted by the US.

While the Middle East and wider Muslim world have condemned Israel for its latest atrocity in the genocidal war it launched last year in Gaza, and which has drawn in Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis, the solidarity of the Muslim bloc with the Palestinians and their allies remains a toothless wonder. Protest demonstrations have been visible in Syria, Cyprus, Pakistan and other countries, but they are by and large led by Islamist parties and forces. With the possible exception of students, academics and progressive groups in the west, democratic and left groups elsewhere are conspicuous by their absence.

Israel’s obduracy in pursuing its genocidal war in Gaza, attacks in Lebanon and Yemen, and even its repression in the West Bank is owed, first and foremost, to the US’s blind support. Second, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political survival is tied to continuation of this by now multi-front war to stave off, if not save him from, the corruption charges dangling over his head. It bears reflection what does Israel really represent and what is the changed nature of the warfare it is conducting.

First, irony of ironies, the guilt of the perpetual persecution of the Jews in Europe, culminating in Hitler’s Holocaust, was shrugged off the west’s shoulders by conniving to support the Zionist lobby’s desire for a home for the Jews in the mythical ‘Promised Land’ of Palestine at the expense of its indigenous people, who were not responsible for the misery of the Jews in the west. In fact, after the Jews dispersed out of Palestine hundreds of years ago,  they lived comfortably in peace with their neighbours in countless Arab and Muslim countries. The Palestinians innocently welcomed the early Jewish immigrants until, by the 1930s, their alarm grew at the increasing deluge of Jews from Europe, aided and abetted by British colonialism. The punishment for persecution of the Jews in the west was meted out to the innocent Palestinians in the shape of forcible displacement or worse when the Israeli state was formed in 1948 by terrorist means. The world acquiesced in this unjust horror by the UN Security Council accepting the partition of Palestine between the Zionist state and the remaining Palestinian territory, the latter handed over to neighbouring Arab states Jordan and Egypt. So for all intents and purposes, the existence of the Palestinians in their own land was wiped out by the Naqba (Catastrophe) and its aftermath.

By any canon of international law, the Palestinian resistance to this wholesale displacement and swallowing up as a people and a state was justified. All the hypocritical mouthings of the US-led west against Hamas’ brilliant and unprecedented attack on Israel could not negate the right of any people living under occupation to resist it by any and all means at its disposal.

Israel has come down to us not as any ‘just’ settling of guilt by the west for their treatment of the Jews but as (ironically, given the Holocaust) a fascist, settler colonialist, expansionist dagger in the heart of the Middle East which, precisely because of its horrific bloodshed and genocide, is at a historic tipping point into possible oblivion.

As to the nature of the warfare Israel is conducting, if not modern warfare per se, the role of technology has fundamentally altered the manner in which enemies confront each other. Surveillance technology now allows the tracking down of targets and their being taken out by remote missiles, drones and air power. The resistance to this high tech warfare has comparatively less sophisticated means at its disposal such as unguided rockets. But this too is changing, in line with the history of warfare, which indicates that a technological or weapons transformation at one end inevitably produces its equal and opposite development at the other. Guerrilla warfare, the weapon of the oppressed, will have to take account of this changed character of warfare, especially now with the weaponisation of pagers, walkie-talkies, and God knows what other hitherto innocent communication devices. Welcome to the new world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

rashed.rahman1@gmail.com

rashed-rahman.blogspot.com

Thursday, September 26, 2024

Research and Publication Centre (RPC) Weekly Bhaitak Saturday, September 28, 2024, 4:00 pm

Research and Publication Centre's (RPC's) programme of regular weekly Bhaitaks continues Saturday, September 28, 2024, 4:00 pm. This is an informal, open discussion forum on all aspects of Pakistan's crises: ideological, political, economic, social, cultural, etc. This week we will concentrate on Pakistan's polycrisis, what is to be done, what can we do.

All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

RPC address: 2nd Floor, 65, Main Boulevard Gulberg, Lahore (next to Standard Chartered Bank, above Indesign showroom). 

Rashed Rahman

Director, Research and Publication Centre (RPC) (on Facebook)

Editor, Pakistan Monthly Review (PMR) (link: pakistanmonthlyreview.com)

Cells: 0302 8482737 (operates WhatsApp) & 0333 4216335.