Business Recorder column December 31, 2024

Happy New Year?

 

Rashed Rahman

 

This, they say traditionally, is the turn-of-the-year season to be jolly. But even a cursory glance at the afflictions that ail Pakistan will lead inevitably and logically to the conclusion that there is precious little to be happy about. While the never-ending saga of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) versus the government swamps the media, there are perhaps deeper issues that are even more troubling. Let us survey some of these briefly.

Terrorism has us in its grip once again, particularly in the western border provinces. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is exhibiting a resurgence perhaps beyond even what it could manage in the past. Not only are attacks being carried out on an enhanced scale (mostly on the security forces this time round), they are deadlier in their effect. Now even cross-border infiltration and attacks are the order of the day, with reportedly Afghan Taliban help. This latter is the new factor that has upset the applecart. After the Afghan Taliban came to power in 2021 in the wake of the ignominious US retreat, not only are the TTP’s safe havens on Afghan soil even more secure, the new Afghan rulers appear to have opened for the TTP the doors to their warehouses stocking tons of abandoned US weapons. Hence the increased deadliness of the TTP attacks. Pakistan is now paying for the ill-conceived support for the fanatical Afghan Taliban in the illusory hope that theirs would be a friendly regime when in power. The Afghan Taliban on the other hand, have cocked a snook at their erstwhile ‘friend’ Pakistan and plumped instead for support to their ideological brothers, the TTP. Imran Khan was in power in 2021, and invited the TTP back. Faiz Hameed is supposed to have managed the whole gambit. Now that this generosity towards the fanatics has turned sour, the PTI is desperately trying to shift the blame onto General Bajwa. It is doubtful if many will swallow this ‘u-turn’ without demur. Clearly, the dye is now cast in favour of a determined campaign of eliminating the TTP once and for all.

While the military establishment appears to have succeeded in browbeating the mainstream media into eliminating the distinction between the religious fundamentalist terrorist extremism of the TTP and the nationalist insurgency in Balochistan, both having by now been lumped indiscriminately into the ‘terrorist’ basket, the blurring of the difference has not helped. The Balochistan nationalist insurgency is not terrorism, it is a political guerrilla war. Unfortunately, our national security state refused to countenance political negotiations with the Baloch insurgents innumerable times, resulting in the insurgency tipping over into the demand for independence. This is not a good portent for Pakistan. Sympathies or otherwise with the Baloch cause and its long standing grievances notwithstanding, the national security state has managed a self-fulfilling prophecy by relying on force alone (including disappearing thousands of people belonging to the troubled province). The Baloch insurgents may not be in a position to win against the powerful Pakistan armed forces in the foreseeable future, but the canker that is Balochistan will continue to suppurate and may even burst at some unexpected and unforeseeable turn of events.

Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman and his fellow madrassa boards maulvis seem to have got their way through a compromise on the registration issue that has been in the news for some time. The five older seminary boards and the new (10?) ones have now been allowed to choose who to be registered with, the Directorate General of Religious Education (DGRE) or the relevant deputy commissioner’s office. Everybody is therefore happy. But the niggling question remains: is the state and its institutions now in a position to ensure religious extremism does not form part of any madrassa’s curriculum? That is the central concern. Only time will tell if we have gone past this particular post.

Kurram Agency’s land and sectarian disputes continue, often violently, with road blockages that have starved the people of the Agency of badly needed food, medicine and warmth in the middle of a crackingly cold winter. Sympathetic sit-ins in support of the people of Kurram, particularly Parachinar, are being held all over the country. In Karachi, they have disrupted the traffic of the metropolis to the point where the Sindh Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government and citizens are now crying themselves hoarse that the protests should, in all fairness, be held in KP, not Sindh. There are signs of a breakthrough in the jirgas confabulations for a solution to this complicated conflict, but better not to hold your breath on this one.

The ruling coalition too is showing signs of strain, if the PPP’s plethora of complaints of not being taken on board and involved in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N’s) decision making are to be believed. The proposal of taking out six new canals from the already depleted waters of the Indus has roused the ire of all shades of opinion in Sindh, which sees this as a life-and death issue. South of Kotri, the Indus bed is a dry, sandy stretch used by children for playing cricket at least 10 months of the year. Any new canals threaten to turn Sindh into a desert unable to sustain its agriculture and other economic activities. The federation is once more under strain as a result.

Last but not least, the cheery news is that having arm-twisted the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) into either accepting a termination of contract or a radical reduction in tariffs (and profits) on a take and pay basis, the military establishment intends to extend its economic muscle into corporate agriculture (in Sindh and Punjab) and any other field in which Military Inc. is not already heavily invested. Of course all this is bound to boost the confidence of local and foreign investors. Only, again, don’t hold your breath (even if the AQI demands it).

Happy New Year?

 

 

 

 

rashed.rahman1@gmail.com

rashed-rahman.blogspot.com

Filmbar's screening of Costa Gavraz's "Z" (1969) at RPC on Friday, January 3, 2025 at 5:00 pm sharp

Filmbar's screening of Costa-Gavras' "Z" (1969) at the Research and Publication Centre (RPC) on Friday, January 3, 2025, at 5:00 pm sharp.

In Greece, the public murder of a prominent politician and doctor amid a violent demonstration is covered up by military and government officials. A tenacious magistrate is determined not to let them get away with it.

The screening will be followed by an informal discussion.

All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

Address: Research and Publication Centre (RPC), 2nd Floor, 65 Main Boulevard Gulberg, Lahore (next to Standard Chartered Bank, above Indesign showroom).

Rashed Rahman

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

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

Filmbar screening of Alain Resnais' "Hiroshima, Mon Amour" (1959) at RPC on Friday, December 27, 2024 at 5:00 pm sharp

Filmbar screening of Alain Resnais’ "Hiroshima, Mon Amour" (1959) at the Research and Publication Centre (RPC) on Friday, December 27, 2024 at 5:00 pm sharp. 

A French actress filming an anti-war film in Hiroshima has an affair with a married Japanese architect as they share their differing perspectives on war. 

The screening will be followed by an informal discussion. 

All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

Address: Research and Publication centre (RPC), 2nd Floor, 65 Main Boulevard Gulberg, Lahore (next to Standard Chartered Bank, above Indesign showroom).

Rashed Rahman

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

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

Business Recorder Column December 24, 2024

The road to hell…

 

Rashed Rahman

 

The government and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) have finally, after much toing and froing, come to an agreement to hold talks, with the Speaker National Assembly (NA) Ayaz Sadiq playing the role of conciliatory mediator. For both sides, the change appears more tactical than a sincere effort to bridge the yawning divide between their respective positions. For the government, it avoids the potential public perception that it is seeking revenge for the travails its members suffered at the hands of the PTI when it was in power. For the PTI, it may be considered the sobering conclusion that its hitherto militant stance has hit an immovable deadly (‘fire’) wall. The PTI has thus decided that it must try to use less militant tactics to stay alive while continuing to pursue its demands, first and foremost the release of Imran Khan, then the release of all its other members, and finally judicial commissions to examine the events of May 9, 2023 and November 26, 2024.

The backdrop appears to be the sentencing of 25 civilians by military courts (out of 105 cases referred for trial by military courts) to between two to 10 years imprisonment for involvement in the May 9, 2023 riots. While the Supreme Court (SC) had earlier ruled against these trials, a seven-member Constitutional Bench established after the 26^th Constitutional Amendment later permitted them, but provided the saving grace of allowing appeals against the military courts’ judgements. More appears to be in the offing. Retired Lieutenant-General Faiz Hameed’s court martial is due any moment, which is likely to include his role in the May 9, 2023 riots. Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi’s conviction in the Al-Qadir Trust case is expected in January 2025. Given signs that the establishment indicated on November 26, 2024 in Islamabad that it had finally lost patience with the PTI’s adventurous, violent, disruptive policy and had taken the gloves off, the PTI seems to have retreated to a seemingly more peaceful, open-to-dialogue avatar. However, out of habit, it still cannot refrain from a threatening tone when asserting that if its demands are not met, it will launch its civil disobedience movement, starting with cutting off remittances from Pakistanis abroad, on which the country’s balance of payments is critically reliant. Not unexpectedly, at the time of writing these lines, the first meeting between the two warring sides, presided over by NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, has taken place, with no tangible result worth mentioning so far. It would come as no surprise, given the gulf between the positions of either side, if this were fated to be the outcome of these talks, i.e. fruitless.

Meanwhile Defence Minister Khwaja Asif, during his sojourn in London, has come out all guns blazing against Imran Khan and the PTI in an interview. The timing may be coincidental, but Khwaja Asif’s whaling into the latter helps explain why he, a senior leader of the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), is not in the negotiating committee of the government. The redoubtable Khwaja has renewed allegations of financial corruption worth trillions of rupees against Imran Khan, arguing that he broke all records of corruption that has been a fact of national life for the last 75 (77?) years. He referred to the impending verdict in the Pounds 190 million Al-Qadir Trust case and argued that the claims of PTI supporters that the money went into the SC’s account is untrue. Instead, he continued, it went into Malik Riaz of Bahria Town fame’s account. Imran, Khwaja Asif asserted, ‘obliged’ Malik Riaz in return for 400 acres of land and a position for Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi on the board of the Al-Qadir Trust University. Whether Khwaja Asif’s assertions are true or not, the smell of rotten fish in this instance is hard to ignore. Khwaja Asif blames the judiciary for the delay in punishing the May 9, 2023 rioters (hence the recourse to military courts, courtesy the Constitutional Bench?). Last but not least, the fiery Khwaja concludes that now there will be no repeat of the May 9, 2023 riots, even if Imran Khan is sentenced in one or more of the cases against him. Ironically though, Khwaja Asif lays the accusation at Imran Khan’s door that he was a product of the establishment, which casts one’s mind back to the origins of the PML-N. In this hamaam, not many are clothed I am afraid.

While these developments have our attention, it is not without importance that international and Pakistani human rights organisations have condemned the military trials as unfair, unjust, violating the accused’s inherent right to an open, transparent, law-adhering process. But even more ominous, the European Union (EU) has expressed concern over the sentencing of the 25 civilians by a military court, stating that these verdicts are inconsistent with Pakistan’s undertaken obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 14 of ICCPR lays down that every person is entitled to a fair and public trial in a court that is independent, impartial and competent, and has the right to adequate and effective legal representation. Violation of Pakistan’s commitments in this regard, the EU argues, could threaten Pakistan’s continuing to profit from the GSP+ that provides zero duties on Pakistani exports for 66 percent of tariff lines. This could imply the loss of EUR 5.4 billion (Rs 1.2 trillion) exports from Pakistan to the EU.

The road to hell is often paved with ‘good’ intentions.

 

 

 

 

rashed.rahman1@gmail.com

rashed-rahman.blogspot.com

Book launch at RPC of Dr Asir Ajmal's "A Night in Managua and Other Stories" on Saturday, December 28, 2024 at 4:00 pm sharp

The Research and Publication Centre (RPC) announces the Book Launch of Dr Asir Ajmal's collection of short stories titled "A Night in Managua and Other Stories" on Saturday, December 28, 2024 at 4:00 pm sharp.

Dr Asir Ajmal is an academic, psychologist, poet and storyteller. In this collection of short stories and flash fiction, he explores love, fear, guilt and redemption from the streets of Managua to the heart of Heidelberg.

All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

Address: Research and Publication Centre (RPC), 2nd Floor, 65 Main Boulevard Gulberg, Lahore (next to Standard Chartered Bank, above Indesign showroom).

Rashed Rahman

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

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

Filmbar screening of Wong Car-wai's "In the Mood for Love" (2000) at RPC on Friday, December 20, 2024 at 5:00 pm sharp

Filmbar is screening Wong Kar-wai’s "In The Mood For Love" (2000) at the Research and Publication Centre (RPC) on Friday, December 20, 2024 at 5:00 pm sharp. 

Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as to not commit similar wrongs. 

 

The screening will be followed by an informal discussion. All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

Address: Research and Publication Centre (RPC), 2nd Floor, 65 Main Boulevard Gulberg, Lahore (next to Standard Chartered Bank, above Indesign showroom).

Cells: 0302 8482737 & 0333 4216335.

Rashed Rahman

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

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

The Life and Legacy of Professor Eric Cyprian: A Talk by Raza Naeem at RPC on Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 4:00 pm sharp

The Research and Publication Centre (RPC) is holding a talk by Raza Naeem on the life and legacy of our late comrade Professor Eric Cyprian, a distinguished teacher of English literature and a son of the soil who was educated at the University of Oxford and then returning to Pakistan settled in Lahore and joined the Communist Party and had a distinguished academic career at the Forman Christian College and Islamia College in Lahore.

Moreover he was a comrade of Faiz Ahmad Faiz who was arrested multiple times for his support of the workers and peasant rights in Pakistan.

The talk will be followed by an open discussion. All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

Address: Research and Publication Centre (RPC), 2nd Floor, 65 Main Boulevard Gulberg, Lahore (next to Standard Chartered Bank, above Indesign showroom).

Rashed Rahman

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

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

Cells: 0302 8482737 & 0333 4216335 

Business Recorder Column December 17, 2024

APS and after

 

Rashed Rahman

 

For a parent, the loss of a child remains a searing wound that just will not heal. And when a parent is one of many whose progeny’s lives were snuffed out as innocent victims of a lunatic terrorist attack, the wound suppurates into anger, unremitting grief, and remembrance of those gone through the artefacts of their young school lives. Such is the collective fate of the parents of the 132 school children massacred brutally by Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) terrorists in the Army Public School (APS), Peshawar, 10 years ago on December 16, 2014. They cannot stop crying whenever their lost children’s fate comes up. Fifteen others, amongst them brave teachers who sacrificed themselves while trying to protect their students from those mad, bloodthirsty murderers, were amongst the casualties. Some managed to survive with severe injuries. What was the fault of all these innocent souls? What had they done to deserve such a fate? Merely asking these questions wrenches every heart that is not a cold stone.

The country as a whole was traumatised by this atrocity. The civilian and military leadership came together eight days after the bloodshed to forge a consensus on terrorism and how to combat it. Even Imran Khan was forced to disperse his months-long sit-in at D-Chowk and join the national deliberations (however reluctantly was shown in later years). It boggles the mind therefore that Imran Khan had the gall to ‘rehabilitate’ and even invite the TTP in exile in Afghanistan to return to the country when he was in power, in exchange for laying down their weapons, which they practiced only in the breach. But before we reflect on this anomaly, we must retrace our steps to the military Operation Zarb-e-Azb, launched in June 2014 to knock out the terrorist sanctuaries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP’s) tribal areas.

The operation’s strategy was fatally flawed. It attacked the concentrations of TTP and other religious fundamentalist terrorists in KP’s tribal areas, particularly the Tirah Valley, without taking on board the critical task of cutting off their escape routes into Afghanistan. The result was that the TTP, when it could no longer bear the weight of the military’s unleashed firepower, retreated across the border into Afghanistan, finding safe haven in the poorly policed border regions in that country at war with the occupying US and western forces. When retreating, the TTP made sure to leave behind sleeper cells for when the battle could be resumed. At the time, my perception was summed up in what I wrote: The military has exported the problem, not scotched the snake. This implied the continuing threat of a revival of the terrorist movement inside Pakistan as and when the circumstances changed.

And change they did, especially after the Afghan Taliban’s victory in 2021. Sure enough, almost immediately after, and continuing at an accelerating pace today, the TTP have revived their campaign of terror, with almost by now daily attacks and their concomitant casualties and damage. One more hopeless effort as part of the National Action Plan (NAP) agreed by all stakeholders in 2014 was the creation of the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA), meant to coordinate intelligence gathering and analysis across the civilian-military divide. However, as anyone even remotely familiar with intelligence agencies’ operations could have pointed out, NACTA would inevitably run aground on the reluctance of intelligence agencies to share their information, even to fellow military or civilian agencies. That too has come to pass, and after floundering around in the dark for many years, NACTA is dead in the water.

To pay homage to the innocent victims of the APS tragedy, we as a people must unite behind the anti-terrorist struggle. But this is only possible if the intelligence agencies mobilise the citizenry to contribute to the effort to extinguish the terrorist threat born out of our misguided policies of supporting religious fundamentalist militancy in Afghanistan, which later turned on us in the deadly form of our very own Taliban. General Ziaul Haq’s religious zealotry failed to provide any good. It left a legacy of religious extremism that still grips large parts of our society and polity, and its Afghan avatar has come back to haunt us. Given the well-established proclivities of the intelligence services, not to mention the apex military establishment, this sounds like a forlorn hope, if not pie-in-the-sky. Nevertheless the fact remains that without a comprehensive mobilisation of the people and state institutions against the terrorist menace, Pakistan faces the lingering fallout of the APS massacre and after.

 

 

 

 

 

rashed.rahman1@gmail.com

rashed-rahman.blogspot.com

Book Launch at RPC on December 14, 2024

The Research and Publication Centre (RPC) is holding a book launch of Saulat Nagi's "God's Republics: Making and Unmaking of Israel and Pakistan: The Ironic Parallels" on Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 4:00 pm. 

All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

Address: Research and Publication Centre (RPC), 2nd Floor, 65 Main Boulevard Gulberg, Lahore (next to Standard Chartered Bank, above Indesign showroom).

Rashed Rahman

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

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

Cells: 0302 8482737 & 0333 4216335.

Business Recorder Column December 10, 2024

Bashar al-Assad’s fall

 

Rashed Rahman

 

The fall of Damascus the Syrian capital came on December 8, 2024 as the climax to the fall of city after city to the lightning offensive launched on November 27 by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamic fundamentalist group led by Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who has emerged as the putative leader of Syria in the new obtaining circumstances. Bashar al-Assad, the deposed president, has fled with his family to Moscow and been granted asylum by the government, Russia having been, along with Iran, one of al-Assad’s main bastions of support since the 2011 protest movement morphed into a bloody civil war. As often happens after such cataclysmic events, there have been reports of widespread looting, including al Assad’s home. The Iranian embassy in Damascus has been ransacked. Al-Golani has since issued orders to his forces to maintain order and not harass people or enter their homes. This is of a piece with his stance of projecting himself as representing all the Syrian people, thereby allaying fears of HTS enforcing strict Sunni sharia law. It is also a reflection of how HTS, hitherto called the Nusra Front, an al Qaeda ally, has transformed itself into the leading force of a broad coalition of anti-Assad fundamentalist groups. It is this unity of the fundamentalist opposition that has paved the way for HTS’ incredible victory.

That victory was also made possible by the hollowing out by corruption and lack of commitment of the Syrian army after Russia, Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah helped al-Assad prevail over the armed revolt against his regime. The hiatus that emerged from 2016 onwards in Syria’s civil war was not taken advantage of by the al-Assad regime to consolidate itself politically, the deprivations of forbidding sanctions imposed on it by the US-led west notwithstanding. Instead, in a demonstration of hubris, he continued to rely on the repressive measures that had become the hallmark of his rule. With his military disintegrating and the people fed up of his repressive rule with nothing positive to balance it, al-Assad became the ripe fruit for plucking once the Russian (because of the Ukraine war), Iranian and Hezbollah (owed to the Gaza and Lebanon-Israel wars) support had been weakened. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has boasted that it is the blows his country delivered on Hezbollah and Iran that made the downfall of al-Assad possible. Israel, in its inevitably alert exploitation of every opportunity, carried out air strikes on strategic sites and weapons depots in Damascus and south-west Syria after the fall of Assad. It has also deployed further troops in the Golan Heights, ostensibly to ‘protect’ the UN peacekeepers stationed there between Israeli-held territory (which it captured in the 1967 war and has since unilaterally annexed) but more probably with a view to taking advantage of the opportunity to annex more territory. Not to be left behind, the US, through CENTCOM, carried out 75 air strikes in central Syria, ostensibly against Islamic State (IS) assets.

While these startling developments since November 27, 2024, when HTS began its lightning offensive, represent a major strategic gain for the US, Israel and Turkiye and a major setback for Russia and Iran, its true import lies in the ‘completion’ of the task the US-led west (and Israel) set itself some years ago. This consisted of a concerted effort to weaken if not demolish the Axis of Resistance to Israel that emerged as the counter to the betrayal by successive Arab regimes (led first and foremost by Egypt) of recognising Israel and making peace with it. Three left-leaning Arab Nationalist (therefore anti-Israel, anti-imperialist) regimes became the foremost ‘take out’ targets. These were, Libya, Iraq and Syria. The first of these yielded the brutal death of Gaddafi and the subsequent civil war that continues to debilitate that country. The second, after two invasions, led to the hanging of Saddam Hussein and the subsequent state of civil war and destruction of that unfortunate country that has yet to completely subside. The third was Syria, besieged by a mass protest movement that emerged as part of the Arab Spring in 2011 but soon transmogrified into another bloody civil war, whose end we have now witnessed in the overthrow of Assad. Whatever one may think of Assad and his regime, there is some comfort in the fact that he and his family managed to flee safely to asylum in Moscow and did not suffer the fate of Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein. The three ‘hold-out’ Arab regimes having now been demolished, can one begin to sing the funeral dirge of left-leaning, anti-imperialist, anti-Israel Arab regimes?

The intriguing part of this mosaic is how after spending five years in a US prison in Iraq for fighting with al Qaeda, al-Golani ended up over time as nothing short of a US and Israeli satrap. That is a story still to be told. The last word on Syria, however, still remains out there in the void. It will depend very much on what sort of regime emerges from HTS’s victory, what policies it adopts, how it governs. In other words, will the placatory stance adopted by al-Golani continue or will it be overtaken in time by the deeply fundamentalist hue the HTS (and even more its previous avatar Nusra Front) have camouflaged for the moment in ‘reconciliatory’ rhetoric?

 

 

 

 

 

rashed.rahman1@gmail.com

rashed-rahman.blogspot.com

Filmbar screening of Mike Nichols' "Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" at the Research and Publication Centre (RPC) on Friday, December 13, 2024, 5:00 pm sharp

Filmbar screening of Mike Nichols'  "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" at the Research and Publication Centre (RPC) on Friday, December 13, 2024 at 5:00 pm sharp.

A middle-aged New England associate professor and his wife, with the help of alcohol, use their young guests to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other over the course of a distressing night.

All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

Rashed Rahman

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

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

Filmbar showing Jago Hua Savera at Research and Publication Centre (RPC) on Friday, December 6, 2024 at 5:00 pm sharp

Filmbar is showing A J Kardar's "Jago Hua Savera" at Research and Publication Centre (RPC) on Friday, December 6, 2024 at 5;00 pm sharp.

The film is based on the daily lives of the fishermen of East Bengal and their struggle with loan sharks.

Co-written by the legendary poet, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, this movie is a must-watch.

Address: Research and Publication Centre (RPC), 2nd Floor, 65 Main Boulevard Gulberg, Lahore (next to Standard Chartered Bank, above Indesign showroom).

All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

Rashed Rahman

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

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

Cells: 0302 8482737 & 0333 4216335.

 

The December 2024 issue of Pakistan Monthly Review (PMR) is out

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

Contents:

1. Tisaranee Gunasekara: An Inflection Point in Sri Lanka.
2. W B Bland: The Pakistani Revolution – V: The Economic pattern.
3. Fayyaz Baqir: My life and struggle – X: North America.
4. Imtiaz Alam: Rejoinder to Fayyaz Baqir.
5. Saleem Akhtar Malik: Jammu and Kashmir: The Pakistan Factor.
6. Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur: The Rise of Baloch Nationalism and Resistance – XVI: Human Development Index and Balochistan.
7. Samia Dogar: Lost generation.
8. From the PMR Archives:June 2019: From the Editor: Crisis of Pakistan’s state and society.

Rashed Rahman

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

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

Research and Publication Centre (RPC) weekly Bhaitak Saturday, November 30, 2024, 4:00 pm

Research and Publication Centre (RPC) weekly Bhaitak on Saturday, November 30, 2024: this week we hope to welcome Salima Hashmi, daughter of Faiz Ahmed Faiz. We will request her to talk about her own life, art, and her illustrious father. All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

Address: Research and Publication Centre (RPC), 2nd Floor, 65 Main Boulevard Gulberg, Lahore (next to Standard Chartered Bank, above Indesign showroom).

Rashed Rahman

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

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

Cells: 0302 8482737 & 0333 4216335.

Filmbar screening of Satyajit Ray's Charulata at Research and Publication Centre (RPC), Friday, November 29, 2024, 5:00 pm (note changed time)

We are screening Satyajit Ray’s Charulata (1964) at Research and Publication Centre on Friday, November 29, at 5 PM. 

The narrative follows the lonely wife of a newspaper editor who falls in love with her visiting cousin-in-law, who shares her love for literature. 

The screening will be followed by an informal discussion. 

Filmbar weekly films every Friday at Research and Publication Centre (RPC) revival, starting with The Battle of Algiers, Friday, Nov 22, 6:00 pm

Filmbar programme of showing weekly films is being revived at the Research and Publication Centre (RPC). As our re-entry film, we are showing Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers (1966) at Research and Publication Centre on Friday, November 22, at 6pm. All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

The narrative follows Colonel Philippe, who is tasked with suppressing the uprising against the government in French Algeria. Soon, he finds that a petty criminal, Ali la Pointe, is recruited to fight against the colonizers.

Rashed Rahman

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

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

Business Recorder Column November 19, 2024

Adieu Khaled Ahmed!

 

Rashed Rahman

 

My friend, Editor, journalist of 40 years standing, Khaled Ahmed passed away on Sunday night, November 17, 2024. He had been ill with an array of old age afflictions for some time. Born 1943 in Jalandhar, East Punjab (now in India), Khaled belonged to the Niazi clan that migrated to Lahore after Partition and settled in Zaman Park, adjacent to Aitchison College. Some other notable names from the clan are Majid Khan (once my class fellow in Saint Anthony’s High School) and Imran Khan (once my friend, who now no longer wishes to speak to me because he cannot take criticism). The Zaman Park Niazis produced over the years a host of cricketers and prominent individuals from a diverse menu of the professions.

My acquaintance with Khaled Ahmed began when I joined Government College, Lahore in 1964. Khaled and I were part of the cast of Government College’s centenary year play, Arsenic and Old Lace, directed and acted in by no less than my friend the late Shoaib Hashmi. I left for London in 1965 for further studies and did not return till 1971. In this period, I had lost touch with Khaled. It was only when I returned to live in Lahore in 1979 that my re-acquaintance with Khaled was fated to take place.

In 1990, I was, as the saying goes, ‘between jobs’ (i.e. unemployed). One night at a dinner, my wife Ghazala Rahman appealed to our mutual friend Nusrat Jamil to do something about my ‘wasting away’. Nuscie, as we all affectionately call her, was then Managing Editor of Frontier Post, and Khaled Ahmed, having done lengthy stints at Pakistan Times and The Nation, was the Editor. Nuscie, in an effort to respond to the call for help for me, asked me: “What do you think of journalism?” I replied: “I have a healthy contempt for the profession.” “No, no, no, no,” Nuscie protested, “please take a minute to reconsider your answer.” After a minute’s thought, I said: “I still have a healthy contempt for the profession!” Nuscie was not discouraged. She argued that Frontier Post was a young paper with a young cast of journalists who were doing exciting things and I should pay a visit and see for myself. Despite my scepticism about journalism per se, I visited Frontier Post and liked what I saw. There was a buzz of new, creative thinking in the air in the Frontier Post office. The next day, I joined.

Presenting myself before the Editor, Khaled Ahmed, I was interrogated whether I wanted to do journalism, and if so, was I prepared to learn. I replied yes, that seems like a good idea. In that case, Khaled said, you have to start at the bottom. Such was my ignorance about journalism then that I had no idea what that meant, but out of respect for Khaled I said he knew best and I would be guided by his wisdom. That means sub-editor in the newsroom, Khaled said. The Senior News Editor, the late Jeff Plair, was summoned to Khaled’s office and after introducing me, told to take me on as a sub-editor. To my utter astonishment, Jeff Plair, whom I had never laid eyes on before in my life, turned to Khaled and said: “Khaled sahib, what are you saying? He is Editor material and you want me to take him as a sub-editor!?” You could have knocked me over with a feather, considering I did not know Jeff Plair from Adam, but he seemed to know who I was. Khaled said never mind, just take him.

To cut a long story short, I mastered sub-editing within three days with the help of my colleagues in the newsroom, days later was promoted to one of the two News Editors under the Chief News Editor, Jeff Plair. Within three months, Jeff Plair had a heart attack at work and died. I was promoted to take his place. The rest, as they say, is history. In my stint as Chief News Editor for about a year, I learnt from Khaled Ahmed the principles of good journalism, but in a very gentle, non-interfering way. My early blunders were defended by him as part of my learning curve, and he never faltered in his attitude of confidence in my abilities. That was the generous nature of my very learned, erudite friend, the Editor who launched me on my journalistic career of 34 years and counting.

Khaled was always a voracious reader. His home was cluttered with piles of books, read or to be read. His editorials and other writings showed without a shadow of a doubt the depth of his knowledge. We were destined to meet once again later (in 2009) when I took over the Editorship of Daily Times. It was awkward being the Editor to my former Editor and teacher, Khaled Ahmed. We were both awkward in this unprecedented about face. This situation did not last long as Khaled eventually left Daily Times. He became Consulting Editor to the Pakistani edition of Newsweek.

I do not think Khaled Ahmed’s erudition and knowledge have received deserved recognition. But that is an occupational hazard in journalism in Pakistan, not to mention just about everything else. Regardless of the fickleness of our quick to forget the great minds of our society and their contribution, Khaled Ahmed’s body of work will continue to inspire those who hold the principles of objective, critical, knowledgeable journalism in high regard. Perhaps that is the best tribute to my friend and mentor. Adieu, Khaled Ahmed, RIP.

 

 

 

 

rashed.rahman1@gmail.com

rashed-rahman.blogspot.com

Filmbar programme of showing weekly films is being revived at the Research and Publication Centre (RPC)

Filmbar programme of showing weekly films is being revived at the Research and Publication Centre (RPC). As our re-entry film, we are showing Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers (1966) at Research and Publication Centre on Friday, November 22, at 6pm. All friends are welcome. Tea will be served.

The narrative follows Colonel Philippe, who is tasked with suppressing the uprising against the government in French Algeria. Soon, he finds that a petty criminal, Ali la Pointe, is recruited to fight against the colonizers.

Rashed Rahman

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

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

The November 2024 issue of Pakistan Monthly Review (PMR) is out

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

Contents:

1. Berch Berberoglu: Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict and Class Struggle: A Critical Analysis of Mainstream and Marxist Theories of Nationalism and National Movements – II: Toward a Marxist Theory of Nationalism.

2. W B Bland: The Pakistani Revolution – IV: Pakistan as a semi-colony of US Imperialism.

3. Ed Augustin: Biden’s Cuba policy leaves the Island in wreckage.

4. Fayyaz Baqir: My life and struggle – IX: The Fourth International.

5. Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur: The Rise of Baloch Nationalism and Resistance – XV: Hingol Park.

6. Ashraf Jehangir Qazi: Pakistan’s blackest day.

Rashed Rahman

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

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

Business Recorder Column, November 5, 2024

Breathe!

 

Rashed Rahman

 

Punjab as a whole, but especially the provincial capital Lahore, is once again in the grip of what has become a regular (no longer necessarily seasonal) affliction: smog. Normally, the stifling mixture of pollutants is at its worst as the weather turns colder, which historically is associated with October. However, human activity in today’s world has so disturbed the ecology of the globe that seasons that could once be used to track the calendar instead of the other way around, are now unreliable markers of weather change. Neither the monsoons, nor the four seasons now appear to follow what was the long established order of our climate. While this climatic disturbance, ascribed worldwide to the Earth’s extraordinary warming because of human activity and increasingly described as an ecological calamity in progress, has its own implications for crop patterns and weather disturbance, it also is the setting for another product of human activity: generating pollutants that remain suspended in the air in concentrations that threaten human health. Lahore, or Punjab, is by no means the only urbanised area in the world that suffers from the malady of smog. After all, nature is no respecter of boundaries drawn by humankind. Thus, near and afar, from Indian Punjab to virtually every urban conglomerate in the world, particularate concentration threatens an epidemic of health issues, concentrated in the depositing of such pollution into the lungs when we breathe. Especially vulnerable are children, the elderly, and those already suffering from, or sensitive to, breathing maladies.

What is strange about this year’s smog invasion is that it has occurred when October has proved warmer than ever in living memory. The average maximum and minimum temperature throughout the month has remained 32 degrees and 27 degrees respectively. This suggests that our previous assumption that cold weather is one of the culprits in engendering smog may not be true. Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Kasur, Islamabad and a host of Punjab’s cities have been afflicted to a greater or lesser extent by the dreaded phenomenon. The Punjab government has ascribed the record breaking Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of over 1,000 to pollution being carried from Indian Punjab by the winds blowing from east to west in our direction. While such a conclusion has yet to be scientifically confirmed, it has prompted the Pakistani Punjab government to suggest it will conduct ‘smog diplomacy’ to win over Indian Punjab to joint steps to control smog. Of course one does not know as yet if the idea is to stop the winds from blowing or, if so, how? After all, this may go the way of King Canute’s desire to turn back the sea.

The Punjab government appears to be floundering in its response to the smog emergency. The steps it has announced so far, e.g. closure (temporary for the moment) of primary schools (to protect vulnerable children), ‘green’ lockdowns (temporary localised measures to prevent the worst smoke-emitting vehicles, etc, from entering particularly afflicted areas), exhortations to polluting factories, brick kilns, stubble-burning farmers to desist, do not do more than touch the surface of a far more serious problem that has no easy, quick answers. Where does the smog come from? There is a dearth of objective, scientific studies on this, but the few available suggest that in a city such as Lahore, 60 percent pollution is produced by vehicles, 20 percent by factories and brick kilns, and the rest by seasonal stubble burning. Accurate or not, at least this analysis helps us focus on the priorities required to tackle the crisis.

Lahore, for example, has some 4.5 million motorcycles and 1.3 million cars and trucks on its roads. Take a deep breath and survey any major road, say the Main Boulevard Gulberg, and you will see a blue haze suspended over the road. So the first culprit is the surfeit of vehicles on our roads, allegedly spewing toxic petrol and diesel fumes, exacerbated by the allegedly low quality of these fuels. Since there is no integrated urban transport system in the city (the overhead Metro and bus service notwithstanding), which in the late 1990s-early 2000s was mooted with Japanese assistance to consist of a north-south underground rail system in the city’s built-up areas and an above-ground in the suburbs (standard practice the world over), connected to branch lines traversing east to west, with bus terminals at their last stops, the 14 million citizens of Lahore perforce have to travel in their own vehicles to work, etc. That ideal mass transit system fell foul of partisan politics and regime change, leaving us holding the pot of our present polluted existence.

A mass transit urban system is still required, in fact is a critical necessity if this excessive load of private vehicles are to be taken off the roads, particularly during morning and evening rush hours. Factories have to be forced to employ environmentally friendly technology to minimise their contribution to the air mess. Future factory planning, if any, should seek to locate such enterprises away from the cities (which is what London did after the 1950s deadly fog/smog crisis). Brick kilns must be forced to employ less polluting zig-zag technology or be shut down. Any enterprise using foul fuel such as rubber tyres must be permanently closed. Stubble burning must be stopped through the alternative of super-seeders and other modern technology to make stubble burning unnecessary.

All this cannot be accomplished in a day, a week, a month, or even a year. It will take many years, implying people will continue to suffer in the meantime. The neglect of this issue by successive governments has brought us to this sorry pass. Such neglect from now on invites the wrath of the suffering public.

 

 

 

 

rashed.rahman1@gmail.com

rashed-rahman.blogspot.com

Research and Publication Centre's (RPC's) Weekly Bhaitak, November 2, 2024, 4:00 pm

Research and Publication Centre's (RPC's) programme of regular weekly Bhaitaks continues Saturday, November 2, 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 be discussing "Major world powers' interests in Pakistan".

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.  

Business Recorder Column October 22, 2024

A hollow victory

 

Rashed Rahman

 

After much huffing and puffing during the last few days if not weeks, the government has finally managed to get the 26^th Amendment to the Constitution passed by both houses of parliament with a two-thirds majority. But perhaps despite this, it may be premature on the part of the government to celebrate its ‘victory’, which has implications that may render it hollow.

First, the Amendment itself. To the relief of some, the adopted Amendment comprises 22 Clauses, a radical comedown from the original 50 in the draft the government kept under wraps in an unprecedented treatment of such an important piece of legislation. The reduction to 22 Clauses was brought about by the reservations of coalition partners, but mostly the ‘holdout’ critical input of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, without whose Jamiat-e-Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F’s) votes, the magic two thirds number would not have been possible. In colourful language, the Maulana and his party described the amendments to the Amendment as “defanging the black snake”. For the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI), the whole process of ‘consultations’ with it on the issue was heavily laden with cajoling, offers of material gain, and coercion, the last including threats not only to members but also their families. These circumstances persuaded the majority of PTI Members of Parliament (MPs) to stay away from the proceedings. The minority who dared turn up voted against the Amendment.

Now to the content of this extraordinary exercise in constitutional legislation. Although the 26^th Amendment includes other matters, its main thrust, and focus of public interest and attention, are the Clauses related to the judiciary. Article 175A has been amended to bring in changes to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) with the inclusion of four MPs, two each from the treasury and opposition benches, one each drawn from the National Assembly (NA) and the Senate. It is not clear (at least to this writer) whether the original structure of the JCP, i.e. five Supreme Court (SC) judges (with the Chief Justice of Pakistan – CJP – as its chairman), the Attorney General of Pakistan, the federal law minister, a former Chief Justice and a senior advocate nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council will continue and only be added to by the four parliamentarians. The method of appointment of the CJP, hitherto relying on the senior most judge automatically replacing the incumbent on retirement (a procedure inherited from our colonial past), will now be replaced by the choice of a Special Parliamentary Committee from the three senior most judges of the SC. The Committee will forward one name out of the three to the prime minister, who will forward it to the president. This Committee will be composed of eight MNAs and four Senators, selected in proportion to the strength of the parties in the two Houses. The Committee will be bound to send its recommended name for the next CJP at least 14 days before the incumbent’s retirement. However, in the light of the obtaining circumstances (CJP Qazi Faiz Isa’s retirement on October 25, which explains the government’s hurry to get the Amendment passed), this time the committee will be ‘permitted’ to send its nomination up to three days prior to the incumbent’s retirement. Since today, October 22, 2024, is therefore the deadline, by the time these lines appear, the deed may well have been done, implying the government had already decided who it wants as CJP. The CJP’s term, through changes in Article 179, has been set at three years unless he resigns earlier, attains the retirement age of 65 years, or is removed. Even if the incumbent has not reached the retirement age of 65, he would stand retired at the end of the three-year term. The 26^th Amendment also empowers the JCP, now weighted by the induction of MPs, to evolve criteria for the assessment, evaluation and fitness for appointment of candidates for judges. If a High Court judge’s performance is deemed ‘inefficient’, an improvement period will be granted (how long is not clear). If the judge fails to improve, a report will be submitted by the JCP to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the forum with the authority to remove judges. The minimum age for appointment of High Court judges has been lowered from 45 years to 40.

The 26th Amendment inserts a new Article 191A for creating Constitutional Benches of the SC, comprising judges of the SC for such term as nominated and determined by the JCP, with the most senior judge among them the Presiding Judge. Whether such judges would be drawn from the existing SC judges or some other source is not clear. Constitutional Benches would consist of at least five judges nominated by a three-judge committee, as is the case in the SC Practice and Procedure Act, the nominating committee comprising the Presiding Judge and the next two most senior judges. The suo motu jurisdiction of the SC under Article 184 will now by exercised by the Constitutional Benches (as opposed, hitherto, by the CJP). The High Courts may have similar Constitutional Benches if the four provincial Assemblies adopt resolutions for the purpose.

The 26^th Amendment boils down to a coup by the executive against the judiciary, no doubt with the help and support of the establishment. Its implications, in terms of the independence of the judiciary, may soon become apparent. Not much good can be hoped for in this regard. However, to be fair and objective, the judiciary is itself too responsible for inviting this attack on itself, given its sorry track record in our history. Briefly, this includes legitimising every military coup and martial law, going so far in the last such instance of empowering General Pervez Musharraf to amend the Constitution! When Musharraf dismissed CJP Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the Lawyers Movement ensured his restoration. CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry then went so far in asserting his restored authority that he caused the country a fair share of problems, including the Reqo Diq near disaster. Other CJPs, Khosa, Saqib Nisar, etc, exceeded what could by any imagination be considered their remit or the upholding of justice and the Constitution, clearly under the influence of the politicisation of the judiciary. And I am not even so far mentioning CJP Munir, whose doctrine of necessity upended the judicial cart early in Pakistan's existence for perhaps the foreseeable future.

In this tussle between the executive and the judiciary, with the establishment hiding not so successfully behind the skirts of the former, there are no innocents. Their misdemeanours of the past and present have brought us to this sorry pass. The whole story reeks of the sad conclusion that we have no idea how to build or defend institutions, only a rare talent for destroying them.

 

 

 

 

 

rashed.rahman1@gmail.com

rashed-rahman.blogspot.com 

Research and Publication Centre's (RPC's) weekly Bhaitak, Saturday, October 19, 2024, 4:00 pm

Research and Publication Centre's (RPC's) programme of regular weekly Bhaitaks continues Saturday, October 19, 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 activist and intellectual Jami Chandio from Sindh, who will enlighten us regarding the recent killing of blasphemy accused Dr Shahnawaz Kanbar, the reaction against it from civil society, and the general problems and situation of Sindh.

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.  

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

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 19, 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 activist and intellectual Jami Chandio from Sindh, who will enlighten us regarding the recent killing of blasphemy accused Dr Shahnawaz Kanbar, the reaction against it from civil society, and the general problems and situation of Sindh.

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.  

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