The Dilemma of Pakistan: New Age Islam's Selection, 12 February 2016
New Age Islam Edit Bureau
12 February 2016
• The Dilemma of Pakistan
By Syed Kashif Ali
• Quadrilateral Peace Talks on Afghanistan
By Akbar Jan Marwat
• Remembering Yemen on Friday
By Syed Kamran Hashmi
• The Hindu Marriage Bill: Becoming A Reality
By Shahid Jatoi
Compiled By New Age Islam Edit Bureau
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The Dilemma of Pakistan
By Syed Kashif Ali
February 12, 2016
Uzair Baloch — the suspected Lyari gang leader arrested by Interpol in December 2014 in the UAE — mysteriously surfaced in Karachi after a Pakistan Rangers operation. Despite the Karachi police higher-ups’ several visits to the UAE in the early part of 2015, Uzair Baloch was not expatriated to Pakistan, though many believe that he was later secretly handed over to Pakistan.
Pakistan has a long history of apprehending high-profile terrorists and gangsters. From the top brass of al Qaeda to the arrest of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP’s) Latif Mehsud and from the arrest of the alleged murderers of Dr Imran Farooq to apprehending Uzair Baloch, over the years, the Pakistani authorities, with their ‘magical wand’, have always been successful in arresting the most wanted criminals.The accused are brought before the media making sensational confessions at a certain, critical time. Most of the time, these criminals blame hostile intelligence agencies or certain political parties in Pakistan for their alleged support and backing in a bid to become approvers and get concessions. Some characters like Saulat Mirza meet their ultimate fate while others rot behind bars forever while their masters recruit a few more Saulats and Uzairs to fulfil their heinous designs. Hence, the system of terror and tyranny runs unabated.
The dilemma is that the state of Pakistan, in this episode of terror and tyranny, acts like a silent spectator. Instead of eradicating the militant wings of political parties, state institutions use criminals allegedly associated with some political parties as a leverage tool, forcing political parties to dance to their tune. In this power struggle, agents like Saulat Mirza are made a horrible example of but the masterminds of terror are once again allowed to reach the legislature after being cut down to size and forced to follow a certain line of action.
The sensational revelations that Uzair Baloch is making must be thoroughly investigated. The backers and financers of these gangs must also be exposed. People should also know why and by whom Khalid Shahanshah — the most important witness in the Benazir Bhutto murder case — was killed. But the most important question that must be asked is where was the state while the terrorists linked with various sectarian, ethnic, religious or political groups unleashed their brutality? Why does the state have an ostrich mentality by denying the presence of such elements in society? Instead of taking prompt action, why do our state institutions waste precious time allowing criminal elements to strengthen their roots in society?
When various gangs in Lyari and other parts of Karachi were wreaking havoc upon the innocent people of Karachi, the state remained absent; it took state institutions four years to start an operation in Lyari. In the recent past, when Hazara Shias in Quetta were being slaughtered, the state remained a silent spectator. A cleric in Islamabad, right under the government’s nose, challenges the writ of the state but the state is unable to cope with the challenge. If the state had acted in a timely manner, we might not have needed the Lyari operation and Operation Zarb-e-Azb. The unfortunate incident of Lal Masjid during General Musharraf’s era was also the result of inaction. The same state of denial and ostrich mentality on the part of the government is evident again. Do we always need an unfortunate incident like the one at the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar to act? Will our state institutions ever play a more proactive role to rid society of various kinds of terrorism?
Do the horrible confessions of terrorists linked to various sectarian, ethnic, religious or political groups not indict our law enforcement agencies and other state institutions? Does it not indicate the failure of the state to discharge its basic responsibility to protect the life, honour and property of its citizens?What do our more than two dozen federal and provincial law enforcement agencies do when gangs of criminals consisting of thousands of people commit organised crime? If the state’s intelligence apparatus fails to penetrate these groups, does it not demand a complete overhaul of the law enforcement and intelligence agencies? Otherwise, if the state has intelligence on all such criminals but fails to exercise its writ, why should it not be labelled a soft state?
The loss of more than 60,000 innocent citizens has strengthened the perception in Pakistan that key state institutions are more concerned about their strategic and sometimes political interests than they are about protecting the life and honour of the people. To achieve those objectives, sometimes certain militants, criminals and extremist elements are overlooked while at other times they are apprehended in order to twist the arms of opponents. The ordinary people and their interests, unfortunately, lie very low on the priority list of state functionaries.
Talking to the common citizens of Pakistan, one can easily realise that the people are no longer interested in the power struggle between state functionaries. No one is interested in listening to the sensational stories of apprehended criminals. What people want to know is how many dangerous criminals like Uzair Baloch and their outfits are being overlooked and ignored by state authorities for one reason or another. There must not be any soft corner and leniency for such elements. The state should establish its writ by getting rid of all these gangs and militant groups irrespective of their political affiliations. Anyone having the slightest connection to militants must be disqualified from electoral politics forever and punished according to the law.
The terrorists, gangsters and militants must be dealt with with an iron fist along with those who in any capacity backed, financed, supported or facilitated them in their mischievous plans. But should those who failed to discharge their official duties by overlooking criminal elements be not held accountable? Should the policymakers not admit their failure to protect the life and the honour of citizens and go home?
Right now, the greatest challenge to the state of Pakistan is to get rid of all kinds of militancy, sectarianism and extremism, achieve stability through normalising its relationship with its neighbours by solving all outstanding issues through a dialogue process and start off the journey towards becoming a welfare state.
In order to restore the confidence of its citizens, rather than being a merely silent spectator, the state of Pakistan will have to pre-empt and neutralise the threats faced by its citizens.This can only be achieved by reviewing state policies, depoliticising and restructuring law enforcement agencies, developing better coordination between state functionaries and last but not least, eliminating all political, ethnic and sectarian militant groups once and for all.
Syed Kashif Ali is an IT professional and passionate writer and speaker.
Source: dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/12-Feb-2016/the-dilemma-of-pakistan
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Quadrilateral Peace Talks On Afghanistan
By Akbar Jan Marwat
February 12, 2016
The matter of peace talks between the Afghan government and representatives of the Afghan Taliban is so essential that efforts have to be made to revive these talks no matter how many times they are derailed. The formation of the quadrilateral group consisting of the US, Pakistan, Afghanistan and China is the latest effort in this connection. In its third meeting, the quadrilateral group drew a roadmap and set up various stages for the peace talks. Taliban representatives have been invited for a meeting with the Afghan government at the end of the month.
A joint statement issued by a member of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) said: “The group adopted a roadmap stipulating the stages and steps in the process.” The statement further said: “The QCG will make joint efforts for scheduling a dialogue between representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban before the end of the month.” The QCG members called on all Taliban groups to join the peace talks. In the event of maximum groups joining the peace talks, recalcitrant Taliban groups could be isolated. In this regard Pakistan’s advisor on foreign affairs, Mr Sartaj Aziz, also said: “We believe our collective efforts at this stage, including supporting confidence building measures, have to aim at persuading a maximum number of Taliban groups to join the peace talks.”
The quadrilateral meeting, held in Islamabad, was attended by host Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, Chinese envoy for Afghanistan Ambassador Deng Xiujun, Special US Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Richard Olson and Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Mr Hekmat K Karzai. The presence of the Chinese representative in the quadrilateral talks must have been especially comforting for the Taliban groups, as China has remained neutral throughout the Afghan crises.
The date of the talks between the Afghan Taliban and the Afghan government will most probably be disclosed on February 23 when the QCG meets in Kabul. It seems the negotiating group is keen to bring the warring factions to the table before the Taliban’s spring offensive. The Taliban conducted military activity of unprecedented intensity within Afghanistan last year. Last year’s winter offensive by the Taliban led to 26 percent more casualties than the year before. Today it is said the Taliban holds more area within Afghanistan for the first time since 2001. The Pentagon has warned that this year could be bloodier in terms of battle fatalities.
One of the main purposes of the quadrilateral group when they first met on the side lines of the Heart of Asia Summit was to lower the level of violence in Afghanistan before this year’s spring offensive by the Taliban. The QCG’s adoption of the roadmap and announcement of the reconciliation process were all to reach a political settlement of the dispute and cessation of hostilities. Pakistan fully shares Afghanistan’s concerns that increasing violence is a key challenge and its reduction should be an important objective of the peace talks.
The Taliban representatives who have been reluctant to participate in the quadrilateral talks so far did take part in the Track-II dialogue arranged by the Pugwash conferences held in Qatar. The Taliban, though reluctant to participate in the quadrilateral talks, did not reject the offer of participation outright. The Taliban did, however, renew their previous demands, which they had put forward before they took part in any peace talks. These demands or conditions in the main were: withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, delisting of Taliban leaders by the United Nations Sanctions Committee and lifting the ban on their travel.
It is still unclear as to what incentives the Afghan government is prepared to give the Taliban groups to bring them to the peace table. Mr Aziz aptly said: “Offering the incentive of political mainstreaming to insurgent groups will gradually shrink the space for irreconcilables.”
The achievement of sustainable peace through the quadrilateral group or any other forum is certainly not an easy proposition. The alternative is, however, much worse. An auspicious development that recently took place was the arrival of the Afghan intelligence chief in Pakistan where it was decided that cooperation between the two intelligence agencies would take place.
The only thing required now is patience and perseverance on the part of the QCG, especially the Afghan government, so that a maximum number of moderate Taliban groups join the peace talks. The people of Afghanistan have suffered greatly because of war; now is the time to give them enduring peace.
Akbar Jan Marwat is a freelance columnist
Source: dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/12-Feb-2016/quadrilateral-peace-talks-on-afghanistan
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Remembering Yemen on Friday
By Syed Kamran Hashmi
February 12, 2016
Even those among us who do not offer prayers five times a day find the Friday congregation spiritually reinvigorating, a powerful reminder for everyone to be more introspective and less judgmental. We do not completely understand how it works but we realise that our soul feels lighter afterwards, refreshed and polished, as if a layer of dust accumulated over a week has been wiped clean.
Maybe the message of equality and justice — as conveyed when standing next to a complete stranger regardless of his age, race or financial status — revives our human spirit and connects us through a mysterious bond with other Muslims across the world like the beads of a rosary. When they hurt we flinch, when they ache we cry. That is why when the imam pleads to Allah for His benevolence, for peace, for guidance, for health and for prosperity, he also implores a decisive victory for Pakistan in Kashmir and for the triumph of Muslims in Palestine over Israel, his hands cupped, eyes closed, tears streaming down his face.
Do we not all grow up like that? A strong sense of responsibility washing over us to take care of all the Muslims who have been subjected to torture or exploitation by non-Muslims, a sweeping desire twirling in our hearts to lead the Ummah, a dream to revive the old glory of Islam? Unfortunately, the list of Muslims entangled in international conflicts keeps on growing, which makes it impossible for any single nation to pull each one of them out of their quagmire, no matter how much wealth that state possess. But the absence of resources is not enough to thwart our ambitions, offering help and manpower.
Notwithstanding their suffering, there exists another list of Muslims, equally long and requiring equal attention, whom we almost always fail to mention in our prayers, ignored and dejected as if they were the creatures of a lesser God who does not hold as much sway. This list consists of Muslims being humiliated, exploited, kidnapped, killed and tortured by their Muslim rulers in the same way non-Muslims have treated the people of Palestine or Kashmir, if not worse.
So the question becomes: why should we pray for the Muslims of the West Bank while ignoring Bahrain or Balochistan and why do tears not sting our eyes for Egyptians when they keep rolling down for the Kashmiris? Have Muslim regimes been granted some kind of divine immunity to kill their own people? Are we missing the basic lesson of justice? Once ignited, the debate about whether to blame ourselves or put the responsibility on others gets very heated and pointed, curse words are hurled at one another and insulting names shouted. The brunt of the attack falls, like an avalanche, on those who are self-critical instead of condemning others, a small but vocal group of people who introspect, following the real message of the Friday prayers.
In Pakistan, the argument takes the shape of one group supporting the Kashmiris and censuring the atrocities of Indian forces while the other group focuses on Balochistan, the assassination of Akbar Bugti and the rights of the Baloch to demand political freedom. The former talks about the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan while the latter discusses the responsibility of the Taliban, Islamic State (IS) and al Qaeda for wreaking havoc in their own countries, targeting minorities, decapitating abductees and killing innocent journalists, physicians and engineers.
When all this is being discussed, the role of Saudi Arabia comes under scrutiny too, which as a state attacked Yemen, another Muslim country that did not pose a threat to the regime? According to the panel of the United Nations investigating the Saudi attack on Yemen, “The coalition had conducted airstrikes targeting civilians and civilian objects, in violation of international humanitarian law, including camps for internally displaced persons and refugees, civilian gatherings, including weddings, civilian vehicles, including buses, civilian residential areas, medical facilities, schools, mosques, markets, factories and food storage warehouses, and other essential civilian infrastructure, such as the airport in Sana’a, the port in Hudaydah and domestic transit routes” (The Guardian, January 27, 2016).
Did you notice the attack on mosques and hospitals, wedding ceremonies and schools in the report? How do these assaults differ from the atrocities conducted by IS, which follows the same laws of Islam bent by the Saudi regime for its own benefit? They do not. You may want to give them the benefit of the doubt and consider it a mistake but let us be clear that the attacks on civilians were no mere accidents; the collateral damage was deliberate, an act of hatred towards Yemenis because of their darker skin tone and their association with Shias. “The panel also documented three alleged cases of civilians fleeing residential bombings and being chased and shot at by helicopters,” the reports says.
To further add insult to injury, the investigators clarify any ambiguity rolling through the minds of Pakistanis: “The coalition’s targeting of civilians through airstrikes, either by bombing residential neighbourhoods or by treating the entire cities of Sa’dah and Maran as military targets, is a grave violation of the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution. In certain cases, the panel found such violations to have been conducted in a widespread and systematic manner.”
We have always suspected that the aggression of Saudi Arabia towards Yemen was unwarranted but never thought that Saudi abomination would reach the level of near-genocide. We assumed it was tribal warfare, a local affair, but what we are finding out through the report is that it might have been a “violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law”, an act against the teachings of the Quran, a revolt.
Syed Kamran Hashmi is a US-based freelance columnist.
Source: dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/12-Feb-2016/remembering-yemen-on-friday
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The Hindu Marriage Bill: Becoming A Reality
By Shahid Jatoi
12 February, 2016
Prior to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice passing the Hindu Marriage Bill on February 8, members of the Hindu and Christian communities gathered in Islamabad for a national conference on the said Bill. The conference, organised by a 25-member delegation, reflected the solidarity of the communities on the consensus that had been reached on the long-deferred Bill. Politicians from different political parties, including from the ruling PML-N as well as from the JUI-F and the PPP, civil society groups and the minority community from across Pakistan attended in the conference and pledged their support for the enactment of a law regulating Hindu marriages. The attendees urged the Punjab and Sindh assemblies to pass resolutions under Article 144 of the Constitution that stipulates that the federal government requires resolution by one or more provincial assemblies to legislate on behalf of the provinces. While the Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) assemblies have passed this resolution, the other two provinces have been lagging behind in this area.
Apart from talking about the importance of the Hindu Marriage Bill, another significant area the attendees touched upon was the social and political inclusion of Pakistan’s religious minorities in national life. To his credit, the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice, Chaudhary Mahmood Bashir Virk, argued that it was strange that Hindus still didn’t have a law to protect their marital status and family. Like the Muslim citizens of Pakistan, our non-Muslim citizens, regardless of their religious identity, deserve respect and honour and their needs must be met. Virk reiterated that the Standing Committee was all set to pass the Hindu Marriage Bill and it is indeed welcome that just a few days later, this promise was upheld. What now needs to be done as soon as possible is for parliament to pass this law and it is the responsibility of the law minister to move the Bill in the National Assembly.
Even though the Punjab and Sindh assemblies had not passed the resolutions that empower the centre to legislate in this area, there was no constitutional bar on the Standing Committee of Law and Justice to pass the Hindu Marriage Bill. However, whenever the Bill is passed into law by parliament, it will only be enforced in the federal capital territory, and in K-P and Balochistan. Sindh and Punjab can only adopt this law by passing resolutions to this effect.
Given the slow pace seen in this regard in these two provincial assemblies, one can only hope that there are no inordinate delays on their part once the National Assembly passes the law.
Our lawmakers must note that in January 2015, the Supreme Court had told the federal government to enact the Hindu marriage law in two weeks. Before that, in a landmark judgment on June 19, 2014, then chief justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani had told the federal and provincial governments to frame policies to safeguard minority rights.
Despite all assurances by politicians and directions by the apex Court, the matter of the Hindu Marriage Bill was continually deferred due to petty concerns. For over six decades, Hindu citizens have been demanding the enactment of this law to protect their dignity and honour as enshrined in the Constitution. However, the matter was repeatedly put in cold storage possibly due to the fact that the majority of parliamentary parties lacked the political will to resolve issues pertaining to minorities. At the same time, minority parliamentary representation has not been strong enough to influence our legal framework. The ruling party must now do everything possible to pass the Hindu Marriage Bill into law as soon as possible. In addition, as stated earlier, the Sindh and Punjab assemblies must also pass resolutions that can enable the enforcement of a uniform law regulating Hindu marriage in the country.
Source: tribune.com.pk/story/1045124/the-hindu-marriage-bill-becoming-a-reality/
URL: https://newageislam.com/pakistan-press/the-dilemma-pakistan-new-age/d/106316