Hitting Rock
Bottom
By Shireen M Mazari
We have hit
rock bottom at all levels -- from the political
to the sports field. And it appears that only a
non-Pakistani, the late Bob Woolmer felt the shame
strongly enough to suffer an untimely death. But
let us begin with the horror of the physical abuse
of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, the chasm between
the actual restrictions that continued to persist
regarding his person and his family and the official
disclaimers to the contrary. In all this, the sight
of those who are supposed to uphold the law and
protect the citizens actually mauling the Chief
Justice and his wife revealed the sorry state of
the law enforcement bureaucracy.
Violence is clearly endemic in them and certainly
no ordinary citizen will feel safe now -- the little
that they may have done so earlier. But what has
been the state's response? A few inquiries but no
rolling of the heads yet. Not that that should have
been needed in the first place. Surely the shame
of this incidence should have compelled the senior
Islamabad police officials and interior minister
to have resigned out of a sense of basic decency.
Instead, no expression of regret was even heard
from these folk.
As if the physical abuse of the CJ was not enough
of a national disgrace, we saw the police run amok
in what was clearly a pre-planned and officially
ordered -- at what level is the real question --
assault on the Geo and The News offices. The apology
from the President was a gracious gesture and the
rush to the scene of the crime by the information
minister and a day later by the prime minister was
a clear reflection of their desire to disassociate
from this ugly incident. But then there is the glaring
question of who ordered the attack, because it was
clearly on the orders of someone? Are there people
who can order such violence with the top leadership
not only kept in total ignorance but also damaged
considerably? It is unbelievable to now be told
that the top cop involved in the attack has disappeared!
The violence perpetrated by the police certainly
has had an impact. After all, the ordinary person
can now see how threatened he is at the hands of
the very people who are paid out of taxpayer money
to protect him/her. The fear that is being spread
across the land with regard to police violence seems
to be a deliberate policy. After all, it was not
just Geo that suffered at the hands of the Punjab
police. The Lahore High Court building was a target
also, with lawyers earning the wrath of a police
force that has obviously gone mad. We know the brutal
reputation of the police in terms of blackmail,
harassment, corruption and so on -- but seeing them
with rocks and sticks initiating violence is a terrible
sight. What was the difference between the police
on rampage in Islamabad and Lahore and the lawbreakers
who hold the government to ransom with the power
of lethal sticks?
Of course, no force is used against such lawbreakers.
Instead all the force is reserved for those who
seek to peacefully protest or those who seek to
fulfill their mandate of reporting such protest.
What a place we live in. Certainly enlightenment
and moderation have no place within our law enforcement
setup. And no heads have rolled in the Geo case
either -- although in any civilized and decent society,
the interior and information ministers would have
resigned. In this context, the less one says of
the law minister, the better since his violence
and abusiveness is becoming legendary. Never mind
the ridicule that that brings upon this poor country.
Talking of resignations, it was a pleasant surprise
to see the PCB chairman offering his resignation
after the cricket fiasco the Pakistani nation has
had to undergo. But why did the good doctor take
up a position for which he was clearly not suited?
As for the team, clearly the selectors played favorites
and we got the results the state deserved –
but not the nation which is starved for heroes and
asks very little from them. Inzimam has resigned
from ODIs, but he needs to be removed altogether.
With others of his ilk, he is now focused more on
proselytizing for the faith and that is admirable
but then he must leave cricket to those fully committed
to it. Why are we not able to have professional
setups for professional tasks? No sporting great
has a say in any of our sports boards which are
run on personal whims and fancies. That is why we
have hit rock bottom in squash, hockey and cricket
-- not to mention the sorry state of other sports
like tennis. It is not that the talent is lacking;
it is simply our refusal to have professionals run
things. Instead, retired bureaucrats, of both varieties,
are seen as the answer to all our ills -- quite
forgetting that they are probably responsible for
these ills in the first place.
Nor is it just sports. Look at what we have done
to our national carrier -- PIA. Once known as a
leader in its field, we have managed to reduce it
to the bottom of the heap, with the EU ban being
the final insult. Despite the loyalty of the ordinary
Pakistani, especially from the diaspora, who continues
to fly the national carrier out of choice, those
managing this "golden egg" have continued
to let things rot. Perhaps it is a deliberate ploy
to allow its sale to some Gulf enterprise -- and
we would not know the Indian component in such an
enterprise -- but it is reflective of the sorry
state of affairs we confront today.
We allow external powers to abuse us at will while
the state abuses the nation in a similar fashion.
There is nothing new in what has been happening
recently to what happened with the so-called democratic
civil setups earlier. The judiciary and media were
targeted then, as they are now. The US abused us
then and it is doing so today. Pressler dictated
US policy towards Pakistan for decades and now we
are seeing a replay of this with the US Senate having
passed a bill which will make aid to Pakistan conditional
on Presidential certification. The House had already
passed this bill and the issues on which certification
of compliance has to be given range from nuclear-related
issues and the GoP's commitment to secular public
schools.
Even as we hit rock bottom on all fronts, there
is a resignation in the face of events. After all,
will we never see things changing? Every time hopes
are raised and then they come to naught. There was
a glimmer of hope before the 2002 elections on many
fronts, but post the elections it seems to have
become "business as usual". Are we destined
to suffer through repetitive cycles despite our
many developed strengths and despite a most passionate
nation? What have we done to suffer those who bring
disrepute to the state and nation and those who
use violence against those they are meant to protect?
Who will be the first to accept collective responsibility
for state institutions going awry?
(The writer is director general of the Institute
of Strategic Studies in Islamabad. Courtesy The
News)
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