Terrorism Closing
in on Us
By Shireen M Mazari
That the state is adrift, as argued
in last week's column, is being reflected in the
growing audacity of terrorists and extremists who
are reaching far beyond the tribal areas. The most
visible form of this expanded terrorist milieu is
of course the horrendous attack in Charsadda, which
claimed so many innocent lives, but the insidious
agenda of the extremists in the urban areas, especially
the capital, is no less terrorizing.
After all, a Cabinet minister had declared how he
had rescued the leaders of the Lal Masjid after
links had been established between them and Al Qaeda.
And now, by all reports, it appears that the state
has chosen to appease Jamia Hafsa-Lal Masjid extremists
by giving in to many of their demands. Even more
worrying, because the state is now clearly unable
to protect the ordinary citizen against the violence
and extortionist threats of the extremists, this
minority has already achieved its goal of forcing
the citizenry into submission. If anything, the
state functionaries are going out of their way to
appease the Jamia Hafsa-Lal Masjid combine even
as they become ever more daring in their terrorization
of the public at large. Women are now being stopped
on the roads and asked to cover their heads while
driving. This is obviously just the first step down
a dark abyss. But how many can defy this tyranny
of the minority when the state itself seems to have
fallen prey to this tyrannical force?
The ultimate absurdity has come in the form of a
statement by the SSP of Islamabad that the police
will now rid society of social evils. The job of
the police is to enforce the law of the land and
protect the citizens -- the two tasks in which the
police have been found most wanting in this country.
The Jamia Hafsa occupation of the children's library
and its subsequent terrorization of the public at
large reflect this failure. Given their record of
ineptitude, the citizenry can only look at their
new role of moral policing with horror and fear.
In any case, why is it that only now the SSP has
awakened to the fact of illegal operations in the
city of brothels and gambling dens?
Nor is this visible tyranny of the obscurantists
the only form of terrorization of the public at
large. There is also an insidious campaign through
the Internet which seeks to play on the sectarian
card, with many journalists, editors, analysts and
some politicians being vilified -- especially those
who have been in the forefront of the protests against
the illegal actions of the obscurantists. The diatribes
and abuse are so intense and full of hatred that
they may appear to be the work of madmen to be ignored,
but this is a most dangerous development and many
unsuspecting or vulnerable people in our midst could
be converted to a violent course.
In the present environment, where is the enlightened
moderation that was a cornerstone of President Musharraf's
political creed, which touched a chord in civil
society but also raised expectations that Jinnah's
vision of Pakistan would finally come to fruition
in terms of a liberal, tolerant and moderate Muslim
polity? One finally thought the nightmares of the
Zia legacy of sectarianism, religious obscurantism
and intolerance would finally be put to rest, having
lingered on in the compromises Ms Bhutto made with
the extremists -- how can one forget the advisor
from a now banned sectarian group in the Punjab
-- and Nawaz Sharif's efforts at the same in parliament
which had led to the resignation of Mr. Kasuri.
But it seems the brute force of the obscurantists
tends to win over the mainstream of civil society
as far as the state is concerned.
Perhaps that is why we seem to be easy prey for
external powers that demand that we keep giving,
presently on terrorism, without any reciprocity.
That is why the British are surprised if Pakistan
actually demands such reciprocity in terms of the
handing over of wanted terrorists and other criminals.
Although we are presently demanding the British
hand over our wanted men in return for Rashid Rauf,
will we be able to hold our own under British pressure
and a propaganda campaign which accuses Pakistan
of "stalling terror suspect talks"?
In this context, the Ankara Declaration between
Karzai and President Musharraf is to be welcomed
but only if the Afghan leader fulfils his commitment,
inter alia, "to deny sanctuary, training, and
financing to terrorists and to elements involved
in subversive and anti-state activities in each
other's country..." A first CBM with regard
to Afghan intent should be the closure of the rather
public BLA office in Kabul and some control of the
Indian "consular" activities in Kandahar
and Jalalabad.
Coming back to the issue of terrorism in Pakistan,
one of the reasons we have failed to deny space
to the terrorists is because of the perceived weakness
of the state to exercise its writ when challenged
by the forces of extremism. A positive development
was the much-maligned tribal deal, which, unlike
the US-led war on terrorism, actually isolated the
foreign militants and terrorists from the mainstream
of the tribal populace thereby denying the former
operational space. Unfortunately, the state was
not prepared for the shift of the terrorists operational
milieu to Pakistan's center of gravity -- its urban
areas, especially the capital and its ruling elite.
This should have been anticipated but it seems even
now the state is unwilling or unable to see the
obvious linkages between the isolation of the Al
Qaeda elements in the tribal belt to the terrorism
in Charsadda and Peshawar to the terrorization of
the urban areas by the Jamia Hafsa-Lal Masjid extremists.
This is the disconnect within the state structures
revealing why they seem adrift and why the enlightenment
and moderation agenda has been lost sight of.
The leadership has also been ill-served by its sycophants
who insist on aggravating prevailing crises through
poorly chosen tactics. On a more personal note,
the use of a non-credible businessman and stage
producer as the state's standard-bearer against
the chief justice serves no purpose. I was alleged
by this gentleman to have taken a petty bribe through
which I was able to pressure the Supreme Court bench
headed by the chief justice to rule against the
mini-golf project. For the record, this was not
my petition and to belittle the chief justice of
coming under pressure from an ordinary citizen,
when he stood up to far greater pressure, does little
to advance the government's cause. Ironically, my
own petition against the CDA still awaits a hearing
in the Supreme Court after a year and a half --
so much for influence! As for the issue of my taking
a bribe, luckily I have never needed to on any count
but that is an issue for the courts. Nevertheless,
it is sad when respectable television channels allow
all and sundry to slander respectable members of
civil society -- and I do lay claim to being that.
In fact if we were to familiarize ourselves with
Article 26 of the Constitution we will understand
why the mini golf project was undone by the Supreme
Court. The CDA should understand this Article so
that it stops contravening it at will even now.
Meanwhile, with the state adrift and terrorism reaching
to our societal core, sycophants do no service to
anyone. But has any leadership ever realized that?
(Dr Shireen Mazari is director general of the Institute
of Strategic Studies in Islamabad. Courtesy The
News)
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