March 13 , 2009

Terrorism Reaches the Heart of Pakistan

Lahore , which was the scene of terrorist attack earlier this month on the visiting Sri Lanka cricket team, holds a special significance for the people of Pakistan. It is the heart of Pakistan. It is a lively, vivacious city, the center of Pakistan’s film industry, seat of culture, abode of writers, singers, painters, outstanding builders and artisans, a city of parks and playgrounds with a deep admiration for sportsmen, of distinctive colleges, marvelous historical monuments and above all an uncanny resilience of its inhabitants in the face of adversity. The Lahorites pride over their tradition of hospitality. No wonder, they were badly hurt when a band of terrorists attacked their guests from Sri Lanka.

Till the time of writing (March 8), the government had not issued any report about the motives, identification and affiliation of the criminals.

What is quite indisputable is the utter failure of the concerned authorities to provide adequate security to the visitors. The Commissioner of Lahore has acknowledged this fact. Only the blabbering home minister of Pakistan, Rehman Malik, might find fault elsewhere. He was the security chief of Benazir Bhutto when a gunman/suicide-bomber in full view of the TV cameras and her admirers assassinated her. He was the minister for home security when the Marriott hotel blasts took place, he was the chief security man when the Lahore attack took place and he is even today in that very position. Why has he not elected to resign instead of having to face the shameless failure of his security forces? Perhaps it is inconceivable for him, like the faltering, fumbling movie character Inspector Clousou, to view negatively any of his acts of omission or commission. Perhaps, President Zardari, a close friend of his, finds him to be a totally reliable and right person for the onerous job. His record, however, is a pile of failures over failures. One hopes that he would have better luck next time.

Pakistan is in a terrible mess now. From politics to a paralyzed economy, from terrorism to sports every thing seems to be crumbling. The common man cries out in pain: how long, O, Lord, would the chaotic drift towards anarchy continue? How long would the palace intrigues dictate the course of events? And, for how long would the people at large keep putting up with the effects of self-serving instruments of governance.

It is commonly suspected that the Presidency had maneuvered the dismissal of the Punjab government and the imposition of the Governor’s rule. While the terrorists were killing the policemen at Liberty market and injuring the players of Sri Lanka, the political intriguers at the Governor House were planning the induction of a PPP-led government in the Province.

The intelligence report about the possibility of a terrorist attack on the visitors, details of which have been given by the Jang group, did not perhaps receive the same attention. Had that been so, the tragedy would have been averted.

The political arena resounds with allegations from both the major political parties against each other. Nawaz Sharif of the Muslim League is clearly obsessed with revenge against Parvez Musharraf for ousting him from power and expelling him from the country. Zardari is indebted to Musharraf for the NRO that withdrew all criminal cases against him and enabled him to occupy the highest job in the country, though in the process he removed his benefactor from the seat of power and occupied it himself.

Cunning Zardari has been successful in securing the political support of Nawaz for forcing Musharraf to quit, but he has not kept his public commitment to do away with the powers of the President to sack the Parliament under article 58-2(b) of the Constitution. Nor, has he reinstated all judges sacked by Musharraf during the emergency. To add to the bitterness of the cup of the Sharif brothers, they have been (perhaps on the behest of Zardari) declared by the Supreme Court as unfit to hold any public office. The ensuing political turmoil has diverted attention from the prime requirement of governance -maintenance of law and order and assurance of security to the citizens and more so to visiting foreign dignitaries including sports teams.

With the concentration of powers in the hands of the President, the Parliament and the Prime Minister have been reduced to rubber stamp status. The ordinance issued by the President for setting up mobile courts to give on the spot sentences was issued in defiance of the constitutional requirement of the discussion of the issue first in the parliament. Then, the ordinance was issued while the parliament was in session. It was perhaps calculated to hamstring the long march of the lawyers in concert with Muslim League (N) and the Jamaat-e-Islami to ignite mass agitation for the restoration of all sacked judges of the Supreme Court including the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudhri. Mr. Chaudhri, if restored, may declare the NRO as illegal, thus reviving all the criminal cases against Mr. Zardari.

The Swat peace deal appears to be crumbling, inasmuch as the requirement for the Pushtun people to lay down their arms militates against their tradition of carrying their arms as a part of their attire and of taking revenge as a religious duty. Sufi Mohammed, the leader of the local insurgency who has entered into this deal, is not making much progress in securing the assent of all tribes.

Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Jihadi group that is banned in Pakistan, is in all probability behind the well-planned attack in Lahore as it was thought to be the motivating force behind the Bombay attacks. After the Bombay attacks, so many of its activists were arrested, under US and Indian pressure, by Pakistan authorities that they decided to launch the Lahore attack to register their displeasure. Similarities could be thus being noticed in the modus operandi of the two episodes. Pakistan cannot eat the cake and have it too. It has to take a clear, firm and far-reaching stand on the Lashkar.

The country’s economy is virtually at the bottom. Government’s poor economic measures are no less to blame for this than world recession. While the government of Shaukat Aziz had successfully done away with dependence on the IMF for loans, the present government has borrowed from that source $7.5 billion and is looking forward to more loans and grants by the US to merely remain afloat. The steep fall in exports and the consequent decrease in foreign exchange earnings have slashed further the exchange rate of rupee. The priorities in government expenditure laid down in the budget and approved by the parliament are flouted whimsically chiefly to promote the self-interest of a wheeler-dealer leadership and its cronies.

Despite these negative developments, it would not be right to say that Pakistan has become a “terrorist state”, a “failed state” or a “state that is unraveling”. The Indian and a section of the Western media are gleefully using these terms to describe the current predicament of the country. The only way that the country can go now is up. It has an exceptionally hard-working population that is blessed also with an enormous capacity to take pains and exercise resilience. Ultimately, it is the qualities of the people of a country that shape its destiny. If they get some space from the clutches of the ruling elite, they will work wonders and demonstrate how to labor to live well.

Naheen mayoos Iqbal apni kishat-e-viraN say

Zara nam ho to yeh matti barri zarqaiz hai saqi

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