Dna issue 55

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Sunday, 21 - 27 December, 2014 I Issue 55 I Pages 16 I rs 25

CAN ISLAM AND LIBERALISM BE FRIENDS? WHY IS THE TENDENCY TO STICK TO MEDIEVAL PUNISHMENTS SO STRONG IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES? OPInIOn: Taha Najeeb Khan

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AND NOW THE DIFFICULT PART WALKING THE TALK COver StOrY: Arif Nizami

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‘OUR MOST DANGEROUS WAR’ THE OLD SPYMASTER IS FOR PRESERVING THE OLD ‘ARRANGEMENT’ FOR AFGHANISTAN IntervIew: Gen (retd) Hamid Gul

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Sunday, 21 - 27 December, 2014

EdiToriAl

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Shahab Jafry

Joint Editor

Associate Editor

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After Peshawar

Asher John

Sajid Khan Lodhy

Chief News Editor

Senior Editor

More of Da’ish’s true colours

Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963-5 Fax: 042-32535230 Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208 Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287273 Fax: 051-2818125 Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Too slow on the draw

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here’S been some movement since Peshawar, but a lot more needs to be done, and a lot faster. Lifting the moratorium on the death penalty was wise and logical, even though the push had to come from the military with Islamabad, as usual, behind the curve. The shutdown of educational institutes in Punjab on Friday, especially Lahore, showed that the intelligence machinery has become more proactive than the recent past. and Gen raheel made some serious points in Kabul. They better help with netting Fazlullah, or we will go ahead ourselves, seems to have been the tone. yet there is also cause for worry. That the government still needed a week to work out its response speaks volumes about its distance from reality.

First it was not willing to take the bull by the horns, and insisted on talking even as the Taliban continued attacking sensitive targets. Then they had to be pushed into the operation by the military after the Karachi airport attack. and now, well into Zarb-e-azb, when the military is close to

It is still hoped that the prime minister will take the big picture into consideration when formulating his response. Executing those on death row for years, and bombing the rest of TTP from Waziristan, while good measures, are not the final solution. The PM will have to show he means business, and his response will have to be aggressive and determined. He owes it to the little innocent children who were killed as we sat helplessly. He owes it to their parents, and to the rest of the country.

So far, though, he has been too slow on the draw. clearing north Waziristan and move down to main cities, the government is still without a strategy. nawaz Sharif may have won crucial political support, but with his own think-tank frozen, there is little hope for him, or the country, to come out of this mess any safer.

Once through with the condolences, the prime minister should have immediately outlined an action plan. he should have announced an immediate sweep, across the country, of the villains and their apologists. and those that continue to sympathise with the Taliban, especially after Peshawar, should have been put in their place as soon as

they uttered their provocative pronouncements. Sadly, none of these measures were taken.

It is still hoped that the prime minister will take the big picture into consideration when formulating his response. executing those on death row for years, and bombing the rest of TTP from Waziristan, while good measures, are not the final solution. The Pm will have to show he means business, and his response will have to be aggressive and determined. he owes it to the little innocent children who were killed as we sat helplessly. he owes it to their parents, and to the rest of the country. So far, though, he has been too slow on the draw. g

PTI-PML-N talks

Enough damage done

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mran Khan has done what the PmL-n had demanded to initiate fruitful talks. What one expects is a quid pro quo from the ruling PmL-n.

The entire country has suffered from the nearly four-month-long no-holds-barred strife between the two parties. The shutdowns badly disturbed social life, causing closures of schools and colleges, bringing down industrial production and depriving tens of thousands of common people of their daily earnings. They have caused monetary losses and hassle to thousands upon thousands of litigants coming from far off towns and villages to seek justice only to return disconsolate due to the cessation of work in courts. The public has got fed up with the way the two parties have conducted their fight. many think the PmL-n should have displayed enough flexibility. Instead the ruling party has acted with arrogance. a perception is being strengthened that this is fast leading to a

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The nikah of jihad

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nLy Da’ish could outdo its own horror. Its practice of mass killings, especially frightening beheadings, has become so routine that it is readily accepted as everyday news. But the killing in Iraq of approximately 150 women recently – also brutal beheadings – because they refused jihad marriage marks a new low for the Iraqi government as well as the international coalition battling the expanding so-called caliphate. The arab and British press also cited a pamphlet floated by Da’ish. It is an in-depth manual about capturing, holding and sexually abusing female slaves. yet, strangely, the extremist group continues to attract members from around a hundred countries. Both traditional muslims and converted westerners are now part of its military force.

It is worth noting, though, that despite the thousands publically killed and mass-buried by the Islamic State, it took one american murder to spark the american reaction. and disturbingly, seeing how the allied bombardment campaign has not done much to dent the advance or appeal of Da’ish, it seems the american adventure was directed more towards their local public than the caliphate advancing on Baghdad.

Besides being ineffective, the american push has failed to factor in wider regional implications, and alliances. Paradoxically, Washington remains opposed to the only force that has kept Da’ish from completely overrunning the region – the assad regime in Damascus. and, as Iranian air force has also wisely entered the

whiteLies Apollo

situation where the system is likely to become a casualty. after the PTI’s agreement to call off its agitation there is no justification for the ruling party not to do its part of the job.

The first session of the talks between the two parties was held on Sunday. Both need to realise that the fragile system may not be able to survive the type of jolts that have been administered to it, be they in the form of the use of brutal force and shut downs of entire localities through containers as done by the Punjab government or the unseemly show of force at Constitution avenue by PTI and PaT. People will anxiously wait for the good news within a week as promised by the chief PmL-n negotiator Ishaq Dar. One expects the talks would lead to the constitution of the judicial commission after which Imran Khan should return to the national assembly and PTI should take part in the proceeding of the committee for electoral reforms. g

The Americans, through their ’03 invasion of Iraq, have undoubtedly played the lead role in creating circumstances that al Qaeda exploited to its advantage.

It must now act more responsibly and formulate strategies, and alliances, that can wipe out Da’ish, and the like, before more throats are cut. fray, america continues to shy away from military cooperation – which could go a long way in achieving the aim – in favour of domestic politics.

Pakistan is no stranger to the senseless death and destruction of the al Qaeda and Taliban type. That tragedy that visited us this week has only one parallel in modern history; the Chechen shootout in the quiet town of Beslan, in russia, ten years ago. We are also the best example of how fast things can deteriorate if this particular evil is not nipped in the bud. This realisation seems missing from the combined international effort aimed at countering the murderous caliphate in Iraq and Syria. The americans, through their ’03 invasion of Iraq, have undoubtedly played the lead role in creating circumstances that al Qaeda exploited to its advantage. It must now act more responsibly and formulate strategies, and alliances, that can wipe out Da’ish, and the like, before more throats are cut. g

For feedback, comments, suggestions and, most importantly, tips, contact us at whitelies@pakistantoday.com.pk

Mian sb got some good advice despite the sombre backdrop of the aPC in Peshawar. His old information minister Mushahid Hussain was there, and the prime minister’s long face did not escape him. Where’s the fire in the belly gone, he asked the prime minister, who typically tried to smile it away. Then Mushahid offered some nike advice, that the PM should ‘just do it’ to escape his worries. and he seemed to do just that as the PTi delegation walked in, meeting imran Khan and Shah Mahmood quite warmly. But the chill returned with Jahangir Tareen, apparently. Perhaps the cold shoulder implied that the PM still holds him responsible for his PTi troubles, as the man with the line with the boys that matter? g

********** THere’S this new entrepreneurial venture in Karachi that’s all the rage.

They are Princely Jets, and they give the city’s who’s who a heli tour of the metropolis at $250 per head. So they invited some journos for the maiden flight; nothing like good press to launch a business, quite literally in this case. all was well till the aSF had a problem. They wouldn’t let the cameras go along, for security purposes, of course. if you’ll give anybody with a smart phone the opportunity to snap away at our sensitive locations, where would we be, with the terror war and all? and the security boys wouldn’t brush up on Google earth, etc, even if it hit them in the face. it took a different kind of enlightenment – a call from the PM’s aviation advisor Shujaat azeem – for them to give clearance. g

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Sunday, 21 - 27 December, 2014

cover story

And now the difficult part

Walking the talk

national Security Policy for now over a year. Similarly nacTa (national anti Terrorism authority), thanks to turf wars and lack of funds, has proved to be stillborn. it is alleged that the military does not want any civilian control over its intelligence set up, mainly the iSi (inter Services intelligence) and Mi (Military intelligence). nonetheless, reportedly as a compromise it was decided that the prime minister would head the authority.

The interior minister, however, wanting to head it himself never allowed it to take off. another report claims that the finance The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today. minister simply refused to release funds for the proposed authority.

The kind of national and international ronically, the massacre in approbation the Peshawar massacre has Peshawar has jolted the nation engendered demands some kind of from its deep slumber. or has it? ownership hitherto lacking from our civilian it is perhaps too early to call. leadership. admittedly the government is so We will know as soon as the dust weak that it is perennially looking behind settles whether it is going to be business as its back for guidance from the GHQ. usual or a new narrative will replace the conversely the military under General outmoded one? The one that has relegated raheel Sharif is engaged in Zarb-e-azb. The Pakistan to a state where largest number of existential war against terrorism is a clean people in the world die at the hands of break from its checkered past. But without a terrorism. national narrative supporting the operation Paradoxically, thanks to the flawed against terrorists of all hue and colour, it policies of our successive civilian and simply cannot succeed. military leaders, over the years islamabad our wily politicians have cut deals with has also earned the unsavoury distinction of terrorist organisations, especially in the being the largest exporter of terrorism. The Punjab, for their own short-term gains and massacre of 142 children in Peshawar by the physical protection. They will now have to Taliban has mercilessly driven the reality walk the talk. Will they, is a 64,000 dollars home that the hydra headed monster of question. bestiality is devouring the state that created General raheel Sharif did the right it in the first place. thing to dash to Kabul on the very next day of the massacre, taking with him concrete evidence about Mullah Fazlullah being the mastermind of the dastardly attack.

‘Our wily politicians have Unfortunately, despite expression of good cut deals with terrorist intentions, afghan President ashraf Ghani is in no position to hand him over to organisations, especially in the Pakistan.

Punjab, for their own short-term The top terrorist is ensconced in the gains and physical protection’ Kunar province outside the reach and control of the afghan government. Perhaps the ‘radio Mullah” can only be killed by a it was indeed ironic to see politicians drone attack. in this context General including the prime minister himself Sharif’s meeting with the iSaf commander shedding crocodile tears on the stupendous in Kabul is more significant. tragedy at the meeting of parliamentary Understandably a kind of cathartic heads summoned by him. Most of them are hysteria has overtaken the nation in the part of the problem rather than the wake of the national tragedy. calls for solution. public hangings of all those sent to the nonetheless the meeting, despite the death row for terrorism are being made by cynicism being hurled about its erstwhile opponents of the death penalty — proceedings, was a clean break from the the ubiquitous civil society. past. it ended on some kind of a positive of course, lifting the ban on the death note. penalty being carried out can help. But it For starters, it was agreed that the war will hardly deter the terrorists who use on terror was our war and not america’s or suicide vests to inflict mayhem. foisted on us from across the borders. Even To walk the talk, concrete short term avowed Taliban sympathisers and and long term measures are needed. Will champions of negotiating with them — the the likes of the Sharifs, and imran Khan (in likes of imran Khan, Ji amir Siraj-ul-Haq, coalition with Siraj-ul-Haq) in KP, take the and interior Minister ch nisar ali Khan – leap? agreed that a distinction between good and So far as the military is concerned, it is bad Taliban could no longer be made. no longer making a distinction between implicitly all Taliban were declared bad. good and bad terrorists. it is essentially a Whether the freshly minted national correct position to take, as a terrorist is a action Plan committee, as the name terrorist — come what may. suggests, will come out with an action plan The main accused in november 2008 or will prove to be another committee for Mumbai attack Zakiur rehman lakhvi inaction, we will soon know. getting bail from an anti-terrorism court The interior minister heading it, was ill timed. By deciding to book him however, does not instil much confidence. under MPo (Maintenance of Public order Being an avowed Taliban sympathiser and ordinance) the government has sent the champion of talks with them, he is certainly right signal. The manner in which the state not the ideal person for the job. takes it from here will be a test case about nisar ali Khan is known more for his not cherry picking amongst the terrorists. convoluted mindset and being the enfant notwithstanding the cynicism expressed terrible of the PMl-n by the usual suspects government than for his amongst the commentarati ‘The manner in which negotiating skills. added and the defence to this, his record as the state takes it from here establishment, a large interior minister, to put it swath of indians including will be a test case about mildly, is rather patchy. the Modi government have He is being widely expressed a lot of good will not cherry picking criticised for not coming and sympathy. amongst the terrorists’ up with the much-touted This needs to be built

Arif NizAmi

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upon to improve relations with our belligerent neighbour. Both sides will have to climb down from their stated positions in order to resume the stalled dialogue.

With an existential war on terror on our watch, keeping the pot boiling in our backyard is not an option. Pakistan’s diplomatic road show is hamstrung for various reasons. The time has come that Sharif, instead of looking for transient political gains, should appoint a full-fledged foreign minister with a clear-cut and proactive policy mandate. imran Khan, by announcing to end his concerted campaign against the PMl-n

government, has demonstrated a statesman like quality despite his past recalcitrance.

The Sharifs should give him his supreme judicial commission to probe the flawed 2013 elections. They should not renege on what had already been agreed upon in previous rounds of negotiations.

The resolve expressed in the meeting with top brass at the GHQ, chaired by the prime minister, needs to be dovetailed with evolving a consensus across the political spectrum. a combination of scorched earth policy against the terrorists along with unified political steadfastness will send the right message to the enemies of Pakistan. g

www.pakistantoday.com.pk 03

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cover story Humayun GauHar

The writer is a political analyst. He can be reached at: humayun.gauhar786@gmail.com.

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fter turning Peshawar’s Army Public School into a killing field one of the terrorists phoned his handlers and asked: “We have killed all the children in the auditorium. What do we do now?” the handler replied: “Wait for the army people, kill them before blowing yourself up.”

Not just the terrorists, I’ll tell you who really killed our children. We did. We did by our callous attitude. We did by holding forth thoughtlessly, unwittingly becoming apologists for terrorism. We did by electing and tolerating terrible leadership. We did by tolerating the demented sermonising of demonic mullahs in mosques, madrassas and political parties. thus did we allow terrorists to thrive. they are the products of our perfidy. they just press triggers. We give them guns, not books as Malala lamented. Most of all, I am angry with myself for not standing up more against society’s duplicity. the problem is that most of our men don’t have balls; our women do. Why not hand Pakistan over to women? they would do a damn sight better job than men who are only good at contemplating their navels and then haranguing us with whatever nonsense comes to their challenged minds.

Control your anger, Humayun. Cut to the chase.

Beating chests won’t do. Learn from the tragedy of the coldblooded massacre of 144 people including 132 schoolchildren, analyse mistakes and find corrections. time to understand: tHIS IS OUr WAr. Own it, fight it.

Understand that terrorism is akin to a venom-spewing tree.

Plucking its leaves, cutting branches and chopping its trunk doesn’t work. Destroy its roots in the ground and in our minds where they are most dangerous.

It took this tragedy to bring our ‘misleaders’ together in a ‘Political fest’. A photograph of these geniuses makes one’s heart sink: are these the men who are going to lead our destiny? God help us, but He will not until we help ourselves first. Start by kicking misleaders out of our body politic that they have been polluting for years.

Many of them called the terrorists “stakeholders”, “sulking compatriots”, “one of us” with whom we must hold a dialogue and allow them to open an office here. they must be mollycoddled and brought back in the fold. We lost eight precious months and the element of surprise before the army launched an operation against them with a reluctant prime minister going along. these men around the table who would lead our destiny admit that elections were rigged, that there is corruption and yet would support an illegal government on the pretext of

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Who killed our children?

You cannot mend forever broken hearts with words nor wipe tears with them supporting sham democracy and a political system that benefits them and them alone.

Lacking originality, the Political fest decided to set up a committee. Yippee! the terrorists must be quaking with fright. the army forced them to agree to hang all convicted terrorists forthwith.

What should be done?

1. formation of a National War Government even if it comprises buffoons to get national consensus on the new anti-terrorism strategy.

2. Parliament should immediately declare a counter jihad against fake jihadi terrorists.

3. Declare a National War emergency. Don’t let the fake treason case against General Musharraf weigh on what passes for your minds.

4. empower the National Counter terrorism Authority, give it funds and a head. Don’t quibble over whether a general (who would do a damn sight better job) or a pet civilian should head it. If government can spend billions on metrobuses and motorways, surely it can give much-needed fewer funds to NACtA. Problem is, motorways and metro buses give kickbacks; NACtA doesn’t. for God’s sake get satiated now you politicians.

5. Launch a simultaneous countrywide operation against terrorists of all ilk.

6. Give Afghanistan 24 hours to hand over terrorists and separatists to us or we will come to get them ourselves. their lament that we don’t give their terrorists to them should be agreed to. there should be no such thing as “their terrorists” and “our terrorists”, “Good taliban” and “Bad taliban” just as there are no ‘Good Demons’ and ‘Bad Demons’. Demons are demons, period. All terrorists are everyone’s terrorists and should be dealt with collectively. forget this fifth front nonsense.

7. Strengthen laws so that terrorists don’t easily get bail.

8. establish summary courts run on due process with one appeal. Implement sentences immediately so terrorists don’t sit in jail foisting hell.

9. Create a narrative to counter the pernicious brainwashing narrative of terrorists and their sympathisers.

10. Kick out pro-terrorist mullahs from all mosques and madrassas.

11. Strengthen PeMrA to properly regulate media so that it doesn’t let these demons and their apologists spew their demented venom and pollute minds.

12. Unite people against terrorism government must end State terrorism, like the Model town massacre.

13. Make contemporary curricula for all educational institutions and ban the terrorist-producing Nebraska curriculum that the US made to create Mujahedeen against

the Soviets.

It is easy to jump to conclusions in a storm of emotions. But the bloody outrage has boomeranged against the terrorists who tried to lower our morale by coinciding their heinous act with the fall of Dacca on December 16, spread terror and nip future soldiers in the bud by killing army and civilian children in an army school. this is the fallout, good and bad: 1. People are finally accepting that the war on terror is our war and we are fighting it for ourselves.

2. Instead of showing the army up as ineffective, public support for the army has increased, though one wonders how many more straws the army camel’s back can take before it breaks. Or is it a mule from the famous ‘Mule Battalion’. Many want the army to take over again, but what they should actually demand is true democracy through change of system.

3. they have darned somewhat the tattered civilmilitary relationship. this should dilute Nawaz Sharif’s “terrible fear” of army intervention. It won’t as long as he doesn’t go too far down the path of imbecility. the Peshawar carnage should show him that situations can change instantaneously and cause reaction. He should remember how his world changed when he illegally sacked General Musharraf, hijacked his plane and tried to send it to India. Bizarre is a word not unknown to us.

4. they succeeded in showing Imran Khan’s KPK provincial government as incompetent.

5. they succeeded in ending Imran’s protests against election fraud and prevented the shutting down of the country on December 18. this has helped Nawaz Sharif more than the terrorists. Perhaps it also gave Imran the chance to get out of a blind alley because he wouldn’t ratchet up his protest by storming the citadels of the great. He is convinced that this system can put him in office through honest elections, little realising that honest elections aren’t possible in this system.

Who does it benefit, advertently or inadvertently?

1. the government under inordinate pressure, though I am not suggesting for a moment that it was behind the massacre.

2. India, for it would love Nawaz Sharif to remain in office and continue his Indiapandering. I am certainly suggesting that India might be behind the dastardly deed, as it has been behind many before.

3. Afghanistan perhaps for it makes Pakistan more dependent on its cooperation.

Whose fault is it? It is our collective fault for not standing up to state and non-state terrorism and not supporting something good when it is being done. We opposed President Musharraf when he tried to cleanse the Lal Masjid of terrorist mullahs not because we like them but because we hated Musharraf more. We supported chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry when Musharraf sacked him not because we liked him but because we liked Musharraf less. A confused ‘elected’ government restored Iftikhar Chaudhry and his cohorts who in turn restored the terrorist Mullah Burqa to Lal Masjid. today he supports the school massacre as justified reaction to the army’s antiterrorist operation in North Waziristan and government lets him be. that people are protesting outside the mosque means that they have finally woken up and are learning. they should storm it and do what Musharraf was forced to leave undone. refuse to pray in the mosque until it is purified and cleansed of these Devil’s demons. the deficiency of testosterone producing orbs primarily afflicts our politicians, pseudo intellectuals, most male media anchors and analysts.

Our religious leaders are semiliterate and so mentally challenged that they twist the Word of God to achieve their ends, shamelessly preach it and act against the Word of God, like “though shalt not kill” for killing one human being is akin to killing the whole of humanity. fazlur rahman who exploits religion for his politics and has the temerity to call himself ‘Maulana’ says his heart beats as one with the taliban. today to save his politics he says that killing children is not Jihad.

Haven’t children been killed by terrorists before you moron?

An angry lady messaged the growing national sentiment to me: “Children were shot in the face. Children were shot in the head. Children were dragged

out from under the chairs, under the tables, and shot. At pointblank.

Methodically.

Coldly. Clinically. to avenge the deaths of militants who were wreaking havoc on innocent Pakistanis in myriad acts of terror. It’s retribution, they say.

“I have nothing to say here. You call yourself a Muslim and yet you do what Allah forbids you to do: to perpetrate a war in His name where you kill children. Where you kill people who have never harmed you. You are not just Pakistan’s enemies but you are also your own worst enemy.

“Before a court penalises you, before the bullet of a soldier kills you, you will die a thousand deaths. the screams of the children you killed today, the wails of the parents whose children you killed today, the pain of the nation whose young you killed today will not let you be in peace. Until you die.

“Words have lost their value to express the magnitude of the damage done to the hearts and souls of a common Pakistani.

May Allah SWt rest the innocent departed souls in peace in heaven and give courage and forbearance to the bereaved families to bear this colossal loss. Ameen. I feel extremely sorry for every Pakistani mother especially for those who have lost their treasures of a lifetime. May Allah protect our children. “first step: Mr Prime Minister we don’t need statements from you. Stop showing your sorrow and stop these sorry statements. Within this week announce hanging of the 500 plus terrorists under custody and hang them publicly.

We don’t need your wordy pious statements. the whole nation should ask only one thing: public hanging of the arrested terrorists. Our slogan for the campaign against terrorism and terrorists for the government and the armed forces is: ‘An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.

Hang them all. Hang ’em High.” the intrepid Muhammad Hanif wrote: “there is no need to offer prayers for the souls of the children killed in Peshawar.

What possible sin could 16-yearolds have committed?

Pakistan’s political and military leadership is requested not to worry about the children’s afterlife. When they raise their hands in prayer, they should pray for their own forgiveness.

And they should look at their hands closely, lest they be stained with blood.” I would add from Macbeth: “Out, out damned spot.”

I am not done. g

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N’s cup of tea Peshawar killed a part of Pakistan’s soul shahab JaFry The writer is Associate Editor, Pakistan Today. He can be reached at jafry.shahab@gmail.com

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Here’S usually layer upon layer in such ops, or so the shadow people tell us journos. They should know, they wrote the book on it. There’s always funding and arming where there are insurgencies. and since time immemorial principal sources have been outside forces, even if they have no immediate scores to settle. remember the Soviet war and the ‘strategic depth’ hangover?

So it is entirely possible that someone funded, and someone else armed, and someone in this case also housed, the enemies of our state who committed the Peshawar atrocity. That is why Lateef Mehsud’s repatriation was so important. count on information squeezed from him, in addition to phone transcripts of the Peshawar attackers, to be on the dossier Gen raheel left with President Ghani. Yet, tragically, however real or mythical the outside hand, those carrying out these operations are invariably locals.

There’s some food for thought for conspiracy theorists there.

The spooks tell more, though.

Surely a lot of planning goes into such attacks; the suicide blast at data darbar in Lahore for example or, more ominously, the killing of more than 130 children at the army Public School in Peshawar. Whether at the funding, or the arming, or the operations level, someone must have suggested to someone to pick these particular targets. ‘Mostly fauji kids, unprotected, perfect target’, someone must have suggested.

‘What a good idea’, someone must have acknowledged. Then there must have been the jihadi spin – that we created and mastered, again, so mujahideen could flush out godless communists from afghanistan – and some Pakistanis would have been green-lighted to kill hundreds of little Pakistani children. ‘Job well done’, someone would have grinned as hundreds of mothers howled and the nation went into shock. and, again ominously, however true the foreign agendas and planning part, don’t count out that the Pakistani insurgents, even those in afghanistan, did not really believe that the perpetrators of Peshawar would be with their 72 hoors before the military could successfully secure the school.

Shooting children at point blank range, plucking out eyes, beheading some, setting teachers on fire as students watched, was really part of their noble jihad. Such is the power of this brainwash factory. and just

Sunday, 21 - 27 December, 2014 so we don’t forget, this was the bright idea behind the cIa-ISI Great Game, lubricated by Saudi petrodollars, of course, that finally pulled down the iron curtain and ended the bi-polar world. “We did what Napoleon and Hitler could not do”, Gen Musharraf boasted in his book. “We beat the russians!” and this part, particularly, infuriates today’s intelligence corps.

How could things come to this? We told them, and taught them, lots of things, but this was not among them. and now that they are such a potent part of the mainstream, especially in the forces, what can really be done to really “flush them out”, as Zarb-e-azb is supposed to do?

This, probably, is where Nawaz will hit another brick wall. Imran’s lifted the dharna, and Plan-c, threat – which is smart politics since the boots would have been quick to give him a call otherwise – so now another trial awaits N, one that will test his mettle as commander in chief. Ironically, this comes when N is at his weakest, that’s another thing ‘they’ tell journalists these days – he is weak, not only politically but as a politician, as a leader, as a man.

The signs are already showing. almost a decade-and-a-half into the war against terror there is Peshawar, and they still need a week to hash out a counter-terror strategy. The Lal Masjids of our Islamic republic are back to their belligerent, provocative, insulting best. and when people, not the state, protest, police push them away because of the state’s inability to protect them if things get worse. and those that mobilise the Hafiz Saeeds of this world have done what they always do; they have mobilised Hafiz Saeed. Gen raheel bolstered his no-nonsense-soldier credentials

with his Kabul trip. But at home, just like the government, the military is in a vacuum beyond the bombs and bullets of Zarb-e-azb.

Now, with the political spectrum firmly behind Nawaz in the country’s time of need, he will have to pack quite a punch to knock out the Taliban, and their many affiliates, peers and spillovers. But most of N’s inner circle wanted to continue talking to them even after the Karachi airport attack. In fact, if Gen raheel hadn’t put his foot down, the government might have wanted to continue talks even after Peshawar. The maulanas N trusted with the negotiations continue to harbour sympathy for the Taliban, which is a strange but fair reflection on the prime minister.

How well N understands 21st century mutation of militant Islamism became apparent recently.

When Da’ish announced its bloody caliphate, and Saudi patronage of al Qaeda and Jabhat al-Nusra proxies in Syria strained historic Washington-riyadh relations and jolted a number of long-standing international arrangements, what did Islamabad do? N red carpeted the Saudi crown prince across the capital. There was credible chatter that with the americans turning to Iran – and realising they should have done so far sooner but didn’t because of Israel and Saudi arabia – the Saudis turned to Pakistan for protection, etc. N, apparently, came close to accepting the Saudi request to arm and train the Syrian resistance – various groups that soon came to be known as ISIS – but had to cut a sorry figure when the military would have none of it.

No wonder then that Islamabad is still numb, and the only thing that comes out of the prime

ministers mouth is condolence, not a concrete action plan. even the goahead for executions came because of the military. The ability of the leadership to deliver, therefore, is suspect, especially now since most people want nothing short of finishing off Taliban and their apologists to the last man. and talking about people, don’t take their anger over Peshawar for an official narrative. That, sadly, is still lacking. and neither the civvies nor the military have been any good on that front. The only way Zarb-e-azb can succeed is if it is wholesome. That means first taking out active Taliban, then picking up dormant sells, then rounding up their sympathisers, and all the while forcing a counter-narrative, one that will finally begin to undo the institutional indoctrination of the last three-and-a-half decades. and not only will ch Nisar have to stop listening to Maulana Sami and rana Sanaullah stop taking Malik Ishaq’s calls, it will require a steely resolve and an iron fist to crush all those who have become too used to rubbishing the state’s writ.

The military’s got the hardware covered. and ISI has a good idea of where the intel-intensive phase will have to concentrate. But is the other part – the long haul that requires brave, determined and focused leadership – really N’s cup of tea?

Peshawar killed a part of Pakistan’s soul with it. and somewhere in the sick cross-play of superpower rivalry and concepts of supreme interest, just like the Taliban, N too has his roots. In reality he is as much a concoction of the Zia machine as the Taliban, though in a different way. How ironic that destiny now demands that he fight the old system to its death, whatever the cost. g

Peshawar massacre: Pakistan bleeds

Homegrown terrorism backfires and finally the illusion of self-righteousness explodes

Faysal Namver

The writer is the president for Student Association of Human Rights & Social Change; Twitter@faysalnamver; faysalnamver1@gmail.com

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carred by the Peshawar bloodbath, Pakistan miserably rises to the occasion and tries to redefine the discourse of terrorism on a broader level, while PML-N and several others merely condemn the incident.

Simultaneously, the army swings into action and plans an all-encompassing offensive to counter the menace of terrorism, in addition to the ongoing operation in North Waziristan.

The massacre of 133 children at a school in Peshawar by the Taliban is living evidence of the failure of Pakistan as a state.

TTP took responsibility for this attack and reiterated that it was enacted in retaliation to Operation Zarb-e-azb.

Pakistan’s inability to eliminate the TTP up till now shows failure on the part of the state and the army. The prime minister termed it a ‘national tragedy’, and pledged the annihilation of terrorism. a three-day public mourning was announced, while several political denunciations and protests sprang up from oblivion. This type of political practice has been in effect ever since the advent of modern terrorism, after 9/11.

This cannot go on, as the Pakistani populace refuses to accept political rhetoric now.

This extremist mindset has been bred since the Zia era, the afghan-Soviet war, the mujahedeen, the proxy wars, american aid to the resistance, and all that followed. after the Soviet war, the Pakistani state continued to use Taliban for maintaining its influence in afghanistan. Post 9-11, Pervez Musharraf aligned with the United States, and stated that america was acting like a wounded bear so Pakistan should cooperate. This led to a massive campaign against the afghan Taliban. Mostly, terrorists of arabic descent were extradited, as their links with al Qaeda had been established. Pakistan maintained a soft spot for local jihadist organisations and the afghan Taliban, while ensuring its own continued influence within afghanistan.

The entire world has seen an escalation of terrorist violence, and the killing spree continues. PML-N has been associated with extremist organisations for a long time whereas the state created a narrative of good and bad Taliban for its own vested interests.

But the brutal killing of the Peshawar children cannot go unpunished, as the entire nation has risen up against this atrocity.

The Pakistani state, the establishment, PML-N, the army, and all political parties need to pick their sides cautiously because each one of them stands in deep waters at this crucial juncture in time, because the survival of Pakistan is in jeopardy. PML-N has been rightly accused of cooperating with and supporting the Punjabi Taliban, which is a Punjab-based militant faction. PML-N and other political and religious parties have been continuously accused of harbouring terrorists through overt and covert means, whereas the army was responsible for creating them in the past. Pakistan is infamous around the globe for its state-sponsored activities, but it never learns its lesson. another serious predicament is the dissension between organs of the state on matters of national security, and all the political actors that may influence the

decision-making process. Parts of the state might still be reluctant to execute an alloffensive strategy for all types of militants because some of them could be still effectively used against neighbouring countries, in respect to Pakistan’s susceptible geostrategic position, and its volatile borders.

Pakistani politicians tend to support various militant groups for their separate purposes. With the exit of american security forces from afghanistan in the near future, Pakistan is put in a problematic position.

The deep state might want to maintain its influence in afghanistan, while harbouring selective extremist outfits, which may be employed to continue the covert offensive strategies. The development of strategic relations between afghanistan and India is not favourable for Pakistan, because it weakens its position in the region. Pakistan has been involved in proxy wars all this time, and yet it has refused to discontinue this national security policy despite numerous setbacks. This homegrown terrorism has become an enemy of the self, while external political actors benefit from it.

With the passage of time, the Pakistani nation has been fooled with several narratives pertaining to terrorist groups and their agendas. One narrative insists that terrorist groups are fighting a ‘holy war’, which revolves around sectarian violence. another version states that certain terrorist groups are waging proxy wars against potential enemy states, which is supposedly justified because of the volatility in the region. This promotes a mixed patriotism and support for preferred versions of militancy, but all this has created a certain kind of mysticism pertaining to the identity of terrorist outfits. Some have publicly announced a battle against India, while encouraging the Pakistani population to indulge in jihad, addressing processions in broad daylight. This shows the helplessness or of the state when it comes to eliminating such outfits, who have the audacity to publicly

tarnish the image of Pakistan. This leniency forces one to conclude that this outfit must have the Pakistani state’s support otherwise such public instigation is not possible. Such outfits perpetrate sectarian violence, as the survival of their version depends upon sheer domination through overt force and intimidation. Saudi funded madrassas are being run without any sort of check and balance. These madrassas would usually propagate the Wahabi version of Islam, as it struggles to increase its dominance as the preferred narrative. al Qaeda was established

by Saudi arabia’s intelligence agencies during the afghan-Soviet war. Saudis have been propagating the Wahabi and Salafi schools of thought in Islam since the 1930s. The Wahabi version opposes the Shia version of Islam, and this is why Saudi-backed prohibited outfits have persecuted this sect.

Saudi arabia has been spending a massive portion of its oil income to finance jihadi training camps. It has been responsible for promoting militancy at a global level.

Pakistan has repeatedly allowed the operations of terrorist organisations on its own soil by maintaining its selective criteria for ‘bad’ Taliban. Now, this has backfired, and is wreaking havoc within Pakistani territory and its surrounding regions. This needs to stop and all political parties must stop harbouring their own versions of extremist organisations, as Pakistan does not have the ability to withstand the growing threat of terrorism.

Hence, the Pakistan needs to retrace its steps and eliminate terrorist groups in one holistic blow, irrespective of their internal or external alliances. The organs of the state should be on the same page otherwise external players might benefit from Pakistan’s internal rifts. The Peshawar massacre must be the last straw to invigorate the consciousness of the Pakistani state because the people demand justice for the innocent lives lost, as a result of decades of terrorism activity. g www.pakistantoday.com.pk 05

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cover story

the Peshawar outrage Need to institutionalise policy making

Spearhead Analyses are collaborative efforts and not attributable to a single individual. Webiste: www.spearheadresearch.org

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ecember 16, already a black day in our history because of Indian intervention in what is now bangladesh but was east Pakistan then, is now even blacker after the carnage in Peshawar. 132 children and nine staff members of the Army Public School murdered in cold blood by seven terrorists now owned by the TTP. That the terrorists came to kill

is beyond doubt because they started shooting as soon as they entered and saw the children.

Whether they wanted to hold some hostages to negotiate their own release is a question that will remain unanswered because the army commandos who rescued 966 out of the schools 1099 population killed all seven of them. That they all had suicide vests strapped on makes it unlikely that they wanted to get away after their grisly work.

That their looks point to a certain ethnicity and nationality is also something to be analysed.

As a target the school was a sitting duck. The killers came in a vehicle which they blew up as a diversion for clambering over the walls and into and across the backyard of the school straight into the main building. There was marginal security and almost no barrier to illegal entry. Probably no

one ever gauged the limit of barbarity that human beings are capable of and the thinking was that a school for children could not be a target for terrorists. There has been a rude awakening and the TTP spokesman claiming the attack without any remorse has made their intent clear. The TTP target list now includes soft targets — Wagah was the first — and the softer the better.

A response has to be evolved now with the capacity available and not in the future with resources to be built in due course. Already there is severe criticism over the National Security Policy and impotent bodies like NAcTA (National counter Terrorist Authority) and JIc (Joint Intelligence committee).

After threats have been hurled, compensation (as if there can be any!) doled out and the blame game has ended there should be a very serious inward look at the lapses and events that led to complacency. Some hard decisions have to be taken. Inevitably some

heads have to roll no matter how unpalatable such a step is. The likely target list has to be reworked and appropriate security provided to all — if resources have to be diverted from VIP duties then so be it. money guzzling projects that are not critically important must be shelved and funds channelled into vital security capacity building projects. There is a need to ginger up the judicial and punitive processes so that timely action sets an example. An austerity drive must lead to a ban on celebratory events, political gatherings, costly advertisements and all unnecessary functions. The private sector especially cinemas, malls, banks, hotels, office buildings etc must be asked to reassess and improve their security arrangements—so far these are woefully inadequate.

Far more important is the need to understand the difference between counter insurgency and counter terrorism to determine the national response needed for each as well as for a situation where these two have become interlinked or even morphed into a single threat with linkages to crime, sectarian divides and political entities. People movements across

the country for religious and political events is a god sent opportunity for terrorists to carry out their own moves of people and material — these can be put on hold for as long as we are at war. most importantly the funds being channelled from home and abroad in the name of charity need to be identified regulated and the ones to be strangulated selected.

Foreign policy must gear up to give us allies against the common enemy especially in the context of bilateral relations. National cohesion has to be forged and maintained and those hindering it must go. Political stability is now an urgent necessity so personal agendas and vendettas must take a back seat. civil- military relations must not be questioned or debated and the media should decide how they can be a potent force in the fight against the forces that seek to destroy the country.

The political leadership should now give the country a competent credible and dedicated team that can start delivering and all policy and decision making should be institutionalised so that discretionary powers are simply not there. g

Taking Pakistan’s extremist mindset head on

is eradicating Pakistan’s talibanisation possible by tackling their support systems?

Luavut ZahiD

Luavut Zahid writes about all the injustices she sees, whether they’re directed towards people, or the planet. She can be found writing about crisis response and disasters just as easily as she’ll pen a piece about the mistreatment of women and minorities. She can be reached at: luavut@gmail.com, and she tweets at: @luavut.

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he Peshawar massacre obliterated the future of 132 children, and nine teachers. The attacks shook the entire nation to its core, their magnitude too large and too heinous for them to seem real. It took only a little while for the Taliban to assert their responsibility for what took place at APS that day. And unsurprisingly, it took Taliban apologists even lesser time to reassert excuses, apologia, and even extend their support to the militant group.

“Today just five of us lighted a flying lantern in front of Lal masjid. I request the city of #Islamabd to come together every day for seven days to light candles and hold a prayer for the brave who fell in Peshawar and let the extremists know that we will #NeverForget our martyrs.”

That is the appeal that broke people out of their grief for Peshawar. Jibran Nasir began what he felt would be a small demonstration in the city of Islamabad. however, his appeal quickly went viral with several people coming to his aid to share his message as far and wide as possible.

Jibran, however, is no idealist. When asked what motivated him to action this time he responds bluntly. “This isn’t motivation, this is frustration. That’s the best way to put it. There is too much frustration and I didn’t want to take it at Korsar market or F-11 markez where the message wouldn’t reach who it was meant for.” Instead Jibran wanted to take the fight to the very source. “I wanted to take out my frustrations on the very

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institutions that give patronage and security to the Taliban, and their body and their network. And those people should know that we are mad, we are angry, we are upset, and we’ve had enough,” he says as a matter of fact.

The protests which mushroomed from five people into 300-400 people are being seen as a turning point by many. however, Jibran is a little too pragmatic to share that optimism.

“Nahi ji, mazrat ke sath, every day in the history of Pakistan is a turning point for Pakistan. I believe the turning point was when one lone Aitzaz hussain, a school child, gave his life and protected 100 of students in hungu. The Peshawar attack last year in the church when so many kids died or when they entered the police academy and killed hundreds of our cadets. That should have been a turning point. These incidents have happened time and again,” he says warily.

The fact remains that addressing the elements that promote an extremist mindset and Talibanisation in Pakistan must be curbed. marvi Sirmed, an activist and a columnist, feels like it’s the need of the hour.

“The reason I became a part of these efforts was simple. It might seem as though we have shifted the focus from the tragedy to the Lal masjid incident but I personally believe they’re both very closely linked.

“Why did Peshawar happen? The answer is because the state has been allowing these people to do as they please and no one has addressed them on a societal level either. If the army is now prepared to deal with them then the politicians must do the same.

Unfortunately, all parties, including the newbie change-mongering-party, are all timid right now. They’re going down the same route ‘make a committee and come up with an eightday plan and so on’ that won’t work,” she says.

For the narrative to change and be completely against the Taliban the civil society will need to work harder with a counter narrative. There is no turning point or watershed moment that will count unless the damaging narrative that’s the cause of the problem is done away with. “We have these elements in the media that keep confusing the nation and keep breaking any counter terrorism narrative. You keep giving them so much of media space that keeps hammering people that have no other source of information. It manufactures consent from the public by badgering them with the same information every ten minutes!” marvi says.

The media space that is allotted to people like Abdul Aziz is questioned by Usman Qazi, another person who was crucial in helping mobilise people to attend the Lal masjid protests. “most TV channels

were covering it live but all we got was a ticker. When we grew in numbers and started chanting slogans, unequivocally denouncing Taliban, their covert and overt apologists, the military, the strategic depth doctrine, etc, we started getting more TV time. And then suddenly the coverage was stopped in favour of breaking news like, “Sui Gas thief arrested by FIA in Nazimabad Karachi!” he says with exasperation.

Abdul Aziz, the man in question himself, has been forgiven and forgotten as a person of interest it seems. “Aabpara, which is an intelligence hub for our intelligence agencies, they’re sitting under its nose and the state doesn’t dare touch them. Abdul Aziz comes on TV and says he doesn’t believe in Pakistan, asks for leniency for the TTP and Shariah law! The very first time he produced a fatwa against the army he should have been thrown into jail by the state, the state isn’t fulfilling its responsibility, so we’re doing it instead,” he explains.

What was a peaceful protest by unarmed civilians didn’t come without its own perils. “The Lal masjid goons came out to warn and threaten the protestors but they insisted that they wished to come inside and pray two nawafil for the martyred kids. It was then that police arrived in heavy contingents and dispersed the protestors by pushing them and erecting human barricades,” Usman remembers. marvi feels that the police may not have had a choice in the matter. “They weren’t trying to be harsh with us at all. They seemed genuinely frightened of the Lal masjid goons. but we weren’t going anywhere, even when we kept being threatened about ‘consequences’ by the Lal masjid admin. Despite coming armed and fully equipped, I don’t feel that the police was equipped to handle the situation. but if the state knows what’s inside why aren’t they doing anything about it, what is it that the police know and fear?” she questions.

The police continued to focus on the protestors instead of the folks from Lal masjid threatening them. In an ironic twist, FIr’s were registered against the people doing the peaceful protesting. “We put out a call for Jummah prayer and the ASWJ did a demonstration there right then. What they were doing there and who they were demonstrating against, no one knows.

Targeted killings, Shia killings and openly admitting all that they do - yet they are safe and come out with confidence and the police is unable to do anything. but unarmed civilities with candles in their hands are arrested immediately!” she says angrily.

Jibran is not afraid of the FIr business at

all. “I don’t preach anything that I don’t practice. If the police is going to come after me I’m not going to run away and hide. A few people called me last night to help me get help from influential folk, but I am going to protest the way the common man would. And the common man does not have the network that I have! I am not going to use any network and I want to be as vulnerable as he and be on his page when I protest.” At the time of writing this piece the tables seemed to have turned on Lal masjid with the protesters, lead by Jibrain, filing their own FIr against Abdul Aziz under Section 502(ii).

The news is taken with a grain of salt by marvi who sees the FIr as a symbolic win but not a practical one. “They should have registered hate speech but both hate speech or libel law is too weak. So now we’ve got a ‘qatal ki dhamki’ FIr but that too is weak.

Symbolically this is a big deal since the state caved in o civilian pressure. This protest needs to shift in front of the parliament.

They are going to go to recess soon because it’s the end of December but instead they should be thinking of dealing with this with immediate effect. The home ministry of all the provinces needs to become active and the civil society needs to keep an eye on the home ministry,” she informs.

For the protests to bear real fruit they would need to be sustained long term. The rape case in India mobilised people because it was their breaking point. Jibran hopes for similar results in Pakistan. “We need a similar mobilisation of civil society, ministry, government, intelligence and what not. I’d want to make a law, and there’s already something in the works to monitor all masjid khutbas. All the men that use the prophet and the Quran to spread hatred, who gave them the right to do this? They are the ones that are conducting actual blasphemy! Why are they not questioned? Why aren’t they blacklisted?

All this big funded bodies, why don’t they take responsibility for them?” he questions.

Jibran ends the discussion with a small message for Abdul Aziz. “Sit with me, anywhere anytime for 15 minutes on TV and argue with me and defend this thing. I’ll argue with you in the light of Islam completely, I’ll argue with you on your lines. I’m not scared of you or your people at all,” he says.

“I am trying to create an example for other Pakistanis: stop being bloody afraid.

This is my nation, it was created for me, these are my laws, my constitution, and they are meant for my protection and I am supposed to stand for their enforcement. I am not supposed to look anywhere else for that. Neither are any of you,” he smiles. g

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Helplessness and unavoidable shockwave psychological rehabilitation is important hand exposure to, terrorist acts or military actions will be much more vulnerable and in this case children who survived the attack are susceptible to many negative symptoms. Fear, anxiety, loss of control, helplessness, anger, loss of stability, isolation and confusion accompanied with nightmares, flashbacks, hyper-vigilance and hyperarousal symptoms are usually seen in survivors of any gigantic calamity, leading to post traumatic stress disorder The writer is a legal psychologist at (PTSD) in many cases.

Research Society of International Terror interrupts routines. It is Law (RSIL) and can be reached at unsettling and individuals feel insecure ayesha_fakhar@hotmail.com when their usual schedules and activities are disrupted, increasing their level of stress and need for reassurance. In countries like Pakistan, Iraq and he history of humans is a history Afghanistan, it is not uncommon for of intergroup conflict, whether it individuals to witness deaths and is between tribes, city–states, destruction from terrorism or war tactics. kingdoms, or nations. Brutality, Seeing death in front of one’s eyes at an ruthlessness, violence in the early age, especially if it is of a close one, name of religion or any other political can be traumatic. Major depressive agenda creates not only havoc among the disorder, suicidal ideation and PTSD are masses in any society but is rather an act commonly envisioned among these of cowardice. Determining what drives individuals. War and terrorism related people to terrorism is no easy task. traumas vary enormously in their Terrorists aren’t likely to volunteer as intensity, from exposure to brutal death experimental subjects, and examining and witnessing of their activities from explosive-violent afar can lead to acts, to the erroneous ‘The loss is immense and hard derivative effects of conclusions. The to envisage but children and war such as Peshawar attack is teachers who survived this displacement, a clear depiction of relocation, inhumane violent attack need support in a sickness, loss of barbarism and systematic way. A set of loved ones, and raises the starvation. significant emotions encircle them day and Among those question: “Are we night and makes it impossible individuals humans?” The for them to live ordinary lives’ exposed to waranswer is, however, related stress for a simple. We are longer period, it is indeed humans but generally estimated that the prevalence of with hardened hearts and minds paralysed posttraumatic stress symptomatology completely possessing a barbaric varies from 10 to 90 percent, manifested approach, struggling consistently and by anxiety disorders and other psychiatric continuously for power and control over morbidities including depression, one group or the other. disruptive behaviours, and somatic Terrorist attacks in our country and symptoms. Apart from this, emotional threats or realities of war are frightening responses vary in nature and severity from experiences for all Pakistanis. Terrorists individual to individual. Fear is the particularly hope to elicit a violent predominant reaction — fear for the safety response that will assist them in of loved ones as well as fear for their own mobilising their own people. A terrorist safety. The worries are based on the real group is the apex of a pyramid of images of terrorist attacks or war scenes. supporters and sympathisers. The base of Lack of control can be overwhelming and the pyramid is composed of all those who confusing. These feelings are experienced sympathise with the terrorists’ cause even by most people in the immediate though they may disagree with the violent aftermath of the terrorist attacks. Anger is means that they use. War and terrorism an added response are man and expressed by perpetrated acts of individuals who violence that vary ‘Terror interrupts routines. have either along a number of It is unsettling and individuals witnessed a dimensions such as traumatic event or the diversity of the feel insecure when their usual have been a victim. war-related schedules and activities are Children may traumatic disrupted, increasing their direct anger toward stressors, the zone classmates and of impact (single level of stress and need parents because site or multiple for reassurance’ they can’t express sites), frequency their anger toward and duration of terrorists or exposure (single or entities responsible for mass destruction. multiple events) and their effects on As can be seen in the Peshawar school family, social and community attack, psychological effects of war and infrastructure as well as life sustaining terrorism on individuals depend on a variables such as access to food, water, range of factors, depending on the preshelter, and protection from disease. war scenario, atrocities to which an The Peshawar school attack is individual is subjected during the war, presumably the deadliest terrorist attack and post-war conditions. The response to ever to occur in Pakistan. The loss is terrorism can be more dangerous than immense and hard to envisage but the terrorists who caused the destruction. children and teachers who survived this Relaxing in the warmth of anger and violent attack need support in a hatred will not be a solution to a problem, systematic way. A set of emotions rather will lead to horrendous results. A encircle them day and night and makes it team of professional counsellors and impossible for them to live ordinary lives. trained therapists should visit the victims The degrees to which people are affected and the survivors, counsel the families, vary, depending on personal providing all sorts of support to ensure a circumstances. Individuals who have speedy psychological recovery. g­ suffered a personal loss from, or had first

AyeshA FAKhAr

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opinion

Welcoming imran Khan’s return to the mainstream It is the turn of the government to reciprocate

approach the Supreme Court to stop the opening of the bags. This looks fishy.

The PML-N had promised early this week to start talks with the PTI. Ishaq Dar, who was directed by Nawaz Sharif to initiate the parleys, had assured that his party would leave power if the decision by the judicial commission on poll rigging came against it. Dar had had also urged Imran Khan to postpone his scheduled protests till the commission delivered it verdict.

The writer is a political analyst and a former academic.

With Imran Khan ending the sit-in and calling off the countrywide shutdown, it is the turn of the government to reciprocate. It he tragic killings of school is in the interest of the PML-N in particular children in Peshawar have and the system in general to resolve the traumatised the whole nation. issue at the earliest The horror at the Army Public Nawaz Sharif has to play a central role School has, however, brought the in getting the differences between the two highly polarised nation on one page. This is parties ironed out. It is yet to be seen if he a positive development though one is not is really willing to reach a settlement with sure how long it is going to last. the PTI. Imran’s presence at the multi-party While Pakistani politicians are generally conference convened by the prime minister slow on the uptake, Sharif is an exceptionally has to be welcomed for two reasons. The bad learner. It took him more than a decade PTI chief was among the most prominent to develop a modus vivendi with the PPP, opponents of military operation against the which was once considered the PML-N’s terrorists. Like the PML-N he too was an traditional rival. For ten years his blood ardent supporter of talks with the TTP. his would boil whenever someone mentioned party, which opposed drone attacks, had Benazir Bhutto’s name. Finally his minions blocked NATO traffic passing through cooked up cases against her. BB was thus Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The TTP had made to run from pillar to post till she proposed his name as one of their finally decided to go into voluntary exile. A representatives in peace talks with the little later Nawaz Sharif too was overthrown government early this year. Though Khan and imprisoned and subsequently sent into had declined the offer, his tilt towards the exile by Musharraf. It took Sharif many militants had earned him the nickname of more years of hardships to realise the need Taliban Khan for tolerating political rivals.

The PTI had received the second highest Nawaz Sharif now faces another votes in the 2013 elections and had politician who has challenged the PML-N in emerged as the third largest party in the Punjab, the current power base of the party.

National Assembly. Its absence from the The PML-N leaders have again forgotten the meeting would have been a blow to the lessons that they claimed they had learnt in national consensus jails during the against terrorists. his Musharraf military rule. presence proves that the They failed to pay heed ‘Sharif needs to take a entire nation stands to Khan when he united against the demanded investigation number of steps to build existential threat that into four constituencies. mutual confidence. Talks the country faces today.

Nawaz Sharif instead The decision to join decided to browbeat the between the nominees of hands with Nawaz Sharif PTI leader. Three the two parties should lead would not have been ministers we given the to the formation of the easy for the PTI chief. he task to continue issuing had vowed not to leave provocative statements judicial commission’ the container from where against him. Nawaz he had been addressing Sharif meanwhile the participants of the pretended not to take sit-in for nearly four months. All this time he any notice of Khan. The tactics were had been vociferously demanding the obviously not aimed at promoting goodwill. appointment of a judicial commission to An abrasive Khan consequently decided to probe election rigging. During the period he pay Nawaz Sharif in kind. had also led massive rallies in the three This led to the complaints that the PTI biggest cities of the country where he chief was employing unparliamentary delivered the same message. language. The charge failed to convince many.

On Wednesday, when Imran Khan It was pointed out that Shahbaz Sharif had announced before a highly charged crowd of said worse things about Asif Ali Zardari when PTI’s workers his decision to end the the latter was the president of the country. ongoing sit-in, many among the audience Mian Nawaz Sharif has done well to rein burst into tears. Some tried to dissuade him in the three ministers. This had to be done as from taking the step by mobbing his car. It they were seen to have gone overboard while was really a show of statesmanship on Imran trying to fulfil the mission assigned to them.

Khan’s s part to let go waste the political Sharif needs to take a number of steps to momentum he had built up over months. It build mutual confidence. Talks between the goes to his credit to realise that the nominees of the two parties should lead to Peshawar tragedy required putting national the formation of the judicial commission. unity above party agenda. he faced the noisy The PML-N must be ready to sacrifice, if dissenters in his party with determination needed, its speaker and a couple of ministers. and courage. he still stands by the demand The PML-N would be a loser if it was to for the formation of the judicial commission treat Imran Khan as a vanquished foe. In to look into his complaints. case it does so it might lose the support of The new situation will test Nawaz many in the opposition. Nobody wants a Sharif’s political wisdom. The desperation renewal of confrontation at a time when shown by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to challenge the country faces the threat to its existence the verdict of the election Tribunal ordering posed by the terrorists. the opening of the bags in his constituency Once the judicial commission is framed indicates that he fears the revelations would Imran Khan also needs to return to the incriminate him. After his appeal against National Assembly. This will ensure that the Tribunal’s order was dismissed by the required electoral reforms are in place Lahore high Court he announced he would at the earliest. g

Aziz-uddin AhmAd

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opinion

Dealing with terrorism nawaz faces the biggest challenge of his political life

mian aBRaR The writer is an Islamabad based journalist. He can be reached at hussainmian@gmail.com.

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he butchering of 135 schoolchildren in Peshawar by heartless terrorists has left Pakistani nation with no choice but to wage a united and strong fight against the terrorists. It is time for us to take this fight to the nurturing dens of terrorist monsters, their facilitators, their financers, their apologists, their infrastructure, the brains behind their evil designs and their handlers simultaneously. however, it is a big ask for a nation divided on sectarian lines whose economy is bleeding, governance is in tatters and leadership is corrupt to the core. Weak governance is among the factors conducive to the spread of terrorism. So how we would meet the massive challenge?

It is a million dollar question which needs soul searching, collective wisdom and rising above petty personal interests.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has taken a giant leap toward this objective by calling off the fourmonth-long sit in against the poll rigging allegations. Others need to follow the suite.

The buck stops with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who faces the biggest challenge of his political life. he must now prove himself capable of not only winning this war but also defeating the terrorist mindset, which poses a great challenge to the future of this nation. experts across the globe agree that weak or bad governance is among the factors conducive to the spread of terrorism. The problems of governance, including corruption and moneylaundering, deprive the state of the capacity to effectively ensure sustainable economic, social and environmental development and undermine social cohesion, stability and security.

There is a dire need to adopt a zero tolerance policy against terrorism, corruption and money-laundering. There is also a need for dealing with the financing of terrorism and related offences with an iron fist by making them policy priorities backed by appropriate legal instruments, adequate financial, human and institutional resources and, where necessary, appropriate tools for their practical and effective implementation.

Nawaz Sharif is lucky in a way that he has full support from two major international powers – United States of America and China. Another fact supporting him is that all neighbouring countries of Pakistan have strong and popular leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian premier Narendra Modi and Iranian President hassan Rouhani. It would be interesting to watch how much support premier Sharif can muster from these neighbouring leaders in the fight against terrorism.

Learning counter terrorism from China Though Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

08 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

is banking on investments and loans from the Chinese government, there is a massive need for Pakistan to urge China to invest in technical and human resources in Pakistan. Under President Xi, China has launched a massive crackdown against corrupt elements in government.

In order to promote good governance, Pakistan needs to follow the model set forth by President Xi Jinping. Besides good governance, bringing in transparency in financial matters is imperative to eradicate corruption.

The core fundamental of the Chinese president’s counter-terrorism policy is to adopting zero tolerance against the menace of terrorism. A Chinese proverb says that development and political and economic stability go hand in hand. The Chinese government believes that good governance at all levels is fundamental to economic growth, political stability, and security. Good public and corporate governance, rule of law and strong institutions are essential foundations of a sound economy, which can enable Pakistan to reduce poverty and inequality, to increase social integration and opportunities for all, to attract investment and to protect the environment.

Since Pakistan is importing everything from China, it would be good advice for the government to also learn good governance and development tools from our Chinese neighbours. More could be learnt from India as our neighbouring state has developed a lot during the past decade. India has also implemented a strong anti-terrorism strategy and the government’s writ has been restored in its troubled areas. even the Sri Lankan government has won its battle against the LTTe. Pakistan had also extended great help to Sri Lanka in this regard.

Financial transparency in public affairs is an essential condition and accountability of public and private financial, defence and civilian institutions is essential. This would support the active participation of civil society and the private sector in economic and development processes.

Financial transparency, law and order Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has a tainted past as far as corruption is concerned. During his two tenures in office, he has been blamed as a corrupt politician. Since his third term began, the premier has lured the Chinese government to invest billions of dollars in Pakistan.

Financial transparency increases the stability and performance of institutions and economies, which are functioning on the basis of adequate legislation and with full respect for the rule of law.

A public sector based on transparency and rule of law is necessary for sustainable economic growth. A clean and transparent public sector constitutes an important element for fostering citizens’ trust in public institutions and government. The development of and adherence to codes of conduct for public institutions is critical for reinforcing good governance, publicsector integrity and the rule of law.

Good governance requires a framework of economic policies, legislation and institutions in which businesses and investments can grow.

Therefore, clear legal frameworks conducive to the development of business, including small and medium-sized enterprises, are critical to economic growth, and to the promotion of investment. g­

Whitewashing Cia torture “We are [not so] awesome” after all Ramzy BaRoud The writer is an internationallysyndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story (Pluto Press, London).

T

he logic that torture is a “stain” on US history is the heart of the problem, since it blocks an honest reading of whatever “values” Washington actually stands for.

“This is not who we are. This is not how we operate,” were the words of President Barack Obama commenting on the grisly findings of a long-awaited congressional report on the use of torture by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

But what if this is exactly who we are?

The report is difficult to read, not just because it is awfully long –hundreds of pages of a summary of a nearly 6,000-page investigation, including 38,000 citations based on the review of six million pages – but because it was most disturbing. Parts of it resemble the horror of an extremely dark hollywood movie. But it was all real: from rectal feeding(as in putting hummus in detainee’s rectums), to rape, to torturing prisoners to death, to blinding prisoners, to forcing them to stand on broken feet, for days. It is beyond ghastly.

Also, it was all useless. Worse, it strongly believed that the torture dungeons, many of which were outsourced to other countries, including 25 in europe, including the democracy and human rights-touting Britain, have achieved little but fabricated information. What else can an innocent man say when he has nothing to say; but lie, hoping that maybe such lies would save his life?

Of course, aging accused war criminals like former Vice President, Dick Cheney were quick to dismiss the report and its detailed brutal interrogation tactics as “full of crap.”

Without a shred or remorse, he told Fox News Channel on 10 December, a day after the report was released: “What happened here was that we asked the agency to go take steps and put in place programs that were designed to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again, and that’s exactly what they did.”

It matters little that these “steps” killed innocent people, violated US and international law, and, equally important, lead to nothing but confessions under the duress of torture.

Cheney’s complete disregard for human rights and international law is not the exception, but very much defines US attitude towards seemingly unimportant matters as law and due process in its most destructive so-called war on terror. his attitude was echoed repeatedly by many others, who insist on the US’s moral superiority, yet without providing a shred of evidence to validate such an assertion.

Although one is relieved that the truth was, at least partly, laid bare, thanks to the persistent efforts of members in the Senate Intelligence Committee, the resulting discourse is still disturbing. Aside from the fact that top officials insist that there will be no prosecution for the war criminals, the language of President Obama and others promise little soul searching ahead.

“This is not who we are,” said Obama.

Yet, John O. Brennan, the director of the CIA still defended the agency’s use of the brutal tactics in American gulags, “sidestepping questions about whether agency operatives tortured anyone,” according to the New York Times.

“The ‘lunch tray’ for one detainee, which contained hummus, pasta with sauce, nuts and raisins, ‘was ‘pureed’ and rectally infused,” the report said.

“This is not how we operate,” Obama said. But how do “we” exactly operate when the report was the outcome of 6 million documents? That is 6,000,000. There can no longer be a “few bad apples” argument made here, as the horrors of Abu Ghraib were once justified.

These practices were carried out for years. It involved numerous personnel.

Numerous prisons. Many countries, including almost the entirety of europe, and some of the biggest human rights violators on earth, including Middle eastern and African countries It was financed by a mammoth budget, and continues to be defended, brazenly by those who ordered them, who are unlikely to see their day in court.

Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, was adamant in her rejection of CIA torture. The program was “morally, legally and administratively misguided (and) far more brutal than people were led to believe,” she told the Senate.

Fair enough. But then this, the torture program is “a stain on our values and on our history.”

There is this stubborn insistence on highlighting the same kind of moral superiority, contrary to all evidence. But isn’t the whole so-called war on terror, and the continued American military involvement in the Middle east, the lethal unmanned drone program, which has killed thousands, the unconditional support for Israel and all sorts of oppressive regimes, and much more, all “morally, legally and administratively misguided.”?

Between Cheney’s bullying attitude and Obama’s/Feinstein’s, which claims that the massive, outsourced program is merely a “stain” on otherwise perfect American values, the report is unlikely to change much. Justice is unlikely to be served.

There can be no serious rethink and moral awakening without talking full responsibility, not just of vile torture tactics, but the entirety of the US’s misguided foreign policy which is predicated on violence, and lots of it.

“I will leave to others how they might want to label these activities,” Brennan said.

The report indicated that detainees were tortured before they were even asked to cooperate. how does one label that Mr. Brennan? even by the logic of those who torture, such tactics are senseless.

Should some insist on the old, tired “few bad apples” argument, the report indicated that in “Detention Site Green” CIA interrogators objected to the continued use of torture, before they were told to carry on by their seniors. No few bad apples. The whole barrel is rotten.

There can be no justification to what the US has done, not just against suspects in its global wars, but against entire nations, who were completely innocent of any involvement in any terror attacks on 11 September, prior or after that date.

But CIA torture being a “stain” on an otherwise flawless record doesn’t suffice either. In fact, in some way, this logic is the heart of the problem, since it blocks any attempt at honest reading of whatever “values” Washington stands for, and tries to achieve, using “soft diplomacy” of “rectal feeding.”

What is equally worrying to what the report has contained is the existing mindset in the US, among the ruling class and the media.

This reality can be best summarised in the words of a Fox News show co-host, Andrea Tantaros: “The United States of America is awesome, we are awesome,” she exclaimed.

“The reason they want to have this discussion is not to show how awesome we are. This administration wants to have this discussion to show us how we’re not awesome.”

With such overriding thoughtless mindset, there is little evidence to show that such “awesomeness” will cease anytime soon, even if at the expense of many innocent people. g

C M YK

Sunday, 21 - 27 December, 2014

Getting away with torture

opinion

Why nothing will happen Sheldon Richman

The writer is vice president and editor at The Future of Freedom Foundation in Fairfax, Va. (www.fff.org).

N

ow we have it straight from the chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Sen Dianne Feinstein: Under any common meaning of the term, CIA detainees were tortured. I also believe that the conditions of confinement and the use of authorised and unauthorised interrogation and conditioning techniques were cruel, inhuman, and degrading. I believe the evidence of this is overwhelming

and incontrovertible.

She should have added “sadistic.” Your tax money went to employ sadists. Perhaps this is nothing new.

Feinstein writes this in introducing the recently declassified, but heavily redacted 525-page executive summary of the committee’s 6,000-page report on the CIA’s post-9/11 use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” (EIT). It portrays a dishonest and brutal agency determined to use whatever methods it wished regardless of legality.

In her introduction, Feinstein put the CIA’s actions into context: I can understand the CIA’s impulse to consider the use of every possible tool to gather intelligence and remove terrorists from the battlefield, and CIA was encouraged by political leaders and the public to do whatever it could to prevent another attack….

Nevertheless, such pressure, fear, and expectation of further terrorist plots do not justify, temper, or excuse improper actions taken by individuals or organisations in the name of national security.

Amen. No excuse for torture is

acceptable. Apologists for the CIA, including former Vice President Dick Cheney and former CIA Director Michael Hayden, may use all the convoluted arguments they can muster to claim that EITs do not constitute torture. But they cannot change the facts. Any government unfriendly to the American empire that had used these techniques would have been condemned by the US government as barbaric. what will happen now? In a word, nothing. Yes, we will have some fresh window dressing: the CIA has already been removed from doing detention and interrogation.

But the CIA has been far from the only problem. The entire nationalsecurity state and the global empire it supports are the problems. The US military detained and tortured more people than the CIA did, and despite appearances, President obama has not ruled that out for the future.

As Jeffrey Kaye reported in the Guardian: The United States Army Field Manual (AFM) on interrogation has been sold to the American public and the world as a replacement for the brutal torture tactics used by the CIA and the

Department of Defence during the Bush/Cheney administration. on 22 January 2009, President obama released an executive order stating that any individual held by any US government agency “shall not be subjected to any interrogation technique or approach, or any treatment related to interrogation, that is not authorised by and listed in Army Field Manual 2 22.3.”

But a close reading of Department of Defence documents and investigations by numerous human rights agencies have shown that the current Army Field Manual itself uses techniques that are abusive and can even amount to torture.…

Labelled Appendix M, and propounding an additional, special “technique” called “Separation,” human rights and legal group have recognised that Appendix M includes numerous abusive techniques, including use of solitary confinement, sleep deprivation and sensory deprivation.

Aside from some PR stunts, the government will observe standard operating procedure. what we know for certain is that no one will be prosecuted. Top officials in the

George w Bush administration, and operatives all along the chain of command, broke American and international law. The US government is a party to antitorture treaties, under which suspected transgressors are to be prosecuted. So obama is flouting the law by not pressing for legal action, and torture victims have been denied redress in court.

Moreover, the US government never joined the International Criminal Court, so it obviously will not cooperate in any effort to bring American torturers to justice.

About the only hint of consequences for the torturers is that henceforth they will be afraid to travel to Europe, where they might be charged with crimes against humanity under the “universal jurisdiction” doctrine.

It’s small comfort that torturers will be deprived of the ability to vacation abroad.

Regular Americans are held accountable for their actions. why are not government officials?

As long as the American people overlook government’s criminal acts, the state will continue to commit crimes. g­

Women and politics

Obstacles to equal participation are deeply embedded in social and cultural patterns

amna malik

The writer is Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz’s senior leader and represents NA-69. She can be reached at: amnamalikk69@gmail.com

a

few decades back, the glass ceiling was considered to be the reason why the arenas of power were dominated by men. The concept stresses out the impossibility of women to advance on the scale of professions higher than they already have, claiming that women do not lack ambition or strong will, but they are kept from doing so by invisible obstacles.

The glass ceiling is described as ‘those artificial barriers based on attitudinal or organisational bias that prevent qualified individuals from advancing upward in their organisation into management level positions’. Invisible and impossible to overcome, it is not found only at the top of the pyramid, but also in middlemanagement and where minorities are concerned.

It was the feminist movement that drew attention that experts ought to look into the issue of gender difference in political matters. They set about building up a new type of paradigm, where critics pointed out flaws in the state and politics which undermined gender equality in the favour of men. The state, the political system, and the positions of power were masculine. The glass ceiling made it hard for women to obtain and secure their places in the same way men did.

women gained political participation after the Second world war and the Suffragist movement, when they tried to attain their representation in the power echelons through political participation, but being less in numbers and low in effectiveness, they couldn’t change or alter the patterns of development. while in the Pakistani scenario, Fatima Jinnah headed the central committee of the Muslim League that was appointed by the Quaid.

This led to the mobilisation of the women on the political front. Quaid-e-Azam stated that “It is a matter of great happiness that Muslim women are also undergoing a revolutionary change. This change is of great importance. No nation in the world can progress until its women walk side by side with the men”. women have had to face obstacles with regard to their political participation. The socio-economic factors as well as existing traditional structures are considered as barriers to their advancement in all fields of life. In 2008, the rate of female representation stood at 17.7 percent globally and this minimal representation shows that women have had to cover a long distance for the ideal parity in politics.

There is a need of full and equal participation of women in policy making in order to promote gender fair government.

Efforts are being made to increase women’s participation through legislative measures like gender quotas which are being implemented at a remarkable rate all over the world. Gender quotas are increasingly viewed as an important policy measure for boosting women’s access to decisionmaking bodies. The basic purpose of a quota system is to recruit women into political positions in order to limit their isolation in politics. The political uplift of women lacks economic bases because of their low level of literacy. It was 45.2 percent for females in 2009-10 as compared 69.5 percent for men. women are present at different levels of their representation like union council, provincial assembly and the parliament.

Seemingly it is being realised that they have little power to achieve change due to the non-supportive structure of the bureaucracy. In this regard there are structural constraints of the political system of Pakistan which domesticated women even more.

In this context Pakistan’s politics is no exception and political ideas are not competitive ones. So the majority of the population mobilised along traditional patterns which further relegated the position of women in the society of Pakistan in-spite of getting their quotas at different levels of representation.

In Pakistan, the Devolution of Power Plan was adopted in March 2000, reserving 33 percent seats for women in legislative councils at the local, tehsil, municipality and district levels. In local councils, with an increase in the number of councils, about 70,000 women were gaining experience in self-government. However, members of the tehsil and district councils are indirectly elected by the elected councillors at the local level. women in Pakistan also feel a clear benefit from the quotas. They have faced problems, including hostile male attitudes, lack of a constituency due to the process of indirect elections, and being at the mercy of the male councillors who elect them and often assign them to committees dealing only with ‘women’s issues’.

Nevertheless, they are making their presence felt. According to Farzana Bari, “The fact that a huge number of women had taken active political role itself triggered social change, creating waves in the country’s barnyards where traditional power structures still dominate the social and political lives of people”.

In Pakistan, the growth of militant Islamic fundamentalism has included special forms of discrimination against women. This happened in spite of equalitarian provisions in the original constitution of undivided Pakistan. The situation worsened dramatically with the “Islamist” regime of Ziaul Haq. Measures dating from Zia’s times include the Law of

Evidence, in which a women witness has a status of half that of a male witness, and the Hudood ordinance, under which the vast majority of women in prison today have been charged.

Moreover, at the central level, women’s participation in governance has seen a very slow movement forward. Programs of special representation have gone through several stages. All previous constitutions provided for reserved seats for women at both the provincial and national assemblies. The allotment of seats ranged from five to 10 percent and was only through indirect elections by the members of the assemblies themselves.

A request for a 30 percent reservation was expressed in 1988 by the National Campaign for Restoration of women’s Reserved Seats and figured again in a “national consultation” organised by the ministry of women and development in 2001. Eleven political parties endorsed a 30 percent quota for women in the provincial and national assemblies. President Musharraf then presided over an act passed in 2002 which allocated 17 percent seats in the national and provincial assemblies and the senate to women.

60 (of 342) seats in the national assembly are three times more than the previous 20 seats they held. women improved this quota when elections were held, winning 21.2 percent of the total seats, the highest percentage of all South Asian countries. The obstacles to women’s equal participation in governance are deeply embedded in South Asian social and cultural patterns. In the bureaucratic and political institutions, their participation is restricted due to traditional factors like the patriarchal nature of the society and the fact that politics is seen as a lucrative source of income and power which men attempt to control. This trend, however, is being reversed as more and more educated, talented and motivated women are entering into the field, who aim to make a difference not only in their lives, but in the lives of the entire nation. g www.pakistantoday.com.pk 09

C M YK

IntervIew: Gen (retd) HamId Gul

‘Our mOSt danGerOuS war’ The old spymaster is for preserving the old ‘arrangement’ for Afghanistan

By SHaHaB Jafry

P

eshawar changed everything about Pakistan. It remains to be seen, though, whether it will change something about Pakistani policy as well. There’s been much chestthumping by the government, and the army chief sorted some things out with the afghans and IsaF, implying a more expansive hunt for Mullah Fazlullah. Importantly, rid of political pressure, Nawaz sharif now bears the responsibility of crushing the insurgency in a way that the public demands. The government has started executing Taliban prisoners on death row, but a lot more needs to be done.

The attack has also led to a far more public debate than before about the birth and evolution of the Taliban – from the days of the afghan mujahideen to afghanistan’s Taliban government, and now to the TTP insurgency – and the role of state institutions. Talk of good and bad Taliban supposedly ended with the launch of Zarb-e-azb, but there was never a real public discourse about ‘strategic depth’. and after hundreds of innocent children were tortured, shot and beheaded in Peshawar, people want answers. was the basic security paradigm, which allegedly manufactured proxies for the usual intelligence covert business, really worth it? Did securing eastern and western flanks, in the way our security apparatus thought best, really keep us strong internally?

There’s no confusion about how the army sees things today.

It’s about terrorists “of all hues and colours”, Gen raheel has repeatedly assured us. But old hands at the Great Game still advise caution. “There is pain in every war” said Gen (retd) hamid Gul. he headed the IsI at one of the most crucial phases in the mujahideen’s long mutation into the world’s biggest multinational, multi-ethnic and single-purpose fighting machine.

The genesis of practically all al

10 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Qaeda like outfits is traced to those fateful days when Pakistani, american and saudi intelligence set up factories that produced jihadi fighters by the thousands. he talked to DNa exclusively regarding Pakistan’s present predicament.

What now?

Immediately after Peshawar, as the state reacts with force, he says the first order of business must be improving the legal process that tries these terrorists.

“The anglo-saxon legal system”, which we follow, “is based on the law of evidence, and is too weak to deal with the situation Pakistan faces”, he says.

It has definitely proved weak for Pakistan, but that is not just because of the evidence part, though it has been one of the

‘“The Anglo-Saxon legal system”, which we follow, “is based on the law of evidence, and is too weak to deal with the situation Pakistan faces”, he says’

biggest hurdles. Judges have also been harassed and threatened by the Taliban. and in an environment where the more they kill the easier they walk scot free, it’s natural for some to place survival ahead of following the law to the letter. “we need military courts.

They ensure quick dispensation of justice. when terrorists receive immediate punishment, the detrimental value of justice will increase”.

But such systems work best when certain procedures are in place, he points out. Unlike India, Pakistan does not have a Protection of army bill. and despite its reputation of influence and power, military intelligence lacks certain privileges that can help improve its effectiveness.

“Nobody talks about IB, everybody talks about IsI”, he says. “IB has the power to arrest, but IsI doesn’t”.

It turns out that he did initially lobby to increase the agency’s power, but eventually decided against making too much noise. Plus they had an arrangement with IB, at least till his time. They would provide the people that needed to be ‘questioned’, and the said personnel would be returned after gathering required information. also, he finds it strange that while IsI is always in the news, and in drawing room discussions, IB is hardly mentioned. even though “like the FBI, it is responsible for picking up local intelligence, which is then shared with other agencies”, it escapes popular attention.

Nawaz and the army These are, perhaps, Nawaz’s toughest times in office. The dharna pressure might have receded, but a far stiffer test of his leadership is already underway. he cannot hide behind political agitation anymore. and he must deliver on terrorism. he’s OK with the military for the time being, but there is always a sense of friction that built throughout the talks with the Taliban and Gen Musharraf’s treason trial. and as Nawaz has grown weak the army has strengthened, both at home and abroad. The most crucial leaders, from Kabul to washington, see their time better spent meeting with sharif the COas than sharif the prime minister.

“The army’s stature has clearly improved over the last few months”, he says, agreeing with the analysis. “But it is important for the military to maintain its distance from mainstream politics, just like it is doing. It’s better to exercise whatever control it keeps from behind”. and it’s too soon to call on the chances of the government working smoothly with the military as the war against the TTP takes a decisive turn.

“The way I read Nawaz sharif, it seems he has his eye on the senate elections due shortly”, he adds. “If he emerges with a majority, he’ll go for constitutional amendments”. and once that gives him power to post and transfer generals, the army will be castrated, just like Nawaz wants it.

“Of course, whether or not such a situation develops, or causes friction with the military, remains to be seen”, he points out. But still, again as he reads it, this thought will be in minds on both sides of the divide, and therefore assumes greater importance. “still, the military must be careful not to overreach”.

And Peshawar?

This is where the old guard

‘The most crucial leaders, from Kabul to Washington, see their time better spent meeting with Sharif the COAS than Sharif the prime minister’

disagrees with the sentiment gaining force. after the Peshawar tragedy, especially, there are few buyers for the old proxy policy.

The army, too, is done with it for all intents and purposes. Yet the old spymaster won’t let go.

This is a very long debate, he warns, and all angles must be calculated before advocating bold, even violent, policy turns. he still believes, contrary to overwhelming public opinion, especially since Peshawar, that not differentiating between different Taliban groups is not a good idea in the long term. sartaj aziz’s recent slip-oftongue regarding the haqqanis was, according to him, actually the truth of the matter. “really, why should we engage groups that pose no threat to us and invite

unnecessary backlash?” he asks. “how is it our responsibility?”

Tactically, the operation might take precedence now, “but futuristically, there is no credible outcome other than talks and understanding”, he adds. he also believes that pushing the anti-Taliban operation, and continuing to adhere to Us policy, will “alienate afghanistan”, and we can’t allow that.

“There is no choice, wars have ups and downs, and this is our most dangerous war yet. we must continue with the policy that has been in place for 40 years”.

Besides, he says, “all hues and colours” eventually plays into India’s hands. “There is not one registered case against JuD or LeT in Pakistan”, he points out for some reason. “and if some groups are active in Kashmir, they are only doing the military’s work”. who would lose out, really, if Kashmir is secure and a large bulk of the Indian army is freed from there, seems to be the sentiment. and for Peshawar never to happen again, he is convinced that there is a need to look slightly longer into the past; like Pakistani compliance in the terror war, especially the long years of drone bombs, prominent among them the Bajaur madrassah, where 80 people, mostly children, were killed.

“Pakistan suffered its first suicide attack after Oct ’06, when Musharraf falsely took responsibility for that attack”, he says. “I took the case to the supreme Court, to ask for stopping our air space violation under article 245, but it was dismissed since I was not an affected party”. apparently he took the stand, disagreeing with the Court. But not much came of it.

In a nutshell, for him Peshawar marks a storm, but one where better senses should prevail with long term survival and interest taking priority over other things. That is the doctrine most Pakistanis now disagree with, especially after the murder of those innocent children. g

C M YK

Sunday, 21 - 27 December, 2014

www.pakistantoday.com.pk 11

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Sunday, 21 - 27 December, 2014

opINIoN

Pakistan and the fall in oil prices Far reaching effects

Pakistanis are not the biggest of savers; years of high inflation have eroded incentives to save. An inflation rate that has remained over and above the savings rate on incomes deposited in banks has meant a loss of purchasing power for people intending to put money in savings accounts over extended periods of time. The economy has remained stunted, offering few entrepreneurial or investment opportunities for Pakistanis to channel their savings into. As an exercise in The writer can be reached at: abdullah.humayun@gmail.com, and on comparison, as per the IMF’s figures, Twitter at: @ahshafi.

Pakistan has a gross national savings rate of 14.1 percent of GDP. In contrast, India’s saving rate is 32.4 percent, Bangladesh at ATTLe hardened Pakistan finally 26.8 percent while the world average stands gets some measure of reprieve. The at 20.0 percent of GDP and median at 18.9 fall in crude oil prices comes at a percent of GDP. particularly sensitive time in In this case, lower oil prices could serve Pakistan’s history. energy is closely as an adrenalin shot to the Pakistani intertwined with the fortunes of countries. economy in the form of increased demand for Among other things, one of the main driving consumer goods, since Pakistanis would forces of the industrial revolution was easy spend rather than save. access to cheap energy, coal at that time.

More important is the dampened effect on Same was true for oil for a long while, with inflationary expectations. While there has the west having access to cheap oil until been a general sentiment of lower inflation, OPeC decided to flex its muscles in the 1973 lower oil prices will further cement the oil crisis, leaving the west insecure and prevailing sentiment of lower future inflation. vulnerable as only shortage of energy can.

So while prices will rise, they will rise at a Oil held its ground till the mid ’80s, slower rate than before. providing oil exporting countries with a For the government, the lowering of oil windfall in revenues and allowing large prices might turn out to be a double edged amounts of capital to be ploughed back into sword. Lower oil prices will take away some the industry. From then on, supply concerns of the steam from Pakistan’s growing pushed down the price of oil with the circular debt while on the other hand the commodity falling to new lows. This fall in government stands to lose taxes from the prices provided an impetus to world economic import and sale of oil and oil products. growth. Cheap oil was back and was warmly Pakistan’s dependence on crude oil to greeted by the world. produce electricity leaves it With the rise of especially vulnerable to the developing Asia and an vagaries of the oil market.

‘Pakistan’s central bank increase in political tension The political economy will have an easier time in the Middle east, oil surrounding electricity and began its depressing price its pricing has dictated, with its foreign reserves. rally; depressing contingent over the years, that prices Oil and oil commodities on whether a country is an could be raised only up to a make up nearly a third of oil importer or exporter. At point even as the price of the height of the global oil reached historic highs.

Pakistan’s imports, and economic boom there was a So while costs are any fall in oil prices is general understanding that imported, they become oil’s spectacular rise would hostage to local politics bound to reduce sustain with talks of the once in the grid, leaving pressures on the rupee’ commodity eventually policy makers with only so breaching the $200 per much wiggle room. This barrel mark. As with most gives rise to a situation predictions concerning commodities, this one where the cost of producing each unit of too found its way into the rubbish heap. Six electricity has risen dramatically while the years after the recession of 2008, oil demand government is unable to pass on the full brunt has slackened and given way to a largely of the rise in oil prices on to consumers. This unanticipated price fall. gap has led to Pakistan’s burgeoning circular Circa 2007, Pakistan’s economy suffered debt, where the government has had to an intense period of economic depression. To subsidise each unit of electricity produced. compound that problem, the rise in world oil With lower oil prices, expect a narrowing of prices left very little space for policy makers. the required subsidy and for circular debt to With the rupee under pressure and the grow at a slower rate than before. circular debt growing, both on account of oil There is a flipside to this, however, in the prices, Pakistani policy makers were left with form of lower taxes for the government. Taxes unenviable choices. from oil are chiefly dependent on the price of With the fall in prices, however, some of oil, since consumption is not expected to that will change. For one, Pakistan’s central change by much in the short term. hence bank will have an easier time with its foreign lower prices lead to lower taxes. But some of reserves. Oil and oil commodities make up those losses will be recouped through the nearly a third of Pakistan’s imports, and any added spending in the economy. With higher fall in oil prices is bound to reduce pressures disposable incomes on account of lower oil on the rupee. As a commodity, demand for oil prices it is expected that most of it will find its is extremely price inelastic, meaning that for way into the economy. Where that money is a change in oil prices, quantities demanded spent will have a bearing on the government’s do not change by much. fiscal position. Incomes spent in the That is true at least in the short run. documented economy will be taxable, People cannot immediately change their allowing the government to recover some of consumption patterns; through buying more the tax losses accruing from the fall in prices. fuel-efficient cars, for example, or through Whereas incomes directed towards the changing behaviours that influence undocumented sector, which comprises consumption. The recent surge in hybrid around half of Pakistan’s economy, will result imports is an example of consumers changing in a loss of taxation for the government. their preferences to cater to higher petrol The fall in oil prices provides Pakistan’s prices. With little change in demand economy with some measure of breathing space. expected, Pakistan can see its import bill For both consumers and the government, shrink considerably. lower oil prices will have far reaching effects, Lower oil prices also eventually translate on the condition that the recent oil price drop into higher spending by consumers. sustains and is not a temporary phenomenon. g

abdullah humayuN

B

12 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Can Islam and liberalism be friends?

Why is the tendency to stick to medieval punishments so strong in Muslim countries?

Taha Najeeb KhaN The writer is an engineering consultant in T-Mobile, NY. He is also a freelance writer/blogger.

In addition to that, he is currently writing a novel about a young Pakistani man’s conflict with religion and modernity. He can be reached at tahanajeeb01@gmail.com.

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he year is 2014. earlier this year three 16 year old girls studying the relationship between naturally occurring bacteria and certain plants may have found a way to create the potential for increased crop yields that could change the future of worldwide food production (bacteria enhanced plant growth) – a major scientific breakthrough worth celebrating. Across the Atlantic, India just recently sent a space probe to Mars, and even more recently the european Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft and Philae lander made history when it successfully made it to the surface of a comet. One could perceive these recent achievements as a sure indication of human progress and how far we have come from those days of ignorance when catching a fever would often be ascribed to a warlock’s magical spell. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The situation isn’t all that bright everywhere. One need only cast a glance over the recent goings on in other parts of the world like Pakistan, where recently a Christian couple was killed by an enraged mob for blasphemy.

And more currently, the country’s pop singer turned cleric Junaid Jamshed is fighting blasphemy allegations for saying objectionable things about Prophet Muhammad’s wife Ayesha.

This begs a mind-racking question: how is it that we live in a world in which on one hand we have the Large hadron Collider in Switzerland unravelling quantum mysteries of the universe while at the same time in other places people are being threatened or killed over archaic religious notions? Why is the tendency to stick to medieval punishments so strong in Muslim countries? Why is an overwhelming majority of Muslims (76 percent in Pakistan and 86 percent in egypt) in favour of punishments like death for apostasy or stoning adulterers?

To understand this better we need to revisit the concept of morality as is understood in the west as opposed to most Muslim counties. In the west, after the modern period, morality has come to be viewed as something influenced by but not necessarily limited to religious precepts. So while something like the Golden Rule played a significant part in informing the western conception of morality, it was improved upon by the philosophies of enlightenment thinkers like Spinoza, Kant, and Locke. The founding fathers of America also understood this when they drafted the US constitution declaring certain rights such as life, property and pursuit of happiness as man’s unalienable rights. In recognising this key distinction, the west has, to a degree, been able to conceptualise morality as something that constitutes those actions or deeds that are ends in of themselves rather than being a means to ‘incentivised’ ends — fear of

punishment or inducement of reward; heaven or hell. This might explain why societies that largely predicate their morality on scripture/religion are more shame/honour based than guilt based – as is manifestly the case in many Muslim majority countries where honour punishments run deep.

One can argue that this western conception of morality has had a lot to do with the Protestant reformation of the 16th century. The privatisation of religious belief that resulted from it paved the way for the enlightenment which ultimately birthed the notion of a liberal secular democratic state system based on universal morality or meta-ethics. But is such a reform even possible in Islam? It appears that in a perverse and accidental way it has already happened. After all, the proliferation of radical groups like ISIS and AQ, each operating under its own interpretation of Islam, is an example of just that. however, unlike the west, this quasi privatisation of religious belief in the Muslim world is not an outcome of several centuries of steady contact with enlightenment and modernity but rather an unintended and bumpy consequence of a combination of events : the breakdown of the Ottoman caliphate and subsequent decentralisation of the Muslim clergy, sustained european colonialism, recurring US wars and western intervention, and of course a wrenching experience with modernity and forced secularisation first at the hands of colonial powers and later by the autocrats and dictatorships that they have historically supported. Add to this the fact that the Christian reformation was accompanied by mass literacy and economic prosperity — equipping people with the necessary tools to apply critical thought and reasoning to private faith – that lead to an organic development of the notion of a liberal secular democratic state; something that hasn’t really happened in the Muslim world. The literacy rates in most of the Muslim world are unenviable and the contribution from Muslim countries in the sciences, wanting. Such a state of affairs is unlikely to yield anything similar to the enlightenment; in fact it may actually lead to more Salafi oriented groupings.

Yet another factor complicating this scenario is Islam’s distinctness in contrast to other world religions. Like the other two monotheistic religions, Islam enshrines distinct edicts for living a moral life. But what makes Islam different is its claim to scriptural inerrancy. The Quran is not merely considered to be divinely inspired by most Muslims, but is viewed as the verbatim immutable word of God. Furthermore, given that a significant portion of the Quran deals with laws and regulations often laid out in fastidious detail, Islam is not simply a spiritual quest but an all-encompassing way of life – Deen. There is also little precedent in Islam for something like “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”. That renders the ideal of a purely ‘liberal secular democratic state’ — that doesn’t necessarily draw its moral law from religion — challenging. It also raises the question of whether a Muslim majority country can ever be truly liberal.

Perhaps in answering some of these questions, we can get a sense of why in places like Pakistan serious crimes involving real victims often go unpunished while victimless crimes are at times met with the severest of penalties.

In light of the disturbing state of affairs in most Muslim countries today, it is probably fair to say that the time for them to revisit and reframe their moral priorities has never been more exigent. g

C M YK

Sunday, 21 - 27 December, 2014

internAtionAl

Will the Peshawar massacre drive the Taliban out of Pakistan? “this atrocity was a reaction to the repeated defeats the Pakistani taliban have suffered at the hands of the Pakistani Army”

AnAtol lieven

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ProsPect Magazine

he massacre of 132 children at a military-run school in Peshawar has already led to an unprecedented backlash of public feeling in Pakistan against the terrorists.

It is also a reminder that— contrary to the impression one might sometimes receive from the Western media—the overwhelming majority of victims of Islamist militant terrorism have been not westerners, but fellow Muslims.

Pakistan alone has lost at least ten times more people to terrorism than the USA lost on 9/11.

Pakistani soldiers killed fighting the militants also outnumber the total number of US and NATO troops killed in neighbouring Afghanistan. Now, the children of Pakistani soldiers have also died.

It is important that this atrocity should not be seen as some sort of malign success for the Pakistani Taliban (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP). On the contrary, it was a sign of desperation, and a reaction to the repeated defeats that they have suffered in recent years at the hands of the Pakistani Army.

When I visited Pakistan earlier this year, officers and security analysts warned that terrorism in Pakistani cities would get worse in the short term precisely because the TTP were losing their ability to conduct successful insurgency in Pakistan’s Pashtun-inhabited Tribal Areas (FATA). In particular, this summer saw the Pakistani Army move into the last major stronghold of the TTP in North Waziristan. There is no possibility now—as there appeared to be for a while in 2008-2009—of the TTP extending their control over large areas of the country and even one day bringing down the state.

But, the TTP do still have sympathisers in many areas of Pakistan, giving them the ability to carry out terrorist attacks on a large scale. To deal with this threat in the country as a whole, military action alone is not enough—if only because while FATA has long been a de facto war zone, elsewhere the Army can only act at the request of the civilian government, and needs the help of the local police to act with any effectiveness. For this to happen, the Pakistani political classes, the media and the Army need to come

together to generate public support for a tough anti-terrorist campaign.

This happened once before. The successful military campaign in Pakistan’s Swat region in the spring of 2009, which began the wider counter-attack against the TTP and their allies, was made possible by strong—though belated—political support from the Pakistan People’s Party government of President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad, and the provincial government of the Awami National Party in Peshawar.

Together with the army high command, they brought strong influence to bear on the military to support the operation and wrest back control of the region. They were helped by a growing public backlash against the Taliban, after they had used a peace deal in Swat negotiated with the government to overrun yet another district.

Tragically, while the military campaign continued and drove the TTP from more areas (until by this year only North Waziristan was still largely in their control), public support for this gradually ebbed away again—until last year, the two parties which won the national elections and the provincial elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (the former North West Frontier Province) did so on a platform of negotiating peace with the TTP. This was particularly true of the centrist, nationalist Pakistan Justice Party (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI) founded by former cricketing legend Imran Khan Niazi.

This political pressure for a deal and the end of military operations continued despite a long series of TTP terrorist attacks dating back to 2007, many of them indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets. Much of the media, after the initial surge of support for military operations, reverted again to a depressing pattern of finding excuses for the TTP, or hinting that not the Taliban but various foreign forces (meaning India or even the USA) were really to blame for the terrorism.

The reasons for this are manifold. In part it stems from an attitude in India as well as Pakistan which says—often rightly alas—that governments and militaries are also guilty of atrocities, and that it is better to make a deal with an enemy than to pursue his extermination at whatever cost. For example, when I was a student and journalist in India in the mid-1980s the Indian government sought peace deals with bandit groups in central India. In both India and Pakistan, not just the military but elected governments have been complicit in atrocities and massacres. In the 1990s, successive Pakistani governments launched ferocious crackdowns against ethnic parties in Karachi, and then later made accommodations with their chastened survivors.

More importantly, the Pakistani Taliban have exploited the bitter anti-Americanism of most Pakistanis, and their belief that it is America’s blunders in Afghanistan that are responsible for Pakistan’s problems. This incidentally is by no means wholly untrue. As a recent book by the former British army officer Mike

Pakistani students protest against the Taliban in Islamabad ©UPI/Sajjad alI QUeShI / laNdOV

Martin (An Intimate War: An Oral history of the helmand Conflict, 2014) and another by US journalist Anand Gopal (No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban and the War Through Afghan eyes, 2014) make clear, the revival of the Taliban in southern Afghanistan after 2003 is very largely due to the way in which the USA brought predatory warlords back to power in the region, and then at their behest killed, arrested and tortured former Taliban figures who were seeking to live in peace with the new Afghan state.

The leadership of the Pakistani Taliban—including its titular head, Maulana Fazlullah, and the commander allegedly responsible for planning the school massacre, Umar Naray, have now taken refuge in Afghanistan. The USA and NATO have not seemingly been able to prevent this, while there is evidence that in recent years the Afghan state intelligence service has created links with the Pakistani Taliban by way of revenge for Pakistan’s shelter of the Afghan Taliban—a game of rival states and dissidents on the two sides of the border that goes back to the British-Afghan conflicts of the 19th Century. It is therefore necessary not just that Pakistanis unite against the Pakistani Taliban, but that in order to promote reconciliation and Pakistani support for peace in Afghanistan, the Afghan state also take action against them on its side of the border.

By portraying themselves simply as allies of the Afghan Taliban in what most Pakistanis see as a legitimate war of resistance (or in Islamic terms a Defensive Jihad) against US forces and their local “puppets” in neighbouring Afghanistan the Pakistani Taliban have garnered much sympathy among people who would never support their ideological programme or wish to be ruled by them.

This is close psychologically to the equally ridiculous line one hears among pro-government Afghans that the Afghan Taliban have no real

support in the Pashtun areas and are not even really Afghans at all but are Pakistanis—something that has been comprehensively disproved by countless western intelligence reports.

Among Pakistanis, the result all too often is a mentality which convinces itself that any terrorist atrocities in Pakistan are the work not of the “real” Taliban, but of foreign forces. These feelings are especially strong in the Pashtun areas, from which Imran Khan draws much of his support. The great majority of Pakistani Pashtuns with whom I have spoken, from all classes of society, have at least some sympathy with their fellowPashtuns in the Afghan Taliban—for very much the same reasons that they sympathised with the Afghan Taliban in their struggle against Communist rule and Soviet occupation in the 1980s, a war I covered as a British journalist. They see them as essentially the same people as the Pashtun Mujahedin in the 80s—and in this they are right.

Mullah Omar and the Taliban inner circle are veterans of the war of the 1980s, and the Taliban rank and file are drawn from the same rural Pashtun areas from where the Pashtun Taliban drew their recruits.

Opinion surveys show that the great majority of them—like the Mujahedin—see expelling foreign soldiers and their Afghan “slaves” as the chief motivation for their fight.

Most Pakistani Pashtuns loathe what they see as Pashtuns being forced to fight each other at the behest of others; and this leads to an even stronger effort to convince themselves either that it cannot be fellow Pashtuns who are carrying out terrorism against Pakistani civilians, or that they are somehow justified. Before last year’s elections, when I interviewed supporters of Imran Khan who had transferred their allegiance from the two historical main parties, the Awami National Party and the Pakistan People’s Party, every single one gave the main reason for their switch that the ANP and PPP governments

had supported military operations against the Pakistani Taliban, while Imran Khan had opposed both such operations and the alliance with the USA. Imran Khan has now strongly condemned the massacre in Peshawar, as has the leadership of the Afghan Taliban. Moreover, unlike in some previous cases, the Pakistani Taliban have taken public responsibility for the massacre (declaring that it was revenge for the Pakistani military’s killing of women and children in its operations against them) making it much more difficult for even the most sympathetic or wilfully confused Pakistani to allege that they were not “really” responsible. So there is now a real hope of a united will in Pakistan to crush the terrorists.

For this to happen however all mainstream forces in Pakistan will have to take their share of responsibility. The Army will have to stop using the Islamist insurgent group the haqqani network, who are allied to the Taliban, as antiIndian proxies in Afghanistan, and urge the Afghan Taliban to negotiate with the government in Kabul. Imran Khan and the PTI provincial government in Peshawar must abandon their support for peace talks and back an uncompromising struggle against the Pakistani Taliban. In order to allow the national government to do its job in this regard, they must also call off the mass movement to overthrow Mr Sharif’s government, respect the democratic process, and wait for the next elections.

And the national government of the Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN) under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and the PMLN provincial government in Punjab, must clearly be seen to launch a nationwide campaign against the terrorists with the full participation of the national and Punjabi police.

If all these things can happen— and there is at last a chance that they may – then at least some good will have come from this tragedy. g www.pakistantoday.com.pk 13

C M YK

Sunday, 21 - 27 December, 2014

inTernaTionaL

Behind Pakistan’s Taliban war “Pakistan’s military routinely complains that the TTP has found safe haven inside afghanistan, and that problem isn’t likely to be resolved in the near future.”

Zachary Laub

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CounCil on Foreign relations

hat do we know about the attackers?

Why did they target the military-run school?

The Pakistani Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack and chose the school as a “soft,” or lightly defended, target that would grab national and global attention.

Like other terrorists, they aim to shock. Even for a country as traumatised as Pakistan, this was shocking. the attackers claimed that this was retaliation for the Pakistani military’s first offensive in North Waziristan, but it comes six months after the start of that operation. Why now?

There have been other terrorist attacks in response to the offensive, including the November suicide bombing of the Wagah border crossing with India. Many analysts, myself included, anticipated that the backlash would have been even worse. There is no way to know for sure why this attack happened precisely when it did, but Pakistani military and civilian leaders claim that they have aggressively gone after other terrorist plots around the country, arresting suspected militants and disrupting their networks.

Unfortunately, this time they failed.

What do we know about the efficacy of this counterinsurgency campaign and the state of the ttP? By most accounts, including public statements by US officials, the Pakistan military has made strides in its North Waziristan campaign, at least with respect to clearing strongholds of TTP and allied fighters, disrupting their training and planning, and shutting down facilities devoted to building weapons like improvised explosive devices. Yet the army operations were hardly a surprise, so senior TTP leaders escaped into Afghanistan or other parts of Pakistan. Beyond that, Pakistan has only a very limited capacity to administer

Daniel S Markey is a Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council for Foreign relations.

14 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

these territories once military operations end— to “hold” and “build,” in the US military’s lexicon. Those limits are partly linked to the weak capacity of the state as a whole.

Is the Pakistani military now likely to reconsider its approach of discriminating between “good” militants—those focused on fighting abroad, especially in afghanistan—and “bad” militants —those whose fight is primarily against the Pakistani state?

Possibly, but not likely. The “bad” Taliban took responsibility for this attack, so it’s not clear that a Pakistani military and intelligence establishment that has so far been unwilling to tackle all of the various terrorists on its soil— including those, like Lashkar-e-Taiba, that target India—would now choose to expand its targets and court an even fiercer backlash. Still, if more Pakistanis, and especially those in positions of authority, see this as conclusive evidence of the danger posed by coddling any terrorists and extremists, this latest tragedy would have some silver lining. have US drone strikes had a substantial impact on the ttP’s ability to consolidate territory in the tribal areas or strike elsewhere in Pakistan?

It is difficult to judge the strategic utility of drone strikes against the Pakistani Taliban, but we do know that some of its top commanders have died by drone. Because the principal threat to the TTP has always been disunity and infighting, these strikes have probably been beneficial in keeping the TTP off-balance as an insurgent organisation. Clearly, they haven’t eliminated the group’s ability to inflict such violence on Pakistan’s people.

Will the NatO drawdown from afghanistan alter the ttP’s calculus or the Pakistani military’s strategy with respect to militants?

Pakistan’s military routinely complains that the TTP has found safe haven inside Afghanistan. That problem isn’t likely to be resolved in the near future. The NATO drawdown only makes it harder to patrol the border or bring the writ of the Afghan state into eastern provinces like Khost, where insurgents and terrorists have a strong presence.

Given the Pakistani military’s persistent scepticism about the stability of the new Afghan state, there are few reasons to believe that it will now, after over a decade of resisting Washington’s pleas, turn completely against groups like the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network. Conceivable, desirable, but not likely.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has seen his authority challenged both by the military and opposition leader Imran Khan, whose party, Pakistan tehreek-e-Insaf (PtI), runs the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the attack took place. how might this attack alter the political scene?

Nawaz Sharif must demonstrate that when it comes to fighting the TTP, there is zero space between him and the military. Failure to do so could jeopardise his position as prime minister.

It is thus not surprising that Sharif went very quickly to the scene of the attack in Peshawar to declare his commitment to fighting terrorism.

At the same time, Sharif’s principal opponent, the PTI’s Imran Khan, is unlikely to be helped politically by this attack.

In the short term, Khan has been forced to call off looming nationwide protests against the sitting government. In the longer term, Khan’s apparent soft spot for Pakistan’s Taliban and affiliated groups make him an uncomfortable partner for the Pakistani military. This, in turn, reduces Khan’s ability to put pressure on Nawaz Sharif’s government or to portray himself as a viable candidate for prime minister in the near future. g

Pakistan’s tolerance of jihadis backfires badly

“The question being widely asked is whether Pakistan’s military and political leaders can transform grief and outrage into a clear policy that would rid the country of its reputation as both a victim of and magnet for terrorists.”

husain haqqani HuFFington Post

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AKISTANIS are still grappling with the tragedy of the Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar that left at least 141 people, most of them children, dead and scores injured.

There has been an outpouring of grief internationally, and the Pakistani public is visibly outraged. But the question being widely asked is whether Pakistan’s military and political leaders can transform grief and outrage into a clear policy that would rid the country of its reputation as both a victim of and magnet for terrorists.

Even before this incident, Pakistan had one of the highest casualty rates at the hand of terrorists. About 19,700 civilians and 6,000 security force personnel have been reported killed in terrorism related violence in Pakistan since 2003. But the country refuses to develop a comprehensive approach to fighting or containing the 33-odd terrorist groups believed to be operating on Pakistani soil.

The latest attack is the Taliban’s response to the Pakistan army’s military operation against the terrorist safe haven in North Waziristan, part of the tribal region along the border with Afghanistan. Jihadis from all over the world had congregated in the tribal areas to fight as Mujahedeen against the Soviets during the 1980s. After the Soviets left, Pakistan used the militants for its own objectives of expanding Pakistani influence in Afghanistan, leading to the rise of the Taliban.

After 9/11, Pakistan cooperated with the United States in dislodging the Taliban from power in Kabul, only to give them sanctuary on its territory. Gen Pervez Musharraf, who ruled as military dictator from 1999 to 2008, crafted a graduated policy that differentiated between various terrorist groups. While many foreign (mainly Arab) terrorists with links to Al-Qaeda were handed over to the United States, local jihadis as well as the Afghan Taliban were left alone. Covert support for the Afghan Taliban was Pakistan’s insurance policy to deal with the aftermath of a US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

While the Afghan Taliban may have felt indebted to Pakistan’s intelligence service, the Pakistani Taliban had no such feelings. Inspired initially by Al-Qaeda and more recently by Da’ish (the Islamic State), various factions of Pakistani Taliban have waged war against the people and state of Pakistan. While they have been consistent in their savagery, Pakistani

authorities have not been consistent in their response to their threat.

In 2008, Pakistan’s military cleared out the Taliban from the Swat valley, home of Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. More recently, new Army Chief General Raheel Sharif ordered his troops into North Waziristan. Although the Pakistanis have routed and displaced several jihadi groups based in the tribal areas, the terrorists retain the ability to regroup and resume operations in other parts of the country.

The savage attack in Peshawar demonstrates the futility of attacking one group of jihadis while leaving others in place. But there is still no sign that Pakistan will give up its policy of embracing some jihadis for regional influence against India and Afghanistan while fighting others.

Pakistan’s military and intelligence service still hold on to the notion that the country faces an existential threat from its much larger neighbour, India, out of which Pakistan was carved out in 1947. The division of Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh, with support from India, in 1971 also still loom large in the Pakistani elite’s imagination.

Although nuclear deterrence should have bolstered Pakistan’s national self-confidence, the nation feels more insecure now than it did in its early years. Pakistanis readily believe conspiracy theories about the United States and Israel, in addition to India, wanting to take away its nuclear weapons.

Jihadi militancy and terrorism have traditionally been ways of enabling Pakistan to stand up to a bigger and increasingly powerful India through asymmetrical warfare. During the war against the Soviets, Pakistan used American money, weapons and training not only to equip fighters for fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, but also to raise brigades of irregular fighters for Indian-controlled Kashmir.

The policy of allowing militant groups to operate on Pakistani soil has proved disastrous. The jihadi militants do not accept the neat divisions between global, regional and local conflicts. Once they are convinced of the righteousness of their cause, they are willing to fight and blow themselves up anywhere. Rising militancy coupled with a significant decline in the capacity of the state has enabled Pakistan-based jihadi groups to wreak havoc not only in India and Afghanistan but also in Pakistan and its friendly neighbours, Iran and China.

Extremist Islamists and jihadists have benefited from Pakistan’s selfdefinition as an Islamic state. Given the centrality of Islam in Pakistan’s national identity, secular leaders find it difficult to create national consensus against groups that describe themselves as soldiers of Islam. But a consensus against militancy is what Pakistan badly needs. On several occasions during the last few years, Taliban atrocities have resulted in backlash that has subsequently abated as a result of propaganda against India or the West. g Husain Haqqani, director for South and Central Asia at the Hudson Institute, was Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States from 2008-11. He is most recently author of “Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the United States and an Epic History of Misunderstanding”.

C M YK

Sunday, 21 - 27 December, 2014

OpiniOn/saTire

Thar famine Causes, implications and remedies

which prevents food from being transported into the famine hit areas. However, there has been no starvation or shortage of food in Pakistan other than in the Thar Desert, the The writer is pursuing PhD in economics theory of FAD will have to be ruled out. at the Australian National University and Moreover, there has not been any disruption can be reached at o.majeed77@gmail.com. of transport infrastructure, so food could have been easily moved into aid the starving people. This evidence shows that lack of HE situation in the Thar Desert is availability of food is not the cause of the grave. several hundred people have famine in Thar. died as a result of the recent famine This brings us to our second theory – the and the United Nations entitlement approach. In this theory, sen International Children’s Emergency argues that it is not food availability that is Funds (UNICEF) estimates that about three the problem, rather wealth distribution is million people are at risk of starvation and the culprit. According to this theory, hundreds of thousands have fled their starvation happens because people are too homes. Worse is the fact that people are still poor to buy food. No rich person – such as continuing to die from this famine. The landlords and or government ministers from government’s apathy is tantamount to this area — has died. Meanwhile, hundreds criminal negligence. Moreover, there are of people living at or below the poverty line reports that the government is deliberately have died. This evidence points to the fact underreporting deaths to cover up its that it is poverty itself that is causing the failures. Given the failure of the government famine in the Thar Desert. Indeed, the lack to remedy this situation, it is important to of economic growth in the Thar Desert, analyse what the problem is and how to fix coupled with rising inflation, has directly it. At stake are the lives of millions of affected people’s ability to buy food. The lack innocent poor who live there. of proper health care infrastructure has Economists have long studied the causes made the situation worse. and implications of famines. There are two When famine strikes, some people die main contending theories of the causes of from starvation itself, but many deaths also famine. One is the Food Availability Decline occur due to disease. As a person becomes (FAD) theory and the second is Amartra malnourished, his or her immune system sen’s entitlement weakens. This approach or simply leaves the person called the more vulnerable to ‘The ramifications of a famine can entitlement disease. Especially be profound. They include a stark approach. Without dangerous are going into diseases that cause increase in mortality rates, technical details, I further disruption in social life, a decrease will explain each of malnourishment these theories and dehydration — in the current and future workforce, briefly and then such as cholera. and an escalation in poverty rates’ use them to The analyse the famine ramifications of a in the Thar Desert. famine can be The FAD theory, as the name implies, argues profound. They include a stark increase in that famine occurs if there is a natural mortality rates, disruption in social life, a disaster which causes crop failure and decrease in the current and future subsequent food decline. This food decline workforce, and an escalation in poverty then causes starvation. However, if there is rates. In addition, famines can sometimes food decline in a local area, then famine can cause permanent health damage to the be stopped through transporting food into survivors and a decrease in cognitive the disaster area. so for food decline to be a abilities of the malnourished children. reason for famine, there needs to be either a To save lives and prevent future widespread food availability decline and/or catastrophes, the government needs to act disruption in the transport mechanism, quickly and systematically. In the immediate

Omer majeed

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future, the government needs to boost the growth and development policies to provide food intake of the population at stake by jobs and education to the people in the area, providing food supplements. The so that they can escape poverty. Moreover, government also needs to provide given the recent pattern of monsoons and vaccinations to floods in sindh, shield the poor the government of from the Pakistan can build ‘As a person becomes malnourished, consequences of dams in the area his or her immune system weakens. immune and develop suppression due irrigation canals This leaves the person more to to bring water vulnerable to disease. Especially malnourishment. into the Thar dangerous are diseases that cause Also important is Desert. This will the provision of not only provide further malnourishment and clean drinking water for the dehydration — such as cholera’ water in the area population and to prevent their livestock, diseases such as but may also open cholera. Moreover, a census of the local up opportunities for agriculture and population should be taken and the employment for local people. government should track the health of these Every single life is important and the people. This data gathering will be crucial in continued increase in casualties from this monitoring the effectiveness of the policies avoidable famine is tragic. I hope the implemented by the government and may government learns from its mistakes and provide important feedback for improving tries to prevent future deaths from famines. future policies.

If the government fails, the people of In the medium to long term, the Pakistan will hold it accountable for this government needs to bring in economic criminal negligence. g

How to still defend the Taliban

It might be the most difficult thing you do this year, but you can still pull it off

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s of this week, defending the Taliban should rank up there with the most difficult things that a human being can do in the present day. And yet there are courageous souls out there stubbornly defying the odds.

After what they did on Tuesday, it might be impossible for you to defend the Taliban. But don’t give up so quickly. We have compiled a mini guide for anyone willing to take up the challenge. It might just be the most difficult thing you do this year, if not this

century, but here are a few conspiracy theories that you can use to still defend the Taliban.

Taliban are funded by RAW Here you technically don’t defend the Taliban or their actions.

You just create a smokescreen and hide their Islamist identity. By claiming that the Indian intelligence agency is actually funding the Taliban, you win the religious war and divert all the anger towards the wrong side of the Indo-Pak border.

This is the favourite theory of General Pervez Musharraf.

Raymond Davis Network/CIA/Blackwater are orchestrating terrorism slightly old school but this argument can still work if you phrase it properly. The Us mercenaries are orchestrating chaos in Pakistan. They have multiple facilities and access to conduct all kinds of operations. so yeah ditto as above, but more Us centric than India. That the Us

actually did fund these militants over a quarter of a century ago can still be used as an argument in 2014.

This is the favourite theory of Imran Khan.

The attackers were not the Taliban at all Those who like this theory normally won’t come up with the obvious question that why the Taliban accepted the responsibility if the attackers weren’t their men. so you can use those tattoo pictures from 2012, or go to Mubasher Lucman’s (bless him) page and he has all kinds of creative pictures uploaded, comparing the dead militants with anyone and everyone.

The best way to defend the Taliban is to claim that they never did it. Or that they don’t even exist.

This is the favourite theory of Mubasher Lucman.

Democracy causes terrorism, Shariah will ensure peace Okay, the problem here is that

most democratic countries happen to have minimal volatility, while most countries that implement shariah law are violent and full of human rights abuses.

However, since shariah land is the official Utopia of Muslims you can just put it out in the open and watch everyone just nod their head. After all, the Taliban are fighting for shariah, and are battling against democracy.

Tough to pull off, but not many would argue against this theory.

This is the favourite theory of Hamid Gul. The Taliban don’t burn people; they were Hindu terrorists This is the same theory that was used in the shama and shahzad Masih case when the couple was burned alive. Every time you see fire, you can chant Hindu. This theory would make the Taliban Hindutva militants and not Islamist militants.

This is the favourite theory of Dr shahid Masood.

This is the reaction of neoimperialism Yes, blame the West. The Western colonialism that began centuries ago, tracing its apogee with British colonialism and now under the safe hands of American neo-colonialism, is the reason behind all Islamist terrorist attacks and the volatility of the Muslim World. The West has progressed because it did not have anyone colonialising it. This theory will get you a lot of fans from the liberal left of the West.

This is the favourite theory of Noam Chomsky and George Galloway. g The writer is a security analyst and a conspiracy theory consultant.

He can be contacted at createyour-own-apologia@ctheory.com.

All side effects of The Horizontal Column are the readers’ headache. www.pakistantoday.com.pk 15

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Sunday, 21 - 27 December, 2014

satire

TELLING IT LIKE IT ALMOST NEVER IS khabaristan.today@gmail.com

Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan overcome political difference to hide each other’s cowardice

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peshawaR

Our staff repOrter

fTeR months of being the respective pain in each other’s backsides Prime Minister nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan have settled their differences. This was the major announcement and talking point

in the All Parties Commission (APC) following the tragic Peshawar attack.

Both the political leaders have overcome their political differences, as cowardice, incompetence and downright wretchedness united the two.

Talking exclusively to Khabaristan Today Imran Khan said that while rigging was still a huge crime, this was a time to

Peace only possible when india is conquered: Zaid Hamid RawalpIndI Our seCurity COrrespOndent

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IGhlIGhTInG Bollywood, Big Boss and IPl as one of the major reasons behind Pakistan’s volatile state, renowned security expert and generally funny man, Zaid Zaman hamid has stated that peace in Pakistan is only possible when India is conquered.

It is pertinent to not that hamid did not use ‘if’, and preferred to use ‘when’ to describe Pakistan’s prospects of conquering India.

“If the Peshawar attack isn’t a cause to initiate Ghazwa-e-hind, I don’t know what is!” Zaid hamid said while talking to Khabaristan Today. “Peace is only possible in Pakistan when

unite for the nation.

“There are a lot of things that unite me and nawaz Sharif,” Khan told Khabaristan Today. “Taliban apologia for starters. But I have heard they will be trying Taliban apologists for treason so we need to look at other things,” he added.

“This is why I actually named the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan this time. That’s a bloody tongue twister if there ever was one,” the

PTI chief further stated.

Agreeing with Imran Khan’s stance, nawaz Sharif shared his thoughts with Khabaristan Today.

“Yes, my tongue hasn’t ever found it easy to pull that one off either. It’s tough. But for Pakistan’s sake both Khan and I have overcome our tongue twisting problems,” the prime minister said.

“We have found unity and

All Taliban apologists to be tried for treason

our mujahideen conquer India,” he added.

“Those mujahideen could be good, bad or ugly – that is totally and utterly irrelevant.” hamid vociferously endorsed ban on all Indian things within the realm of Pakistan and vowed to personally wage jihad and instigate Ghazwa-e-hind if no one accompanies him. But he was secretly confident that he won’t be alone in his endeavour, according to reports.

Sources reveal that hamid has already sent a message to hafiz Saeed and it is expected that Zaid hamid will be playing Ajmal Kasab’s role in the soon to be confirmed Ghazwa-e-hind. Saeed noor will direct the project, sources confirmed. g

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Islamabad Our Law COrrespOndent

n what is an uncharacteristically bold move by the Pakistan federal government anyone deemed to be an apologist for the Taliban would be tried for treason with immediate effect, it has emerged. Sources claim that all Taliban apologists will be tried in anti-terrorism courts, and the rather obvious verdict will be given within three minutes.

The swiftness of verdicts is to accommodate a major

16 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

solace in other things. And this definitely is the time to unite for the nation,” he added.

Unconfirmed reports have claimed that the biggest uniting factor that the two leading politicians of Pakistan found was hiding each other’s cowardice and downright incompetence. We will update you in next week’s edition if there were any official confirmations. g

chunk of Pakistan’s population in this judicial process. The government wants swift and strict action against anyone spewing apologia to shield the Taliban.

Reports suggest that initially the verdict was supposed to include anyone who has been apologetic on behalf of the Taliban for the past decade or so. But the decision was reversed after it was found out that more than 90 per cent of the Parliament would have been tried for treason had this move gone ahead.

Sources further confirm

that it is this deterrence of treason trial that has forced Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Prime Minister nawaz Sharif to not only overcome their political differences and tongue twisters, but also formally name the Taliban.

It is yet to be seen how these treason trials impact the ongoing treason trial of former President and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, who could now be tried for multiple treasons, depending on judicial interpretations. g