Attack on Syria

FRUSTRATED by its failure to crush the Palestinian freedom movement, Israel now seems to be looking for a pretext to provoke the Arabs into a regional war. Sunday’s attack on a village deep inside Syria and 15 kilometres from Damascus can possibly be explained in no other terms. A regional war would give Israel several advantages. One, Tel Aviv knows it is in a position to win such a war. Having the Middle East’s most well-equipped forces, and possessing weapons of mass destruction, Israel is more than a match for the combined strength of all of its Arab neighbours. Two, a victory over the Arab states will serve to silence the increasingly vocal criticism within Israel of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s jingoism. His hawkish policies have not given peace to the people of Israel. The Jewish state is in a state of perpetual mobilization and is suffering both military and civilian casualties.

The Palestinians, no doubt, are suffering a great deal more in terms of death and destruction, but they have made it amply clear to the world that they will continue to fight and give no respite to a belligerent Israel, no matter what the odds. Worse for Sharon, the criticism of his policies has provoked dissensions within the armed forces. The refusal recently by 27 air force pilots to obey orders and drop bombs on Palestinian homes serves to underline the extent of dissent within Israel’s defence establishment. Three, by a successful regional war, Sharon hopes there will be a general demoralization all over the Arab world, and the Palestinians, already abandoned by the Arab-Islamic world, will give up resistance. In the short run, things may appear to be going Sharon’s way, but in the long run none of his hopes are likely to materialize.

The Palestinians, led by Yasser Arafat, have proved their mettle. The first intifada (begun in 1987) rocked Israel and led to the Oslo accords, providing for an independent Palestinian state by April 1999. Israel later sabotaged the process. The Al Aqsa intifada (begun in September 2000 after Sharon’s visit to the Islamic holy places) has continued to this day. The reoccupation of the West Bank and Gaza by Israel last year did not unnerve the Palestinians into surrender, nor did the destruction of his headquarters cow down Arafat. Israel may win a regional war, but Palestinian resistance and Israel’s frustration will continue.

Sunday’s Israeli attack on Syria evoked a most extraordinary reaction from the White House. The statement made it appear as if it was Syria that had committed aggression, and it appealed to both for restraint. Damascus has already exercised restraint by resort to diplomacy: immediately after the attack, it called for an emergency meeting of the Security Council. What will happen in that debating forum is anyone’s guess. In the first place, Washington would try to have an innocuous resolution expressing concern passed. However, this is unlikely, since all other permanent members have already condemned Israel for Sunday’s attack. If other council members insist on a more meaningful resolution that would call a spade a spade, America will not hesitate even for a minute to veto it. After all, the Republican Party must keep the strong Zionist lobby, now working closely with Christian fundamentalists, happy if President George Bush is to have a second term. Truth, justice and morality have never meant much to the US when it comes to Palestine.

Azam Tariq’s murder

THE killing of Maulana Azam Tariq and his four associates in Islamabad in broad daylight yesterday comes as a stark reminder of the violence that strains the fabric of society and poses a formidable threat to Pakistan’s internal security. In 1997 also, Maulana Tariq was targeted in an attack in Lahore which had killed 23 people but he had escaped with injuries. He led the Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, which was among the extremist and sectarian organizations banned last year. Maulana Tariq was himself in jail at the time of the general election, but was elected to the National Assembly from Jhang as an independent candidate. He then sought to mend fences with the government by offering his support to the PML-Q, and was released on bail.

Regardless of the identity of the killers, the condemnable attack in the heart of the capital’s high-security environment should serve as a wake-up call for the law enforcement agencies, who now need to be on alert to tackle any repercussions that it may have in the form of more violence. The assassination has come on the heels of the killing of six people in Karachi last week in what the police described as a sectarian incident, and the need for vigilance is great all over the country. It must be emphasized that sectarianism does not have popular roots in Pakistan and the violence associated with it is confined to small groups of misguided and motivated zealots, who must not be allowed to hold public order hostage to their criminal designs aimed at creating disruption in the country.

Lessons from Sialkot

THE inquiry into the hostage drama at the Sialkot jail in July that resulted in the death of four civil judges and five prisoners has concluded that the police action to free the judges was hasty and that lives could have been saved if the police had acted with caution. The probe also held jail staff responsible on three counts. First, through its connivance, the prisoners were able to smuggle in weapons that they used in overpowering the judges. Second, the jail staff gave the prisoners details of the visit of the judges, which led them to hatch a plan to hold the judges hostage. Finally, the probe blamed staff for sabotaging the talks between the hostage takers and the authorities, as a result of which the police action was carried out. The police findings corroborate the conclusions of a Lahore High Court inquiry into the matter that held the jail authorities and police officials responsible for the incident.

But the unfortunate episode should be seen as part of a bigger picture. The state of desperation in jails today can be gauged from the fact that in the past two years, there have been four serious incidents in which prisoners were either killed or they managed to escape. Conditions existing in most of the jails in the country can best be described as inhuman. The crux of the problem is over-crowding, which puts an added burden on the limited facilities available and leads to lax supervision. In the 30 jails in Punjab, against accommodation facilities for over 17,000 prisoners, nearly 50,000 prisoners were lodged in 2002. What makes this worse is the fact that the vast majority of inmates are under-trial prisoners.

As a result of bureaucratic delays, corruption at various levels and the over-burdening of the judicial system, most of the prisoners are waiting for their cases to be heard or decided. This prolonged exposure to the atmosphere in prison hardens criminal instincts and also breeds frustration. Sialkot was waiting to happen. It should be hoped that the right lesson will now begin to be learnt. In this particular case, the police officials and the jail staff responsible for the criminal action leading to the killing of the judges must be brought to book.