Highlights of the December 2004 issue
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Zardari to the Rescue?
By M. Ilyas Khan
It has been a run of fluctuating fortunes for General Pervez Musharraf since October 1999 when he seized power in a military coup. Starting off as a self-styled messiah with liberal leanings out to purge Pakistan of “dirty” politicians, he soon ran up against a wall when his military uniform fell foul of both the Commonwealth and Bill Clinton’s America. Then came 9/11 and its concomitant windfall of favours such as the waiver of US sanctions, resumption of US military aid and International Monetary Fund loans, rescheduling of a 79-million-dollar US loan and finally a three-billion-dollar aid package in mid-2003. All Musharraf had to do as quid pro quo was to take a U-turn on Pakistan’s Taliban policy and align the country with George W. Bush’s Operation Enduring Freedom.
For his part, Musharraf moved quickly to cash in on this new found opportunity. Within the next six months he contrived for himself a political role through a controversial referendum that gave him a preposterous 97 per cent vote. And within a year he had put in place a backup political system comprising the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PMLQ) in the centre and the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) that was willing to fake the role of the national opposition, provided the mainstream leadership was driven into a corner.
“This political system paid dividends, first, by enabling Musharraf to cut down to size national political forces such as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) without creating a political void, and then by helping him write his Legal Framework Order (LFO) into the country’s constitution,” says one observer. Suddenly, the government decided to set free former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s spouse and jail inmate of eight years Asif Ali Zardari, thereby opening up the possibility of a wide-ranging political renewal of the body politic. Does this mean that Musharraf’s painfully built political contraption has already started to rust?
Foot in Mouth
By Idrees Bakhtiar
The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), an alliance of significant and insignificant religio-political parties, kicked off its anti-Musharraf campaign in Karachi on November 28. But while the MMA is rallying the public to its cause, it has yet to identify what that is. Currently, confusion abounds in the MMA ranks on the uniform issue, the position on General Pervez Musharraf, the role of the army in the political set-up and perhaps, most importantly, its own goals.
The MMA facilitated the passage of the controversial Seventeenth Amendment without admitting its acceptance of the unconstitutional practice of giving an individual the power to amend the constitution. In return, General Musharraf publicly pledged that he would give up the post of army chief by December 31, 2004. But Musharraf backtracked on his word, perhaps on the advice of his US mentors. And, as if on cue, his sycophants in the national and provincial assemblies rallied around him, passing resolutions requesting him to stay on as army chief.
Claiming to be the main opposition front, the MMA started demanding that Musharraf give up his uniform by the stated deadline. But according to legal experts, the ruling party effectively exploited loopholes in Article 63-1(d) of the constitution to pass a law enabling Musharraf to hold “an office of profit other than an office declared by law not to disqualify its holder.”
While discreetly supporting the government’s passage of the Seventeenth Amendment, the MMA ‘overlooked’ this provision. Meanwhile, the President to Hold Another Office Bill 2004 was duly signed by Acting President Mohammadmian Soomro on November 30 as Musharraf toured Latin America. The MMA leadership has been demanding that Musharraf give up the uniform to someone who deserves it. MMA chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed turned down the offer of talks with the government, arguing that they can only be held “after a new chief of army staff takes over.” Does this mean anything? The answer, according to most political observers, is a resounding no.
“Army officers are thick-skinned because they wear thick uniforms”: — Asif Zardari
By M. Ilyas Khan
A. I didn’t go to politics, politics came to me. In fact, after our electoral victory in 1988, the party decided that the prime minister’s spouse should stay away from politics. So I remained in Karachi until summoned by the party during the 1989 no-confidence move. Then they threw me in jail.
Q. So you think it’s impossible for you to stay out of politics?
A. Yes. In today’s Pakistan, you can’t avoid it. When Nawaz Sharif was arrested, Kulsoom Nawaz had to jump into politics although she was a housewife. When I was arrested, my sisters resorted to political action even though they too are housewives.
Q. Is it correct to say that you are now in politics in your own right rather than in Benazir’s shadow?
A. I would take that as a compliment. But it is thanks to the PPP’s platform. Otherwise, I could have been in jail for 20 years and no one would have bothered.
Newspeak
By Ali Ahsan Halai
Flash forward to an article in the “Encore” section of The News on Sunday (TNS) on November 14, 2004, that reads: “While deciding the case on November 8, 2002, the Supreme Court declared the Federal Ordinance as ultra vires to the constitution. The Supreme Court ruled that such legislation was a provincial subject falling in the concurrent list and therefore, the federal government had no power to enact a law banning serving of food in wedding functions. “The Supreme Court also held that the provinces were at liberty to promulgate any such law if they thought there was a need to do so. And following the decision, the Punjab government did promulgate its own law in the form of the Punjab Marriage Functions (Prohibition of Ostentatious Displays and Wasteful Expenses) Act, 2003.”
On November 5, a three-member panel of the Supreme Court decreed under Article 143 that the provincial law was void as it was inconsistent with an existing federal law. “By giving this judgement,” TNS continues, “the Supreme Court actually went against the earlier order of the same court which had declared that the federal government had no right to legislate on the matter as it was a part of the concurrent list.
One step forward, two steps back
By Intikhab Amir
On November 26, the government and the Ahmedzai Wazir tribe in the Wana subdivision of South Waziristan agency reached an agreement requiring the army to pull back troops from at least two major check posts in the area. Many believe that the move, which follows an eight-month-long operation aimed at hunting militants in the area as well as the locals protecting them, reflects the military’s failure to accomplish its goals by the use of force and signals the beginning of its exit strategy from the area.
The army entered South Waziristan following the 9/11 attacks when the international community, particularly the United States, pressured Islamabad to eliminate terrorist havens in the country’s tribal belt and the removal of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan compelled Pakistan to secure its Western borders. But military sources maintain otherwise.
“I will withdraw only when I am comfortable with the law and order situation.”: Lt Gen. Safdar Hussain
By Intikhab Amir and Zulfiqar Ali
Q. What are the main objectives of the military operation in South Waziristan?
A. We carried out the operation with a great deal of thought. We realised that activities in Afghanistan would have an impact on Pakistan’s tribal areas. So we had clear objectives before us. First, we wanted to seal the country’s western borders and ensure that forces operating in Afghanistan would not undertake military operations in the tribal areas under the pretext of “hot pursuit”. Second, we hoped to win the hearts and minds of local tribesmen through developmental activities carried out by army engineers. Third, we sought elimination of the ‘no-go areas’ which currently comprise 30 per cent of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Finally, we wanted to abide by the UN resolutions and our commitment to fighting terrorism.
Agencies conduct witch-hunt in the Frontier
By Waseem Ahmad Shah
Peshawar – General Musharraf’s US-inspired fight against terrorism is further eroding legal safeguards against rights abuses. Over the past three years, dozens of people suspected of having links with the Taliban or al-Qaeda are alleged to have been arbitrarily detained and held incommunicado by intelligence agencies. In cases where the relatives of the missing persons have approached the courts, relief has still not been granted. Explains one legal expert in Peshawar: “The agencies know how to hoodwink the law. They first sleep over repeated court notices asking them to explain their position on the case and then make a court appearance to deny knowledge of the missing person’s whereabouts.”
Sindh government zeroes in on underworld don Shoaib Khan
By Syed Shoaib Hasan
Karachi – In a late-night raid on October 20, Karachi police stormed underworld kingpin Shoaib Khan’s residence, located off Khayabane Sehr in the city’s posh Defence Housing Authority. Although Khan was not present at the time, his brothers Nawab Khan and Mehmood Khan were taken for interrogation and his operations have since been heavily targeted.
The raid came as a surprise to many given that Khan is known to have extensive contacts in official circles. Widely known as Rummyclubwala, he is the mainstay behind large gambling operations in Karachi and Lahore. His most famous den, which has now been shut down, was set up in the hockey club off Shahrae Faisal. Khan ran other such spots in Jamshed Quarters, North Nazimabad and Defence as well. Khan has also been involved in land grabbing and money laundering through the property market in Karachi.
Khan came into the limelight in 2002 when he and his associates were arrested in connection with the murder of Asif Bhollu, another underworld figure. On returning from one of the hearings associated with the case, the police van in which he was travelling was attacked. Four policemen were killed while Khan was injured. After the incident, he was hospitalised and later released on bail. Since then, a number of cases have been registered against him for activities such as kidnapping and murder. But no administrative action had been taken until the recent operation.
CDA to lose over 450 billion rupees in GHQ land sale
By Asim Sajjad Akhtar
In addition to the 1,400 acres already allotted to the military for this purpose, the CDA has now transferred another 870 acres at a measly 200 rupees per square yard. Since the market rate of land in adjacent sectors is conservatively estimated by CDA sources to be at least 110,000 rupees per square yard, the land could have fetched the CDA over 460 billion rupees instead of 842 million, a loss of about 459 billion rupees. Given that the original 1,400 acres were also sold to the GHQ at a paltry 184 rupees per square yard, the CDA’s losses are apparently astronomical.
In addition, a significant portion of the said 870 acres fall within an area designated as the national park which is protected by law from any construction and cannot be sold or purchased. Moreover, because a local village Chauntra falls within the area on which construction is planned, it is believed that the sale will result in the eviction of 3,500 families, probably without compensation. The Chauntra residents, however, have not been incorporated in any decision-making process.
FM 103 forced off airwaves
By Azmat Abbas
On November 9, the Civil Lines Police Station registered a case against five people for staging a protest demonstration and disturbing order on the premises of the government-owned Pakistan Institute of Cardiology (PIC). Police officials claim that the demonstrators, including two FM 103 employees, manager programming Farhat Abbas Shah and administration manager Afaq Bokhari, were raising slogans against the hospital, its doctors and the government. The police registered a case against the two under section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance.
Shafqatullah, the station’s Lahore manager, has a different story. According to him, a local police official came to the office carrying an invitation from the area’s assistant superintendent police to an iftar party and soliciting the radio’s help in creating awareness about law and order. “Afaq Bokhari accompanied him to the police station to discuss the issue and Farhat Abbas Shah later joined them to attend the meeting,” says Shafqatullah. But the two men did not return. He says that although the police denied having any information regarding his colleagues’ whereabouts, he later learned that a case has been registered against the two and both were in custody for participating in a protest that never occurred.
Shafqatullah believes that the police took action because Farhat Abbas Shah had conducted a series of investigative reports on the PIC, in which he levelled allegations of mismanagement and a lack of patient care.
Unrequited love leads man to hammer two to death
By Arman Sabir
Irum, a woman in her early twenties, was a receptionist in an electrical appliance shop owned by Jamal Mustafa. Although Jamal was already married, he wed Irum about a year ago. Their marriage came as a huge shock to Mubashir, Jamal’s most trusted employee of 15 years. Mubashir told the police that he had developed feelings for Irum. Although she had not made any commitments to Mubashir, he was under the impression that Irum loved him and wanted to marry him.
Frontier nazims haul the MMA government to court
By Intikhab Amir
Since MMA’s induction into power in October 2002, the nazims have been contending that the provincial government has prevented them from conducting their jobs properly. Since Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s JUIF, the largest parliamentary group in the Frontier assembly, boycotted the local body elections, the party’s provincial leader Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has little incentive in ensuring that the system works.
Gilgit-based magazine banned for anti-Musharraf stance
By Farman Ali
While the magazine has not received a formal legal notice, the Northern Areas Home Department issued an order on November 8, asking the Skardu police to take action against the editor and publisher under section 501 and 505(b) of the Pakistan Penal Code. On November 4, the police arrested managing editor and publisher Ghulam Shehzad Agha, who is president of the newly formed nationalist party Gilgit-Baltistan United Movement (GBUM) and recently contested the Northern Areas Legislative Council elections. Agha was released on November 11 after public protests in the area.
The administration also issued a warrant for the arrest of the magazine’s chief editor Manzoor Hussain Parwana. But on November 12, Parwana secured bail for a week from the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench. Since he received a copy of the court decision on November 18, a day before expiry of the period, he has moved yet another application for extension of bail.
In the FIR, the police cited Kargil’s July 2000 issue but the contents mentioned, such as criticism of the Kargil fiasco, the Wana operation, Pakistan’s nuclear and Afghan policies, the ‘war on terror’ and General Pervez Musharraf’s pro-American leanings, appeared in the magazine’s July-August 2004 copy. In an appeal to human rights activists and journalists, Agha described the action as “immoral “and “illegal”. Meanwhile, Parwana rejected the charges and accused the administration of threats and harassment.
The magazine has been vocal against sectarian elements and the problems faced by people in Gilgit-Baltistan due to government policies.
Gathering Storm
By Syed Shoaib Hasan
Although the authorities have been drafting its obituary for some time, sectarian terrorism seems to be alive and kicking. In fact, recent discoveries have led investigators to believe that the attacks in Karachi during the bloody month of May were anything but the desperate actions of a dying breed. They also maintain that the recent attacks on the Jamia Rasheedia van on the Super Highway and Jamia Binoria in Site Town as well as the assassination of Mufti Jameel in Karachi were part of the same chain of events, as were the bomb blasts in the Punjab.
According to investigators, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) was primarily responsible for the attacks on the imambargahs. However, the attacks on Sunni targets, they claim, was the work of a relatively new and unknown group. Despite the fact that the identity of the perpetrators remains unclear, most investigators apprehend that the attacks are likely to increase in frequency and severity in the coming months.
Yasser Arafat: 1929-2004
From Shibil Siddiqi in Toronto
The death of Palestinian president Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and head of the Palestinian Authority (PA), is an event of major historical relevance, not least for the Palestinians. Since taking control of the PLO in 1968, Arafat had been the only ‘national’ leader that the displaced, dispossessed and downtrodden Palestinians had ever known. His was the face and voice of the Palestinian struggle in the international media. Through all the political adversity that he faced in his own life, Arafat was also a potent symbol of Palestinian defiance. Although it is easy to fault Arafat for his shortcomings as a leader, he commanded awesome respect as a symbol of liberation. The prestige of years of struggle meant that, however divided in practical terms, he possessed the ability, had he chosen to exercise it, to unite a number of different factions under a common banner.
Unfortunately, Arafat’s life and political career were a litany of contradictions and tragic ironies. These stemmed largely from his inability to recognise his own human fallibility. But as much as these contradictions were part of Arafat’s own shortsightedness, various Arab regimes also contributed to his ambiguous stance. Born Abdul Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini in Cairo in 1929, Arafat realised early on – before the Zionist ‘war of independence’ or the 1948 ‘catastrophe’ that birthed Israel and displaced millions – that Palestinian Arabs had to arm themselves for an inevitable military confrontation with the Zionist militia pressing for a violent armed campaign. Indeed, as Arab armies invaded the fledgling state of Israel shortly after its declaration, the Egyptian army confiscated the weapons of Arafat’s group, impressing upon him that Arab regimes privileged their own agendas over those of a grassroots Palestinian struggle.
In spite of his failings, Arafat was a charismatic, tireless and significant advocate of the plight of the Palestinians. His death has given rise to the same polarised passions that accompanied the passing of leaders such as Lenin and Mao. Both are recognised as monumental historical figures and national heroes. But they are also maligned for being quixotic and tyrannical leaders whose failures to come to terms with domestic and international ground realities led to their hampering the causes that they championed.
Down Under Facts
By Saad Sayeed
Pakistan is showing constant signs of improvement under Bob Woolmer. But will the upcoming tour of Australia spell the end of the optimism?
Five months have elapsed since Englishman Bob Woolmer took charge of the national side. And though many fears may have been allayed, the inconsistency that has dogged Pakistan cricket for the last decade in terms of both performance and selection, remain intact. Under regular circumstances, the progress that has clearly been made would be heartening. But given that the side’s next tour is Australia, Pakistan’s chances of escaping humiliation are bleak. Pakistan has the talent, as long as our fast bowlers stay fit. But they lack the application and determination required to survive a five-day Test match.
Chief Executive Mom
By Amber Rahim Shamsi
If commercials were ever to be taken seriously as social indicators, then most of us would be well-groomed housewives churning out banquets, sparkling dishes and endless cups of tea with not a hair out of place. But sometimes, an ad gets it right. In a new commercial for a mobile company, a baby sits on his father’s tummy as his picture is MMSed to his mother who receives it while sitting before a computer at the office. The image is a measure of how mainstream the concept of a working mother has become. About time.
Songs of Exile
By Aurangzaib Khan
Having fled Afghanistan when the Taliban outlawed music, refugee musicians in Peshawar are now facing the same hardships under the MMA government.
This could be Kabul’s busy musician’s quarter Kucha-e-Kharabat or Ningarhar’s Chowk-e-Talashi, where Afghan musicians congregate to practice their art. It could even be the infamous musicians’ haunt in Mazar-e-Sharif or Herat. But it is not. This is Peshawar’s humming Jamrud Road where the city’s rough edges are smoothed by the sounds emanating from the refugee musicians’ quarter. Here, the songs and the sounds are essentially Afghan, as displaced musicians labour to keep the love of music and their identity alive.
In the vicinity lies Khalil Complex, a characterless concrete block comprising a maze of offices occupied by Afghan musicians. For these residents, music is bread and butter. The cool air within the complex reverberates with stray notes of music and is a relief from Peshawar’s heat and din. Here, sad and eccentric musicians will serve you a fine brew of ethnic Afghan sounds, if you are so inclined. In the gloom of the complex, traditional Afghan sounds from the rubab, tamboura, tabla and harmonium mix with western notes from the clarinet and saxophone.
Once home to the sought-after Afghan artist Sultan Hamahang, Khalil Complex now hosts struggling young musicians and a smattering of jaded maestros. They come here to play but often leave without performing for a client and have to be content with entertaining each other. Having fled Afghanistan when the Taliban deemed music un-Islamic and subsequently outlawed public and private performances, the musicians obstinately cling to this integral part of their Afghan culture and identity.
Learning Powerhouse
From Faiza S. Issa in Dubai
A short distance from the luxurious hotels that line Dubai’s famous Jumeirah Beach lies an attraction of a different nature. A unique learning community and possibly the first of its kind in the world, Knowledge Village (KV) has brought organisations from across the globe to facilitate access to quality education and training in Dubai. Aimed at students hailing from India to North Africa and from the Commonwealth of Independent States to South Africa, KV seeks to develop local and foreign talent pools to power the region’s knowledge economy, a term that loosely refers to an economy driven by exploiting knowledge as opposed to machines. And although the year-old concept faces understandable teething problems, it is not only attracting students but also becoming a hub for knowledge activity in Dubai.