Hiding behind Pukhtun tribes?

GENERAL Pervez Musharraf in an interview on May 1, with a London-based Pakistani satellite channel said there were indications that Osama bin Laden was alive, and might be hiding in tribal territory on the Pakistan-Afghan border. Musharraf said it was possible Osama could be with a small group of bodyguards, hiding on the Pakistani side or the Afghan side of the rugged border.

This is not for the first time that General Musharraf has pointed his finger at the Federally Administered Tribal Area (Fata) as a possible hideout of Osama and other Al Qaeda operatives. In the past, General Musharraf and some of his other colleagues have dropped broad hints to the effect that Osama and some of his followers might have gone underground in the Pukhtun tribal area. It is rather surprising that they have stuck to this theory, though most of the top Al Qaeda operatives have been arrested during the last one year not in Fata, but far away from it in big cities like Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi.

It is true that many Al-Qaeda followers were arrested in the tribal agencies at a time when they were fleeing out of Afghanistan after the US military operations in Tora Bora, Zhawar and Shahikot. They entered the tribal area because that is the only available route from the aforementioned places for crossing over into Pakistan and moving towards safer places. But there is no question of the numerous Al-Qaeda fugitives hiding in the tribal area. There are very solid reasons for that.

One has to understand the peculiar socio-cultural structures still largely intact in the area. Xenophobia among Pukhtun tribes, like among other tribes elsewhere, is still quite strong.

A non-local and particularly a foreigner is immediately taken notice of and reported to the tribe. The tribesmen observe segregation on the basis of gender very rigidly. A guest, howsoever important he may be, cannot be taken inside the women quarters of a residence. He has to reside in a hujra, the communal guest house of the clan or the extended family, where a number of people belonging to the clan and extended family would shake his hand, ask for his name and the purpose of his visit.

Some proclaimed offenders from the settled districts do take refuge in the tribal area, but it is done publicly and in many cases before a jirga or tribal assembly. The newcomer is introduced to everybody and the clan or family giving refuge to the person stands responsible for his conduct as long as he lives there. It is also important to know that there are no houses for rent in the area. Every one lives along with their kith and kin in a fortress like house that has to be defended by the residents.

Fata is a quite thickly populated area and the geographic location of a tribe or sub-tribe is well known. The tribe has a collective responsibility for its security.

In the case of Osama bin Laden, there are additional reasons to believe that he could not have remained in the tribal area even if he had been initially there. He cannot be unaware of the news about his possible presence in the area that is widely publicized. In all probability, he would have left the area to hide in the big cities that are far safer. The arrest of high-level Al Qaeda men from important urban centres of the country proves this point, if a proof is needed at all. Moreover, most of the tribal area is right on the Afghan border.

It is well known to everyone that the US army is quite active along the border with a lot of aerial surveillance and electronic monitoring. Osama cannot be such a fool as to hang out in such close vicinity of US forces, knowing fully well that they will have little hesitation in crossing the border to get him.

The tribal area was used as a launching pad for fighters against various Afghan regimes, but that was not done secretly. All such operations were launched with not only the consent, but also with the active support of the government. The question is why should General Musharraf and other officials of his government keep harping on this theme when realities on the ground point in the opposite direction? Is it hard intelligence? Most probably not.

In view of the past record of the present government, it is safer to assume that it is making an effort to hide behind the so-called inaccessibility of the tribal area for the failure of its security apparatus in nabbing the most wanted fugitives. The myth of “no man’s land” and the “wild north-west” comes quite handy as a spin and as a diversion when the government fails to muster the required political will for taking the bull of terrorism right by the horns. One can understand the difficulty of the official spin-doctors after the collapse of the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Now they are left only with the Pukhtun tribal areas for dumping all dirty things.

Be that as it may, this particular line of official propaganda has created serious concern among Pukhtun people in general and the residents of Fata in particular. This is because Pukhtuns are still reeling under the impact of an extremely bloody and decapitating polarization created by the prolonged Afghan conflict.

Last week, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told a press conference in Kabul that most of Afghanistan was calm, but the border area with Pakistan was still dangerous. Not only that. It was only a few months back that a US plane had bombed a building in South Waziristan Agency in what they had called retaliation to an attack on them on the Pakistan-Afghan border.

The possible presence of Osama in the area, in the light of the statements by the highest state functionary, can very well give them ideas for more disastrous bombing in Fata to hunt the most-wanted man of the world down. These are dangerous, but not very unreal prospects. Can one expect some soul-searching on this score?

The writer is chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

The neo-cons who will rebuild Iraq: Media Review

WITHOUT Dick Cheney any list of neo-cons would be incomplete. Also a PNAC founding member, he used to be on the JINSA board. Formerly chairman and CEO of oil company Halliburton whose subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root has secured contracts worth up to $7 billion from the US army’s Corp of Engineers to put out oil well fires in Iraq. A trustee of the American Enterprise Institute, he has links with Chevron, for whom he negotiated the building of an oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea. Condoleeza Rice, the national security adviser, was a director at Chevron until 2001 and even had an oil tanker named after her. Not to be left behind is Dick Cheney’s wife, Lynne, who sat on the board of Lockheed Martin. This firm manufactures the Cruise missiles that were used to kill thousands in Iraq and now has a $800 million military satellite helping the US army in Iraq.

Mackay says that there are rumours that a former education secretary under Reagan and the incharge of Bush Senior’s anti-drug effort, William Bennett, will be given a role in Iraq’s post-war education system. Some reports have also linked President Bush’s brother Neil with the rebuilding of Iraq’s education system.

Next comes former CIA director James Woolsey. Also a member of the PNAC and JINSA, he is likely to be minister of information in the interim administration. His business interests have included the arms company British Aerospace; the Titan Corporation, which provides military interpreters and DynCorp, which provides bodyguards for Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president and has installed a police force monitoring service in Bosnia. He was a partner in the law firm, Shea and Gardner, which acts as foreign agents for the Iraqi National Congress, led by Chalabi. Lt-Gen Jay Garner, nicknamed the Sheriff of Baghdad, is said to be a “fan of JINSA” and has in the past praised the Israeli defence force for its “remarkable restraint in the face of lethal violence orchestrated by the leadership of the Palestinian Authority.” He is also reported to have said: “A strong Israel is an asset that American military planners and political leaders can rely on.” He is president of SY Coleman, the defence firm that specializes in building Patriot missiles and which was awarded over a billion-dollar contract this year to provide logistics support to US special forces. He is also a close friend of Cheney and Rumsfeld.

Maj-Gen Bruce Moore and Gen Buck Walters: Both have been hand-picked by the Pentagon to run the north and south of Iraq. Walters, a recently retired businessman, comes from President Bush’s home state of Texas. Capt Frederick ‘Skip’ Burkle: A medical doctor who has worked for the WHO and USAID, is tipped to play a key role in the Iraqi health ministry. Robert Reilly: A former director of the VOA, he has now been given the job of overseeing the rebuilding of Iraqi radio, television and print media. Mackay says that the US has already asked Reilly to operate ‘Radio Free Iraq’. He also happens to be a close friend and business partner of Ahmad Chalabi.

Michael Mobbs: A Pentagon lawyer who is tipped as overall civilian coordinator and will be incharge of 11 Iraq’s ministries. Mackay describes him as “notorious hawk and close friend of Richard Perle.” He has also worked for Douglas Feith’s law firm. Mobbs is the brain behind the US government’s policy of keeping in indefinite detention Al Qaeda suspects at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay which, by the way, was built by Bechtel for $16m.

Andrew Natsios, head of USAID, the agency that will hand out al post-war reconstruction contracts. Under US law only American companies can bid for these contracts. Natsios, Mackay says, is best known for his tenure as CEO of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority during which time a project to construct a three-mile underground highway in Boston (also by Bechtel) ended up costing $10 billion more that it should have. Natsios is a retired lieutenant colonel and is assisted by Michael Marx, also a former army officer.

Khalilzad: Afghanistan-born Khalilzad is Bush’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Iraq and has a wide variety of oil interests. He has co-written an article on Saddam, titled Overthrow him, with Wolfowitz, his former boss. A consultant with the oil company Unocal, he was pushing for a natural gas pipeline in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime, and worked under Condoleeza Rice when she served as director of Chevron. He is former Rand Corp employee and a charter member of the NAC. —OMAR R. QURAISHI

Pakistani English poets

I DO not clearly remember who it was, but someone did say that the British only gave three things to the subcontinent — the railways, a trundling government machinery, and the English language to oil it with. But why forget that they also gave us Shakespeare, Keats, Byron, and a host of other poets and writers?

With the opening of English-medium schools during the Raj in India, the language got hold on the people who regarded it as an essential step towards progress in life. This language, somehow, still holds pride of place in the country. To top it all, more and more of the locals are today not only conversing among themselves in that alien language, but the brighter ones among them, with more command over the language, are even composing poetry in it. Initially, such poets only sounded sweet but with the passage of time, their poetry developed traces of introspection. Those standing out in this respect are the late Daud Kamal, Taufiq Rafat, Maya Jamil, Alamgir Hashmi, Kaleem Omer and some others.

Soon, the younger lot among those well-versed in English started rubbing shoulders with the elders. Two youngsters, in particular, began attracting attention. They were Omar Tareen and Haris Khalique. Then four girls students came up with a collection of 90 poems under the title, Tangerine in the Sun, and won appreciation from such a hard taskmaster as Zeno.

This column would become a research piece if I start recounting the development of English poetry in the country. But before moving to the person who has made me write these lines, I cannot fail to mention the names of Ejaz Rahim, a senior bureaucrat, and Bushra Shams, a housewife, who have made a significant contribution to English poetry. Ejaz is probably the best of the present day English poets in the country. I have found his themes to be fresh and the language expressive, even metaphysical. On top of it, there are sparks of visual imagery in his lines. So far as Bushra is concerned, there is an originality in her style together with a spontaneity of expression. The first of her three collections was published in England.

This column has been inspired by a collection of poetry, Rhymes of Soul, by Prof Bashir Ahmad Chaudhry. Being a teacher at the FC College, Lahore, he has thought it fit to assemble the readers in a classroom and explain to them, through a long introduction, what is poetry all about and where does it lead a person. In the preface, he makes an interesting observation. Says he: “A poem a day keeps the psychiatrist away.” Then he goes on to explain that Eastern poetry differs in metaphor and imagery from other Western poetry. Further, Prof Bashir makes a statement after my heart. He says, whereas “one can specialize in a subject of science to boost his economic prosperity, the balanced growth of his personality, mind and character is only possible by the study of literature, especially poetry.”

The 25-page introduction to the book is worth reading. It goes to clarify many points which may be irking the readers of English poetry. The book has been compiled in two parts, the first devoted to devotional poetry. He is probably the only one among the poets who compose in English who has made bold to compose hamd and other poems in praise of the Omnipotent. In the second part of the book, there are poems of general and topical interest.

NISAR Akbarabadi is a senior poet sought after by those organizing mushairas because of his lilting tarranum and, the quality of his verses. He has been encouraging, and even coaching, new entrants in the field of poetry. He has now come up with a book on prosody mainly for the guidance of the youngsters. The book was launched at a function held in the latest gathering place of writers, Chaupal, situated in the Gol Bagh. It was presided over by Mirza Shamsul Hasan, DIG, who also happens to be a poet.

Speakers on the occasion included Tauqir Fatima Naqvi, Shagufta Nazli, Shahid Bukhari, Zafar Ali Raja and Aashiq Raheel. They lauded the author for providing an excellent guide book for upcoming poets. Praising Nisar Akbarabadi, one speaker said he was not only a poet but a complete academy. Mirza Shamsul Hasan was also all praise for Nisar Akbarabadi. He said he had a deep knowledge of all essential requirements of good poetry and it was well that he was passing it on to the younger lot.

Usman Siddiqi paid tribute to the author in verse.

THE person who is keeping the Adab-i-Latif alive, Siddiqa Begum, has been ill. She remained confined to one of the most expensive private hospitals of the city but is now back home. She was suffering from some complication in the chest or the throat which rendered her speechless. The first time I rang to inquire about her health I had to leave my message in the recorder. Two days later, she was kind enough to ring back and talk to me for a long time. —ASHFAQUE NAQVI

India-Pakistan: some good news

GOOD news from India-Pakistan is rare; no news, more often than not, is good news. Some good news from the two countries, such as in the past few days, is great news. Missed opportunities and costly errors of judgment of the past must not be allowed to come in the way of a phased and satisfactory fruition of the initiative jointly sponsored by the two prime ministers, Atal Behari Vajpayee and Mir Zafarullah Jamali.

President General Pervez Musharraf stands tall and square behind his prime minister. It was he who, after a crucial meeting on Friday (May 2) at the Army House, made the welcome announcement about the restoration of full diplomatic ties downgraded by India earlier on. Pakistani high commissioner is to be nominated soon to assume his diplomatic burden in New Delhi on a reciprocal basis.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, easily the subcontinent’s most mature statesman in age (78) and experience, has virtually staked his place in history as a successful or failed peace-maker almost without hedging his bets. From Pakistan, both at the level of the head of state and head of government, the response has been equally positive and spontaneous.

This is not to expect either side to compromise, least of all give up its ‘principled’ stand on the ‘core’ issue, Kashmir, the mother of all India-Pakistan conflicts and simmering tensions. The proverbial Paradise on Earth has indeed been the bete noire of India, Pakistan relations. However, now that India has after all agreed to re-open the closed chapter of Kashmir, the move should lead to a fresh re-appraisal closer to ground realities.

It needs to be clearly understood that Mr Vajpayee’s olive branch to Pakistan is not without the birch rod, happily without its bruising roughness. “This round of talks”, he told the Lok Sabha, “will be decisive. And at least for my life-time, this would be the (third) and the last.” The two rounds held earlier were in Lahore (February, 1999), and Agra (June 2001). Mr Vajpayee hoped to ‘leave a legacy of peace’ between the two countries before the end of his tenure. A nobler thought and mission would be hard to come by.

It may be recalled that under Morarji Desai as prime minister and Atal Behari Vajpayee as his foreign minister, India had relatively the best of relations with Pakistan. During their official visit to Pakistan in the early 80s, under martial law, the two dignitaries were received with warmth and cordiality by the president-CMLA, General Muhammad Ziaul Haq.

Prime Minister Desai was awarded Pakistan’s highest civil award, the Nishan-i-Pakistan which he graciously accepted.

Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri, while welcoming the peace initiative of the two prime ministers, has in interviews and statements shown a judicious blend of undisguised optimism tempered with pragmatism. While hoping for the peace initiative to be ‘decisive and conclusive’, he indicated that he would not look for a quick fix. It should give a new impetus to the “slowly improving ties” between the two countries after a long and troubled hiatus.

Of his own credentials as a supporter of India-Pakistan peace, Mr Kasuri went on to recall his own election campaign during which he “never resorted to India-bashing despite the fact that his voters had been frequently victims of Indian artillery barrages.” The Kasur-Bedian sector, south of Lahore was in the midst of some of the heaviest bombardment by Indian artillery during the two wars of 1965 and 1971. While Mr Kasuri called the initiative “a very positive development”, he was rightly critical of the “belligerent” statements of Indian ministers’ denouncing Pakistan for continuing to sponsor ‘cross-border terrorism’ and urging ‘no talks with Pakistan’ until the militants’ traffic stopped. The belligerent tone of the Indian ministers, to Mr Kasuri’s mind, was meant to “mislead their large populations, not very politically conscious and thus very gullible...”

Rather a bizarre statement to make about people exercising their right to vote at regular intervals and elect a government of their own choice, good, bad or indifferent. The Indian people are the mainstay and unfailing pillar of Indian democracy, no matter how ‘gullible.’

What truly matters now is that the peace initiative, still in embryo, must be allowed to develop and grow to full size and strength. A concerted move launched at the highest level, after a prolonged deadlock with its threat of a terrifying two- dimensional (conventional/nuclear) armed conflict, can be stymied or aborted only at the horrific cost of staying still born for the foreseeable future. The process must go on even if the product is not within immediate reach.

Now a word about the purely domestic dimension of the peace process in terms of the impact of the politics of confrontation between the government and the opposition. Tied to the apron strings of Prime Minister Jamali, the process will be practically inconceivable without him and his government. Therefore, a status quo domestically, no matter how smelly and unwelcome, remains the one essential pre-requisite for the full fruition of the peace process.

The writer is a retired brigadier of the Pakistan army.

Public safety commission starts functioning: DATELINE BAHAWALPUR

THE district Public Safety Commission started functioning recently to redress the people’s grievances against the police.

According to the commission chairperson, Mr Mashhood Nasir, within a few days the commission received about 10 complaints, in addition to a case forwarded by the Bahawalpur Bench of the Lahore High Court. Most complaints pertain to the alleged bribery, illegal gratification and misuse of powers by the police.

The charges are being thoroughly investigated by various sub-committees constituted by the commission. After recording of evidence, the chairperson told, the cases could be decided in the light of circumstantial evidence and inspection of the scene of occurrences, if necessary.

However, a case in which the complainant could not prove the charge was dismissed. In a case involving bribery and misuse of powers against an SI and ASI, the complainant has been asked to furnish proof with the commission’s sub-committee. As regards the case sent by the Lahore High Court, Bahawalpur Bench, the complainant has been summoned. He had complained of damages caused during the police raid, without valid orders, on his medical store.

The chairperson opined that complainants would be welcomed provided they reported the matter to the public safety commission. Keeping in view the role of the commission, the district governments and the provincial government along with the police department should create awareness among the people about registration of complaints against police excesses and for this purpose, the government should give wide publicity to the duties of safety commission so that the aggrieved could approach the members of the district safety commission for relief. Currently, few people are aware of the role of safety commissions.

THE encroachment issue in the city is unresolved for the past many months. With the result that illegal structures and constructions have cropped up along the roads and in the streets of many localities.

In bazaars, many unauthorized extensions of shops have blocked the smooth passage of the people. Shopkeepers have also rented out their front portions to vendors and pushcart owners.

The tehsil administration has not launched any operation against encroachments since long, despite criticism by the civic circles.

The defunct corporation with the assistance of magistrates often conducted operations against this menace. But the tehsil municipal administration hardly takes any action in the absence of such a mechanism. The people are of the view that the tehsil administration, which is a part of the district government, is unable to tackle their civic problems.

WAPDA Chairman Gen Zulfiqar Ali Khan (retired) at his open kutchery here the other day told the consumers that special attention was being paid to the provision of power connections for tubewells and villages.

According to him, about 1,000 new tubewell connections will be provided during the current year in southern Punjab. He told that in Bahawalpur circle, development works of Rs70 million were completed and 1,900 consumers were provided electricity connections this year.

He added that with the cooperation of the Punjab government, a revolving fund has been created for providing connections to poor and deserving consumers of rural areas. Their charges will be recovered in 12 easy instalments along with the monthly bills.

A number of complaints of corruption, inefficiency and negligence were brought to his notice. A meter inspector was suspended on corruption charges and discourtesy.

AFTER about 10 years’ hibernation, the revival of the dramatic society of Sadiq Public School, Bahawalpur, was heralded with the staging of three plays, including Shakespeare’s famous tragedy ‘Macbeth’.

The presentation of this piece of classical English literature delighted the select audience, who applauded the participants and their director Mr Nauman Ahmed, head of the English Department. Urdu drama “Bumper Prize” highlighted social evils and the Punjabi play entitled, “Vanjara mera han da”, projected the demerits of dowry in our society.

The guests, drawn from a cross section of society, welcomed the revival of such healthy extra-curricular activity in the school and observed that the new principal, Prof Asif Malik, should promote programmes aimed at character-building of the students.