The terror unleashed in the name of interrogation in the confines of police stations can’t be excluded from the definition of terrorism
LET us begin our probe with a question: is it for the first time in the history of mankind that the world at large has experienced terrorism?
The answer, though simple, oscillates between ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Before we arrive at a definitive answer, we must bear in mind that unlike terrorism in ancient times, terrorism in the modern context of science and technology hits the society suddenly, like lightning. Its impact is volcanic. Executed with lethal weapons of mass destruction, it devastates social structures beyond recognition.
In order to comprehend terrorism, let us undertake an academic study of the terrifying malady. In its simple definition, a violent act that creates terror in the society is called terrorism. A person who carries out terrifying acts is branded a terrorist. The dreaded act is performed individually, by one person, as well as collectively by many persons. The recent act of terrorism on Clifton Bridge, in which the convoy of the Core Commander of Karachi was attacked, was a collective act of terrorism carried out by multiple terrorists. A person who wraps explosive material round his waist and chest is called a suicide bomber. In a terrorist act, he, too, is blown to pieces along with the target he destroys.
All acts of terrorism are executed with three purposes: to create fear within a society, to settle terms and the lust for money. Armed persons who hijack a passenger plane create two-fold terror. They terrorize the passengers and the crew within the plane, and they terrorize the negotiators on the ground by killing a crew member or a passenger when their demands are turned down one by one. They even threaten blowing up the plane. The most terrified persons in such a ghastly drama happen to be the relatives of the trapped passenger in the air. They keep sobbing and praying till the culmination of the nerve-wracking episode.
High-profile terrorist acts have overshadowed the terrorism experienced by each one of us in our everyday life. It doesn’t hit us with explosive material. It doesn’t tear apart our limbs. It doesn’t kill us instantaneously. It kills us slowly and gradually. It plunges the victim into a most painful and horrifying process of dying.
Dying of persistent mental torture, prolonged stress and starvation are some of the most terrifying forms of death in which lethal weapons are not used. The late Abdul Ghaffar Quraishi was a dreaded police officer of Karachi. Most hardened criminals and killers couldn’t withstand his unbearable torture. They always caved in and confessed the crimes they had committed. Abdul Ghaffar Quraishi did not beat them with leather strips soaked in salted water. He did not hang them upside down and put chili powder on their private parts. He did not pull out their fingernails. He had invented his own method of torture. He did not let a criminal sleep. He kept the victim awake and instead of water, he gave him bhang (drink made from a herb that has an intoxicating effect) to drink. Bhang induces sleep and invigorates the appetite. He gave him nothing to eat. The victim, when totally exhausted by hunger and sleep, was brought out in the open where kebabs and fish were grilled on charcoals. The mouth-watering spicy aroma emanating from the barbecue always broke down the culprit. After confessing his crimes, the offender was allowed to devour the grilled stuff to his heart’s content.
The terror unleashed on the victims in the name of interrogation in the confines of the police and other agencies can’t be excluded from the definition of terrorism. We may reluctantly call it other kind of terrorism. Are they not unleashing terror on the Iraqi prisoners in American concentration camps? What name we are supposed to give to this type of dread in which hungry hounds are let loose on the chained and blindfolded prisoners? Terror wreaked in the name of law can’t be kept aside from the fold of terrorism.
The most wretched victims of atrocious acts, behaviours, and attitudes are the ones who live all their life under threat. A wife who doesn’t bear a child remains terrorized all her life in our society. She doesn’t know when she will be divorced and thrown out. The husband’s prerogative to have three more wives lurks large in her life. You must have known bosses who all their life terrorized their subordinates. Have you forgotten the days when you first went to the college and bumped into a tough guy, or a bunch of gangsters who harassed you?
Bhatta-khori (extortion) is not new for the vendors, shopkeepers and businessmen of Karachi. You are running your store and suddenly two persons appear on the scene, pull out pistols and extort money from you. Won’t you feel terrorized? If someone tells us it doesn’t fall within the category of terrorism, then what name are we supposed to give to this type of fear that freezes you?
Now we come to our definitive answer. The terrorism has always coexisted with man. It is an effect. In out next meeting we will explore the causes that culminate into terrorism.
