The ‘blot’ and the ban
RATHER than take decisive action to protect the lives and property of its citizens, the government of the Indian state of Gujarat has passed on the buck to Pakistan Television, banning its telecasts. So extreme and misguided has been the response to the bloodshed — the toll now stands close to 550 with 200 killed in Ahmedabad alone — that even India’s own Star TV was banned for a few hours after it carried reports detailing the inefficiency of the police and security forces in dealing with the communal violence. The ban on PTV is also unfortunate in that it stems from a matter that is entirely India’s domestic concern. Yes, Pakistan, too, currently has restrictions on Indian channels, but that has its origins in a war-like situation in which every country protects its citizens from hostile propaganda.
It is not just the Pakistani media that has been sharply critical. The failure of the Gujarat government and its 65,000-strong police department to protect the lives of Muslims has been roundly condemned by Indian newspapers, opposition political parties and the foreign media. A British newspaper reported that “rioting” was the wrong word; what was happening was that the “dominant community was trying to pulverize its weaker rival”. The carnage, it said, was “made possible by the city’s Hindu police force, which merely watched as gangs rampaged through Muslim areas” and that the presence of the Indian army was “a PR stunt”.
Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee’s remark that the carnage in Gujarat is a “blot” on the whole of India is tinged with a strong sense of frustration and dismay at the ineptitude of the state government which by most accounts acted too slowly and too late. No action has yet been planned against the temple construction campaign of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad scheduled to begin from March 15. In fact, the Rashtriya Swamsevak Sangh is mediating between the VHP and the BJP government over this highly emotive issue, but it can hardly be expected to play an impartial role. Compare this with the action Pakistan has taken in banning seven extremist organizations involved in terrorism.
The fact that India misses no opportunity to call itself a secular democracy further adds to the irony of a rightwing Indian government being asked to rein in extremist communal elements, many of whom comprise its most reliable votebank. Unfortunately, because of its past, the BJP is hardly in a position to order the Hindu extremists to end their temple construction campaign. Its past involvement in Ayodhya has compromised its ability to control the communal disharmony caused by the train attack because the VHP — as some of its leaders have been saying — sees the BJP as betraying the cause of Hindutva. The other problem is this seeming fetish of all Indian governments blaming everything on Pakistan’s intelligence agencies. Here, too, Mr Advani has taken the lead, telling journalists in Ahmedabad on Sunday that the “needle of suspicion” and “substantive evidence” pointed to the possibility that the Gujarat riots were a continuation of the attack on the parliament building by “Pakistani terrorists”. Perhaps New Delhi should look a little closer. It might just find the terrorists too close for comfort.
No end in sight
THE fierce US bombardment of Taliban and Al Qaeda targets in eastern Afghanistan is a stark reminder that the war against terror in that blighted country is still far from over. The aerial strikes are aimed at supporting what is believed to be the largest ground offensive since the war in Afghanistan began. Allied troops in the Shah-i-Kot mountains, some 20 kilometres from Gardez in Paktia province, have been facing tougher than expected resistance from Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters who have been regrouping in the area. The Afghan soldiers, aided by a smaller contingent of US troops, reported that a group of over 2,000 hardened opponents holed up in the area have taken up positions on the mountain tops and are proving difficult to dislodge. The US is contemplating further air strikes and has used the devastating thermobaric fuel bomb for the first time, a laser-guided device that can penetrate deep underground and destroy bunkers and caves. The bomb can produce a huge incinerating blast that can force the oxygen out of a cave and suffocate those inside. Meanwhile, troops loyal to interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai are also engaged in a showdown with Al Qaeda fighters in Logar province, suggesting that the mopping up of remnants of the Taliban regime is going to be a long and arduous affair.
This is leading to some disquiet among US Democrats. Senate majority leader Tom Daschle has made clear his concern about the direction of the war in Afghanistan and has warned against extending the war to other countries without detailed consultations with Congress. He added that “Congress shouldn’t be here to rubber-stamp any president”. The Democrats are also irked because they were not consulted on the decision to send US forces to Yemen, the Phillippines and Georgia to train troops from those countries. With speculation rife that the US plans to take its war against terrorism to Iraq, there is a growing, and welcome, awareness even within the US that it is easier to start a war than get out of it.
Businessman’s murder
THE murder by robbers of a Karachi businessman on Sunday comes as yet another rude reminder of the recent surge in violent crime in the city. The bandits shot dead the man in cold blood, as they showed him into the house in Defence, where the loot was being collected and his relatives were being held hostage at gunpoint. In the past four weeks, some 31 robberies have been committed in the city, including two at the Edhi centres in Saddar and Clifton. In two of the cases, the victims were murdered or injured. Add to these the rising number of carjackings, and you get a truly nightmarish situation in Karachi crime-wise.
It is time the law enforcement agencies realized it is their duty to give the citizens a sense of security and a good night’s sleep. Violent crime, besides inflicting heavy damage on the victims, also leaves its mark on society as a whole: it heightens a sense of insecurity among the people. In Karachi, there is a widespread belief among the public that the unscrupulous among the police are themselves involved in robberies and carjackings. The promise of giving the city a revamped police system under the devolution plan still remains a promise, as the recent surge in violent crime continues. The authorities will do well to expedite the proposed reforms in the police department so as to make the police a trustworthy combatant force against crime. The first step in that direction will be to purge the police force of such unscrupulous elements that have helped soar, rather than contain, the rising wave of crime.