Blair’s belated wisdom
IT is unfortunate that it should have taken death and destruction in London to force Mr Tony Blair to say what he did on Saturday. He admitted that terrorism could not be countered by security measures alone. Speaking over BBC radio, the British prime minister said that the underlying causes of terrorism needed to be tackled to stop the menace. Mr Blair said that he never doubted that “you can have all the surveillance in the world” but you could still have terrorist attacks. Therefore, the world had to take measures necessary to get rid of “this dreadful perversion of the true faith of Islam”. Among the measures he suggested were improving understanding between religions and pushing the Middle East peace process forward.
Reports from Washington and London say that the US and Britain are considering a phased withdrawal from Iraq. According to reports, the US could reduce its troops from the present 176,000 to 60,000 by early next year, while in the case of Britain, the reduction could be from 8,500 to 3,000. Official word on a withdrawal is still not there. In fact, President George Bush has made it clear repeatedly that he was not going to announce a withdrawal schedule. But the persistence of pullout reports seems to suggest a belated realization in Washington and London that the failure to give a withdrawal date has strengthened resistance in Iraq. On Sunday, the death of 34 more people in suicide bombings in Iraq serves to highlight Iraq’s trauma. After the Jan 30 elections, it appeared for some time that the insurgency was on the decline. However, as time passed and the elected leaders kept quarrelling over cabinet formation and Sunni representation on the constitutional committee, the resistance rediscovered its strength. The elected Iraqi government does not enjoy the people’s confidence and respect. It has failed to create a new security set-up, and it is obvious that the vacuum created by an Anglo-American withdrawal could lead to total chaos. This, then, is the end-result of the invasion of Iraq. If Saddam Hussein was a tyrant — and indeed he was — it should have been left to the Iraqi people to get rid of him. By removing the Baathist regime by military means, America and Britain have got themselves trapped in a Middle East imbroglio. If they continue to stay on in Iraq, the price is going to be heavy for them. On the other hand, if they decide to pull out, they will leave chaos behind. Conclusion: Iraq should have never been invaded. It has done nothing but fuelled terrorism.
The other case where the US and Britain have consistently sided with criminality and genocide since 1917 is Palestine. They have no qualms about buttressing a racist state and letting Israel enjoy the fruits of aggression by annexing the Golan Heights and continuing its occupation of the Gaza strip and the West Bank, including Al Quds, for 38 years. All peace talks and withdrawal formulas have proved to be hogwash. Israel has no intention of withdrawing from the West Bank, and Washington and London know this. This is one of the underlying causes of terrorism. Mr Blair should show guts, ignoring the strong Zionist lobby in parliament and the media, and take steps to help break the logjam in the Middle East if he is keen on combating terrorism by means other than security measures.
The Hasba bill
SINCE assuming power in the NWFP, the MMA-led government has sought to enforce its fundamentalist agenda. Its decision to finally turn into law the controversial Hasba bill, which was first tabled two years ago, has been strongly criticized by opposition parties and civil liberty groups. Critics say that the bill will pave the way for the Talibanization of the Frontier, as its main agenda is to enforce society’s adherence to a particular version of Islamic laws in both the public and private lives of the citizens. Contention centres on the powers that will be given to the provincial ombudsman. For example, courts will be barred from granting interim relief or issuing stay orders in any matter pending before the ombudsman. There is a fear that the normal accountability process will be made redundant. That an ombudsman can now deal directly with an individual’s rights is particularly worrisome because he has also been granted powers that enable him, amongst other things, to purge society of ‘vices’. There will also be a Hasba police force, which sounds dangerously close to Saudi Arabia’s ‘muttawa’ (religious police). The opposition’s fear is not misplaced that this law will be misused to victimize people. Already the country is suffering from the misuse of controversial laws like the Hudood Ordinance and the blasphemy law which are used to target women and minorities. No authority should have the right to legally enforce religion on any individual, especially when the Constitution already provides that no law repugnant to Islam should be passed.
Given that the MMA’s version of Islam is largely retrogressive, the passing of the Hasba bill can have undesirable consequences for the NWFP. According to a 2004 survey, 41 per cent of people in this province live below the poverty line. The government would be better off focussing its energy on providing economic opportunities and basic services to its people than forcing them to follow a particular religious code. Any attempt at curtailing civil liberties and freedom of choice should be opposed, not just by the opposition in the NWFP, but by society at large. Moreover, this bill should have been put before the National Assembly as it is not a matter that concerns the NWFP alone.
Serial killings again
THE shocking spate of what appear to be serial killings in Lahore has claimed eight lives since June 30. The victims have been homeless people sleeping on the pavements or in open spaces around central parts of the town. So far, the police are clueless as to the identity of the killer(s), believed to be an individual or a group of fiendish disposition. The modus operandi has been to strike and smash the sleeping victim’s head with a heavy stone. There is no specific age group that is being targeted by the killer(s); the victims have been both young and old men. Two survivors of similar attacks have so far come forward, but because they were struck while in deep sleep, they have not been able to guide the police as to who or what had actually hit them.
Last year, after a similar killing spree in the city involving 10 homeless victims, a man was arrested by the police and charged with murder. In 1999, a group of five homosexual men was uncovered, who confessed to killing 18 young men in Lahore. One must also note with disgust the sickly case of Javed Iqbal, the notorious serial killer, of 100 young boys. The cold-blooded murders would have likely gone unreported if that monster of a man had not turned himself in when he tired of playing hide and seek with the media and the police. After being sentenced to death by a Lahore judge in March 2000, he reportedly committed suicide in jail. As for the latest killings, the police must get on the trail of the killer(s) and swiftly bring whoever it is to justice before any more innocent lives are lost.