Where have the ‘I Love Pakistan Army’ stickers gone?

It’s pretty rare these days to see one of those ‘I Love Pakistan Army’, ‘We Are Proud Of Our Armed Forces’ and ‘Pakistan Army Zindabad’ stickers on the rear windows or bumpers of cars. Children are no longer interested in getting up early in the morning on Independence Day to watch the military’s parade on television. Women don’t get teary-eyed after hearing Malika-e-Tarannum Noorjehan singing “Aay puttar hattan de nahin wikde”. But these were common sights a decade back.

Times have changed and they call for a change in strategies as well. And the military’s top brass finally seems to be coming to terms with the reality that the nation is no longer ‘that’ proud of its army anymore.

Comprehending the fact that the dejected, inflation-hit masses are becoming increasingly perturbed over the major chunk of public money and foreign funds being gobbled up by the armed forces, the generals are becoming serious about revamping their tarnished image and win back public support.

Recently, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, while presiding over the 139th Core Commanders Conference, “requested” the government to divert US military aid towards helping the common man.

According to an official press release, the military high-ups also observed during the meetings that certain quarters, driven by their “perceptual biases”, were trying to run down the armed forces and thereby turning public opinion against the military.

They pointed out that attempts to create divisions between important institutions were harmful to national interest and stressed the need to put an end to this “unfortunate trend”.

The Pakistan Army hasn’t been having the best of times recently, starting from the US raid in Abbottabad last month in which al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed.

The discovery that the world’s top terrorist was hiding in a Pakistani garrison city for years instantly aroused suspicions that the Pakistan Army was involved in foul play.

Later the PSN Mehran attack exposed the vulnerability of the armed forces and the 16-hour long siege raised disturbing questions over their capability to defend their bases, especially when the masses are forced to starve just to ensure that their jawans are prepared enough to take on any adversary.

The naval base incident also paved way for speculations that some elements within the armed forces might be abetting terrorists as the attack appeared to be an inside job.

Things took a turn for the worse when Frontier Corps men killed five foreigners – believed to be four Chechens and a Tajik –  in the Kharotabad area of Quetta on May 17. The Frontier Corps initially claimed that the five people including three women were would-be suicide bombers. However, witnesses claimed that they were unarmed and the bomb disposal squad also mentioned in its report that they were not carrying explosives. Later, some evidence surfaced suggesting that the Frontier Corps men at one of the check posts wanted to lay their hands on the dollars they assumed the foreigners were carrying. When the foreigners refused to give the Frontier Corps men what they wanted and moved on, they latter told their colleagues at the next check post that terrorists were headed their way, leading to five people’s tragic fate.

Then the military’s image was dealt another severe blow when on May 27, an Islamabad-based journalist, Saleem Shahzad, who disclosed in a report that al Qaeda has infiltrated the armed forces and is operating a cell at naval bases, was abducted, brutally tortured and found dead two days later near Mandi Bahauddin. This was all very similar to how the military’s premier spy agency is notorious for dealing with ‘dissidents’. The Humans Rights Watch also claimed on the back of Shahzad’s email that the journalist was receiving threats from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Finally, the murder of an unarmed youth by some trigger-happy Rangers personnel at a park in Karachi on June 8 again put the military in the firing line.

Even though what happened in Kharotabad and the park in Karachi were two incidents entirely different in nature, our vulturous electronic media somehow weaved them together as well as the other recent happenings involving the armed forces to present a villainous side of the men in uniform. But nevertheless, the media’s efforts have been instrumental in making the public realise that the military doesn’t have to be a ‘sacred cow’ and it deserves credit for that.

Also giving a hard time to the army is its own creation, Pakistan Muslim-League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif - perhaps the country’s most popular political leader as Benazir Bhutto is no longer with us. Sharif and his party are perhaps those “certain quarters” that the military high-ups were so concerned about.

Not only has the PML-N chief committed the ‘cardinal sin’ of demanding that the army’s budget should be presented before the parliament for the sake of transparency, but also criticised the military intelligence agencies’ constant meddling in domestic politics.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain, who is known for his distinct and amusing style of expressing his thoughts, hopped on the army-bashing bandwagon as well.

There is no doubt that he is an extraordinary man with many talents. But perhaps nobody was aware about his medical expertise. The MQM chief ‘diagnosed’ the armed forces and the ISI with cancer, gangrene, tuberculosis and last but not the least, AIDS. The ‘politician-cum-surgeon’ recommended that the parts affected by untreatable diseases such as cancer need to be surgically removed and the other parts should be quarantined until they recuperate.

He even brought up the question as to whether Pakistan’s nuclear assets are adequately safeguarded or not, following the ease with which terrorists managed to sneak into PNS Mehran. But then again, Hussain blows hot and cold and turns into the army’s biggest supporter as well.

The military leaders are rightly concerned about what’s going on… they should be. In fact, they also went as far as to hold held a meeting with the civilian leaders - President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani - at the Presidency to discuss the ongoing situation. The event was extraordinary in the sense that the civilian and military leaders usually gather at the Presidency only on ceremonial occasions.

However, the generals should bear in mind that is no deliberate attempt to malign the image of the army but it is a classic example of “you reap what you sow”. They have nobody else to blame but themselves for the profound dip in the army’s popularity.

The lavish lifestyles of the superiors of the armed forces, spending leisure time in dreamy golf courses and clubs while their children study abroad; the real estate business that the army has focused its energies on and the exorbitantly high-priced plots and bungalows in the Defence areas becoming a symbol of elite status… these are major obstacles for the men in uniform if they wish to become public idols once more.

Motto of Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) ‘Respect All’… that’s not what the camera captured

There is a page on the Pakistan Army’s official website www.pakistanarmy.gov.pk containing general information about the Pakistan Rangers (Sindh).

It mostly highlights the ‘glorious achievements’ of the paramilitary force including remaining “continuously involved in combating terrorism and ensuring law and order by providing intimate support to Sindh police in Karachi and interior Sindh”; “by the grace of God Almighty and dedication of all ranks, winning the confidence and appreciation of the citizens” and, nevertheless, being “now regarded as a premier law enforcement agency, with high credibility and trust”.

There is also a subtitle on the page “Code of Conduct” under which it is written, “Troops of Pakistan Rangers (Sindh), being intimately involved in multifaceted border and internal security duties, have a lot of responsibility and moral obligation to ensure that their performance remains above board and well within the jurisdiction of the law. To make them better understand their role, a Code of Conduct has been clearly defined which reads, Crackdown for Criminals and Terrorists, Patronage and Protection for the Peace Loving Citizens with an Absolutely Impartial Approach Along With Courteous and Polite Attitude Combined with the Motto, Respect All.”

Apparently, the Rangers personnel, who gunned down an unarmed teenager at a park in the Boat Basin area, never read this Code of Conduct or perhaps didn’t quite understand what it means.

It was yet another incident in which “the Custodians of the Mehran Valley”, tasked with assisting the police restore law and order in Karachi and also given more powers under the Anti-Terrorism Act for this purpose, have crossed the line. They have been found involved in at least four other extrajudicial murders in recent times.

The difference this time around was the footage being flashed repeatedly on all local TV channels showing the daring “jawans” of the Pakistan Rangers firing at a youth begging for his life.

If it weren’t for this footage, there would have been no other evidence to contradict the Pakistan Rangers’ version that the 19-year-old was a bandit gunned down in an encounter.

The SHO of the Boat Basin police station was unwilling to file an FIR against the accused Rangers personnel and the state-run hospital handed over the body of the teenager to his heirs without conducting a postmortem, which would have revealed that the young man was shot from a point-blank range.

Perhaps in a rush of adrenaline, the Rangers personnel paid no attention to the cameraman capturing the entire event or were simply too arrogant to care; a mistake they later would have regretted as it helped bring the truth into the open.

Otherwise, this case would have ended up like the closed file of a protester, who was allegedly shot dead by paramilitary force in the Chakra Goth area of the city last month while he was participating in a demonstration against power load shedding and water hydrants.

The SHO of the area had given a clean chit to the Pakistan Rangers claiming that the protester had not died of a bullet shot by the law enforcement agencies. The other participants of the demonstration, most of them women, say that they were brutally roughed up by the Rangers personnel.

Even if it is assumed that the youth murdered at the Boat Basin park was actually mugging people along with his aides, as claimed by the Pakistan Rangers as well as Interior Minister Rehman Malik, the members of the paramilitary force had no right to kill an unarmed person. The special powers granted to the Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) allow them to arrest people involved in violent activities and keep them in custody for 90 days. This chilling display of callousness is certainly not among those special powers.

So the big question that arises is: Why are the members of this law enforcement agency, which is supposed to protect the citizens of Karachi, resorting to such actions. In the grisly footage of the cold-blooded murder at the park, one can notice the Rangers personnel’s abhorrence for the unfortunate soul crying for mercy in front of them and the remorselessness with which one of them shot him and the others watched him bleed to death. He was a stranger to them and even if he was caught involved in any wrongdoing, he could have been nothing more than a deviant youth.

Were those men venting their frustration on the kid? The Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) are constantly forced to succumb to political pressure when they act against criminals in Karachi and that’s why their current campaign in the city has been a failure, denting their morale.

On numerous occasions, they have to set free criminals they arrest following phone calls from people to whom they cannot say no. Probably this is driving them to their wits’ end and as a result, we see these frustrated law enforcers in a trigger-happy mode, devoid of compassion and eager to eliminate criminals – big or small - in fake encounters   believing that if they arrest them, they are likely to get off the hook afterwards.

The other reason for the violent behaviour of the Rangers personnel could be that a force primarily trained for border patrol might be incapable of handling the challenges of an urban environment for a long period.

In the past, the Pakistan Rangers have been used in limited numbers and in short spells to deal with the violent convulsions in Karachi. It could be that the presence of too many personnel this time has complicated the situation and their current stay has extended more than it should be.

Pakistan’s best funnyman, the interior minister, has announced yet another committee to probe the Boat Basin incident. He has formed so many of such futile committees, it might be some kind of a record and he could be in contention for a spot in the Guinness Book of Records.

It seems as if the man keeps these committees in his pockets and sells them for a living. If only they could produce any worthwhile results. The one for the youth’s murder is unlikely to be any different.

The electronic media deserves credit for bringing into the public and higher authorities’ knowledge what actually occurred at the Boat Basin park. However, the reporters of the TV channels went a step too far by proclaiming that the youth was absolutely innocent. Yes, his murder was a great injustice, but whether he was involved in any criminal activity or not, that’s for the courts to decide on the basis of evidence, not the media.

Ilyas Kashmiri - the epitome of malice

The militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) has confirmed that its leader and commander of al Qaeda’s operational wing 313 Brigade, Ilyas Kashmiri was killed in a drone strike on South Waziristan on the night of June 3.

If Kashmiri is indeed dead, al Qaeda and the militant groups linked to the Kashmir jihad that are now operating under its umbrella have been dealt a severe blow. But it would be unwise to assume on the basis of a shady HuJI statement that Kashmiri has really died. Conclusive evidence is necessary. There were similar reports about Kashmiri dying in a Predator attack in North Waziristan around a year back, but it later turned out that he was alive.

So until there is hard proof that he is actually no more, it wouldn’t be a good idea to breathe a sigh of relief just yet.

After all, this was man who remained India’s tormentor-in-chief for many years and escaped their prison and also tried to have that gung-ho former president of ours, Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf assassinated, but was still lived to see the next day.

Once a member of the Special Services Group, a special operations military unit of the Pakistan Army, Kashmiri was the product of the vile and spiteful ideology that has been fermented in our country for decades. Hate is a double-edged sword and there is a price to be paid for using it as a weapon. The malice that had been ingrained in the psyche of people trained to become killing machines does not simply fade away with changing policies.

Kashmiri is suspected to be involved in several attacks in Pakistan and abroad.

He is a prime suspect in the PSN Mehran attack in Karachi on May 22 and also believed to be perpetrator of the suicide attack at Marriot hotel in Islamabad on September 20, 2008 in which more than 50 people were killed.

A US court had indicted Kashmiri and a former Pakistan Army major for conspiring with a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Coleman Headley to target Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Headley also had told interrogators that Kashmiri was also involved in the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

There was a time when the chests our men in uniform swelled with pride over Kashmiri’s ‘feats’ across the border. But Mr Musharraf’s “u-turn” on the Kashmir policy did not go down well with HuJI leader. He was arrested by the Pakistani authorities in 2003 for trying to have the former president killed, but was released in 2004.

The fact that Kashmiri managed to get off the hook even after being arrested for plotting the murder of a president in uniform indicates that certain elements in the armed forces and the intelligence agencies that haven’t been able to ditch the anti-India mindset as well were supporting him even at that time.

After he was allowed go scot-free, Kashmiri went on to orchestrate the murders of a number of Pakistanis. Perhaps, this dreaded terrorist has finally met his fate and the world, particularly Pakistan, is a safer place now. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Lahore theatre comedians… you’ve got competition

To liken the buffoonery witnessed during finance minister Hafeez Shaikh’s budget speech in the parliament to the jugatbaazi-laced cheap comedy that theatres in Lahore have resorted to in recent times wouldn’t be wrong.

A disconcerted finance minister somehow managed to deliver his budget speech despite the bedlam in the House.

Female opposition lawmakers had bangles to offer to the finance minister and a PML-N leader showed a roti to the prime minister.

One could have expected the opposition members to be carrying rotten eggs and tomatoes too, but the finance minister must be thanking his lucky stars that they weren’t.

Our parliamentarians have certainly come up with quite a feast for the eyes and ears of the world… if there are still people left on the planet not ridiculing or censuring every Pakistani for the follies of a few, then a show of pathetic antics in the parliament would certainly finish the job and let the world know that with such uncouth representatives, the country’s masses must be yahoos as well.

In a speech that fortunately lasted only about 50 minutes, the finance minister had nothing to say out of the ordinary. The new budget has nothing much to offer but more woes for the masses.
It wasn’t a surprise that the government decided not to bring the farm sector into the tax net. That is unlikely to happen when most of the lawmakers are chaudhrys and waderas. It’s like setting the wolf to guard the sheep. Landlords making policies that are meant to protect the rights of peasants and mill owners formulating laws to benefit consumers? Silly it may be, but that’s how it is in our parliament.
The finance minister said that the government will try to maintain growth at seven percent and inflation will be brought down to single digits. Good luck with that… he will surely need it. The armed forces will gobble up most of the budget as usual, 11.4 percent more this time. They have a few more wedding halls and golf clubs to construct. After all, it is very essential for the national security that they do. It earns them money. More money means happier generals, colonels, brigadiers etc. Then in their happy moods, they will pompously claim that they are prepared to take on any challenge and the masses will believe them… until an attack like the one on PNS Mehran spoils the party.

The deadly sin of telling the truth

Saleem Shahzad, the bureau chief of Asia Times Online, has paid the price committing the worse sin of them all in Pakistan – telling the truth. Perhaps if he had opted to be on the intelligence agencies’ payroll and glorify bloodthirsty terrorists, he might have lived, and in a much leisurely fashion as well. But no… the curse of being a journalist took its toll on him, forcing him to disclose stuff that is never meant to become public knowledge. He knew that his life was in danger… he had told the Human Rights Watch about it. He also must have thought about what would become of his wife and three children if he is no longer around. But he went through with it anyway.

He disclosed in a report that al Qaeda had infiltrated the Pak Navy. A cell of the terrorist organisation was operating in many naval bases in Karachi. When the navy intelligence found out about it, many lower cadre naval personnel were arrested. After al Qaeda demanded their release, the Pak Navy tried to negotiate with it but failed. Eventually this led to the attacks on navy buses in Karachi and finally the PNS Mehran siege.

Shahzad had certainly tested the patience of some with such disclosures and to make matters worse, the journalist was planning to reveal more information on how al Qaeda had made inroads into the other armed forces of the country as well. This was unforgivable. They wanted Shahzad’s head on a spike.

Going through the list of the usual suspects, Shahzad may have been murdered by the bearded lunatics, whom he had spent his career reporting about, or it could have been our sleazebag spooks as they had every reason to teach him a ‘lesson’.

Shahzad’s murder was nowhere near the usual al Qaeda or Taliban style ala the gruesome Daniel Peal killing. However, it reeks of the intelligence agencies’ malice. The Human Rights Watch has claimed that Shahzad was abducted by the Inter-Services Intelligence. His abduction from a city like Islamabad, minutes after he had left for a TV station to participate in a talk show - perhaps to disclose more ‘disturbing’ stuff – the discovery of his body in the Sarai Alamgir area bearing torture marks, one just needs to fit the pieces together. Maybe his abductors didn’t want him dead… only give him a thrashing he would never forget, but their third degree tactics proved too much for the journalist. His death has probably only multiplied their troubles.

Whatever the case may be, it’s hopeless to expect a proper investigation into this grim affair. After the usual condemnations, condolences and the announcement of a probe, the case would be closed before anyone realises it.

Shahzad’s murder also brings another issue into focus. Whether it is him in Islamabad or Wali Khan Babar in Karachi, journalists would remain an easy target. Unarmed and vulnerable, they still put their lives at risk everyday, driven by the urge to do the right thing. And sometimes, it ends with the biggest sacrifice they can make.