Just a pawn in a dirty game

First let me make this clear that my affiliation with the Jang Group has nothing to do with my following views.

Over the years, I have worked with six different media groups and always been my own man - never compromising principles over an employer's petty agenda. There's a list of unhappy management toadies who can attest to that. In fact, I have been working tirelessly on a project up against a deadline. The only reason I left that to write this small piece is that I can no longer put up with that obnoxious, pathetic excuse for a human known by the name of Mubashir Luqman.

I have never been a fan of the absurdities that morning show hosts come up with - in fact, I believe who enjoys watching that kind of crap seriously needs help. But Luqman is not only offending me on a personal level by calling himself a journalist, but also trying to open a Pandora's Box - the results of which could be ending up with a pile of more dead bodies in this troubled part of the world we call our homeland.

The people who own Jang Group are no angels. There is more than meets the eye behind Mr Jeem’s superficial slogans. But there are more positives about the group than the negatives. The accusations of being Indian agents or working with the Americans are as ridiculous as they come.

To fill his pockets with dirty money, Luqman is not just trying to unnecessarily defame the media group, but deliberately or inadvertently stirring up a hornet's nest that is oozing with sectarian hate. The qawwali he is trying to project as blasphemous is performed at weddings in Shia households. Does Luqman realise that his actions could lead to an escalation in violence in a country already feeling the heat of sectarian strife.

What if another loon like Mumtaz Qadri decides to take matters into his own hands and attacks one of the hundreds of Geo or Jang Group employees present in almost every part of the country?

Actually from the field of marketing, Luqman somehow managed to land in the good books of slain Punjab governor and Media Times owner Salmaan Taseer and impressed him enough to be given the job of hosting a talk show. As to how he managed to do that… the answer would be a hit below the belt so I would prefer to avoid disclosing that.

So obnoxious and arrogant is he that the staff of the Business Plus channel had once handed over a joint resignation to the management demanding that they be retained or Luqman be fired.

It’s not just irritating to see people believing in this low-life’s rant, it’s sad. It just dashes any hope that one might be optimistic enough to hold on to for this nation.

Luqman is just a pawn; it is the people pulling the strings that would be responsible for what lies ahead if this dirty ploy to use the issue of blasphemy as a tool to create a balance in the media industry is not stopped. Those people, also called “angels” for their popular stunt of making citizens ‘vanish’, consider themselves the country’s last line of defence. Their every act, they believe, is in the best interest of the country. But they are doing the country no favours by setting their own house on fire.  Manipulating elections, financing sectarian outfits, creating provincial disharmony, hiring the services of low-lives to disseminate their agenda… these are not acts of patriotism. However, it might be too late when they realise that.

Thoroughly enjoyed ‘Lethal Weapon 5’

Dr Zulfiqar Mirza might not have the looks to match Mel Gibson, but he was as impulsive, fearless and defiant during his press conference at the Karachi Press Club as that cop with a death wish, Martin Riggs, played by the Hollywood star in the Lethal Weapon series of films.

Dr Mirza’s in-your-face approach has earned him quite a reputation and he has a tendency to create ripples in the political scenario, but this time around, he has triggered nothing less than a tsunami. This man has unleashed more fury on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Interior Minister Rehman Malik than the destructive Hurricane Irene did on the east coast of the US, simply with the power of his larynx.

His decision to quit all government and party posts and his allegations, not just against the MQM and a key member of his party, has opened the Pandora’s Box and taken matters to the point of no return.

The chances of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the MQM tying the knot once more have drastically reduced now unless the former is prepared to ditch Dr Mirza at this stage - a mistake one cannot expect it to make.

In fact, it would be a tough call for President Asif Ali Zardari to choose between the two men, who are so close to his heart - Dr Mirza and Mr Malik. But that is exactly what raises the suspicion that there could be more to all this than meets the eye. There is the possibility of Mr Zardari being the architect of this whole affair. If he is, he has certainly been able to get the better of the MQM by using the typical good cop and bad cop routine – in this case Mr Malik and Dr Mirza.

What goes in favour of this theory is the fact that the PPP-led Sindh government’s lacklustre performance, coupled with its alliance with the MQM, is bound to affect the party’s vote bank in the province. The nationalists are all set to capitalise on the PPP’s follies and the scales may tilt pretty fast unless the latter manages to pull off something spectacular to win back its disgruntled voters.

It might be that PPP is trying to hold on to its Sindh card by making a hero out of Dr Mirza, who has always looked good to take over the party’s reins in the province from old man Qaim Ali Shah.

In addition to that, the timing of Dr Mirza’s move is interesting as well –  a day before the apex court was due to hear the suo motu case of Karachi violence. Then there is also the recent divulging of information to the media - courtesy of some concerned spooks - that is meant to further tighten the noose around the MQM. This could mean that there are other forces involved in this plan as well, aspiring to balance the equation in Karachi.

But then again, these are merely speculations. Dr Mirza might end up with nothing except for a further ridiculed interior minister. He made quite an impression, speaking with his hand on the Holy Quran during the press conference and even placing it on his head once, compelling many to rule out the possibility that he could be lying. But what if the Bhai in London counters the allegations with his hand on the Holy Quran as well? Pakistanis would be baffled for sure!

The MQM pulls off a jenny

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has returned to President Asif Ali Zardari’s pack… or perhaps it never really left.

As the saying in Punjabi goes, “jethon di khoti, othay aan khaloti”, meaning that a jenny (female donkey) after straying off returns to its original spot, the MQM is all set to renew its vows with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and after its brief adventure as an opposition party, is ready to resume its role as a coalition partner.

MQM’s Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan has returned to take over as the Sindh governor again after his party chief Altaf Hussain gave him the green signal following the latter’s telephonic conversation with the president.

Now the party is expected to return to the treasury benches in the federal and provincial governments anytime soon.

So the question that arises is: why did the MQM make so much fuss at the time of its break-up with the PPP? The hullabaloo created by the MQM when it left the ruling coalition gave an impression that there won’t be going back this time around.

In a much trumpeted and chest-beating fashion, the party had announced that it was parting ways with the government. Then there was the Dr Zulfiqar Mirza episode that left more than 100 people dead in Karachi.

Regretfully, the whole drama is now winding up with an anti-climax. The MQM has certainly got it wrong this time. Its decision to become part of the government again would seriously hurt its credibility and many are likely to believe that it’s ready to compromise on any principle as long as it carries on staying in power.

The party has blown a great opportunity to prove its critics wrong and show that its first priority is public interest and not power. But such examples are far and few on our political landscape.

The odd world of Rehman Malik

It’s never surprising when the man with a bag full of vibrantly coloured ties, rigid curly hair and beady eyes, the one and only Interior Minister Rehman Malik pops up a surprise for the nation.
This time he has hinted that foreign elements could be involved in the Karachi violence on the basis of the Israel-made weapons recovered from people arrested in the city.
He said that the Israel-made weapons recovered from over 200 arrested people prove that foreign hands are responsible for the unrest in Karachi.
The next day when it was realised that the minister had made a fool of himself by uttering such rubbish, the spokesman of the Interior Ministry clarified that the electronic and print media misinterpreted Mr Malik’s statement and he had not made any statement alleging involvement of any country, including Israel, in what’s happening in Karachi.
The ministry’s spokesman may be trying to clean up the mess made by the minister, but the fact is that Mr Malik is still hopelessly trying to pin the blame for the situation in Karachi on some outside force while pursuing the long-dead policy of reconciliation.
But then again, Mr Malik should be given a break. At least he only dragged in Israel into the matter, similar to how the mullah brigade keeps holding the US responsible for all ills of the country. Otherwise, with the vivid sense of imagination that Mr Malik possesses and his keen interest in science fiction (he described the PNS Mehran attackers as characters from Star Wars), he could have said that aliens from outer space are killing people in Karachi and also collecting bhattas and taking over lands in the city.
The truth is that the Karachi predicament is local in nature. The people responsible for the killings and violence are not Israelis, Indians or Americans. They are its own. Mr Malik’s futile efforts to deceive the public won’t make a difference. The residents of Karachi know better than that. Mr Malik’s remarks are only as amusing as his ties.

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.