violence
As tense as Tank

A profile of Tank as a centre of militancy especially in the last couple of months
By Javed Aziz Khan
Tank has become arguably the worst amongst the 24 districts of the NWFP to live in -- where shooting a person is like having a cup of tea.

A one-point agenda
Mian Ijazul Hasan in Boston on current political developments...
By Beena Sarwar
Pakistanis based in America, from taxi drivers and gas station attendants struggling to make ends meet to wealthy doctors and bankers, have traditionally been an apolitical, even conservative lot. Many were moved to activism by the nuclear blasts of 1998 catalysed. In New York, Pakistani taxi drivers demonstrated jointly with their South Asian colleagues against the nuclearisation. 


Taal Matol
Bhootnay!
By Shoaib Hashmi
Talking of the 'Amaltaas' set me off on the nostalgia track, and from things we have forgotten to things we never had was a short step -- like nursery rhymes and other poetry for kids for instance. The other day I came upon a book of poems for children, and ploughed through and could see that they are not of the stuff that will become classics. In fact, now that I think on it, we must be eternally grateful to Sufi Tabassum Saab for writing those wonderful rhymes that have already stood the test of time.

media
Pressed gallery

A blow by blow account of the scuffle in the press gallery on June 6
By Naveed AhmadThe journalist fraternity was all set, last week, to record its protest against draconian amendments in the existing oppressive PEMRA act -- in line with its tradition of token walkout from the press gallery

Pushing up the heat valve
Richard Boucher's visit is a saddening reminder of how Pakistan has squandered much of its sovereignty in its long-standing relationship of servitude with Washington
By Kamila Hyat
Sometimes it is impossible to gauge the outcome of events in the country. Several months ago, in mid-March, as the lawyers began their agitation against the ouster of the Chief Justice, it was widely believed the movement would fizzle out. Instead it has quickly snowballed, developing into a true crisis for the regime, as people frustrated and angered by the current socio-economic and political situation join hands with the lawyers.

Diplomats and Editors
RIPPLE EFFECT
By Omar R. Quraishi
One cannot fathom why the government is bent on cutting its nose to spite its face. Why the need to open yet another - potentially dangerous -- front with another institution of society, the press and media, at a time when the judicial crisis is at its peak? Who is advising the president to do this and if he is doing this on his own, can he not see the damage it will do to his and the government's credibility?

Tank has become arguably the worst amongst the 24 districts of the NWFP to live in -- where shooting a person is like having a cup of tea.

Tension prevails in the region right from Pezu in Lakki Marwat up to the two Waziristan Agencies where the Pakistan army fought for almost three years against foreign and local militants in connection with the global 'War on Terror.'

Till recently it was a part of the southern Dera Ismail Khan district but was given the status of a separate district some years ago. The town, a gateway to the lawless tribal areas, is surrounded by district Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan and South Waziristan and is situated at a distance of over 300 kilometres from the provincial capital, Peshawar.

The deteriorating law and order situation in the district has forced the organisers of a local festival, held every year in connection with the death anniversary of Pir Sabir Shah Qadri, to observe the event silently. Neither the traditional sports were played nor the drums were beaten this year as the people of the district were terrified and tense. A number of pamphlets are circulating in town, with written decrees about shoot to kill all the hypocrites i.e. journalists, politicians, army men, government officials and several others. Tension generally prevails across the town. Trade centres of the city give a deserted look.

People are facing numerous problems while moving across the town after sunset in connection with any emergency because night curfew is still clamped on the district. "I had to move the dead body of my relative from Peshawar to a village on Jhandola Road but it took several hours to get permission for entering the district. The policemen and security personnel were looking terrified by seeing several vehicles coming towards them as they thought it might be a convoy of militants," Khizer, a local of Tank settled in Peshawar tells TNS

Tank was peaceful even when people were being killed in the fighting between the Pakistan army and militants, both foreigners and locals, in the two Waziristan Agencies. Being a settled district, it was never expected that the problem would come down to the town and militants would start picking up youth from schools for the purpose of 'jihadi training.' Though the practice continued for several months, the locals did not dare to resist or even voice their concern. The people settled in Peshawar and other parts of the country, however, contacted certain quarters to bring the matter into public notice. The police even then kept silence as the law enforcers themselves had come under attack by the militants on quite a number of occasions. A district police officer (DPO) who could never dare to resist the militants movement was attacked last year where he lost a gunman but himself remained unhurt.

After consulting Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the opposition Leader in the National Assembly, who is considered the most respected man in Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, North and South Waziristan, the provincial government brought changes into the administrative structure of police in the area. The new aggressive administration preferred to halt the progress of militants instead of keeping silent that led to an ugly incident in the last week of March.

A police party intercepted some miscreants outside a privately run Oxford Public School when the administration of the school complained that militants were taking away over a dozen of their students for training without any permission from their parents. Two of the militants were gunned down and a police inspector was killed in the incident that sparked widespread clashes across the Tank district. The clashes continued for several days, resulting in around 33 killings from both sides. Thirty people were killed from the militants' side as claimed by the government authorities, while three of those killed were law enforcers. Militants attacked the private and public properties with rockets, hand grenades and other sophisticated ammunition. The government ultimately had to clamp curfew on the town to avoid further bloodshed.

Apart from imposing curfew, the authorities engaged the locals in ensuring peace in the district. A 35-member jirga, comprising local Senators, MNAs, MPAs, nazims and other elders, was constituted and was assigned to negotiate with the militant leaders and seek their help in restoring peace. Senator Maulana Saleh Shah and MNA Merajuddin after a meeting with Baitullah Mahsud, one of the top commanders in the two Waziristan Agencies, told the jirga that he has denied involvement of his men in the Tank episode. The jirga and the administration continue to make their efforts to improve the law and order in the town.  The situation gradually started returning to normalcy and people took a sigh of relief for couple of weeks. The curfew was lifted and the business started in routine. But it was not the end.

The militants retaliated with more power after a few days of silence. This time they targeted law enforcing agencies and top government officials. An army vehicle was blown up on Jhandola Road, resulting in the death of two soldiers. Seven army men were also injured in the incident. This was followed by an attack on the vehicle of the assistant district officer of the Frontier Constabulary. But the worst of these incidents was the attack on the family house of political agent (PA) Khyber Agency, Amiruddin, on May 29. Those killed included six members of the family of Amiruddin, including women and children, and seven guests of the family.

A Mahsud jirga from Waziristan has also met the PA Khyber Amiruddin to condole the death of his family members and clarify the position of their tribesmen in this regard. The miscreants have been once again suppressed by using force as well as involving the elders for negotiations. This time the brother of Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Maulana Attaur Rahman, who is also a Member of the National Assembly from Tank, has been asked to play an active role.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police Dera Ismail Khan, Zulfiqar Cheema, affirmed that the writ of the law would be extended to each inch of the settled part of the country and those who would come down to Tank from tribal areas would have to submit their weapons at Jandola check post before entering the settled area. "The situation in Tank needed committed efforts that we have made recently. The situation has improved and the law of the land has been completely implemented in Tank," he claimed.

Not only Tank, but a number of other districts in the South are going through the worst time of history. District Hangu and Dera Ismail Khan have recently experienced curfew in the recent past while situation is getting worst in Lakki Marwat and Bannu. Criminals are killing and kidnapping people at the pretext of militants. There is a dire need to take a stern action against all the criminals in these districts as well as tribal agencies so the sense of fear among the populace in these areas could end.


A one-point agenda
Mian Ijazul Hasan in Boston on current political developments...

By Beena Sarwar

Pakistanis based in America, from taxi drivers and gas station attendants struggling to make ends meet to wealthy doctors and bankers, have traditionally been an apolitical, even conservative lot. Many were moved to activism by the nuclear blasts of 1998 catalysed. In New York, Pakistani taxi drivers demonstrated jointly with their South Asian colleagues against the nuclearisation. On the west coast, a diverse group of professionals formed Friends of South Asia that has consistently lobbied for peace. The events of 9/11 catalysed more Pakistanis here to engage with progressive politics in the US as well as 'back home'. Current events in Pakistan have aroused more people out of their apathy and into a state of energized excitement geared towards somehow supporting democratic politics. Many have come together under the banner of the recently launched Coalition for the Restoration of Democracy in Pakistan (www.crdpak.com).

Recently, several Pakistanis in the Boston area had a chance to hear Mian Ijazul Hasan on current political developments. Mian Ijaz wears several hats -- a Masters in English from Government College Lahore, and St. Johns College Cambridge, painter, professor of art, author of Painting in Pakistan (1990)... and a long time political activist who has been arrested several times, since his first arrest in 1977 after Gen. Zia took over power. He is member of the Pakistan People's Party's federal council and former secretary general of the PPP Punjab (and chairman policy planning Punjab and Manifesto Committee member). Currently in America as Benazir Bhutto's special envoy, he addressed a small private gathering last week, hosted by Anwar Hakam and Khalid Mahmood (Friends of South Asia).

Giving a brief background to the current situation, Mian Ijaz noted that Pakistan "went wrong from the very beginning. It was envisioned as a federation, and the federating units joined the federation on this promise, which was never implemented. Pakistan was meant to be a parliamentary democracy, but the people's right to establish and dismiss governments has been violated."

Commenting on the army's role in Pakistan's politics, he pointed out that it had become central as early as 1948. "The India threat was exaggerated in order to develop Pakistan as a national security state rather than a state concerned primarily with the welfare and development of its people. They used billions to build a nuclear weapon to protect against India, and argued that we would not need to spend as much on a conventional army any more. We got the nuclear weapon but the conventional army still gobbles up a huge chunk of our budget."

He briefly touched on the current state of lawlessness and insurgencies on the north-western fringes and Balochistan, and the Taliban are re-grouping, before coming to the current judicial crisis which he termed as 'the tip of the iceberg'.

"It is a unique movement in which all sects and political parties are coming together. There has been spontaneous and massive support for the Chief Justice as evident in the 15 mile long rally from Islamabad to Lahore; between 60,000-100,000 people thronged the recent rally in Abbottabad -- where normally the maximum crowd that can be gathered is normally 25,000."

The Chief Justice, said Mian Ijaz, is "the spark that lit the prairie fire. The image of police grabbing him by the hair to push him into the police car was flashed in all the media and caused great outrage. The whole nation felt brutalised and people united on this issue. The lawyers stood their ground and wore their black coats in 114 degree heat. As PPP Gen. Secretary for four years, I know how much it costs to organise rallies -- to hire buses etc for a rally of 60,000 people costs around Rs 70 lakh. But these rallies have been spontaneous, and people have flocked on their own in the thousands to see and hear the CJ. And most remarkably, there has been no violence at all, no public property damaged. For the first time the higher judiciary is working with the people rather than with the army or the bureaucracy. And right now there is only one issue in Pakistan -- the restoration of the Chief Justice. If we empower the Supreme Court now, it will never again legitimise the army."

Mian Ijaz added that "the CJ had taken suo motu notice of some 6000 cases involving the auction and sale of companies, rape and disappearances. Musharraf feared that the CJ would not allow him to go for a re-election of the office of President. Some people have criticised the lawyers for coming out on the streets. One photo was constantly flashed in which a lawyer is flinging a stone at police. There is something fundamentally wrong with the state when those who protect the law are in conflict with the law-enforcers. People say that this is not the role of lawyers. But that is precisely what their role is, to resist efforts to tamper with the Constitution."

Coming to the process of 'Talibanisation' in Pakistan, Mian Ijaz commented that "The army enabled the MMA to form government by accepting seminary graduates to be accepted as BA equivalents (and by not allowing the mainstream political parties to participate in the elections). In the NWFP, the issue of Pakhtun nationalism can only dealt with politically. As for the issue of Talibanisation, it is there because of the army. The army's principle aim was to marginalise the two major political parties that Musharraf saw as the principle threat. The religious parties know they can never form a government in Pakistan, their strategy is to penetrate the state."

The only way to counter Talibanisation, he said, is to "ensure that there are free and fair elections that bring in legitimate representatives of the people. Otherwise the extremists will gain -- as Senator Joe Biden correctly wrote in his recent letter to Condoleeza Rice. Only civil society and politicians can handle these issues."

Some of those present did not accept Mian Ijaz's contention that the army must return to the barracks. They criticised politicians as 'corrupt' and the two main political parties as having 'not delivered' during their terms in power. Someone brought up the issue of the local feudal lord telling 'his' people where to vote.

Mian Ijaz acknowledged that there are many problems but insisted that the answer was not military rule, but more democracy. "I am not here to defend the political parties," he added. "But I do know this, that when I was imprisoned under civilian rule, I would be out on bail in no time. When I was arrested during Zia's military regime, it took Aitzaz Ahsan four weeks to find where I was being held and interrogated by civil and military personnel (in the Lahore Fort, which at least the PPP dismantled).

"The bottom line is that we need to strengthen civil society, rule of law and the political process, the judiciary and accountability. It's only when moderates are in power that talibanisation can be countered. Regardless of the politicians' corruptions or incompetence, we need to uphold the constitution and remember that Pakistan is a federation."

He agreed that corruption was a problem but pointed out that "only a small percentage of the budget goes through the politicians' hands in the first place. Aslam Beg has confessed that the army used money to form the IJI but the case has not even come up for a preliminary hearing."

More important is the issue of accountability. "The Indian army gets its salary from parliament and has to report to parliament. In Pakistan, the army's salaries are paid from US aid. There is never any debate on the military budget in the Pakistani parliament (that's why there has been such an uproar over Ayesha Siddiqa's book on military economy). People ask why the generals support Musharraf -- the reason is that they are benefiting as an institution."

"The one point agenda right now," he concluded, "is to restore the Chief Justice and ensure that the army stays out of the country's politics."

Beena Sarwar is a journalist currently on a research fellowship at the Kennedy School of Governmentat Harvard University. Email: beena.sarwar@gmail.com

 
Taal Matol
Bhootnay!

By Shoaib Hashmi

Talking of the 'Amaltaas' set me off on the nostalgia track, and from things we have forgotten to things we never had was a short step -- like nursery rhymes and other poetry for kids for instance. The other day I came upon a book of poems for children, and ploughed through and could see that they are not of the stuff that will become classics. In fact, now that I think on it, we must be eternally grateful to Sufi Tabassum Saab for writing those wonderful rhymes that have already stood the test of time.

Most peculiar in a people who have long prided themselves on their poetry, and in fact held that it is peculiarly their art form, and no one else has ever written poetry of a depth and extent to match us Orientals. If no one has told you this before, I am telling you now. That vast treasure house of magnificence which is the poetry of the related languages of Arabic, Persian and Urdu is an entity compared to which all other poetry pales into insignificance. And in all of it there is very little for kids!

And so too for stories for children, the fairy tales and the adventures; when we have children that age, we have to look for the Hans Christian Andersens and the Mother Gooses and the Grimms. There are really no stories for children, except some silly 'moral' stories which the kids hate and will never follow. We have a long tradition of 'Jinns' and 'Peris' but they live in the 'Talism-e-Hoshruba' and the land of Raja Inder and have not been used for their proper function which is to entertain kids. But then that may be our own fault. Trouble is that my own childhood was rather a long way in the past, but I do remember one or two tales.

There was for instance the tale of the too healthy wife. A man married this lady, who seemed nice enough, but he was amazed when she told him what her diet was: In fact it needs explaining. When the best cooks set out to cook a 'Chappatee' the test of their expertise is that the 'Chappatee' be small and delicate, and in fact to swell up into a round ball which is composed of a thick side taking up most of the flour, and a paper thin other side which is so thin it is see-through.

Even when a 'roti' is cooked in a 'tandoor' parts of it bubble up to form thin balloons, and these are called 'Roti Ka Phapholas'. The point is that the lady insisted her total diet at any meal was one 'roti ka phaphola' and a 'chirriya ki zabaan', the tongue of a house sparrow!

Or there was the story of this gent who woke up one day to find that a pair of 'Bhootnas' was growing out of one of his teeth! Now a 'Bhootna' is really the diminutive of a 'Bhoot' which is small and basically mischievous rather than evil. Nevertheless they had to be got rid of, and when the man drove them off, they just hung on to his neck -- and then swung round and round and round until all of his neck was worn away except the aorta!

There was nothing to do except take a piece of 'Nivaar' which is a long strip of woven cotton, three inches wide and a mile long, used to thread the bedstead called a 'Pallang' -- he took this strip and wound it round his thin neck, and then went around wearing a high-necked 'Shirvanee'! I have no memory of how either story ended, or if there was a moral which it wasn't. The whole point was the premise which caught the imagination and is a fond memory sixty years on.


media
Pressed gallery
A blow by blow account of the scuffle in the press gallery on June 6

By Naveed Ahmad

The journalist fraternity was all set, last week, to record its protest against draconian amendments in the existing oppressive PEMRA act -- in line with its tradition of token walkout from the press gallery.

The Pemra Ordinance virtually gave an absolutely free hand to its chairman over the content and equipment of the private television network, something the information ministry through its Principal Information Officer has been trying to gain over print media for the last many decades.

Just a day earlier, the government had eaten up its own words by withdrawing an FIR against the journalist representatives for allegedly trying to occupy the prime minister's office after their torch-bearing protest against the promulgation of amended Pemra Ordinance.

Filled with anxiety and anger, the journalists entered the National Assembly gate one by one on June 6 expecting the session to echo hot-blooded exchanges on the Karachi massacre and other offshoots of an unresolved judicial crisis.

Convened after a break of 22 days ahead of the government's last budget on June 9, the National Assembly session was undoubtedly set for a bumpy start.

Ever since the judicial crisis unfolded on March 9, the government media managers had little to smile about and the worst was only unfolding now. Genuinely conscious of the fact, the information ministry had swung in action to frustrate the embarrassing protest and walk out inside the parliament premises.

Information Secretary Ashfaq Mahmood, Principal Information Officer (PIO) Chaudhry Rasheed and a few well-informed officials from the government worked a textbook style plan to deflate journalists' protest. They had issued over three dozen special identity cards to low level government employees. The official media wizards did not invent this tactic but only inflated the size.

"I personally called up the PIO by 4 pm and advised against sending planted government officials in the press gallery to thwart our protest," says Afzal Butt, president of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists.

According to him, the PIO admitted sending the PID staff in large numbers to the National Assembly. "On my reminder that the journalists would be holding protest against amended Pemra Ordinance, he said he would instruct them to walk out of the press gallery with the journalists."

Soon after the recitation of the holy Quran, the journalists started leaving the press enclosure but over three dozen people sat firmly in their chairs.

On the insistence of journalists, the defiant individual told them that they belonged to information ministry and would not join them in the protest. Only a few could produce the identity cards while others lost temper and turned violent.

The angry journalists followed the suit and retaliated effectively to abusive language and punches. Within 15 minutes, bruised faces, broken chairs and torn papers marked the prestigious press gallery.

The house set aside the question-hour and other agenda for the day to debate the unprecedented incident in Pakistan's parliamentary history for hours before Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain adjourned the proceedings until next morning.

But the speaker gave no indication about when he would give a ruling over the matter that, he said, had 'worried him too much'. Though he did acknowledge suggestions for an amicable solution, while some ruling coalition members called for action against not only the protesting journalists but also opposition members who joined the slogan-chanting for allegedly violating the sanctity of the house.

Interestingly, federal ministers Wasi Zafar and Ijaz-ul-Haq exploited the opportunity to slate the media persons. Speaking on the floor of the house, Wasi had the stubbornness to say that "those protesting at the (building) gate are not journalists but ghundas (hooligans)".

The law minister sought strict legal and punitive action against the journalists who raised slogans in the press gallery and thrashed the officials. He also rejected Aitzaz's call for a parliamentary committee to probe the matter.

Wasi 'corrected' the house that press was not the fourth pillar of the state. As usual, he re-interpreted his comments as a result of afterthoughts and advice.

Ijaz-ul-Haq also exchanged heated arguments with some protesting journalists who recalled the ruthlessness of his father General Ziaul Haq's who went to the extent of flogging some defiant media persons. He reportedly said that journalists could not digest the newly found freedom

Like Ijaz and Wasi, certain other ministers too termed the incident as contempt of parliament. Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani, who was out of the country on the fateful evening, terms the incident as 'unfortunate'. Speaking to TNS, he said: "We will ensure that nothing of the sorts ever happens again."

While the protest, sloganeering and brawl became the centre of attention of the assembly, PML Chief Whip Sardar Nasrullah Dareshak, Deputy Speaker Sardar Yaqoob, Minister of State for Interior Zafar Iqbal Warraich, PPP MNAs Raja Pervez Ashraf and Khurseed Shah moved swiftly to defuse the situation.

Information Minister for State Tariq Azeem rejected that non-journalists were present in the press gallery. He rather hinted at internal dispute amongst the journalists covering the proceedings.

Immediately after the incident, National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir cancelled all press cards issued to journalists for their entry into the parliament house for the coverage of the current session of the assembly.

After extensive talks with the Speaker and parliamentary delegation, a seven member committee comprising journalists was formed to probe and resolve the matter. This saved the government from press boycott of its much celebrated fifth and the last budget.

With the withdrawal of amendments in Pemra Ordinance and fruitful negotiations with the NA speaker, the media fraternity has apparently gained some advantages. Now the information ministry is no more the issuing authority for press cards of parliamentary coverage. At the same time, an understanding has been reached between the journalists and the speaker about walkouts from the press gallery.

"We will inform the speaker first and he would try to resolve the matter by summoning the officials concerned in his chamber. If he fails to bring resolve the matter, then we would stage a walkout," said Afzal Butt.

Though new identity cards have been issued to journalists by the NA secretariat, their number remains far less than required. Currently, two journalists of smaller publications and four from the bigger media organisations are allowed to cover the proceedings. However, the PID officials (fake journalists) are still sharing the press gallery with the journalists.

The journalists fear press gallery row may crop up again owing to lack of infrastructure to handle media at the NA and Senate secretariat. The intelligence officials and PID personnel may again be used to exploit an embarrassing situation for the government. Even today, the basis on which the protest was lodged -- presence of non-journalists -- remains to be addressed.

The presence of journalists in the press gallery could be reduced and their work load curtailed if the Senate and National Assembly websites are used effectively. The Speaker should direct the staff to upload vital information such as agenda, draft bills, question hour and other documents in real time on the website.

 

Email: navid.rana@gmail.com

 


Pushing up the heat valve
Richard Boucher's visit is a saddening reminder of how Pakistan has squandered much of its sovereignty in its long-standing relationship of servitude with Washington
By Kamila Hyat

Sometimes it is impossible to gauge the outcome of events in the country. Several months ago, in mid-March, as the lawyers began their agitation against the ouster of the Chief Justice, it was widely believed the movement would fizzle out. Instead it has quickly snowballed, developing into a true crisis for the regime, as people frustrated and angered by the current socio-economic and political situation join hands with the lawyers.

Sometimes, as has been the case since the 1950s, it is easier to judge what is happening within the hidden sitting rooms of politics by developments in a quite different part of the world. The inter-linkages between Washington and Islamabad are of course well established, and as such the statements from the powerful US State Department, coupled by the unexpected visit from US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Richard Boucher, assume a special significance.

Washington and President Bush have, until now, publicly taken the stance that the unrest in Pakistan is not of any serious nature and they remain firmly behind President Musharraf. Indeed, it has often seemed in recent years and months that Washington has failed to look beyond Musharraf and has persuaded itself that he will remain in place forever, at the 'forefront' of the war on terror, as Bush so often likes to say. The fact that even as this battle continues, new madrasa schools have been cropping up, extremist armies have taken control of huge tracts in the NWFP and have begun threatening Islamabad, seems not to have shaken US convictions regarding the trustworthiness of their ally.

But, the latest statements hint at growing concern over the internal situation in Pakistan. Even as the aircraft carrying Richard Boucher hovered over Asian skies, prior to touching down in Islamabad, the US State Department issued a hard-hitting statement, hoping that if President Musharraf 'continues in political life' he would set aside his uniform. In the same statement, the State Department spokesperson also emphasised a free media was essential to any functional democracy and stated the US believed President Musharraf would seek re-election from a new parliament, formed after balloting.

There has at the same time also been conjecture that Richard Boucher's visit is aimed at attempting to forge the much talked about bridge between President Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto, as such setting in place a US-orchestrated formulation for the next polls. In his expectedly diplomatic comments regarding his visit, Boucher has of course denied any attempts to intervene in intricate politics of Pakistan, and has stated he discussed 'bilateral relations' in his meetings with foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri and other foreign office decision-makers.

But there can be little doubt Boucher has also been engaged in a process of judging mood in Pakistan, and at the same time making it clear to Musharraf that the US would like polls to be seen as being fair. While concern with democratic practice or the situation of people in any nation has never been a primary consideration for Washington, as its record in Latin America, East Asia and now Iraq proves, it would seem the State Department is at least interested in making a show of a principled adherence to democracy.

The fact that the US comments regarding uniform run contrary to those made by President Musharraf, who apparently regards his khakis as his 'second skin', are also important, given some suggestions that Washington may see wisdom in raising its vision beyond President Musharraf should this become necessary.

Certainly, there is every indication Boucher's visit is intended to test waters. By all accounts, his talks with a broad cross section of politicians, including many prominent members of opposition parties, are reported to have been frank and quite forthright. Some observers have been insisting they can detect a distinct change in US mood, but this of course may be nothing more than wishful optimism in a country where political parties bank on support from Washington as the means to power, rather than on the backing of people. The street power that popular parties were once able to command seems to have diminished over the past decade.

But perhaps more than anything else, the visit by Richard Boucher and the intense focus of attention on it, is a saddening reminder of how Pakistan has squandered much of its sovereignty in the course of its long-standing relationship of servitude with Washington. More than the people in whose name decisions are made, more than the political parties engaged in their exchange of rhetoric, it seems obvious Washington holds the key to decision-making. If this were not the case, Boucher's visit would of course not have assumed so great a significance as is being attached, with political figures vying desperately for a chance to whisper a few words in his ear.

But even as the displays of sycophancy continue; even as politicians accept their serfdom to the US power -- they would do well to keep in mind that throughout history, the US has had little qualms about abandoning so-called allies, and perhaps still more dangerously, loyalty to Washington can in today's global political environment bring only distrust and hatred from ordinary people -- who, eventually, will inevitably determine the future political direction of the country.




Diplomats and Editors
RIPPLE EFFECT

By Omar R. Quraishi

The title of this column may be slightly misleading in that one will be talking separately of diplomats and editors.

First about diplomats. According to Wikipedia, diplomacy is the "art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states". Issues of peace-making, trade, war, economics, culture and so on are usually discussed by diplomats. The word itself comes from the Greek 'diploma' which means 'folded in two'. Over the years and by the time of the Roman Empire, 'diploma' was used to describe official travel documents such as "passports for imperial roads" that were stamped on double metal plates. Apparently, the English philosopher and statesmen, Edmund Burke (otherwise famous for writing such classics,especially in conservative circles, as Reflections on the Revolution in France in 1790) is said to have introduced the word 'diplomacy' into the English language (after it first appeared as 'diplomatique' in French.

Over the time, the phrase 'to be diplomatic' came to signify someone who spoke in a polite and civil tone without being blunt and straightforward. However, to be diplomatic has now assumed a negative connotation in that it is used for someone who, for the sake of tact and civility, is unwilling or unable to speak the truth.

Ambassador and high commissioner are positions that diplomats reach at the pinnacle of their careers. These positions require one to be diplomatic, but often diplomats in such positions are just the contrary. A good example that comes to mind is Zalmay Khalilzad who was America's ambassador to Iraq and Afghanistan and is presently its envoy to the United Nations. He often spoke his -- or perhaps his master's -- mind where he could have done better just keeping quiet. Then there was a British ambassador to a Central Asian country in recent years who was outspoken to the extent that he had to be removed from his post -- he has since become an outspoken voice against British foreign policy.

Closer to home, there have been some ambassadors and high commissioners who have spoken in a most undiplomatic fashion. Of course there was Robert Oakley, America's ambassador to Pakistan from 1988-91, who many thought behaved more like a viceroy. In more recent times, Britain's former high commissioner, Mark Lyall Grant, said something about the expanding role of the military that did not go down too well with the government (although much of what he had said was spot on). His successor, Robert Brinkely, said something (also spot on) in mid-May in Lahore which ruffled quite a few feathers in the government. As a diplomat, Mr Brinkely surely stepped out of line but he was merely echoing the sentiment of most Pakistanis (and repeating something that is already known as the stand of the Commonwealth and the UK) when he said that Commonwealth countries expected President Pervez Musharraf to quit his post as army chief and hold free and fair elections and that an independent judiciary was crucial for democracy in Pakistan.

Almost as if in a huff, the Foreign Office called these remarks unacceptable and said that they were "unsolicited and tantamount to interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan". More recently, the EU as well as the US State Department have publicly asked the government,indirectly as well as directly, to refrain from imposing any curbs on the media since a free and independent media was an essential feature/pre-requisite for democracy. In the EU case, the Foreign Office again went into a 'huff-and-puff' mode while no response was forthcoming on what surely was 'tantamount to interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan' on the part of the US Department of State.

This double standard on the part of the Foreign Office became even more difficult to ignore when the Imam of the Kaaba, Sheikh Abdur Rehman Al Sudais, came visiting Pakistan. Almost on a daily basis, he told Pakistanis that they should shun extremism and violence. He spoke (admirably so) against suicide attacks and said that Muslims needed to alter themselves from within and so on. However, he met a 10-member delegation representing the Lal Masjid clerics in Murree (the Saudi ambassador in Pakistan was also reported as being present in this meeting) and prior to that he said that the Lal Masjid clerics were doing no service to Islam because the responsibility for carrying out jihad rested with the state/government and not any individual group. But surely, his meeting the Lal Masjid delegation amounted to "interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan". What does the Foreign Office have to say to that? Or do they have a policy of only picking bones with statements by ambassadors/high commissioners that embarrass the government (read speak the truth)?

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As for editor, one under whom I worked died recently. In fact, another one, Ahmed Ali Khan, died a few months ago, but the one being mentioned here just passed away a couple of weeks ago. Tahir Mirza was my editor for around 30 months in Dawn's Lahore office from 1998-2000 and again in Karachi from 2004-06. Incidentally, his last day was my last as well -- he chose to go into retirement and I to this newspaper. The best thing about him as an editor was that -- like a good practitioner of his craft-- he insisted on always having the other side's version, being a stickler for facts and on publishing a piece of writing if it was good, regardless of the reputation/status, or otherwise, of the person who wrote it. May his soul rest in peace.

 

The writer is Op-ed Pages Editor of The News.

Email: omarq@cyber.net.pk

 

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