People's Democracy

PAKISTAN

Govt Wins Battle; What About The War!

Naresh ‘Nadeem’

AFTER their one-week face-off since July 3 with the Lal Masjid militants in the very heart of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, government forces indeed scored an upper hand on July 10. But even before their hands went up, something had gone down in public perception, without any shred of doubt, and that was the credibility and prestige of those who have been politically and militarily commanding these forces. The fact is that, even though the US administration has conveyed its satisfaction, rather approbation, over the way the Musharraf regime handled the situation, doubts still linger in people’s mind about the actual worth of the whole operation. The first and foremost question agitating the people is: Why was after all such a situation allowed to develop in the first place? Wasn’t it that the hobnobbing of the country’s military’s rulers with fundamentalists has simply boomeranged?

FUNDAMENTALISTS FURTHER EMBOLDENED

One recalls that the recent past had witnessed several demonstrations, from sizeable to big ones, in various cities of the country --- including the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Hyderabad and Karachi --- against the activities that were taking place under the instigation and supervision of Lal Masjid clerics for the last several months. What these demonstrations underlined was how the people of Pakistan have got fed up with the activities of jehadi groups, and the only demand made by these demonstrations was that the government must squarely confront the Lal Masjid clerics and uphold the rule of law, without allowing these elements to hold the whole country to ransom in the name of Islam.

One may have an idea of some of the activities directed by the Lal Masjid clerics from the May 20, 2007 issue of People’s Democracy, with the article also detailing how the Musharraf government desisted from confronting the fundamentalist depredations squarely and adopted a lenient attitude towards them. The deal which a former prime minister, Chaudhari Shuja’at Hussein, brokered in April with the Lal Masjid chief Maulana Abdul Aziz and his brother cum deputy Maulana Abdur-Rashid Ghazi, served only one purpose --- to embolden them further. The deal, in the first place, condoned a patently illegal act by promising that the government would rebuild the eight mosques that were illegally built upon encroached public lands and were therefore demolished by the Islamabad Development Authority. At the same time, Chaudhari Shuja’at also made it clear that the government was not going to take any action against the Jamia Hafsa students and others who had earlier taken into illegal custody three women, vandalised the CD and cassette shops in the capital, and occupied the Children’s Library (a public building) for months together. All this was, evidently, more than enough to send a wrong signal to the Lal Masjid clerics, and Maulana Aziz even threatened to organise a large number of suicide squads and let loose a veritable bloodbath all over the country in case the government dared to take any action against this den of Talibanism in the capital.

LAST STRAW ON CAMEL’S BACK

The result was that, even after the said deal, the clerics continued to instigate the students of Lal Masjid’s madrasas for illegal activities in the name of upholding the Islamic morality, and their activities included the abduction of six Chinese women on the plea that they were indulging in immoral acts. In fact, this was what proved the last straw on General Pervez Musharraf’s back as the government of the People’s Republic of China, a friendly country, shot to it an angry letter against the maltreatment meted out to its citizens. Many wonder whether General Pervez Musharraf would have sanctioned the recent action against the Lal Masjid clerics if China had not strongly protested against the abduction of its citizens. The general had after all unceremoniously ignored the demand made by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a partner in the ruling clique, for action against the Lal Masjid clerics. It was the MQM that had mobilised the maximum number of people for a protest demonstration in Karachi --- the biggest one in the country --- for pressing this demand.

One recalls that it was the same MQM that had acted as a tool of General Musharraf’s strong-arm tactic against Chaudhari Iftekhar Ahmed, the dismissed chief justice of the Supreme Court, by unleashing large-scale violence in Karachi on May 12. That was the day Justice Iftekhar Chaudhari was to address a meeting organised by the Karachi Bar Association.

The whole episode revolving around the Lal Masjid should be an eye-opener for the democratic and secular opinion around the world, what to talk of Pakistan.

PAMPERED TO MONSTROSITY

Built in 1965, the specious Lal Masjid is almost as old as the city of Islamabad itself, which came to life in 1964. (The neighbouring Rawalpindi was the capital of Pakistan till that time; many government buildings including the army’s General Headquarters are still located in Rawalpindi.) The mosque, which derives its name from the red sandstone used in the construction of its outer walls, is located in the very heart of the city and is quite close to the president’s palace, the prime minister’s office, the ISI headquarters and the diplomatic enclave. It was therefore the first priority of the worshippers, and Muslim diplomats from foreign countries too frequented it. Even though the Faisal Masjid, built with Saudi contribution, is far bigger than the Lal Masjid, the latter continued to remain the first preference of the worshippers. It was in view of this prestige of the mosque that the rulers of the country always pampered and patronised the mosque administration, till its chief became a power by himself, a monstrosity, daring to hold the whole country to ransom.

Maulana Abdul Aziz and his brother Ghazi took in their hands the reins of the mosque administration after their father, its founder Imam, was killed in a property dispute. Maulana Aziz’s wife, who got suffocated to death on July 10 due to the release of poisonous gases during the exchange of fire between the holed-up militants and government forces, was the principal of Jamia Hafsa, a ‘university’ for girls.

The Lal Masjid duo craftily utilised the prestige of their institution to convert it into a den of fundamentalist militants. Though the duo constantly denied it, the death of a nephew of Azhar Masood during the recent standoff only confirmed what was the common charge --- that the mosque had been made a haven of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists as well as of the Taliban and other foreign terrorist outfits.

There are grounds to believe that President Pervez Musharraf was not in favour of taking any action against the Lal Masjid duo, and tried to solicit help from Maulana Fazlur-Rehman, leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, for a resolution of the recent standoff. One thing must be made plain here. What General Musharraf did in this whole episode, before a direct confrontation took place, was by no means an attempt to evolve a political solution of the problem. It was only an attempt to wriggle out of a delicate situation, in a bid to save his prospects of re-election. As detailed in these lines on the earlier occasion, he has been hoping to have a tacit tie-up with the fundamentalists (as he had had in 2003) in order to get re-elected as the president. In fact, it was the developing situation that forced him to act, and then the action did not remain flawless as he had promised.

OBJECT  LESSONS

This should be an object lesson for all the governments. The Bhindaranwale episode in India and the subsequent assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi underscored that one is safe only till the genie of terrorism remains locked-up in the bottle; otherwise it may threaten the same people who help him come out of the bottle. The rocket attack launched against President Musharraf’s plane on Friday, July 6, when it was about to take off from Rawalpindi, has the same lesson for us. That the attack took place despite the utmost secrecy maintained till the last moment about the president’s programme, further underscored the gravity of the threat, confirming once again how terrorists have penetrated the upper rungs of administration and even the army-ISI set-up in Pakistan.

Further, the unfolding events have unambiguously proved how ungrounded was President Musharraf’s hyped propaganda about the possibility of mass reprisal in case action was taken against the Lal Masjid duo. Maulana Aziz, who used to threaten that he would organise a bloodbath all over Pakistan, was found and caught while he was trying to sheepishly run away, veiled as a woman. As for his brother (who died on July 10), his stand kept changing during the whole standoff. He started by boasting that he would prefer martyrdom (sic!) to surrender, then scaled down his demand to a safe passage and peaceful life, and then demanded torture-free custody and a fair trial for all that had happened. This whole thing indicated only the weakness and not the strength of his position, underlining that a terrorist outfit is no more than a paper tiger; it appears frightening only till a government desists from taking stern action against it.

That taking the fundamentalist-terrorist threat head-on is the only way to evolving a durable solution to the problem, should come as yet another object lesson of the recent events in Islamabad.

The Islamabad episode has a lesson also for the people at large. It is common knowledge that terrorist and fundamentalist groups always try to keep their reality hidden from the common people, in a bid to enlist their moral and material support. Moreover, it is from among the common people that they get their cannon-fodders. During the recent standoff in Islamabad, parents of many madrasa students told the media how they were in the dark about the real intentions of the Lal Masjid clerics; the world also saw images of how even 11 to 13 year old children were kept hostage in the seminary. All this directs our attention to the basic similarity of the Lal Masjid duo’s mode of functioning with that of the RSS in India. While the RSS believes in and works towards “catching them young” and is also using several temples for its communal hate campaign, its outfits like the VHP utilise the brainwashed people for perpetrating many a genocide against the minorities.

It is thus as clear as the daylight that the people have to maintain an eternal vigilance against the terrorists and fundamentalists, as the only way to foil their game and safeguard the peace of our collective life. Penetrating into the real intentions of these outfits and their mode of functioning is an essential part of this vigilance.

REAL TEST YET TO COME

It is here that the Musharraf regime has yet to face --- and pass --- its real test. It has of course won the battle in Islamabad, but it is yet to fight and win the war against the menace of terrorism and fundamentalism --- in the country as a whole.

For the regime, the first thing to do is to assure the people that it is really serious about tackling this menace, though it would not be an easy thing in view of the past double-dealings of the regime. For instance, it is still to give a lie to what Rehmatullah Khalil, a terrorist leader, has said. This person was one of the group that held talks with Chaudhari Shuja’at Hussein on mobile phones and loudspeakers for over 10 hours on July 9. Talking to the media on a loudspeaker on July 10, Khalil said the government had given its word that it would keep Maulana Abdur-Rashid Ghazi in custody for a brief period only in case he surrendered, and then let him go --- presumably silently. People would definitely be eager to know the reality or otherwise of what Khalil revealed while accusing that the regime went back upon its word.

The fact is that the people of Pakistan, and the world, are not yet sure about the real intentions of the Musharraf regime. For instance, even after facing a volley of protest in the chief justice affair, the regime again resorted to strong-arm tactics last month to prevent the release of Ayesha Siddiqa Agha’s book Military Inc: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy in Islamabad last month. So much so that the hotel where the release was to take place cancelled the booking at the last moment, presumably under the army’s pressure, and other hotels also refused to give bookings, forcing the lady to get the book released in a private house, in the presence of a limited number of people. And now? A very wide range of public opinion is currently gripped with the fear that the regime may simply go mad in case the three-judge bench constituted by the Supreme Court’s acting chief justice, Rana Bhagwan Dass, declares Justice Iftekhar Chaudhari’s dismissal as unconstitutional. There are indications that the judiciary is now repenting its pliant attitude in the past and is keen to uphold its independence.

The regime faces dangers from yet another side. Zarar Hussein of Associated Press reported on July 10 that some 20,000 tribals held a protest rally in Bajur town in the North West Frontier Province on July 9 against the encirclement of the Lal Masjid by government forces. Similarly, Mubashir Zaidi and Laura King reported in Los Angeles Times that three Chinese women were shot dead in Peshawar on Sunday, July 8, as an act of retribution. One may note that fundamentalist parties have a big base in the province and may anytime incite the tribal people to create trouble. And while it is clear after the Lal Masjid showdown that the fundamentalists are definitely down at the moment, it may be disastrous to presume that they are out. This the government would need to keep in mind, and evolve a suitable and effective strategy to make the people aware of the real nature and intentions of fundamentalist outfits.