Daily Times

The Islamabad Expressway at Koral Chowk is hosting quite a revealing billboard. This particular billboard reflects the collective rape that Pakistanis have witnessed. Some amongst us might enjoy it but the majority of us has and is still suffering because of it. The billboard also reflects the exhibitionist tendencies of some of the rapists. Yes, some of the rapists, for this is after all a group rape.

This billboard advertises the February 5, 2015 rally of the Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD), invites people to attend and generally laments the blood spree in Kashmir. Never mind the killing in Pakistan; Kashmir is more important because, as the billboard and government-sponsored banners tell us, “Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan.” The jugular needs to be preserved by hook or by crook. In this case, a lot of crooks have, over the years, been subcontracted to do the needful. The rest of the body — FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh — is soon going to be 100 percent gangrened and can be cut off. I can go on ranting. And I will as what good is newspaper space these days if one cannot rant? However, before I start, please note three important facts.

Fact number one: the location of the billboard, Koral Chowk on the main Islamabad Expressway. There is a main traffic light on the left to which is the Koral police station and on the right is the road leading to the airport. This road connects the two power centres, i.e. the civil and military vis-à-vis Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Fact number two: the billboard has Jamaat ud Dawa’s name clearly written on it. The last time I checked, it was a banned organisation. For the past few years it has been operating under the name of Falahi Insayat. However, for the billboard that fig leaf is gone. Fact number three: the billboard itself. Every year, the Kashmir solidarity rally is organised but never before has a billboard at this sensitive location been erected. While for the past three weeks small banners and informational stickers regarding the rally have been put up, the billboard is a recent step. What is it supposed to signify? A show of strength? A declaration that we have important patronage?

The supposed charity organisation has been proved to have links with proscribed organisations and has been banned by the government. Not only this, in the light of the Peshawar attack, JuD and the Haqqani network have been recently added to the list of proscribed organisations. Various senior government officials have been taken on record by renowned newspapers stating that these groups have been banned. I am unable to comprehend this; since the government has banned these organisations, frozen their assets and a crackdown on their outfits is in the pipeline, how are they able to function? How? Why? Should we blame all this on our government’s inefficiency — the illustrious bureaucracy that goes like “transformation of orders from the top tier will take time, appropriate departments have been notified and we will do whatever is in our reach” or is it simply that our government is still non-serious about the predicament that we are in?

If the JuD is allowed to put up a billboard in the middle of a highway on which nearly every day our topmost officials like the armed forces chiefs and government ministers commute, then how serious are we? This automatically implies that such groups are still operational in our far-flung areas, their activities are still going as per schedule and their business is as usual.

Rumour has it that the billboard in question is owned by a multi-billionaire estate tycoon, famous for his charity works, pioneering in providing middle class Pakistanis a standard of living and making headlines for having lunches with none other than former or current presidents and prime ministers of the country. Then this means that certain someone has either very good linkages with such outfits or maybe he is scared to say anything to them. Even if the billboard per se is not owned by him and is leased out by the government to generate funds, this clearly suggests that the government is not bothered about who is renting it. Is it that the government does not care as long as they are contributing to the economy or are outfits like JuD not to be touched? This minute detail has simply proved that in Pakistan you can now get away with anything.

You can get into a school and open fire on innocent children and teachers or enter a worship place of anyone, kill as many as you want and then, the next day, you can be out on the streets boasting about the killings. As if it is a Play Station or Xbox game and, with time, they are going on to the next stage, taking pride that what they did was right and they will keep doing this until God knows when. It is now crystal clear that Pakistanis should beware. These proscribed organisations are not going anywhere and are here to stay so stay tuned to the television for more real time tragedies. It clearly seems that these organisations are well connected to our government or military elite. Since they are able to roam freely it clearly indicates that no matter how many intelligence and security departments we have, these organisations are not to be touched and are given a free hand to do whatever.

Our children can be killed. Our teachers can be burnt alive. Disregard this. Please go ahead with subcontracting thugs and mercenaries to protect “Pakistan’s jugular vein”. Please continue raping our present and future.

The writer is a development consultant. She tweets at @GulminaBilal and can be reached at coordinator@individualland.com