Daily Times

“Terrorism and extremism are rampant. Suicide bombings are widespread. In Karachi, Rawalpindi and Sargodha, fanaticism is now common. Fundamental extremists are everywhere. They are not afraid of the law enforcement agencies. What was once confined to the frontier areas has now extended to many other areas. Extremism has spread even to Islamabad, the heart of Pakistan.” Sounds current? What may come as a surprise to some readers is that this is an extract from the English translation of a speech in Urdu by former president Pervez Musharraf, explaining the promulgation of the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) in November 2007. The words sound more poignant after the recent attack on the courts in Islamabad, with guards running away and the interior minister triumphantly announcing the discovery that the judge was shot by his own guard, attempting to cloud the issue of the virtual takeover of the courts complex for over an hour by armed brigands and the deaths of 11 innocent people.

In his speech on the PCO, Pervez Musharraf went on to say: “The people are worried. The extremists are trying to take the authority and power of the government into their own hands. They want to impose their outdated religious views upon the people. In my eyes, this is a direct challenge to Pakistan’s future as a moderate nation.” Unlike the political leadership, which has been in denial since his ouster, Musharraf had recognised the obvious fact that Pakistan was in a state of civil war. Like the great US civil war, this is a war between the moderates “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal”, as envisaged by the founding fathers of both countries, and the extremists, who believe that a privileged class is more equal than the others. Extreme situations call for extreme measures. Abraham Lincoln had suspended habeas corpus twice during the US civil war for reasons similar to those given by Pervez Musharraf.

Like a real leader determined to come to grips with the problem, Musharraf had recognised that the action of some of the judges had been a major hurdle in dealing with the menace on a war footing, as clarified in the preamble to the PCO: “Whereas there is visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, IED explosions, rocket firing and bomb explosions and the banding together of some militant groups have taken such activities to an unprecedented level of violent intensity posing a grave threat to the life and property of the citizens of Pakistan; Whereas there has also been a spate of attacks on state infrastructure and on law-enforcement agencies; Whereas some members of the judiciary are working at cross purposes with the executive and legislature in the fight against terrorism and extremism, thereby weakening the government and the nation’s resolve and diluting the efficacy of its actions to control this menace; Whereas there has been increasing interference by some members of the judiciary in government policy, adversely affecting economic growth, in particular; Whereas constant interference in executive functions, including but not limited to the control of terrorist activity, economic policy, price controls, downsizing of corporations and urban planning, has weakened the writ of the government; the police force has been completely demoralised and is fast losing its efficacy to fight terrorism and intelligence agencies have been thwarted in their activities and prevented from pursuing terrorists; Whereas some hard-core militants, extremists, terrorists and suicide bombers, who were arrested and being investigated, were ordered to be released. The persons so released have subsequently been involved in heinous terrorist activities, resulting in loss of human life and property. Militants across the country have, thus, been encouraged while law-enforcement agencies subdued.”

Pervez Musharraf cared for the lives and property of the people he had sworn to protect, both as an army general and as the president of the country. For people who do not agree with Musharraf’s reasoning, I would like to quote an extract from a news report in a popular English language daily, dated October 19, 2013, “From 2007 till now the courts have released 1,964 alleged terrorists, says an official government document. More serious still is the fact that of those released, 722 have rejoined terrorist groups while 1,197 are still actively involved in anti-state activities, according to the official document. The provincial breakdown presents even more interesting details. The highest number of those released is from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA (1,308) followed by Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir with 517, Punjab (83), Sindh (47) and Balochistan (9).”

Some people confuse the PCO (lasting for only 42 days, during which President Musharraf voluntarily relinquished the office of the chief of army staff) with the issue of the suspension of the former Chief Justice (CJ) on charges of corruption and misuse of office. The CJ continued in the same vein for the remainder of his term in office, and even after his retirement, getting a bullet-proof car when he had not sentenced a single extremist, and with seven million rupees spent on the renovation and furnishing of a house in the judicial enclave where he is going to live only for six months while his palatial permanent mansion is under construction.

It is significant that the statistics in the government document date from 2007, the very year in which Pervez Musharraf had sought extraordinary powers to try and stem the rot. He had the wisdom to recognise that, when the enemy is internally entrenched within the country, there is only so much that the armed forces can do, whose duty is to protect the country from external threats. Internal threats can only be countered by internal means: by an effective police force and by a quick and effective judicial system to grant quick and exemplary punishment.

Sixty thousand killings of innocents later, the situation is as grave as ever. It is a matter of shame that the political leadership should want to negotiate with the terrorists who have brazenly boasted about their killings, including the cold-blooded murder of brave police officers, graduating soldiers, polio workers and young students. Article 256 of Pakistan’s constitution expressly forbids the existence of private armies. By negotiating with a private army the government is itself violating the constitution, which brought it into power.

The negotiations have debunked the reasons their apologists have been giving themselves and the nation to justify the cowardly actions of the extremists. Gone is the talk of this being the US’s war, which Mr Naïve Khan and others kept harping on about from time to time. All the Taliban are asking for is the enforcement of ‘their’ interpretation of sharia, the release of prisoners guilty of the murder of innocent civilians and the ethnic cleansing of sects different from their own.

It is also a matter of shame that Pervez Musharraf who, putting Pakistan first, tried to deal with the menace firmly and effectively, and who paid for it with three attempts on his own life, be singled out and subjected to judicial harassment for holding the constitution in abeyance through the PCO, which was not an offence at the time it occurred. All objections challenging the validity and constitution of the court and the impartiality of the judges have been summarily dismissed. Lady Justice is wearing the proverbial blindfold.

The writer is a freelance columnist