Daily Times

On January 23, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Karachi acquitted all accused, including Senior Superintendent of Police Rao Anwar, of the murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud. Five years ago, in a fake police encounter, the Karachi police killed Mehsud along with three other young men (Muhammad Sabir, Muhammad Ishaq, and Nazir Jan) on the suspicion of they were members of the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

It is known that the TTP challenged the state, but it is also known that it was the duty of the state’s officials to distinguish between innocents and culprits. There is a limit to sweeping every act of indiscretion under the rug in the name of collateral damage. Mehsud was picked up and kept in custody for around ten days. His case could not be a matter of collateral damage or mistaken identity. The police have so far failed to bring to light the way he was implicated in terrorist activities.

The court’s ruling leaves every conscientious Pakistani flabbergasted, and they cannot find out the answer to the question, if not the police, who killed Naqeebullah Mehsud on January 13, 2018, and why? A court of law can be deceived by tampering with witnesses to support the powerful in society. This was what might have happened. On the other hand, Mehsud was from the lower section of society and was dreaming of running a business. His family is not in a position to hire the services of a skilled lawyer to contest his case. The state must satisfy Mehsud’s family with the delivery of justice.

The outcome of Mehsud’s case questions the validity of Pakistan’s judicial and prosecuting systems. In May 2009, Pakistan launched a military operation in Swat on the excuse that the TTP was defiant and disrespectful to the country’s constitution. Further, the kind of courts established by the TTP (or pro-TTP groups) were contrary to Pakistan’s law and courts. Swat had to surrender itself to the dictates of the constitution. Almost the same was the justification for launching military operations in South and North Waziristan. Can anybody tell what message the outcome of Mehsud’s case will send to the people of Swat and Waziristan? The bigger question is this: in the presence of Pakistan’s supreme constitution and legitimate courts, why could Mehsud fail to find justice?

The problem with developing countries like Pakistan is that the state tries to suppress discontent with force and focuses on the end, overlooking the path to achieve the end. The post-2001 era has seen several injustices happen to the tribal people.

In 2018, Mehsud’s killing disrupted the even tenor of society. The homicide jolted the mind of every conscientious Pakistani. Now, in 2023, the acquittal of the accused has produced the same obnoxious effects. Injustice is one of the main reasons why the youth feel disconnected from the country. The whole suprastructure of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) was erected on the wrongs done to the Pashtun youth, especially those of the tribal region. The major example the PTM quoted was that of Mehsud’s extrajudicial killing. The counterargument forwarded was that the court would dispense justice and punish the killers. Now, the question is this: where are the killers?

The whole scenario may invite a backlash from the tribal belt. The situation would be serious because the urban educated class is supportive of the PTM, which is standing up for its rights, the rights of the Pashtun youth. The case is people versus the state. Ironically, the state’s intelligence agencies are experts and quick at picking up the dissenters challenging the state’s authority, but these agencies are incapable of picking up the killers of Mehsud. It simply means that the State’s intelligence agencies are partisan: they are biased. They listen to the voice of power and clout, and they ignore the entreaties of the weak and dispossessed.

The problem with developing countries like Pakistan is that the state tries to suppress discontent with force and focuses on the end, overlooking the path to achieve the end. The post-2001 era has seen several injustices happen to the tribal people. A major problem is that the police in urban cities consider the tribal youth to behave like urbanites. The expectation is founded on the fact that the upbringing of the tribal youth is different from that of the urban youth. Even today, most of the merged tribal belt is deprived of basic civic necessities. The country’s spending is focused less on developmental projects and more on non-developmental ones. Politicians are engaged in wrangling with each other, overlooking their responsibilities to develop the merged tribal belt, and providing the residents with education, health, and justice facilities. It simply means that a kind of dissatisfaction is accruing in the tribal belt, and it can explode anytime, to the disappointment of many.

The point is simple: suppressing the PTM by force is no solution to the unrest brewing among Pashtun youth. Not finding the killers of Mehsud is bound to intensify and deepen the disquiet. Time is running out. The state has to take measures to appease the Pashtun youth. It is sad to hear that when the PTM leaders are arrested, they are slapped in the face. Resorting to such condemnable acts is a crime against society. The tribal youth have been left undereducated and underskilled owing to continuous chaos in their area, though the disorder was not of their making. The preference was to serve the state in its strategic policies toward Afghanistan. The Pashtun youth have refused to be the fuel of the state’s strategic foreign policies anymore. The Pashtun youth are now cognizant of their rights, and they demand the same.

The post-2001 era invites special attention to the Pashtun youth hailing from the former tribal belt. The merger of the belt with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone will not suffice. The youth from the Belt need to be engaged constructively. They should be given the facility of quota to seek education in the country’s colleges and universities on scholarship. The government should do legislation on the intern centres, whether they fall within the civilian or military domain. Rehabilitation of the captive is necessary. Above all, the State should show solidarity with Mehsud’s family and take an initiative to provide justice to Mehsud.

The writer can be reached at qaisarrashid @yahoo.com.