Daily Times

In the midst of Pakistan’s multiple problems, including an existential threat to the state, one wonders why its leaders fail to see the danger. And when some public minded and brave individuals dare to take a stand and expose the rot, they are simply murdered. The murder of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, who publicly argued for an amendment to the blasphemy law because of its misuse, is an important example. Instead of following up on Taseer’s cause, the Gilani government just caved in to the militants and dropped Taseer’s passionate advocacy of such a humane measure. Indeed, those like Taseer, who were similarly committed to amend the blasphemy law, were told to lie low and were shuffled around. Sherry Rehman comes to mind in this context.

What it means is that militant Islamists, who would like to take the country back to the times when men treated women as their property (they still do, by and large), have the run of the place. They can kill people, intimidate the government and do as they please. And if the state cannot provide security to its citizens for voicing their views, then the government of the country becomes a virtual non-entity. It sometimes seems as if the militants and their agents have penetrated the state and are running it to the ground.

Salmaan Taseer is now a memory for his relatives and friends. His former political colleagues in the PPP do not want to be part of his crusade. This is a message to other activists, who want their country to be decent and humane, that they might also meet the same fate, if they do not shut up. And when a brave and public-minded journalist like Saleem Shahzad refused to shut up on another issue, he paid the ultimate price. He was murdered in the most gruesome way and gagged forever. His body bore the marks of torture as a lesson to anyone treading his way.

The ISI is believed to have been behind this, though it denies any connection. It raises the important question: if security outfits start killing journalists and others who do their job of uncovering the truth and exposing scandals, who will then police these institutions? Are they beyond the law they are charged to uphold? Apparently, yes. In other words, Pakistan is in the midst of lawlessness where people do not know where to turn when organised killings take place.

Why did they kill Shahzad? The clue is in the first part of his two-part article (the second part never appeared following his murder) in Asia Times Online. Shahzad wrote: “Several weeks ago, naval intelligence traced an al Qaeda cell operating inside several naval bases in Karachi…” As further investigation of al-Qaeda penetration in the navy was pursued, it “pointed to more than one al Qaeda cell…in the navy…” The authorities mounted a crackdown. Fearing that the arrest and interrogation of their men would expose the al Qaeda connection, they mounted an attack on PNS Mehran base with inside knowledge of the layout and geography of the base. The important point in the article was that the al Qaeda operatives were ensconced in the navy and, presumably, in the army and air force too. And they were not answerable to the military hierarchy, its discipline and its doctrine. They got their instructions from their al Qaeda network. This is a serious situation for Pakistan.

The militants are not only terrorising the populace of the country, they also seem entrenched within the armed forces, systematically destroying their cohesion and discipline. Like a good journalist, Shahzad refused to divulge the sources of his story when called for a ‘friendly’ chat by the relevant ISI bosses. He was duly warned obliquely (as he mentioned in his e-mails to some of his friends and colleagues) what might happen to him. He probably thought that having told his friends of the ISI warning might be a deterrent, but it did not work.

The point is that such lawlessness by the militants and state agencies is eating Pakistan from within. If this situation continues for some more time, the Pakistani state might crumble from within. And there is no knowing what sort of political order might emerge after an indeterminate period of chaos in the country.

And, like Roman emperor Caligula, Pakistan’s rulers continue to behave like they are immune to any kind of fallout from their country’s sad state of affairs for which they are themselves responsible. Indeed, if they were to become conscious of the grim reality of their acts of omission and commission (or they simply do not care), they would have to do something to prevent this slide towards destruction and doom. While the rulers do not care, the people of Pakistan do. For instance, they have time and again voted (whenever elections were held) overwhelmingly for moderate political parties, thus rejecting the politics of militancy in the name of religion.

They hoped that these parties would steer the country towards economic and physical security. Alternately, after losing faith in the elected civilian establishment given to corruption, nepotism, dynastic cronyism and shady deals with all and sundry, they looked to the military — after periodic coups — for a better outcome. Unfortunately, they have been disappointed and frustrated time and again. No wonder, the people are losing heart not knowing how to adjust and adapt to a state of constant insecurity and deprivation. This has bread a sense of apathy and indifference.

They apparently do not see much difference between the country’s political and military establishment, and the militants — both unconcerned about people’s security and welfare. When some public-minded citizens like Saleem Shahzad and Salmaan Taseer cared and dared, they were eliminated unceremoniously. And that will intimidate those who might take up where they left off.

The only hope lies in a peaceful people’s movement to reclaim their country. One discerns small stirrings of this as people are urged to come together for peaceful protests like they did for the Arab Spring. This need is further reinforced by the killing of a youth by the Rangers for no real reason; its video broadcast all over the world highlighting the sad state of lawlessness in Pakistan.

The peaceful protests by the people tend to overcome fear because there is security in numbers. Will people rise to reclaim their country? Only time will tell.

The writer is a senior journalist and academic based in Sydney, Australia. He can be reached at sushilpseth@yahoo.com.au