Military killing militants

Growing reports suggest that the Pakistan Army is committing extra-judicial killings of suspected militants in Swat after having secured its positions in the region.

A report in the BBC.

Another in Dawn.

Others claim that the relatives of those who were brutally murdered by the Taliban are now taking revenge on the fascist Islamist group.

Whatever the case may be, this compounds the Taliban dilemmas. Taliban have clearly lost popular support and anything and everything they adds to their negative perception. It is a remarkable turn around when only a few months ago, despite the atrocities by the group, many still saw the Taliban as 'generally good folks'. Others would go out of their way to explain how there are the 'good Taliban' and 'the bad Taliban'. Many pointed to how even the NATO forces were willing to talk to the Taliban in Afghanistan and thus so should Pakistan in Swat.

Some who did not like the Taliban but opposed the military operation against them without offering any credible counter plan, are silenced. They cannot go to Swat and tell the people 'Taliban just want a fairer judicial system'. The group seems to have lost all justification for existence at least in Swat.

But it works both ways. If we have witnessed a 180 degree turn-around withing a few months, unless there is a concerted effort to bring change in the governance and judicial structures, there is nothing preventing another turn around.

The episodes of extra-judicial killings can back-fire.

Apparently, the government forces seem to have adopted a tactic of retaliating by killing more of the suspected militants than the number the Taliban kill. So whenever someone from Waziristan claims the suicide attack in Lahore, there is a ferocious response by the military in which several times the numbers of suspected militants are killed - and quite likely, many innocent Pakistanis die in the process as well. The message to the Taliban seems to be: 'Pakistani forces will be far more brutal than anything you can do.'

Unfortunately many innocent individuals will die. Even if one died, it should be unforgivable. But in these tit-for-tat killings, the worst thing would be if the civilian structures of the government forget or failed to improve themselves - a failure that would easily give lease of life to other fascists like the Taliban.

Recipients of ISI monies

...Rs10 million were given to Mir Afzal in NWFP province, Rs3.5 million to Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif in Punjab, Rs5.6 million to Lieutenant General (rtd) Rafaqat for advertisement on media, Rs5 million to Jamat-e-Islami, Rs1 million to Begum Abida Hussain, Rs0.5 million to Altaf Hussain Qureshi and Mustafa Sadiq, Rs3.3 million to small groups, Rs5 million to Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi in Sindh, Rs5 million to Jam Sadiq, Rs2.5 million to Muhammad Khan Junejo, Rs2 million to Pir Pagara, Rs0.3 million to Molana Salahuddin, Rs5.4 million to small parties, Rs1.5 million to Humayun Muree, the son-in-law of Bugti, Rs4 million to Jamali, Rs1 million to Kakar, Rs0.7 million to Jam Yousuf, Rs0.5 million Bazinjo and Rs1 million were given to Nadir Mengal.

Source: The News (August 27, 2009)

Ramadan Kabbadi Match

The annual kabbadi (local wrestling form) match took place in Shahpur today. Like the annual Baba Pir festival, Shahpur's most important event, this too went ahead despite it being the month of fasting, the holy month of Ramadan. Although much of the nation puts up a pretense of sobering down and desperately trying to show spiritual revival by forcing restaurants to close down during the day, mandating office hours from 9am - 1pm (not a bad thing that), cutting down on music and replacing it with religious music-less naats etc., fact is, given the chance to celebrate and enjoy, people will be more than willing to do so.

However, I anticipate that in the next few years, people will see the holy month of Ramzan (Ramadan) as a time of 'festivity' rather than 'spiritual revival' - a lot like how Christmas has ended up being in the West. A less religious and more this-wordly event. This is evident from how 'commercialized' the holy month has become via television channels shows, ads of consumer goods, and even through the 'instrumental-less' songs. Unlike the past, there are now cinema houses showing daily feature films.

Personally, I see more of my acquaintances no longer fasting from the past year. Or selectively doing so. The pattern and the signs are both unavoidable and a natural shift toward "rethinking" Ramadan.

Film review: Songs of my motherland

Songs of my motherland/Marooned in Iraq (2002): Film review by Fraz Shafique (reprinted)
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Many years ago before our memories were clouded by the moments of heroic bravery at the hangman’s alter which will, for many Arabs, go on to posthumously defining Saddam Hussein, there were innumerable mass graves, gassed victims, orphaned children and menacing jet fighters roaring in the Kurd skies that reminded people of what Saddam stood for.

Bahman Ghobadi’s “Songs of my motherland” (also known as ‘Marooned in Iraq’) is not just a tale of Mirza the legendary Kurd singer but an epic of his people. As Mirza sets out to seek his rebellious ex-wife, Henareh, a belle who has captured the hearts of the people through her voice and her songs, we are introduced to the nuances and shades of the people of the region.

The Kurds are as rugged as their inhospitable landscape locked between the Arab, Turkish and
Iranian nationalists who are willing to forcefully suppress anyone that questions their territorial integrity with calls for a Kurdistan. Yet through the eccentric tribal mannerisms of the Kurdish people and their scant regard for authority the movie reveals the trait of natural defiance comfortably adjusted to a cruel fate that the Kurds have had.

The journey of Mirza with his two sons, the bachelor Barat and Oudeh with seven wives and counting (until one of them produces a son), is of the opposite direction to the flow of the refugees leaving the Iraqi side to avoid the devastating aerial shelling and chemical gas attacks. They meet caravans of distraught Kurds running for cover, others digging for mass graves to identify their massacred kin, and amidst the chaos an isolated school nestled in the mountains with hundreds of orphaned children. Yet Mirza treads on disregarding any advice in his mission to find out why Henareh, the symbolic voice of the Kurds, beckoned him.

Ghobadi’s use of non-actors for the roles may at times end up being disjointed, but the erratic and impetuous nature fluctuating between violent outbursts and an impulsive acceptance of songs, dance and love present a people who refuse to be defined by their misery. Women are symbolically shown as builders and constructors as well as the hope for survival resolute in their determination.

This movie is important as much for its frank introduction of the Kurdish people as it is for remembering the horrors unleashed upon them by a man whose name in the film is preferably attached with a curse (“God damn Saddam!” and “May God destroy Saddam and kill his sons!”) by the displaced Kurds, revealing a defiance that betrays their suppressed and exiled-from-life condition.

While the power of a mobile phone clip of Saddam’s hanging may potentially water down his image as a brutal dictator, the message of this movie will affirm to us that justice took a long time in coming. Such as for Henareh who loses her voice and beauty in the chemical gas attacks.

Who will Britney vote for?

Afghan elections are coming up in a couple of days. I have seen Pakistani elections up-close - from Musharaf's referendum that had deserted booths back in 2002 to the local bodies ones in which one of the polling booths was in my house. There's always a lot of bizarre stuff going on and you can't help but question the possibility of vote fraud at every step of the process with each political party/entity ensuring its presence and representation at the booths with their 'polling agents' holding the voters lists.

While fraud does take place, particularly in the local elections which are hotly contested, so far, Britney (aka 'Jamila' daugther of 'Lali') was never eager to take part in Pakistani elections. But she is apparently doing so in the upcoming Afghan ones. Will she vote for Karzai or the Abdullah Abdullah team?

Rehman Dakait now deceased

"Brandishing his klashinkov, Rehman Dakait (Rehman the Robber), son of deceased Dadal, is hired by the Laloo gang to murder the chief rival, Babu. When a surprised Babu comes face to face with Rehman the Robber, he bursts out laughing and declares:

"Dadal may have given you his name, but in reality, you are my son!"

Babu explains how he had an affair with Rehman's mother, Khadija. Infuriated, Rehman the Robber leaves his adversary (and self-proclaimed biological father) Babu in this world to perform ablution of the insult and murders his mother. "

Thus go the tales that help buffer the reputation of underworld leaders. Rehman Dakait had many ups and down in life as he rose the ranks of Lyari's gangsters. He had been arrested before and managed to escape through the clutches of the police. The police were never effective in Lyari and failed to control spiraling crime. When the recent government came to power, it became public knowledge that Rehman the Robber had been given control over Lyari to help bring down crime. In the early days of the current government, several non-affiliated (freelance?) robbers were caught and burned alive by vigilantes of Rehman Dakait on the spot.

Often when I'd gone to Karachi, I'd stay in Sher Shah's industrial area (south of Lyari, but primarily of Baloch and/or Pathan groups). Not long ago, an entire steel godown had been burned down. My friend who has an industrial unit in the area claims it was burned down after the owner(s) failed to pay the extortion amount to Rehman the Robber. That was the first time I heard of Rehman.

Despite the merry-go-rounds of bribes and extortion, Rehman the Robber was rather well-liked by the people of Lyari, populated primarily by poor Baloch as well as Sindhis and Khachis (Gujratis). When in 2008, the government handed the robber control of a large section of the country's largest city, there were only muted protests. Perhaps people realized that the government had (correctly and finally) lost all faith in its ability to control Lyari and had to rely upon mafia leaders to bring 'peace'.

Of course, back then I had laughed at the preposterous decision by the government. But the mafia tends to be better organized having become adept at making sure all the nuts and bolts of the organization remain well-greased. Unlike the perpetually rusty administration of the government.

Last week, Rehman Dakait was however arrested by the police and killed without trial (to avoid the headache of something called due process of law). Many attended his funeral. While Karachi was littered with his exploits, his memory will remain as long as the government consistently fails to show itself as an effective administrator of the city.

Journey through Urdu Literature

I've been reading Urdu short stories for sometime now and have been impressed by both their versatility, content and wonderfully modernist themes. Starting with Manto, my favorite, other writers I've recently read include Rajinder Singh Bedi, Munshi Premchand, Ismat Chughtai and Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi. In the process I was also encouraged to try out Urdu novels. I recently finished two: Khuda kee bastee and Raja Gidh.

Review: Khuda ke bastee [The adobe of god]

When I began this book, the opening line’s mention of the ‘municipality kee laaltain’ was immediately captivating. I was hoping to see the lamp in the courtyard used with some dramatic effect. It rarely was.

Written by Shaukat Siddiqui, the book catalogues the life of Nosha and his family who never emerge out of poverty, each individually suffering the consequences of their scarcity. Perhaps due to the consistently pessimistic plots of the characters the book is rendered rather mundane. However, there are strong parallel tales of Raja, of Salman, and of course the socialist organization of the Skylarks Salman is a member of. These stories and characters give the book a semblance of literary value as otherwise the book refuses to rise above its crude and rather obviously stated punches of poverty renditions.

The writer showcases potentials of brilliance and nowhere is it more delightfully rendered than through the description of Salman’s family, each of whose characters are fantastically described. From a mother who enjoys reveling in emotional blackmail to a sister eager to reach western shores by any means to a brother who wants to be modern at all costs. Unfortunately the book only gives them a few paragraphs. The resistance that Raja offered, revealing his multidimensional personality is sapped once he becomes a leper. Otherwise, the book is loaded with uni-dimensional characters. Most of it is dedicated to showcasing the lives of Nosha, his sister Razia, his brother Annu and mother and how each of their lives go from bad to worse to terrible.

Review: Raja Gidh [The Vulture]

Banu Qudsia’s novel has sufficient literary merit – particularly with the title theme of vultures becoming the mainstay of symbolism in the book. Unable to acquire Seemi’s love, Qayyum suffers and suffers and suffers. Don’t mean to negate the value of the book, but despite amply more metaphors and a lively switch from Qayyum’s tale to the conference of the birds lead by the Phoenix who are holding the vultures to task, the book seemed to stutter along without really much ambition other than twisting and turning to rephrase the obvious again and again.

Qayyum’s father came out in a hauntingly beautiful manner. Qayyum’s subsequent love interests in Abida, the barren housewife and Ismat, the ageing courtesan living off scrummy roles available on radio shows exhales life into the pages. Brief sparks of appreciation of modern thought and modern ideas by the author pique interest. Particularly since her characters are revolving around a traditional theme.

The desire for dramatics and beating a theme till it murders and mutilates potentially valuable metaphors is how this book commits suicide. I had heard unending praise of ‘Raja Gidh’ as a masterpiece and find it ends up little more than a B-rate romance novel. Urdu literature connoisseurs will lynch me for saying it, so I will be humble and state that my mind was incapable of understanding the ‘finer’ points of the novel.

Although a disappointing beginning, I am nevertheless persisting with Urdu literature though will be trying out 'different' stuff including Mushtaq Yusufi and perhaps, just to liven things up, something potentially heretical, such as Sibt-e-Hassan’s 'Mosa say Marx tak' (From Moses to Marx) :)

The lawlessness at Gojra

From today's Dawn editorial:

"A state held hostage by its own bigots cannot guarantee protection for religious minorities in its jurisdiction. For that to happen, the state will have to ensure that all forms of religious discrimination, including faith-based laws that victimise even innocent civilians, are done away with. "

The day is not far off, when Chief Justice's claim that any law that is against the fundamental rights of a Pakistani citizen is illegal, will come out marching in spirit. Our politicians may be cowards and refuse to stand up against a small violent minority, but the law will be indiscriminate.

The past week's incidents of Gojra where the Chrisitian minority was targeted by vigilantes and the state apparatus stood by may not be the last time minorities are targeted - but today we can say with some confidence that it will be the beginning of the end of fascist minorities abusing laws without the fear of recriminations. If the politicians, namely those of the PML-N continue to muddle the issue and do not provide administrative justice, the doors of the courts are no longer closed. The more these traditional (cowardly) politicians try to pass the buck of clearing the stables to the judges, the more likely we will see a rise of middle class politics emboldened by the assurance that the courts will provide them an even playing field.

BOKO HARAM

The emergence of 'Nigerian Taliban' who have demanded stricter application of religious laws and resulted in hundreds of deaths underlines the importance of how we impart historical education.

It is an unfortunate given that failures of the governance and judicial system is rampant in third world nations. Those are the root causes of problems.

These problems become exacerbated when historical baggage and historical fallacies go hand in hand. While society takes time to unburden itself of traditions and social mores through an evolutionary process, having unfounded beliefs in lies of history can break progress and result in blind violence as witnessed in Nigeria.

The 'Nigerian Taliban' apparently desire the 'pure Caliphate' as witnessed in the past. Fact is, nowhere in Muslim history was there ever a time that a Caliph 'lost' the support of people and resigned willingly allowing his opponent to become the ruler. This transition, the hallmark of modern governance, never took place - even during the most ideal times of Muslim history. The ruler had to either die, be killed or decapitated in order for a transition to occur. Despite the arrogant disregard of this glaring reality, we are told to believe that the rule of Caliphs was 'ideal'. Naturally since there is no room given for an objective assessment of the pros and cons of Caliph rule, one has to either accept everything or face emotional outbursts (at the very least).

The fact that people today so readily become inspired by a highly questionable system of governance reflects both the decadence in today's post-colonial systems as well as the stupidity of believing in the unsubstantiated lies of history without any questions asked. The repercussions of historical lies continue to be felt.

But what else can one expect from the Nigerian Islamic sect called 'Boko Haram', that is behind the violent demands. The meaning of 'Boko Haram' translates into 'Education is prohibited'.

Unlike 'Lays Chips', which are halal :)

SC's verdict: the lurking threat of a punch

The verdict both stamps the SC's authority whereby the PCO judges are shown the door, the Nov 3 decision is given an unqualified rejection and thereby becoming another step to setting a precedent to rejecting unconstitutional acts. This by itself is a great leap forward.

Now the Parliament has to step up and legislate what portions/parts of post-Nov 3 actions it wants explicitly 'legalized'. As I view it, the SC has 'humbly' (rather, intelligently) given Parliament the chance to step up and be counted as a pillar of the state. The Parliament must decide, in view of the entire nation and it's vibrant media, if it wants to legalize ridiculous ordinances that clean the slate of the rich and powerful, but refuse to absolve the thousands of prisoners languishing in jails, 60% of whom have served more time than their alleged crime justifies, and still have not heard a verdict of guilt or innocence due to a corrupt judicial system. These ordinances will have be to be legislated. The Parliament is now forced to do its job. Whatsmore, its integrity is at stake.

I don't think the Parliament has any choice left. By wholeheartedly accepting the SC decision, it may have saved itself the embarrassment for now. However, SC has opened the floodgates just enough to let all and sundry know that if the Parliament doesn't get its act straight, the SC has the way clear to proceed with cleaning the stables as it sees fit.

The threat of a potential punch is better than the punch itself.