Pakistan: A Failed State?

Pakistan, A Failed State

Syed Ahmed Tariq Mir, Member of the Central Co-ordination Committee, MQM, said in the SAPRA conference, that the effects of partition are visible in Pakistan even after 53 years of independence. He said Pakistan is ruled by 46 families and that the Mohajir population of over 30 million is being kept hostage by the Punjabi dominated Pakistani establishment

A government will be considered a failure if it does not do all it can to serve its people with all the resources at its disposal. Problems arise when governments of the poorer countries fail to serve their people due to lack of direction, self-interest, corruption and incompetence. Naturally, a country as a whole is dubbed a failed nation when its people are not served.

Pakistan is one such failed state. The reasons for this failure are buried deep in history, which we must examine and diagnose and come up with a cure. After 53 years of independence, Pakistan continues to be ruled by 46 families, which keep a population of over 130 million in bondage. It is no use treating the symptoms alone and ignoring the root cause of the problem. It was in this context that the MQM (Muttahida Quami Movement) founder and leader, Mr. Altaf Hussain, made his historic comment on 17th September 2000: ``The partition of India was the biggest blunder of mankind``. This was not a casual remark but a reflection of many years of experience, study and pain on the part of Mr. Hussain and many of his companions. He was referring to the root cause of the problems of Pakistan when he made this remark. He called it the biggest error of mankind because of the magnitude of people affected by it both in terms of life and property in India as well as in Pakistan. The effects of this division are visible in Pakistan even today. Whether it was a plot by the colonial powers, or a short sighted, emotionally motivated decision by the leadership of the Muslim League and the All India Congress is an open question. As we all know, that with the exception of Mahatma Gandhi and Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad almost all the leaders of undivided India succumbed to the idea of division. Driven by emotion carefully injected by foreign masters our forefathers opted for the division of India. They did not stop to think what calamity, death and destruction it would bring upon the people of India and destroy the way of life of millions of its citizens particularly of the Muslims of India. What a great power an undivided India would have been today! How much it could have achieved in terms of social and economic development. There would not have been such a colossal wasteful expenditure on armaments. Instead of exploring nuclear devices to destroy life we would have been using that knowledge to alleviate starvation and poverty. Undivided India had the resources to become a superpower.

However, the die is now cast and the clock cannot be turned back. We have to live with the blunders of the past without indulging in emotionalism. Whereas, the founding leaders of India lived long enough to provide it with political stability, Pakistan ended its march to progress abruptly with the murder of its first Prime Minister Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan, in 1951. The country soon fell into the clutches of feudal corruption and had to rely upon military force to provide a modicum of governance. With feudal and military power in control, there was not even an attempt to transform the state of Pakistan into a progressive enlightened country. From the very early days of British Raj, the military, hailing predominantly from the Punjab province, began to run the country autocratically as opposed to their prime function of defending the borders. With limited resources available in the country, the military swallowed most of it, leaving other provinces hugely deprived and disgruntled. East Bengal could not stomach it for long and broke away from the federation in 1971. The rest is history vividly described in the Hamoodur Rehman Commission report recently published in India.

When the Baloch, Pakhtoons and Sindhis demanded their rights and fair share in the resources of the country they were mercilessly crushed by Punjabi forces. When the Mohajirs (immigrants from India) under the leadership of Altaf Hussain raised their voice in the Sindh province against the Punjabi establishment, they were targeted by the ISI - Inter Services Intelligence of Pakistan. Finally, a full blown army operation was launched on 19th June 1992 against Mohajirs and their representative political party, the MQM. These atrocities are continuing till today in one form or another.

The appetite of the Punjabi establishment to usurp the resources of the smaller provinces is insatiable. This is creating instability in the country. Smaller provinces want to see an economically stronger and prosperous Pakistan, where all provinces are treated in equal footing and their rights respected. With this in mind, the MQM along with Baloch, Pakhtoon and Sindhi leaders have formulated a 12-point resolution for the solidarity and well-being of the country. The leaders of smaller provinces want to see this resolution put into practice. But there are odds against it, as the situation is not completely in the control of the present military government.

Since the soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the regional political situation has significantly changed. Pakistan`s involvement in the Afghan crisis since 1978 has opened a pandora`s box of corruption and deceit within the ISI hierarchy. It has led to a massive influx of weapons and drugs into Pakistan. Western powers turned a blind eye to the blatant exploitation by the Punjabi establishment. When peace could not be restored in Pakistan after the Soviet withdrawal, the Taliban were introduced through the ISI to control ``The Cockpit of Asia``. An Indian columnist has echoed my sentiments by saying that, ``Feudalism and fundamentalism have fashioned in Pakistan, a culture which rationalises dictation and defends obedience. Over the years they have stopped differentiating between what is right and what is wrong``.

Like drugs and Kalashnikovs, the smaller provinces are now faced with the influx of Taliban style fanatic fundamentalism. This is a major destabilising factor in Pakistan and has unpleasant implications for the region. The MQM, being a tolerant party of ordinary people, is the only movement that can restore democratic values in the country and bring about progress. For this to happen, it must be allowed to work freely throughout the country.

But if that does not happen, which is more than likely, then India cannot afford to sit idly with an unstable Pakistan at its doorsteps. No neighbouring country can expect to remain insulated from another. To think that western powers can wave a magic wand to make the evil forces disappear is absurd. The western powers have only their interests to protect, no more no less. They are least concerned whether the Haris in Balochistan or Rajasthan die of malnutrition or are vaporised by a nuclear holocaust. It is us, both Indians and Pakistanis, who have to think and come up with a solution to the problem faced by the region as a whole. We have to think out a pragmatic plan of action for the future without repeating the blunders of the past.

Author: Syed Ahmed Tariq Mir

http://www.subcontinent.com/sapra/regional/regional20001001d.html

http://www.newyouth.com/archives/asia/indiapakistan/pakistan_futile_crusades_20000700.asp

Pakistan - Futile crusades of a failed state

By Lal Khan, editor of Jeddo Judh (``Class Struggle``)

July 2000

Fifty-three years after its inception the Pakistani state is teetering on the brink. The fissures opening up expose the internal decay of its rotting structures. The economy is in a shambles, society is in disarray and its domestic and foreign policies have hit rock bottom. Successive rulers are forced to admit this but are unable to avert the rapid decline of the state and society. All their efforts only further exacerbate the contradictions and intensity of the problems faced by a bewildered and shocked population.

This pathetic condition arises right back from the origins of the state. Pakistan came into being in the aftermath of one of the most turbulent periods of modern history. After World War II there was a huge wave of revolutionary upheavals all around the world. There was a massive upsurge of the colonial peoples, only comparable to the mass upheavals of populations at the time of the fall of the Roman Empire. In the Indian sub-continent the movement of the people against the British Raj took a new momentum in 1945-46. This movement of national liberation took a revolutionary turn and posed a direct threat not just to the British colonial rule but to the very existence of the capitalist - feudal system.

Due to historical crimes of the leadership and lack of a revolutionary party, the revolutionary movement was derailed. The Pakistani and Indian states were built on the bones of more than 2.7 million human beings. They were the victims of the ethnic and religious frenzy unleashed due to the failure of the revolution to succeed.

Half a century later all the dreams of the ``Muslim`` ruling class of Pakistan, to build a modern society have been shattered. Entering belatedly on the arena of history they were handicapped by the strangehold of Imperialism on one hand and their own integral weakness as a depleted class. They were not able to solve a single problem or complete a single task of the national democratic revolution. There was some development due to the spin off effects of the boom (1948-73) in the West. But this development was of a combined and uneven character. It further exaggerated the contradictions rather than solving them.

This contradiction of the Industrial development and lack of parallel social development exploded into the revolution of 1968-69. The virgin Pakistani proletariat mounted on the stage of history and moved forward with a revolutionary zeal to change their destiny. However once again the historical tragedy of humankind, the lack of a revolutionary leadership came to the fore and this revolution ended up in the war of 1971. This war resulted in the break up of Pakistan and what was East Pakistan became Bangladesh.

The post war revolutionary tide in West Pakistan, was diverted by ``democracy`` and radical reforms of state capitalism. The failure of these reforms to salvage society from its morass further exposed the incapability of the ruling elite to build a modern bourgeois state. Feudalism persisted in a vulgar fashion. The social and physical infrastructural base is far from adequate. It is nowhere near the basic prerequisites of building a modern Industry upon it. The national oppression in its present complicated and virulent form has further aggravated the crisis by undermining the modern national state. With exceptions of the interregnums of anarchic, corrupt and cosmetic phases of ` parliamentary democracy`` the ruling class has had to resort to direct military rule, in most of Pakistan`s chequered history. The new millennium has dawned on Pakistan under military rule yet again. Although it is very fragile and beleaguered, its weakness is its most dangerous aspect. With the aggravating crisis and a rising tide of mass revolt it can turn to severe repression and brutality. From its inception it has lurched from one crisis to another. Its policies have oscillated from appeasing US imperialism on one hand to bowing before the Islamic fundamentalists on the other. It has viciously promulgated the dictates of the I.M.F. There has been a spate of mass redundancies. The downsizing policy will end up with job losses of about 250,000 workers from various state and semi state institutions by the end of this year. This will have catastrophic implications on the society where 800,000 enter the labour market every year. Very few can get real jobs. Hence they become raw fodder for the huge informal (black) economy, fundamentalist and other reactionary organisations, violence, drug trade and other criminal activities, rampant in this turbulent society. The regime`s crusade to retrieve usurped money from the ruling elite, to overcome the massive deficits and debts have hit a dead end. The reality is that the real ruling elite does not keep its loot within the confines of Pakistan. They have stashed away more than $88 billion dollars in the vaults of European and American Banks. This amount is more than the total GNP of $67bn and total domestic and foreign debt of $82bn. This proves how much they trust the country they rule. Hence the only class the regime can get to cough up some money is the middle class or the Pakistani migrant workers who have deposited their hard -earned savings in Pakistan. They have been duped with the idea that their money sent home might help in the country`s economic revival.

The Afghan conflict

Historically and socially being a weak class, the petty bourgeoisie could not launch a viable resistance and the trader`s strike ultimately faded out. This was the longest shut-down strike of the shopkeepers and traders yet it could not achieve its aims. But the other main obstacle in the retraction of the tax evaded and `` illegal`` money holdings is the extreme corruption of the state apparatus itself. The Pakistani ruling class could not set up a profitable Industry. Hence instead of feeding the state with revenues, they plundered the state. On the other hand they were involved in illegal activities like smuggling and drug -trade. To achieve this the connivance of the state agencies and institutions was necessary. This situation gave an extra leverage to the state specially the military to dominate relatively more, in the affairs of the state and society. The classical balance of the ruling classes controlling the state apparatus was disturbed to some extent. This was mainly due to the historical, financial, technological and social weaknesses of the Pakistani elite. This process was further aggravated by the exceptional geo-political situation of Pakistan. It played the role of bulwark of US imperialism in the Afghan conflict during the 80s in the cold war era. It was the biggest covert operation the CIA had ever launched.

The Americans, the Saudis and the reactionary Gulf states pumped in billions of dollars. This money was poured in to support the counter revolutionary fundamentalist civil war to destabilize the left wing regime in Kabul. The Islamic fundamentalist mujahideen were further prompted by the CIA to increase the cultivation of opium and production of heroin to raise funds for this reactionary war. The modus operandi in all this process was the Pakistani state and its rouge agencies mainly the I.S.I. (Inter Services Intelligence) under the regime of dictator Zia-ul-Haq. A large chunk of these billions of dollars made its way to the coffers of the Pakistani generals, intelligence officers and a whole network of individuals of the state apparatus. The Najibullah regime in Afghanistan collapsed due to internal dissent rather than the `` struggle`` of the fundamentalists. But ever since then this process has continued. The Americans have backed out from the fear of the Frankenstein they had created in the form of these fundamentalist lunatics and now Pakistan has to face the burnt. A massive black economy dominates every sector of political, social and economic fabric of the society. The informal (black) economy is three times the size of the formal (white) economy. But its most significant aspect is its penetration in the state apparatus gravely denting the discipline, co-ordination and control of the structures of the state. This process had made Pakistan more and more un-governable. How can a corrupt state apparatus so dependent on black money, extract that money to kick start the main stream economy. This is another IMF recipe which will fail to rescue Pakistan`s economy from its rapid decline.

But even if the regime gets its targets of about RS 200 billion from the defaulters and sells of all its assets through privatisation, still it will be nowhere near the balance of payment deficit of US $ 11.3 billion by February 2001. All the assets put up for privatisation won`t fetch more than $5bn. This means the country is very rapidly moving towards default. The Imperialists are extremely worried about its consequences. An IMF delegation is due in early July to find some solution. In spite of their hue and cry about democracy and hypocritic lectures on human rights this military regime is the last straw left for them. They are relying on it and openly asking the regime to be more repressive. Not just on the traders and the petty bourgeoisie, but mainly to aggressively carry through attacks on the working people by implementing the IMF recipes. This will mean further increase in the prices of gas (27% by Sept.), petroleum products, electricity, water and other utilities. Ironically this fourth Military dictatorship has come at a juncture where the economic morass is horrendous, the social fabric is in tatters and the social processes are rapidly spinning out of the control of the state apparatus. To inflict repression by a state suffering internal decay is totally a different story. The first two military regimes came at a time (50s-60s) when there were spin off effects of the boom in the West and growth rate touched 9%. The third vicious dictatorship of Zia-ul-Haq came in the 80s when the Afghan operation was in full swing. Not only that the Afghan operation benefited the Zia Dictatorship but it had enormous income from remittances of Pakistani migrant workers abroad. This sum amounted to ($3.2bn per annum) and the economy had a growth rate of an average of 6.9%. These were some of the factors that led to the prolongation of the brutal Zia rule for 11 long and painful years.

Economy in tatters

At this juncture the economy is in tatters. The foreign remittances have gone down drastically. Between 1995-2000 the growth rate in large-scale manufacturing has been Zero (0%) according to the official figures. In reality it was negative mainly due to the closure of 6000 industrial units in this period. The overall growth rate of the economy has declined to just 2.4% by the end of the 90s and the population growth has been around 3% yearly. The foreign investment has been declining from $2bn in the early 90s to about $418 million this year. But this foreign investment has been mainly in privatization bids and in services sector. This means it is mainly the replacement of domestic capital investment by foreign capital with no increase in real and new industrial investment. The investment in utilities, mainly in the power generation sector has dealt a crushing blow to living standards. The high cost of electricity generation has meant the rise in prices in all sectors of economy and having cataclysmic consequences of further deepening the ongoing recession in Pakistan`s economy. This stagnation has lead to stagflation that shows the decline in the economic activity of the country.

This has lead to increased poverty during the 90s. Between 1990 and 2000 the population that has fallen below the poverty line has increased from 17.2% to 35%. This means the population ``living`` below the poverty line has doubled in the last 10 years. And these are official figures. The real situation is much worse.

Health services have deteriorated rapidly. Now more than 77% of the population has to resort to some sort of private health services. The vast majority are forced to seek medication from quacks, unqualified ``doctors`` and medieval forms of treatment. Every year 1,35,000 women die during childbirth due to lack of proper medical facilities. The regime spends only 0.7% of the GDP on health which does not even fulfil the salaries of the personnel employed in the rotting state health sector. Only 22% have access to clean drinking water and 15% have sanitation facilities. Seventy percent of diseases are diseases of poverty. Infant mortality rate, still birth and other health indicators are some of the highest in the world.

The condition of education is pathetic. Less than 50% of children manage to get to the primary level. Less than 1.5% of the students are able to enter a university campus. The present regime in continuation of the policies of the previous regime is treading on the discourse of rapid privatisation of educational institutions. The NGOs are providing all sorts of statistical and analytical data support to the regime to destroy the already dying educational system. This means that health and education are fast becoming a luxury while about half of the population is striving for minimum physical existence.

Ironically the biggest intrusion in the health and education sector has been of black money. Due to the character of this pernicious capital it can not go into long-term investment like setting up Industries. Here it can become too exposed and be traced. Hence it goes into health, education, transport, real estate, retail business and services sectors. This black economy is like a cancer on the body of Pakistani capitalist economy. But still it is the product of capitalism and depicts the severe diseased nature of the system. In an economy where 65.5% of the GDP goes into debt servicing and 40% on defence the fiscal year starts with a negative balance. Hence the growth of black economy becomes inevitable. Although this has been a buffer for the Pakistan`s debilitated economy, its role has speeded up the failure and disintegration of the Pakistani state. The pressures arising from below also have had an impact on the ruling state itself. The turmoil and turbulence resulting from immense poverty, unemployment, disease, illiteracy, crime, violence and bloodshed in society have opened up cracks within the institutions of the state and the armed forces. These were not only exposed during the October 1999 coup but are constantly making themselves felt in the policies, statements, retractions and oscillations in the actions and policies of the present military regime. The lower officers of the present military ranks are deeply perturbed not just by what is going on around them but they also feel the dragon of socio-economic crisis is coming closer to their lives. Although corruption gives a basis to the present economy yet everybody even in the state apparatus can not thrive on it to solve their problems. Hence there is severe anxiety and disenchantment with the present set-up. This can result in disastrous consequences for the state. In the higher echelons of power these contradictions are reflected in the form of these generals and the red tape representing different factions of finance black capital. The representatives of black money want to protect the structures of the nation state which shields the interests of these drug barons, money launderers and Mafia capitalists.

Fundamentalist coup?

On the other hand those sections of the generals and the ruling elite who have had their billions stashed in the Western banks are obliged to carry through the dictates of the Imperialist Institutions. This conflict between the `Black` and `White` Economies is erupting through the organs of the state and society. Its superficial political configuration comes in the form of a conflict between `liberalism` and `fundamentalism`. In reality they are the two sides of the same coin of the corruption bungling and plunder. They have originated from the same womb of paralytic cancerous capitalism that has evolved in the last decades. There are contradictory positions being taken by the regime on fundamentalism, Osama bin Laden, Taliban, Kashmir, Secularism and other issues. These are the reflections of the conflicts taking place behind the scenes between different sections of the state apparatus and the military hierarchy. These conflicts are bound to explode and another coup may take place. The only obstacle to such a development, at the present juncture, is the mutual fear of all the factions. They are afraid on the one hand of each other and at the same time of stumbling into a civil war that will spell the demise of the whole structure from which they gain their power perks and privileges. But all those processes that have brought matters to this pass are still raging vigorously in society. Above all they are beyond the control of this ruling caste. Sooner or later these contradictions are bound to explode into an open clash. Even if another coup takes place and it is able to avert a civil war then what possibilities the leaders of that coup will have? If it is lead by pro-fundamentalist generals what solution can they provide? None!

A conflagration erupted in Pakistan would have dire geo-political consequences also for the imperialist interests in this whole region. The threat of a nuclear holocaust will be posed if India and Pakistan go to another war. Even if there is no direct war between India and Pakistan the already raging proxy wars will further escalate leading to further anarchy, chaos, disintegration and bloody fragmentation in the whole region.

So the imperialists will try to contain the hostilities and maintain status quo. They will probably make concessions to the Musharraf regime and IMF will try to release its latest tranche of $1.25bn to resuscitate the economy. There is a targeted growth from around 4.5% to 6% this year, depending on a number of factors. The bumper cotton and wheat crops this year, purely due to climatic reasons, will perhaps help the slight increase in growth rate. Yet it won`t sole anything and in reality exacerbate the contradictions in society.

The main political parties are in disarray. The Muslims League is splitting to pieces, the ANP (mainly a Pushtun based party) has splintered, while other nationalist parties are in tatters. The Islamic fundamentalist parties are howling at the top of their voices but they are neither being heard nor getting an echo. They are still a threat. Their prominence is the result of a lull in the society and the vacuum created by the collapse of the Stalinist left. But they lack a mass base in society and they represent temporary phenomena of the reactionary situation prevailing at the present time. The power and support they have, is being consciously exaggerated by the media and the Western imperialist pundits. It is also to give a justification and legitimacy to the present set up. The Stalinists and the left reformists are also using them as an alibi to justify the rotten alliances with the reactionary bourgeoisie leaders and parties. A large section of the ex-Stalinist left is trying to get solace in the lap of Western sponsored NGOs and recuperate from the wounds of their ideological defeat with the collapse of Stalinism in Russia and China. In the process they have become tools of preserving the status quo. It is hardly possible to differentiate their policies from those of Imperialism. The leadership of the PPP humiliated from the corruption scandals during their two stints in power is making odd and confused noises from the safe haven in London. But there is enormous ferment within the PPP. There are resurgent left currents in the lower ranks of the PPP. These could take on a crucial role in the next period. There are new stirrings in the trade unions. There are several strikes amongst the workers although sporadic and isolated at the moment. The youth are in a dilemma. They are fed up with the present situation. Yet they are looking out for an alternate devoid of corruption, vandalism and lumpenisation, which has besieged youth and students politics for almost a generation. Still the youth and students movement is showing signs of a new revival. The political and trade union leadership has failed to deliver. This has created a situation of general scepticism, apathy and cynicism amongst the masses. This has led to confusion and a certain level of disillusionment and demoralisation.

A socialist revolution is needed

The regime till now has faced no serious resistance. Still it is fragile, dithering and jittery. When the real resistance comes it is not sure that it will be able to exercise repression of the scale that the previous military dictatorships had inflicted. The regime is not sure of itself and the apparatus it rests upon. It is treading a very thorny path. Any major incident or event can explode into a stormy movement. With a slight improvement in the economy this possibility will increase. Rather than any stability an increased growth rate will bring more turmoil.

Faced with a challenge from below the regime will initially try to go for repression Perhaps it will declare martial law. But for the people direct rule in military uniform is not very different from martial law. That psychological barrier has already been passed. With the failure of repressive tactics the regime might lurch towards a ``democratic`` set up. It might yet try to use Imran Khan for this purpose. They are already promoting and pampering him as a new political icon. But in the turbulent times ahead he does not stand much chance to fulfil the task of saving this status quo. He will be a temporary and pathetic figure in this whole saga. He has nothing to offer and remains an arrogant disciple of Capitalism-feudalism. The media to fill up the vacuum would portray all sorts of flimsy and demagogic characters. These accidental and murky characters would be just petty impostors. If the movement begins on the industrial plane and on the real issues of unemployment, poverty, privatisation, price hike and attacks on the working class these demands would rapidly attain a political character. It would enter the political plane and then the whole system will be threatened. Initially the majority of the youth and workers would take the traditional path of PPP. But any move of the PPP leadership to divert the party on to reformist lines yet again will face with a crushing rebuttal not only from the workers but also from the new generation which would enter the ranks of the PPP in a changed situation. Such an upheaval can actually lead to a real break up of the party on class lines. The connotations, arguments and wranglings on the ideological debate reverberating in the PPP, are precursor of the events in the party that impend in the near future.

This whole process will unravel in ebbs and flows. The masses will learn through the experiences and the rapidly changing objective situation. All sorts of peculiar gadgets, gimmicks and episodes will clutter the political horizon of society. But the revolutionary storm of a mass upsurge will wash them away. From fundamentalism to left and right reformism, from nationalism to sectarianism all sorts of peculiar phenomena will be blown up to deviate the movement from its ultimate destiny of overthrowing this rotten system and its protectorate the decayed state scrap.

The oppressed masses of Pakistan have suffered through this ordeal of ``democracies`` and dictatorships. These are political super structures of an outdated, exploitative and rapacious socio economic system. Under the dictatorship the masses fought for democracy. Their leaders had given them the delusion that through democracy all their problems would be solved. But it was all loot and plunder. Their miseries intensified. With the sufferings they have also learnt from the hard school of experience. They are quiet but their eyes and ears are open. And they are thinking - developing a new consciousness - a revolutionary one. They are waiting and they shall rise. This is the verdict of history, it is the universal law of class society. Tyranny can prolong it can not endure.

Once they rise there is nothing to stop them. If a genuine Marxist organisation rapidly developing into a party is there- before the advent of masses on to the arena of history to change their destiny- then a Socialist Revolution in Pakistan is entirely possible with in the next few years. A Socialist Revolution in Pakistan will change the geography, economy, sociology, psychology not only of Pakistan but the whole South Asian sub-continent. Still its repercussions will not stop at the frontiers of Asia but will spread througout the world.

A rogue with his finger on the nuclear trigger

The influence of Islamic extremists in Musharaf`s Pakistan creates little cause for optimism about peace talks with India, writes Amin Saikal.

The Indian Government has been bold in inviting Pakistan`s military ruler, General Pervez Musharaf, for peace talks. While the move is welcome, it should not raise expectations too high: Musharaf has so far proved no more inspiring than any other military dictator.

While Pakistan continues to suffer from serious domestic and foreign policy problems, he has focused much of his energy on how to engineer the country`s return to a civilian rule in such a way that he can take over the presidency and the military can preserve its central role in the country`s politics.

Musharaf toppled the elected government of Nawaz Sharif in October 1999, promising to restore economic and social stability, and to return Pakistan to a workable democracy. He also hoped to end its international isolation over its nuclear weapons dispute with India and its support of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Initially he refused to put a time limit on military rule, but subsequently accepted a Supreme Court decision to terminate his rule by the end of next year. But halfway through his ``term``, the general has little to boast about.

The economy continues in the doldrums, and all the major indicators show that the threat of national bankruptcy still looms large. If not for IMF bailouts, Pakistan would have already been declared bankrupt. Social divisions and communal and sectarian conflicts, which have cost hundreds of lives over the past 18 months, have persisted with no relief in sight. The port city of Karachi, Pakistan`s industrial base, has born the brunt of the disorder, making it a no-go zone for most foreign investors.

On average, a bomb has exploded every two weeks in some part of the country. Ethnic relations between Pakistan`s main national groups - the Punjabis, Sindhis, Pathans, Baluchis and Mahajirs - have remained as tense as ever. While Musharaf is a Mahajir, Punjabi generals have remained dominant in the military and the bureaucracy.

There has been no noticeable reduction in the corruption which has permeated every layer of the society. The problem is not confined to lower levels but is also rampant at the very top, involving the leaders of the military and military intelligence (ISI).

In addition, drug trafficking and addiction have reached crisis proportions.

Musharaf has likened himself to the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk: a reformist nationalist. But he has done little to curb the growing influence of Islamic extremists, with links to the Taliban. Islamic radicals have penetrated the armed forces, particularly at lower and middle levels.

As public discontent has grown over Musharaf`s economic, social and law and order failures, he has become increasingly dependent on the support of the military and Islamic groups. He has found it expedient to leave the growing Talibanisation of Pakistan virtually unchecked.

He has been ruthless against his political opponents, clearly trying to destroy the parties of exiled former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.

However, he has let the Islamic extremists campaign freely. He and many of his close associates have publicly confirmed Pakistan`s support in the name of ``national security`` for the Taliban and Kashmiri militants fighting for independence from India. He allowed the Islamic extremists to hold their biggest public gathering ever in April in Peshawar on the border with Afghanistan where Taliban leader Mullah Omer and his protected ``guest``, Saudi dissident and America`s most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden, urged the world`s Muslims to unite behind the Taliban for a wider Jihad (holy war).

Meanwhile, he has done little to reduce tension with India. He has allowed to go on unabated the ISI tutelage of Kashmiri Islamic militants and the Taliban in reinforcing one another. He has responded positively to the invitation for peace talks, but only on the proviso that India meet the independence demand of the Pakistan-backed Kashmiri combatants.

As many Pakistanis begin to question Musharaf`s policies, the US, Britain and the European Union have also stepped up their public criticism. The US Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, recently hinted that Pakistan is a potentially ``rogue state``.

In response, Musharaf has declared that while he may hold a partyless general election before the end of next year, he would want to assume the post of president. Musharaf is poised to prove once again that military dictators generally can`t deliver democracy.

Pakistan constitutes a serious danger to regional stability: it is not only a nuclear power under military rule, but also a failed state.

The world has reason to be deeply concerned.

Amin Saikal is professor of political science and director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/0105/28/features/features7.html

May 28,2001

Correction # 488

My reply to Urstruly was by mistake posted on this board. I apologize.

-- Bilal Ahmad

In response to Urstruly (Reply # 609)
Dear Urstruly:

I once wrote: “Pakistan needs to foster an alternative discourse that prioritizes the values of humanity, freedom, justice, and peaceful coexistence.” An alternative to the dominant national/official discourse (for details, see my Chowk article: Pakistan: A Failed State?).

Do you see any vision here? If no, why not? If yes, let me remind you that the struggle for the establishment of the values of humanity, freedom, justice, and peaceful coexistence is not going to be an easy one.

So, we may need to first figure out the ways and means to commence a program of social transformation that is based on a commonly accepted vision as well as the ground realities in Pakistan. Now, as a test, answer some of the complaints/concerns of Krashid. He has identified a few basic grievances with the Pakistani system (whose key actors, in my view, are the power elite). If you don’t provide a satisfactory answer of his questions, I will be forced to say that all your rhetoric of patriotism, optimism, vision, and dreams is nothing but hollow.

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad

good

Here`s an article by Mansoor Ijaz on Pakistan in International Herald Tribune on why Pakistan is a Failed State. Interesting reading.

-- http://www.iht.com/IHT/TODAY/THU/ED/edijaz.2.html

Paris, Thursday, May 4, 2000

Stop Pakistan`s Fall Into Nuclear-Armed Failure

By Mansoor Ijaz International Herald Tribune



NEW YORK - Pakistan is on the way to becoming the world`s first failed nuclear state. On Saturday the ruling military junta postponed a crackdown on a multibillion-dollar illegal economy. Halting planned raids against illicit consumer goods warehouses, arms depots, heroin laboratories and the smuggling that enables billions in black trade to flow was the strongest sign yet that Islamabad`s generals cannot take on the region`s gangsters without risking civil war.

This was sad news for a largely uneducated and malnourished population of 140 million, many of whom had put their final hope in a den of military thieves to right the country`s many wrongs after last October`s coup.

Rather than take a hard line on tough issues to clean up Pakistan`s mess, the junta feigns democratic attitudes to impress skeptical world capitals in order to secure long-term financial credits and mollify human rights critics. This elaborate ruse was designed to buy time. But Pakistan`s lawlessness now has no state organ willing to combat it.

General Pervez Musharraf, the junta`s chief, is not a visionary but a bureaucratic front man. His colleague General Mohammed Aziz, the architect and commander of last year`s Kashmir invasion and the operations commander during the October coup, is an Islamic hard-liner who sees little point in reining in an illegal economy that fuels his war against India.

Corps commanders in Quetta and Peshawar, front-line cities along the Afghan border, have vested local interests that go far beyond any gains to be made from eradicating crime.

The gangster clans that run frontier Pakistan are tightly knit and all but untouchable; laws of civilized society don`t apply. Sharia laws already supersede Pakistan`s battered constitution in remote northern villages.

Warning signs of the international community`s frustrations increased this week when the U.S. State Department classified nonindigenous Kashmiri separatism as terrorism, creating a link between official Pakistani military support for the ``freedom fighters`` and officially sanctioned safe harbor for terrorists.

Crucial IMF support for Pakistan, on hold since the October coup, looked even more uncertain after Islamabad admitted last week that civilian governments had misstated important financial data to receive taxpayer-funded IMF loans. The picture of chaos and disarray emerging from an all-powerful military government that took over to set things right is deeply unsettling.

Afghanistan`s opium production to finance warfare throughout the region, coupled with Pakistan`s willingness to look the other way for the right-sized bribe while arms are smuggled in to train imported religious zealots, are signs of the military junta`s complicity, complacency and abandonment of international norms in running Pakistan.

General Musharraf and his cronies need a rude wake-up call. He must tell his Islamist military colleagues in Quetta and Peshawar that Pakistan no longer can be complicit in the transport of arms, drugs or other goods that sustain the Taleban`s damaging influence throughout Central Asia. He should fire the generals if they do not comply.

The IMF should withhold loans until the promised crackdown on illegal trade is complete. No foreign taxpayer should be asked to fund a country committed to breeding forces of destruction, and then have to tolerate Pakistan`s lies about where the money went.

General Musharraf must take on Pakistan`s drug czars by destroying their heroin labs. In a country now presumed to harbor the largest population of heroin addicts in the world, he has no reason to allow this segment of his black market economy to function one minute longer.

And he must dismember Pakistan`s radical groups. He hurts the cause of Kashmir by letting the world label its liberators as terrorists. Indian terrorism is no excuse for Pakistani terrorism.

He should use the army`s force to shut down the country`s 4,000 or so radicalized religious schools where the roots of extremist behavior are set. This network should be replaced with normal schools that educate normal children.

I am prepared to contribute substantially from my personal fortune and bring my friends in American government alongside the effort to create an endowment dedicated to stopping the spread of radicalism in Pakistan.

The descent of Pakistan into the abyss of pariah status may be irreversible - unless General Musharraf finds the courage to stare down the bandits who have stolen the country`s future.

The writer, chairman of a New York investment bank and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune.

What? #484 by mohjr, on Pakistan, by Gwyynd Dwayer [the same Dwayer who, in a CBC commentary in 1979, proclaimmed that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged after a fair and just trial and according to the Muslim and Pakistan Law?], as told by Karpal Singh?

What`s going on?

When did Jinnah leave Congress? When he felt he could not become the Prime Minister of India?

The following is from ``Hizone.com`` which I stumbled on to looking for `Jinnah`:

[1920]Meanwhile, a new force in Indian politics had appeared in the person of Mohandas K. Gandhi. Both the Home Rule League and the Indian National

Congress had come under his sway. Opposed to Gandhi`s Non-co-operation Movement and his essentially Hindu approach to politics, [//]Jinnah left both the League and the Congress in 1920[//].

For a few years he kept himself aloof from the main political movements. He continued to be a

firm believer in Hindu-Muslim unity and constitutional methods for the achievement of political ends. ... But during the 1920s ... Jinnah, had been overshadowed by the Congress and the religiously oriented Muslim Khilafat committee.

When the failure of the Non-co-operation Movement and the emergence of Hindu revivalist movements led to antagonism and riots between the Hindus

and Muslims, the league gradually began to come into its own.

Jinnah`s problem during the following years was to ... . to convince the Congress, as a prerequisite for political progress, of the necessity of settling the Hindu-Muslim conflict.

To bring about such a rapprochement was Jinnah`s chief purpose during the late 1920s and early 1930s. He worked toward this end within the

legislative assembly, at the Round Table Conferences in London (1930-32), and through his 14 points, which included proposals for a federal form of government, greater rights for minorities, one-third representation for Muslims in the central legislature, ... . But he failed. His failure to bring about even minor amendments in the Nehru Committee proposals (1928) over the question of separate electorates and reservation of seats for Muslims in the legislatures frustrated him. He found himself in a peculiar position at this time; many Muslims thought that he was too nationalistic in his policy and that Muslim interests were not safe in his hands, while the Indian National Congress would not even meet the moderate Muslim demands halfway. Indeed, the Muslim League was a house divided against itself. [//]The Punjab Muslim League repudiated Jinnah`s leadership and organised itself separately. In disgust, Jinnah decided to settle in England.

From 1930 to 1935 he remained in London, devoting himself to practice before the Privy Council. But when constitutional changes were in the offing,

he was persuaded to return home[//] to head a reconstituted Muslim League.``

So, was Jinnah assured of the impossibility of his becoming prime Minister of India in 1920?

That is what is wrong with learning history from the movies e.g., Gandhi, in which, I gathered, Gielgud showed Nehru on seeing his (and Patel`s plan) of his cherished Prime Ministership slipping from his hands that he opposed Gandhi.

Incidentally, Jinnah was active on the Hindu-Muslim amity platform maybe 30 years before Gandhi appeared on the scene in India-- from South Africa.

On asking for Pakistan in 1940 he had already worked for 40 years to work for a rapproachment between Muslims and Hindus but in the 1936 elections (read on your own about them) it was made clear that Muslims did not have a place in a Hindu dominated I.N. Congress.

About his divorce with the I.N. Congress he said:

`` ... and believe me, I have spent a lifetime in politics. It is my sad experience that a Hindu cannot be trusted. They can never become your friends. I tried all my life to become one with them but I never succeeded in winning their

confidence. A time shall come when you will think about the words I am saying to you now, and you would regret for not having listened to me.`` [original, in Urdu; borrowed from #1181 on the ``He had No Choice`` board.

Would you say that in 1920-28 he saw that he would`t become a Prime Minister of British-left-India? Give YOURSELVES a break!

This appeared in Sacramento Bee:

There was an Op-Ed article by Gwynne Dyer in Sacramento Bee couple of days back ``The curse of coups in Pakistan`s 52 years,``

This was the first article in a half-century that I have come across in which anyone in the Western world openly stated that the creation of Pakistan was not a good idea.

I was in India the day the division of India into India and Pakistan took place. I have personally seen many innocent people killed to satisfy the egos of a few. Pakistan was created to satisfy the desire of Mohammed Ali Jinnah to become the first prime minister of post-British India. When it became evident that the Brahmins of India were not going to let a Muslim become the prime minister, Jinnah and his followers, with the support of Britain, demanded a separate country.

The subcontinent of India supported Britain for more than 150 years -- and, if I may add, did so in style. Division of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan, and later of Pakistan into Bangladesh and Pakistan, has created three basket cases. As long as these countries are run by ego and corruption, the world can only watch and hold its breath.

The only solution may be that by some odd miracle these countries might produce some leaders who can form an alliance to work together.

--Kirpal Singh, Roseville

Jinnah betrayed

Brigadier (Retd) A.R. Siddiqi

The debate about the motivating force behind the making of Pakistan has been one endless exercise in frustration. Was it to revive the ancient glory of the Islamic era, or to find a base for the reconstruction of Islamic thought and the resurgence and readaptation of its message to our day and age? If the principal inspiration behind the struggle for Pakistan had been simply the revival of the ancient glory in all its architectural, cultural and literary reality and symbolism, the Partition of the Subcontinent would have been farthest from the mind of the founding fathers, from Syed Ahmad to Iqbal and Jinnah. For all the marvels of the Islamic architecture and artefacts, of performing arts (Katthak and Khiyal) - language and culture originating in Muslim India would have, for ever, become a part of Hindu India after Pakistan. There had, indeed, been much more to the pristine concept of Pakistan than mere brick and mortar, semantics and the sound of music. It had been the quest for a space to initiate Islamic Renaissance as opposed to clerical revivalism.

In his collection of cameos under the provocative title Jinnah Betrayed ABS Jafri, gives `voice to the stabs of pains` caused by our brazen betrayal of the constitutional and intellectual legacy of our founding fathers. In one of his short pieces entitled `Three tears of Quaid-i-Azam`, Jafri uses December 25 - the Quaid`s birthday - as a metaphor for our collective, national despair and an occasion to go through `an agonising experience of self-assessment`. The exercise leaves `the honest in a state of trauma laden with shame.` He speaks, of `the raging conflict` between the Quaid-i-Azam and those `ruling (ruining)` the state.

``Oh, goodness, what father what children!` Even to call Pakistan by that name would amount to `sacrilege and `outrageous betrayal` of all the political social and moral principles of the Quaid. Jafri would go on to look at today`s Pakistan as `among the most corrupt, most cruel, most crime-ridden, poverty-stricken, frustrated, fractured, benighted in the world...` A mighty avalanche of words debouching from the pen of one with an over mastering unrequited patriotic passion. Maybe, he would have made his point as tellingly by less verbiage. The advantage should, however, go to author for reaching a pitch of eloquence the critic often fails to achieve.

The country is less than half of what the Quaid gave us. Its Constitution has been `frequently and `fraudulantly interpolated.` In sum, we are in `such a state of disarray and despair today.` In his Preface, easily the most incisive part of the anthology, Jafri covers practically the whole span of Pakistan`s history, its `benchmarks` of success and failure. He speaks of the two different sets of law, governing the `settled` and tribal areas; of the abuse of human rights; the rampant practice of honour killing and Karo Kari, extra-judicial killings (etc). He goes on to ask: `Is this the portrait of Pakistan as the Quaid-i-Azam visualised it?`

He has been tellingly critical of and candid about the after-effects of the military rule from Ayub to Zia. `From October 7, 1958, in our history to this day,` he says, `this nation has lived in disgracefully brazen betrayal of the founder....` Since the book was published long before the military takeover of October 12, 1999, Gen. Musharraf escapes the dragnet of Jafri`s barbed assessment of military coups d`etat.

What makes Jafri`s Jinnah Betrayed, a truly worthwhile effort is its uncanny timing - even if purely coincidental. It has come at a time, when the Quaid movie Jinnah has been the focus of a bitter and disgusting war of words between the executive producer, Dr Akbar S. Ahmad and the director, Jameel Dehlavi. The pitch at which the two gentlemen have indulged in the pot-calling-the-kettle-black sort of controversy has inevitably compromised the very sanctity of the name `Jinnah`. And all that while the movie is yet to be released for unrestricted public showing. The movie had been a subject of much controversy right from the beginning, what for its script and cast. The selection of Christopher Lee, recognised mainly for his horror movies, regardless of his merit as an actor, left a lurking shadow on the Quaid`s impeccable image.

The exchange of banalities between the makers of the unscreened movie is simply unfortunate, to say the least. Regrettably, the executive producer of the movie happens to be Pakistan`s High Commissioner in London where the movie was conceived and cast. Jinnah Betrayed would be applicable more to the Jinnah movie than the Jafri book. For all the unwholesome debate going with it, the movie might well be a snub to Jinnah`s unchallenged and unrivalled status as the maker of Pakistan. Perhaps Jafri`s Jinnah Betrayed should be more appropriately re-named as Jinnah Defended.

Treachery, disloyalty, and other similar notions are a part of our dominant national discourse. What is treachery? According to Brigadier Usman Khalid, “[p]roviding the enemy with support in any form or undermining one’s own side is treachery.” Is it a treachery, if I say that the Indian intellectuals are much better educated and dedicated than their counterpart in Pakistan?

Brigadier Khalid is currently residing in the UK. The following post was published in the Pakistan Forum which moderated by Shahid Mahmud.

Benazir & Treachery

In response to my article under the title ``Benazir & American Agenda``, a member of the Pakistan Forum from the USA said: What is wrong with Benazir having undoing the Partition as her political objective? What I had said was that it was not merely wrong, it was treacherous. Let me explain.

Providing the enemy with support in any form or undermining one`s own side is treachery. There have been cases of individuals insisting that such actions are justified on grounds of religion, ideology or personal conviction. But no state has ever accepted treachery to be justified. If one is opposed to the state one lives in, one has to declare one`s opposition and refuse to take up office that involves swearing allegiance to the State. Benazir had taken oath of allegiance to the State several times. She can take up ``Undoing the Partition`` as her cause after declaring that her oath was false and that she no longer wants to seek office of the state in Pakistan. If she does not do so, it is for the State to take notice of her utterances and disqualify her permanently from taking part in Pakistan`s politics. There is also a case for her citizenship of Pakistan to be revoked but that is a legal matter that I would leave to experts.

The state has three elements - the land, the people and the polity. There are institutions that protect the people and guard the state, like the armed forces, whose work is seriously undermined when secrecy is compromised. The cases of espionage in their work is, therefore, taken seriously and punished severely. But there is one kind of treachery that is carried out under public gaze but is far more damaging. This involves undermining the polity, the basis of national solidarity. The polity of India is ``loyalty to the land of one`s birth`` dharti. It is an imperial polity because land comes before the people. Our polity is post-imperial. The basis of solidarity of the people in Pakistan is shared perception of history, also known as the Two-Nation Theory (the hero of a Muslim is often a villain in the eyes of a Hindu). Our common faith is the basis of our national solidarity; it influences our objectives as well as strategies. Islamic solidarity is also the touchstone of our success.

The State apparatus was tolerant of treachery in East Pakistan; it took no notice of disloyalty to the polity of Pakistan by Sheikh Mujib and his Awami League. The State is failing the people again, as it is taking no notice of disloyalty to the polity of Pakistan by those masquerading as political leaders - Benazir, Nawaz Sharif and Sindhi/Mohajir Nationalists. Undoing the Partition is the main objective of our principal enemy - India. A Pakistani can subscribes to this objective legitimately only after renouncing Pakistani citizenship. While claiming to be a Pakistani, any one who works for or supports the Indian agenda is a traitor.

-- Brigadier Usman Khalid

Spaces of Medievalism in Neo-Colonial Pakistan

A couple of days back, I posted an appeal by Ayesha Aziz on this forum. I am somewhat surprised that even on the Chowk only Zeemax and Shankar have registered their concern over the unfortunate state of the spaces of medieval coercion in Pakistan. The following letter, I think, is a followup of Ayesha Aziz’s appeal by a family friend (see also Replies # 478-480).

Chowkwallas, wake up and assert yourself to make Pakistan a place to live and survive with honor, dignity, and without fear of our coercive state apparatus.

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad

Frontier Post, March 15, 2000

Letter to the Editor

Horror chambers of the Attock Fort

On 11th March 2000, I was taken aback to read the letter `Ex-MNA in Attock Fort`` by Mohammed Akram Sheikh in an Islamabad-based newspaper. An Urdu daily of 12th March also presented a similar report that the accused at the Attock Fort are suffering from blood dysentery because of contaminated food and water that is given to them.

I was not going to believe this piece of information until a friend of mine asked me to accompany him to meet the family of one of the accused who is detained at the Attock Fort. I was hesitant to go to their house but then curiosity pulled me to their door.

As we took up the issue of the living conditions of the accused kept at the Attock Fort, one of his family members described how the accused were being treated. Their story was quite similar to what Mr. Akram Sheikh had described in his letter regarding the ex-MNA.

I was shocked to know that the part of the Attock Fort, where they are keeping the accused has been declared as a police station by the military government, but in fact it is totally under the army control. Here the favours given by the court to the accused such as newspapers, food from home etc have not been honoured. Earlier the accused were locked up in solitary confinement in 4x6 torture cells, with no ventilation and a high-wattage light bulb which was constantly kept on but now there is complete darkness in the cells with a zero-watt red light bulb kept on to put strain on the nerves of the accused. The accused cannot make out whether it is day time or night because their wrist watches have been taken away from them. They are given no books, newspapers, medicines or food from home.

The accused are made to sleep on the hard ground of the cells with no bedding and only a blanket. Earlier the accused were permitted to come out of their cells for 30 minutes in 24 hours to breathe fresh air but now it has stopped. The accused are allowed to meet their family members once a week under army`s strict supervision for an hour, without any privacy and all their conversation is recorded. Even the lawyers cannot discuss anything in private with their clients (the accused) as each and everything is recorded.

There are certain accused in the cells, who desperately need to see a psychiatrist and are mostly crying and shouting in their cells. However the NAB deems that as long as they look OK there is no need for them and the others to see a psychiatrist or a doctor. Only in very serious cases the NAB officials provide a medical doctor but not a psychiatrist. There are also reports like the case of the ex-MNA, that several accused at the Attock Fort are suffering from blood dysentery, because they are given contaminated water for drinking. The accused are being slow poisoned at Attock Fort.

I take this opportunity to bring into the kind notice of Chief Executive General Pervaiz Musharraf that torture and degrading methods employed by the NAB are likely to bring a bad name to the present government. Some elements in the NAB are not only defaming General Pervaiz Musharraf who is so eager, trying to build up the image of our beloved country nationally and internationally, but also bringing dishonour to the honorable courts in the country.

I hope honourable Gen Pervez Musharraf would take notice of this brutality and set things straight. Pakistan Army is the protector and the provider of human rights. One just can`t blame everything wrong committed by a few men in the service on the whole armed forces. We `Jawans` are here to build Pakistan, not to break it!

Col Rafiq Jan Razak,

Peshawar.

In response to Zeemax (Reply # 479)

I don’t know how true is Ayesha Aziz’s allegations. My understanding of the nature of Pakistan state institutions suggests that she has spoken the truth. I am pleased to note that the News has published her letter. Ayesha Aziz may need to send similar letters to other Pakistani newspapers. As far as we are concerned, we need to write against all kinds of state and non-state based injustices as much as possible, wherever we can. Chowkwallas, please show your concern over the way our state-institutions work against the citizenship and human rights of our own people (criminals or otherwise). Freedom, democracy, justice, and other rights are never easily acquired. People need to earn them through struggle. Internet and print media are peaceful means to use our right to protest against all kinds of transgressions.

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad

P.S. Armed struggle is an out-dated way of struggle. Violence breeds violence. Let us struggle peacefully first, and peacefully last. What we need is to simply understand the power of peaceful struggle.

Reply #: 478 bahmad

Dear Bilal,

Freedom and Justice in Pakistan

This brought tears to my eyes because I am a father too. Ayesha Aziz` appeal we are powerless to do anything about except that we take up arms.

What else can we do ?

Pls tell me in your usual intellectual way how we can help Ayesha Aziz.

Sincerely.

Freedom and Justice in Pakistan

In my article, I have argued that “Pakistan needs to foster an alternative discourse that prioritizes the values of humanity, freedom, justice, and peaceful coexistence.” If the following plea is true, we definitely need to struggle for the values of humanity, freedom, and justice in Pakistan. The responses to my article suggest that many Chowkwallas have failed to appreciate the nature and significance of my message.

I don’t know if Khalid Aziz is guilty of some heinous crimes or not, what I know is that no government (legal or otherwise) has a right to violate the citizenship and human rights of its own people.

Sincerly, Bilal Ahmad

P.S. I appeal all Chowkwallas to register their concern over the misuse of power by our coercive state apparatus.

The New International

Letter to the Editor

March 14, 2000

A daughter`s plea

Ayesha Aziz

I am the daughter of Khalid Aziz, former chief secretary, NWFP and former DG Ehtasab Bureau, who is at present under arrest at the Attock Fort. In the last five months, I have met my father only twice and that too under strict army supervision. My father was put under solitary house arrest on October 14, 1999 and then arrested on December 27, 1999. So far, no charges have been framed against him.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) says that my father was arrested on December 27 and denied putting my father in solitary confinement for 75 days, prior to this date. NAB says that some other authority has done it of which it has no knowledge. Is there any authority higher than the NAB in Pakistan?

According to NAB`s laws, a citizen cannot be held for more than 90 days, but my father has now spent more than 170 days under army detention, without a charge sheet and without knowing his crime.

On February 26, 2000 my father was shifted to the Attock Fort (the most infamous torture cell in Pakistan). The part of the Attock fort, where they are keeping my father, has been declared as a police station by the military government, but in fact it is totally under army control. Food from home, newspapers, allowed by the court, cannot be reveived by the accused.

Previously, my father was locked up in solitary confinement in a 4x6 torture cell, with no ventilation and a high voltage bulb which was never switched off. Now there is complete darkness in the cell with a zero watt red light bulb kept on to put strain on his nerves. My father, cannot make out whether it is day or night because his wrist watch has been taken away from him. He cannot get newspapers, medicines or food from home. There is no bedding in his cell and he sleeps on the uneven hard floor with only a blanket. Earlier my father was permitted to come out of his cell, every 24 hours, for thirty minutes, to breathe fresh air but now that too has stopped. My father is allowed to meet us (his family members) once a week under the army`s strict supervision, without any privacy and all our conversation is bugged. Even the lawyers cannot discuss anything in private with my father as each and everything is recorded.

I only want to know what has my father done for being punished so inhumanly? What is his crime and why is he suffering without any charges? Yesterday my father had swelling on his face and severe stomach and eye problems. My father has lost 30 pounds and his health is deteriorating day by day. Several accused at the Attock Fort are suffering from blood dysentery, because of contaminated drinking water. My whole family is tormented to know this and is in agony. I am very concerned for my father`s health. General Pervaiz Musharraf is doing his best to set things right in the country. On the other hand people in charge of accountability are busy making their jobs secure, by framing false charges against people.

I have also heard lately that NAB will get confessions under duress. A few people are bringing a bad name to General Pervaiz Musharraf who is so eager, to build the image of our beloved country nationally and internationally.

Peshawar

Life of Jinnah:

Why is PML objecting to BBC interview then.

Jinnah`s wife`s family (Ruttie) were strong Indian nationalists. They along with Ruttie were from the Parsi community who strongly opposed the idea of partition of India. Jinnah`s wife Ruttie passed away long before the partition. They opposed the marriage of Jinnah and Ruttie.

Maybe because of that Jinnah`s only daughter was against her father. Though Jinnah married a Parsi and converted her to Islam, he was upset when Dinah his daughter married a Indian businessman Mr. Wadia. Dinah Wadia is now settled in New York and thinks the partition as not a good idea (maybe because of the present state of Pakistan).

There have been numerous other instances where one family member was loyal to India and the other to Pakistan. Allama Iqbal`s family were Kashmiri Brahmins and were converted to Islam. Some of his cousins (name Sapru) were not converted and stayed back in India.

Liaquat Ali Khan`s wife was not a Muslim. Her grandfather a Hindu Brahmin (Pants)converted to Christianity. When Rennee Pant married Khan she had to become a Muslim and was loyal to Pakistan while her brothers and other family members stayed back in India.

Aziz Munshi, Mr. Chunrigar`s family (belonging to Hindu Gujarati high caste) is still in India.

Mohajir #474.

Can you give a little insight into the family life of Jinnah.

Because his family might not have an affiliation with Jinnah.

If it is true, then what is the difference if Siraj speaks against Nawaz Sharif or Ghanwa Bhutto speaks against Benazir or granddaughter of Jinnah speaks against Jinnah.

Pakistan movement does not depend upon Wadia who fled to India, it depended upon the people who struggled alongwith Jinnah. Their opinion has more worth. Prophet`s own tribe and his relatives spoke against him, does it matter. It matters if people who struggled with him, spoke.