What Does it Mean to be a Baloch Suicide Bomber? December 31, 2011
Posted by Malik Siraj Akbar in Editorials.Tags: bomb blast, Darwish Baloch, resistance movement, suicide bombings
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Friday’s suicide bombing outside the residence of Mir Shafiq Mengal, the son of a former interim chief minister, which killed at least fifteen people and injured thirty others, leaves us with absolutely murky prospects of peace in Balochistan in the upcoming year 2012. While for the rest of the country it was a routine bomb blast, historians and experts on Balochistan must bookmark today’s newspaper pages for future references.
For the first time in its history, the secular nationalist outfit Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has carried out a ‘successful’ suicide bombing. Government authorities in Quetta refuse to agree that it was a suicide blast while one sees expression of tremendous jubilation on Twitter and Facebook pages of young supporters of the nationalist movement. Reactions by young Balochs are similar to what we witnessed in May 1998 when Pakistanis celebrated the successful detonation of nuclear weapons in Balochistan’s Chagi district. One feels that the elated Baloch activists are marking the day as if they have invented or acquired a new weapon to sustain and advance their separatist resistance movement against Pakistan.
On its part, the government and media outlets supportive of former’s policies have deliberately excluded the ‘suicide’ prefix of the bombing in their news dispatches. The government believes suicide bombings, once they start, do not stop easily and they further collapse the already existing poor security apparatus.Pakistani security forces have been remarkably demoralized in recent years while fruitlessly endeavoring to grapple with the phenomenon of countrywide suicide bombings carried out by Islamic fundamentalist groups.Therefore, confirming the occurrence of a suicide blast planned by nationalists for the police means to officially announce the inception of a new chapter of violence, chaos and lawlessness. The pro-government media has also tried to help the officials in their damage control efforts by not clearly confirming the involvement of Baloch nationalists in a case of suicide bombing.
So, what does it mean to be a Baloch suicide bomber and what does it entail for the future of the province? What is going to happen to the nationalist movement if Islamabad takes a few weeks to investigate the bombing and then comes up with staggering “revelations” that Baloch nationalists are “linked” with Islamic terrorist groups? Will that make it easier and more legitimate for Islamabad to bomb Baloch towns under the pretext of executing the war on terror? While these questions will surely be debated in the coming weeks, we still have to wait for more details from the BLA about its future operations and also from the government about its reaction and response mechanism against the rise of this new phenomenon.
A more important question which merits debate is whether suicide bombing is solely used by Islamic radical groups as a tool to spread terror and pressurize their opponents. A lot of people will respond affirmatively if they have deeply read the post-9/11 counter-terrorism literature. But this does not match the reality as secular nationalist movements in many parts of the world have historically used suicide bombings as a strong weapon against their opponents.
Robert Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who has closely observed every terrorist attack in the world from 1980 to early 2004, says more than half of all suicide attacks were carried out by secular groups and individuals.
“In fact, the world’s leader in suicide terrorism was the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, a Marxist group that is completely secular and that recruits from Hindus. More than a third of all suicide attacks by Muslims were also carried out by secular groups, such as the Kurdish PKK in Turkey and the Communist Party in Lebanon.”
Dr. Pape, who is also the author of the book on suicide bombings Dying to Win, further says, “what more than 95 per cent of all suicide terrorist attacks around the world have in common is not religion, but a specific political goal to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their homeland or prize greatly. From Lebanon to Sri Lanka to Chechnya to Kashmir to the West Bank, the central objective of every suicide terrorist campaign since 1980 has been to compel a democratic state with military forces on territory that the terrorists prize to take those forces out.”
BLA’s claim that Friday’s bombing was carried out by a member of its Majeed Brigade takes us back to the history of Baloch nationalist movement when a young Baloch with the same name had made a failed suicide attempt on former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. On August 2, 1974, the young boy from Mastung District [see the editorial picture], Abdul Majeed Baloch, lost his own life while trying to assassinate Mr. Bhutto with a hand grenade. He wanted to avenge the killing of thousands of Balochs in a military operation unleashed by Bhutto after dismissing the first ever elected government of the province. Since then, Majeed is been treated as a national hero and a martyr of the Baloch nationalist movement.
Suicide bombings rise in societies where the supporters of such operations believe injustices against them have reached the peak. When injustice and brutality replaces hope and conflict resolution, suicide bombings find their way as an alternative form of resistance. We knew that Balochs would one day run out of patience after becoming tired of receiving the bullet-riddled dead bodies of their loved ones. What else were we expecting in an unjust society where the country’s army, which is supposed to be the defender of the population, is directly blamed for ‘kill and dump’ operations and the Supreme Court does not show modicum of interest in providing justice to the Baloch?
As far as the BLA is concerned, it should also pause and think for a while before choosing for such a self-destructive option. Similar to its name, “suicide” bombing also leads to the political suicide of even some of the strongest political movements. Such bombings brutally and indiscriminately kill innocent people. They spread terror at public places and claim lives of women, children, elderly and all those unarmed civilians who have no remote connection with the government policies and actions.
Every progressive or conservative movement is offers some kind of ‘hope’ to its supporters. It is hope that even leads to the success of some flawed and conservative movements. Why did the Taliban succeed in coming to power in Afghanistan? Because they promised peace and ‘justice’ to their people. Although their regime was subsequently marked with unprecedented violations of human rights, they reflect one dimension of public aspirations and expectations when they decide to support a movement.
Many Balochs look at the BLA and other political stakeholders as forces which will one day bring them justice. A poor and hungry Baloch would continue to support the nationalist movement as long as it offers him/ her promising economic prospects and equality. But if the very people in the streets of Quetta and elsewhere in Balochistan become victims of Baloch operations, they will understandably unsubscribe their moral support. By the end of the day, they will become weary of nationalistic politics and get back to the government for assistance against the very people whom they once looked as a sign of hope.
Baloch nationalist organizations should learn lessons from the mistakes the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) made. With an annual revenue of $300 million, the LTTE was the world’s richest resistance force. It also enjoyed remarkable support from some neighboring and a few European nations. Yet, overconfidence and excessive violations of human rights led to the unpopularity of the movement and its eventual defeat.
After the May 2nd raid which killed Osama bin Laden, Balochs had an extraordinary opportunity to reach out for international support. Islamabad has annoyed many civilized countries of the world, including the United States, because of its not-so-covert support to Islamic terrorist groups. If the Baloch leadership and diaspora engages in peaceful advocacy and political dialogue with the world community, they can achieve remarkable success. On the contrary, suicide attacks can turn out to be so destructive that they will provide Islamabad a chance to divert the attention of international community from its own support to Islamic radical groups and misleadingly force the world to designate Baloch resistance groups as terrorist outfits. (Courtesy: The Baloch Hal)
War Against Baloch Doctors December 30, 2011
Posted by Malik Siraj Akbar in Malik Siraj Akbar.Tags: Baloch doctors, Baloch doctors forum, doctors without borders, Dr. Baqir Shah, dr. Mazar Baloch, dr. naseem baloch, Gwadar, Malik Siraj Akbar, pakistan medical association, war against baloch doctors
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In less than two months, at least three prominent Baloch doctors have been target killed, including two in the provincial capital. As expected, the murderers in all three cases are at large. Thursday’s killing of police surgeon Dr. Baqir Shah in Quetta, however, is a classic example of official negligence. Besides Dr. Shah himself and his family, everyone else knew his life was at risk. Having experienced torture in June this year in the hands of at least ten people attired in police uniform, the late physician had told the media as well as the judiciary that his life was under constant threat. Therefore, it was the responsibility of the government of Balochistan to provide security to a high-profile figure like Dr. Shah.
The late police surgeon was somewhat an easy target for terrorists for a host of reasons. His situation could enable any murderer to immediately vanish in thin air because of the circumstances that shrouded the late doctor. He gained enormous national and international media attention after conducting the postmortem of five foreigners who were killed on May 17 in what is now remembered as the infamous and tragic Kharotabad incident.
Dr. Shah impressed everyone with his absolute honesty and professionalism when he contested the unconvincing official description of what had actually happened in Kharotabad. He contradicted the version of the events as narrated by the Frontier Corps (FC) and the police.
Police in Quetta say it is premature to say whether or not Dr. Shah’s murder was a case of targeted killing. Such assertions are simply meant either to delay investigations or exempt the government from its accountability. What have the law enforcement agencies been doing in the past two months regarding the murder cases of two other Baloch doctors? It is not a coincident that all doctors being killed in Balochistan are Balochs. While we do recognize the government’s limitations given its poor and slow investigation apparatus but does it mean that the law enforcement authorities have utterly failed to make an inch of progress in chasing elements who killed Dr. Mazhar Baloch, the provincial president of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on October 15? Whether these killers linked to each other and share a common hit-list of Baloch doctors and professionals remains unknown but still guessable.
In another similar case two weeks ago, on December 16th to be precise, Dr. Naseem Baloch, the chief medical officer of Gwadar’s District Headquarters Hospital, was shot dead by unidentified persons.
These killings have triggered a wave of insecurity among Baloch doctors and also tremendously infuriated the already enraged Baloch population. Besides the common Baloch in the streets even professional doctors and seasoned politicians are holding the government and its certain shadowy wings responsible for this wave of fatal violence. Even some Baloch members of the the provincial cabinet have criticized their own government.
During a session of the Balochistan Assembly on December 17th, one could see the level of legislators’ powerlessness that they walked out the assembly session against the killing of Dr. Naseem Baloch.
“The provincial government allocates Rs11 billion for the maintenance of law and order, but still police and other law enforcing agencies have failed to give an output or a positive result,” said Asadullah Baloch, minister for agriculture who is also the secretary general of the Balochistan National Party (BNP-Awami), “The senior police officers must be held accountable for their failure to protect the life and property of the people”
The Pakistan Medical Association and Baloch Doctors’ Forum (BDF) have jointly announced three days of mourning and a strike in Quetta’s Bolan Medical College Complex and the Civil Hospital. Yet, the strike is likely to have a deeper impact in the Bloch-dominated districts where it may prolong for more than three days. The BDF has also highlighted the cases of two disappeared Baloch doctors, Dr. Din Mohammad Marri and Dr. Akbar Marri whose families hold the state intelligence agencies responsible for their disappearance.
Doctors in any society deserve profound respect for their commitment to serving the humanity. In a backward area like Balochistan, where the health indicators are extremely murky, very few young men and women manage to accomplish their medical education. They strive tirelessly for at least seven years to get a degree in medicine. The first thing most of the non-local medical students who study on reserved seats at the province’s lone medical college, Bolan, quit Balochistan as soon as they complete their eduction. Only some professionally committed doctors, who surely receive a number of better offers and opportunities to go to Europe and USA for a better personal and professional life, turn down these attractions and agree to serve in the conflict-stricken province of Balochistan.
Hence, it is total senselessness to subject doctors to enforced disappearance for several months and deny him the primary human right of free trial. International human rights groups and Doctors Without Borders should quickly take up the issue with the provincial and federal authorities to ensure the recovery of the missing Baloch doctors.
Doctors like Mr. Shah are role models for our society because they selflessly cure the ailing humanity and also firmly and professionally stand against all pressures intended to urge them to compromise on their professional integrity.
Chief Minister Raisani’s intervention and approval of an inquiry into the murder is a welcome decision although dozens of such investigation committees formed in the past have culminated into stark failure. Yet, we wonder what apologies to Balochistan from leaders like President Zardari or Imran Khan mean when elements responsible for Baloch genocide are not exposed and brought to justice. (Courtesy: The Baloch Hal)
Rehman Malik Is Not a Foreign Agent December 30, 2011
Posted by Malik Siraj Akbar in Editorials.Tags: Malik Siraj Akbar, Rehman Malik Is Not a Foreign Agent
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In scathing criticism directed at the federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik, a senior minister in the Balochistan government asked during a session of the Balochistan Assembly if the former was an agent of the foreign governments. Maulana Abdul Wasey, the senior minister from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, while commenting on Mr. Malik’s consistent hostile and offensive statements in flagrant support of the military operation and violation of human rights in Balochistan, said the minister’s attitude had generated speculations that he was not Pakistan’s minister but an agent of the United States, India or Israel tasked to alienate his own people.
A short and direct answer to the Maulana’s question, whether or not Mr. Malik is a foreign agent, is an emphatic no. Rehman Malik is a patriotic Pakistan whose commitment with the Pakistani army and links with its intelligence agencies are beyond any doubt.
Rehman Malik’s derogatory attitude to the Baloch people was also highlighted by former chief minister Sardar Attaullah Mengal during his recent meeting with ex-prime minister Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif in Karachi. The veteran Baloch leader pointed out how Malik added salt to the injuries of the victims of the conflict. In another interview with Dawn News, the elderly Baloch leader said negotiations between Balochistan and the federal government were out of question in the midst of confrontational and humiliating remarks by the interior minister in response to the Baloch demands.
Rehman Malik continuously discredits the Baloch nationalist movement by blaming India, Afghanistan and ‘other foreign forces’ for fomenting tensions in the province. He also categorically denies the involvement of the country’s intelligence agencies in the enforced disappearance, torture and killing of the Baloch youths. The minister says Islamabad will continue its operations in Balochistan to establish the ‘writ of the government’ until armed Baloch nationalists totally abandon their struggle.
The minister, on his part, has totally failed, despite repeated requests by the media, to produce any evidence of foreign assistance to the Baloch nationalist movement. He even does not know the accurate number of the people who have disappeared from Balochistan since 2004 because he still insists that no one is missing. According to his version, the government has safely resurfaced all the missing persons. So, there is no issue of disappeared people at all, he says.
Calling Mr. Malik a foreign agent is in fact absolute insult to all foreign “agents” of positive change. We remember how the Inspector General of the Frontier Corps (FC) Major General Ubaidullah Khan, had once termed the Human Rights Watch an agent of foreign governments. The non-local-non-Baloch FC chief had actually reacted to a strong-worded report of the global human rights watchdog which held the FC responsible for many violations of human rights in the province.
Hence, ‘foreign agents’ are in fact the only remaining friends of Baloch and Rehman Malik does not surely qualify to hold this humane title. Today, the people of Balochistan look at foreign organizations, such as the Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, the Guardian and BBC (Urdu Service), New York Times Washington Post and the Committee to Protect Journalists as their ultimate sources of hope to attract the international community toward the injustices being committed to the people of Balochistan.
Rehman Malik simply can’t be a foreign agent because he is devoid of respect for humanity. As a matter of fact, the world outside Pakistan is largely a civilized and respectful one where citizens’ basic human rights are recognized and protected. The minister is no one in a country where the army runs a state within the state. If Mr. Malik has managed to simultaneously secure his life as well as the portfolio he holds then he should be considered as an extra-achiever. After all, his words and actions do not come from him. They are the words and deeds of the army which the poor minister is dependently compelled to deliver.
The actions of the Pakistan army inside Balochistan contradict with whatever ideology and core principles it believes in. If the custodians of the borders affirm allegiance to Islam, then there is no endorsement in 114 chapters of the Quran for killing and dumping innocent teenagers.
Besides losing the political ground in Balochistan, Islamabad has miserably lost a moral battle against secular Baloch. It is insignificant what answers General Musharraf, General Kayani or Rehman Malik will have twenty years down the line when orphaned Baloch children and widowed women will meet them. What should worry them are future confessions by their own grandchildren admitting how ashamed they are of their grandparents’ brutalities in Balochistan even in the 21st century. (Courtesy: The Baloch Hal)
Balochistan – a tough pitch for PTI? December 27, 2011
Posted by Malik Siraj Akbar in Op-Ed.Tags: Balochistan, Balochistan – a tough pitch for PTI?, Imran Khan, Malik Siraj Akbar, Malik Siraj Akbar articles, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Balochistan, secessionist movement, the rise of Imran Khan
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By Malik Siraj Akbar
So, the “PTI revolution” is heading toward Balochistan. What is the pitch in Quetta going to look like on March 23? At this point, one hears mixed opinions. One thing is common in people’s responses: They represent two extremes. The pro-PTI section, backed by Imran’s recent apology to Balochistan during the Karachi rally, argues that someone as uncontroversial as Imran can at least mediate in, if not entirely resolve, the Balochistan puzzle. The pessimists frown, “Balochistan is just like medicine,” they warn, “Keep it away from children’s reach.”
Both opinions are valid but not absolutely uncontestable. We oftentimes tend to forget that Balochistan, besides its gradually subsiding secessionist movement, also has a considerable segment of permanent members of the establishment who have historically wasted no opportunity to become a part of the revolution-in-making.
The opportunist politicians’ club in Balochistan is divided into two groups. The first one abruptly smells political change and jumps on the victory truck much before others can even see it. This is primarily a self-proclaimed “pragmatic” group which joins the ‘future ruling party’ ahead of time so that it gets ample time in advance to develop necessary connections inside the party prior to the formation of the future government.
Classic examples of politicians belonging to the above mentioned segment are Retd. General Abdul Qadir Baloch, former Corps Commander and the governor of Balochistan and Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, a leading tribal chief and an ex-interior minister. Both of them joined the PML-Nawaz almost a year ago hoping that a little hard work and well done homework will land them on key positions in the future dispensation.
The second school of opportunist politicians comprises of enraged leaders who have either been ignored in their own parties or who grumble about not receiving sufficient ‘benefits’ from their incumbent parties. You may wonder why these leaders are not respected and patronised in their own parties. Very simple: They have switched so many political parties in the past that their faces are now barely familiar to the senior or junior cadre of their new/current parties.
Thus, the first group, which is shrewdly mindful of the significance of benefits an early bird receives, will suffice with joining the PTI if it gets live coverage on news channels and makes front page headlines. Former president of the Balochistan National Party (BNP-Awami) Moheem Khan, ex-Jamori Watan Party senators Khuda-e-Noor and (who had later on defected to the PML-N), Amanullah Kanrani, a former information secretary of the JWP and Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, a former PML-Q electoral candidate with little popularity among Quetta’s educated urban class, are some of the likely candidates who may join the PTI to resuscitate their political careers.
As far as the second section of leaders is concerned, it, besides the enraged leaders of ruling parties, also includes those who lead one-man shows locally known as political parties. Don’t get surprised if PTI floods Talal Bugti’s shabby Jamori Watan Party and Zarak Zheri’s PML- Zehri Group (Has anyone ever heard of it?). Senator Lashkari Raisani and Sadiq Umrani, the former and current chiefs of the PPP respectively, are both either discontented with their own parties or with the chief minister. Who knows if Imran is looking to get one of these two precious wickets!
Regarding the JWP, what is still undecided who, between the PTI and the PML-N, will make the first and solid move to influence Talal Bugti to either incorporate the JWP with one of these future ruling parties or at least form an ‘alliance plus’. Although the JWP is unlikely to win a sizeable number of seats in the provincial and the national assemblies, Talal Bugti isn’t as insignificant as his detractors smugly consider him. Let’s not forget, he resides in Quetta’s symbolic Bugti House where most government and opposition leaders go to pay respects to late Nawab Akbar Bugti, Talal’s father, or simply to express solidarity with the disenchanted Balochs.
Imran may not be able to fully win the hearts of the Marri, Mengal and (the pro-Brahamdagh section of) Bugti tribes who stand in the forefront of the Baloch nationalist movement at this juncture. It, nonetheless, does not minimize PTI’s chances of bringing on its side Balochistan’s Pashtun voters who are weary of America’s drone policies in spite of not being fond of the Talibanized version of Sharia which is staunchly championed by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI).
The PTI may upset the JUI if it uses “my name is Khan” card to woo the Pashtun voters. Thus, this move will possibly bring the PTI some Pashtun leaders from the PML-Q, such as Jaffar Khan Mandokhel and Raheela Hameed Durrani, without alerting the ANP (Awami National Party) and the PKmP (Pashtunkhwai Milli Awami Party).
In some Baloch districts, old loyalists of General Musharraf such as former ministers Zubaida Jalal, Shoaib Nosherwani, Balochistan Assembly’s current Speaker Aslam Bhootani and Rubina Irfan are all shaky wickets. Let’s wait and see what transpires after one hundred days of net practice ahead of the Quetta rally. Critics who consider Balochistan a tough pitch will probably have to watch another major upset from the visitors’ gallery. (Courtesy: Dawn.com)
“We Don’t Have Much Time Left” December 17, 2011
Posted by Malik Siraj Akbar in Interviews.Tags: Akbar S Ahmed, American University, Baloch tribal system, Jam Ghulam Qadir, Malik Siraj Akbar, Malik Siraj Akbar articles, Mir Ghaus Baksh Bizenjo, Mir Jaffar Khan Jamali, Nawab Akbar Bugti, Saleem Akbar Bugti
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By Malik Siraj Akbar
Mark Twain once said “travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.” Pakistan’s former high commissioner to United Kingdom and the current Ibn Khaldun Chair at the Washington DC-based American University, Professor Akbar S. Ahmed, truly fits in the category of people who believe in seeing and experiencing things to challenge the prejudices of the ignorant.
Described by the BBC as “world’s leading authority on contemporary Islam”, Dr Ahmed today travels across the globe to promote inter-faith dialogue and mutual understanding. As a civil servant, career diplomat and one of the world’s foremost anthropologists, he regularly discovers and interacts with many known and often unknown communities of the world.
Ahmed has not forgotten home, Pakistan, all these years. He worries for Pakistan but the separatist groundswell in Balochistan, where he served in 1980s consecutively as the commissioner of Quetta, Sibi and Mekran divisions, makes him anxious. As a civil officer, he had an opportunity to closely interact with and learn from some of the most prominent Baloch nationalist and tribal leaders such as Mir Jaffar Khan Jamali (father of Dr Ahmed’s batch-mate Sikandar Jamali and the uncle of the former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali), Nawab Akbar Bugti, former governor Mir Ghaus Baksh Bizenjo and ex-chief minister Jam Ghulam Qadir.
He attributes the current turmoil in Balochistan to policymakers’ lack of understanding of the local society and culture. The first rule of good governance, he says, is to know and respect the people of the area where a civil or military officer serves. Former president and army chief General Pervez Musharraf ignored this basic principle of governance while dealing with Balochistan which caused confrontation with Baloch tribes and eventually led to the killing of the powerful tribal chief Nawab Bugti.
“Bugti’s killing was a tragedy for Pakistan,” he tells Dawn.com, “it was humiliating how President Musharraf threatened to “hit him” like a common criminal. Bugti was a man who is a part of our history and you don’t treat a man of history like this.”
In mid 1980s, Dr Ahmed was posted in Balochistan. Soon after his appointment as the commissioner of Mekran Division, he was caught in the midst of an attempt by some non-local religious fanatics who wanted to harm the followers of minority Zikri community. In order to prevent a possible bloodbath, the young administrator boldly reached out to Baloch opposition leader Bizenjo for assistance. For Ahmed, contacts with Bizenjo, a left-wing opposition leader, amounted to alienating President General Zia-ul-Haq while meeting such a senior government official would garner criticism for Bizenjo from his comrades.
“He had a wonderful sense of humour,” Ahmed recalls. They had a one-to-one dinner at the commissioner’s house, which they later joked, would get both men in trouble.
“It was Bizenjo who helped me behind the scene to calm down the people of Mekran and enabled me to take swift measures to protect the Zikris.”
Bizenjo did not forget Ahmed’s good service and praised him openly during an anti-Zia political rally in Sibi where he told the local people how lucky they were to have a committed commissioner like Ahmed. As expected, intelligence officials approached Ahmed and asked why an anti-Zia nationalist leader had publicly praised him.
Ahmed hurriedly sent a message to the Baloch demagogue urging him not to be so generous in public praise.
Holding a Master’s degree from Cambridge University and a PhD from London University, Ahmed was impressed by what he recalls as the “charisma and wisdom” of Baloch tribal leaders as he newly arrived in Balochistan.
“These leaders had many critics but they were men of honour,” he said. “There was a rhythm of life in Balochistan at that time and the Baloch leaders were the jewels of that remarkable society,” he remembers.
He met Nawab Akbar Bugti as the Commissioner of Sibi Division of which Bugti’s stronghold Sui was still an administrative unit. The Nawab invited him for dinner at his traditional home.
“The Nawab had so much charisma and authority that even his son, Saleem, who was a minister himself did not eat with us and instead served dinner to me as their honoured guest,” he recalls. However, what inspired Ahmed about Bugti was his knowledge of history and different cultures. They spoke about politics, history, tribes and traditions late into the night.
“We talked about Ibn Khaldun and I asked myself which Pakistani politician would know about Ibn Khaldun and here was a Baloch tribal chief discussing Ibn Khaldun and his sophisticated theories on society with me in Balochistan’s tribal region.”
In Ahmed’s view, it is critical that the federal government should understand how to deal with the Baloch. As an officer in the area, he used to tell his junior officers that it did not matter if they had been educated at Oxford or Cambridge universities. What mattered was the respect they showed to the locals.
“I’d tell my officers that you have come to their (Baloch), we are privileged to serve them. Don’t take their material poverty as spiritual poverty.” However, he regrets that several officials mistreated the locals.
The veteran scholar, who is also the first Distinguished Chair of Middle East and Islamic Studies at the US Naval Academy, says that news of kidnappings, torture and murders by security forces in Balochistan shock him.
Contemplating the repercussion of mistreating different ethnic groups, Ahmed warns that a country like Pakistan, which experienced dismemberment in 1971 must pay attention to the demands of people living in the periphery.
“Right now we are in a state of civil war in Pakistan,” he says, “People in the periphery think they have been neglected, humiliated and culturally looked down upon by the Centre. This is absolutely the same thing we did with the Bengalis. Pakistan is in a very fragile condition. Both civil and military leadership must urgently show wisdom and vision to come out of this situation.”
Increasing tensions in Balochistan between civilians and the security forces is another area which Ambassador Ahmed thinks urgently needs policy review. He describes assaults by security forces and cases of torture as ‘sadism’ and ‘foolishness.’
Ahmed blames Musharraf’s “rash actions” for subverting the very foundations of an already shaky structure in Pakistan. The ordinary Pakistani soldier is frustrated and struggling to survive in that chaotic system.
He says Pakistan cannot survive without Balochistan.
“We can’t afford to make the Baloch feel like second class citizens. Their demands are valid and some of these demands have been overlooked for several. Islamabad should make urgent accommodation with the Baloch. You can’t fool around with them. One day you offer them talks and the next day you kill their leaders. They should be treated as equal partners in the federation.”
While talking about the distance between the Center and the largest province, he appeals to the powers that be “to stop the torture and the killing because we don’t have much time left.”
(Courtesy: Dawn.com)
Who Killed Faisal Mengal? December 15, 2011
Posted by Malik Siraj Akbar in Editorials.Tags: baloch people, Faisal Mengal, Faisal Mengal Baloch, government of sindh, Malik Siraj Akbar, Malik Siraj Akbar article on Faisal Mengal, sindhi brothers, sindhis, who killed Faisal Mengal
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Governor Balochistan Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi and Chief Minister Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani must exhibit leadership and protest with the government of Sindh over the killing of Faisal Mengal, a renowned Baloch writer and civil rights activist, in Karachi last week. It is the top most responsibility of our elected government to make sure that the people of this province remain safe and sound when they travel outside Balochistan to seek employment with a government or a non-governmental organization.
Baloch people also have every right to protest with their Sindhi brothers, particularly nationalist and progressive forces there, over the killing of an educated and liberal Baloch activist on their land. Sindhis and Balochs have had a long historic relationship of combined struggle to respect and guard mutual interests. Thus, the killing of a Baloch activist on Sindhi soil raises valid expectations and grievances toward the people of Sindh. What Sindhis can do at best is to pressurize their provincial government to trace and punish Faisal’s killing and refuse to allow their land for future attacks on Baloch people.
The slain Baloch social activist had a glorious career. He had worked with a number of non-profit organizations to assist people in remote areas of Balochistan. Once he improved his credentials and impressed bosses with his excellent performance, Mengal joined international organizations. He worked for the US Consulate in Karachi for around one year and then moved to Islamabad to work with Germany-based Hanns Seidel Foundation. He held the HSF position until his brutal killing.
Although educated Balochs have become a regular victim of targeted killing, Faisal’s shooting indicates some murkier signs. It is the first time that a Baloch writer and activist from Balochistan was chased and killed outside his home province. Faisal was in fact one of the most prominent Baloch writers and activists whose excellent field work had left valuable impressions across Balochistan. He was widely respected as a committed and sincere professional who reached out to hungry and poor people of Balochistan for assistance. He had extensively worked with the victims of the drought, floods in Turbat and earthquake in Ziarat. Mr. Mengal provided moral assistance and advocacy to the families of the disappeared Baloch activists. His newspaper articles created civic sense among his readers. Faisal’s all people-friendly activities appear to be the biggest source of attraction for his senseless murderers.
At this point, we have no evidence to suggest who killed Faisal Mengal but we are also sure that his killing is not a coincident. For more than one year now, the best of Baloch doctors, lawyers, journalists, students and professionals are being target killed. It is no longer a secret that the history of Bangladesh is being repeated in Balochistan where outfits similar to Al-Badar and Al-Shams are engaged in killing the best and most progressive Balochs to quell the Baloch reawakening against excesses of the federal government. Official silence on these systematic killings and lack of action against the murderers gives currency to government’s complicity in the anti-Baloch operations. Yet, we would prefer to avoid jumping into conclusions and once again propose an independent investigation into the killings of the Baloch youths.
Faisal’s killing shows how underground groups linked with the government and the intelligence agencies are forcefully dragging defenders of democracy into the conflict. At least, these forces have been blamed in the past for the killings and some also hold them responsible for masterminding Faisal’s shocking assassination. We have vociferously condemned the attacks on intellectuals and defenders of democracy. After the lapse of almost a week, the governments of Sindh and Balochistan have not given any indications that they would jointly work to debunk Faisal’s murderers.
Therefore, we want international human rights groups such as the Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch to be either taken on board in a future bi-government investigation commission or they should be allowed to independently investigate Mr. Mengal’s killing. In spite of hardships, the Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have done a remarkable job to track and highlight human rights violations in Balochistan. We hope they will uphold their engagement with the people of Balochistan in the future as well.
Balochistan’s civil society groups and media should also mount pressure on the Balochistan government to work with the Sindh government to probe Mengal’s killing because the people of Balochistan have almost given a totally free hand to their own elected government. When people do not call up their elected representatives and do not raise tough questions, they in fact provide the member of the parliament an opportunity to escape from their responsibilities. Such lack of communication breeds more corruption in whatever democratic system we have in place. Balochistan’s corrupt and inept government is not accountable to anyone. It is the time intellectuals and civil society activists in the province challenged the status quo and reached out to Chief Minister Raisani and asked who killed Faisal Mengal. (Courtesy: The Baloch Hal)
Guarding Minority Rights December 15, 2011
Posted by Malik Siraj Akbar in Editorials.Tags: deputy inspector general, hindu community, Hindus in Balochistan, Malik Siraj Akbar, minority rights in Balochistan, ravi kumar, religious minorities, satellite town, The Baloch Hal, western bypass
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The recent killing of a kidnapped twenty-four year old Hindu trader Ravi Kumar is extremely outrageous. Mr. Kumar had been abducted on October 22 in broad daylight from Quetta’s Satellite Town by armed men. His kidnappers sought an exorbitant amount from Kumar’s family in return of his release. While the kidnappers had initially asked for Rs. 20 million in return of Mr. Kumar’s release, they eventually reduced the amount to Rs. 10 million.
Even Kumar’s family found the lowered demand of Rs. 10 million beyond ‘justifiable limits’. As a result the captors killed Kumar after keeping him in their custody for around two months. His dead body was found near Western Bypass.
It is further depressing how the kidnapped trader became a victim of lack of coordination between his family and the police. While Dr. Mehar Chand, Kumar’s uncle who also serves as the minority secretary of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party’s Balochistan chapter, blames the deputy inspector general (DIG) for not showing ample interest in the case, the police, on its part, say they were asked by the victim’s family to stay away from the case so that they could resolve the kidnapping saga with the help of tribal notables.
One truly understands the insecurities of the families of those who are kidnapped for ransom. They avoid going to the police either because they doubt the efficiency of the police force or fear the backlash from the kidnapers. Hence, in most such cases, members of the minority groups contact local tribal notables and influential political figures begging them to play their role to secure the release of a kidnapped person. Sometimes, intervention by influential people pays off but such approaches also subvert the significance of the law enforcement institutions.
We are deeply alarmed over the increasing violence directed at Balochistan’s Hindu community. Hindus, just like rest of the religious minorities, have played a proactive role in the development of Balochistan’s economy. Their involvement in local trade and business is highly commendable. They have lived as the true sons of the soil and asserted their loyalty to this land by offering all their services for the progress and welfare of Balochistan. In recent times, the Hindu community has also stepped outside the stereotypes of business-related occupations and established a hallmark of excellent performance in medical and law professions.
The reason why the Hindu community in Balochistan flourished steadily is largely because of Balcohistan’s secular culture. The Baloch majority population does not discriminate Hindus based on their religion. Most Hindus in Balochistan live in Baloch dominated districts of Mastung, Kalat, Noshki, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Sibi, Jaffarabad and Naseerabad where they are treated with respect and equality.
The fresh attacks on the Hindus are masterminded by criminal elements who do not subscribe to any political or religious group. They are simply criminals who deserve no sympathy or immunity from the law. The government of Balochistan should take solid measures to bust these gangs which are responsible for troubling the Hindu community and other residents in the province. It is the government’s responsibility to protect religious minorities and do whatever it takes to offer them a complete safe atmosphere. Every religious minority in Balochistan should be assured equal rights and opportunities.
If Kumar’s killing was intended to force the Hindu community to confine its activities and force them to live in ghettos then it is going to be a setback for our society because we can’t afford to move forward in any sphere of life without the full participation of our religious minorities in daily life. We sincerely hope that the Balochistan government will act swiftly before the criminal read Kumar’s killing as a symbol of Hindu community’s weakness and vulnerability. (Courtesy: The Baloch Hal)
Obituary: F For Faisal December 11, 2011
Posted by Malik Siraj Akbar in Blog Post, Malik Siraj Akbar.Tags: Faisal Baloch, Faisal Mengal, Faisl Mengal killed, Malik Siraj Akbar
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By Malik Siraj Akbar
Faisal always called himself Faisal Baloch. People called him Faisal Mengal. We will value the personal wish of the departed soul and address him with the name of his choice. There were three impressions Faisal always left behind for people who met him for the first time. He was extremely handsome. He was very well dressed. And, he was well-read. Anyone who met him would surely acknowledge these three of his qualities.
Faisal had a reasonable sense of humor. His language was punctuated with sarcasm. The irony is he was killed in Karachi on the international human rights day. A perfectionist like Faisal would surely say ‘shabash’ [well done] to his murderers over the selection of an appropriate day to kill an iconic Baloch intellectual and social worker.
I have had almost a decade of intimate friendship with Faisal. On a normal work day, I would surely not make this obituary public without firstly sharing the draft with him. Not necessarily that this article is about him so I think he needed to take a look at it. But because I had developed a habit of mailing him the first drafts of my research proposals, manuscripts, articles and interviews. If there was one person on the green earth who could make me wait for several days and weeks to get his opinion on a piece of writing then it was Faisal. His opinion and feedback on important issues mattered. He was insightful and capable of understanding Balochistan’s society and politics like the back of his hand.
In 2002-03 when I was a college student in my native Panjgur, I started my email communication with Faisal, who lived in Quetta. For him, Quetta was always and only Shal, the original name of the city. He never called the provincial capital as Quetta. Faisal used to write a regular weekly column in Daily Asaap which was called Tasht-e-Azbam while my column used to appear with the title of ‘Hirath Kada”. Faisal wrote back and encouraged me to stick to writing.
Faisal was a very progressive and liberal writer. He was very well read. In his arguments, he was concise as well as cogent. He was soft-spoken. He had completed his M.Phil from the University of Balochistan and was planning to do a PhD when we met and spoke for the last time.
I learned about Faisal’s influence after I moved to Quetta in 2005. He had a remarkable influence on young Balochs who used to come to Quetta to attend university. Faisal had started from a humble background of Noshki but had gotten his work recognized in different fields of life by constant personal struggle. He worked in Quetta for a non-profit organization called Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) but his circle of friends did not remain restricted to people of development sector. Two other areas which earned him a vast network of friends were his scholarly writings and his deep interest in politics. I envied him for his rich network of friends. He knew people in every government institution, NGO and political party.
My first face-to-face meeting with Faisal took place at Quetta’s MPAs’ Hostel in 2006 through a Karachi-based mutual researcher friend who had come to work on a paper on Balochistan. For many researchers and writers, Faisal was kind of a go-to person whenever they wanted to research Balochistan.
As I said earlier, he masterly knew the people and the places of Balochistan. He was such a wonderful organizer of events and meetings that it would take him only a few minutes to ring politicians, writers, scholars, activists from different parts of the city and get them together on one table.
My interactions and discussions with Faisal increased when both of us lived in Quetta. He regularly visited my Daily Times bureau office at the Universal Complex or I would visit him at S.P.O. He often used to tell me it was easier for him to come to me so I did not have to travel an extra mile to visit his office.
Faisal was a big supporter of Baloch unity. He wanted all Baloch political parties to unite to protect people’s rights. I never asked and he never told me what his political views were. But I sensed that he had an earlier liking for the policies of the National Party. With the changing of the political situation in Balochistan, he became weary of NP’s politics.
“You know what,” he once said, “I sometimes see National Party as an NGO.”
I laughed and asked why he thought so. He said National Party was not consistent in its policies. Just like NGOs which work on project-by-project basis, the National Party, he said, became active during the senate election seasons and then disappeared. He had profound respect for one man whom he called the pir mard [the old man]. The old man he referred to was Nawab Khair Baksh Marri, the elderly Baloch nationalist leader who supports the idea of an independent Balochistan.
When I interviewed Nawab Marri at his Karachi residence, Faisal rang and suggested that I should immediately arrange the Urdu translation of the interview. I excused owing to great workload. He asked, “do you have five minutes if I visit your office?”
“Sure,” I said. At lunch time, he came to my office and discussed the significance of translating the interview for Urdu for Daily Tawar. He suggested me to talk to Khadim Lehri, the newspaper’s editor. I got back to the primary question, “But who will translate the interview?”
“Don’t worry,” he said, “I will take care of it.” I printed him out Nawab Marri’s full interview. And Faisal while tightly holding the manuscript of the interview, left.
The next morning, he sent me a text message asking to check my inbox. I was surprised that the entire long interview had been translated in Urdu and mailed back to me. It was skillfully by a friend from Turbat, who worked at SPO, on Faisal’s insistence. Unfortunately, this friend remained annoyed forever because we forgot to give him credit for the translation.
Faisal, on the other hand, was one such Baloch who never asked for credit for what he did for his people. He was instrumental in finding jobs and scholarships for many young poor Balochs. Yet, he preferred to remain out of spotlight. He was a practical man. It is this reason why I will not be surprised if many young Balochs do not know who Faisal Baloch was.
I always try to tell the young Balochs that Balochistan and the Baloch movement is not run by ten usual names we read in the newspapers everyday. There are hundreds of silent soldiers like Faisal who spend sleepless nights thinking how to provide a water supply to a remote town in Balochistan or how to find a scholarship to a talented young student from Balochistan’s unknown corners. These are the real heroes and minds behind the Baloch survival. Not many people know about people like Faisal who do not flaunt over their contributions but this is why we should know these people and remember them with respect.
Faisal and I spent one lengthy evening at the residence of former senator Sanaullah Baloch of the Baloch National Party where he pleaded the Baloch senator to bring Sardar Attaullah Mengal and Nawab Marri closer to each other. He insisted that young Balochs should not repeat the mistakes committed by their elders in the past which meant Balochs should work on national unity, mutual respect and cooperation.
When Faisal informed me about his new job at the US Consulate in Karachi, I jokingly congratulated him over becoming a C.I.A agent. After he left for Karachi, our physical communications reduced and we used Internet and phone as the best way to stay in touch.
Before he left for Karachi, Faisal called me at S.P.O to deliver a talk about political communication to the participants of a three-day long workshop. Faisal moderated the session. At the end of the workshop, he drove me home. On our way, I asked Faisal about the status of his book on Balochistan. He was planning, after succumbing to strong pressure from friends, to compile all his published articles and researchers. He said the book was in the final shape. After that, I impatiently used to mention the book every time we communicated the phone or via email.
Faisal was the first among my friends who rang me on the same day when I lost my job at the Daily Times. By that time, he had started his job at the US consulate.
“Stop beating about the bush,” he told me, “just tell me clearly what I can do for you” He offered to put me in touch with some of his contacts for some immediate jobs for me. I thanked him over his kind offer and care but gave him the good news about my selection for an American fellowship which would start in the summer of 2010.
“Excellent,” he exclaimed, “maan zanth tho na hech nabaey” [I knew you will not be devoid of everything].
A few months before Faisal’s tragic killing, I had met his last boss Martin Axmann, the Pakistan head of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, in Berlin, Germany, during a conference. Martin said he was interested to have Faisal work for his foundation. Interestingly, Faisal is the one who firstly introduced me with Martin during the latter’s visit to Quetta although I had read his excellent book on Baloch nationalism, Back to Future, much earlier.
Faisal quit as his job at the US Consulate in Karachi and joined Martin’s HSF.
Faisal played his role for the development of Balochistan through his writings and social work. He was an extraordinary traveler. He had traveled to every part of the province. Whenever I met him, he was either coming back or going to a ‘field trip’. He made valuable contributions to Balochistan for which he will be missed in the times to come.
The assassination of a Baloch intellectual, social worker in Sindh gives us a very alarming reminder about the seriousness of the threat educated Balochs face inside Pakistan. Those who have already fled Balochistan to ‘relatively safer places’, are now chased by a violent death elsewhere in the country.
Rest in peace Waja!
Balochistan – a human rights free zone December 10, 2011
Posted by Malik Siraj Akbar in Malik Siraj Akbar.Tags: Balochistan – a human rights free zone, International Human Rights day, Kill and dump operations in Balochistan, Malik Siraj Akbar, Mustafa Qadri Amnesty International
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By Malik Siraj Akbar
Every year on this momentous day, 60-year old retired bank employee Abdul Qadeer Baloch organises special events in Balochistan capital, Quetta, to mark the international human rights day. He has organised, for instance, hunger strike camps and convened press conferences to raise the voices of the families of the disappeared Baloch political activists, students and professionals.
Qadeer had remained absolutely aloof to such hardcore activism until February 13, 2009, when officials attired in plainclothes whisked away his son Jalil Ahmed Reki, 35, from Quetta. The disappearance of a breadwinning son turned Qadeer’s life upside down. He eventually joined the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), an organisation representing the families of missing persons, to campaign for the release of his disappeared son.
Jalil Reki, Qadir’s missing son, had regularly operated as the central spokesman for the Baloch Republican Party, a nationalist political group seeking self-rule for the resource-rich Balochistan province. He was articulate, charismatic and well-connected with the local media. Qadeer made every attempt possible to seek the release of his missing child but completely failed to bring him back from the custody of the captors. After his involvement in similar missing persons’ cases, Qadeer realised his was not the only family which had a loved one listed as ‘missing’.
“Every missing person is my son,” Qadeer assured as he was recently promoted as the vice president of the VBMP. With more organisational responsibility came more pressure. In October, two secret agents reached out to Qadeer in Quetta warning him to immediately and unconditionally end the demand for the release of the disappeared activists.
“They warned if I wanted my son alive then I should end the hunger strike camp,” Qadir shared his insecurity with the media soon after being warned in person and also on telephone.
Qadeer would have routinely snubbed this warning if he had been contacted two years ago. In the past one year, the situation in Balochistan has dramatically changed. The bullet-riddled dead bodies of at least 220 missing persons have been found from different parts of the province in the past eight months.
Thus, Qadeer and his friends were totally cognizant of what he bills as the “nasty capabilities” of the captors of their loved ones. He took the threats seriously but it was no longer practically possible to abandon an organisation which funnelled hope to the relatives of hundreds of other missing persons.
“Quitting wasn’t simply an option” said Qadeer. Those who had warned him stood by their words. On November 24, the tortured and bullet-infested dead body of Qadeer’s disappeared son was found in Turbat district.
This year brings a totally different international human rights day for Qadeer. He says his young son’s killing has not undermined his resolve but given him a reason to stand beside those who still await the return of their loved ones.
‘Moral Crisis’
There is increasing international concern about human rights violations in Balochistan. Official denial of access to international media, human rights groups and researchers and increased role of agencies further make it difficult to independently analyse the crisis in Balochistan.
On November 16, the deputy spokesman of the US Department of State, Mark Toner, expressed concern over the situation in Balochistan.
Amnesty International’s Pakistan researcher Mustafa Qadri terms Balochistan as one of Pakistan’s “greatest moral crises”. The province, he says, has fast become a “human rights-free zone” with security forces and armed groups acting with total impunity.
Qadri, whose London-based global human rights watchdog has actively sought an end to killings and disappearances in Balochistan, says there are no excuses for the government to continue “such policies” in Balochistan.
“The failure of the state to protect its citizens’ right to life has left all of Balochistan’s diverse communities living in constant fear of abductions, torture, and targeted killings. The state continues to suppress the Baloch community’s right to freedom of expression whether with respect to nationalist politics or calls for justice for victims of enforced disappearance,” he claims.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has decided to dedicate this year’s international human rights day to the people of Balochistan in order to urge Islamabad to “make vigorous efforts to ensure respect for the rights of the people in the long suffering province.”
Zohra Yusuf, HRCP’s chairperson, says at least 107 new cases of enforced disappearance have been reported in Balochistan in 2011, and the ‘missing persons’ are increasingly turning up dead.
“Bodies of at least 225 ‘missing persons’ have been recovered from various parts of the province since July 2010,” she reveals, “It is scandalous that not a single person has been held accountable for these disappearances and killings.”
Alarming Trends
With numerous existing indicators, there are valid reasons to paint a murky future scenario for Balochistan vis-à-vis the state of human rights.
Firstly, defenders of democracy, champions of human rights and the advocates of press freedom are all being forcefully dragged into the ongoing conflict. At least two HRCP coordinators, eight journalists and one campaigner for the IDP (internally displaced persons) rights have been tortured and killed in less than a year.
In addition, the so-called ‘kill and dump operations’ provide a glimpse into the prevalent and sophisticated network of illegal torture cells maintained inside Balochistan. For example, when activists, such as Qadeer’s son, disappear from Quetta and are found dead 856 kilometres away in Kech district, it gives a clear idea about the extraordinary operational and logistical capabilities of people involved in such regular and untraceable operations.
Meanwhile, an underground armed group calling itself as the Baloch Musla Defai Tanzeem (Baloch Armed Defence Organisation) recently issued a hit-list of four journalists in Khuzdar district warning to kill them all if they reported the activities of Baloch nationalists. At least two former presidents and two members, of the same district press club have been murdered in recent past, highlighting the threats faced by journalists working in Khuzdar.
Amidst the crises, the governments at the centre and the province do not currently have an engagement policy in Balochistan to give an idea where it stands on the issue of disappearances, killings and warnings to defenders of human rights. It demonstrates absolute official indifference toward the issue while the attacks on defenders of democracy and human rights are taking place with flagrant impunity showing a total absence of an accountability-driven system.
The number of unknown, shadowy armed groups is increasing day by day. Emboldened over lack of official action against them, these groups have become less reclusive, more assertive and more selective while singing out their targets.
Turning a blind eye, the provincial and central governments and the executive and the judicial branches of the government continue to throw the issue of human rights into each other’s court. Additionally, the government has not either completed or initiated investigations into killings for which it has been blamed, such as the murder of Professor Saba Dashtiyari of the University of Balochistan, to assure its commitment to independently probe blatant attacks on educators and free-thinkers.
The government has also not fulfilled the promise it made unveiling the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-Balochistan Package that all missing Baloch persons would be released.
Decades of unabated attacks on dissenters have eroded Balochistan’s political landscape to such an extent that violence has knocked out an ambiance of political dialogue. (Courtesy: Dawn.com)
2011: Pakistan’s Year of Infamy December 10, 2011
Posted by Malik Siraj Akbar in Foreign Policy.1 comment so far
By Malik Siraj Akbar
Many Pakistanis will remember 2011 as the year of infamy. Those who supported Islamic terrorist groups, including elements in the military, the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound that killed him on May 2nd, was an embarrassing exposure of Islamabad’s double-game. Those who passionately insisted upon more time, rather employing diplomatic pressure, on Pakistan to “do more” were caught in the middle of tough questions in capital cities across the globe.
Bin Laden Raid
The world was appalled, if not totally flabbergasted, to learn on May 2nd that Osama bin Laden, the most wanted terrorist in the world and the founder of Al-Qaeda, had been hosted either officially or unofficially by Pakistan, a supposed front-line state in the war on terrorism. Bin Laden, the architect of 9/11 attacks which killed around 3000 people, had been hiding in the same town which houses Pakistan’s version of West Point known as the Pakistan Military Academy.
Unembarrassed over providing shelter to the Al-Qaeda chief, Pakistan protested against America’s unilateral strike which killed bin Laden. For Pakistanis, it was a breach of their sovereignty and territorial integrity. For Americans, it was a brazen breach of trust and norms of strategic partnership. Bin Laden’s killing put forward more difficult questions: Was the Pakistani military complicit in sheltering the Saudi-born militant leader or was it incompetent to trace him remains a blend of mystery and open secret.
ISI-Lobbyist
The Pakistani thought that the Americans had made up their minds to further humiliate the ISI when the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) arrested Ghulam Nabi Fai, a Washington-based lobbyist accused of illegally working for the ISI. Fai, the FBI said, had received approximately $500, 000 to 700,000 annually from the ISI without registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) to, what political experts believed, promote Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir against its next door enemy India. Pakistan’s embassy in Washington said it had ‘no knowledge’ of the case involving Fai.
Raymond Davis
The Abbottabad raid escalated tensions between the United States and Pakistan following the earlier arrest of a CIA contractor, Raymond Davis, on charges of killing two personnel of Pakistan’s spy agency, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, in the historic city of Lahore on January 27, 2011. Although Davis was eventually released after paying compensation worth $2.3 million, shooting at the ISI personnel, who had been chasing Davis’ car, triggered massive waves of anti-American sentiments among the Pakistani public as well as the army.
Haqqani Network
On September 22, Washington officially blamed Pakistan’s ISI for supporting Taliban’s Haqqani Network which was responsible for an attack on the US embassy and NATO headquarters in Afghan capital, Kabul, on September 13. Admiral Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, termed the Network, a “veritable arm” of the ISI as he testified before Senate’s Armed Services Committee. Pakistan’s former President General Pervez Musharraf billed Mulle’s remarks “diverged from reality’ while his successor General Ashfaq Kayani begged that “singling out Pakistan was “neither fair nor productive.”
An extraordinary meeting of Pakistan’s army commanders was immediately convened which expressed concern over the ‘negative statements emanating from (the) US.” While senior generals did not promise to take action against the Haqqani Network, the newly inducted charismatic yet hawkish foreign minister, Hina Rabani Khar, said she was ‘quite sure’ that the CIA also had links with “many terrorist organizations around the world…this particular Network [the Haqqani] …was the blue-eyed boy of the CIA for many years.”
Drone Strikes
In 2011, Pakistanis almost ran out of patience with America’s continued drone strikes in the Waziristan tribal region. Although this year, according to the New America Foundation (NAF), witnessed fewer (70) drone strikes against 2010 (70), Pakistanis vociferously vented their disapproval inside the national parliament, official meetings, street protests and newspaper columns. The NAF research database shows 283 drone strikes have killed “approximately between 1,717, and 2,680 individuals, of whom around 1,424 to, 2,209 described as militant in reliable press accounts.”
“Despite the drone program’s shortcomings, it is likely to continue — put simply,” wrote Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann in their August 2011 Foreign Affairs article, “Washington has no better military options for combating the anti-Western militants who have made their home in Pakistan’s tribal areas. Pakistan’s army has proved itself unwilling or unable to clear out the Taliban and other insurgent groups from North Waziristan, where around 90 percent of last year’s drone strikes took place.”
NATO Attack/ Bonn Conference
NATO helicopters killed 25 Pakistani soldiers on November 25th by attacking a military check post in Mohmand Agency bordering Afghanistan. In reaction, the Pakistan army warned of “serious repercussions” of the “latest attack by Nato forces on our post.”
Both, NATO and Pakistan, accuse each other of initiating fire first.
Consequently, Pakistan blocked supplies to NATO troops stationed in Pakistan as a reaction and issued an ultimatum to the United States to vacate Shamsi Airbase in southwestern Balochistan which has been used for unmanned drones to attack Taliban insurgents in Pakistan’s tribal region.
In a clear move of no-cooperation with and hysterical fury, Islamabad also boycotted next week’s Bonn Conference II.
In an article in the Atlantic, Joshua Foust, a fellow at the American Security Project, described Pakistan’s boycott as “more or less a death-blow to the conference.”
“Without Taliban participation, the conference’s utility was going to be severely limited. But missing the Taliban’s primary sponsor and support, in addition to the Taliban, and possibly the only other regional player with sufficient clout to alter Afghan politics… there is little hope for Bonn II to be anything other than an expensive piece of theater that will do little to advance or save the country.”
Memogate
In 2011, Pakistan’s military staged an indirect but extraordinary comeback in the country’s politics. The army has not only directly and publicly dealt with key foreign affairs but it has also put in jeopardy and uncertainty the very survival of the civilian government headed by the Pakistan People’s Party’s of the assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
In what the Pakistanis phrase as the Memogate Scandal (inspired by America’s Watergate Scandal), the country’s overly pro-US and staunchly anti-military Ambassador stationed in Washington DC, Husain Haqqani, was forced to resign. Haqqani, a former Boston University associate professor, was accused by a hitherto unknown Pakistani-American businessman, Mansoor Ijaz, of dispatching a memo to Admiral Mike Mullen asking for assistance to prevent the Pakistani army and the ISI from toppling the democratic government.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court has now asked President Asif Ali Zardari, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to submit their evidence over the memogate scandle. Former Ambassador Haqqani has been replaced in Washington with a pro-military journalist-turned-former minister, Sherry Rehman. Trendy Haqqani, who communicates with the media via Twitter, has been warned by the court not to leave Pakistan until the memogate probe is complete.
Floods 2011
Pakistan’s floods in 2011 remained largely unnoticed for two reasons.
First, the nuclear-armed Muslim nation made front page headlines several times in 2011 but this attention was mainly for political reasons, terrorism and the country’s worsening ties with Washington.
Secondly, many individuals, media outlets and even foreign governments confused this year’s disaster the floods of summer 2010 which killed 1600 people, besides affecting 20 million people.
In 2011, Pakistan experienced further devastation in 2011 because of massive floods.
According to a September 2011 UN report Pakistan; Rapid Response Plan, this year’s floods have affected 5,4441,869 people; damaged 665,821 houses and destroyed an area of 1,595,052 acres of crops in Sindh province while damages in the largest province of Balochistan could not be estimated yet.
Millions of Pakistani flood victims of two back-to-back floods still await assistance. International donor agencies and individual philanthropist barely trust Pakistan’s unquestionably corrupt, inefficient and untrustworthy government. While the United Nations has requested $356.7 million assistance for Pakistan’s flood affected people, the uphill task will take many years or perhaps decades to compensate the damage the floods caused.
MFN Status for India
If there was one good news story from Pakistan on the foreign policy front then it came in November when Islamabad decided to grant India the Most Favored Nation (MFN) status. As original members of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (now known as the World Trade Organization) both the countries should have granted this status to each other as early as 1948. India gave Pakistan the MNF status in 1996, which took Islamabad 15 years to reciprocate.
Hence, the two neighboring countries intend to enhance their existing trade, which is between $2 and $3 billion to $ 14 billion in 2014.
Terrorism
Pakistan failed to protect its civilians from homegrown religious terrorism as the country recorded the highest number of civilian causalities (2463) since 2003. The country seemed to be losing its battle against insurgents. In 2011, according to South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), the second highest number of soldiers and army men were killed by terrorists. Furthermore, Pakistan scored its worst marks in three years in terms of killing terrorists. This year, Pakistan killed only 2527 terrorists/insurgents as compared to killing 7435 in 2010, 11704 in 2009 and 6715 in 2008.
The heartening news for the people of Pakistan, the real victims of terrorism, is the steady decline in suicide bombings. Fewer people (606) were killed in fewer (39) suicide bombings in 2011 as compared to 49,76 and 57 for the years 2010,20109 and 2008 respectively which killed 1167, 949 and 893 respectively.
Press Freedom
Pakistan remained the world’s deadliest country for the second consecutive year for journalists. In spite of a statistical difference between the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, which have documented the killing of 7 and 9 reporters respectively, PBS Newshours says Pakistan accounts for the highest number of slain reporters.
According to the CPJ, Pakistan has remained in the list of top five most unsafe countries for journalists since 2005 where reporting was confirmed as the motive of killing of 39 journalists since 1998. The CJP, however, does not document many stringers and reporters working in rural Pakistan who often get killed because of their professional activities. For example, the CPJ database does not include a prominent journalist from Balochistan, Munir Ahmed Shakir, who was gunned down this year.
Pakistani cable operators, supposedly with the guidance of the military, banned the service of BBC World Service in November and continued blocking the Baloch Hal, the first online newspaper of the conflict-stricken Balochistan province. Authorities in Karachi detained and eventually deported Italian journalist Francesca Marino after discovering that her name was blacklisted among the “unwelcome journalists.”
Balochistan
On November 16, the deputy spokesman of the US Department of State, Mark Toner, expressed concerns over the situation in Pakistan’s gas and oil-rich province of Balochistan. For the past eight years, Islamabad has brutally crushed the secular Baloch nationalist movement for calls for self-determination.
Relatives of the missing Baloch persons claim Pakistan has subjected around four thousand political activists to enforced disappearance among whom the bullet-riddled dead bodies of at least 150 have been found.
In February, the Amnesty International described the phenomenon as ‘kill and dump operations’ and called upon the Pakistani government to “provide accountability for rising atrocities in Balochistan”.
“The victims’ relatives and Baloch groups blame the “kill and dump” incidents on Pakistani security forces, particularly the Frontier Corps and intelligence agencies. Many of the victims were abducted by uniformed Frontier Corps soldiers, often accompanying men in plain clothes, in front of multiple witnesses,” the global human rights watchdog said.
Rise of Imran Khan
Pakistan’s analysis of year 2011 will remain incomplete without discussing the emergence of a relatively unknown political leader (at least in the United States and Europe) who has decided to challenge the ruling Pakistan People’s Party and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League. Imran Khan, a former cricket skipper under whose leadership Pakistan won the world cup in 1992, was reported by the Pew Research Center as Pakistan’s most popular political figure with a favorable rating of 68% against Nawaz Sharif (63%) and President Zardari (11%).
Here is why the West, including the United States, must fear Mr. Khan.
Mr. Khan, who heads Pakistan’s Justice Movement, owes his dramatic political rise largely because of his anti-US provocative speeches which galvanize a remarkably huge young audience. Political experts in Pakistan say Mr. Khan enjoys absolute support from the ISI so that they pit him against President Zardari and opposition leader Sharif.
The ISI has had a long history of meddling into Pakistani politics and churning out radial politicians who mainly blame the United States for all troubles in their country.
Imran Khan is either loved or hated but today he has risen as someone who cannot easily be ignored. It is tragic for the Pakistani politics that only anti-US sentiments, not issues pertaining to bad governance and corruption, could lead to the rise of an alternative political force to challenge the status quo.
Most Unexpected Event
The killing of Osama bin Laden in the garrison town of Abbottabad plunged Pakistan in a state of shame and guilt. It even compelled the domestic supporters of the Pakistani army to seek an explanation. In the United States, it equally became difficult for the friends of Pakistan to defend latter’s commitment to the war on terror.
“[The US military] … are angry with the Pakistani military for playing both sides against the middle. They are aware that if you’re an American soldier and the Afghan Taliban who are shooting at you are actually the ones being supported and trained in Pakistan. So, there is real anger with the Pakistan army over this double game,” said Stephen P. Cohen, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Person (or group of people) of the Year
Three people departed from Pakistan in 2011 with food for thought about the future of the country.
Salmaan Taseer, a liberal politicians who governed the powerful province of Punjab, was shot 26 times with a submachine gun by his own security guard in the nation’s capital on January 4th. Malik Mumtaz Qadiri, Taseer’s twenty-six year old assassin, a religious zealot, defended his act in the name of Islam because the governor had called for reforming Pakistan’s controversial Blasphemy Law which is often misused against religious minorities.
Two months after Taseer’s murder, Pakistan’s sole minority minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Roman Catholic, was killed on March 2 in Islamabad. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for this killing the minority minister, citing ‘blasphemous remarks against the Prophet of Islam’, totally the same reason the Governor’s guard used to justify shooting his boss.
A leading investigative journalist, Syed Saleem Shahzad, 40, who exposed links with Al-Qaeda and elements inside the nation’s military, was kidnapped on May 29th, also from Islamabad, and found dead on June 3. The Obama administration and the Human Rights Watch both blame the ISI for killing the Asia Times journalist to muzzle criticism against the military and Islamists.
Forecast for 2012
As the military in Pakistan has almost regained control over the driving seat on policy matters, it is most likely to push the country into further isolation. Pakistan is back to 1990s where it will improve relations with Taliban and care less for the future of its relationship with the US. For good or bad reasons, some elements in the Pakistani army love Afghanistan more than the Afghans themselves.
Therefore, Pakistan will increase contacts and cooperation with Taliban and radical groups in order to upstage India in the future Afghan set-up.
The army seems to have forgiven President Zardari this time over the memogate, a similar ‘mistake’ in the future will, however, not be tolerated. The possibility of a military coup in Pakistan in 2011 is still an exaggerated fear but the ISI will continue to groom Imran Khan and lure more PPP and PML leaders, such as the former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, to join Mr. Khan’s pro-military party.
For Pakistan’s silent yet educated and moderate population, there are “direct and clear lessons” in the killing of the three men, whom we have featured as the persons of the year, to know learn the price of challenging the status quo.
In 2012, Pakistan is likely remain more diplomatically isolated, politically unstable, militarily defiant and intellectually restricted. (Courtesy: Foreignpolicy Blogs)
