balochistan nicca june 2010 final

8/4/2019 Balochistan Nicca June 2010 Final

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Monthly BalochistanNicca

Monthly

BalochistanNiccaTurbat

EditorJam Saka

Deputy EditorHabithan Umer0322-2232603

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Sangat Rafiq

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ReportsNoor shah NoorKamalan DashtiIrshad AkhtarHafeez Baloch

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Vol: 7 No: 11June 2010

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Contents

Editorial: Protests of the powerless

Oponions : Get the militant leadershipDaud Khattak

Pakistans growing water challenges

Hebitan Umer

Nuclear arms controlHaider Nizamani

Fallacies of nationalismJangiyaan Essa

Indias warmongering policy against China

Sajjad Shaukat

Our liberty is our best defenseWajahat Ali

Shameful honourSikander Amani

The ethics of violenceIshtiaq Ahmed

Youth and militancyDr Hasan-Askari Rizvi

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Editorial:

Protests of the powerless

An unsettling pattern is emerging and unless government officials start taking thewoes of the common man seriously, desperate situations may arise. The currentspate of protests being witnessed throughout the country from places such asFaisalabad, Jehlum, Bara Kahu, Mirpur and now Lahore, ought to have theauthorities scampering for solutions rather than their usual lotus-eaters apathy.

Fridays protests in Lahore against the worst power outages on record cameas an inevitable and natural reaction by consumers who have to pay exorbitant billsfor a service they do not have. Blocking main roads in Gulberg, Township and the

Walled City, traders, shopkeepers, industrialists, workers and helpless citizensdemonstrated mob-like anger against the governments inability to solve thisescalating crisis. Burning tyres, chanting hate slogans and cutting off traffic, the

protestors vowed to continue rallying until the disabling 18-hour load sheddingschedule is reduced. Although novel and amusing at first, the demonstratorsholding mock funeral prayers for government officials signals a morbid politicalstreet theatre that may yet be translated into reality. PEPCO recently advocatingtwo holidays in the working week has further angered people who have sufferedcolossal losses already because of disrupted trade and life in general.

It is bewildering to see government representatives such as the Minister for

Water and Power, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, failing to promptly introduce effectiveshort term measures like the RPPs and mid-term measures like the IPPs on a warfooting. Once such temporary solutions are enforced to meet the soaring supplyand demand gap, long-term answers such as the construction of hydel power plantsof small and medium size on all our waterways should be focused on. In the evenlonger term, the full potential of Thar coal and renewable energy must be utilised.Rampant abuse of public utilities such as electricity theft and most governmentfunctionaries being ensured an uninterrupted supply of power have increasedfrustrations to tipping point.

The government should not be dismissive of these public demonstrations of

anger. As can be seen with glaring regularity throughout the world now, it is thecitizens who, when fed up with swallowing bitter pill after pill, take things intotheir own hands.

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Oponions

Get the militant leadership

Daud Khattak

Latest and somewhat stunning

report carried by the British mediasays the dreaded

Waziristan-based Taliban leaderHakeemullah Mehsud is alive.The information is provided bythe customary unnamed sourcesin the intelligence apparatus ofPakistan. It was the sameunnamed intelligence sourcesquoted by all and sundry nearlymore than three moths agoconfirming the death of Hakeemullah Mehsud in apredator strike carried out by anunmanned US spy plane in mid-January. Before the surfacing ofreports about Hakeemullahsdeath, questions were raised from time totime, both by the public and in the media,about the whereabouts of another militantleader Fazlullah, the name behind theworst-ever violence and unrest unleashed inSwat over the past more than two years.

A

The report about Hakeemullahbeing alive appeared at a time when thegovernment and the security forces are pushing the displaced people from

Waziristan, presently living in camps orwith relatives and friends in Bannu, DIKhan, Tank or other cities, to return to theirareas and help the security forces in therestoration of peace. How can the cowedand crestfallen people of Waziristan, who

had tasted the bitter fruits of militancy ontheir land over the past few years, opt toreturn to their areas when the top man

responsible fortheir miseriesis still alive

and mayappear at anymoment to browbeat theinnocenttribesmen allover again?

Inwars, thedeath of aleader means

half the war iswon. But, interestingly enough, in the anti-terror war in this region, the leadership isintact despite the use of all air, ground andintelligence resources against the militantand terrorist outfits since late 2001.

Al Qaeda top leader Osama binLadin, believed to be the mastermind of the9/11 attacks and the main force behind theorganisations operatives, is yet to bedeclared dead. His second-in-command,

Ayman al-Zawahiri, is still alive andkicking. Leader of the Afghan Taliban andthe one-time Amirul Momineen MullahMuhammad Omar is still alive and issuesdirections to his fighters and supportersfrom undisclosed locations. Besides, he is

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also in touch with his shura members andtaking key decisions while some freshreports suggested that his Taliban hadestablished shadow governments in severalAfghan districts and provinces in thebackdrop of the US plan to start withdrawal

of troops from the country next year.Coming to the Taliban on the

Pakistan side, one can easily assume thatFazlullah ofSwat is aliveand warningthe locals ofhis return tothe valley.Almost allFazlullahs

key aides arealso unscathedwith at leastfour of themin government

custody now. Leader of the Taliban inBajaur, one time deputy leader of TTP,Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, is still alive,while the Taliban leader in MohmandAbdul Wali alias Omar Khalid is also there.In the same token, leaders like Mangal

Bagh in Bara and Tariq Afridi in DarraAdam Khel are also alive and kicking.

It is for this reason that the Talibanare gaining strength with each passingmonth despite the military operations whileonly common citizens are becoming thefuel of this anti-terror war being waged inthe tribal areas and parts of KhyberPakhtunkhwa. To avert the Taliban attacks,the security measures in place in cities, particularly in Islamabad and Peshawar,

appear as if the government had gone onthe defensive and the Taliban are on theoffensive, while in fact, the case should bethe opposite.

This can be judged from the recentvisit of President Asif Ali Zardari to

Peshawar, who inaugurated theconstruction of 21 schools destroyed by theTaliban in Swat with the help of models ofthe schools at the fortified GovernorsHouse. Still, the people of KhyberPakhtunkhwa are thankful to Zardari for his

visit as other leaders, like Nawaz Sharif ofPML-N and Shujaat Hussain of PML-Q,never ventured to step in there to showsympathy with the people being devastatedby terrorist attacks.

Besides, the governor and chiefminister of NWFP are restricted to theirofficial residences while the leadership ofthe ruling Awami National Party (ANP) hasnow shifted its centre to Islamabad fromPeshawar, fearing terrorist attacks.

However, the ANP has a reason for that: itspresident Asfandyar Wali Khan escaped asuicide attack at his house on October 2,2009; its provincial president AfrasiabKhattak also escaped a similar attackduring a political meeting (February 2008);senior minister Bashir Bilour has so farsurvived four attempts on his life; ANPsKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly memberAlamzeb Khan was killed in a bomb attackin Peshawar on February 11, 2009; another

ANP MPA Shamsher Ali Khan was killedin a suicide attack at his house in Swat onDecember 1, 2009; brother of NWFPMinister for Forests Wajid Ali Khan wasshot dead in Mingora the same year while abrother and two nephews of another ANPMPA Waqar Khan were brutally murderedinside their house in Swat before the launchof the final stage of the operation there.

All these incidents, along withmany others, happened despite claims of

successful action against the militants andthe victories against them. Judging from thepast few years, it seems the situation wouldremain unchanged unless the top militantleadership is dismantled and effectivelyremoved from the scene.

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Pakistans growing waterchallenges

Hebitan Umer

Despite 63 years of independence,nearly a third of our nations populationlacks access to clean drinking water. Mostof Karachi has water available, on average,

for a few hours a day. Someestimates suggest that Quettamay not have sufficient watersupplies within the nextdecade.

According to the Foodand Agriculture Organisation,Pakistans water availability places the country at thebottom of 26 Asian states. Atthe time of partition, Pakistan

had about 5,000 cubic metersper capita. Now it has less than1,500 cubic meters per capita,and this figure is expected todrop, as early as 2020, to lessthan 1,000 cubic meters percapita. No wonder, then, that the country isincreasingly being categorised as a highstress country with regard to wateravailability.

Pakistan has been endowed with

abundant water resources predominantlyoriginating from the Himalayan glacialmelt. However, ineffective planning,wastage and accompanying growth indemand combine to keep increasing ourwater scarcity. Moreover, within the next

50 years, experts believe there will be asignificant drop in glacial melt. Watersharing between India and Pakistan andwithin the country will thus become a much

more difficult proposition.Nonetheless, the major thrust of our

water policies has been to enhance storagethrough the construction of more dams andreservoirs. In the longer term, the strategyto create more storage capacity for water

remains inadequate for Pakistan. Yet, littleemphasis is being placed on the options ofwater conservation and effective andrational utilisation.

Over 90 percent of the availablewater in the country is consumed by

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agriculture. This disparity in usage is justified by the fact that Pakistan isoverwhelmingly an arid country with anagriculture-dependent economy thatemploys over 45 percent of the workforce.But it is indefensible how intensive

irrigation regimes and poor drainage practices have caused water logging andsoil salinity throughout the nationscountryside. Conversely, downstream Indushas shrunk to such an extent that it has begun to seriously affect preciousecosystems. Nonetheless, nearly 40 percentof the water used in irrigation is currentlywasted. It is time to harness our waterresources in such a way that the basic thrustof policies change from being large-scale

capital and technology-intensive andenvironmentally degrading, to, instead, being management-intensive, ecologically balanced and relying more on indigenoustechnology.

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On the other hand, water shortagesaffect the availability of drinking water andwater for sanitation in not only rural butalso urban areas, which is an issue that alsomerits much closer attention. Despite 63years of independence, nearly a third of our

nations population lacks access to cleandrinking water. In the next 15 years, it isfeared that drinking water shortages willbecome even more severe. As it is, most ofKarachi has water available, on average, fora few hours a day. Some estimates suggestthat Quetta may not have sufficient watersupplies within the next decade.

International experience indicatesthat the lack of attention to water, sanitationand hygiene issues are amongst the most

prominent sources of backwardness in thedeveloping world. Poor drinking waterquality, quantity, sanitation and hygienicconditions cause illness, loss of workinghours and treatment expenses reducealready meagre household incomes. Evenfood absorption cannot take place in theabsence of clean drinking water. In the caseof Pakistan alone, it is estimated that waterand sanitation-related diseases cost thenational economy over Rs 100 billion a

year. The burden of responsibility ofcollecting water from distances usually fallson women and young children, who areaway from home for hours at a time, andthis gives rise to several other problemsincluding illiteracy and dropping out ofschool.

Under the Musharraf government,the Clean Drinking Water for All initiativewas launched in 2004 and Rs 15 billionwere meant to be allocated for the

establishment of thousands of waterfiltration plants across the country. Afternumerous delays in implementation, due to bidding and contractual difficulties, thisinitiative was put on the backburner withthe ouster of the previous government.

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Conversely, with theexception of some NGOs working

in rural Sindh, for instance,

serious efforts have not been

made to advocate the use of point

of use technologies for water

purification such as the Nadi filter

(a simple contraption made of

sand, pebbles and earthen

utensils). Laboratory tests

indicate that the water, after

passing through such basic filters,loses most of the bacteria that it

contains, yet these easy to use

technologies remain largely

ignored by policy makers.


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However, donors like USAID have recentlyexpressed a willingness to lend support tothis initiative. Whether water filtration plants will actually begin functioningacross all union councils of the country inthe near future remains to be seen.

Concerns regarding the quality of these plants, the ability of localadministrations to adequately maintainthem and the problem of these plants being established in locations thatmaximise adequate access willcontinue to pose serious challenges. Ifthe decision to continue establishingfiltration plants is pursed nonetheless,simultaneous efforts must at least bemade to ensure transparency in

construction and for the introduction ofsustainable measures for theirmaintenance.

Conversely, with the exceptionof some NGOs working in rural Sindh,for instance, serious efforts have notbeen made to advocate the use of pointof use technologies for water purification such as the Nadi filter (asimple contraption made of sand, pebbles and earthen utensils).

Laboratory tests indicate that the water,after passing through such basic filters,loses most of the bacteria that itcontains, yet these easy to usetechnologies remain largely ignored bypolicy makers.

Recently some efforts have beenlaunched to familiarise the population withthe hazards of contaminated water and theneed to advocate better hygiene and simplewater purification practices. However, too

much emphasis is being placed on changingthe attitude of consumers to optimise thequality of water and reduce the incidence ofdisease by overly simple measures such as boiling water to make it safer forconsumption. If the water that people get is

contaminated with untreated sewage,industrial waste, salts and chemicals, usingsimple techniques such as the onementioned above to purify it sufficientlybecomes more problematic.

Instead of entirely passing the onus

of responsibility onto hapless citizens

however, and wasting money on trying tocreate awareness about measures such as boiling water, which have very limitedutility, the government should shoulder itsresponsibility as the main provider of basicmunicipal services like ensuring that thewater that flows from the peoples taps isclean and free from contamination. It mustalso consider alternative means to ensureeasy access to drinking water to the morefar-flung rural areas as well, even if thatmeans diverting funds from other lessessential public expenditures.

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Nuclear arms controlHaider Nizamani

So subtle and imperceptible hasbeen the process of justifying the presenceof ready-to-launch nuclear weapons as anormal phenomenon that today ordinarycitizens in the Western world appear moreworried about the possibility of a weaponor two falling into the hands of Iran.

Barack Obama

will be back in Pragueon April 8 where hisRussian counterpartDmitry Medvedev will join him to sign thetreaty to reduce theirrespective nuclear arsenals by almost one-third over the next fewyears. This comes a yearafter Obamas historic

speech in the Czechcapital in March 2009where he pledged towork towards a nuclearweapons-free world.

Currently, Russia and the UStogether have more than 90 percent of theworlds nuclear weapons, ready for launchat short notice. Both countries have morethan 2,200 nuclear warheads each in a stateof high alert. As a result of the just agreed

upon treaty between Russia and the US, thenumber of deployed warheads will comedown to about 1,550 for each country.Along with nuclear warheads, the treatywill reduce the number of delivery systemsfrom 1,600 each to about 800. These

delivery systems include missiles on land, bombers in the air, submarines in theoceans all carrying loads of nuclearweapons to destroy the whole world manytimes over.

Before the treaty can take effect, itrequires ratification by the US Senate and

the Russian Duma. One does not foreseeany hitch in the Russian ratification process. Probably it will have smoothsailing in the US senate too, where itrequires the support of 67 Senators, a two-thirds majority, instead of a simplemajority. The Senate has ratified nuclear

arms reduction treaties concluded withRussia in the past without much problem.But at the same time it refused to ratify theComprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty(CTBT) signed by Bill Clinton.

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What does it mean for internationalsecurity? Massive nuclear arsenals amassedby the Russians and Americans in the ColdWar context are hardly justifiable in the21st century. Any meaningful attempt toreduce the number of nuclear weapons is

worthy of endorsement and applause.However, such an endorsement needs to beput into some context. Russia and the USmaintain that nuclear weapons are integralto their national security and neither ofthem is inching closer to rendering nuclearweapons obsolete. Along with catering forits own national security, the US provides anuclear umbrella to another two dozencountries. These include Germany, Canada,and Japan. None of the countries enjoying

the nuclear umbrella is pushing towards aworld free of nuclear weapons.

Washington accounts for half of theglobal spending on defence, which reachedan astronomical figure of about $ 1,400billion last year. Let us not lure ourselvesinto believing that Washington andMoscow are going to become champions ofdisarmament in the near future. The subtitleof Stanley Kubricks 1960s classic movieDr Strangelove: Or how I learned to stop

worrying and love the bomb aptlydescribes the mainstream approach towardsnuclear weapons in the Western world. Sosubtle and imperceptible has been theprocess of justifying the presence of ready-to-launch nuclear weapons as a normalphenomenon that today ordinary citizens inthe Western world appear more worriedabout the possibility of a weapon or twofalling into the hands of Iran whileconsidering the presence of thousands of

American and Russian nuclear warheads asa natural occurrence.

Many Pakistanis have truly stoppedworrying and even love the bomb, thanks tothe political discourse invested in thePakistani bomb. But even the public in a

country like Canada, which tends to be atthe forefront of the non-proliferationmovement, is indifferent to or content withliving under the American nuclearumbrella. After a recent lecture touniversity students about the state of

nuclear weapons in the world, when I askedthem if and how they would like to worktowards a nuclear weapons-free world, avast majority of students were of the viewthat since nuclear weapons are here to stay,there is not much point in raising a voiceagainst them.

Outside the nuclear orbit of Russiaand the US are most of the countries thathave signed the Nuclear Non-proliferationTreaty (NPT). The NPT binds them not to

seek nuclear weapons, provided that thesecountries have access to nuclear technologyfor peaceful purposes, and the five declarednuclear weapons states would work in goodfaith to make the world free of nuclearweapons. The just concluded treaty ishardly a leap towards achieving the goalsset out in the NPT. The number ofwarheads that Russia and the US havedecided to dismantle is far less than theiractual or imagined security requirements.

From the vantage point of non-nuclear weapon states, the arms controltreaty agreed upon between Russia andAmerica is an important but not a majorstep towards a world free of nukes and itdoes not address their security needs, whichin some cases are closely tied with theholdout nuclear postures of states likeIsrael, India and Pakistan. These threecountries have not signed the NPT.Countries like Egypt insist that Israel

should sign the NPT. Israel refuses to doso, with the full blessings of Washington.On the other hand, India is viewed as a vitalmarket for nuclear reactors and materials.

In short, when thousands of nuclearwarheads remain on high alert, when major

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nuclear powers continue to hold theseweapons as vital means to ensure security,and with public opinion content in livingunder the shadow of nuclear weapons, the

just concluded arms control treaty offerslittle solace to the vision of a nuclearweapons free world.

Fallacies of nationalismJangiyaan Essa

The passage of the 18thAmendment, specifically, the naming of theNWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is a major

turn in Pakistans history. This marks the beginning of the slow process towardsrecognising our diverse nationalities andtheir aspirations. The new law has shied

away from going all the way by notrecognising linguistic identities, but this is amatter of time only. It is a clear indicationthat to survive as a country, Pakistan has toadopt a much more rational ideology.

There were times when merelymentioning Pakhtunkhwa was consideredto be an anti-Pakistan conspiracy to create a

separate country, Pusthoonistan. Pakhtunnationalists led by Wali Khan, despitechanging party names, were never acceptedas patriotic Pakistanis despite their public

assurances.However,when NasimWali Khan joined thePakistanNational

Alliance(PNA)againstZulfikar AliBhutto in1977, it wasclear that thePakhtunseparatistelement, ifany, was

thrown intothe dustbin of history. It also meant that thepolitical formation of the Frontier provincewould struggle within Pakistan. By then theeconomy of the frontier region was sointegrated within Pakistan that traditional

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nationalism had become redundant, as waspointed out by the late Dr Feroz Ahmad inhis weekly journal, Pakistan Forum.

Nonetheless, a large section of theestablishment remained suspicious. Forthem, religious identity was the only one

compatible with Pakistan, thus seekingnational identities was automaticallyunpatriotic. Bhutto had departed from thetraditional ideology in the earlier period byrehabilitating Sindhi as a national languageof Sindh but he did not go far enough torationalise the system. As a matter of fact,he spent his last years fighting the Balochand Pakhtun nationalists. Bhuttossensitivity towards the central Punjabi ethosovercame his rationality because he had

come to power due to the overwhelmingsupport from the main hinterland of Punjab.

Nawaz Sharifs hesitation towardsrenaming the Pakhtun province reflects thetraditional thinking of central Punjab,where he has replaced the PPPs politicalgrip. Furthermore, it is not by chance thatthe 18th Amendment, which gives morerights to the provinces, besides renamingthe Frontier province, has been put forth bya government that derives a better part of

its power from smaller nationalities and isnot totally dependent on central Punjab. Itis also true that Punjabs political thinkinghas also tremendously changed: unlike thepast, there have been no big protests againstthe new name of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa orthe enhancement of provincial rights in themost powerful province, Punjab.

The way in which Pakistanis haveaccepted the renaming of the Frontierprovince, as well as giving the provinces

more powers, indicates an ideological shift.Unlike the past, it is being recognised thatthe national identities of Pakistan are not innegation of Pakistani patriotism. Misplacedobsession with a monolithic nationalidentity was unrealistic and counter-

productive. It created many frivolousproblems that places like India and SouthAfrica avoided by carving national unitythrough recognition of diversity.

India had recognised the rights ofdiverse nationalities to a great extent. Many

provinces were created to accommodate thehistorical background, cultures andlanguages of the people of various regions.Some critics still hold that India has notgone far enough in this direction torecognise the rights of the nations livingwithin its boundaries. However, the Indianset-up was much more realistic thanPakistani centralism. Despite acceptance ofdiversity, Indian patriotism has not sufferedin any way. Therefore, by recognising the

diverse cultural identities that Pakistaninationalities have or transferring morerights to the provinces, nationalism or patriotism is not going to suffer. As amatter of fact it may strengthen becauseevery nationality will feel that it is gettingits due share in the federation. However,following the Indian or South Africanmodels requires conscious efforts for thecreation of a new national identity that isnot solely based on religion.

The constitutional reformscommittee shied away from recognising thenational languages of Pakistan. Mostprobably, the opposition would have comefrom the usual suspects: the establishment, politicians of Punjab and, maybe, fromKarachi. The ideology behind opposinglinguistic rights is also part of aninfatuation with monolithic Pakistaniidentity. It is believed that besides religion,the Urdu language is the only binding force

in Pakistan. This is a misperception becausethe recognition of 29 national languages byIndia has neither affected the nationalism ofits people nor the common use of Hindi.

Despite the shortcomings of the18th Amendment, it is a step in the right

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direction. It is quite clear that Pakistan isforced to rationalise its system. The armysdecision to fight religious extremism andparliaments move to grant more rights tonationalities will help Pakistan to become a

viable state in the long run. Most of theseactions are being taken under compulsionsbut that is how history moves.

Indias warmongering policy

against China

S a j j a d S h a u k a t

Although Sino-Indian differenceshave always existed due to Indianpresumption that peace-loving China is itsadversary, yet the same has been intensifiedby the Indian new Army Chief General VKSingh who after taking over the charge onMarch 30 this year said in his first strategicstatement, Indian Army is well prepared toface any threat from China. Before him,on December 29, 2009, Indian formerArmy Chief General Deepak Kapoor

openly revealed that Indian Army is nowrevising its five-year-old doctrine and is preparing for a possible two-front warwith China and Pakistan.

While India is no match to China inconventional and nuclear weapons, but thestatements of its two army chiefs clearlyshows that Indian rulers are ready to goeven to the extent of war against Beijing.That is why Indias war-mongering policycontinues against China. Notably, in May

1998, when India detonated five nucleartests, the then Defense Minister GeorgeFernandes had declared publicly thatChina is Indias potential threat No.1.India which successfully tested missile,

Agni-111 in May 2007, has been extendingits range to target all the big cities of China.

As regards Indian new military build up against China, on May 31 last

year, after 43 years, New Delhi re-openedits Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) airbase in

northern Ladakh, which overlooks thestrategic Karakoram Pass and is only 8 kmsouth of the Chinese border-Aksai Chinarea. On April 20, 2008, The Times ofIndia had written, By having a full-fledgedairstrip at DBO, India will be able to rush

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in troops and supplies to the region duringemergencies. The paper quoted WesternAir Command chief Air Marshal P KBarbora saying: Yes, we have also plansto land our AN-32 transport aircraft atDBO. It is part of the Indian Air Force to

improve air maintenance of the far-flungposts in the region.

With the help of Israel and America,on 26 February 2008, India conducted itsfirst test of a nuclear-capable missile froman under sea platform after completing itsproject in connection with air, land and seaballistic systems. On May 10, 2009, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehtarevealed that New Delhi will soon floattenders to acquire six submarines. Mehta

also accused Beijing and explained that theIndian Navy would keep a close watch onthe movements of Chinese submarineswhich are operating out of an undergroundbase in the South China Sea and wish toenter the Indian Ocean.

However, under the pretension ofChinese threat, Washington, New Delhi andIsrael are plotting to block the sea lanes ofthe Indian Ocean for their joint strategicgoals. Besides, New Delhi has itself been

planning to destablise, and even todisintegrate China. In this regard, on March10, 2008 when anti-government violent protests by Buddhist monks erupted inTibets capital, Lhasa including nearbyprovinces, India, backed the same, thoughoutwardly denied. Dalai Lama, the spiritualleader of Tibet who has lived in exile inIndia along with his 120,000 followerssince a failed revolt against Chinese rule in1959 has been tacitly encouraged by New

Delhienabling him to mobilize armedgroups and international support to createinstability in the neighboring provinces ofChina. For this purpose, India hasclandestinely established secret campswhere Dalai Lamas militants are being

imparted armed training. In this respect,Indian RAW has sent a number of agentswho have joined the ranks and files of theTibetan insurgents of China, and theycreate unrest from time to time.

India shows that despite Sino-Indian

border dispute, she does not favour anindependence of Tibet. But Indian stand isindirectly expressed by its leaders andmedia. For example, the former foreignminister Yashwant Sinha had said, Wewant good relations with China, but if wereach a point of conflict over Tibet, weshould be prepared for that eventuality.

The state-run China Daily, on July27, 2006, denounced the Lama as asplittist and pointed out that he has

collaborated with the Indian military andAmerican CIA to organise Indian Tibetanspecial border troops to fight their wayback into Tibet.

It is notable that in order to concealits covert activities, India has alwaysblamed China for backing Maoist uprising.In this context, instead of addressing theroot causes of the Maoist uprising, Indiangovernment has recently intensified its blame game against China, alleging for

supplying arms to these insurgents. In fact,Maoist movement which has been raging inWest Bengal, has now expanded to Indianother regions including Maharashtra. Atpresent, it is a popular insurgency by thedowntrodden who have massive support ofpeople for their ideology.

However, Beijing and Islamabadcannot neglect their common defence whentheir adversaries are following a covertstrategy. In this connection, Pakistans

President Asif Ali Zardari had decided tovisit China after every three months tofurther cement ties between both the oldfriends. Both the countries have signed anumber of agreements to enhance bilateralcooperation in diverse sectors. So Sino-

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Indian rift is also part of the greater coldwar between the US and China. Besides,Indian reservations regarding Chinasinfrastructural projects in Azad Kashmir areunjustified and discriminative. India whichhas openly signed a number of mutual

agreements with China, calling the latter astrategic partner, has been playing a doublegame with Beijing by acting upon the war-mongering policy against China.

Our liberty is our best defense

Wajahat Ali

The arrest of Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old US citizen of Pakistani descent, asthe alleged driver of the vehicle used in the

failed Times Square bombing represents anopportunity to respond effectively to a potential act of terrorism instead ofreacting with fear and hysteria that willinevitably be manipulated by extremistelements. Details are slowly emergingregarding the potential motives of suspectShahzad, who was arrested at JFK airportas he planned to fly to Dubai, havingrecently returned from a five-month trip toPakistan. Despite initial evidence andstatements from law enforcement agenciessuggesting this incident lacked thesophistication and planning of aninternational operation, the PakistaniTaliban has nonetheless claimedresponsibility for this amateurish and failedattempt.

Their eagerness speaks volumesabout their desperation to instil fear in thehearts of the American public by an act ofterrorism on the US mainland. The instantresumption of New Yorks kinetic lifestylefollowing such an incident clearlydemonstrates American resilience andimmunity to such intimidation. Regrettably,however, similar moments of tension though isolated have in the past been usedcynically by bigoted ideological pundits in

both non-Muslim American and Muslimcommunities to sow dissension and enmity.We saw this tendency recently, when a

mentally unstable Army major, NidalHassan Malik, opened fire and killed 13soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas. A Nigerianstudent, Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab,forever known as the underwear bomber,tried to ignite himself on an airplane onChristmas Day after, staggeringly, getting past security despite having been previously flagged (an unacceptableinternal administrative mistake, revealing alack of communication between securityagencies).

Five young American Muslimswere arrested in Pakistan for attempting to join a terrorist group after the childrensparents and Muslim American communitymembers proactively contacted the FBI andassisted in their investigation (although thefive have since protested their innocence).And, most recently, two clowns known asRevolution Muslim made veiled threatstowards the creators of South Park formaking a cartoon mocking the HolyProphet (PBUH). These incidents ofviolence or attempted terrorism byradicalised individuals in America as wellas the blank space in the New York skylinethat was once graced by the World TradeCentre towers serve as unending fuel for

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the rightwing commentators. And those bellicose pundits will inevitably squeezeevery drop of righteous anger and fear fromthis failed Times Square plot, in order topromote a dangerously inaccurate image ofan Islamic monolith comprising 1.5 billion

diverse individuals as having an innatehomicidal aversion to our freedoms.Attacks will, no doubt, be made on BarackObamas efforts at conciliation andpartnership with Muslim communities asevidenced by his al-Arabiya interview, hishistoric speech to Muslims in Cairo, and hisoutreach to Muslim American organisationsand leaders. Sarah Palin and her ilk willargue passionately on Fox News to profileaway evil-doers in effect, advocating

racial profiling of ethnic minorities,especially of Middle Easterners and SouthAsians. Anticipating public anxiety, Obamareacted to calls for greater securityfollowing the failed Christmas Day bombing by implementing catch-allmeasures recently amended to extendspecial pat-downs and heightened profilingto individuals returning from 14, mostlyMuslim, countries. Despite overwhelmingevidence showing that racial profiling and

the erosion of civil liberties and due processare counterproductive in fighting terrorism,I worry that fear and divisive rhetoric willbe used to undermine the mutual trust andco-operation that has been painstakingly built over the past two years betweenAmerican Muslims and law enforcementagencies.

Rightwing demagogues whoproclaim the virtues of the west, and arguethat terrorism is unique to the Muslim

world, should be reminded of evidence tothe contrary. The recent arrest of ninemembers of the Christian terrorist militantgroup, the Hutarees, for conspiring to killpolice officers and wage war on the United

States government has largely been labelledan anomaly.

Islam, too, has its recklessdemagogues. Radicalised Muslim elementsmanipulate asinine episodes such assatirical cartoon depictions of the Prophet

as categorical proof that the imperialistwest is perpetuating its war on all of Islamand Muslims. Recent violence and threatsagainst those cartoonists who have depictedthe Prophet in a disrespectful manner donot emerge from a vacuum, but rather theyare symptomatic of a sustained belief in askewed and simplistic narrative of thewar-mongering west that finds itsevidence in the Iraq war, US support forIsrael, civilian casualties in Afghanistan

and Pakistan, and cosy US relations with brutal Arab dictatorships. These thugsultimately bear the greatest blame for betraying the legacy and spirit of theirProphet, who urged moderation andcivility.

In the face of the threat fromextremists, the greatest mistake Americanscould make would be to revisit the rhetoricand security policies of George W Bush,which proved to be disastrous in curbing

global terrorism but highly successful ineroding the USs standing in world opinion,and which damaged co-operation withMuslim communities. Ultimately, the bestdefence is the very same values of freedom,liberty and democracy they wish to defendand protect.

The sad reality of modern,globalised 21st century existence is that thethreat of terrorism and violence is aconstant, yet manageable and containable,

aspect of daily life. Reactionary posturing,rampant ethnic stereotyping, scapegoatingof minorities, and provoking mistrust ofMuslim Americans and allies have onlyever exacerbated the risks. Recent historyhas shown that a reasoned and moderate

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perspective, along with sound securitymeasures, vigilant policing, protection ofcivil liberties and mutual aid are our besthope. As more evidence in this case

emerges in coming days, let us hope thisphilosophy prevails.

Shameful honourSikander Amani

or some strange reason, culture

almost inevitably ends up centringon women and their bodies. Their

virtue is thenhailed as therepository ofthe honour ofthe community;it is up to thewomen tomaintain thehonour of the

community, andup to the men torestore it whenit is supposedlylost.

F

Onewould love tosee Pakistanacquiringnotoriety forwell-founded

reasons: theincrediblebeauty, mirth, warmth and hospitality of its people, its thriving literary and artisticscene, its sufi shrines, its archaeologicaltreasures and historical richness, its green,

pink or black tea you name it. Instead,

what is Pakistan famous for? Increasinglyfrequent terrorist attacks, Mumbai-by-nightrampages,hyper violent

fundamentalist groups, regular militarycoups dtat and fledgling institutions,support for the universally-disliked Taliban,habitual tales of corruption and nepotism,and sadly recurring stories of womens

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subjugation. Among these, thespectacularly ill-named honour killingsguarantee Pakistans top score on everypossible world ranking of infringement ofwomens dignity.

Depending on the sources, it is

estimated that several thousand women aremurdered each year in karo-kari and suchkillings. The 2009 report of the HumanRights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)released a few days ago noted a sharp surgein violence against women, including casesof honour killings. Many go unreported, sothe actual toll might be much higher.

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The problem is not just that honourkillings are illegal and indefensible, andthat they do not belong to a civilisedsociety, where women and men areconsidered equal, where human rights are

considered an entitlement, where the rule of

law has overtaken the culture of honour,where public justice prevails over revengeand private retaliatory measures, and whereviolence is outlawed as a mode of conflictresolution. The problem is not just thatstopping honour killing is a hugeundertaking, as it is peer-enforced; it is precisely because of community pressurethat family members feel compelled to actagainst the alleged female perpetrator. As ithappens, not only is the killer not

condemned by his milieu, he is forced by itto commit the killing. The notion of honourrelates self-worth to the esteem bestowedupon one by the peer group; it is notenough to behave honourably to acquirehonour, it must also be acknowledged as

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such by the community. And thus, contraryto the judicial trial, where the defendant hasto be proven guilty through a rigorousevidential process, losing honour needs no proof, no evidence a rumour, merehearsay, is enough to tarnish it. The

defendant is given the prejudice, rather thanthe benefit, of the doubt. Honour is lost theminute it is even considered to be blemished, and not to restore it throughviolent means would be to forfeit it. It doesnot really matter whether the person whochallenges ones claim to honour isincorrect, as it is ones response to it thatwill be the real proof. For women, it is alose-lose situation.

The problem is not even the highly

selective and highly incoherentreinterpretation of the culture and thetraditions that demand such killings.Radhika Coomaraswamy, the former UNSpecial Rapporteur on Violence againstWomen, noted that so-called traditionalcultures are often anything but traditional:they pick and choose what elements ofmodernity and Westernisation to accept,what values to commit to oblivion, andwhich ones to uphold most often,

womens chastity. For some strange reason,culture almost inevitably ends up centringon women and their bodies. Their virtueis then hailed as the repository of thehonour of the community; it is up to thewomen to maintain the honour of thecommunity, and up to the men to restore itwhen it is supposedly lost.

Now this is very disturbing. Veryoften, in discussions on honour killings, theimplicit or explicit stance is that killing in

the name of honour is wrong, but honouritself is a positive, important value, whichholds the community together, ensures itsdignity and stability. Ideally, the argumentgoes that we should keep honour andeliminate the killings made in its name.

Honour used to be an essential principle ofAncient Greece (think of Homers Iliad), ofpre-modern Western societies, as it was andstill is in Japan. A stain on ones reputationor dignity, or on that of the women in thefamily, was such an unbearable affront to

ones fundamental identity and self-worththat it became impossible to live with it.But the key distinction, and this makes aworld of difference, is that in thosesocieties, those affected by the accusationswould prove their honour by freely riskingtheir own life to assert their dignity in aduel, a knife-fight or outright taking it,in the Japanese case. In other words, thefundamental characteristic of honour wasthe courage to prove that a life is worth

living only when it abides by, and upholds,certain principles; I so value honour and myself-respect that I am willing to diedefending them. This was the meaning ofthe duel in Europe until its slowdisappearance in the 19th century, and ofthe Japanese custom of hara-kiri, where themanner of suicide is of paramountimportance, and certifies to ones courageand disregard for pain and for a life notworth living. The grounds of the challenge

could indeed be, and often were, issuessurrounding womens chastity too. As lateas 1910, the famed sociologist Max Weberwas ready to challenge a man in defence ofMrs Webers honour. The general idea wasthat honour was restored when one provedthat one had the courage to die for it.Though also a typically masculine andvirile virtue, it was nonetheless based on anotion of equality of adversaries, of respectof ones opponent, and above all, of

oneself. Not that one would like to entice

men to the dumb practice of duelling, butwhat do we have with honour killings? Arethe slighted men ready to die for the honourof their family? Ready to challenge to a

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duel? To commit hara-kiri? Prepared totake on the accuser in a fair fight? To bebold, brave and not fear death? To facewhatever consequences may come in orderto uphold the dignity of the household? Notin the least! The men scurry away like rats

to cowardly kill the woman in some darkcorner of the house, where no one can defythem not the accuser, not the accused,not the police, not justice, not equality, notdignity, and where there is completeimpunity. As Goethe said, the cowardthreatens (and here, kills) when he is safe.

Honour killings have nothing to do withhonour, bravery or dignity. They arenothing but disguised cowardice. Feardishonour, my friends! warned Homer.Too late for honour killers. They have brought shame on themselves, on their

community, and on the very word ofhonour.

The ethics of violence

Ishtiaq Ahmed

Dr Dayan Jayatilleka, Sri Lankas formerambassador and permanent representativeto the UN, and earlier an undergroundrevolutionary and academic, witnessed hisisland nation bleed and groan for long yearsbecause of the ethnic conflict between theSinhalese majority and Tamil minority.Unmistakably, excessive and indiscriminateviolence was used by all sides.

The result has been horrific humanrights violations of thousands of innocentpeople caught in the crossfire, so to say.Under the circumstances, the overarchingphilosophical question one is compelled toconsider is the following: is violence justified to achieve political ends? If yes,then a follow-up question must be posed:are there specific circumstances in whichviolence is justified or should it beconsidered simply an option like any other?

Jayatilleka could hardly have foundany inspiration from right-wing thinkersand political practitioners who take forgranted that, without the exercise ofviolence, power and authority cannot besustained and consolidated. Right-wing

ideologies religious, nationalist, racial have always considered violenceimperative to purge the nation of accretionsand adulterations with a view toestablishing purity, the truth, ideal societyand so on. In its extreme form, right-wingideology consummates in the fascist lust forviolence as the means to acquire powerover weaker and hapless human beings.

Violence and terrorism have also held astrong attraction for Russian anarchistssuch as Bakunin, though they were infavour of abolishing the state and thechurch.

There is the diametrically oppositestandpoint on violence as well. It is for totalor absolute rejection of it. The notion ofahimsa or non-violence was given to theworld more than two millennia ago byJainism and perhaps equally by Buddhism,

but in our own times by Mahatma Gandhi.Gandhi was devoted to the liberation ofIndia from colonial rule, but on a number ofoccasions when he believed that hisfollowers were not conducting the strugglestrictly through peaceful means, he called

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off the ongoing campaign. Nelson Mandelafavoured peaceful struggle but did notoppose selective use of force against theapartheid regime.

Given his leftist proclivities,Jayatilleka is interested in developing a

Marxian standpoint on violence that can bedefended on ethical and moral grounds. Inthe seminal writings of Karl Marx andFriedrich Engels, a very strong case ismade for a revolution by the working classagainst powerful capitalists, though theyalways condemned terrorism andbrutalisation of opponents. At times theyexpressed a preference for peaceful anddemocratic transformation of societies.Therefore, a consistent position on violence

is not easy to establish in the writings of thefounders of Marxism.

Lenin advocated a revolutionaryshortcut to socialism in the former SovietUnion through an armed revolution, whileStalin made a virtue of violence as themeans to defeat real or imagined internaland external threats faced by the firstworkers state. In practice, it meant theliquidation of not only class enemies butalso comrades with whom Stalin developed

serious differences. Mao Zedong, however,drew a distinction between antagonistic andnon-antagonistic contradictions; while, forthe resolution of the former, the use ofviolence to defeat exploiters was justified,non-antagonistic contradictions between party comrades and other peaceful criticswere to be resolved through persuasion anddialogue. Yet, the excesses of the CulturalRevolution do caution us about the politicalthought of the Chinese revolutionary

leader.Given such ambiguities present in

the leftist paradigm, Jayatilleka turns to the political thought and practice of thelegendary Cuban leader Fidel Castro, andfinally finds a standpoint on violence that is

Marxian and ethical. Jayatillekas book,Fidels Ethics of Violence: The MoralDimension of the Political Thought of FidelCastro, is a highly competent andstimulating exercise in idea analysis. Fromhis early days, Fidel Castro believed that

the highest purpose of life is to rid societyof gross injustices and, in order to achievethat, violence was justified but only as alast resort. Castro was deeply influenced byJesus Christ who was a champion of thepoor. Such influence made Castro look fora morally and ethically defensible basis forhis politics, even when he was involved inwar or armed struggle. Castro put thissuccinctly: That is why I express myconviction and it would be the

conviction of any authentic revolutionary that violence is the last recourse, whenthere is no other road, when there is noother possibility of change.

The most important distinction thatCastro draws and to which he has adheredconsistently, argues Jayatilleka, is betweencombatants and non-combatants.Revolutionary violence is directed againstonly those functionaries of the state whoare involved in a violent conflict with

revolutionaries. Moreover, even againstsuch individuals, torture, mutilation anddismemberment of bodily parts have notbeen carried out in Cuba. Also, the politicalopposition and dissidents have never beensubjected to inhuman treatment. Castroexpressed the moral basis of the CubanRevolution in the following words: Iwould have absolutely no moral right to bespeaking here now if a single Cuban hadbeen murdered by the Revolution at some

point throughout these 40-plus years. Ifthere was a single death squad in Cuba, if asingle person in Cuba had vanished. And Iwould go even further: if a single person inour country had been tortured.

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This statement is especiallyimportant because the worst type of humanrights violations took place all over LatinAmerica during the 1980s when right-wingmilitary juntas were in power. While theUS tried to paralyse the Cuban Revolution

by the longest and continuous economicembargo, the fascist military juntas weregiven a free hand to brutalise their people.

The reason Cuba has survivedwhile the Soviet Union collapsed and Chinaabandoned socialism in favour ofcapitalism is because Cuba remained a

morally and ethically good society.Socialism and humanism went hand-in-hand in building a just society. The CubanRevolution has been an exception, but theauthor hopes it will become the generalmodel for revolutionaries to emulate. I

wonder where Jayatilleka would place Naxalite violence in India. If the Indianmedia is to be believed, it has begun toresemble the Talibans right-wing terrorism but the truth can only be establishedthrough proper research and enquiry.

Youth and militancyDr Hasan-Askari Rizvi

Friday sermons in a large number ofmosques preach how the West is out toundermine the Muslims and the Islamic

world. It is easy to get radical ideologicalinspiration in Pakistan because Islamicorthodoxy and militancyhave seeped deep intoPakistan's state system andsociety.

The failed bombingattempt in New York Cityhas once again focusedattention on Pakistan as aninspirational centre for

Islamic radicalism and thevulnerability of youngpeople of Pakistani origin toIslamic radicalism andmilitancy.

There is no evidence available sofar to suggest that the Tehreek-i-TalibanPakistan (TTP) and other militant groups

based in the tribal areas or in mainland

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Pakistan have now embarked on spreadingout into North America and the UK.

The young person accused of theunsuccessful NYC incident may have beeninspired by the militant discourse on worldaffairs and he may have got some bomb-

making training in Pakistan, but he does notappear to be an extension of the TTP orother militant groups. The details of theunsuccessful effort show that the young persons knowledge of explosives wasrudimentary and one does not have to go toPakistans tribal areas to get such training.The young Pakistani-American may haveinteracted with some militant group forideological reaffirmation. There are a hostof militant groups: the TTP, other militant

groups in the tribal areas, and the Punjab-based militant and sectarian groups.

These militant groups are not theonly source of Islamic radicalism inPakistan. Islamic political parties and alarge section of the Islamic clergy based inmainland Pakistan preach radical Islamic

perspectives of Pakistan and the rest of theworld. Friday sermons in a large number ofmosques, especially those whose prayerleaders are affiliated with Islamic parties ormilitant groups, preach how the West is outto undermine the Muslims and the Islamic

world. It is easy to get radical ideologicalinspiration in Pakistan because Islamicorthodoxy and militancy have seeped deepinto Pakistans state system and society.

However, acquiring a radicalIslamic perspective does not necessarilymean that a person will certainly engage inacts of violence and terrorism. A smallnumber of radicalised youth engage inviolent activity either because of the longand persistent experience with militant

groups or through self-introspection basedon a radical and militant mindset. This isdone either as a manifestation of alienationor as a religious obligation acquiredthrough interaction with militant leaders.

Pakistan is experiencing the youth bulge. More than half of Pakistans

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population is under the age of 30, whosesocialisation is heavily loaded with Islamicorthodoxy and militancy. Since the early1980s the state pursued an agenda througheducation and the mass media to Islamisethe state and society. Pakistans military

and the intelligence agencies continued topatronise a religious hard line and militancyas an instrument of domestic and foreign policy towards Afghanistan and Indian-administered Kashmir.

By September 2001, at least one anda half generations had been socialised intoreligious orthodoxy and militancy as adesirable mindset and a frame for action.These people have reached the middle levelpositions in government, the military, and

other services. They may not directly getinvolved in bomb planting, but they havesympathy for Islamic radicals who engagein violence in the name of Islam. In thisway the political discourse of Islamicradicalism and the political right hasbecome integral to the mindset of countless people who tend to view national andinternational affairs in purely religiousterms.

An Islamic and politically rightist

mindset dominates the youth and post-youth generation in Pakistan. This mindsetviews Muslims and the Islamic world asvictims of international conspiracies by theUS and other western countries. They alsothink that Pakistans military action againstthe Taliban and other militants is notjustified and it serves US interests. Theystrongly believe that there is a persistentinternational effort led by the US and Indiato undermine and destroy Pakistan and that

Pakistans adversaries are not the Taliban.Islamists argue that the suicide attacks inPakistan are undertaken either by the agentsof foreign powers in the garb of the Talibanor, at times, the Taliban retaliate against

Pakistans alignment with the US, or itsmilitary actions in the tribal areas.

This mindset has caused two mostserious problems with the psyche of theyouth. One, the concept of the nation-stateand the notion of citizenship has been

greatly undermined for them. Most arealienated from the state and do not feelobligated to respect its primacy andobligations as citizens. Their affiliationladder starts from a person being a Muslimwith religious obligations. It moves on toIslamic movements (non-stateorganisations) that uphold the primacy ofIslam and moves on to an Islamic ummah universal Islamic community orbrotherhood. It is a transnational religion-

based identity. The state is relevant to theextent it helps to achieve the goals of aradicalised Muslim vis--vis others who donot share their Islamic-orthodox worldview.

Second, the notion of collectivegood or societal responsibility is replacedwith the obligation of a Muslim towardsGod and the Muslim communityrepresented by Islamic movements. Thenotion of a person or a group undertakingsome steps for the welfare of the ordinary

community or the nation-state is notimportant. Similarly, a radical Muslim mayuse violence without paying any attentionto the cost of his action to other human beings, including other Muslims, or toPakistan as a nation-state.

A large number of Pakistani youthare attracted to Islamic radicalism and donot feel obligated to the imperatives ofcollective good or societal responsibilityexcept in an Islamic context because the

majority of them have nothing else to lookforward to in their life. The state ofPakistan pays little attention to theirwelfare and it is unable to ensure a securefuture for them.

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All those going abroad do not find iteasy to obtain a secure and stable life. Thisalso applies to a good number of malechildren of Pakistani parents in adoptedcountries. These youngsters have atendency to develop alienation from the

adopted country and become vulnerable toreligious hardline appeals. They adopt anIslamic way of life and mindset that shapestheir disposition towards the adoptedcountry and the international system. Thesetrends have become more pronounced afterSeptember 2001. A small minority amongthem may opt for violence against the stateand society that is seen as nasty,unsympathetic and anti-Muslim. Theirvisits to Pakistan are for reaffirmation and

reinforcement of the rediscovered Islamicidentity.

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balochistan nicca june 2010 final

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