Karachi: Harder Times Ahead

By Amir Zia
The News
Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The self-inflicted law-and-order crisis of Karachi is one of the biggest failures of the PPP-led coalition, which inherited a relatively peaceful city when it assumed power in March 2008. Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf managed Karachi better – at least when it comes to controlling politically and ethnically motivated violence.

We are again being told that the government has decided to move against extortionists of Karachi and curb the lawlessness and rampant violence on its streets, which claimed nearly 140 lives by July 22.
President Asif Ali Zardari, during one of his recent sojourns in this troubled city, asked the person in charge of interior ministry, Rahman Malik – perhaps for the umpteenth time – to show zero tolerance towards anarchy and violence in the country’s main commercial hub where many traders, businesspeople and industrialists, along with ordinary lower-middle and middle-class citizens, have long been the easy target of criminal-cum-political mafias, bands of bandits and all sorts of villains. The president also made the much-needed revelation that the protection of life and property of citizens remains the government’s top priority.
But haven’t we heard such phrases loads of times in the recent and not so recent past? President Zardari must have lost count as to how many times he gave similar advice to the interior ministry, which came up with another quick plan to combat the extortion mafia and killers. But its past performance hardly gives us any hope.
Such plans and statements just add to an already huge pile of hollow words that mean little for citizens of this restive city where the death toll in politically, religiously and ethnically motivated violence crossed the 1,150 mark in less than seven months of 2012.
The first four years of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led coalition were equally bad for Karachi. According to media reports, more than 4,000 people were killed during 2008-11 in similar violence, bringing the total number of such killings to over 5,100 so far. As we continue to count tortured and bullet-riddled bodies on a daily basis at the fag-end of the PPP-led rule, there appears no end in sight to this bloodshed.
Ironically, most killings do not even end up on the front page of the national newspapers now or get prime slots in main bulletins and talk shows of the news channels. The non-stop brutalities around us have, indeed, created a general sense of apathy in the society. This abnormality has been accepted as a fait accompli.
The ritualistic tough statements and plans of action are for the gallery, but they fail to excite the jaded spectators, who ironically are the main victim of this tragedy.
The self-inflicted law-and-order crisis of Karachi is one of the biggest failures of the PPP-led coalition, which inherited a relatively peaceful city when it assumed power in March 2008. Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf managed Karachi better – at least when it comes to controlling politically and ethnically motivated violence. During 2000-2007, such killings remained well below the 200-mark on an average every year. In 2007, there was a slight spike in violence as political parties swung into action smelling imminent elections, but still the death toll remained below 400 compared with today’s annual average of 1,100.
What went wrong in Karachi under the PPP-led rule?
It seemed an ideal start for the coalition government which comprised all the three major stakeholders in the city -- the PPP, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP). There appeared more commonality among these political parties than differences on broader national issues that matter for the country. All three represent secular and liberal politics. They share common views when it comes to combating religious extremism and terrorism. They remain on the same page regarding better relations with the United States and its Nato allies as well as neighbours including India. When the coalition came to power, the ethnic polarisation of the 1980s between the Urdu-speaking people and Pakhtuns also appeared to be long dead and buried. The Urdu-speaking people, Sindhis and Baloch also had been living without any major tensions.
President Zardari, Altaf Hussain and Asfandyar Wali – surely all mean well for the city and are too big, rich and sophisticated in their operations now that they do not need to raise funds through extortionists, who mostly operate under the banner of this or that political party. One would also like to believe their earnest statements on the need for peace and rule of law in Karachi, but the problem is that they have failed to convince the second-tier leaderships and the rank-and-file that the long-term future for them lies in cooperation and not in conflict.
Therefore, the turf wars for guarding old constituencies or expanding domains to the new ones continue. Karachi is also seen as a goldmine by all major and minor stakeholders in which extortion, land grabbing, patronising criminals and mafias – all is justified to exercise control over different neighbourhoods and make quick bucks. 
While the MQM’s tough boys appear more under party discipline and act when told, the PPP and the ANP are having problems with their militants, many of whom have become autonomous as the barrel of the gun dominates politics now.
Zardari’s once dear friend Zulfikar Mirza created the Lyari mess by patronising the shady People’s Peace Committee founded by notorious gangster Rehman Dakait – who was killed in a police encounter in August 2009. Now his cousin Uzair Baloch leads the organisation and has managed to establish a state within a state in Lyari – long considered the PPP’s stronghold. But Mirza’s plan to counter the MQM muscle power through the toughies of Lyari seems to have politically backfired for the PPP, which never had a history of patronising criminals.
The committee has effectively imposed a ban on the PPP’s elected representatives from visiting their constituencies for the past several years and now eyes nominating candidates of its choice in the next elections – on PPP tickets or even without it. The control of Uzair Baloch and his band of merry men in Lyari and their involvement in the racket of extortion and other crime is stuff fit for a tale now.
The PPP seems to have lost the control of its stronghold to gangsters and face the stark choice of either co-opting them as angles on their shoulders or confronting them. Neither of the choice is without complication as the controversial committee is now being blamed by the police for most of the crime in the heart of Karachi.
The ANP in Karachi led by Shahi Syed now hardly plays the game as laid down by peace-loving leader Ghaffar Khan, astute politician Wali Khan or poet politician Ajmal Khattak. It has allowed gangsters, extortionists and land-grabbers to flourish in its ranks under the grand plan of matching the MQM strike power.
The MQM carries the burden of its past history on its shoulder. Todate the MQM is seen by many of its rivals as a player which introduced the organised racket of extortion and politics of body bags in Karachi. Although the party is trying to change its image and standard operating procedures, it has both the political power and muscle to match all its rivals blow by blow.
These three ruling parties are responsible for Karachi’s law and order problem. Indeed, they have failed the people of this city where restoring order and peace remains within grasp if politics of expediency is put aside and police and the other arms of the law are allowed to operate independently and evenhandedly. But under this democratic dispensation this is perhaps too much to ask especially when elections are around the corner and daggers already drawn by major players to extract their pound of flesh. Karachi should brace it self for tougher times in the coming months.

Reckoning With The Past

By Amir Zia
The News
July 18, 2012

Even the generation which witnessed the demise of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan, largely sees the East Pakistan debacle in over-simplistic terms

Despite the symbolic references to the fall of Dhaka and secession of East Pakistan in our everyday politics, the tragedy appears to mean little, at least for the generation that grew up in the post-1971 days. There is a general apathy and lack of understanding towards this dark episode of history in the younger generation-thanks to the way we teach history at our educational institutions – though many politicians keep claiming that a former “East Pakistan-like situation” prevails in parts of today’s Pakistan, in quite an exaggerated and senseless manner.

Even the generation which witnessed the demise of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan, largely sees the East Pakistan debacle in over-simplistic terms. Barring a handful of experts and historians, the popular rightwing view blames the “Indian conspiracy and treachery of Bengalis” for the catastrophe. Or it is the self-flagellation by many liberals and left-wingers, who in line with the propaganda of Indian and Bangladeshi governments, accuse the Pakistan army of mass genocide and rape during the last days of united Pakistan.
Fortunately, most of these allegations have been put to rest by independent historians and researchers, including by Indian scholar Sarmila Bose’s landmark book Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War, in which she says that many “facts” were “exaggerated, fabricated, distorted or concealed” by the Indian and Bangladeshi governments. While the Indian and Bangladeshi narrative put the death toll in 1971 civil war at around 3.0 million, Bose estimates it at around 100,000 people. The 100,000, too, is no small figure, but it also includes non-Bengalis, who became victims of genocide by Bengali nationalists and their fighting arm, the Mukti Bahini, which included rebel Bengali soldiers.
In this highly emotive subject, there still remains a dearth of objective and factual accounts and analysis on events leading to the secession of former East Pakistan. The collective failure of the Pakistani establishment of those times in recognising the democratic and economic aspiration of Bengalis and the continued denial of their legitimate rights is nothing but a sad saga of myopic, self-serving and self-defeating policies of the successive governments, which culminated in the military defeat and separation of the majority wing of the country.
A latest addition to select reliable books on the 1971 events, which challenges many myths and breaks stereotypes, is the slim 138-page biographical account Escape from Oblivion: The Story of a Pakistani Prisoner of War in India, written by a former Pakistan military officer, Ikram Sehgal, who is now considered one of the country’s leading defence and security analyst and businessman.
Sehgal was handed over to the Indian Border Security Force by the rebel Bengali troops of the Pakistan army in early April 1971 – way before the start of actual war between Pakistan and India in December.
His book, published by the Oxford University Press in English and N S Printers in Urdu, titled Azadi (Freedom), is a gripping account of an army captain who faced torture, beatings and psychological traumas, but managed to successfully escape from the Panagargh camp, becoming the first Pakistani soldier to do so. Sehgal travelled deep inside India-from Calcutta to New Delhi and then to Bhairahawa on the India-Nepal frontier by foot, truck, air and train before returning to the former East Pakistan via Kathmandu and Bangkok. One finds this fast-paced book akin to a thriller novel sprinkled with suspense, adventure and conflict which in the words of Sehgal tested his nerves to the utmost. Yes, sometimes reality can be stranger than fiction. In Sehgal’s case this rings true when one finds him in situations fit only for action and spy thrillers.
Apart from giving the personal account, this book also presents an overview of those troubled times in which friends turned into foes and foes into friends as the Pakistani security establishment made one blunder after another in a conflict in which most odds were already against it.
Being the son of a Bengali mother and a Punjabi father, Sehgal personally felt and suffered the human tragedy unravelling on both sides of the bloody political divide. This made him objective while narrating horrors of the civil war and rebellion in the ranks of Bengali troops of the Pakistan army and recording atrocities committed by both sides.
No wonder, in the opening pages he calls his book “an eulogy for all the men who fought and died on both sides, Pakistan and Bangladesh, for a dream that became a reality and then turned into a nightmare while I languished...in an enemy prison.”
It is the story of civil war told in a subtle manner where the writer has tried not to overstate or understate the cruelties perpetrated by both the rebels and the Pakistan army. “When soldiers make war on women and children, they cease to be soldiers.”
This remains one of the recurring themes of the book in which one meets a wide range of characters, some of whom will intrigue the reader’s mind, from the RAW agent Malhotra, who focused on the minds of his prisoners in an attempt to break or “sow the seeds of deep dissension” among them, to those simple Indian trucker who extended a helping hand to a man in distress as he made his way from Panagarh to Calcutta. In the book, one also meets a jailed Naxalite leader in Agartala, who protected Sehgal from rough inmates, the young US Marine Sgt Frank Adair who sheltered him at the US Consulate and a number of fellow prisoners of war in their dark and sublime moods-all offering a wide diversity of human character caught in this conflict.
The writer manages to highlight the deep Indian involvement in backing the secessionist movement and its role in the breaking up of Pakistan in detail-especially its preparation and setting up of prisoner of war camps months before the start of the war between the two countries.
Indeed, Sehgal’s book is a valuable addition to the scant independent material on the fall of East Pakistan, throwing light on many angles which hitherto have not been recorded in detail with a lacing of interesting anecdotes and some typical military humour.
In a nutshell, the book effectively highlights the point that there can be heroes in a defeated army who manage to abide by the code of conduct of a soldier at the peril of their lives and in a situation beyond their control and of not their making.
The grim realities and challenges of today are certainly different from the ones faced in 1970s, but such writings should prompt serious and meaningful discourse on our historical debacles. The objective should be to learn from history and past mistakes which, despite all our lip-service, we seldom do. Today the spirit of rational and objective debate and discourse remain missing in our national narrative in which emotions rule our mind and hearts and often flawed stereotypes dominate.
The East Pakistan debacle is one of those themes which need constant revisiting, analysis and critical evaluation so that we identify what went wrong in the Pakistan of yesteryear. Sehgal’s book should ignite some debate and discussion on the last days of united Pakistan, which failed to reckon the writing on the wall. But are we reading it?

Pakistan’s Hard Realities

By Amir Zia
July 11, 2012

The religious and other rightwing parties want Pakistan to disregard international will and consensus against the violent non-state actors operating under the influence of al Qaeda


ONE can call it ironic that the government’s decision to reopen the Nato supply routes to Afghanistan is getting flak from both sides of the national divide.
Many of the liberals are calling it the tragedy of delay and rightly asking why it took so long for our brilliant minds in the civil and military establishment to accept the “soft apology” which was there on the platter by Washington since February this year. What Islamabad gained by prolonging the standoff with the United States if the result had to be a timid climb-down on all the key demands. From the US drone attacks on Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants hiding on Pakistani soil to that of the CIA network operating independently of Pakistani authorities, it will be business as usual as far as Washington is concerned. Pakistani authorities remain free to keep the window of discussion open on these issues under the true spirit of democracy.
Pakistan’s attempts to extract more money from the United States by raising the tariff on each Nato container to $5,000 from $250 also resulted in a firm no. Our government graciously dropped this bizarre demand which, in the first place, should not even be linked to US assault on the military check-post at Salala in November last which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. This sensitive issue was mismanaged from day one by the civil and military leaders, who made it more complex by playing to the gallery with their bombastic rhetoric of national honour and sovereignty. Precious time was lost by the government in the long-winded parliamentary debate on the so-called attempts to redefine Pakistan-US ties and tagging the important with unimportant rather than a swift and realistic handling of the issue keeping in view the country’s hard political and economic realities and the international mood.
The religious and other rightwing political parties – the self-proclaimed guardians of the country’s yet unclear and porous ideological frontiers – are furious for all the different reasons. They want Pakistan to disregard international will and consensus against violent non-state actors operating under the banner of Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and a host of other shadowy extremist groups and drag it to the dead-end of becoming a rogue and pariah state. Their agenda, as articulated by the Defence of Pakistan (Difa-e-Pakistan) Council, now encompasses the ouster of the US-led Nato forces from the region, ending Pakistan’s cooperation in the UN-mandated war on terrorism, blocking Nato supplies passing through the country to Afghanistan and of course the demand of halting the controversial drone strikes in the country’s militant-infested northern tribal region.
As thousands of supporters of Defence of Pakistan, an umbrella of around 40 religious groups, many of which are banned, displayed their teeth, muscle and emotions in Islamabad at the conclusion of their “long ride” from Lahore, there are clear signs that the national discord over the issue is all set to intensify against the backdrop of growing political instability in the run-up to the general elections, clash of institutions and unbridled monster of terrorism that has consumed more than 36,000 lives since the end of 2001 when Pakistan joined hands with the United States and its allies in the war against Al-Qaeda and its Afghan and local allies.
In this pro- and anti-Nato divide, the all important subject which does not figure prominently on the national narrative is how to rein in the foreign and local extremists who continue to operate here, targeting not just Pakistani civilian and law enforcement agencies, but also using the country as a base to plot and execute terrorist plots against neighbours and other parts of the world.
The international community and the majority of Pakistanis stand justified when they ask the state institutions to establish their writ effectively and ensure that Pakistani soil is not used against other nations as well as Pakistan. The all-important question of why our country has become a fertile ground for suicide bombers, terrorists and extremists and considered a safe haven by similar foreign elements including Arabs, Afghans, Uzbeks, Chechens, and even Indonesians is often ignored as we focus more on symptoms rather than the real causes of our predicament.
The continued self-denial will cost us even more than what we have already suffered in terms of loss of human lives, the country’s image and negative fallout on the battered economy. Monday’s gun attack on an army camp near Gujrat by militants in which seven soldiers and a policeman were killed should serve as the latest stark reminder of the rotten state of affairs in this land of the pure. As the rightwing continues to whip up anti-US emotions, militants would certainly try to intensify attacks on soft and hard targets in an attempt punish the country for its renewed cooperation with Nato.
The absence of a comprehensive counter terrorism strategy, the lack of trust within key state institutions and concerns of Pakistani military establishment regarding the endgame in Afghanistan in which they do not see eye-to-eye with Washington on fundamental issues, will make it more difficult for the authorities to effectively handle the scourge of extremism that has been a major destabilising factor for the country on both its internal and external fronts.
The tragic Salala episode that had plunged the Pakistan-US ties to a new low should be seen more as a symptom rather than the cause which will continue to test the diplomatic skills of leaders of both countries. The source of tension remains, which is graver than the drone attacks. These strikes should also be taken as an outcome of the larger problem.
If the Americans continue to remain wary of Pakistan because of its selective handling of militant groups and lack of political will and capacity in establishing its writ on many parts of its territory, Pakistanis are worried about the enhanced Indian role in Afghanistan and prospects of a hostile government in Kabul. Washington has failed to calm Pakistan’s nerves regarding its exit strategy and give any assurance that Pakistan-friendly elements will get a role in any future setup in Afghanistan. Pakistan has suffered the most due to the protracted Afghan conflict since the invasion by the former Soviet Union there in 1979 and is justified if it wants a friendly government in Kabul, which does not serve as a destabilising factor here.
But Islamabad also needs to unburden itself from many of its Cold War-era baggage in its own enlightened self-interest and curb the violent non-state actors that have agendas clashing its vital, long term goals.
With the trust gap continuing to haunt Pakistan-US relations, our troubles are far from over even after the restoration of Nato supplies, though the decision will help in lowering tensions. A politically embattled government here, which is desperate to complete its five-year term and eyeing the next elections, has limited time and choices at its disposal. The US presidential race has also squeezed options for Washington which means relations between the two countries will remain on a rocky path in the months to come – at least until the hurly burly of elections are over. Even after that it will be a steep climb.

Karachi: The Road Not Taken

By Amir Zia
The News
July 4, 2012

The major political parties are largely responsible for the rampant lawlessness and crime in Karachi where breaking law is easier than living by it. The people of Karachi have feelings of frustration because their political parties have failed them


The residents of Karachi should be at peace and much more confident about their safety following Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s promise that bringing peace in this restive city remains among his top priorities. They should now be feeling less vulnerable to the armed bandits, extortionists and target killers, who infest the metropolis and make their lives miserable both on the street and even inside their homes. The shopkeepers must be satisfied that all their strikes and protests did not go in vain. Now they should be able to do business without any fear of bands of gunmen demanding protection money or looting them or their clients in broad daylight. The common man – for whose betterment and welfare all the policies are made – should no more worry about being deprived of his cellular phone and cash or losing vehicle on a busy road.

Yes, after the prime minister’s promise of restoring the rule of law in Karachi, it should be business as usual. Industrialists, businesspeople and corporate gurus should think of new investments and explore new opportunities to make money. The working and middle classes should carry on with their lives without uncertainties and dread of violence, mayhem and chaos that have been holding them hostage for so long.
But, is it the reality?
Ideally speaking, Ashraf’s promise during his first visit to the city after being elected prime minister of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP)-led coalition government should have been a sentiment changer. But sadly, it did little to give hope to the people of this beleaguered city or boost their morale.
From June 25, when Ashraf visited Nine-Zero, the headquarters of PPP’s main coalition partner the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and gave Karachiites the good news of bringing peace here, at least 40 people have been killed in eight days of unabated political, ethnic and religious violence. The victims ranged from political activists to clerics and common citizens to senior officials of the privately-run corporate entity, the Karachi Electric Supply Company.
Meanwhile, the business of crime continues to boom. Organised gangs of criminals, many connected to this or that political party and, ironically, even to the ones in the ruling coalition, continue to pounce on their victims with impunity. The police and the rangers appear toothless -either due to lack of capacity or having made a choice due to political considerations and the force of circumstances.
The new prime minister, who is an old swimmer in the muddy waters of Pakistani politics, failed to make an impact in his opening spell in Karachi. No, we, the people of Karachi do not stand guilty of unrealistic expectations from our dear prime minister. We are rationale people despite all the insanity and irrationality around us. We know that his plate is full of grave issues. We know about his agenda and list of priorities. We are clear that he won’t write a letter to the Swiss authorities regarding the opening of corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and instead brave the Supreme Court’s wrath that consumed former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani. Agreed that he does not have a magic wand and need time to settle in and deliver, though the prophets of doom and gloom question his survival chance in the seat of power for long. Already, many have started the count in the reverse order and are expecting his wicket to fall sooner than later.
But let’s keep all these prospects or fears – depending on which side of the fence one stands – aside for awhile and assess prime minister’s words, which indeed prove to be an echo of the past. Ashraf’s predecessor and his team members, all promised countless times a stern action against and crackdowns on criminals and gangsters and assured us of establishing the rule of law and peace in the city. But their walk could not match their talk. It was always half-baked solutions and one grand compromise after another with criminals and gangsters. By a stroke of luck, Ashraf has inherited the same team led by none other than Rahman Malik as the man in charge of the interior ministry.
Should this give us any hope or a reason to be optimistic that this time the result would be any different from the past?
One wonders what prevented the PPP, the MQM and the Awami National Party (ANP) – the partners in the ruling coalition – in the last four years from doing what is right for the city – like combating crime, stopping the infighting among their followers and establishing the rule of law. What they simply needed to do was to raise themselves above their narrow party interest, play by the book and let the law-enforcement agencies do their job – that of fighting the extortionists, land grabbers, drug and gun mafias and criminals -- in an impartial manner. What these political forces, which all have major stakes in the country’s financial and commercial hub, could not do all these years, will they be able to do in the final months, weeks and days of their rule?
One is free to hope against hope, but if their past performance is any yardstick, then the writing on the wall remains ominous.
The reality is that the major political parties are largely responsible for the rampant lawlessness and crime in Karachi where breaking law is easier than living by it. The people of Karachi have feelings of frustration because their political parties have failed them. They are angry and bitter about the fact that in their city politics has been criminalised and criminal activities are being politicised. They are anxious about their safety and the future of their city given its ever-increasing ethnic, political and sectarian polarisation, which has divided its fabric both horizontally and vertically.
They feel threatened, unprotected and vulnerable to the armed gangs which undermine the writ of the state and control entire neighbourhoods. What they want from the new prime minister or any new government in the future is to demonstrate speedily that it represents a change of policy and not a mere change of faces. They are unable to go into the nitty-gritty of policies – for it is the government’s job – but they do seek concrete steps which can guarantee their constitutional right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
What they do know is that they have been repeatedly let down by their representatives, who gave them nothing but empty words and broken promises. Will Ashraf be any different or will he be just another face of this outworn political system? The signals are that he will walk the beaten path and we will continue to call for the road not taken.