Sociology at work
Sir,
Zar-a-Azb is the first military operation in the history of Pakistan that was supported at several levels: crisis management, civil defense, civil armed forces, NADRA, NGOs, the police, and the civil and military intelligence agencies are all doing their bit along with the army, which is the hammer and the rest the anvil.
So it is a cat o’ nine tails, you whip light the ship stops, you whip hard the tail is gone. The urban prong is the main battleground. Armies in the Napoleonic era used to fight on their bellies. Now the armies fight with public support. War is politics by other means and this was true in the times of monarchs and dictators. Now war and going to war is the decision of social intent.
War is no more just politics. It is sociology at work. The army has done a wise thing by incorporating these facets in the ongoing operations, especially when the ongoing negotiations between the US and the Afghan government on the bilateral security agreement is in the doldrums.
The ISAF countries are worried about the SOFA, the status of forces agreement with Afghanistan especially if there will be some presence of NATO troops in Afghanistan post 2014. Things are not very straight and lines are not properly drawn except the announcement of the drawdown.
Pakistan had already given assurances not to let the Afghan elections get disrupted by any means. There is a great urgency that the operation to rid the region from obscurantists be treated in its correct perspective. The world was waiting for this and when the tanks have started rolling, some heads must also roll.
The full steam phase is just days away. The first victory of the operation is the good care meted out to the IDPs. The state has already lost quite a footprint. The boot print can retrieve the same but it is the will of the people and the government that can win over the land, people and their hearts forever.
Abid Latif Sindhu,
Islamabad.
Dark day
Sir,
Like previous years, this year too the darkest day in the history of Pakistan passed quietly with no special supplements or features in the print media or special programs on the electronic media.
It was July 5, 1977, past midnight, at 0130 hours, when “Operation Fair Play” was put into action on the orders of then chief of the army staff, Gen Ziaul Haq, and the first directly elected prime minister of Pakistan, along with the cabinet ministers and the opposition leaders, were taken into “protective custody”. This was the start of eleven long years of dictatorial rule and the judicial murder of the most charismatic and popular leader of Pakistan in the early hours of April 4, 1979.
July 5 was the day when the democratic forces of the country suffered an unbearable loss, the effects of which are still being felt. Had there been no July 5, Pakistan would have been standing proudly among the developed countries of the world with strong democratic institutions in place.
Zufikar Ali Bhutto, who was the prime minister of Pakistan and the Chairman of Islamic Conference until July 5, 1979, took oath of the president of Pakistan on December 20, 1971, with the aim to “Pick up the pieces, very small pieces”. He was the voice of poor masses of the country, he was not only the undisputed leader of a very vast majority of the country but also of the third world. The reasons behind the coup of 1979 will never be made public, and the real faces behind that tragic event will always remain behind the curtain.
The man who had to his credit historic achievements such as the Simla Summit in 1972, the constitution of 1973, unanimously adopted and agreed by all the federating units of the country, the Islamic summit of 1974, the starting of the atomic program, and the introduction of labor reforms, was removed from the scene of Pakistani politics in the dark of the night.
Bhutto wanted to “make a new Pakistan, a prosperous and progressive Pakistan, a Pakistan free of exploitation, a Pakistan envisaged by the Quaid-e-Azam”. He wanted to “rebuild hope in the future” with a system in which the common man, the poor, “can tell me to go to hell”. But he was removed from power to be subsequently hanged.
Today, after more than four decades, it is the duty of every Pakistani to learn a lesson from history, to show faith in elected governments, and to follow the democratic principles of tolerance and respect for all, and pray that we don’t see another July 5 in future.
Aamir Aqil,
Lahore.
For the people – I
Sir,
In holy month of Ramadan, our ruling elite and the filthy rich proceed on five-star Umra visits, hoping that the Almighty will forgive their sins.
There are two types of obligatory Islamic duties expected from a believer – Huqooqullah and Huqooqul Ebad. Our ruling elite and bureaucracy have voluntarily accepted public offices, which makes it mandatory for them to serve people through diligent use of powers, and this comes under Huqooqul Ebad, violations of which the Almighty has very clearly stated that even He will not pardon. It is for the people whose rights have been usurped, or who have been denied equal opportunities, to pardon the rulers. Nobody else can forgive them.
All those public office holders who intend to proceed for Umra or Hajj this year should ask themselves some questions, such as: Have they appointed the most qualified citizens of Pakistan to the offices they oversee, and given them promotions or foreign postings on merit, or indulged in favoring cronies? Have they paid all taxes due from them, which would have contributed to providing basic health, education and clean drinking water for the people? Did they ensure that all procurements and contracts were awarded transparently in accordance with rules and laws that are in force? Have they in their own estimate ensured that public money has not been wasted? What steps have they taken to punish rapists, pedophiles, murderers, extortionists, hoarders and those involved in forcible occupation of land belonging to widows, orphans, the poor, the aged and the destitute?
If they have fulfilled all such obligations, then they can seek mercy and Blessings of Allah. Otherwise, they will have to answer for failing to fulfill Haqooqul Ebad on the Day of Judgment.
Tariq Ali,
Lahore.
For the people – II
Sir,
It is good to know that our prime minister has imposed a ban on official Iftar parties. This will save the country precious resources, and people will hail him as a great leader working in the best interest of Pakistan.
I will suggest him to also encourage people to celebrate Independence Day on a personal rather than official level, saving even more money to help our worsening economy.
I think celebrations paid by public money that go on for a week will also be a waste of resources, which can be diverted towards the IDPs.
Khalid Mustafa,
Islamabad.
Courtesy call
Sir,
I am a Malaysian citizen who traveled by PIA for the first and perhaps the last time in my life from Kuala Lumpur to Lahore by flight PK899 on 9th July, which instead of departing at 9:30pm, departed at 1:30am on 10th July.
We were told at check in that the flight was delayed. The aircraft, an A 310, was without any exaggeration in a poor state, with dirty seats, lavatories unfit for use and floor carpeting giving an unhygienic look. As if this was not enough, the cabin crew was rude and their attitude was insulting towards the passengers traveling in the economy class. Most passengers were skilled laborers traveling on their national airline, hoping to be treated with courtesy, instead of being scolded by the stewardess for daring to ask for a glass of water and tissue papers.
It is these passengers who pay for the salaries of PIA employees and if anybody is doing anyone a favor, it is the passengers who pay to travel, and not the airline staff who are paid to serve.
When the passengers seated behind me pressed the call button, a rowdy steward thought that my companion seated next to me, who was sleeping, had made the mistake of bothering the cabin crew. He came to our seat, pushed the sleeping passenger, who woke up almost dazed as to why this uniformed steward was shouting at him. When we asked for a comment card, the senior purser came, but in spite of our insistence, it was not provided to us.
It does not cost to be courteous, especially when you are hired to do so.
V Baghwandas,
Selangor.
Middle ground
Sir,
Another heated summer has been met by a volley of missile strikes within both Israeli and Palestinian territories. Having a go at Israel and criticizing their state policy is akin to stealing candy form a baby. Their crimes are all too well documented, yet most people of the East when asked are clueless as to what the whole conflict is about. What they do know is that Israel is full of Jews and they must be scorned at and shown much hate. But there is more to it.
The recent renewed upsurge in the conflict arose when three innocent Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and subsequently murdered. This followed another kidnapping, this time on a just as innocent Palestinian youth, the message was clear: an eye for an eye…makes the whole world blind. Missiles from both sides have largely targeted innocent civilians on both sides of the fence. This has triggered a massive hail storm of information and views being shared on social media sites, including doctored pictures.
Another source of trouble is how this has become a Muslim conflict, are they no Christians Jews or atheist who live within Palestine. Edward Said, a literary theorist and public intellectual who helped found the critical-theory field of post colonialism, was raised up as a Christian in Jerusalem but never once did he label it as a religious conflict. In his famous essay ‘The Clash of Ignorance’ as a rebuttal to Samuel Huntington’s article ‘The Clash of Civilizations?’, Said lays waste the claims of ‘the West’ and ‘Islam’. He states such labels pose as a danger to society and tend to distort reality. Said takes it further saying to bundle ‘civilizations’ and ‘identities’ only tends to form barriers in an ever globalizing world, one that thrives on cross-fertilization of cultures and based on sharing. Said penned down these critiques in the light of 9-11 and blamed newspaper outlets for labeling Us vs. Them.
However I disagree with him, it tends to work the other way around, where the East plays the victim card. Social media outlets show trends with ‘Muslims’ attached to them. They see themselves as an ethnicity, an ideology and thus makes them one in suffering around the world. However one does not need to belong from any religious denomination to condemn the aggressors on both side.
An urgent need to find a middle ground is now of utmost necessity. We cannot go ahead and blame the Israelis for conducting missile strikes within Gaza strip without condemning the merciless barrage of unguided missiles being launch by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, both laying waste to civilians and causing much terror. This is a game of causality, three innocent Israelis get murdered and the effect is the price being paid by a Palestinian youth. And thus, much of the conflict so far has been played out as. How many more ‘peace talks’ must we see before we see two sovereign states coexisting as friendly neighbors?
Ali Gohar Shah,
Utrecht.