Beginning of a Struggle

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2007/09/flwrc58.html?&c=3wm


This is a PBS report on the struggle to find the missing persons in Pakistan who have disappeared without a trace within government detention. These people, numbered in hundreds, have been missing since the General Musharraf's government conceded to partner President George W Bush in his so called, "war on terror". Families of these missing individuals are concerned and have not heard back from the government of their whereabouts, health and charges against them. They are treated far worse than Guantanamo inmates (held by US Government) and so far none of them have been tried or charged with any wrong doing.

The struggle between judiciary and General Musharraf began when the supreme court began investigating the illegal detention of such individuals by the government. In subsequent move, Justice Chaudhary was removed in March, 2007, to stop such investigation. However, the lawyer community stood up and challenged this decision by the General and suddenly it turned into a movement to over throw the pro-US General Musharraf.

The president may like to call himself "moderate", but his polices are nothing of that sort. It is quite common to find NAB (National Accountability Bureau), Police, FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) and ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) to kidnap individuals without charges and keep them hidden form weeks. And this is just a prime example of things that have gone awry under his regime. It is quite unfortunate that he still wants to hang on to power (by any means) even though the tide has turned against him. It is just a matter of time before the army, which is also quite frustrated by his policies, will stop supporting him.

It was December 2006, when the first protest against the missing persons was organized. Today, it is now almost a year from the incident and the struggle for justice has taken on a national flavor. From students to professionals to women, it seems everyone is now standing up to defend their rights.

Poetry: Ae Watan ke Nasheelay Jawano

Beginning of Something Different

It was a typical march afternoon in Islamabad. A few of us friends had gathered at a local popular restaurant for our lunch. We were a mixed lot. With education degrees from abroad and working for the development, private and government sectors, we were pondering on the future of the country. Just recently, the chief justice, Chaudhary Iftikhar had been deposed from his position by Gen Musharraf and there seemed an instant uprising by the lawyers.

As it is, I had the most pessimistic view among them. I believed, at that time, that Musharraf is powerful enough and will prevail over the agitators who will be locked up before the end of the month. However, my friends, especially those hailing from the government sectors, had a completely different point of view. They believed, and rightly so, that if lawyers prevailed and if the courts turned the ruling in favor of the Chief Justice, it will be the beginning of something different.

A few weeks later, with Chief Justice rallying the whole nation behind him, the first of the many TV censorships were imposed in the country by the military regime. The rallies that Chaudhary Iftikhar led in various cities of Pakistan were composed of thousands of supporters who came to greet and meet the person who had decided to stand up to Musharraf. These rallies, were sadly, banned altogether from live TV coverage. The noose on the media was beginning to tighten signalling once again the weakness of the government. In the midst of all this, the Chief Justice's rally in Karachi was met by Musharraf's supporters, aka MQM. And before the end of the day, 28 innocent people lay dead on the streets of Karachi. Once again, the message was clear. Support Musharraf or die. A few weeks later, bomb blast in Islamabad was to further flay the movement. But it had no effect on millions of people from standing up. Nor did the arrest of hundreds of lawyers nationwide who were supporting justice over dictatorship. It seemed that the masses had been mobilized and no ban, bomb or murders could stop this movement from spreading now.

It truly seemed the beginning of something different.

In the middle of all this, another tragic incident stirred the nerves of many in the country. The Lal Masjid debacle. That fateful day, when the incident began, I was in the neighborhood of the ill fated mosque. Rather, when I went to a nearby building for a meeting, everything seemed normal. But when I came out, a few hours later, the whole area was deserted. The shops that were buzzing with customers now had shutters down. The only activity on the street were Police vehicles. I had to walk quite a distance before I could find transport to take me away. All the while, that I walked through the area, I was worried if a stray bullet would pierce me from somewhere or some agitated mob might begin ransacking the area. Fortunately, I escaped to safety in good time.

The siege of the mosque lasted a while and it was telecast live on almost all televisions, including CNN and BBC. We even got a chance to hear the story of those inside the mosque through Geo, ARY and other local TV stations. At the same time, we listened to the daily press briefings by the government (initially) and later by the military which were never really telling us the real story. The heart of Islamabad shook with the bombs and rocket fires for weeks as the two sides fought it out to the grim end. The siege finally ended with the military might triumphaning over the hapless teenagers and defenseless females being massacared by army's automatic weapons and gun ship helicopters. A few who did have weapons within the mosque fared even worse, as they were hunted down and killed off one by one. Almost instantly, there was a change. While the government of Musharraf and military declared complete success in "Operation Silence", their compounds came under severe attacks from the forces that were loyal to Taliban. For the first time, it seemed, that Taliban had declared an all out war against the men in uniform. Never had the army been under siege from its own people.

It truly seemed the beginning of something different.

But the worst was yet to come. Chaudhary Iftikhar was not only reinstated by the subsequent court ruling in his favor, but he began questioning every single decision that the military dictator and his regime was making within the country. This brought us to where we are today. The emergency was declared, and all semblance of democracy and people power was taken away. Media was not only censored, but GEO and ARY were initially banned and later shut down for good. Thousands of protesters, including politicians, lawyers, students, intellectuals and human rights activists were rounded up and locked up into prisons. Musharraf once again made it very clear to his subjects. Stand up against me and you will perish. The masses got the message. They are beginning to stand up and had one goal in mind; "Perish Musharraf"

The movement today is a million strong. It encompasses students from high school and leading colleges and universities of the country. It includes, lawyers, businessmen and even women from all walks of life. It includes religious right and even Benazir Bhutto's pro Musharraf party. In short, it is no longer a movement led by any political party, but a movement led by the educated and elite class of people against the military regime of General Pervaiz Musharraf.

And in the end, it is truly the beginning of something different. It is definitely the birth of a revolution. One for which the country has waited 60 long years.

We Must Stand Up

“We are a nation by every definition of the word nation” Mohmmad Ali Jinnah. It is time that we make this assertion made by the founder of Pakistan true. Quaid-e-Azam promised us Pakistan and we promised him undying loyalty and sincerity to the state of Pakistan. We must ask ourselves have we honored our promise. Have we fulfilled our part of the bargain? First they attacked democracy, then they attacked the judiciary and now they have stripped us of our basic rights. They have silenced the cries of the oppressed, the people of Pakistan. Are we still going to let the autocrats dictate their will?

Success of every nation stems from a free and healthy judicial system, which is independent of the executive. The Chief Justice of Pakistan along with other seven judges of the Supreme Court have been placed under house arrest for an indefinite period of time. The Chief Justice who never ignored the voice of the oppressed no matter what class of society they belonged to. The man who gave people the hope to strive and live, whom the poor man thinks of as his savior is being held like a captive. Does any one of us have any hope of justice anymore? The bigger question is, will we finally standup for our future, for the tomorrow of Pakistan.

The issue is not of one institution or one man anymore, the issue is of a country. The issue is, are we ready to be a nation. The issue is will we pay our allegiance to the flag of Pakistan. We have waited 60 long years for a leader to show us the path to a stable Pakistan. We yet have not come across one. Is it not time that we join hands as a nation and take this country forward. Till when we will deprive the future generations their right to live under the rule of law.

“The constitution of a country, is not merely a lawyer’s document, but is in fact the vehicle of a nation’s life” Woodrow Wilson. I appeal to the general public to realize that the limb which General Pervaiz Mushraff is amputating is the very soul of Pakistan. We must put an end to the rule of one man and instead strive for a Pakistan which Allama Iqbal envisioned, the Pakistan of Quaid-e-Azam, which is based on the principles of social justice and democracy. We must save the country for which our ancestors gave their lives; the country which was an ideology must now be turned in to a reality.

Barrister Z.F.Sivia

It is time for Civilian Rule

Until recently I was also apolitical along with most Pakistanis who want to be left alone to chase whatever they want be it money or birds (unsuccessful on both counts in my case).

While in Pakistan itself for a number of years there have been two important interest groups

• Those that want to see a civilian government
• A similar sized minority that love military rule believing that authoritarian figures are needed to keep Pak intact
  

In the last year, however, all Pakistanis are being forced to decide which camp they belong to.

This has been due to General Musharraf's political oafishness and lack of common touch which has given the former renewed vigor to agitate for his removal.

The three main catalysts have been

1. The inevitable blow back from doing Bush's dirty work in Waziristan which has tarnished the image of the army generally
2. Failure to blow some life into Pakistani politics by measures such as secret leadership ballots to get new party leaders
3. His taking on of the judiciary has united the different political opposition to military rule where Bush and the Taliban failed to

In so many ways good old Musharraf was so much better than the previous generals - particularly his crisis management job between 1999 and 2003 in very trying circumstances when Pakistan's name was mud internationally.

But he has sown the seeds for his his own downfall by his lack of respect for the judiciary - this was what allowed Aitzaz Ahsan to turn a stuffy figure like Iftikhar Chaudry into a national hero.

Worse still he has appeared to the public as a pathetic rascal who would do anything to keep his presidency - even to do a deal with the crook Benazir (as proven in Swiss courts, however, much she may bleat and appeal) - to again weaken the opposition at the next elections.

His persona from this decision changed to a power drunk autocrat - one that wants to be in power for power's sake - however much he may say that the easiest thing would be for him to leave to be with his beloved Bilal in America.

The momentum that the Chief Justice generated was such that he became more powerful than the President himself - to keep his job the general had to even dismay his Western partners by sacking the Supreme Court.

Personally I think Aitzaz Ahsan and the judiciary went too far in that they were going to declare Musharraf's presidency invalid on the basis that he still had his uniform on at the time of the vote. I think that the opposition should have tried to win the election and given the general a dignified retirement in a few years in the interests of national reconciliation.

But I guess they are all gambling that Mush is losing support by the day even within the army and also want to get their own back on him for the way he has treated them.

While BiBi is having to join in on the bandwagon now that she is finally cottoning onto the fact that the general is sinking.

In the midst of these upheavals I have come to the decision that civilian rule must be Paksitan's political direction. It is the only way that personalities and egos are to be kept in check and that priority will be given to the wants and needs of the Paksitani public.

-- Hamza Anwar (Manchester, UK)

Alternative approaches to protests

This note is in reference to the current political crisis in Pakistan.

Blockaded route to the Presidency in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Protests internationally will only bring bad publicity to the cause. It will reinforce the idea that Pakistan is really “the most dangerous place in the world”. There needs to be a mechanism that we can get the word out without affecting the country's reputation. That is a tough ask, but still doable.

As professionals living in Pakistan and abroad, we should protest in mechanisms that can create the maximum impact with minimum effort and all being within the legal framework. Otherwise, there is no difference between us and the lawbreakers. We should also encourage non-Pakistanis to learn more about the country and recruit them to support our cause.

Therefore, we should be involved in activities that may assist in educating the common person that the actual issues that plague Pakistan, and emphasize that it suffers from inept and corrupt leadership. Here is what I would recommend one should do.

For those, who are too busy to take time out, can still participate by doing some of the following tasks.

Simple tasks that anyone can do, with no time available

• Join online groups on social networking websites


• Sign online petitions


• Spread the message among friends (Pakistanis and others)


• Talk positively about the crisis and ask for assistance from friends


• Write a blog about your experiences. Or if you do not have a blog, try writing a note in your facebook or something similar.


• Share your opinion (even one paragraph) on any popular website. So that others know that the cause has many supporters.

A bit more time for activities

• Call your local state representative in the congress Congress/Senate and ask what is their stance on the recent crisis in Pakistan?


• Ask them to raise and discuss this issue in congress.


• Ask them not to impose sanctions on the country as it will hurt the poor, rather impose sanctions on individuals who violate human rights.

Dedicated time for activities

• Initiate a physical gathering of like minded individuals who might have joined the electronic groups based on the cause.


• Speak about the issue in detail


• Educate the people concerned about the cause


• Come up with unique strategies to resolve the crisis


• Join organizations that work for the cause. Maybe, restoration of democracy.


• Get internationally recognized speakers to speak at your forum (Hoover institute at stanford, or JFK School of Govt at Harvard or something similar maybe)


In addition, one can always participate in protest marches and demonstrations taking place in your neighborhood.