Afghan peace talks—another attempt

I just saw a picture of Asad Haqqani, son of late Jalaluddin Haqqani with Former
President Hamid Karzai in Moscow during the Afghan Peace Conference. This
meeting held on March 18, 2021 is an initiative by Russia which has resulted into a
joint statement of the extended troika on peaceful settlement in Afghanistan.
Pakistan also became a part of this peace conference. It has been resolved that the
Afghan government and the Taliban must negotiate peace and the Afghan Taliban
should not launch the spring offensive. It was also resolved that Afghan soil should
not be used against any country.
The US and China also attended it and there was an undertaking by the US
regarding the withdrawal of American troops. Now the next meeting on this subject
will be held in Turkey in April. Time passes so quickly that now the same Taliban are
coming into a position to dictate their terms.
After becoming the interior minister, upon my first visit to Afghanistan, I met Hamid
Karzai, the then President of Afghanistan and delivered to him a letter from
President Zardari. Hamid Karzai has termed Haqqani as a bad Taliban and was not
prepared to talk to them. Time has its own power to take over the events that today
Hamid Karzai had to warmly meet Haqqani to negotiate the settlement.
I feel that the US will not withdraw the American troops on May 1 as committed.
This will again create huge gaps between the US and Taliban.
The US is expected to scrap any proposal or deal from Russia and we see the Afghan
leadership today stands divided, which is detrimental for peace. Let us have a look
at the recent history of Afghanistan which shows that peace has become a dream
and everyone around the world hopes for peace, yet within months, it ends with
more bombs and drone attacks in Afghanistan.
It was tragic to see the once modern city converted into ruins. I had seen these
ruins and miseries of Afghan brothers when I travelled through Kabul during my
exile to Europe and it was pathetic to see the condition and terror on the faces of

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the Afghan people. I am witness to fights that were ignited by the then President
Rabbani and PM Gulbuddin Hikametyar. Both were installed by the US in a hurry
and I remember all the meetings by all stakeholders in the Governor House,
Peshawar. It was a mistake by the Americans to install the Afghan National
government in a hurry which actually resulted in facilitation of the emergence of
the Taliban and then Al Qaeda.
Along with a journalist friend of mine, I stayed in the city of Kabul inside the hub of
the Taliban in a school where we slept on the hard floor for two nights under a stair
gap.
The Pakistani Taliban (Punjabi Taliban) from the south of Punjab were there to fight
the northern alliance after two weeks of training. During the last few days, I later
shared my room with two Punjabi Taliban from Rahimyar Khan.
My statement as interior minister about Punjabi Taliban was in fact due to my
personal interaction with them. I survived, as my face was not known to them and
I was living among them under the guise of a journalist reporting from the Afghan
war zone between the Taliban and the northern zone.
My purpose of mentioning this is to prove that Afghanistan is hosting multinational
fighters under the garb of Afghan Taliban. Previously, these Taliban were operating
under the command of Mullah Umer whom I had met in an official meeting along
with General Naseer Ullah Babar, the then Interior minister before the fall of the
PPP government.
There have been several tries to bring peace in Afghanistan by the world but the
Afghans are determined to first oust the American troops. The “one step forward,
two steps backward” saga continued until 2013, when the Taliban sent a message
to Washington to reopen peace talks and also agreed to meet the Afghan
Government with the efforts of Pakistan.
Through intermediaries in Qatar, the Taliban planned to open a political office in
Doha dedicated to negotiations but again miscommunication took place as the
Taliban leaders knew that the US and Afghan officials did not want to address them
as representatives of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. But based partly on
discussions with Qatari officials who had already agreed that they could use the
title; when it opened, the office displayed the flag of the Islamic Emirate. The

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United States, on the other hand, were assured by the Qatari government that the
office would not describe itself as part of the Islamic Emirate, and demanded that
Qatari officials remove the flag, in response to which the Taliban closed the office
and cut off all contact with Washington and Kabul.
The Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), comprising Afghanistan, China,
Pakistan and the US, took a much-needed initiative in December 2015 and became
operational in January 2016 when it met officially for the first time. Just before the
fourth round of QCG discussions in February, the then Pakistan army chief Raheel
Shareef travelled to Doha to persuade all Taliban factions and groups to return to
the negotiating table. The QCG also could not prove to be a balanced and efficient
mechanism to bring lasting peace to Afghanistan like all other former
breakthroughs as it effectively blocked Russia and Iran, two of the most important
players in Afghanistan, from the negotiating table.
In December 2016, Russia hosted talks in Moscow on Afghanistan with both
Pakistan and China followed by two further rounds of talks in February and April
2017 including India, Iran, the Central Asian states, and the Afghan government
whereas the US refused to participate. These talks for future regional efforts to
address the conflict also failed. Despite facing the various past setbacks, Russia
again took forward the Afghan peace initiative it started a couple of years ago this
year. The regional powers including Russia and China have genuine stakes and
concerns regarding Afghan peace, stability and just like Pakistan they need to play
a greater role to put an end to this decades’ long conflict making the poor people
of Afghanistan suffer.
In October 2018, the newly-appointed US Special Representative for Afghanistan
Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad travelled to Doha to explore the potential for peace
talks in a meeting with the Taliban. On October 25, 2018 Pakistan finally released
former Taliban deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar after nine years of
detention as the Taliban emir appointed Baradar to lead peace talks and the
group’s political office in Doha. Hence the US and the Taliban began overt bilateral
negotiations in Doha, agreeing to discuss US/NATO military withdrawal, counter-
terrorism, and a ceasefire while the talks continued for over the next eight months.
In August 2019, the US and the Taliban signed an “agreement in principle” on
counter-terrorism and military withdrawal and an eventual ceasefire. There

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continued many ceasefire agreements between the Afghan government and
Afghan Taliban until August 2020 when President Ghani declared he lacked the
authority to release 400 specific Taliban prisoners and called for a Loya Jirga, or
traditional national assembly; the assembly approved releases clearing the way for
talks.
Finally, in February 2020, the US and the Taliban signed an agreement in Doha in
which all foreign forces were supposed to quit Afghanistan by May 2021. The
signing of agreement goes to the credit of General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the army
chief and his key General General Faiz Hameed, DG ISI. Taliban negotiation teams
and the Afghan government gathered in Doha, Qatar, in September 2020 to
commence peace talks meant to reach a political settlement to the conflict again.
Only a few people know that Ashraf Ghani, Hamid Karzai and Zalmay Khalilzad were
class fellows in Beirut University and supplemented support to each other in order
to protect each other’s interests.
Ashraf Ghani came back and started his wholesale business in Dubai and the same
was done by the Karzai family as well. Abdul Khaliq, the brother of Hamid Karzai, a
genuine mujahid, lost his life, hence, Hamid Karzai was promoted as Mujahid and
was supported by the US to be launched as President. He is a shrewd leader and
has a role to play with his soft politics with a genius mind.
I met Ashraf Ghani last time in Istanbul and found him to be very humble and sharp,
but he has been fully utilised. According to a new strategy and understanding,
Maulana Gulbuddin Hikmatyar, with the training from General Babar, will use his
influence on his Afghan colleagues and his personal friend Turkish President
Erdogan. The Turkish President is from former JI Turkey, whereas he has been in
the company of Hekmityar; let us hope that he will be able to come up with the
right proposal. We in Pakistan want peace in Afghanistan and would like Afghans
to lead peaceful lives. I hope Afghanistan brings fresh and young leadership with
the ability to get the nation united.
I hope and pray that efforts of General Bajwa prove to be fruitful and he is able to
win peace for Afghan brothers and sisters. It is the need of the time for all
stakeholders in Afghanistan to demonstrate national unity for the larger interest of
their nation.

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 By: Senator Rehman Malik
Source: The Nation
The writer is a PPP Senator, former Interior Minister of Pakistan, and Chairman of
think tank “Global Eye” and Senate Standing Committee on Interior.
The views expressed are solely mine and do not necessarily represent the views of
my party.

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 Austerity measures
Pakistan is a developing country where the dire need for austerity measures in
every sphere of national life cannot be overemphasised, ensuring every penny is
spent and utilised for the specific purposes it is meant for. Islamic teachings also
tell us to shun lavish spending in public and private sectors and adopt adequate
measures for ensuring austerity and simplicity.
Over the years austerity measures have been continued to be enlisted in circulars
for budgets as an annual ritual. Once austerity measures like circulars are issued,
nobody bothers to see that these are strictly adopted and followed by all concerned
down the lines also. This scribe has been seeing these austerity measure circulars
from time to time as a professional journalist.
The austerity measures circular issued following the Federal Budget for financial
year 2020-21 is pretty short. It bans the purchase of new cars and motorcycles for
official use and also uses paper on both sides to ensure maximum usage of official
stationery. But there are also no restrictions whatsoever on austerity measures
being adopted additionally by anyone who is treading the corridor of powers at the
national and provincial levels.
One such instance which can easily be mentioned while talking about austerity
measures is none other but that of PTI Chairman/Prime Minister Imran Khan, who,
after coming into power following a free, fair and transparent general election in
July 2018 vowed to set an example of austerity in the utilisation of public funds by
the Prime Minister’s House and the Prime Minister’s Office.
The incumbent PM lives in his own bungalow and has no camp offices anywhere
unlike previous rulers and has taken measures to adopt austerity measures
wherever possible so that the money thus saved is utilised for some purpose aiming
at the welfare and well-being of the masses at large. Before going any further, this
scribe would like to mention here briefly as to why this subject has been chosen to
dilate upon ahead of the upcoming federal and provincial budgets presentation for
the next financial year and seeking pardon from the readers for this pertinent
deviation, very much essential and unavoidable though.
In a recent talk show by a private sector channel, it was purposefully or
unintentionally mentioned by the participants that the expenses of the PM Office

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had increased the allocated budgetary provisions during the last two financial years
2018-19 and 2019-20 in contradiction of the austerity measures. This had
prompted this scribe to search for the actual facts and figures from the finance
ministry and also searched budget documents for the last two financial years as the
information so given out wrongly was not easily swallowed. Hence this article is
based on the information available quarters concerned.
It may be mentioned here, that as a matter of fact, the expenditures of the Prime
Minister’s Office have actually reduced quite considerably as promised by the PM.
As per budgetary provisions, expenditure relating to employees had increased
slightly owing to the annual increments, which is the basic right of every
government functionary and cannot be denied, and operating expenses on the
other, had come down from Rs 218 million to Rs 46 million, indicating a huge cut.
Similarly, saving readers from mention of budgetary facts and figures, expenditures
under heads of entertainment and gifts, miscellaneous expenditures, wages of
household servants, discretionary grants and the Prime Minister’s estate garden
establishment had shown a reduction in varying figures, forcefully indicating that
the Prime Minister is strictly adhering to his commitment and vision of austerity.
Facts and figures which this scribe got from official quarters make the data
presented by the participants in the talk show wrong, as Prime Minister Imran Khan
is sincerely and strictly keeping his words ensuring expenditures of the PM Office
are kept on the lower side and minimum burden is placed on the exchequer. In
doing so continuously, the PM has not only kept his word but is also setting an
example for all other political leaders as well as government functionaries to
reduce avoidable, non-essential and wasteful expenditures without compromising
on their working and performance.
In conclusion, this scribe would like to request the participants of TV channel talk
shows, irrespective of their political affiliations, to ensure they come fully prepared
on topics/subjects which are likely to be discussed so as not to cut a sorry figure by
putting forward false facts and figures.
By: Muhammad Zahid Rifat
Source: The Nation

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The writer is Lahore-based Freelance Journalist, Columnist and retired Deputy
Controller (News) Radio Pakistan Islamabad

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 US Afghan campaign’s elusive closure
The US Afghan campaign has been a colossal disaster from its very inception. It
suffered from an ill-defined end state, lacked a clearly enunciated strategic
direction, underwent relentless mission creep and ill-considered troop withdrawals
and surges. Its operational strategies vacillated between counter terrorism,
counterinsurgency, nation building and peace-making. In between the Afghan
campaign went into an operational pause as the US shifted its focus to Iraq—ceding
critical time and space to the various Afghan militant groups to reorganise, re-equip
and recruit. Consequently, the US failed to achieve any of its stated or even implied
policy objectives in Afghanistan and the region.
The US Afghan campaign is a textbook example of how not to mount and conduct
a military campaign and how not to bring it to a close.
President Biden’s Administration is now attempting to re-hash, revive and expedite
the President Trump era Afghan peace process. In an unusually terse missive, the
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has read out the riot act to Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani, literally asking him to either become a willing partner in the US
mandated Afghan peace process or face the consequences, alone. It also warned
him of a possible US troop withdrawal by May 2021 and a subsequent Afghan
Taliban spring-summer offensive to overrun Kabul.
Furthermore, the letter laid down four benchmarks for the Afghan peace process;
one, the formation of an all-Afghan interim government; two, a ninety-day
reduction in violence; three, shifting the Intra-Afghan dialogue to Turkey and finally
requesting the UN to organise a multilateral peace conference between the
regional powers to include the US, Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran and surprisingly,
even peripheral India. The thrust of this letter is further elaborated in a “Discussion
Draft of a Peace Agreement”. This draft comprises three sections; the first deals
with the guiding principles for the Afghan Constitution and its future, the second
gives out the terms for governing the country during the transition period while the
third deals with a permanent ceasefire. Crucially, the document accepts Islam as
the official religion of Afghanistan, disregarding secularism.
This US approach, a twin-pronged simultaneous one at the regional and
Afghanistan levels, is essentially flawed and likely to come to severe grief. To that

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end, the essentially required conducive political and strategic environments in
Afghanistan and the region just do not exist. The US and the Afghan Taliban have
conflicting interpretations of the implementation of their bilateral peace accord.
The Afghan Taliban and the National Unity Government (NUG) have both shown
strong reservations over this US plan too. The US is proposing a western style
parliamentary democracy whereas the Afghan Taliban are adamant on enforcing
the Islamic Sharia—two mutually exclusive positions. Furthermore, just decreeing
a ninety-day reduction in violence is not likely to succeed unless based upon a
mutually-accepted compromise between the two Afghan belligerents. Then, will
President Ashraf Ghani, correctly identified as the main hurdle to the peace
process, readily submit to US commands and step aside for an interim government
or will the US be compelled to affect a regime change? That will have its own
dynamics and destabilising ramifications. Furthermore, the Letter and the Draft are
silent on how to deal with Terrorism Central—the macabre collection of IS, Al
Qaeda, TTP, JuA, IMU, ETIM etc “safely ensconced” in the bad-lands of Afghanistan.
The multi-billion-dollar drug trade, mafias, warlords and the future of the ANSDF
and Taliban militants have been totally ignored as has been the reported presence
of a Fatemiyoun Militia (Hazara) and others of its ilk. Finally, there is just not enough
time for this US effort to succeed by May 1, 2012.
The Moscow Process has re-emerged too, whereby Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan
(realistically excluding India), the NUG and Afghan Taliban will seek a consensual
solution to this massive Afghan imbroglio. The US is invited too, perhaps. Is it a
parallel attempt to find a solution to the Afghan issue, is it a subset of the US effort
or is it essentially an independent, divergent endeavour by Russia? Time alone will
tell.
This US approach does not address the fiercely conflicting and clashing interests of
the regional countries. Thus, there is no regional consensus on the modus operandi
of the peace process. Iran, Pakistan and peripheral India support fiercely
antagonistic, belligerent groups and proxies. Iran is inclined towards the Northern
Alliance (NA) and the NUG. Pakistan has been linked with the Afghan Taliban.
Peripheral India has invested heavily in Afghanistan and needs an anti-Pakistan
government in Kabul (NUG, NDS plus Terrorism Central), to continue sponsoring
terrorism into Pakistan and against the BRI-CPEC. China has an interest in
incorporating a peaceful and stable Afghanistan into its BRI-CPEC. Russia and the

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CARs need Afghanistan as a conduit to the Makran Coast-Arabian Sea. Thus, even
the regional countries have severely clashing interests in Afghanistan. Will a solitary
peace conference under the UN smoothen out all wrinkles—get all regional
countries to set aside their respective national interests on mere UN insistence or
US diktat? Most unlikely.
A well-coordinated “top down” approach might have worked better. The US could
have created the necessary political and strategic environment in the region prior
to creating the same conditions in Afghanistan. It could have gotten the regional
countries to coordinate and use their influences on their respective proxies to
ensure a meaningful Intra-Afghan Dialogue, a viable ceasefire, neutralisation of
Terrorism Central, ceasefire, peace and a responsible US egress from the region.
Failure of the US to create consensus at the regional and Afghanistan levels in the
right order, will lead to inevitable infighting, chaos and widespread bloodshed.
Even the regional players will not be averse to extracting their respective pounds
of flesh from this pitiable Afghan carcass. Balkanisation of Afghanistan and a
destabilisation of the region will be inescapable, inevitable—unless the US has
other deeper, more ominous plans up its sleeve.
Given the current political and strategic environment, this US Afghan campaign is
unlikely to come to a feasible, sensible closure very soon.
By: Imran Malik
Source: The Nation
The writer is a retired brigadier of the Pakistan Army. He can be reached at
im.k846@gmail.com and tweets @K846Im.

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 Crisis of the left
There are very few people on the Left who are ready to accept the fact that the Left
movement has been facing a crisis of ideology since the collapse of the Soviet Bloc
and Social Democracy since the 1990s. With the collapse of Social Democracy and
the Soviet Union in the 1990s, the Left lost its ideology and its way.
The failure of the Left to develop a new ideology in the last thirty years is the
underlying reason for its weakness today. A huge credibility gap exists about
socialism and the Left in the minds of the working class. And that is not surprising
at all.
The Left failed to respond when its ideology faced a deep crisis in the early 1990s.
By then it had become obvious that the Left’s 19th Century socialist ideology had
failed when put into practice in the 20th Century.
The collapse of social democracy represented the failure of the reformist wing of
the socialist movement. The collapse of the Soviet Bloc (the Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe) represented the failure of the more radical wing of the socialist
movement. These two wings represented the whole socialist project in the eyes of
the world's population. The failure of the socialist project raised serious questions
on the credibility of the socialist ideology.
Tragically, this momentous defeat was not recognised as such by almost all
socialists. And thus, they failed to take the steps needed to reconsider and renew
their ideology.
The main challenge before the Left movement was to develop a democratic model
of socialism after the failure of the top-down bureaucratic and authoritarian model.
But the Left movement failed to develop a democratic model of socialism which
guarantees democratic and political rights, freedoms and liberties.
In particular, the Left was unable to see that its old ideology had been missing the
vital ingredient of democratic control by the working class. The Left’s emphasis on
planning, public ownership and public services had left out the key question of how
these institutions were going to be run. How they would be made accountable to
their workers, service users, customers etc.

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In the absence of any clear programme for participatory democracy in the state
and the public sector, these institutions had ended up under the control of
bureaucrats or elites. As a result, each attempt at socialist reform or revolution has
produced top-down, bureaucratic and inefficient systems. In all the experiments of
implementing socialism, there was a common feature – the working people were
alienated from power.
Experience has shown time and time again that democratic control of society by
working people will not emerge automatically. It must be specifically planned for
and campaigned on if we are to see it arrive and flourish. Because of this, popular
control has to be at the heart of any new democratic socialist ideology for the 21st
Century. Not added on as an afterthought. The lack of this is the root cause of the
failure of the old socialist ideology.
Before the collapse of the Soviet Union and right-wing turn of social democracy,
socialism was a viable alternative to capitalism. It was part of the political
consciousness of the wider layers of working people around the world. Socialism
was a credible alternate in the eyes of millions of working and young people. The
Left was a credible political force in society.
But today’s reality is different. Even though capitalism discredited itself in the eyes
of millions of people around the world in the last three decades, the Left has failed
to emerge as a viable alternative. Socialism is no more on the agenda and the Left
is not a credible political force in society. The Left has been pushed aside since the
rise of the neoliberal capitalist ideology.
Millions of young people, workers, unemployed, small traders, farmers, peasants
and women are angry with the existing socioeconomic conditions in which they are
forced to live in. They wanted to get rid of inequality, poverty, exploitation,
alienation and unemployment. The anger against authoritarian neoliberal
capitalism is growing in many countries – both rich and poor.
Under neoliberal capitalism, there is a growing level of discontent. The decades of
austerity, cuts on social spending, privatization, deregulation, pro-market reforms
and attacks on the welfare state have fueled anger against neoliberal policies. Life
meanwhile gets harder and more uncertain for most of the working class. Thus,
increasingly obscene wealth for a shrinking, super-rich minority starkly contrasts

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with the falling living standards for the rest of the population. Under modern
capitalism, each new generation is increasingly worse off than the one before.
In response to these worsening conditions, we see increasing anger and prejudice,
political polarization and degenerating public debate. All reflected in the rising
racial, ethnic and religious conflicts that sometimes break into civil war. Looming
over everything there is the threat of climate change – and the wider destruction
of our animals, forests and habitat forced on us by the incessant drive for profit.
But the lack of any alternative to capitalism constantly undermines the
consciousness of working people and cripples their struggles. Who can really resist
an attack when they can't see an alternative or even the hope of success?
Many people asked why the Left has failed to capitalize on the failures of capitalism.
The main reason is the failure of the left movement to develop a new ideology of
socialism since the collapse of the Soviet Bloc and social democracy.
In the absence of a new credible ideology, the Left is badly fractured. Ideology often
acts as the glue that holds a movement together. In its absence, the Left is
repeatedly torn by disunity – constantly sidelined into potentially disunifying
struggles such as identity politics, rather than able to integrate such struggles into
the central need to create a democratic socialist society.
In society more generally, the collapse of the Left’s old ideology has left a vacuum
into which has rushed not only neoliberalism, but nationalism, racism, sectarianism
– and all sorts of divisive movements.
By: Khalid Bhatti
Source: The News
The writer is a freelance journalist.

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 Unsafe streets
I know what it’s like to take your missing person posters down because your girl’s
never coming home, so Sarah Everard’s story cut deep. But a lot of our demons are
coming out of the shadows this week. Most people and almost all the women
reading this will have endured something that means Sarah’s story, the victim
blaming and the police brutality that followed, really hit you where you live.
I really started feeling it – the horror – on Saturday, when I read that despite a High
Court ruling to allow the Clapham common vigil for Sarah to proceed safely, the
Metropolitan Police were refusing to cooperate. Knowing this groundswell of grief
and outrage was unstoppable, many predicted what was to come. That doesn’t
mean the footage of mass brutalisation was any easier to watch, or the Met
statement basically saying they had it coming any easier to read.
What some outside of this experience looking in have criticised as the
‘politicisation’ of Sarah’s death is something much deeper than that. This is gut and
heart politics. This is our survival instinct. This is mass mobilisation in response to a
shared experience of existential threat. Sarah Everard, like George Floyd, was a
spark – but our lives were already littered with kindling.
My cousin Gaia was 19 when she disappeared on November 7, 2017. Our search
lasted 11 days. We battled through a bogus murder investigation and tensions with
the police even before her body was found. Gaia had already been let down once
when Dorset Police failed to properly prosecute the known sex offender she told
us raped her. Dorset Police have one of the United Kingdom’s worst records on
sexual violence. We learned from a Freedom of Information request that in 2020
just 29 of the 2,058 offences recorded were taken to charges and court summons.
I had a front-row seat to how women reporting abuse are treated by the police
because I sat with her through her interviews. She was brave beyond the telling of
it. Like many, Gaia deserved justice. Like many, she deserved appropriate support
when she developed life-changing post-traumatic stress. She was denied both and
I believe it killed her.
Though we have to wait for it until April 2022, we have won a full inquest with a
jury because our senior Dorset coroner, Rachel Griffin, believes “actions or
omissions” by Dorset Police may have contributed to Gaia’s death. But I don’t need

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an inquest to tell me what I and everyone who gathered at Clapham Common
already know: the state is failing survivors and it’s costing lives.
I read an article by a friend of Sarah Everard’s who believes Sarah would be
“unsettled by how her death has been politicised”. I wouldn’t presume to know
how Sarah would feel and as someone intimately familiar with the complexities and
horrors of losing and grieving someone in the public eye, I know “unsettling” is a
mild word for that nightmare.
But we need to recognise this upsurge of protest for what it is. It is not, as we do
sometimes see, an opportunistic hijacking of one tragedy for political ends. This is
real rage, real terror, real pain given voice by a generation of us who feel unsafe
because we are unsafe.
Eight years ago the UK government signed the Istanbul Convention for the
prevention of violence against women and girls and has failed every day since to
implement it. Instead we see a rising epidemic of domestic and sexual violence,
amplified by the pandemic and still basically ignored by the government.
Life-saving support services have been slashed for a decade straight, with survivors
waiting months and years for support and many Rape Crisis Centres forced to close
their waiting lists or shut completely. Meanwhile conviction rates for rape have
fallen so far through the floor, you’re less likely to get a conviction today than you
were in the 1970s. We are routinely denied justice through the courts, support
through the NHS, and respect from the police.
By: Marienna Pope-Wiedemann
Source: The News
Excerpted: ‘Sarah Everard’s murder: No justice for us without radical change’
Marienna is a social justice campaigner and independent journalist specialising in
migration and social affairs.

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 Reforms for Fata
It is a fact that two decades of militancy have devastated the country's erstwhile
tribal areas. If they are continued to be poorly governed, they can again easily fall
into the vicious cycle of violence and anarchy, even though in North Waziristan, a
very high-profile military operation was carried out against militants. Besides the
operation, military forces and police are present and active in the area.
It has been nearly two years to the 25th Amendment under which Fata reforms
were initiated; however, it has yet to see any tangible results. The implementation
of reforms in the former tribal districts is either being carried out in a very
unprofessional manner or by incompetent people. Like the old system of political
agents, merit in the appointment of local administration has been trampled upon,
and the old practice of bribes and manipulation is in practice.
Those deputed in these areas consider themselves de-facto political agents with no
social responsibility and beyond any accountability. They usually also have no
knowledge of how to distribute land or deal with land distribution; most of them
rely on the lower staff (legacy of the old corrupt structure) such as tehsildars,
patwaris and girdawars. And poor people have to bribe the lower staff even for
distribution of property and land among families.
Blue-eyed officers have no knowledge of collective land (shamilaat) and land
disputes, and are thus unable to carry out the job. Therefore, due to this
incompetence, we are witnessing land disputes developing into skirmishes
between tribes in almost every tribal district. During these clashes over land, there
is a display of ammunition despite claims of mass deweaponization in the region.
The newly-merged tribal areas need competent officers and administration that
can understand the Shamilaat system and can address the thorny land issues.
Otherwise, these skirmishes can escalate into larger disputes and culminate into a
kind of civil war. And let us not forget that this could have a trickledown effect on
Islamabad and Karachi too, which have the largest Pashtun tribal settlements. It is
important to form a revenue and land record, which continues to be missing from
the former tribal districts. For that, competent officers are needed with a better
understanding of the revenue and land system. Deliberately ignoring the persistent
complex issues is also a form of structural violence. Moreover, the state's inability
to mediate between competing interests is hurting the people of the tribal areas
too.

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Many people fail to realise that conflict-hit areas need to be prioritised in terms of
developing just governance structures, a viable legal apparatus and accessible
justice system. If that doesn't happen, peace will remain an elusive goal not just for
the border areas but for the rest of Pakistan too. Developmental intervention and
progress provides a foundation for sustainable peace, but it depends on how
institutional capacity and line departments are established and built in the merged
tribal districts.
The justice system is the mainstay of any state contract with its citizens; however,
it is lagging in a most unfortunate manner in the former tribal districts, where it
looks as if the extension of the judiciary to the newly-merged tribal districts is
nominal. In many areas, the judicial setup is in the adjacent settled areas and
inaccessible to local people – thus, forcing many people to go back to the outdated
jirga system. In many areas, the number of courts and its benches are insufficient
and without support, and also lack the infrastructure and logistics needed.
Economic policies and developmental work are important means of building peace,
but are effective only in the longer term. Therefore, they need to be complemented
by other policies such as strengthening of line departments and the police
department for the merged districts and can be instrumental in maintaining the
peace. The absorption of existing Levy and kKasaddar forces into the police
department is a commendable effort in the reforms, however it also needs trained
officials who have the capacity of writing an FIR (first information report properly).
The capacity building of the existing institutions needs to be updated on an urgent
basis.
Post-conflict societies face an alarmingly high risk of reversion to conflict. And for
peace, the economy is most important. The promised three percent from the NFC
Award is yet to be delivered, and unfortunately the collection of taxes from the
merged districts is contrary to the government’s commitment towards
development of erstwhile Fata. The border areas facilitate two billion rupees trade
annually so it deserves to be treated better than what is currently accorded to the
region and its people. The contract which was offered by the state seems to be
failing the inhabitants of the tribal areas, particularly the young who were more
than ready to embrace the change in shape of constitutional reforms and
citizenship of the Pakistani state.
This region has been brewing with so much discontent for the last two decades. If
it continues, we could see another sub-conflict between the state and the people

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of the tribes. The peace and prosperity of Pakistan lies in the successful
implementation of reforms, and in the social contract deliverance by the state to
the former tribal areas.
Security concerns are slowly and gradually being replaced by economic concerns in
the international system, so the Pakistani state should start thinking about
transforming the border areas into a trade and commercial hub with the idea of a
duty-free zone.
By: Mona Naseer
Source: The News
The writer is from Fata and has a degree in human rights from the University of
London. Twitter: @mo2005

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 Healthcare justice
The Congressional Budget Office/CBO recently released its fiscal assessment of a
single-payer, Medicare for All health system for the United States. There was no
surprise to those who have advocated for the policy – single payer saves enormous
sums of money while covering everyone (Feb 16, 2021, Journal Health Affairs,
Gaffney, Woolhandler and Himmelstein). Those worried about the cost and where
the funding comes from aren’t listening closely – if an item or even a system saves
money, the money you need to pay for the system is obviously already available
because you are paying the much higher price.
This time, the CBO study and many others tell the clear story: we can get more for
less. We don’t need to find more money; we need to find more brain power to stop
denying the reality. Medicare for All saves us all.
Many of us have been calling for this policy change for quite a while. We’ve been
educating people, and the American public gets it. What they don’t quite
understand enough yet, apparently, is that the profits being made by big insurance,
big Pharma and the big provider/hospital systems are being shared and passed
along to our elected officials to ensure that Medicare for All does not happen and
disrupt the flow of cash. We, the American people, must be strong enough for long
enough to push our case yet again.
Today we begin anew. From Sen Edward Kennedy to Rep. John Dingell and his
father, to Rep Jim McDermott to Rep John Conyers to Sen Bernie Sanders and
beyond, we will remember and honor the people who have called for health justice
before now. We will build on that work and that courage. We will call. We will write.
We will email. We will rally. We will hold vigils. We will do webinars. Leaving our
children and grandchildren this mess of a system to protect them is a greedy, selfish
decision.
Along with all other social justice issues, healthcare justice reaches into every
section of our lives and our communities. Medicare for All is not socialized
medicine. Don’t buy that. Don’t worry about the lies we’ll hear all over again with
rising intensity.
Rise up, rise up. Stand tall and with the power of our shared commitment, let’s
teach more people to be active constituents who push their own Congressional

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members to co-sponsor the Medicare for All Act of 2021. It helps us care for the
sick and heal the wounded. It builds to the next incredible step toward doing what
I know many of us have been called to do. Love one another. That’s it.
Excerpted: ‘Rise and Shine: Medicare for All Saves Us All’
By: Donna Smith
Source: the News
Donna Smith is a writer.

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 Land acquisition laws in Pakistan
Pakistan has always seen conflicts over land acquisition and resettlement planning
during the construction phase of development projects. The conflicts stem from
the fact that there is very little understanding of the legal obligations in the process
of land acquisition and resettlement.
Pakistan also lacks the adequate expertise of social safeguard management and,
barring a few instances, most of the land acquisition and resettlement planning is
carried out through a piecemeal approach without proper engagement of
stakeholders. In this article, I will try to explore the legal framework of land
acquisition in Pakistan so that readers have basic information about legal
protection in case of a displacement or involuntary resettlement.
In Pakistan, the laws of land acquisition for development projects are based on the
legal framework enacted during the colonial period. The land acquisition legislation
in British India evolved from the Bengal Regulation 1 of 1824 which provided legal
cover to obtain land and other immovable assets for the purpose of building
physical infrastructure. The legislation helped the British government obtain land
for roads, canals and railways for speedy transportation of labor and raw material
at a reasonable cost. The legislation was extended to the rest of British India in 1857
as a universal legal framework which replaced all previous laws enacted for the
purpose of land acquisition and resettlement.
The law of land acquisition was further amended in 1861 and ultimately the Act of
1870 was promulgated where it was proclaimed that the new Act would address
the inherent incompetence, corruption and issue of unsatisfactory settlement. The
Act of 1870 was repealed in 1894 and a new Act was enacted for the purpose of
facilitating acquisition of private land by the government for public purposes. The
Act of 1894 was much more elaborate than all previous laws, but it did not provide
any opportunity to the landowners or the persons having interest in land to object
to the acquisition of land. Their objections were confined only to the amount of
compensation and matters connected to it while the social and economic impacts
of resettlement were not fully integrated in this Act.
To overcome the legal lacunas and to address the large-scale resentment, an
amendment was made to the 1894 Act. The amendment was introduced in 1923

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by adding Section 5A to the existing law of 1894. Under this newly added section,
a provision was incorporated saying that any person related to the land or
interested in land can file objections to the acquisition of the land within 30 days
from the date of publication of the notification under Section 4(1). This newly
added section also provided for additional legal protection to the person who has
filed objections to the land acquisition. For instance, the person was given an
opportunity not only to be heard but the opportunity of being heard was also to be
provided by the collector to the person interested in the land.
By this amendment, the cardinal principle of audi alteram partem was incorporated
as a principle of natural justice into the processes of land acquisition under the
1894 Act. This cardinal principle of audi alteram partem, provided that no person
should be judged without a proper hearing in which each party is given the fair
opportunity and even keel to respond to the concerns or grievances with
substantial evidence.
Thus, the amended LLA of 1894 is still in use in Pakistan as a universal governing
framework for the development projects. All public or private funded development
projects with land acquisition and involuntary resettlement requirements have
legal protection under the Land Acquisition Act 1894. The Act has some important
sections which may be of interest to readers, in particular for those who are either
engaged or being affected by development projects.
Section 4 of LLA 1894 makes it mandatory that a notification is published in the
government’s gazette whenever it appears that land in a particular locality is
needed for the public purpose. This will allow the collector to arrange a survey of
the land and submit a report to the commissioner or concerned authority no later
than 60 days of the notification. The date of notification also serves as a cut-off
date for determining the market value of the land which is likely to be acquired. It
is also mandatory that before the entry of any person in the property of the
occupier or the owner, at least seven days’ prior written notice will be served to
the owner or the occupier of the property.
Under sections 5 and 5-A, a notification is published in the official gazette stating
the district or other territorial division in which the land is situated. The notification
also mentions the specific purpose for which the land is needed, and its
approximate area; the Collector serves the public notice for the land acquisition.

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This section of LAA also provides the opportunity for any concerned person to file
a written objection (if any) to the collector to be heard against the land acquisition
within 30 days after the issuance of the notification.
Under Section 6 of the Act, the declaration of intended acquisition is published in
the official gazette duly signed by an authorized government official. This
declaration has to be certified by the authorized officer with location details,
approved area and availability of the plan within six months of the publication of
notification under Section 5.
Under Section 9, the collector serves public notice of the land possession which is
displayed at places of public visibility/convenience or near the land to be acquired.
The notice includes particulars of the land, date and time for hearing/receiving
written objections/claims duly signed by the party. Under Section 10, the
concerned persons with a stake in the land will make a statement that every detail
about the ownership, interest, proprietorship and liabilities about the land have
fully been disclosed. Under sections 11 and 23, land compensation and awards are
made based on the market value at the time of the cut-off date. Fifteen percent
additional cost over and above the market value of the land is paid to the displaced
people as compulsory acquisition charges.
Then there are sections 17, 18 and 24 which deal with the urgency of land
acquisition, special powers in case of urgency and dispute resolution through court
in case a person does not accept the award.
It is interesting that, despite having a comprehensive land acquisition law in place,
Pakistan does not have any law regarding involuntary resettlement caused by
development projects. Pakistan, therefore, follows the resettlement policy of
donors where applicable. The Asian Development Bank has the most
comprehensive Resettlement Policy Framework among the leading donors like the
IFC and the World Bank.
There are some other context-specific provincial regulations and policies as well,
which were incorporated to complement the process of the Land Acquisition and
Resettlement Plan (LARP) in varying contexts. For instance, the Affected Persons
Ordinance 2001, the Punjab Land Acquisition Rules 1983, WAPDA Act 1958 and
EPA’s National Resettlement Policy, 2002 – just to mention the key regulations.

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The writer is a social development and policy adviser, and a freelance columnist
based in Islamabad.

By: Amir Hussain

Source: The News
Email: ahnihal@yahoo.com
Twitter: @AmirHussain76

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 Another round of lost decades?
We seem to be regressing into the politically unsettled period of the 1990s
The opposition chooses to call Imran Khan the ‘selected’ Prime Minister. The
epithet clearly carries the stigma of having been helped into the position
presumably by the so-called establishment. But then, none of the PMs that
occupied the exalted office since ZA Bhutto, except for Benazir Bhutto when she
became the PM for the first time, could claim to have had no clandestine help from
the ‘selectors’ in their journey to the top.
In the case of ZAB, the army had him sworn in as the president, the commander-in-
chief, and the first civilian chief martial law administrator (CMLA) in December
1971. PM Mohammad Khan Junejo was hand-picked by then president General
Ziaul Haq in 1985. In 1988, the establishment tried its worst to keep Benazir Bhutto
from getting elected but failed. But the ‘elected’ executives that followed her,
Nawaz Sharif (1990), Benazir Bhutto (1993), Nawaz Sharif (1997 and 2013) and the
‘all powerful’ president Asif Ali Zardari (2008) — were all, in fact, selected.
Like in the 1990s, currently as well the government of the day and the opposition
are not on talking terms. In fact, like in those highly hostile political settings, the
government and opposition are enjoined today in a bitter contest bordering on a
race to completely annihilate each other. The language they use against each other
is as harsh, if not more, as the then government and opposition had used to attack
each other. And today’s opposition, ironically, is threatening to use the same tactics
— long march, sit-ins, resignations — that the PTI had used when in opposition to
force the government of the day to resign, and which the then PML-N government
had termed undemocratic.
It was only when both the PPP and PML-N were out of power and in exile with the
military dictator General Musharraf ruling the roost in Islamabad, that the two
realised that they had been pitted against each other by the establishment to keep
the reins of power firmly in its control while the two political parties conveniently
provided the democratic façade. So, the two signed the Charter of Democracy in
2006. The document guaranteed that whenever any of the two came to power in
future, the other would not join hands with the establishment to bring the other
down. The journey after 2008 when PPP came to power was full of pitfalls and

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slippages but the two finally managed to get the 18th Amendment passed which
restored the 1973 Constitution almost in its original form making it almost
impossible for the establishment to take full control of the ruling enterprise.
Because of this amendment, the establishment had to seek the help of superior
courts to get rid of the ‘unwanted’ PMs as the Constitution barred sending entire
governments home. That is perhaps why both the PPP and PML-N could complete
their tenures losing, however, one PM each to court verdicts rather than being
subjected to constitutional ouster.
But instead of realising that the establishment was only trying to repeat the game
it had played to the hilt during the 1990s, the 11-party opposition conglomerate,
the PDM led by PML-N, PPP and JUI-F, seems to be futilely trying to remove PM
Imran using the same undemocratic tactics that he had but vainly used to oust the
elected government of PML-N. So far, the PDM has neither marched on Islamabad,
nor tendered resignations. It has, however, kept the government under constant
pressure, especially since September 2020. Its success in getting Yousaf Raza Gilani
elected as a senator has certainly dealt a severe blow to the government’s scheme
of things. But Sadiq Sanjrani’s election to the office of the Senate chairman in a
House in which the opposition is in majority, however, seems to have restored its
faith in the one-page mantra. And now instead of seeking the PDM’s cooperation
in running the government as per the Constitution, it seems all set to resume its
witch-hunt against the opposition with reinforced vigour. So, we seem to be
regressing into the politically unsettled period of the 1990s, beckoning the
resumption of another round of lost decades.
By: M Ziauddin
Source: The Express Tribune
The writer served as executive editor of The Express Tribune from 2009 to 2014

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 The last straw – the Senate elections
The recent Senate and by-elections have sharpened the contradictions within the
ruling elites.
As the proof of the pudding is in the eating, the worth of an electoral system is in
the governance. But, when an electoral system fails to translate the people’s will
and serves a tiny moneyed class, it is in George Orwell’s opinion an open fraud. Yet,
we have been indoctrinated that any form of election is democracy. Of course, that
is true because it is better than dictation of one powerful person. However, as
currently many electoral systems are being used to form governments, the debate
should be rather focused on which model is more appropriate and democratic. And
we must reject those who want us to believe that every electoral system result in
democratic governance — it is sheer fallacy. Therefore, comparing democracy with
dictatorship seems problematic because this mindset is likely to prevent electoral
reforms in the country.
The recent Senate and by-elections exposed the ills of the current electoral system.
Hence, paved the way for a serious debate about electoral reforms. But let’s revisit
the definition of democracy which is broadly defined as a form of government in
which “supreme power is invested in the people and exercised by them directly or
indirectly through representation”. Some scholars believe “in democracy, every
vote has equal weight, no unreasonable restrictions can apply to anyone seeking
to become a representative”.
Does our electoral system guarantee equal weight to every vote? Do our MPs have
mandate of the majority? Legally, every registered voter can file his/her
nomination papers, but can all candidates contest freely and do they enjoy a level
playing field? And do our MPs represent us? Of course, the majority is highly likely
to say: not at all. An analysis of past election results substantiates this feeling. The
results of 2008 general elections of Punjab reveal that 55% or 11.76 million of the
polled votes were wasted — they didn’t have any representation. Moreover, all
returned candidates obtained just 22% or 9.67 million of the total 44.20 million
registered votes. In other provinces, MPs had narrower social mandate. With little
variation this has been true for all general and by-elections.

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I did a similar analysis of the 1988 general election results of district Lahore. A
majority (54%) of registered voters in Lahore did not bother to vote. And of those
who did, 51% didn’t get any representation as their candidates lost. Regarding
contesting parties, the PPP won six of nine NA seats by securing 33% of the total
polled votes or 70% of the total party vote bank, while 14% of the polled and 30%
of the party vote bank went to the electoral drain. The PML-N/IJI obtained 22% of
the total polled votes and won two seats. But interestingly, 68% of the party vote
bank in seven constituencies didn’t have any representation in the NA. In Lahore,
just 21% of the registered voters had representation.
This means socio-political base of major parties has been extremely narrow, which
has serious implications for governance and political stability. Moreover, over 80%
of the country’s adult population has never voted. This means, there exists a
colossal representation gap which attracts new players, particularly when ruling
elites are failing the public on every count. The void is likely to unnerve the ruling
coalition to tame the powerful and wealthy from their wrong doings, while the gap
encourages the opposition to adopt aggressive posture. Think of PDM. No wonder,
as a nation we failed to reform our electoral system and to punish the corrupt.
Simply, it is not a sustainable situation.
Like many nations fall because of internal decay, ruling classes too crumble due to
their own blunders. As I wrote in my last column, the electoral system appears to
have an inherent tendency to serve the rich and encourage criminals to become
rich and vice versa. The moment it hurts the interests (the loot and plunder) of a
certain section of the ruling elites, instead of reforming the system, they hatch
conspiracies to sustain themselves.
The current fiasco triggered by the Senate election exposed not only the
obsoleteness of our electoral system but also ineptness and corruption of the
elites. The system is full of obvious inconsistencies which the ruling elites didn’t
bother resolving during negotiations for the Elections Act 2017. Though the ECP
was empowered, no measure was introduced to make the system more democratic
and transparent.
For instance, quota seats reserved for women and minorities are filled through PR
system, while the remaining members of national and provincial assemblies are
‘elected’ through ‘first-past-the post’ system. This inconsistency creates inequality

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amongst MPs. Often, one finds female MPs complaining about the attitude of their
male counterparts, telling them they don’t have any constituency and therefore
should not be given development funds. While the PM and CMs are elected
through open vote, other higher positions including senators are elected through a
secret ballot. Article 59(2) of the Constitution itself is contradictory. It demands
election of Senators through single transferable vote as well as of proportional
representation to parliamentary parties.
Though there is hardly any difference in how we and Indians elect members of the
upper houses, India has democratised the process and improved transparency.
Candidates fielded by political parties for the upper house have to be proposed by
at least 10 members of the assembly or 10% of the party’s strength in the House.
Secondly, every MP is bound to show his/her ballot paper to the party agent before
inserting it in the box. The ECP had the opportunity to deter corrupt practices in
the recent Senate election after the Supreme Court judgment but it was not
availed. No one knows under what reason the electoral inconsistencies have not
been removed and why we have been unable to get rid of corrupt politicians.
So, what is to be done? First, we must switch to the PR system of elections as the
existing system has an extremely narrow social base and is non-representative. The
PR system will help reduce corruption and weaken the stranglehold of so-called
electable dynasties, and strengthen parties at the grassroots level. It could also
weaken centuries-old client-patron relations. Second, in principle, all members of
all assemblies including Senators, women and minority members, must be elected
through adult franchise. Third, despite the 18th Amendment, provincial
governments failed to deliver services efficiently at the grassroots level. Therefore,
local governments must be established and be empowered politically, fiscally and
administratively. Fourth, to weaken the control of a few families over politics,
Article 38 (the state shall deter concentration of means of production and wealth
in few hands) of the Constitution should be extended to political arena. Though our
parliament consists of 446 members, all our assemblies and parliament are being
occupied by a few dynasties. Is it democracy? No wonder there is no internal party
democracy. Scholars interested in Pakistan’s polity agree that instead of
improvement, all major parties have become fiefdoms since 1990s and have the
‘capacity to inflict violence’ on society.

20-3-2021
This is absolutely unacceptable. The recent Senate and by-elections have
sharpened the contradictions within the ruling elites which is likely to break the
back of the rotten system. But it needs a well thought push for reforms.
By: Sarwar Bari
Source: The Express Tribune
The writer is a social activist who is the National Coordinator for Pattan
Development Organisation. The views expressed here are his own.

20-3-2021
 We didn't kill Yamamoto
If South Asians had an unfair share of suffering it's not because they met villains
but because they were never united.
With every passing day, I see more evidence to support Mushtaq Yusufi's assertion
that the memory of the bygone era is the main villain of the Asian drama. Don't get
me wrong. Every nation is tethered to its past. Donald Trump's slogan, “Make
America Great Again”, after all, harked back to an alleged golden era. Today with
the help of various Trump supporters in the QAnon conspiracy theory circles and
the citizen sovereign movement we know this supposedly golden era is a reference
to simpler times when the American economy still relied on the gold standard and
slavery had not been abolished. Some golden age, right? But in Asia, particularly its
southern parts, this issue is of particularly daunting consequence.
Take Pakistan for example. You will find many geniuses who believe the street
agitation of 1977 which allegedly brought a government down, television
entertainment of the 1980s and the cricket world cup victory of 1992 can be
imitated with exactly the same effect. No government since has fallen as a direct
consequence of street agitation so far. But that of course is not for want of trying.
Similarly, to reproduce the drama series of the 1980s you will have to bring the
audience of the time back to life with its distinct global and local socio-economic
and politico-cultural sociology. Perhaps it is my naivete but so far, I have not seen
any miracle worker capable of that simple trick. And whenever you see a Pakistani
team entering a world cup contest with a slow start, please know that somewhere
in their mind's eye the team members and managers can see themselves lifting the
1992 world cup. Unfortunately, the country has failed to win the cricket world cup
since. For a country that sees very few euphoric moments of national or
international consequence, the dopamine addiction produced by such events
ensures you do not live in the present moment.
This problem is not peculiar to Pakistan. Look at India. Between 2004 and 2014 it
got everything it could wish for. Wealth, influence, muscle and glamour. And then
it threw it all away. When you replace Dr Manmohan Singh with Narendra Modi
and that too at least at the moment in the name of better governance, you ought
to know something has gone woefully wrong with your worldview. A PhD scholar
and a finance wizard with a proven track record of successful national reforms even

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before he became the premier replaced with a man whose MA in "entire political
science" is reportedly as fake as his promise of Gujarati model Vikas (progress) and
his single most memorable "accomplishment" before his premiership being the
Gujarat riots during his tenure as chief minister which left some 2,000 citizens
(mostly Muslims) killed in broad daylight. Reminds you of a few lines from Aaron
Sorkin's written film, American President. I am paraphrasing of course, but here
goes: people do not drink the sand because they do not get water when they are
thirsty, they do so because they cannot tell the difference.
But what has damaged the South Asian mind so irretrievably that it cannot tell the
difference? You got that right. Always blame the past and the victim. Helps you
justify your victimhood. When everything you do is predetermined by history's
crimes, the agency you exercise today can be easily written off as another logical
moment in the series of unfortunate events. Who should pay the price for Mahmud
of Ghazni's invasion of India in 1001 AD, and subsequent ransacking of the Somnath
temple? Why, of course, the depressed, backward and increasingly vulnerable
Muslim minority of India in 2021 AD. Who should account for the excesses of the
East India Company and the British Raj, we supposedly left behind in the previous
century, the previous millennium? Why, the equally vulnerable Christian
community of India, today. Forgive me if I do not subscribe to the genetic
transmission of sin. The agency we exercise today belongs to us and today. We
cannot and must not blame anyone else for our own mistakes. That is the only way
you learn from your mistakes.
I have been asked often why I cannot stand Bollywood or Indian TV serials. Here is
why. It is not like I have not tried. I think I have mentioned this before but the last
movie I sat through without any interruption and enjoyed because its message
resonated with my own philosophy is called 3 Idiots. Imagine my dismay when upon
a chance re-watching of West Wing I noticed that one of my favourite bits from the
movie about the pencil being used during space exploration was borrowed from an
episode of this series called "We Killed Yamamoto", without any
acknowledgement. This intellectual appropriation, recycling of someone else's
work and taking pride in it by calling it your own goes against the norms of civility,
decency, creativity and flies in the face of intellectual property rights. Again, don't
get me wrong. It is not like Pakistan is producing too much original work. The
country's recent television hit is a dubbed Turkish drama about... wait for it...

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history. Even when the Pakistani film industry was producing a number of movies
per year this is how the cycle of creativity (or recycling) went. Hollywood would
produce at least a few great movies per year. The Bollywood writers and directors
would watch some of these, read some of the more successful novels, plagiarise
plot points and lines, mix them up, add a few musical numbers and produce films
for local audiences. Then some genius from Lollywood would go, watch some
Indian movies, copy plot points, mix them up, add Pappu Samrat's impossible if
unappealing choreography and produce content for the local audience. This from
a region that has produced some of the world's greatest thinkers, Nobel laureates
ranging from the very insightful to the youngest, and great performers. But they
are the ones who got away and broke free. When you spend most of the time
worshiping or combatting the past, how can you do justice to today? Another
reason why I cannot stand such content is this pony knowing only two tricks, one
dystopian, the other utopian. Dystopia being a sum of all the violence, crime,
politics, war and history in the region. And utopia: girl meets boy, sings a few
romantic songs, marries and lives happily ever after on a borrowed plot (literally).
This formula might come handy to keep the collective imagination of an
overpopulated country in check, but it doesn't work for me.
If South Asians had an unfair share of suffering in the past it is not because they
met an unfair share of villains but because they were never united. The intrigues
and fights among castes, clans and communities always offered the marauders a
fertile ground to invade. If you want proof just take a look at the political hostility
among South Asian nations and within. You will invariably get a headache. I live for
the day when South Asians would grow up, choose to live in the present instead of
fighting or staying in the past. Until then, their addiction to mediocrity will continue
unchecked.
By: Farrukh Khan Pitafi
Source: The Express Tribune
The writer is an Islamabad-based TV journalist and tweets @FarrukhKPitafi

20-3-2021
 A sordid game
A.G. NooraniPublished March 20, 2021 - Updated about 13 hours agoFacebook
Count
THE long-expected event has happened as many had feared. On March 12, a bench
of the Indian supreme court comprising Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice A.S.
Bopanna issued notices to three ministries of the government of India — home,
law and justice and culture on a petition filed by Ashwani Kumar Upadhyaya, a
leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), challenging the constitutional
validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which came into
force on Sept 18, 1991.
According to the act, “No person shall convert any place of worship of any religious
denomination or any section thereof into a place of worship of a different section
of the same religious denomination or of a different religious denomination or any
section thereof. ... It is hereby declared that the religious character of a place of
worship existing on the 15th day of August 1947 shall continue to be the same as
it existed on that day.”
The act did not apply to any “place of worship which is an ancient and historical
monument” or was covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites
Act or Remains Act, 1958. Had this act been applied to the Babri Masjid promptly,
the mosque would have been saved. The 1991 act says that nothing contained in it
would apply to the Babri Masjid and to the litigation concerning it pending in the
courts.
The spirit of faith has evaporated with the rise of Hindutva.
Other exceptions to the1991 act are acquiescent in the conversion before this act
came into force. Most important of all, the act will not apply to “any dispute with
respect to any such matter settled by the parties amongst themselves before such
commencement” of the Act of 1991. As it happens, dispute regarding one of the
two mosques which the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) hope to
destroy concerned Krishna Janamasthan at Mathura, Krishna’s birthplace according
to Hindu belief.

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But the matter was settled nearly half a century ago by an elaborate, detailed
agreement on Oct 12, 1968. It sought to “settle the long-standing disputes between
the Shri Krishna Janamasthan Sangh and the Shahi Masjid Eidgah Trust”.
Documents to authorise it by the parties were mentioned. A written iqrarnama was
registered. The signatories acted in a representative capacity at the instance of
“both Hindu and Muslim communities”. The core of the agreement was peaceful
coexistence between the eidgah and the Krishna Janamasthan (birthplace.)
In Mumbai, there is a traffic island which houses a mosque, temple and a church.
This spirit evaporated with the rise of Hindutva for political ends. The BJP rose from
two seats in the Lok Sabha in1985 to power in 1987.
This sordid game was long in the planning. The RSS set up the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP) at Mumbai on Aug 29, 1984. In 1986 at Allahabad, a World Hindu
Sammelan (conference) was held.
Eventually, the VHP adopted an 18-point code of conduct which explicitly called for
the ‘liberation’ of the birthplaces of Ram at Ayodhya and of Krishna at Mathura and
also for the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir at Varanasi to be ‘liberated’ from the
Gyanvapi Masjid.
In August 1990, L.K. Advani promised that if Muslims surrendered the Babri Masjid,
the BJP would give up its demands for the other two at Mathura and Varanasi.
Places of worship were being used as bargaining counters.
The 1991 act was praised by a five-member bench of the Supreme Court in the
Babri Masjid case as recently as November 2019. Only a seven-member bench can
overrule it now.
The issue, however, is more political than legal. The leader of the opposition in the
UP Assembly and senior Samajwadi Party leader Ram Govind Choudhary said: “BJP
and its forces that support it are busy in these kind of things — how to play with
Hindu sentiments and encash it. All the more for all these years they could not and
did not do any public interest, welfare, development works. Price rise is
unprecedented, unemployment has reached highest in 45 years. So they are back
to usual tricks.”
This is a replay of the tactics used in the Babri Masjid case. There is already a debate
in the courts and on public platforms about the danger of political problems being

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discussed in courts of law. In this case, as in the Babri Masjid case, to the political
dimension is added the vastly more charged dimension namely religion. This is not
insuperable. In the Shaheed Ganj Masjid case in Lahore, the premier of Punjab
Sikandar Hayat Khan refused to bring in legislation to override a hostile judgement
of the high court. He was then a member of the Muslim League. Mohammad Ali
Jinnah backed him completely. So did the council of the All India Muslim League.
They were much smaller men who played around with the Babri Masjid case.
By: A.G Noorani
Source: Dawn
The writer is an author and lawyer based in Mumbai.

20-3-2021