Throne or the dock: who decides - Musharraf or people of Pakistan!

General Musharraf ruled Pakistan for almost nine years with all the belligerence of an illegitimate usurper. After seeking an "honourable" exit from Presidency in 2008 by avoiding impeachment and seeking reassurances that he will not be prosecuted he now has the cheek to suggest that he is "ready to resume his office of President of Pakistan to steer out the country from present crises situation". The old hawk wants his throne in the Margala Hills of Islamabad returned to him through, once again, back door politics.

Fortunately he is not a serving General any more so he cannot enter the presidency riding a Pakistan army tank. He cannot buy himself an electoral victory because the political party that he created with his cronies while being a dictator got kicked out in the last general election simply because of association with him. And Americans, whose presidential level security is keeping him alive have not invaded Pakistan yet so no chance of getting appointed as high representative of US occupied Pakistan like General Jay Garner in Iraq - though I personally doubt that Musharraf will stoop this low.

Though weak but still there is a democracy in Pakistan and only People of Pakistan have the right to chose who leads them into the future, even if, like in recent past, it means electing the bona fide most corrupt politician in the world as their president - but that's democracy and people's choice.

What people of Pakistan, a vast majority of them, want for Mr. Musharraf is to see him sitting in the dock being held accountable for the crimes that he committed while in absolute power for around a decade. In a new democratic Pakistan I don't want him to be treated unfairly but justly - an impartial investigation followed by proper prosecution through independent courts without any politicisation of the process. The crimes against people of Pakistan committed by Musharraf and administration of his henchmen must not remain a shameful legacy for our children to carry.

Every single day that passes with Musharraf and his cronies not in the docks being accounted for the crimes against the people and state of Pakistan encourages another military adventurer in waiting. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that aspiring dictators are not allowed to hold the people and country to ransom in future.

From among a long list of his crimes ones that immediately should be brought before the courts include:

• extra-judicial murder of 80 year old Sardar Akbar Bugti of Baluchistan. General Musharraf is on record to have warned Akbar Bugti of dire consequences if he did not tow the government's line. Justice for Akbar Bugti will go a long way towards satisfying the feelings of injustice among the Baloch nation.
• illegally throwing out a democratically elected government in 1999 and suspension of constitution which in itself is an act of treason
• imposition of partial Martial-law in 2007 in his role as Army chief - an illegal act under the constitution, the Military Code, or any other national law - again an act if treason carried out to avoid having impeached through the superior courts.
• sacking of the superior judiciary including the Chief Justice of Pakistan after failing to carry out the worst act of bullying courts into submission.
• for being the worst modern day slave trader selling Pakistanis to USA under the guise of terrorism laws and receiving money and other benefits in return. Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and her three young children's abduction, illegal detention and humiliation in Afghanistan should be used as the main case. Musharraf is on record in his biography that he traded 600 people for economic benefits from US.
• Joint responsibility with Maulana Abdul Aziz for deaths of over 200 people during the siege of Lal Masjid in Islamabad where both the General and the Maulana created a situation that could have been avoided and lives saved.

A petition has recently been filed with the Supreme Court of Pakistan and I hope this turns out to be one of many steps that we need to take to bring Musharraf and his cronies to justice and put a serious obstacle in the way of any future aspirant to dictatorship in Pakistan.

Iqbal Bano: another loss for Pakistani Arts

Another sad loss for Pakistan’s artist fraternity this week was the sad demise of Iqbal Bano, renowned classical singer of Urdu ghazal. While the world remembers magical combinations of beautiful lyrics and her melodious voice that left an indelible mark on the hearts and souls of listeners there are many in Pakistan who view her as one of the last bastions of artistic resistance against dictatorships in Pakistan. Her best known works include renditions of poems of famous poet and revolutionary, Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Like Habib Jaalib who never hesitated representing the oppressed in Pakistan, at a time when General Zia-ul-Haq’s military dictatorship was at its worst Iqbal Bano sang at a festival in Lahore to a crowd of 50,000. She became a cult figure under Zia regime in the 1980s when she sang songs banned by the government. Her rendition of Faiz's poem Hum Dekhenge caused quite a stir and landed her in trouble with the military authorities but made her an immensely popular singer. Classical Urdu singing has traditionally been for the pleasure of elites in the subcontinent, but Iqbal Bano’s singing of Faiz broke those boundaries and she became popular with the masses. Like Naheed Siddiqui and Habib Jaalib she faced the wrath of the military authorities who barred her from official concerts but she kept her music alive by singing at private parties.

To remember Iqbal Bano I am embedding this video courtesy YouTube. Below the video I have reproduced the famous poem by Faiz with an English translation by Ghazala.





Hum dekhenge

Lazim hai ke hum bhi dekhenge
Wo din ke jis ka wada hai
Jo lauh-e-azl mein likha hai

Jab zulm-o-sitam ke koh-e-garan
Rooi ki tarah ur jaenge
Hum mehkoomon ke paaon tale
Ye dharti dhar dhar dharkegi
Aur ahl-e-hakam ke sar oopar
Jab bijli kar kar karkegi

Jab arz-e-Khuda ke kaabe se
Sab but uthwae jaenge
Hum ahl-e-safa mardood-e-harm
Masnad pe bethae jaenge
Sab taaj uchale jaenge
Sab takht girae jaenge

Bas naam rahega Allah ka
Jo ghayab bhi hai hazir bhi
Jo manzar bhi hai nazir bhi
Utthega an-al-haq ka nara
Jo mai bhi hoon tum bhi ho
Aur raaj karegi Khalq-e-Khuda
Jo mai bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho

We shall Witness
We shall Witness
It is certain that we too, shall witness
the day that has been promised
of which has been written on the slate of eternity

When the enormous mountains of tyranny
blow away like cotton
Under our feet- the feet of the oppressed
- when the earth will pulsate deafeningly
and on the heads of our rulers
when lightning will strike.

From the abode of God
When icons of falsehood will be taken out,
When we- the faithful- who have been barred out of sacred places
will be seated on high cushions
When the crowns will be tossed,
When the thrones will be brought down.

Only The name will survive
Who cannot be seen but is also present
Who is the spectacle and the beholder, both
I am the Truth- the cry will rise,
Which is I, as well as you
And then God’s creation will rule
Which is I, as well as you

Polish complicity in CIA's illegal activities

While General Musharraf and his government of Pakistan have been complicit with US in arresting and handing over Pakistani nationals, "suspected" of terrorist links, to CIA for "rendition" and "detention" without any recourse to legal support and justice, Government of Poland has allegedly allowed CIA to use its territory to carry out these rendition and detention activities. Only those involved know as to how many Pakistani nationals ended up being tortured in CIA custody in Poland.

To be fair, National Public Prosecutor's office in Poland has opened up an investigation to find out truth about this and hold those responsible to account. Through the Amnesty International website I have written to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk asking him to make public the findings of the investigation to ensure that there is full accountability for human rights violations. I would strongly urge my readers to register with the Amnesty International website and write to Polish Prime Minister. It does not take more than five minutes to join and send a pre-drafted message from the following link.

I had lived in Poland for some years and still look at the country with affection and treat her as my second home. It comes as a surprise to me when a nation like Poland which was a victim of Nazi atrocities herself and later of Soviet oppression and deeply understands the impact of torture and illegal detention, gets involved with CIA's covert illegal activities. Public scrutiny of this investigation and any prosecutions that might happen as a result will help clear the doubts about Polish involvement in illegal CIA activities.

Text of the message to Prime Minister Tusk is as follows:

"I am writing to welcome the investigation of the National Public Prosecutor’s office into allegations that Poland hosted a secret detention centre, run by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where crimes including torture and enforced disappearance were committed.

This is a positive step towards unveiling the truth and ensuring there is no impunity for human rights violations. I am asking you, as Prime Minister of Poland, to ensure that the investigation is thorough, transparent and effective.

I call on you to:

· Issue a report on the scope and method of the investigation and ensure its findings and its methodology are made public

· Issue a statement that those who cooperate with the investigation will not be subsequently prosecuted for breaching secrecy laws and regulations;

· Guarantee that the prosecutor will not grant immunity from prosecution for involvement in human rights violations in exchange for information or evidence.

· Aid the prosecutor’s investigation by formally requesting that other governments, particularly the US government, cooperate with the investigation and share all relevant information on alleged secret detentions by the CIA in Poland.

Yours sincerely"

Readers, please raise your voice and join in.

Might is not always right: apologise and let them study

Pakistani parents sent 9,300 students last year to study in the UK. Vast majority of them spent last couple of weeks in a state of anxiety about the well being and future of their sons and daughters. Many of these students must have felt that with once stroke of brush they have been branded as suspected terrorists on Friday 10th April when based on a half baked intelligence information 11 students were arrested and even the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, pointed the finger squarely at Pakistan stating "We are dealing with a very big terrorist plot … there were a number of people who are suspected of it who have been arrested. That police operation was successful...We know that there are links between terrorists in Britain and terrorists in Pakistan."

Every nation including Britain has a right to keep an eye on possible threats to its security and take action when this threat appears to be becoming real. In case of students arrested in April it does not appear to be the case of real threat but an attempt to deal with momentary lapse of judgement of an otherwise competent head of counterterrorism, assistant commissioner Bob Quick, who inadvertently allowed details of the operation to be photographed outside Downing Street, forcing the hand of security agencies to take action based on raw suspicions rather than hard evidence.

Now that the police and intelligence agencies have carried out their investigations and found that any evidence against these students will not stand in a court of law they have been released without charge. But to make matters worse they have been handed over to the UK Borders Agency for deportation back to Pakistan. This is highly highly prejudicial and damaging to these students and will end up ruining their lives and careers.

I for one come from a country where it is quite common for security agencies to make suspects disappear without any trial and their families never to find out what happened to them, where it is common for innocent close family members to held by police as a collateral for suspects they couldn't arrest, and where Chief Justice of Supreme Court can be sacked by a dictator for standing up for rights of these suspects. So no wonder civil liberties and rule of law is important to me and to all those who adopted this country as a homeland. One of the greatest things British is the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" - if the police and security agencies believe that their suspicions are suspicions and not evidence (real or circumstantial) that can stand in a court of law than apologise for the wrongful arrests and let these students study - that is why 9300 of them are here.

Lal Masjid Islamabad - episode II

Speaking to media from Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad in May 2007 he is on record to have said

• "the suicide attackers are ready to operate anywhere/any time in Pakistan,”
• “We consider suicide attacks are right in Pakistan in few circumstances, while we consider them as absolutely justified in the context of Afghanistan and Iraq,”
• “Our students enjoy the moments when a police or Rangers operation looms, and they get bored when the situation normalises,”
• “We favoured the Taliban not only in the past, we favour them even today.”

These were statements of Mulana Abdul Aziz, cleric of Lal Masjid in Islamabad during the stand off with government in 2007 - times when his religious baton wielding burqa clad girls platoons were terrorising neighbourhoods in Islamabad. Kidnappings, torture and humiliation of alleged infidels was a daily occurance and federal capital was under virtual seige. The operation he so wanted to happen resulted in around 200 deaths at the mosque.

Maulana has been under "house arrest" since and has been released last week on orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The August Court had due reasons to order his release - because the government had the Maulana arrested not for inciting terrorism, or for training suicide bombers, or for being directly responsible for deaths of soldiers and para military personnel who were trying to bring his militants under control, or for indirect responsibility for the deaths of scores of innocent young students who died in the cross fire - but for alleged corruption and land grabbing at Children's library and then failed to provide adequate evidence to convict him. Reminds one of American government trying to get Al Capone on tax evasion.

Maulana is now back at the same Lal Masjid that by early 2007 had become a rallying cry for Taleban style militancy right at the heart of Pakistani capital. General Musharraf's government did not act against the Maulana and his religious Mafia because he was using them as a scare tactic against the western governments to legitimise his continued stay in power and for continued military aid. I wonder what is the present democratically elected government's argument for not prosecuting him for the crimes he committed in 2007.

Maulana still believes in the same philosophy of imposing his own form of Sharia through coercion "the 2007 siege had been a necessary sacrifice", he told those who came to welcome him back. "Hundreds were killed, many were injured. But today the whole country is resounding with cries to implement Islamic law. We will continue with the struggle...now Islam will not remain confined to Swat. It will spread all over Pakistan, then all over the world."

I sympathise with those in Pakistan who would like to see Sharia as the basis of law and justice. This is a democratic right that should be achieved through democractic means. But people who believe in Maulana's teachings are also aware that a relegious hegemony cannot be achieved through democracy because a vast majority of Pakistanis will not vote for them. What's happening in Swat is an example - what Taleban minded groups could not achieve when they rode to electoral victory in North West Frontier Province in 2002 on the wave of anti-American sentiments, they achieved through violent miltant activity in 2009.

Maulana Abdul Aziz is claiming to achieve the same in Islamabad. Like him General Musharraf has blood of over 200 people on his hands because he did not act in time to stop Lal Masjid becoming hub of militancy in Islamabad. I hope that President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani will show the courage to nip this evil in the bud.

State within a state - is Swat next Somaliland

In February 2009 finding itself unable to govern Swat the government of Pakistan caved in to demands of local militants and agreed to imposition of their form of Sharia law for the region. I wrote at that time suggesting that the writ of the state has been handed over to local goons masquerading as champions of Islam. Government had chosen to sign a deal with Sufi Muhammad, father-in-law of the regional Taleban leader Maulana Fazlullah in the hope that Sufi will be able to reign in the militants.

When the Chief Justice of Pakistan took suo moto notice of flogging of a young woman in Swat, an incidence that shook the country and resulted in a public outcry, and asked the perpetrators and the victim to produced before the courts it was evident from the response of the government that the civil bureaucracy and police were incapable of acting upon the directives. It was also evident that the increasingly powerful Taleban hegemony in Swat will soon pose a serious challenge to the established and constitutional arms of law and justice.

In his statement over the last few days Maulana Sufi Mohammed has thrown down the gauntlet by publicly dubbing the existing judicial system of the country as unconstitutional and against the teachings of Sharia. According to him since the established judicial system of the country has not been in line with Sharia, the judgments of Sharia courts (being established in Swat under the deal between Sufi Muhammad and the government) could not be challenged in the higher constitutional courts. Sufi has termed all judges, lawyers and pro-democracy Ulema (religious leaders) as ‘rebels’. According to him those opposed to enforcement of sharia and the Holy Quran are infidels - a tactic that was used successfully to intimidate the parliament into ratifying the peace deal between the government and the Sufi, by branding any member of parliament opposed to the peace deal as being in opposition to Sharia and thus an infidel.

Is Swat the next Somaliland!