We now have a certificate from no less than the Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, that our army is now performing its part in the war against terror to America's entire satisfaction. After years of the "do more" refrain, we finally receive a pat in the back by Big Brother! This is a watershed development which marks the tragic end to the efforts of the NWFP government to end the strife in the tribal areas.
Initially the effort showed promise of success with cessation of hostilities for several weeks and no suicide attacks. Allah only knows who were the people - whether Pakistanis or foreigners - who played their parts in sabotaging the peace effort. The army is now in a full scale confrontation with a large section of our tribal population.
A moment of reflection is called for although it may be too late to be of any good. It is wrong to think of Taliban as a cohesive, closely knit body controlled by a central effective leadership. At one end of the spectrum are those who have a desire to lead their lives according to Islamic injunctions, ardently desire to see Pakistan achieve its destiny as an Islamic country and want to work peacefully for the advancement of their cause. At the other end of the spectrum are those who have taken up arms for implementing their programme and do not hesitate to resort to suicide attacks during which innocent lives are also lost.
Our policy blunder has been to lump all the so-called Taliban as terrorists and to declare an all-out offensive against them. Discrimination should have been exercised to identify and isolate rogue elements and to focus action against them.
The present policy has resulted in increasing greatly the scale and scope of military operations and made enemies of large sections of our population in the north-west. For the first time we have hundreds of thousands of internal refugees. America is no doubt overjoyed as our policy now mirrors American policy of branding an ever increasing number of Muslims around the worlds as terrorists. As a reward we can expect a ready flow of American "aid" which is what our rulers are desperately after.
At a time when Asif Zardari is poised to become the President of Pakistan, the Financial Times of London, has broken a story on its front page casting doubts on his mental health. Following a period of long years in prison, he was diagnosed as suffering from dementia (memory loss), depression and stress.
Medical reports about his condition, the story runs, were used by Zardari to "successfully fight an English High Court case over corruption alleged by the Pakistani Government". In March 07, according to the same report, a New York psychiatrist, Philip Saltiel, found that his detention had left Zardari with "severe instability" and he did not foresee any improvement in his condition for "at least a year".
Perhaps too much importance need not be attached to these reports since, in the long run, a man imprisoned for long years would eventually recover from its effects after return to normal life. What should be of greater concern to us is Zardari's attitude and behaviour in recent months, during which he has made firm, written commitments with political allies and then reneged on them citing reasons which do not make any kind of sense.
His behaviour is all the more inexplicable when we consider that the thirty-day deadline (ending on 30 April 2008) of the Murree declaration for the restoration of the deposed judiciary, was set on his insistence and not his coalition partners'. There was again the May 08 agreement which was again not honoured by him.
Again during the discussions leading to the "Islamabad Agreement" of August 08, it was he (so it is reported) who brought forth a copy of the Qur'aan so that a new agreement could be sworn on the Holy Book! Despite everything, he reneged on this agreement as well.
In reneging on all three written agreements, he has, time and again, argued that political agreements were not like Qur'aan and Hadith (sayings of the Holy Prophet, PBUH).
This implies that he considers himself to be an adherent to the injunctions the Qur'aan and Sunnah and at the same time, in his view, political agreements can be broken at will. How can "changed circumstances" be cited each time over a period of some six months, for breaking the same agreement not less than three times? This is odd and inexplicable behaviour indeed!
The doublespeak on the judiciary issue has reached alarming proportions. The demarcation lines between doublespeak and lies have all but disappeared. People and commentators (including yours truly) are bewildered and do not know what to think other than the worst.
Pick up any newspaper of Pakistan and often in the same issue you will find strong contradictions between what the top leaders of the country, including Asif Zardari, the PPP chief; Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Prime Minister; and Farooq Naek, the Law Minister, are saying at the top of their voices.
Zardari says all judges, including Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, will be restored but at the same time, conveys through his new political confidant and ally, JUI's Fazlur Rahman, that the forces whose help was used in ousting Musharraf from the Presidency are opposed to speedy reinstatement of the deposed judges.
Prime Minister Gilani is on record at last half a dozen times during the last few days saying that there is no minus one formula and all judges, including the deposed CJP, will be reinstated. Almost at he same time Law Minister Naek asserts suddenly that Dogar is the Chief Justice of Pakistan and asks rhetorically how can there be two CJPs in the country, clearly implying that minus one formula is what PPP has firmly in mind and that most leaders are lying!
Credibility of the rulers was perhaps never so low as it is today. It is a sign of the times that Fazlur Rahman had begun to complain loudly about the possibility of Zardari reneging also on the promises made to him (reportedly including two federal ministries)! The lawyers' movement is on an uphill course. Six deposed judges of the Sindh High Court and four of the Lahore High Court have taken oath under the Government's reappointment offer. This has naturally cast a shadow over the movement and there are anxious questions of whether any more of the deposed judges will take this course. The lawyers' movement is being put to a very severe test. (yawajid@yahoo.com)