One of the recurring themes in the accounts of this government's defenders is that the judiciary frequently crosses limits to assume the role of the executive. That though has been happening in cases directly related to cases pending before the apex court in situations where the executive has been transferring investigation officers whenever things seemed to be going against it. Which does not amount to judicial overreach; neither any limits were crossed in instances where the judiciary intervened because the executive had failed to do its duty to protect the lives and property of citizens.
However, for a while the court is hearing cases pertaining to the deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan falling in the executive's domain. That is because the government is least interested in restoring any semblance of normality to that deeply-troubled part of the federation.
What has been going on in Balochistan is, was, a purely political problem, which the executive needed to resolve through political means. Instead it chose to outsource the problem to the military which, in the first place, was responsible for triggering the ongoing insurgency in the province. Consequently, the issue of missing persons, once associated with the long-gone brutal military dictatorships of Latin America, has become a harrowing routine. It has kept the fire of insurgency going, reinforcing the Baloch people's anger and resentment and alienating them from the federation. If that was not bad enough, the provincial government, headed by Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, has proved to be an epitome of incompetence and inefficiency. He spends more time in Islamabad and Karachi than in Quetta. Kidnappings for ransom are commonplace in the province. Last April, in a written statement he submitted before a three-member bench hearing 'missing persons' cases and the law and order situation in general, Balochistan Home Minister Sardar Zafarullah Zehri made the disturbing discloser that three of his colleagues in the provincial cabinet were involved in kidnapping for ransom. That is not all. For a time, the province has been in the grip of dreadful sectarian terrorism. Members of the Shia Hazara community have been targeted repeatedly in ghastly sectarian attacks.
The province is a complete mess. Things have come to a point where civil servants, even police officers, from other provinces are scared to serve there. The Supreme Court bench hearing, on Tuesday, the law and order situation case at its Quetta registry, ordered all police officers transferred to Quetta to report to the Balochistan government within a week's time. Also, in a telling reflection on the governmental indifference to an extremely worrisome situation involving enforced disappearances and kidnappings for ransom, the court noted the continued absence of Attorney General for Pakistan Irfan Qadir, saying it was left with no choice but to call all concerned federal secretaries at the next hearing. The court also directed the provincial government to resolve the issue of Dera Bugti in two weeks, and include the Bugti family members' names in the electoral lists. It is sad, indeed, that the court should have to order these actions, instead of the government playing its role in pursuance of its constitutional responsibilities to protect every person's life and liberty.
There is only so much that the court can order, and expect compliance too. It can do little to end sectarian killings, which are claiming innocent lives in all parts of the country. The Hazara people are an easy target. Not only buses carrying Hazara pilgrims to Iran have been attacked, they are unsafe going about their daily business in the cities because they are easily recognisable from their distinctive facial features. The Chief Justice noted during Tuesday's hearing that 46 Shias fell victim to targeted killings in Balochistan during the last six months while 20 Sunni Ulema were also murdered.
This madness will not stop unless and until those wielding power are willing to use it to that end. That may be easier said than done, though. Certain groups, such as the Laskar-e-Jhangvi, which has been claiming responsibility for the attacks on the Hazaras, have spread their tentacles in all parts of the country. They are known to have a nexus with the so-called Tehrik-e-Taliban as well. Other sectarian groups also have local as well as foreign connections. To call it a daunting challenge would be an understatement, but it must be met effectively. The price of inaction is disaster; we are already at the brink.
So far the policy adopting by successive governments, including the present ones both at the Centre and in the provinces, has been either of appeasement or of shifting the blame to the other. Every now and then Interior Minister Rehman Malik blames the Punjab government - justifiably so - for not doing anything to rein in sectarian extremists whose home base is Punjab. Yet, as the plight of the Hazaras' in Balochistan shows, his party's own government in that province has not demonstrated any interest in rooting out the menace. Neither has it taken any measures to stamp out the scourge of sectarian terrorism in Gilgit-Baltistan. And of course, Karachi is another favourite hunting ground of sectarian terrorists.
The perpetrators are identifiable. In fact, they claim responsibility for each horror unleashed. The centres from which they operate are not secret, either. What is missing is a strong will on the part of federal and provincial governments. Nonetheless, one party's government cannot deal with the menace alone. All concerned must join hands to defeat sectarianism causing grievous harm to this state and society.
At least three things are in order. First of all, the federal government must block the money pipeline that delivers foreign finances to local clerics and seminaries to promote one or the other side's sectarian agenda. Second, various intelligence and law enforcement agencies need to strictly implement the law that forbids preaching sectarian hatreds. Third, in the light of information gathered by these agencies, the Centre and the provinces must work together to take firm and uncompromising steps against individuals engaged in spreading sectarian hatreds and violence. The policy so far has been to ban organisations, which tend to reappear under new names. The names of course are not important, individuals using them are.
saida_fazal@yahoo.com