With Ziarat Residency Burnt, A Piece of Pakistan Died Too

June 15, 2013 would now be remembered forever now. Today the legendary building that adorns our hundred rupee notes was burnt and destroyed in a targeted terrorist attack. All the historical photographs and furniture were destroyed and as always the militants escaped unhurt. Today, not just a wood and brick building was destroyed, but also a piece of Pakistan died with it too. 

Quick history check: Ziarat residency was constructed in 1892 with the idea of it becoming a sanatorium due to the presence of a Juniper forest in the area in which it was constructed. Later on it was converted into a summer residence of the Agent to the Governor General. But it being the building where Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah spent his last days is what it makes it truly historical. Nations all around the world, preserve such places, securing them, guarding them from any calamity, manmade or natural. But we failed to protect our revered founder’s second last earthly residence.  Jinnah, loved the peace and quiet of Ziarat, as Fatima Jinnah in her book My Brother informs us, but he also said that it was easier to breathe in Quetta rather than Ziarat.

It was a majestic building, with so much history in it. Its walls were privy to the musings of the ailing leader who was concerned about the genocide that was happening along the border, worried about the future of the fledgling new created state, worried about who would replace him in the future and would he be able to keep the ship of Pakistan afloat. Its walls saw many leaders arrive, begging for Jinnah’s guidance. Its walls saw Jinnah fighting bravely against tuberculosis, unwilling to give up. The walls heard everything, the walls saw everything, but we never will.

 

The very fact that the founder of the nation’s residence has now been burnt down to the ground- destroyed in a militant attack- speaks volumes about where we as a nation have come down to since 1948. It is not just about the priceless archives, photos and Quaid’s furniture, it is not about the loss of a tourist hotspot in Ziarat. It’s about preserving the memories of a man who gave his all for our freedom. It is about the preserving the idea of Pakistan, where every ethnicity and religious group is free to live and practice its customs because this has nothing to do with the business of the state. But when intolerance and tyranny seeps in, it destroys the ideals on which this state was founded. When people are alienated with daily abductions, killings, then you force them down the path of separatism that further leads down towards terrorism. Burning down Ziarat Residency was a symbolic act of terrorism. An act to show the world that they don’t want to be part of Pakistan any more. By burning down Ziarat residency the terrorists have shown that the idea of being part of Pakistan is abhorrent to them. The impact of this event are enormous. How many people would go missing? How many pipelines would be blown up? How many Punjabis professionals would be shot in the aftermath? Would we approach this matter softly or come down harsh?

In a way, the burnt down hulk of Ziarat Residency is a perfect metaphor for the state of Pakistan’s affairs. Pakistan lies burnt to the ground with militancy, corruption, nepotism rife. May be in the future, Ziarat residency might be restored, replicas of furniture installed. But would we and our country be able to rise out of the ashes? That remains to be seen. I hope that our authorities would take appropriate steps to ensure the security of all places associated with Quaid e Azam.

For now, Dear Quaid, I am sorry, we couldn’t protect your property.

US Led Drone Warfare in Pakistan. Strikes or Struck Out

The usage of drone technology by USA inside Pakistan is a hotly debated topic. Supporters of drone attacks cite the death of many Alqaeda and Taliban leaders and the reduction of terrorist attacks inside the Pakistani homeland as an example of the effectiveness of drone strikes. Detractors argue that the collateral damage is far too high for the drone strikes to be permissible and point to the moral dilemma that drone warfare faces.

Nobody denies that religious extremism and fundamentalism is an evil personified by the Taliban and the Alqaeda. Nobody argues that action should not be taken against the militants that are hell bent on the destruction of the fabric of society. Since September 2001, the fight against extremism has been raging on. Although there is no argument that many key terrorists have been killed but we also have to acknowledge that religious extremism has sharply increased rather than decline, which calls into question the USA led war on terror, which ( thanks to USA) has become our war too.

If this war has become ours. If TTP has become our enemy then, do we have to fight this war on the directives and with the assistance of USA, whose own withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan is a case study in strategic failure!

Surely, the enemy we are fighting is not a traditional enemy our operations against them might have reduced their military threat but they have not reduced their zeal to perpetuate terror. How drone strikes counter that shortcoming is anybody’s guess. But look at the bigger picture, there is a collateral damage in the drone strikes involved. That collateral then becomes fodder for the extremists who exploit the havoc wreaked by the drone attacks on civilians to recruit and BRAIN WASH more members and slowly this whole situation degenerates into a vicious circle whose only victim is the innocent civilian who’s killed regardless of a Hellfire Missile or a high velocity shrapnel emanating from the exploding jacket of a suicide bomber. Surely, if the solution to terrorism was a military one then the 11-year long war on terror might have made our world better today.

The drone attacks are one such mistake in a long line of mistakes that have been made when countering the disease of terrorism. To the satisfaction of its supporters, drone attacks produce quick results. Unfortunately, the short-term nature of the attacks is often confused with the rapid availability of results. Hence, important questions regarding the legality and future usage of drone technology has been consigned to the dustbin.  We should have the right to ask our governments that if drones are used a la’ American style, then what sort of precedent does it set up for the future of international military offensives. If USA can, with ease, violate the sovereignty of any country then, can other countries do the same? Can Iran target alleged Jundullah camps in Pakistan or MKO camps inside Iraq? Can India strike Hafiz Saeed in his home by using drones on the oft-used premise that the use of force is in self-defense or an imminent threat.

 Drones cause the local population to live in fear, the psychological toll of the constant fear of drones, the suddenness of a strike, the unseen attacker, may be more damaging to the psyche of the civilians than the battle hardened Taliban.  The argument that drone attacks reduce extremism are baseless because their proponents are sadly confused on the phraseology. Reductions in terrorist attacks do not constitute a reduction in an extremist mindset.

Hence, the question that must be asked is not Can Drones Reduce Terrorism. Rather Can Drones Reduce Terrorist Ideology? An ideology is not some bunker or hideout that could be destroyed by a Hell Fire Missile from the sky. Sadly, the proponents of North Waziristan Operation and drone attacks are similar in mindset to the Taliban who also claim that violence is the only solution. Hence, in my book both are the same. If drone strikes or military operations had been successful, then Malala would not have been attacked in the first place.

The fact that religion inspired terrorism is still alive in Pakistan is a testament to the joint failure of our military and political establishment to come up with a well-defined counter terrorism policy, the nation should be taken into confidence concerning that policy. If Pakistan were given the charge of drone strikes then the situation might have been different. Operations against TTP would have been more successful if it was followed up by commercial development but the rampant corruption, worsening economic situation and trampling of law is a major obstacle in the elimination of terrorism from Pakistan. In that case, drones can be effective against Taliban if they were part of the strategy, not the strategy.

To Mourn the Death of a Political Activist

On 27^th March, “unidentified persons”, shot dead an MQM activist, within hours of the incident numerous buses, hotels and shops were set ablaze and several casualties were reported in the aftermath of the killing. Then on 29^th March, some ANP activist was killed by some “unknown people”.

Those people who think that setting ablaze shops and buses would somehow quench their thirst for vengeance, are wrong, it is not right. It is never right, by any law, by any code or by any moral standard to injure and maim people in vengeful anger and the political parties are utterly and entirely to held in blame for this carnage.

These knights of vengeance forget that when they set about to avenge the death of their comrade, the people would only mourn for the loss of their own personal property or worse their loved ones. Just for the death of two political activists, 7 Karachiites were killed,

is there any justification for that?

I ask you, how many of us actually shed a tear for the death of a political party of any standing. Majority of us do not, because we have other important things to do in life, struggle to earn bread for the family, study for exams or look after kids. Well, if we don’t care as a nation then why does the ticker on the news channels reads like, “ aaj------kay karqun ki halaqat kay sog per Karachi main shutter down hartal”, so are these news channels telling me that the Karachiites are shutting down their businesses and educational institutions as a protest?

As a consequence of strikes and shutter downs Pakistan suffers a loss of 15 billion rupees and Karachi alone suffers a loss of almost 2.5 billion rupees.

Would a hard-pressed shopkeeper actually even think of closing down his shop for a day just because some activist died?

Would a day laborer actually sit at home as a protest against the target killing of some obscure political activist?

Would a CEO actually think of bearing a loss on revenue for a day just because a political activist died?

No, nobody ever does that, except of course the political parties. How can I think of mourning the death of a political activist of any party when my city burns, when my city loses billions of rupees, just because of political chaos? How can shed I tear for those dead activists when innocent patients cannot get treatment because nurses and doctors fail to turn up at the hospital as a result of the strike. How can I grieve the death of those activists, when a day laborer is unable to feed his family because he could not go out to earn money, just because “some political workers died”.

No, in all honesty and sincerity, I would not grieve, mourn, or protest against the death of the political activist if it means chaos and carnage in my city.

We are much intelligent beings then what we consider ourselves to be. As intelligent beings, God has given us brains to analyze and process complex thoughts, surely we can figure out better ways of protesting, but no, we have to kill, maim and torture our own people to avenge the death of our comrade in arms. All I can say is that the Quaid would be disgusted.