Middle East Dystopia: New Age Islam's Selection, 26 April 2015
New Age
Islam Edit Bureau
26 April 2015
• Middle East Dystopia
By Humayun Shafi
• Across The Board Accountability?
By Malik Muhammad Ashraf
• Reinventing Politics Of ‘70s And ‘90s
By Mohammad Jamil
• Women Protection Law In Pakistan
By Salman Ali
• Pondering Panama
By Dr Niaz Murtaza
Compiled By New Age Islam Edit Bureau
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Middle East Dystopia
By Humayun Shafi
26-Apr-16
The ceasefire in Syria that went into effect on February 27, 2016 may just be another passing event in the strife-torn lives of the people in the Middle East. The ceasefire arranged with the efforts of Russia and the US has made it possible to distribute food and medicines among the distressed people locked in a long conflict. Syria is in a state of civil war for the last five years; the spontaneous protests of the Syrian Arab Spring in 2011 became sponsored, went violent, astray and sour. Revised estimates of human casualties of this civil war are 500,000 Syrian individuals having lost their lives, up from the previously estimated 250,000 people dead. Some 10 million Syrians are now waiting for humanitarian aid, 6.6 million people are internally displaced persons, and 4.4 million went through the trauma of becoming refugees.
Majority of Syrians have taken refuge in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Europe. The terror attacks in Brussels have their links traced to Syria. Many of the Syrian towns are in ruins, like Aleppo, which was a main commercial city of Syria; the loss might be irreversible. Over time, Aleppo had remained a city of commerce, cultural diversity and tolerance, a trade route to the Mediterranean. In spite of the ceasefire the difficulties of the regimes in Middle East are far from over; difficult, hostile days might be ahead, for which many of the regimes are to be blamed for ignoring human rights and economic development of their populations. The situation in the Middle East is spreading to Europe and Afghanistan, where the militants get support and pose a security threat to many a region, including us in Pakistan.
The ceasefire between the myriad proxy rebel groups and Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad seems to be fragile, as there is no indication of an agreed-upon political plan. Prolonged civil strife in Iraq, Syria and Yemen has over these years turned into an irreversible deteriorating situation. The failing peace process is made more serious due to falling oil prices, rising unemployment and refuges problems in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. The situation assumes uncertainty as the Islamic State (IS) group and al-Nusra front cannot be made part of the ceasefire arrangement.
Beginning June 2014 IS managed to occupy large territories in Iraq and Syria. Though some important towns like Kobani, Rammadi and now Palmyra have since been liberated, IS still holds Mosul, the second largest city of Iraq, and Fallujah, which is just 65 kilometres from Baghdad. Unfortunately, the circumstances that led to the rise of the IS, and occupation of large territories in Iraq in 2014 still persists. These circumstances emanated from poor governance, corruption, economically alienated populations and repressive regimes. Protests against corruption and poor governance have again started taking place, both in Iraq and Syria. A rally in Baghdad on March 11, against corruption and poor governance in Iraq, was attended by 200,000 people; the rally was organised by Moqtada al Sadr. This demonstration was certainly reflective of a will to agitate against corruption, an indicator of growing unrest and instability. There have been protests in some Syrian cities again, for the removal of President Bashar. The weak and corrupt governments in the region might not be able to shore up peace for a long time.
After the ceasefire the IS has tried to demonstrate its capacity to carry out terror attacks. In Iraq two days after the ceasefire on February 29, the IS carried bomb attacks in a market in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, 73 people lost their lives. The next day on March 1, the IS carried out another attack on an Iraqi army camp in Hadita, killing 40 soldiers including a brigadier-general. A recent car bomb terror attack in Ankara resulted in the loss of life of 34 people. The IS still retains a capacity to commit terror activity; this is in spite of many military setbacks, and it manages to maintain 20,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria. After the ceasefire, the al-Nusra front has been able to secure a surrender of the members of the Free Syrian Army in north-western Syria. Large quantities of US arms including anti-tank missiles have been taken away by the al-Nusra militants.
The surprise announcement by Russia of departure of its forces from Syria might prove a setback to the Syrian forces. The Syrian army reinforced by Russia is once again a credible fighting force, and has been able to liberate many areas from the IS. The Syrian army has been able to contain the IS in spite of many heavy odds, among them is inadequate logistic support, war weariness and being too thinly spread. A major drawback for the Syrian army is a lack of trust from the Syrian people because of human right issues and corruption spread over decades. The Iraqi army has still not recovered from the June 2014 defeat by the IS, and the subsequent surrender of its men and surrender of large quantities of US supplied arms and ammunition and expensive military vehicles, costing billions of dollars. Hence Iraq and Syria do not have a strong indigenous fighting force. On his just concluded visit to Saudi Arabia President Barack Obama stressed upon the Gulf Cooperation Council more participation to fight the IS.
This lack of a fighting force leads to growing influence of the IS and al-Qaeda in the Middle East and North Africa. Even the well-equipped Egyptian army feels the pressure of the IS. In March a security check post in the Arish city in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula was attacked by Sinai Willayet of the IS; 13 policemen lost their lives. Even the ambulances evacuating the injured security personnel were fired upon. The civil war in Yemen has given the IS and al-Qaeda an opportunity to gain influence and acquire the capability to carry out terror attacks and a ground for recruitment. Aden, the second largest city of Yemen and present day capital of the government, has a presence of the IS and al-Qaeda organisations. In Libya, the influence of the IS continues; it carried out an attack on March 7 in Gardane, the Libyan border town with Tunisia, and 53 people lost their lives in this attack. The growing instability in the Middle East is casting long shadows in regions globally.
The continuing armed conflict in Syria and Iraq has created such circumstances in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa that it may not be possible to secure peace under the prevailing conditions. There must be a realisation of the spill over effect of instability in Middle East in countries across the globe into Asia and Europe. The dystopia is further drawing closer in some countries in the Middle East due to falling oil prices, oversized corrupt bureaucracies and budgetary deficits, along with the rising cost of supporting seemingly endless proxy wars. In the fight against terror the major stakeholders in the Middle East do not have a coordinated strategy, and, in some cases, regimes lack a will. The present dilemma of the Middle East is that many crucial regimes are fast losing an initiative for political and economic reforms.
Source: dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/26-Apr-16/middle-east-dystopia
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Across The Board Accountability?
By Malik Muhammad Ashraf
26-Apr-16
General Raheel Sharif visited Signals Regimental Centre Kohat on 19th of April, and paid tributes to the men of the corps for their valuable contribution towards the success of the operation Zarb-e-Azb. He also added, “The ongoing war against terrorism and extremism being fought with the backing of the entire nation cannot bring enduring peace and stability unless the menace of corruption is uprooted. Therefore, across the board accountability is necessary for the solidarity, integrity and prosperity of Pakistan. Pakistan armed forces will fully support every meaningful effort in that direction, which would ensure a better future for our next generation”. The statement surely had political connotations.
Coming in the backdrop of the Panama leaks, and the demand of the opposition parties for a probe into the revelations made therein, the COAS’s statement has created quite a stir on the political landscape of Pakistan. The opposition parties see it as an endorsement of their demands, and feel encouraged by this ‘to-up-the-ante’ against government. As if the statement was not enough, exactly 48 hours later, the sacking of top and middle ranking military officers on account of corruption was made public to create the impression that General Sharif staying true to his words had initiated the process of accountability from the army. Irrespective of the real motives behind these moves, it has reinforced the impression of military leaders trying to make further inroads into the civilian territory and precipitating a civil-military imbalance. A renowned journalist in his column referring to these developments wrote: “The new paradigm of good governance and persuasive co-existence without destabilising the political system is now fully visible after two major moves by the GHQ in three days.”
Before venturing to dilate on what across the board accountability actually means, it would perhaps be appropriate to look at the legitimacy and justification for these moves. The army and the COAS trying to interfere or encroach upon the civilian territory and trespassing into the political domain are constitutionally, legally and morally wrong. It also constitutes the breach of the oath that military officers take at the time of commissioning in the army and, above all, this conduct is a negation of Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s advice to military leaders. There is absolutely no justification whatsoever for over-lording the representative government, or insulting the mandate of the people through military coups.
As regarding rubbing in the notion that General Sharif after making the statement on corruption has started the process from his own institution, it may be pointed out that the action against the military officers has been taken in line with the accountability mechanism that already exists in the army. The case that is being cited was reported by the media even last year. This is not something initiated by General Sharif. Similarly, there are also mechanisms in place on the civilian side to check corruption, although they need a complete overhauling to make them truly effective. What General Sharif did was a routine matter under the prevalent system.
Terrorism and religious extremism are gifts of the military dictators to this nation, who not only created these Frankenstein’s monsters but also patronised them to achieve their political motives and to give longevity to their unconstitutional rules. Those monsters have now returned to haunt the nation. These are proven realities. There is a Punjabi saying that the knots that you tie with your hands have to be undone with your teeth. The army under General Sharif is trying to untangle the knots that were tied by military dictators who posed an existentialist threat to the country. The nation duly acknowledges the sacrifices being made by the army in curbing the menace of terrorism, and expresses unqualified gratitude for their valiant efforts under the determined leadership of General Sharif, which has endeared him well to the masses. But, at the same time, on the basis of their bitter experience with generals ruling the roost, the public is quite uncomfortable at the prospect of generals trying to dictate to the representative governments, or attempting to encroach upon civilian territory.
The sordid reality about the all-permeating corruption in our society is that both military dictators and civilian rulers are equally responsible for this cancerous disease that has now affected every fibre of society. Saadi Sherazi said that if a ruler eats an egg undeservedly or through corruption, the subjects would eat the hens the same way. Corruption goes from top to downward and not vice verse. The all-around corruption that we witness in society is a consequence of a culture of corruption at the top echelons of society and among the rulers. Unfortunately, those wearing uniforms of any hue, civilian leaders and politicians stand on the same moral pedestal as far as corruption is concerned. All of them are responsible for perpetuating a system of governance that encourages a culture of graft and entitlement, which is mother of all types of corruption.
The people have heard the rhetoric of across the board accountability so many times that it has almost become a cliché. It has been applied selectively to victimise political opponents through a process of witch-hunt, and not to bring the much-needed systemic changes. The issue here is not merely holding civilian and military bureaucracy accountable for their misdeeds and corruption, but also that top military and civilian leadership and politicians who indulge in the misuse of their powers, breach of the constitution and reckless corruption must be held accountable.
Across the board accountability really means bringing to book those generals who orchestrated and abetted military coups, all those judges who legitimised military coups through their unconstitutional decisions, and all those politicians and public representatives who amassed fortunes through illegal means and corruption and, last but not the least, ensuring that all state institutions operate within the sphere of their constitutional obligations. Unfortunately, there is no mechanism available at the moment to conduct a true across the board accountability. When General Sharif talks about across the board accountability he needs to understand its real meaning. Would he support any such initiative remains a million dollar question. The real problem lies in civil-military imbalance. A renowned constitutionalist and lawyer, Babar Sattar, wrote, “Civil-military imbalance continues hurting democracy, rule of law, across-the-board accountability and citizens security.” The salvation of the nation, therefore, depends on all institutions remaining within their own ambit of national obligations and not trying to transgress their limits.
Source: dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/26-Apr-16/across-the-board-accountability-
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Reinventing Politics Of ‘70s And ‘90s
By Mohammad Jamil
26-Apr-16
The opposition in Pakistan is poised to pressurise the government through public rallies to frame Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the judicial commission. The ruling party of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has also decided to start a public contact campaign, and has announced that the prime minister would address public meetings throughout Pakistan, starting with Imran Khan’s home ground, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Amazingly, both sides of the divide give no sense at all if they are posturing, as normally political parties do at the time of the elections. On Friday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed the nation, and to defuse the pressure, announced that he would write a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan regarding the formation of an inquiry commission to probe the allegations in the Panama Papers leaks. The ministry of law and justice immediately issued a notification, which also mentioned the ToRs that have already been rejected by the opposition parties.
In addition to examining the information related to the involvement of Pakistani citizens, persons of Pakistan origin, and legal entities in offshore companies in Panama or in any other country, the judicial commission would also look into the involvement of former and present holders of public office in getting their bank loans or those of their immediate family members written off using political influence. The opposition leaders have rejected the ToRs, and the formation of the commission under the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act 1956, which they allege is being done for ulterior motives. Another point being raised is that instead of confining the probe to the present and past rulers, the commission has been assigned many tasks, such as probing thousands of persons and entities who got their loans written off. The opposition parties demand that the government include the investigations by international auditors and forensic experts in the ToRs.
Prime Minister Sharif, who is otherwise mostly calm and composed, lost his cool and made personal attacks on his opponents during the address to the nation. It was an ill-advised speech, which was reflective of the mentality of his advisors. Without taking Imran Khan’s name, he made personal attacks, and passed acerbic remarks against Khan. After the Kargil episode when differences had emerged between civil and military leadership, the then PML-N information minister and a few others had advised Sharif to ‘fix up’ some generals to show them who the ‘boss’ was. In his address on Friday, Sharif asked who would question those who overthrew his government, registered a case of plane hijacking, and passed the 17th amendment. It appears that his advisors are upping the ante, and reinventing the politics of 1970s and 1990s, fraught with extreme dangers.
Leader of the Opposition Khursheed Shah, Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan and other leaders have rejected the ToRs, which they argue should have been decided with the consent of the opposition parties. According to the renowned legal and constitutional expert, Salman Akram Raja, the process of probing 220 people whose names have been mentioned in the Panama Papers may take 50 years. Instead of confining the probe to the present and past rulers, the commission has been assigned many tasks such as probing thousands of persons and entities who got their loans written off using their clout with the ruling parties. Though the information minister, Pervez Rashid and other PML-N leaders say that the proposed judicial commission has been mandated to appoint international auditors and forensic experts, that has not been included in the ToRs issued by the government.
Meanwhile, the PML-N has decided to take the matter to the people of Pakistan and chalked out a plan to hold public meetings throughout Pakistan. It has to be mentioned here that in 1977 the Pakistan National Alliance had taken out rallies against poll-rigging, and as a reaction to that, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) also started staging rallies, which led to confrontation and loss of life. The PPP had agreed to hold re-election on 35 seats, but due to prolonged talks the law and order situation had become serious, and the country was facing anarchy. It was in this backdrop that General Zia-ul-Haq imposed martial law in Pakistan. There is a perception that statements by the COAS General Raheel Sharif have been instrumental in the alteration of stance by the government, resulting in the decision to form a commission to be headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
On last Tuesday, General Sharif said: “Across the board accountability is necessary for the solidarity, integrity and prosperity of Pakistan, and war against terror cannot be won unless the menace of corruption is uprooted. Pakistan’s armed forces will fully support every meaningful effort in that direction, which would ensure a better future for our next generations.” He offered all-out cooperation of the armed forces to purge the country of the scourge of corruption. He declared that there was a need to have across the board accountability, and he started it from his own institution. Within 48 hours of the above-mentioned statement, six military officers were dismissed from service after a court of inquiry found them at fault. One three-star general, one two-star general, three brigadiers and one colonel were sacked for abuse of authority and amassing illegal wealth; and their ranks and benefits have also been revoked.
Last year, General Sharif had also given go-ahead to the National Accountability Bureau for inquiry into the DHA scam, involving brothers of the former COAS, Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. In August 2015, two retired generals were punished for corruption amounting to Rs 4.3 billion in the National Logistic Cell, forfeiting their ranks, decorations, medals, honours, awards, seizure of pension, recovery of personal gains, cancellation of service benefits and all other allied facilities. With his actions, General Sharif has proved that there is no ‘holy cow’ that cannot be touched or talked about.
Source: dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/26-Apr-16/reinventing-politics-of-70s-and-90s
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Women Protection Law in Pakistan
By Salman Ali
26-Apr-16 325
The Punjab assembly passed the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act (PPWAVA) in February, which provides unprecedented legal protection to women against domestic, psychological and sexual violence. The law faces legal and clerical challenges, but the biggest issue will be its implementation, as laws are made but their enforcement remains weak. The law emulates some clauses of legislation in the west, but as per some critics of the law this has been done without much consideration to the fact that while most women in advanced countries are financially independent, in Pakistan many are still dependent on their fathers, husbands or other family members for shelter, food and other needs. Most of them do not lodge a complaint even if their husbands torture them, and even their parents do not allow or encourage that. For the societal environment to truly change for women, government will have to create job opportunities for females and launch a nationwide drive to discourage domestic violence. Even if there is violation of social norms, and violence is reported, there is a remote chance of any real dispensation of justice. It may also increase the rate of divorce in the country, as most men will not tolerate ‘humiliation’ from their wives.
The bill had been proposed in May 2015, but faced obstruction in the Punjab assembly. According to Punjab government, the bill is comprehensive and brings several previously ignored offences within its ambit, and covers domestic violence, emotional, economic and psychological abuse, cyber crime, stalking and abetting of offenders. Unlike previous laws, it introduces an ingenious implementation mechanism. It proposes the setting up of 24-hour, women-run, district violence-against-women centres. The centres will have all required services, including first aid, police reporting, FIR lodging, prosecution, medical examination, forensics and post-trauma rehabilitation under one roof, and accessible to women. A toll-free helpline will be set up where women could call for assistance, legal advice, prompt evidence collection and immediate protection.
Moreover, alleged offenders may, through a protection order, be instructed to maintain distance from women whom they victimised, and to enforce this, GPS tracking devices have been introduced. The bill also accounts for hindrances faced by women in their traditional settings by providing civil remedies. A victim of domestic violence can enforce the Residence Order whereby she will not need to vacate the house; otherwise, she can demand from the defendant an alternative accommodation or monetary relief. The bill does not contradict pre-existing laws, but instead fills in gaps and facilitates implementation.
The new law criminalises all forms of violence against women, but it is not the first time in Pakistan that a law for women rights has been framed. Many laws were made in the past but all remained futile and failed to produce results for lack of enforcement. Laws exist for far worse crimes against women, but they are still being killed in the name of honour. They still face acid attacks. They are burnt to death for bringing meagre dowry. In 1976, government passed legislation on dowry and bridal gifts, which remains ineffective to date. In April 2000, the Musharraf government had declared that honour killing would be treated as murder. The ministry of women development set up 10 crisis centres to help victims of domestic violence and create awareness among people. However, all proved useless. In 2009, a domestic violence protection bill was proposed by the PPP in the National Assembly; the bill was passed, but was not ratified by the Senate. The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) opposed it on the assumption that it would increase the rate of divorce. In 2011, the Senate passed the Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Bill to control acid attacks in the country, but to no avail.
According to the Human Rights Watch, a New York-based international non-governmental organisation, 70 to 90 percent of women in Pakistan had suffered some form of abuse in 2009, and approximately, 5,000 women were killed every year in domestic violence, with thousands of others maimed. An Aurat Foundation report in 2013 showed that the Punjab alone accounted for 5,800 crimes against women, 74 percent of crimes against women in the whole of Pakistan. A 2011 Thomson Reuters Foundation poll ranked Pakistan the third most dangerous country in the world for women, after Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, in 2016 in response to the PPWAVA, clerics and religious parties have termed the new Punjab law ‘un-Islamic’. The CII said the bill is against the constitution and the two-nation theory; they claim that the law is a western conspiracy to harm the family system of Pakistan. They are also of the view that the clauses in this bill will eventually lead to the break-up of society. Besides opposition from religious quarters, implementation of the law will be a real challenge to the provincial government. In a country where more serious crimes against women continue despite laws, there is no hope of any improvement in their plight.
Ume Laila Azhar, a renowned women rights activist, said, “Protection of Women against Violence Bill is a good step as at least government of Pakistan is admitting that domestic violence exist in our part of the world. It has taken a long time for people like us who were working on declaring domestic violence a gruesome violence within home boundaries where mostly the notion is that women are safe. The bill appears to be a rather comprehensive attempt to institute a system for protection of violence against women and for protection and rehabilitation of the women victims.”
Moreover, she said, “The Act falls short both in outlook as well as in philosophy. Punjab government needs to fix the ambiguities and inaccuracies and introduce an implementation framework, which is more local, doable, and create awareness and consensus among the member parliamentarians as to what the law means and how it will protect women from violence within home boundaries. We are yet too far away from taking this law and digesting it. As a society we need to sensitise our men to give space to their spouses, and not to take their space.”
On the other hand, I am of the view that there needs to be a real reform for a real change. This bill is a positive step forward, as men who torture, rape and assault women will now have a legal deterrence to deal with. Social taboos don’t allow women to speak up, and fear of reprisal causes them to continue being victim of abuse. It is about time they were encouraged to seek justice and relief.
Just to highlight history to those who are opposing this law that they forgot who stood by the country’s founding father, Mohammad Ali Jinnah until the very end: a woman, his sister, Fatima Jinnah. That was a woman who probably wouldn’t have thought twice about empowering all other women in Pakistan. It is about time our government did the same, because if on matters such as rape and violence, government bows down to the right, it will be taking 10 steps back for each step taken forward.
Source: dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/26-Apr-16/women-protection-law-in-pakistan
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Pondering Panama
By Dr Niaz Murtaza
April 26th, 2016
THE response to the Panama leaks has been expectedly monotonous, mainly covering legal or moral issues. But ancient Sufis wisely said that kids view things narrowly; to grasp a complex issue, adults must view it from seven distinct lenses without any view undermining the other.
The first lens is legal. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif seems linked to dodgy deals and he or the chief justice must initiate a credible inquiry. If indicted, Sharif must resign before trial. This will not harm but bolster democracy. Politicians must show more sense by avoiding the excuses dictators give when facing trial (the act occurred long ago; trial will harm stability; abettors must be tried too; etc) even if they seem more relevant here than for Musharraf.
The second lens is moral. Is Sharif morally obliged to quit? Some see the Iceland prime minister’s resignation as reflecting high morals which Sharif must emulate. Since the former owns dubious offshore accounts, his actions likely reflected not morality but realpolitik action to avoid dismissal. Western rulers resign after small wrongs or unproven aspersions due not to high morality but strong accountability pressure, which is weaker in developing states. No non-Western leader named in Panama leaks has quit.
Also, the frequency of accusations is higher but stability and political capital stock lower in developing states. There such high standards will mean endless resignations and instability doing more harm than good. The bar for resigning there must be set lower, eg, to indictment before trial. Nor will the prime minister’s presence thwart inquiry if the commission is credible.
The next lens is political. Many feel this issue will end the PML-N hold. But past trends suggest that while weakened, it will likely still remain the biggest party since Pakistani masses forgive major sins if their own lot improves. If Nawaz Sharif and his daughter are convicted, the baton may pass on to Shahbaz Sharif. Stern action will not quickly unleash the desired clean leadership.
Stern action will not quickly unleash the desired clean leadership.
This brings us to the sociological lens which reviews how and how soon corruption reduces. ‘Pious’ Pakistanis demand a quick end to corruption, through illegal means if needed, by arguing that Pakistan cannot develop otherwise. Global reviews of the Transparency Index (TI) puncture such analysis. No country has ended corruption, the highest score on it being around 90pc. TI data from 1995 onwards reveals no state which has improved its score massively and quickly through extra-legal ways.
A review of Pakistan’s region shows that national TI scores have improved by less than 1pc annually over 20 years. Thus, even 25 years later, our score will likely be around 50pc. This means high corruption in the future, however much we may delude ourselves based on the allure of dubious means, the claimed exceptionalism of the ‘Islamic fort’ and the messianic instincts of a ‘born-again’ army.
Above scores of 25pc, one finds many states developing rapidly. China scores (35pc) only slightly better than us (30pc) today and scored 22pc in 1995 by when it had grown rapidly for long. This shows that though corruption slows growth, high growth and corruption can still coexist, and even a benign autocracy, the dream regime for many, cannot end it quickly.
Pakistani TI scores are highest today since TI’s 1995 inception, are increasing normally, and are not unusual regionally, but our obsession in justifying illegal acts to control corruption is unusual. All this is argument not for accepting corruption resignedly but against unrealistic beliefs about how soon and how it reduces. Pakistani blood pressures can be better managed by not expecting the immediate end extra-legally but gradual corruption cuts through legal means, just as we accept that ending terrorism will take long.
The fifth lens covers civ-mil issues. Recent ISPR tweets demand across-the-board accountability. But was Musharraf, who was aided to escape trial, above board? The well-timed revelation of the dismissal of corrupt army officers is good but not their light sentences when military-backed courts jail corrupt civilians for long. ISPR tweets say the army will aid ‘all’ efforts against corruption. Does ‘all’ mean state efforts or even others, eg, PTI’s Raiwind dharna? TI lists 35 states below Pakistan on corruption. In how many do armies issue such tweets? Their aim seemingly is to extend the military’s political sway.
The last lens is a political economy one. Does corruption mainly cause terrorism? Experts link it mainly to state support to or inaction against jihadis under autocracy, but only secondarily to corruption. Finally, is terrorism or corruption our main issue? Many states with similar corruption as ours have developed rapidly but none with similar terrorism. Our corruption rank is normal but terrorism rank abnormal regionally.
Not being a Sufi titan but a sinful mortal, I can only identify six lenses. But even six provide a wider view on the topic than TV shows, without later views weakening the legal one.
Source: dawn.com/news/1254362/pondering-panama
URL: https://newageislam.com/pakistan-press/middle-east-dystopia-new-age/d/107104