• Home
• Video
• Books by Ikram Sehgal
• About

Accountability without parameters

The Army’s initial moves into the urban areas of Sindh to restore the rule of law was made in a well-planned and efficient manner but its objectives were limited by time, so they chose first and foremost to cow down the well-organised MQM whose inflammatory statements had indicated that they would violently resist any moves into their city stronghold, thus causing unnecessary bloodshed and destruction. Given that the element of tactical surprise had been lost in the weeks preceding the operations, the controversial use of the MQM (Haqeeqi) in a Trojan Horse-ploy was an intelligent tactical move and must be commended. Kudos are due to the Army hierarchy, from the COAS, General Asif Nawaz, to Lt Gen Nasir Akhtar, Comd 5 Corps and Maj Gen Malik Saleem, Comd Corps Reserve. But having utilized the dissidents to enter into the so-called urban strongholds of MQM without any firefight (being embroiled in street battles in built-up areas is always a recurring nightmare for any military commander), the Army would now be well-advised to drop these Haqeeqi-types like so many hot potatoes. The frying pan is ever more comfortable than roasting in the fire, these characters are man for man worse than their former colleagues from whom they parted due to crass economic rather than ideological differences. Unfortunately an insiduous campaign is now in full swing to show that the Army is favourably biased towards this faction, fanned along enthusiastically by the Haqeeqis themselves. To maintain its credibility, the Army must forcefully and forthrightly dispel this wrong perception, one telling measure would be to hold these gentlemen accountable for their past (and present) misdeeds and not to allow them to have the potential to run riot under the benign shadows of the Army’s guns. If they want to test their manhood without that protective cover, they are welcome to do so, as long as innocents do not get caught in the crossfire.

The events of the past fortnight have laid bare facts hitherto widely rumoured but never evidenced, that “torture cells” proliferated in the urban areas of Sindh. However, coercion of other communities, parties or groupings is not solely an MQM initiative and/or prerogative, all the militant factions of Jeay Sindh, Jamaate Islami, PPI, PPP, JUI, etc have been (and are) willing proponents of the “torture cell” methods wherever and whenever circumstances allowed them such leeway. Have the vicious gangs of drug smugglers and kidnappers disappeared into oblivion? That brutality was being inflicted by elements of the MQM upon members of their own Mohajir community, to either keep the populace in line or to extort money thereof, is extremely surprising and in sum total, shocking. Given the massive democratic support available to the MQM, it is astonishing that some among their leaders were so shortsighted and depraved to countenance such activity or blissfully blind to it. However, due to the less-than-enthusiastic PR support by the government information machinery to the Army’s effort, particularly on TV, this may rebound on the Army. As the backlash sets in to the mass psyche of the Mohajir community, the present exercise, however sincere, may ultimately prove to be counter-productive to the Army’s image in the long run. Civilized society does demand that the perpetrators of such atrocities must be individually targeted and dealt with harshly. However, there are caveats to this, insofar as (1) the evidence pointing to the person responsible must be irrefutable and incontrovertible, i.e. there must be a definite “smoking gun” (2) the same yardstick of accountability must be applied to anyone else (a) who indulged in similar activity and (b) whoever being in as responsible position ignored such facts when these were brought to their notice, i.e. the concerned individuals and agencies of the government, must be similarly culpable. While politics makes for strange bedfellows, to compromise with one’s principles down to the barbaric depths (shown sparingly on TV), for the sake of coming to power or perpetuating it thereof, makes them at least involuntary accessories to any crimes perpetrated by their political partners. The coercion centres displayed could not have existed without a form of official patronage, benign indifference or blissful ignorance was a defence ignored at Nuremburg in the trials of the German leaders post-World War 2.

The Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) is as much grassroots as any movement can possibly hope to be, mainly because of the mass perception among a major percentage of the Mohajirs migrating from India and their descendants that in contrast to the various sons-of-the soil-nationalities in Pakistan, they were being economically discriminated against. Excesses perpetrated on them over the years persuaded them to unite under one banner, the raising of a strong democratic voice was much needed for the emancipation and self-respect of the Mohajirs, that this voice has become more strident and resonant than their percentage of the nation’s populace would suggest is because of the circumstances of geography. One had only to consider their plight in using the major mode of transportation available to them from home to place of work and back, the yellow mini-bus, and the ignominy and frustration the educated (the white-collar middle class) used to face at the hands of the rude, uncouth and uneducated drivers and conducters who took vicarious pleasure in insulting them. Simply put, a vast majority of the Mohajirs were similarly pushed around in many areas of their collective lives, the MQM harnessed that sense of deprivation and ensured that the perennial bullying ceased, it is not difficult to understand the next step into the feeling of absolute power. History has recorded many instances where leaders have misused the mandate available to them due to the dynamism of their electorate for many diverse reasons but mainly to perpetuate and satisfy their own power and individual greed. The failure of key elements within the MQM leadership cannot mean that we treat the entire MQM hierarchy with a broad brush, the crimes of the leaders cannot be visited on their loyal (albeit gullible) electorate. Objectivity must take over in the higher interests of the national good and without outright condemnation of the MQM let us endeavour to isolate only those who perpetuated such atrocities or allowed such rampant criminality to prevail and persevere. Contrary to the normal modus operandi of tarring and feathering everyone in the Kangaroo court of fickle public opinion, one must make a strong plea to learn from the lessons of history and continue the dialogue with less extreme elements within the MQM. Military action can only be limited to a short and swift cleansing purge, democracy enjoins that dialogue and compromise are necessary for achieving political objectives. There can, of course, be no compromise with anyone on any grounds whatsoever, whatever his (or her) station in life, with those who were actually involved in brutality and/or coercion and/or who condoned it.

Very few people stand up and get themselves on record against the trend of the official line during the actual course of whatever is happening, therefore, no praise can be enough for the Federal Minister for Petroleum and Special Assistant to the PM, Ch Nisar Ali, for having the raw courage to speak frankly about his long-term apprehensions. In the circumstances, he must take into consideration that while it is still early in the Army action, which is continuing, to define any set trend, though the present objectives did seem to be limited only to the MQM in the urban areas, at least till people like Ghulam Sarwar Awan of PPI, etc started being picked up. There is a real danger of a backlash here, of estranging the vast majority of the Mohajir community unless the Army considerably enlarges the scope of its objectives and brings the timetable forward to include the others in its dragnet. Democracy should not have to resort to the use of Armed Forces to restore the rule of law, conversely once the Army has been called in they should be given a free hand and should not be limited by political constraints. All this time, the paramount principle of civilian authority extending over the military’s action cannot be subverted except at cost to the Constitution. All this is quite a paradox but given sincerity and objectivity, it is possible for men in authority to reason and enter into dialogue to enact meaningful compromises.

The President and the Prime Minister cannot distance themselves from the Sindh morass. While Nawaz Sharif can still claim some redemption, the President has been closely associated with the Sindh problem in both his official and personal capacity for the last decade or so. His actions seem to be partisan because of his son-in-law, Irfanullah Marwat. Given the public perception after the Veena Hayat case, the President should have been well advised to move Marwat out of public office and the public eye. If Marwat is really guilty with respect to even 1% of the lurid tales attributed to him, the official agencies should have no difficulty in booking him. However one stops short of the present trend of calling him colourful names now that he is no more in power, such insults and epithets are usually hurled by certain brave and extremely honourable persons once they become convinced that they cannot be subjected to any reaction from whom they hold upto ridicule, their own character and characteristics notwithstanding. Rather than resort to rendering the type of cowboy justice that Marwat and his cousin were accused of, they must get the benefit of due process of law.

If we are engaged in a sincere and honest exercise of accountability let us then not define any parameters. The law of the land must apply to everyone without bias or favour. If we have entrusted the Army with a task, let us give them both freedom of action and time to accomplish that task. There is a clear and present danger here of the Army becoming a victim of its own actions because of ambiguous political support after having launched them into the cauldron. This then becomes a case of political hyprocrisy. Where action must be deliberate because of the sensitivities, the Army is being rushed into a timetable that will be counter-productive while being restrained by political considerations that brings the whole exercise into question. Impartiality is best perceived by the intelligentsia and the masses when it is even-handed. Accountability is best rendered when it is based on factual evidence that can stand the test of veracity or the results will boomerang. Madam Marcos, who left over 3,000 pairs of shoes in the Presidential Palace in Manila while fleeing in a hurry when her husband was deposed as the President of Philippines, now claims that she does not even like shoes! This country has a fair amount of brazen Mr and Mrs Marcoses in leadership positions, the way to get them is to be deliberate and not botch up the whole process by being in a hurry.

Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.