A
startling revelation, Gul Bukhari, 06 November 2016
Around
the October 26, a retired lieutenant general of the Pakistan Army made some
startling revelations on prime time television, when commenting on the massacre
of over 61 boys in a police training academy in Quetta. Both IS and later
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al-Alami had claimed the attack. The Inspector General
Frontier Corp (IGFC) Balochistan also identified the LeJ Al-alami as the
attackers. This faction of the LeJ has publicly declared allegiance to IS, and
IS released pictures of three attackers, one of whom bore a striking
resemblance to the face of one of the attackers shot to death (the other two
had blown themselves up beyond recognition). So the general correctly stated
that both claims were correct as these groups have the same aims and work in
collaboration where necessary.
But the
chilling revelations came after this statement, and most amazingly did not
create any waves, with the revelations taking many days to be reported in print
media. In the media’s defence (sic), it was busy with its darling Imran Khan
and his umpteenth non putsch, Sheikh Rasheed’s cigar atop a DSNG and other
frivolous matters.
This is
what the good general said: expressing his frustration and anger with the
government, he claimed ‘the army has been telling the government for the
last two years that we know that Hafiz Saeed or Masood Azhar have not been
directing terror attacks inside India, but because of them there is a
perception developing in the outside world that Pakistan is perpetrating terror
attacks in India; for God’s sakes take action against them. Then they told
the government that if you don’t want to do this, give us the legal cover and
we will get them. That too the government didn’t do. Then we said okay, let the
Rangers be deployed here (Punjab and interior Sindh), we will get some
authority through the Rangers. But that also the government didn’t do. In the
first week of April this year, the DG ISI gave the government two plans. The
first was to mainstream Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), and others like them, into
mainstream politics over the next one and a half years, clearly outlining the
steps for the mainstreaming. The second plan was to segregate and deradicalise
the violent groups and induct them into the Rangers and FC, such that they have
an alternative livelihood and stop their violent extremism. The government
handed this plan (violent groups) to NACTA and it is as a result in cold
storage. The other plan (to bring JuD and the like into mainstream
politics) is with the Prime Minister and he is sitting on it. And then they
gave this news to DAWN which corroborates the American and Indian narrative
(referring to the leak of the national security meeting held between the civil
and military top brass reported on October 6).’
It is
very hard to know where to begin to deconstruct all this. The entire
patriotic industry has reacted very strangely since the story in DAWN was
leaked, calling the reporter, the newsgroup, and those who found the story or
its harbingers credible, traitors. In the meantime, between the October 6 story
and now, a conference was held in London, hosted jointly by former Ambassador
Hussain Haqqani and Dr Mohammed Taqi, to which they invited like-minded
Pakistani people to ponder as to how Pakistan could chart out a progressive,
democratic, egalitarian path away from the military’s toxic meddling in policy
that has taken the country decades backwards to a precipice on which we hang
now. All prominent attendees (including the organisers) were attacked by
this industry for their treasonous statements. Dr Ayesha Siddiqa came under a
particularly vicious attack. And all for what? For airing what they thought was
wrong and how it could be set right.
Now. Back
to Gen Shuaib’s revelations: No one has attacked him or the larger security
establishment for being treasonous for plotting to endanger the armed forces
with a high risk of infiltration by violent extremists. As it is, the Pakistan
Army hunts and strings the Hizb-u-Tehreer wherever it finds them for trying to
radicalise the ranks and officers, and instigating a rebellion against the top
cadres to take over and impose Sharia. Given this, and given the famous
attack and siege of the GHQ in 2009 being an insider job, given the PNS Mehran
base attack in 2011 being an inside job, given both attempts on General Pervaiz
Musharraf’s life being inside jobs, how can the DG ISI’s alleged proposals to
government be considered anything other than mad? Stark raving mad?
If what
the general has said is based on reality, I beg to ask, is there any
scientific body of evidence on de-radicalisation, based on which militants and
extremists are being proposed to be inducted into the forces that are supposed
to protect our lives and property? Is there a single successful experiment the
geniuses at the helm can cite? Or do they just get ideas, construct theories
around these ideas, and expect the government to act on these just because they
think these ideas would work?
Link the
ideas with regards to East Pakistan, Kargil, Balochistan, FATA and Gilgit
Baltistan. And
FATA reminds of yesterday’s news report. The military dynamited a shopping
plaza in South Waziristan in revenge for a major killed in a bomb blast nearby,
under the cover of the Federal Crimes Regulations (FCR), that allows punishment
under ‘collective responsibility’ under individual acts. It’s another matter
that the plaza belonged to agent named Mirzalam, ‘a staunch pro-Pakistan Malik
who was killed by the Taliban in 2004’.
Thank God
we have a political government. No matter how weak. At least it sits on
demented plans, like it sits on most other things. But I would advise the Prime
Minister to put these plans to the parliament, because this is where such major
policies must be decided on. Let the parliament decide on the wisdom, efficacy,
deficiency or risks of major policies. But in the meantime, let’s stop the
one sided traitor traitor games. They are passé. No one believes them anymore.
Because no one is a traitor.
The writer is a human rights worker and freelance columnist. She can be
contacted at gulnbukhari@gmail.com.
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