Re: Kayani speaks his mind (Merged)
Thanks for the links:
By:Aziz-ud-Din AhmadFriday, 2 Mar 2012 9:48 pm | Comments (9)
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Transgression should not go unchecked
The SC is fed up with unending transgressions on the part of the agencies. On Thursday, the apex court referred to the rising hue and cry over the increasing incidents of missing persons in Balochistan. The CJ regretted that fingers were being pointed at the intelligence agencies. “If we do not follow the laws, warlords would get benefit out of the situation so created,” the bench said, adding that the court could not be oblivious of the protest camp of families of the missing persons.
Politicians, including those once patronised by the ISI, refer to their past connections apologetically while condemning the agency of continued interference in politics. Ch Nisar Ali told a TV host the same day that the PML(N) had broken off all ties with the spy agency in 1992. He accused Gen Pasha of continuing to meddle in politics. Politicians from all major parties attending a seminar in Islamabad agreed to formulate new laws to curb the “unlimited and unchecked” powers of spy agencies and recommended major amendments to the constitution and relevant laws to tackle the issue. Air Martial (rtd) Asghar Khan’s counsel in SC has called the distribution of money to politicians by the ISI in 1990 ‘ a subversion of the democratic system’.
Secular Baloch nationalists and sympathisers of religious parties are all on the same page in condemning the agencies’ transgressions.
**Those brainwashed, trained and pushed into jihad “in supreme national interest” are fighting against the Pakistan army in the tribal areas. They consider the army and ISI personnel and installations as their legitimate target.
The media is exposing the excesses of the agencies as never before. TV talk shows and stories and editorials in newspapers have made the issue a common subject in households.
The agencies are being legitimately criticised on two scores. First, for acting in blatant violation of law and constitution and transgressing their scope by indulging in political engineering. Second, grossly neglecting their real duties and thus being responsible for the big losses to life and property that could have been avoided through better intelligence gathering. At times, their acts of commission or omission have caused embarrassment to the country.
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Hundreds of unarmed citizens have been picked up in violation of law who remain untraced in Balochistan and elsewhere. The agencies avoided the difficult task of collecting the necessary information that could lead to the prosecution of the suspects. They instead went for the easy but cruel practice of picking up suspects and making them confess through torture. There is a perception that some of the missing died as a result of torture and were subsequently thrown on the roadside. Those who did this are responsible for creating hatred against the state in Balochistan.
Equally reprehensible is the agencies’ indulgence in politics by funding politicians, creating splits in parties and making and breaking political alliances. This has hindered the natural growth of the institutions needed to sustain democracy
**During the last three years, gross negligence on the part of the ISI has led to colossal intelligence failures. This has caused avoidable disasters that include the attack on the GHQ, Parade Lane Askri Mosque tragedy, unnoticed presence of Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, leading to the military operation by US.
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**Both types of blunders are interconnected. The agencies waste energy and resources on missions that do not come under the purview. When it comes to doing their real duties, they have little time or manpower to meet the challenge.
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Civilian governments in the past have been too weak to rein in the agencies even when they were convinced of the task’s urgency. Among other things the agencies thrived on the rivalry between the parties. If the government tried to cut them to their size, the opposition was sure to blame the administration of weakening the country and playing into the hands of India, seen by it as the eternal enemy.
There is a countrywide realisation now that the failures on the part of the agencies can cause irretrievable losses to the country and could even lead to a national tragedy. This is the right time to take important decisions. The agencies have to be given a charter that precisely defines the scope and limitations of the security agencies and provides for a civilian oversight needed to keep check on the unruly bodies. Many think the Supreme Court is the right forum to take the first step in the direction.
The writer is a former academic and a political analyst.
