Alhamdulillah its good to see the nation putting up a united front against Taleban’s extremism. Mainstream parties such as PPP/PML(N) and now NGOs active in the judicial movement are starting to be visible on this cause too. Polls taken by media outlets show broad backing for the elimination of extremism, although there is, and should be, concern for the millions of civilians affected and being used as human shields by the Taleban.
Editorial: No reason to remain divided
Friday’s candle-lit “vigil” at Liberty Market in Lahore “ and protests in other cities “for the promotion of peace in the region” and “for the safety of the country” were an endorsement of the action by the army in Swat. The gathering in Lahore was impressive and, understandably, had more women participating in it than men. The conflict in the Swat region has displaced a lot of civilians and those who will suffer the hardships of refugee camps most will be women and children.
Justice (Retd) Nasira Iqbal read out to the Lahore gathering: “We pray to You, God, to help guide us through these difficult times. We ask you to protect us from those who threaten the peace and unity of our country. We pray for those who have sacrificed their lives for us. We pray to you to bring us all onto the right path of unity, justice, tolerance, equality, compassion and understanding for mankind”. The national anthem sealed the moment with a feeling of national unity.
The Concerned Citizens of Pakistan group which was prominent in the marches staged in favour of the reinstatement of the judges fired by General Musharraf; appealed for funds to fulfil our commitment to national unity. Their slogan was fair and just: “We do not want the military to kill people during the operations but we want terrorism to be eliminated”. The South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) also appealed to the media to isolate and expose the extremists who seek to impose their will on the people through coercion and destroy the writ of the state.
The gatherings belonged finally to those among us who care for human rights. They were neither liberal nor conservative; or we can say they represented an amalgamation of both attitudes. There is no one, no matter how isolated he or she may be in society, who will deny the value of human rights. The unanimity achieved at the vigil and other such gatherings — including the one in which the famous Indian author Arundhati Roy was also present in Karachi — was against the violation of human rights by the Taliban. These also underlined the support of the beleaguered citizens of Pakistan to the soldiers of the Pakistan army who are laying down their lives in Swat today.
The TV channels too reflected the state of the nation. All surveys quickly put together by the channels showed the man in the street in complete sympathy with the military action by the Gilani government in Swat. If there was some small reservation about it, it was overwhelmed by across-the-board support that was in no small part owed to the endorsement of the military action by the PMLN leader, Mr Nawaz Sharif. To the credit of Prime Minister Gilani and President Zardari, their strategy of getting the parliament involved in the enforcement of Nizam-e Adl in Swat had swung general opinion around after the Taliban reneged on their pledges.
The Swat events were pursued and highlighted by the electronic media. The big hurdle in coverage was the inability of the reportage to be even-handed given the coercive authority of the terrorists who killed journalists on the slightest provocation. Some TV discussions inclined in favour of the “pro-Taliban” local demand for sharia despite the fact that the Swat population was subject to intimidation and strict censorship. The “liberals” complained that the sharia demanded by Sufi Muhammad ran counter to the rights bequeathed by the 1973 Constitution. The conservatives wanted to go with the people of Swat and their demand for sharia-type speedy justice.
There was some bitterness on TV. In one unfortunate instance, a perennially inflamed Imran Khan, who leads a small party, called Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy, a well-known intellectual of Pakistan, an “American agent”. In fact the liberal-conservative divide gave rise to frequent charges of “disloyalty” to the state against the liberal discussants. There was a definite Urdu-English divide too, at times, in newspapers under the same ownership, which led to some speakers railing against the “two streams” of education in Pakistan, as if English-medium education was some kind of treason.
Now that there is unity on the subject of Taliban, one should forget the old disputation. The liberal opinion can hardly benefit from claiming that events have proved it right. What is important is to retain this unity and not allow division in times of crisis to cripple the national response to the enemies of Pakistan. *
I bet many of the top brass in the military are also against it. Silence using the code of conduct may not be a virtue for an extended amount of time.