KUDOS TO INDIANS

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/02/29/kudos-to-indians/

Thousands of brave Indian citizens have condemned the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in India at their own peril, seeing that Indian authorities have banned protests against it. Scores of people have lost their lives protesting. In Delhi alone at the time of writing this column, after around 40 people have died as a result and more than 500 people have been arrested. There have been more in the rest of India.

By now we all know what the CAA means, that it allows illegal immigrants to India access to citizenship so long as they are not Muslim, Sri Lankan Tamils, Buddhists from Tibet, or Rohingya from Myanmar. In other words the Act is based on religious discrimination which not acceptable on any level.

Other Indians around the world have also protested against the CAA. Kudos to them all for standing up for what is right.

There have also been vociferous statements by Pakistani authorities, including posters against the CAA in the cantonment in Lahore, and many self-righteous, indignant comments against the government of India in newspapers.

While all protest against the CAA is commendable the authorities in Pakistan seem to suffer from a myopic vision, as do the people who make these angry comments in newspapers hurling taunts at the country across the border, its people and government. You wonder just where they were when very similar things happened in Pakistan itself.

Yes, the CAA is against the secular constitution of India. So is the Pakistani passport form, the one you must fill out if you need a Pakistani passport, because all Muslim applicants must fill out the following section. Here is what it says for anyone who has not noticed:

I am a Muslim and believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of the prophethood of Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) as the last of the Prophets. (ii) I do not recognize any person who claims to be a prophet in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever after Muhammad (peace be upon him) or recognize such a claimant as a prophet or a religious reformer as or a Muslim. (iii) I consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Quadiani to be an imposter Nabi and also consider his followers whether belonging to the Lahori or Quadiani group to be non-Muslim.

It seems that to obtain Pakistani citizenship one must first, as the very first act, condemn a group of people and their set of beliefs, and set one’s signature against this condemnation to attest to that fact.

For all those so outraged at what is happening in India, where is the condemnation for the discrimination against the Ahmadiya sect? There was little when this group of people were discriminated against. Or when the Shias were being killed and driven out, as were the Hazaras.

There was not as much protest for what was done to Asia Bibi when she was imprisoned for ten long years as a result of a conviction for blasphemy by a Pakistani court based on frail evidence. Several maulvis even posted rewards for her murder. When she was finally acquitted by the Supreme Court she left the country for Canada. The few people who stood up for her included the then Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti and Punjab Governor Salman Taseer who were both assassinated for their courage. Many more protests than those against Asia’s incarceration attended the execution of Taseer’s murderer Mumtaz Qadri, gatherings of tens of thousands of people who caused a great deal of damage as a result of which the Army needed to be called in. Qadri’s burial place somewhere near ‘Pindi has become a pilgrimage site and is visited by scores of people every day.

In 2013 the poverty-stricken Christian Joseph Colony was attacked in Lahore. The excuse was alleged blasphemy committed by one of the residents, Sawan Masih, a young man with small children. Two churches were attacked, and many homes were torched. Most of the attackers were acquitted but Sawan Masih was arrested; and remains in prison today. Meantime today President Arif Alvi in a tweet called the vandalising of a mosque in Delhi a “disgraceful act”.

To deny these events or to close one’s eyes to their taking place is like Donald Trump denying that the USA has made discriminatory moves against Mexicans. Or the Germans refusing to accept their anti-Semitic past. Or the government of Myanmar denying that it had anything to do with the sudden influx of Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh.

What prevents the authorities in Pakistan from doing something about the discrimination in their own country? These are undeniable, factual events. They are recorded in people’s memories, and in the media – the same media that is so muzzled today, in black and white.

To acknowledge the problem is step one. Only a fear for their own safety can stop this step being taken, or perhaps the fact that the authorities participate in the discrimination. No Madina ki riasat this. Not by a long chalk.

THE FAILURE OF INSTITUTIONS

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/02/23/the-failure-of-institutions/

One of the most convincing theories regarding why nations prosper or fail places the credit (or blame) squarely on the institutions belonging to the country, on whether or not they function as they should, and whether or not they cater to the population without discrimination. All other factors aside, this best explains why countries like Pakistan have failed as spectacularly as they have done.

It is a lingering legacy of our colonial past that we insist on being colonized by segments of our own society, being ruled by persons whose have little or no interest in doing their job. We still possess cantonments which were originally garrisons for an occupying army, a total of 56 in the entire country of which 27 are in the Punjab alone. Government departments throughout the country are headed by a ‘bara sahab’ to replace the ‘gora sahab’ who must be obeyed. He ‘rules’ without reference to rules, and rarely for the good of the public he is supposed to serve. Democracy has not as yet filtered into the psyche of the people, who still follow whatever smacks of colonial masters who left this country just over 72 years ago. That psyche has now become so ingrained that people cannot see injustice for what it is, instead they view it as the rightful exercise of authority.

They have little choice in many cases. Poverty and the threat of further loss of income is one of the strongest motivations in any human being’s life. Whereas for those who are more affluent it is the threat of loss of power that leads them down unwise paths. If either of these segments of society were truly subject to the law without taking into account their financial powers, they would receive justice.

The latter seems to be how it is with Maulana Aziz who refuses to give up his position as the khateeb of Lal Masjid in Islamabad and has holed himself up in the mosque with some armed supporters.

In a country where institutions worked, someone like this Maulana would probably have had a much greater respect for the repercussions of his actions, and he would have had little support in society. Maulana Aziz however is relying on force and the strength of his armed supporters to win his argument, and to get him out of his tight corner at the end of the day.  He might even succeed so long as he does not shave off his beard and gives vent to statements liberally sprinkled with Arabic. That would be his ‘power-speak’, like the leaders the ultra-right aspire to. In the public’s eyes he will then represent a member of the inviolate clergy, a ‘anti-Hindu’ hero.

Depending on the outcome of this event he may even win support in society at large as a consequence of standing up to the authorities, something that few people manage to do but many aspire to, because they recognize the injustice that stems from it. After all, if a man such as Ehsanullah Ehsan could escape the security authorities and leave the country taking his family with him, why can’t Maulana Aziz get what he asks for? Ehsan was after all actually in custody, he was the spokesperson for the banned groups TTP and JuA which were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of persons both civilian and military.  Which institution worked in his case? Intelligence authorities were silent regarding the event which was in fact first publicized by an Indian newspaper around a week after his escape. His escape was a discredit to the law enforcement authorities who had custody of the man and allowed him to escape. Most of all the very existence of the groups he belonged to, and their continued existence, is a slap in the face of the authorities who appear unable to control either the imprisonment of a known murderer or the defiance of a man who brazenly demands the restoration of his job and the allotment of land at the point of a gun.

The Prime Minister, if he genuinely wishes to do anything for this country, would do well to strengthen its institutions, to provide security and economic well-being to its people so they may have a stake in life as citizens. The way to do the latter is not to dole out cash via programmes worth billions but to make sure that the citizens’ ventures are protected by the law, and that they have the education to see what is right and wrong for themselves.

PAKISTAN IN WONDERLAND

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/02/16/pakistan-in-wonderland/

Affairs in Pakistan are losing coherence and taking on an increasing resemblance to scenes from Alice in Wonderland where the (Mad) Hatter makes frequent appearances. When Alice arrives at the tea party the Hatter is all over the place at the table. He makes short, impertinent remarks, asks unanswerable riddles and recites nonsensical poetry, all of which eventually drives Alice away. In one of the chapters the Hatter asks that much-noted riddle “why is a raven like a writing desk?” When Alice gives up trying to figure out why, the Hatter admits “I haven’t the slightest idea!” which sounds a bit like the economic situation in this country when even those in charge have not the slightest idea how to fix it.

In fact who has the slightest idea about many things today, such as how the new rules pertaining to the regulation of the social media will work, or even if they can work, not to mention why they have been put in place to start with? These rules have been okayed by the Federal Cabinet, following which they ‘require no fresh legislation’. This is possible thanks to the Pakistan Telecommunication (re-organisation) Act, 1996 and the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, which says that:

‘Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, an offence under this Act or any other law shall not be denied legal recognition and enforcement for the sole reason of such an offence being committed in relation to or through the use of an information system.”

Under these new regulation rules, social media organisations must open offices in Islamabad and must disclose data or information when sought. This is nothing but more of that ever-increasing thing: censorship, because data regarding everyone who criticizes the establishment must now be made available to the relevant authorities who will then take action.

It is one of the many things that the powers that be still need to understand that the media genie can no longer be pushed back into the bottle. The electronic media is here to stay, and the more it is meddled with, the more it kicks back. The solution is to use media to win over the restless, thinking segments of society, which means to help this technology to enable rather than hinder our youth and journalists. Radicalism among the young is growing in today’s world and journalists will always find a way to be heard. Pushing back by means of social media is taken very personally and increases the problem.

And then again: as per the new regulations in Pakistan, social media organisations must now ‘take due cognizance of the religious, cultural, ethnic and national security sensitivities of Pakistan.’

Say what? The religious, cultural, ethnic and national security sensitivities of Pakistan are what, exactly? At a cursory glance it appears to be right in keeping with our religious sensitivities to persecute minorities and to allow the children of minorities to be kidnapped, forcefully converted and married when under age. It also appears to be in keeping with our national security sensitivities to declare those who criticize the establishment to be terrorists. So now what?

What makes the authorities so sure that they will succeed in pushing around organisations like Facebook, Twitter and many others. Do they think they can succeed in procuring what is supposed to be private data and information from these organisations who are subject to their own confidentiality agreements with their clients? You have to possess a measure of credibility to force giant organisations to buckle under. And if they do not fall in line with the demands of this Pakistani regulation, what happens next? Does anyone for a moment imagine that Facebook, Whatsapp or Twitter will shut down in Pakistan? Because these new regulations say that ‘if a company fails to abide by the provision of these rules, the national coordinator may issue instructions for blocking of the entire online system, social media application or services owned or managed or run by the company.’

These are platforms which are being used abundantly not just by the spoilt elite of this country and their even more spoilt progeny, but also by the poor man. Their absence will create a dangerous void. Also then, where will our officials post their drivel on if not on Twitter in their zeal to mirror whatever idiotic trend is set elsewhere? Where will they say:

“I have issued instructions to our Foreign Office and Overseas Ministry to do everything possible for our students who are stuck in Wuhan city.”

Really? And our Foreign Office and Overseas Ministry need to be told to do their job, why? Without these ‘instructions’ would they be sitting on their behinds twiddling their thumbs?

And again:

“I understand the difficulties ordinary people including the salaried classes are confronting and have decided, come what may, my government will be announcing various measures that will be taken to reduce the prices of basic food items for the common man on Tuesday.”

To which the Mad Hatter had this to say: “Everyone wants some magical solution for their problem,” and also that “sometimes I’ve believed in six impossible things before breakfast.”

These new regulations possess neither sar na paer (neither head nor feet) which again fits neatly into Wonderland where the Cheshire cat disappears gradually until at one point, until nothing is left but its grin, prompting Alice to remark that “she has often seen a cat without a grin but never a grin without a cat”. Apt.

OF MICROBES AND MULLAHS

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/02/08/of-microbes-and-mullahs/

Salma, a cook in one of the cities of Pakistan spent one morning cutting up strawberries and apples for jam. Her employer showed her how to sterilize bottles and their covers, and to make sure the spoon she used for stirring the jam was washed and sterilized with boiling water. Just as Selma was about to spoon the jams into the jars her employer asked her if the ladle she was using had been sterilized as well. It had not. When the employer asked why this was so, Salma protested.

“You asked me to do the spoon and the jars,” she said. “Not the ladle.”

Salma’s employer tried to explain the reason behind the whole exercise, but Salma threw up her hands and said, “Why do you get so worked up about such things? What difference does it make, all this boiling? Allah maalik hai, baji, kuchh nahi ho ga.” God is in control, ma’am. Nothing will happen.

It has to be wondered where this attitude, so pervasive as it is all through the country will lead us, now for example, on the brink of the spread of the new coronavirus that has started in Wuhan.

The coronavirus is used as an example because it is topical. It is not meant to scare. Most of those who died as a result of this virus, about two percent of those infected, were already not in good health. Your usual ‘flu has half the infection rate but kills about 400,000 persons annually. SARS and MERS were both varieties of coronavirus. SARS, when it occurred in 2002, infected about 8,000 persons and killed more than 750, about 10 percent of those infected. MERS, when it struck, killed 35 percent of those infected.

The repercussions of attitudes such as Salma’s lie not just in relationship to health and safety, but to almost everything.

There is no doubt that “Allah Maalik hai” but nowhere does it state that Allah’s creation must cease to help itself. Yet, that is the common understanding.

People– such as Salma’s employer– have tried to explain the relationship between sterilization and microbes and viruses, but a rough verbal explanation is not enough. Practical demonstrations are important and must be provided. Because microbes and viruses are not visible to the eye, the usual perception is that educated persons make a fuss about such things and make life difficult for others with their new-fangled notions. It is strange in a society that firmly believes in an unseen Deity, but perhaps that space has already been taken.

Of course it is a question of education, of what schools teach, and how they impart this information. But it is also a question of who else teaches out there in society, and whose teaching has the greater impact upon the public.

In a country like Pakistan, teachers in most schools hold no teaching qualifications. Nor do schools aspire to anything more than marks. Schools in fact are a business with aspirations such as ‘turning out billionaires.’ Knowledge is imparted by means of rote, not by demonstration or by relating knowledge to life. Students may hear about things such as viruses from their teachers, but that information is not reinforced either at home or around them in society. The reason is more than a lack of education. It is because of the second source of education in this society, which is madressahs, and the people who teach there.

If few schools possess qualified teachers, almost no madressah can boast of such a staff. The enrolment in madressahs is high, and students here are not taught about microbes, much less about how to combat them. They are taught in such seminaries to scorn ‘Western’ knowledge, in other words science. Yes, it is sad how far we have fallen and how utterly we have handed over the torch.

In the case of the coronaviruses, people are struck by how right religion has been in providing guidelines regarding what can be eaten and what cannot, but rarely is it examined why those guidelines exist, and the science behind it. Because science and religion are considered to be mutually exclusive.

And so we get directives regarding preventive measures against disease being ignored.

And we get acts such as the one calling for the public hanging of offenders and murderers, which has now been passed by the National Assembly, without questioning the morality of such a thing in the light of the modern world. It also results in the head of the CII (a brain-child of Ayub Khan, strengthened by Zia-ul-Haq) endorsing underage marriage, because it is (mistakenly) believed that a major religious personality in Islam married an underage girl.

If anyone finds the microbe vs madressah example silly, they should note that the CII in 2016 ruled that DNA evidence cannot be used as primary proof in cases of rape, but as supplementary evidence only.

Any debate about education in Pakistan must take into account these deficiencies in our system. It must provide training to teachers both academic and religious, it must insist on practical demonstrations, and relating education to life. And very importantly, it must combat the misconceptions against science and modern knowledge so rampant among those who claim to specialize in religion and teach it.

THE IMPLAUSABILITY OF WAR

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/02/01/the-implausability-of-war/

Yuval Noah Harari, speaking at the World Economic Forum at Davos this year, said:

“The very meaning of the word “peace” has changed.”

““Peace,” he said, “no longer means just the temporary absence of war. Peace now means the implausibility of war.

WE are now living in a world in which war kills fewer people than suicide, and gunpowder is far less dangerous to your life than sugar. Most countries don’t even fantasize about conquering and annexing their neighbors.

Unfortunately, we have gotten so used to this wonderful situation, that we take it for granted, and we are therefore becoming extremely careless. Instead of doing everything we can to strengthen the fragile global order, countries neglect it and even deliberately undermine it.”

That neglect explains why, in Pakistan, in the clash between the demands of the military and the requirements of its civilians, the result is a layout of far more than the country can afford on our defense budget, and much less than there should be on education and health.

According to a national daily last year, an analysis of the ‘proposed defense allocation shows that it makes up 14pc of the total outlay and 2.62pc of GDP.’ Also, that ‘the defense allocation does not give the complete picture of defense spending, as it does not include the Rs 327 billion earmarked for pensions of retired soldiers next year, which would shoot up by 25pc over the previous year.’

Also that allocations for major procurements and strategic programmes are never made public.

Rs 327 billion in a poor country like Pakistan. Yet it is the civilians themselves who enable this by succumbing to the guff put out by select quarters about the dire need for security.

Harari goes on to talk about the disruption caused by technology, and about growing advances in AI because of which he says that an increasing number of persons in society will become ‘irrelevant’ because they cannot cope with this technology. These people will constitute, he says, the new ‘useless class’ from the economic and political point of view.

Sadly, there is nothing new about such a class in Pakistan where a person already becomes ‘irrelevant’ when faced with an ‘alif’ or an ‘A’. There is no need for AI. Which dhobi, few maids, and almost no sanitation workers are able to read, not to mention many others like those who labour on the roads or farms. These people constitute a huge segment of our population. Yes, they can use cell phones, but they cannot read the numbers they dial. They know those by sight, and by the photographs that accompany them.

We have the funds to change this, funds that are at present all being channeled towards one sector of society.

Whither diplomacy, which should be settling matters and minimizing the threat of war?

With the looming threat of the coronavirus who imagines that our health care authorities have any coherent plan in place to prevent the spread of the disease here? Even if there were a plan, are our hospitals able to cope with any emergency, given the condition they are in? Can anyone at all say that organisation and prudence are strong points in this country?

It is time to make peace and stop raising the spectre of war. No country today can afford war. Not us, not those across the border. With the next budget coming up, it is time to reconsider our priorities and divert money into education, and healthcare. Not into promises of either by means of pumping fists and slogans, but into actual progress in the matter. There can be no two ways about it.

In an age like this where war is all about nuclear arms, it ceases to matter how much you fine tune your defense. In the end a people can only die once, and eventually that is the end of humanity. Whereas we all have a single life each, and not to cater to its needs is to create an endless cycle of hell on earth. This latter is where we are headed.

It is wonderful that the PM is not living in the Prime Minister’s house, and that he is not to get a pay raise, as the PM’s office spokesperson says. Mubarak. But this is a drop in the ocean. The entire administration needs to be brought into line, and the country needs to fall behind it to ensure that we do not become ‘irrelevant’ as a country, as large segments of our society already have.

It is the tragedy of Pakistan that we do not understand the implausibility of war, and the extent of our own deprivation.