Morality police out
FOR several months, Iran has been rocked by unprecedented protests, sparked by the death on Sept 16 of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who had been accosted by the Islamic Republic’s morality police for ‘improper’ hijab. Though the authorities claimed her death in custody was due to a pre-existing medical condition, the victim’s family did not buy this explanation and demanded transparency. In the wake of the tragedy, Iran has witnessed demonstrations, at times violent, across its length and breadth, crossing communal and ethnic boundaries. As per official figures, over 300 people have died in the unrest, including protesters and security personnel attacked by violent demonstrators in what the Iranian establishment has termed ‘riots’. However, sensing that coming down with a heavy hand is not working, it appears that Tehran’s clerical government is applying a less confrontational approach to quelling the strife. As per the prosecutor general, the morality police had been “shut down”, at least temporarily. Moreover, President Ebrahim Raisi has also signalled that “flexibility” can be shown regarding Iran’s strict post-revolution hijab laws.
Beyond the immediate spark igniting the protests — the Mahsa Amini tragedy — there are several factors behind the sustained demonstrations. These include calls for greater social freedoms, particularly for women, ethnic grievances, as well as Iran’s dire economic situation, made worse by Western sanctions, which has made ordinary Iranians’ lives miserable. While the Iranian establishment may blame the West for stoking the recent unrest — Joe Biden’s promise that “we’re gonna free Iran” certainly raised eyebrows in Tehran — the fact is that the country’s rulers need to look into the core domestic issues fuelling the protests. The morality police’s suspension is a good first step, but the state should go further and drop the stringent restrictions governing women’s dress. While it is wrong for others — for example, many European states — to restrict the hijab, it is also not right for states to force women to wear the veil. Women must have the freedom to dress as they want.
Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2022
Riverfront concerns
THE door-to-door drive being launched by a group of landowners to mobilise affected communities against what they call the ‘forcible acquisition’ of their lands by the Ravi Urban Development Authority for a multi-trillion-rupee riverfront real estate scheme near Lahore is an effective strategy to step up pressure on the government. Hundreds of farmers from the areas where the provincial government plans to implement the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project have been agitating for the last two years against the controversial scheme that is feared to annihilate thousands of acres of agricultural land and orchards that have been supplying vegetables and fruit to the residents of the provincial capital for decades. That they have now decided to expand the scope of their protests by involving people from other walks of life, including local businesses and residents who are going to be affected by the proposed project, underlines their growing frustration with RUDA. If properly carried out, the public mobilisation drive will help reinforce their collective campaign against a project that will enrich powerful developers and builders rather than the present owners of the land.
The riverfront venture has drawn public criticism and the ire of activists from its very inception almost two years ago. However, former prime minister Imran Khan, who had ordered his party’s administration in Punjab to revive it and launch it as one of his flagship development schemes, didn’t carry out a proper environmental impact assessment of the venture before inaugurating it in 2020, despite warnings from the experts. That wasn’t all. The way the authorities hastily moved in to acquire land at a rate far below market value and, recently, bulldozed standing crops on behalf of the country’s powerful real estate mafia has further alienated the affected communities that have been tilling this soil for the last two to three generations. The protesting farmers have a point when they say they would readily cooperate with the government for the regeneration of the Ravi river and other initiatives meant to improve the environment, but will keep resisting the forced land acquisition that benefits the land developers and builders. The problem with the Ravi urban project is that it aims to mainly create expensive real estate development opportunities for the wealthy in the name of saving Lahore, the Ravi and the environment. Yet deep down everyone knows that it will end up hurting local communities, destroying farmlands and uprooting small businesses in the area.
Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2022
Is there a plan?
IN opposition, the PTI chairman may undoubtedly be one of the most popular leaders in Pakistan’s history, but despite the groundswell of public support for his party, it appears Imran Khan is unable to use the situation to his political advantage and has no clear path for his next move.
In fact, going by the developments of last week, when his coalition partners in Punjab made some revealing statements about the support of recently retired Gen Bajwa to the PTI, Mr Khan’s narrative, which had resonated with millions up and down the country, today appears convoluted.
In back-to-back television interviews, PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi and his father Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi claimed that Gen Bajwa nudged the PML-Q to support Mr Khan — an assertion which contradicts Mr Khan’s stance that Gen Bajwa withdrew his support to the PTI.
In his interview, Moonis Elahi clearly stated that Gen Bajwa advised the PML-Q to back the PTI and also expressed surprise that Mr Khan is critical of the now-retired general who purportedly “went all out” for Mr Khan.
After weeks of Mr Khan’s publicly criticising Gen Bajwa, these statements from his allies in Punjab are confusing. In addition to these claims by the PML-Q, the CM’s categorical statement that there is no way to force an early election, as desired by Mr Khan, betrays an opposition in disarray.
Beyond this, Mr Khan’s own dramatic announcements, first about having talks with the government on elections and then resignation from the assemblies, have either been retracted, or fallen flat.
His recent admission that he should never have offered an extension to Gen Bajwa, too, contradicts what the DG ISI said in that famed presser about Mr Khan offering yet another extension to the former army chief.
The ball is in Mr Khan’s court, but it appears he is stumped as to what to do with it. An ace at narrative building, Mr Khan successfully captured the public imagination by conjuring up the cipher controversy, and then by stirring anti-Bajwa sentiment.
But for all his efforts and popularity, he is at a dead end. His demands for early elections are legitimate, but with no option left to trigger general polls, the best thing for him to do is to return to the system. A public that is battered by both political and economic instability deserves more than just a roadshow and container politics.
In this blind alley, Mr Khan would be well-advised to represent the people who voted for him and challenge the incumbent government not just verbally but where it counts. Unfortunately, given Mr Khan’s aversion to parliament, where he was a stranger even when in government, it is too wishful an ask. Still, without a Plan B, there are few other options for Mr Khan if he wants his party to remain a formidable opposition.
Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2022