Frank assessment
PEOPLE of conscience the world over have long criticised the atrocious crimes the Israeli state all too frequently unleashes on the Palestinian people. Yet when a voice from within the Israeli establishment finds the courage to speak the truth, the righteousness of the Palestinian cause — and the extent of the Arabs’ suffering — become self-evident. Former Israeli general and spymaster Amiram Levin has likened his country’s actions in the West Bank to apartheid, as well as the crimes of Nazi Germany. Speaking to local radio, the senior ex-military man, referring to the occupied West Bank, said there was “total apartheid” in the area, while adding that the “processes” were reminiscent of the Nazis, and resembled war crimes.
Of course, Israeli brutality is not limited to the West Bank, and in fact stretches back over seven decades to the establishment of the Zionist state in Mandatory Palestine. The people of Gaza, for example, will tell you that they face the wrath of Tel Aviv every few years, reducing large parts of their miserable coastal enclave to rubble. Moreover, while the Israeli military machine, as well as racist militant settlers, have few qualms about murdering Palestinians, there is a long history behind this violence. For example, during the Nakba, thousands of Palestinians were killed and hundreds of thousands uprooted from their ancestral land by Zionist gangs. The massacre at the Arab village of Deir Yassin, and many others like it, is a textbook case of ethnic cleansing. When such violence lies at the root of the creation of Israel, is it any surprise that the two-state solution has been buried? Simply put, extremists within Israel insist on denying the Palestinians their humanity. But hopefully brave assertions such as that of the former general will help many within Israel realise the crimes that have been committed in their name, as well as exposing the myth that Israel is the Middle East’s sole democracy.
Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2023
Frenzy of hate
THE paroxysm of violence in Faisalabad’s Jaranwala area on Wednesday chillingly demonstrated to the Christian community, indeed to adherents of all minority faiths in the country, that they are defenceless against the rage of the mob. That over 600 people were booked on terrorism charges for their role in the rioting is a belated and anaemic demonstration of the ‘writ of the state’. From all accounts, the state was nowhere to be found when local mosques picked up on blasphemy allegations against two Christian brothers living in the area and proceeded to incite the public. While the rioters ransacked and torched five churches, and attacked several houses belonging to Christians, the local police were silent bystanders. According to the victims, the rampaging mob met no resistance from the cops, forcing many residents to flee their homes in terror. The Punjab government had to call in the Rangers to quell the violence, and some 3,000 police personnel were later deployed from various units.
That no one from the targeted community lost their life is the only note of comfort in this shameful episode. With each such incident, there is an incremental loss of faith in the ability, and indeed the will, of the state to protect the minorities of this country. Consider that the ultra-right elements that relayed a hate-filled narrative on loudspeakers to whip up public sentiment against the Christians in Jaranwala later accompanied the police to help ‘calm’ the situation, and also claimed they were engaged in protecting the community. This is yet another instance of the state indulging regressive pressure groups even when they openly intimidate people. For one, there can be no more sinister way of demonstrating to the victims that they exist on the sufferance of the majority. Secondly, it is also against the law in Punjab to use a sound system to voice “any sectarian or other utterances of controversial nature likely to lead to public disorder”, and yet such incitement to communal violence continues to occur. The political leadership has spoken out strongly against Wednesday’s disturbances and the provincial caretaker government vowed to ‘restore’ all damaged churches and homes. Yesterday, the Islamabad police formed a Minority Protection Unit with 70 personnel to protect minority places of worship and communities. While this is a welcome move, it is but a band-aid on a very deep-seated malaise.
Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2023
Afghan dilemma
TWO years have lapsed since the Afghan Taliban took Kabul, and the Western-backed government melted away, bringing to a close a lengthy and expensive nation-building experiment. However, while the Taliban may be celebrating the occasion, the Afghan people have little to cheer about.
While it is true that the relentless violence Afghanistan has been witnessing since the Soviet invasion and later the American invasion has come down considerably, the Taliban continue to enforce their ultraconservative version of religious rule upon the populace, while international isolation and a long-running drought have inflicted crushing poverty on the Afghan people. Women in particular have seen their limited freedoms snatched by the hard-line rulers of Kabul, especially the right to get an education and participate in society.
Unlike during the previous period of Taliban governance, when the Saudis, Emiratis and Pakistan recognised the militia as the legitimate Afghan rulers, today the Taliban find no country willing to extend recognition to them. Their dismal human rights record, and failure to act against all terrorist groups on their soil, are the key stumbling blocks standing in the way of international recognition.
The sooner the Taliban address these concerns, the better; yet the hard-line leadership in Kandahar appears to have a dominating veto on such matters over politicians and pragmatists in Kabul. The clerics in Kandahar seem intent on dragging Afghanistan back to the Middle Ages. Sadly, their intransigence is having a devastating effect on the Afghan people.
The Red Cross says 28.8m Afghans are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, while the UN has observed that 15.3m people in the country face acute food insecurity. The Taliban, therefore, need to reconsider their obstinate stance so that help can easily reach their devastated countrymen.
If Kabul’s rulers were to improve the human rights situation — especially for women — and assure the comity of nations that their soil will not be used to host terrorists, global recognition could be forthcoming. However, as long as both these expectations remain unmet, few in the world will be willing to advocate for engaging the Taliban.
Pakistan, for example, has long called upon the world community to talk to the Taliban, yet its concerns about the TTP remain unaddressed. But regardless of political developments, the world cannot leave millions of Afghans to face starvation and death.
Support must continue to the Afghan people to help them survive tough times. In this regard, billions of dollars belonging to the Afghan central bank — being blocked by the US — must be released so that food, medicine and other essential needs of the Afghan population can be met. Afghanistan’s people deserve a chance at rebuilding their country, not more isolation imposed on them due to the short-sighted policies of their rulers.
Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2023