THE European Parliament’s resolution calling for a review of the EU’s trade relations with Pakistan is deeply unsettling. Though not formally binding, the resolution was passed by an overwhelming number of MEPs and can prompt action from the council of ministers. It is also a reminder of the potential consequences of a ‘trade boycott’ of European goods — one of the demands of the TLP as it protested against the French ambassador last month.
The resolution was passed just weeks after the government and the TLP brokered an agreement to end a weeklong protest by the banned group that had paralysed cities — a protest that had made international headlines as the religio-political organisation led a massive anti-France protest.
Though the European resolution notes anti-French sentiment in the country, its major call is to review the preferential trade status granted to Pakistan since 2014 because of the country’s blasphemy laws and their alleged misuse. In fact, such misuse is very much a reality; far too many people have been falsely accused and incarcerated for years pending a trial and, in some ghastly cases, have been victims of vigilante violence. But while these issues very much stand, limiting trade with Pakistan will not resolve them. In fact, removing Pakistan — for whom the European bloc is its most important trade partner — from the list of GSP-Plus countries would hurt our economy and in turn the people. The prime minister raised this very point when he attempted to persuade the TLP to end their protest and said that ending diplomatic relations with Europe would badly hurt Pakistan’s exports. Though the EU is right in saying that it is in Pakistan’s own interest to review laws, protect minorities and promote tolerance, its parliament’s message to penalise the country hardly addresses the problem.
The key here is engagement — both internal and external. If this is the sentiment that has been expressed by lawmakers in Europe, our government must view it practically. The Foreign Office might have rejected the criticism of Pakistan’s judicial system and laws, but it would do well to highlight Pakistan’s commitment to ending terror financing under FATF obligations, and move to address the issues of religious intolerance. Stronger punishment and quick justice for those who take the law into their own hands is also key. And it should not take a threat from the EU for Pakistan to see how the blasphemy law is being misused.
Ten years after
IT was a surreal, sobering moment. Ten years ago on this day, Osama bin Laden, then the world’s most-wanted man, was taken out by an American special forces hit squad in the garrison town of Abbottabad. Much water has flowed under the bridge since the event, with the landscape of global religious militancy changing considerably, while the state and society in Pakistan have yet to fully come to terms with the fact that Bin Laden was found in this country. At its height, Al Qaeda, the terrorist group Bin Laden founded, could strike far and wide, across continents, creating a major security headache for governments worldwide. However, in the years since the Abbottabad raid, Al Qaeda has become a shadow of its former self, overtaken by even more virulent actors such as the self-styled Islamic State group, which also appears to be in decline though is far from vanquished.
The story of how Osama Bin Laden became a cult-like figure in the world of religious militancy is a strange one. The scion of a large, incredibly wealthy Saudi family of Yemeni origin, Bin Laden shunned his father’s business interests and instead earned his stripes on the Cold War battlefields of Afghanistan, at the time working on the same team as his native Saudi Arabia and the US against the Soviets. However, his eventual transformation from an Afghan-Arab ‘mujahid’ to the mastermind of Al Qaeda helped usher in the era of transnational global jihadi outfits. After Al Qaeda’s violent exploits the world witnessed IS’s reign of terror, until it was brought to heel, but not after leaving a trail of blood across Syria and Iraq. Bin Laden, therefore, has the dubious honour of being the prototype for globalist jihadi groups, even though Al Qaeda may now be a largely spent force. His killing also throws up the uncomfortable truth that world powers once used religiously inspired militants for geopolitical purposes, yet soon changed tack when geopolitics took a new turn.
Closer to home, even more uncomfortable questions concerning Bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan remain unanswered. Some answers lie in the Abbottabad Commission report, which was leaked to the media but has never been officially released, much like many earlier commission reports probing national disasters. Because such reports are not publicly released or discussed in a democratic manner, conjecture and rumour-mongering end up clouding the facts. The state should release the Abbottabad Commission report so that the mistakes made can be acknowledged and future blunders avoided. The raid on Bin Laden’s compound was no small event. The people of this country need to be told why the world’s most notorious militant was found in a Pakistani town, and how foreign forces managed to carry out a complex operation, by violating our territorial sovereignty, and escape without being detected.
Controversial by-election
THE hotly contested NA-249 Karachi bypoll has thrown up a few surprises and challenges for the future. Not many anticipated a big crowd on polling day owing to surging coronavirus infections, the month of fasting and the hot weather. But, given the hectic campaign run by the contesting political parties, few could have predicted just how abysmally low the voter turnout would be. Then we had election officials who for some inexplicable reason took a long time counting the ballots despite the low turnout. The emergence of PPP’s Qadir Mandokhel — who had trailed behind all his rivals in 2018 — as winner was a major surprise. But the bigger one was the pathetic showing of the PTI — far worse than was expected by political analysts — in a constituency considered its stronghold. The loss of one poll after another by the ruling PTI in recent months — especially in constituencies it won in the 2018 poll — demands serious introspection within the party and an honest review of the performance of its government.
The fact that the number of votes rejected was greater than the margin of victory has enhanced public perceptions of wrongdoing. Hopefully, the ECP will thoroughly investigate the PML-N’s allegations, especially accusations of delayed announcement of results, now that it has accepted the PML-N’s application for a recount. What happened in Karachi and earlier in Daska (the ECP had to order re-polling after 20 of its election officials went missing for several hours) weakens the electoral process and underscores the dire need for reforms that have been on hold for a long time now. The introduction of electronic voting machines as proposed by the government can be considered but the administration will have to go far beyond that to ensure transparent and fair elections. The opposition should consider the prime minister’s latest offer to discuss electoral reforms and both sides must extensively debate and forge a consensus on the kind of changes they want well before the 2023 election.
