Ruthless rains
DISASTERS are natural; the ensuing havoc is manmade. Once again, familiar monsoon misery returns with intense downpour and another round of despair: submerged roads, clogged drainage, power cuts, deadened daily life and a mounting human toll. On Wednesday, 11 workers were killed when a portion of an outer military compound wall collapsed in Islamabad’s suburbs, five people were electrocuted in various areas of Lahore and at least 54 died in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding to the scores of fatalities across the country. Meanwhile, a lashing night-long spell in Rawalpindi triggered an emergency as the water level in Leh Nullah swelled to more than 5m in Kattarian. The threat of the torrent breaking its bank still looms. Clearly, the new climate system of violent soakers and frenzied losses is set to shatter lives, livelihoods, infrastructure and records.
Varied reasons — climate change, unusually heavy rainfall, incompetence, poor planning, illegal construction, encroachments — are the new norm. Perhaps an explanation does lie for this deadly cocktail. But the question is, why do weather alerts fail to quicken unmindful authorities? For now, PMD has cautioned against urban flooding from July 20 to 22 in Punjab and KP. Decades of federal, provincial and local apathy have thrust systemic infrastructural collapse upon hapless citizens, now caught in the annual ritual of death and devastation. Several solutions are floating out there: consultations with urban planners to curb flooding risks, installing early warning mechanisms in rural and low-lying areas to prevent flash floods and hill torrent tragedies, with storm-water drains, rainwater storage and restoration of choked rainwater channels in urban centres. However, more than funds and rhetoric, these need political will and official commitment for visible implementation. Pakistan will see heavy precipitation annually. Stakeholders cannot work with incongruent development patterns. They must draw lessons from international preparedness to protect villages and cities. The human cost has robbed us of the joy that was the monsoon.
Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2023
Muharram safety
WITH the month of Muharram underway, the authorities have upped security arrangements across the country, especially in areas where a large number of majalis and mourning processions are held. The usual routine centres on deploying an increased number of security personnel around mosques and imambargahs as well as large gatherings, while the movement of various preachers the state believes may misuse the pulpit to incite crowds is restricted. While the tradition of mourning assemblies during Muharram and Safar goes back centuries, the very modern threat of terrorism is only a few decades old. Ashura processions have been bombed in the past. Majalis and mosques too have been attacked — the bitter harvest of not neutralising the ogre of sectarian militancy that started to raise its ugly head in the 1980s. It is true that sectarian violence has receded over the years. But the malignant actors involved in fanning the flames of communal hatred are alive and well, though they maintain a lower profile. Therefore, no chances can be taken by the state, which has the duty of ensuring that all citizens can practise their faith freely, and without the threat of terrorist violence hanging over their heads.
What is a more recent concern is social media, which has turned into a major source of wild rumours that have the potential to wreak communal havoc if not nipped in the bud. In decades past, sectarian disturbances tended to be localised affairs, and could be contained relatively easily. Today, with pictures and video — either genuine or outright fakes — spreading like wildfire within minutes via social media, the potential for trouble is ever greater. Therefore, the state must keep an eye on accounts designed to foment sectarian unrest. Censorship is unacceptable, but attempts to promote violence and hatred through social media are indefensible and must be dealt with according to the law. Yet it must be said that while deploying security forces and monitoring social media are essential, the state has yet to address the core of the problem: the sectarian hatemongers that continue to operate with relative freedom in Pakistan. Unless these groups are permanently put out of business, the threat of communal violence will remain ever present. Moreover, leading ulema of both major sects must also advise their juniors to use the pulpit to promote harmony, rather than increase divisions.
Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2023
Cipher saga
THERE is little that can be described as revelatory in the ‘confessional statement’ being attributed to Azam Khan, principal secretary to former prime minister Imran Khan. It had been widely known, following the ‘audio leaks’ saga of last year, that he was privy to how the so-called ‘Ciphergate’ controversy came into being, as well as the PTI leadership’s actual motives for giving it air.
Leaked recordings of his conversations with Imran Khan on the matter had already established that the former PM had discussed the prospect of ‘playing up’ the contents of a diplomatic cable from Washington for political purposes, and it was evident that the move was aimed at building political momentum on PTI’s side at a time when the party was facing defeat in the vote of no-confidence brought against its government by the combined opposition.
With elections around the corner, it seems a last-ditch attempt is being made to knock Imran Khan out of the race. The means being adopted to do so are troubling. One of the senior-most officers of the state, Azam Khan remained missing for over a month after he disappeared soon after leaving his house in Islamabad for an appointment on June 15.
Hours after reports surfaced that he had ‘exposed’ his former boss, he was quietly returned home. His lawyer said he was “in no condition” to comment on the firestorm his alleged confession has kicked off. No one has satisfactorily answered where Azam Khan had been while the state searched for him as a ‘missing person’.
Instead, the FIA and interior ministry seem more concerned with nabbing the former PM. A statement made before a magistrate, if duly recorded, does have evidential value, but there are far too many missing pieces in this puzzle. Could this be why the interior minister has sought Imran Khan’s trial in a special court under the Official Secrets Act?
In a late-night address a day after Azam Khan’s supposed statement, the PTI chief said the cipher he received from Washington had alerted him to a conspiracy to take down his government.
To this day, only a handful of people actually know what it said. The public only knows it was problematic enough for it to be termed ‘blatant interference’ in the country’s affairs by the NSC on two separate occasions.
Imran Khan believes that a full inquiry into the matter will uncover a conspiracy in which key political leaders and the former army chief will be found involved.
Since it has once again dragged the matter into the limelight, perhaps it is time for the state to lay the facts before the public and put the matter to rest. It has already become an international embarrassment for the country.
Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2023