Truth under threat
AS WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange mounts a last-ditch effort against being extradited from the UK to the US, one must remember that the stakes involved transcend his individual fate. His case is a litmus test for free speech, press freedom and the public’s right to know. At the heart of the matter is the fear that Mr Assange’s extradition could end whistle-blowing as we know it, transforming the act of exposing wrongdoing into a crime such as espionage. He stands accused of facilitating the biggest release of classified information in US history, yet it must be recognised that he played the role of a publisher. The material released by WikiLeaks exposed potential war crimes by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan. These revelations are undeniably in the public interest and highlight the crucial role of whistle-blowers and investigative journalism in holding the powerful to account. The argument against Mr Assange’s extradition is not merely in defence of press freedom; it makes a case to safeguard the means through which society uncovers the truth.
The UK government faces a critical decision. By deciding against Mr Assange’s extradition, it would send a powerful message in defence of freedom of expression and the essential role of journalism in democracy. Moreover, technical grounds exist, such as a provision in the US-UK extradition treaty that allows for no extradition in cases of a political nature. There are grave concerns about America’s motivations behind its pursuit of Mr Assange. It appears to want to set an example, warning others of the consequences of exposing government secrets. It is imperative for the UK to resist being complicit in this endeavour. Equally important is Mr Assange’s health, already compromised by years of confinement. Extradition to face a potentially disproportionate sentence puts his very life in danger. This is a moment for the UK to uphold free speech and defend the right to expose the truth without fear.
Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2024
Shameful veto
THE US has scored a hat-trick by vetoing, for the third time, a resolution in the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. As Israel’s campaign of genocidal violence in the forsaken Strip refuses to abate, even some of Tel Aviv’s staunch European supporters have joined the global demand for a cessation of hostilities. But one country’s ‘iron-clad’ support for Israel remains, as the US is determined to back the Zionist state regardless of the number of innocent people it has slaughtered in Gaza. As America’s representative to the UN observed while justifying the veto, moves towards a ceasefire must be made “the right way” and come “at the right time”. For Washington, with 29,000 Palestinians so far massacred in Gaza, that time obviously has not come. Other permanent UNSC members, including Russia and China, used stinging language to rebuke both the US and Israel, with Moscow’s ambassador saying the American veto had given Israel “a licence to kill”, while Beijing’s representative equated it with a “green light” to “continued slaughter”.
While America has firmly been in the Israeli camp since the 1967 war, where the current butchery in Gaza is concerned, the Biden administration has lost all sense of right and wrong as it defends Tel Aviv with an almost religious zeal. Following this grotesque display of biasness, the US can forget about being a serious player in Middle East peace-making, while its desire to win hearts and minds in the Arab and Muslim worlds has been obliterated in the rubble of Gaza. By constantly defending Israel’s unconscionable violence in the occupied territories, the US has told the world that it stands with the oppressor; in other words, its mantra about defending human rights globally is hardly believable, as 29,000 Palestinian lives were clearly of no worth to it, even though tens of thousands of Americans have bravely denounced their government’s complicity in the blood-stained Israeli campaign on the streets of New York and Washington. Meanwhile, the Muslim world is comatose, with some states reportedly aiding Israel clandestinely. As Algeria’s UN ambassador noted, “today, every Palestinian is a target for death, extermination, and genocide”. Sadly, members of the international community are either complicit in these crimes, or the silent majority mutely watches the live-streaming of the Palestinian slaughter.
Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2024
On a leash
IT is a done deal. Despite several hiccups and one party’s many ifs and buts, negotiations over the configuration of the next government concluded rather abruptly late Tuesday.
Under the understanding reached between the PPP and PML-N, Islamabad will get another coalition government headed by Shehbaz Sharif less than seven months after the last one was dissolved. PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari will be the PML-N and PPP’s joint nominee for president, the Speaker of the National Assembly will be from the PML-N, while the Senate chairmanship and the KP and Punjab governorships will go to the PPP.
The two parties will also jointly form a government in Balochistan. Though the spoils have been quite generously divided, the PPP’s support for the PML-N government will not be guaranteed in all matters.
Under what seems to be a confidence and supply arrangement, the PPP will vote with the PML-N only on motions of confidence and spending bills. For all else, the PML-N may be on its own.
Meanwhile, in its new incarnation as the Sunni Ittehad Council — and likely to emerge as the single largest party in the Lower House barring any further engineering — the PTI will sit on the opposition benches and is poised to take the opposition leader’s slot.
With legislative power thus distributed, this government will likely prove to be the most formidable political test faced yet by Mr Sharif, who ruled without any real opposition the last time around. And it won’t just be parliament that will be testing his mettle. His government is likely to face a public legitimacy crisis due to the circumstances in which it will come into being: it is already being accused of attempting to govern on a stolen mandate by parties that collectively represent the vast majority of those who voted on Feb 8.
Does Mr Sharif expect to deliver in such circumstances? His biggest task will be to clean out the Augean stables left behind by his own administration, especially where the economy is concerned.
With a vast section of the public angry over the election results and the citizenry in general nearly bankrupted by relentless inflation, he will not find it easy to introduce the much-needed major changes to the economy without running into resistance.
Considering the beating his party has taken in the polls, will his priority be to push ahead during such times at the expense of what little political capital it has left or to do what all politicians do when they realise their own interests are on the line, ie, find a short-term fix and leave the heavy lifting for whoever comes next?
Mr Sharif has said he wants to ‘save’ Pakistan. Many will be watching to see how long his resolve lasts.
Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2024