Children’s graveyard
THOUSANDS of children — around half of all casualties according to some estimates — have been slaughtered by Israel in its month-old savage assault on Gaza.
If this monstrous crime had taken place in any other geographical location, by any other actor, there would be worldwide calls for stringent accountability of the guilty party. Not so for Israel, shielded as it is by the US and several European states.
Apparently to these staunch supporters of Tel Aviv, a few thousand dead Palestinian children are not too high a price to pay for the defence of Israel.
As the overall Arab death toll has crossed 9,000, Washington has rejected multiple calls for a ceasefire, even though many governments, as well as ordinary people across East and West, are increasingly calling for a cessation of hostilities, and an end to Israel’s genocidal campaign.
Tel Aviv’s stated aim is to obliterate Hamas, even if it means massacring every man, woman and child in Gaza. As a Unicef official put it, the beleaguered Strip has become “a graveyard for thousands of children”. Yet these grim figures are not enough to move the callous individuals in world capitals who give their full support to Israel.
It is difficult to expect any humanity from the Israeli leadership, as top decision-makers in the Jewish state have basically authorised the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Schools, hospitals, ambulances and refugee camps have all been hit in the name of targeting Hamas.
When militant groups massacre civilians, it is called terrorism; when Israel does the same, it is called self-defence.
If the extermination of Palestinians continues, it will either result in the depopulation of the Gaza Strip, or the expansion of the current hostilities into a regional conflagration.
Hasan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement — a key ally of Hamas and part of the Iran-backed ‘Axis of Resistance’ — broke his long silence on Friday and said a regional war is a “realistic possibility”, while issuing ominous warnings to Israel and the US.
Right now, the ball is in Washington’s court. If the US wants things to cool down, it needs to press Israel to stop the slaughter. If America keeps bowing to Israeli hubris, it will be responsible for the coming storm in the Middle East, and the accompanying turbulence the global system will encounter.
Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2023
Karachi crime
KARACHI’s open season for street outlaws has left dwellers reeling under a near epic wave of crime. Data compiled by Sindh police states that 44 residents were killed by muggers in the first five months of 2023 and shockingly, these criminals took a life every third day in the same timespan last year. Over the last few months, incidents of armed muggers killing youth, women and children have come thick and fast, compelling people to surrender valuables sans resistance or delay to stay alive. In this situation, the Sindh caretaker chief minister’s recent remarks that the “government has been putting all its efforts into overcoming street criminals in Karachi and dacoits in the riverine area of the province” and “a foolproof strategy and the innovative mechanism ending dacoit culture” were heartening but lacked a sense of urgency. It cannot be stressed enough that the crime epidemic has to be treated with the same awareness and preparedness as a public health concern.
What is more than apparent is that exclusion of economic disparity and weapon control measures from policies to counter crime will prove ineffective. Today, the availability of illegal arms and absence of education, employment or measly earnings create fierce criminals. These factors also indicate that unless our political elite make the security of ordinary people central to their economic and political campaigns, little will improve. On the other end, while repeat offenders and street criminals should not have access to easy bail, the resolve to freeze ammunition supply and weeding out rogue elements in the police force promise a much better handle on the mayhem. Moreover, reviewing policing for proactive, sensitised and progressive practice will ensure that the city is short on bad news and fewer people return home as dehumanised citizens. Short-sightedness and apathy have brought us to this point. But a crackdown on crime still does not imply that the process becomes a punishment for perpetrators.
Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2023
Election season
THE promise that democracy will be restored soon is a breath of fresh air in this current atmosphere of doom and gloom. After a rough start, the election machinery has started to click into gear.
The chief justice’s stern warning to the media, telling it to desist from airing any further speculation on the timing of elections, has signalled to other stakeholders that there may be a finality to the Feb 8, 2024 date that can be banked on.
It is encouraging to note that the PTI, PML-N and PPP — the three largest ’political parties in the country — have all welcomed the announcement and seem eager to begin the contest. Right now, their attention should be focused on the upcoming electoral exercise rather than anything else. There is not a lot of time for them to regroup and launch effective campaigns.
Now that the country is in election mode, the ECP should expect increased scrutiny of its actions. The immense task of ensuring that the upcoming elections are free, fair, impartial and inclusive rests on its shoulders, and it needs to do much better if it wishes to be remembered for discharging its duty responsibly.
There are several things that need immediate attention. For instance, the caretaker government is reportedly attempting to undertake a large-scale reshuffle of officers at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting despite the announcement of an election date.
All such tinkering with the executive branch must be stopped forthwith. The state must be oriented towards one thing alone: assisting the ECP in delivering a credible election. Everything else is unnecessary at this point in time.
Secondly, the ECP must start utilising its considerable powers to ensure that the contest will be fair. The arrest of former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on corruption charges the day after elections were announced is not a good omen.
The public perception is that the PTI and its people will continue to be harassed with arbitrary detentions and arrests on trumped-up charges for as long as they refuse to toe the establishment’s line. There is little justification, legal or moral, for a political party to be treated in this manner, and it is up to the ECP to put a stop to the victimisation.
Other parties have also been complaining about being denied a level playing field. They have accused the caretaker governments and other powerful forces of manipulating the state machinery to favour the PML-N.
There is no point in asking the electorate to vote if a handful of people are going to overrule their choices anyway. The Pakistani people must not be denied the right to choose their future themselves. The ECP should be wary of these sentiments and demonstrate it is working to counter them.
Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2023