THE colonial curse of the sedition law hangs over us like the sword of Damocles, with dozens of political leaders and lawmakers being booked overnight in a case of alleged rebellion against the state. It emerged that a private citizen’s complaint to the Lahore police resulted in an FIR that named 41 people from the PML-N for a range of offences, including sedition.
The list includes two former prime ministers, three former generals and a string of former ministers — it even includes the sitting prime minister of Azad Jammu & Kashmir. Surprisingly, late on Monday night, when news of the sedition case did the rounds, two government officials publicly distanced themselves from the move.
Minister Fawad Chaudhry even said that the prime minister was not aware of this case and that when he learned of it, he condemned it. Section 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code specifically states that the act of rebellion which is criminalised must be committed against the government; but with the government denying it is behind the case, the mystery as to who encouraged it to be filed can be left to the imagination.
In the past, such cases initiated by private citizens have been filed at the behest of elements that have generously handed out certificates of ‘traitorhood’ to activists and politicians. The entire episode reeks of panic, paranoia and poor thinking. That the prime minister of AJK was booked under this controversial law is preposterous and makes a mockery of Pakistan’s principled stand on Kashmir.
Those who relish in branding opponents as ‘India-sponsored traitors’ have foolishly booked Raja Farooq Haider, unwittingly conferring legitimacy, in the eyes of others, on Narendra Modi’s high-handed and despicable approach to Kashmir.
The draconian sedition law was a tool for the British to suppress the freedom struggle in the subcontinent against imperialism. Yet, this British Raj relic still haunts us today. The trend of labelling political opponents and critics as traitors, and accusing them of sedition, must end, and the government must investigate what happened in this case and revisit this repressive law.
For too long, journalists, politicians, academics and activists critical of the state have been hounded for their views and booked in such cases so that their words are stifled. Such tactics are menacing and vindictive, and have no place in a democracy.
They must be condemned by political parties across the board. It is not enough that a handful of ministers are condemning this case. The case must be withdrawn and the government must engage with opposition parties to review the anachronistic sedition law.
Furthermore, it must also actively discourage the labelling of political opponents as traitors. Those raising legitimate questions about governance, democracy and the separation of powers should not be punished, and should not have their patriotism questioned. Such actions have not worked in the past and are sure to backfire again.
Tackling stunting
AT least four out of 10 children in Pakistan are unlikely to ever meet their cognitive and developmental potential. That is a shocking prospect. And yet, it is borne out by the statistics for childhood stunting — 44pc nationally, third highest in the world — a condition that results in this dire outcome. Prime Minister Imran Khan at the outset of his tenure had laid emphasis on the importance of tackling this issue. In his inaugural speech, he had held up an X-ray scan of a stunted child’s brain alongside that of a normal one. The brain of the affected child was clearly smaller, a black-and-white projection of the enormous cost of this pernicious condition. Stunting results from chronic malnutrition in the first two years of life; when mothers are malnourished during and post pregnancy; where unsanitary practices prevail; and because of inadequate psychosocial stimulation. Hearteningly, it appears the PTI government has started work on tackling the problem of childhood stunting in a substantive way.
On Monday, the prime minister chaired the first meeting of the Pakistan National Nutrition Coordination Council and asked his special assistants on health and social protection to devise, in consultation with the provinces, a comprehensive road map to prevent stunting. The prevalence of this condition varies from province to province but nowhere is it any less than alarming. According to the National Nutrition Survey 2018, in KP (including tribal districts) 48.3pc of children are stunted; in Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan 46.6pc each; in Sindh 45.5pc; in Punjab 36.4pc; in Azad Kashmir 39.3pc; and in Islamabad 32.6pc. In the first phase of the government’s plan, 36 Ehsaas Development Centres have already been set up in nine districts to provide food to meet the nutritional requirements of mothers and newborns. It is instructive, and poignant, how so many consequences flow from the second-class status accorded to women in this society. A significant percentage of stunting occurs in utero, because of maternal malnutrition and the lack of importance generally accorded to the health of women. Millions of girls grow up watching their brothers being given the choicest morsels at mealtimes while they eat the leftovers later. Unsurprisingly, more than 50pc of adolescent girls in South Asia are anaemic or underweight. One hopes a more holistic approach, which not only takes all the provinces along but also addresses gender-based social prejudices, is put in place to bring down stunting rates. The country’s future depends on it.
Professor’s murder
ALL too often Pakistan receives a violent shock, reminding society of the perils of letting hate and intolerance grow without check. On Monday, Dr Naeemuddin Khattak, an Ahmadi professor, was gunned down in Peshawar after an altercation with a colleague over religious issues. This is the latest in a growing series of troubling incidents in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capital in which members of the Ahmadi community have been targeted. In July, an American of Pakistani origin reportedly belonging to the religious group was shockingly murdered in court by a teenager, while last month a mob laid siege to an Ahmadi family’s residence.
This is, of course, not the first incident of its kind. Ahmadis in this country have faced persecution for decades, while the state has done little to bring those responsible for crimes against the community to justice. Unfortunately, the anti-Ahmadi violence ties up with the overall growing extremist tendencies in society — nurtured since the 1980s — that are now manifesting themselves in hideous ways. Whether it is the targeting of Ahmadis, or any other individual/group that is seen to be ‘deviant’ by the self-professed guardians of religious mores in Pakistan, this pattern of violence must be confronted by the state before it leads to the mainstreaming of vigilantism. Over the past few weeks, avowed sectarian groups with a history of violence have staged massive marches across major cities of Pakistan. This shows that while they may have been lying low for the past few years, they can mobilise at very short notice should the need arise. The KP government needs to do more to protect the lives and properties of Ahmadis living in the province. Additionally, the state must send a very clear message that there is zero tolerance for vigilantism and cold-blooded murder. If this toxic trend is not forcefully checked, we may soon return to the old days when targeted killings and attacks on places of worship were occurring with alarming frequency across the country.
