Days of despair
Blame the politicians. Even those among us otherwise considered the staunchest optimists are now succumbing to the defeatism pervading the air. The winter, too, has been unkind; bringing with it cold winds and cruel reminders that, with our pockets already empty, the worse may be yet to come.
Yet, even as the economy sinks under the PML-N’s staggering incompetence and the shell-shocked citizenry is swept under by an inflationary tide, the band continues to play. Imran Khan — having seen reason all of nine months late — may soon return to the National Assembly with 40-odd loyalists in tow, seeking to liberate the House of the malign influence of its current leadership. Meanwhile, the government, which has so far earned little more than contempt and public ridicule for a series of bad decisions, remains unwilling to relent or repent.
As has been said repeatedly through these pages, Mr Khan should never have left parliament. After his government’s ouster, his party had an important role to play in the National Assembly, but it abandoned the pitch and refused to play. Mr Khan has belatedly realised that he may have shot himself in the foot in doing so. He put his party’s fate at the mercy of the NA Speaker by having his lawmakers tender their resignations last April.
Though Raja Pervaiz Ashraf initially tried to convince the PTI to return, the moment it became clear that it may lead to another confidence vote in parliament, he did what our politicians do best: he took an abrupt U-turn. His move to ratify the resignations of 70 PTI loyalists prompted the remaining 45 to withdraw theirs before they, too, were left out in the cold. With their help, the PTI intends to take back its role as leader of the opposition and wait for an opportune moment to strike against the prime minister.
A year after a vote of no-confidence sent its government packing ahead of its term, the PTI is now looking to respond in kind. A year after the PTI exposed its desperation by subverting democracy to protect its politics, the PDM is now making similar moves. To make matters worse, it seems that any light at the end of this dark tunnel is waning with each passing day.
The ECP’s choice for the caretaker chief minister for Punjab has almost guaranteed that the path to the general elections will be paved with controversy. God knows what fresh chaos comes after. A man known by his political (and apolitical) connections would hardly seem like the best choice in these times of great upheaval. Perhaps we should not prejudge Mr Mohsin Naqvi; nonetheless, he will have to work extra hard to prove himself worthy of the responsibility he has been entrusted with.
Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2023
Modi documentary
NEW DELHI’S extreme reaction to a BBC documentary on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid bare the BJP regime’s increasingly authoritarian and intolerant disposition. Since the airing of the first episode, the Indian government has used aggressive language to dismiss the film as “propaganda” and resorted to blocking any clips uploaded to YouTube. It has now gone a step further to invoke emergency powers to block tweets and posts about the documentary — a move that shows how easily the Indian government can crack the censorship whip to stifle criticism against the ruling party. The two-part series shows the rise of Mr Modi, his links to the Hindu extremist RSS and his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, where he served as chief minister at the time. The riots were one of the most violent moments in post-partition India, where 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed after the Godhra train burning. It is this moment that the documentary examines closely, and that is being seen as most offensive to the Indian authorities. The documentary talks of a secret probe undertaken by the UK Foreign Office into the riots, with a subsequent report holding Mr Modi “directly responsible” for the “climate of impunity” that enabled the violence. Former foreign secretary Jack Straw, too, tells the filmmakers that Mr Modi “had a pretty active part in pulling back police” and “encouraging” Hindu extremists. The BBC shows archival footage of a journalist pressing Mr Modi for answers about the riots in an old interview, in which his response and attitude are chilling.
The revelations in the documentary, coupled with the reaction of the Indian government, point to the growing darkness that has enveloped the nation. While it is often described as the world’s largest democracy, these tactics — whereby the press is stifled and bullied both by the government and through the court — show that it is one only in name. The BJP government’s track record of handling communal tensions is historically poor, and many accuse its leaders of stoking violence. The reaction of the government to this documentary, sadly, inspires little confidence that things will improve. Why the UK probe was not made public and why the international community is largely silent when it comes to the Indian government’s human rights violations are questions the world must ask, especially of the Western powers.
Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2023
Stockholm outrage
IT is difficult to accept the free speech argument being used to ‘defend’ frequent acts of desecration by extremists targeting symbols held dear by over a billion Muslims the world over. The fact is that these offensive acts are committed by those with a visceral hatred for Islam and Muslims, and often this animus manifests itself in the shape of grotesque violence. There can be nothing but condemnation of the burning of the Holy Quran in the Swedish capital Stockholm over the weekend by a far-right politician. It goes without saying that a serious discussion in the EU and the West in general is necessary to prevent such outrages from happening again and again. The culprit committed the act in front of the Turkish embassy, and has indulged in similarly hateful behaviour earlier as well. The desecration has been widely condemned by the OIC and individual Muslim states, including Pakistan, while the Swedish PM has criticised the crime as “deeply disrespectful”.
While freedom of expression and belief may be fundamental rights, when religious symbols are attacked by Islamophobes, it sends the signal that violence against Muslims is acceptable. After all, the terrorists who were involved in the mass murder of Muslims in New Zealand and Norway, for example, were from the same ideological gene pool as the character involved in the Stockholm incident. Apart from deeply hurting Muslims and promoting a culture of Islamophobic violence, such acts also embolden extremists within the Islamic world and harm efforts to bring civilisations and cultures together. Instead of issuing mere condemnations, Western states need to consider taking action against those who indulge in inflammatory acts targeting Islam’s sacred symbols. Just as Holocaust denial has been outlawed in many states, desecrating the Quran or the Holy Prophet (PBUH) should also be penalised. Just as Holocaust denial is not covered by free speech laws, attacks on sacred symbols of all faiths must similarly be prohibited.
Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2023