Losing grip
How does one react to an accusation as shocking and seemingly absurd as the one Imran Khan has made against Asif Ali Zardari? Does Mr Khan really believe his accusations against Mr Zardari, or is this just another tactic meant to stay in the headlines? It is difficult to say. However, it does appear that a strange narrative has been playing out in the former prime minister’s head ever since a failed bid on his life last November.
The PTI chief believes that the several public ‘revelations’ he has made of alleged assassination plots being cooked up against him have actually helped keep him safe by discouraging would-be assassins from executing their plans.
After the November bid, too, he had brazenly named top government ministers and a senior intelligence officer as being involved — again, without offering any proof. While it is concerning that the former prime minister seems to be growing increasingly paranoid about his safety, it is also highly problematic of him to be levelling such serious accusations without substantiating them.
The PPP co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari, is a frequently vilified character in Pakistan’s political milieu. The tales of his wiliness and Machiavellian approach to politics are many and well known. However, his reputation alone does not qualify him to be labelled as a would-be murderer as well. This is a highly unfair and damaging accusation to make, especially when no proof has been offered.
The PPP is well within its rights to seek redress for Mr Khan’s claims. A warning from a PPP leader to Mr Khan, telling him to beware of “the snakes up his sleeve”, seems particularly pertinent, if only for the reason that it brings attention to the fact that someone somewhere seems to be whispering some very strange things in Mr Khan’s ears.
The PTI chairman himself has claimed in the past that ‘well-meaning’ sympathisers in the intelligence apparatus and security agencies have been ‘tipping him off’ regarding possible threats to his well-being. Perhaps he should start taking their murmurings with a pinch of salt, especially since they have started making him sound like someone who may be losing their grip on reality.
All of that said, the assassination of high-profile individuals has indeed been a tragic recurrence in Pakistan’s history. Mr Zardari, whom Mr Khan has accused, has seen it up close when he lost his spouse, Benazir Bhutto, in a violent bid on her life. If Mr Khan seriously fears for his safety, he should approach the authorities and share what he knows. The state and the government are responsible for providing him with the security he deserves as a former prime minister. Throwing out accusations is a highly irresponsible way of dealing with a matter as serious as this.
Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2023
Telling silence
THE silence of the Sindh government over the recent exposé in this paper about Karachi’s water tanker mafia smacks of indifference — and worse. Certainly, proceeds from the racket line the pockets of many powerful stakeholders across the board, both uniformed and otherwise, as well as local-level political networks of all stripe. But the buck stops with the provincial government that has financial and administrative control of the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board. If governance and serving the people of this huge city were of any importance to the authorities, the alarming levels of corruption and malpractice that the investigative report revealed is festering in the workings of the KWSB would have spurred them into action. However, cleaning the Augean stables is evidently not a priority for the Sindh government. Instead, it seems to have chosen the path of least resistance, keeping mum until the information becomes ‘yesterday’s news’ so that the system that works to serve a few at the cost of millions can continue as before.
The supply of water through tankers was originally meant for the purpose of providing water to areas that did not have water pipelines or which were particularly affected in times of drought. As Karachi descended into political anarchy, contesting groups warring over the city’s resources fuelled an informal economy in land and water. Hydrant operations became heavily politicised, controlled by a cartel capable of holding the megacity hostage for days on one pretext or another — almost always resolved by revising tanker charges upwards. Certainly, there is shortage of potable water when taking into account Karachi’s population, but even in the wake of record rainfall such as that experienced last year, the city’s water quota remains the same because the rundown infrastructure is simply not capable of carrying increased amounts. In other words, it suits some quarters not to improve KWSB pipelines, or push for higher recovery of its receivables, or dismantle illegal hydrants, or punish those accused of malpractice rather than allowing them to continue in positions of authority. An equitably shared water supply at reasonable rates would not serve these quarters. The duty of the media is to inform and to hold the authorities’ feet to the fire. But what is one to do in the face of such shameful indifference from those who have been voted in to serve the people?
Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2023
Palestine escalation
THE fire of conflict once again threatens to envelop the land of Palestine, as the growing cycle of violence refuses to abate. The Israeli state had been conducting violent forays into the West Bank for the past several months, but Thursday’s raid, in which at least nine Palestinians were murdered in the Jenin refugee camp, comes as a major escalation. This outrage was followed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad launching missiles into Israel from Gaza, with Tel Aviv responding by targeting the coastal enclave with air strikes. Then another violent episode occurred at a synagogue within an illegal Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday, as a Palestinian gunman killed at least seven Israelis. Unless there are attempts to rapidly de-escalate the situation — which are highly unlikely considering the racist, anti-Arab nature of the present Israeli cabinet — more violence is likely.
While earlier Israel had mostly reserved its murderous wrath for the hapless Gaza Strip, the past few months have seen the Jewish state unleash its fury upon the West Bank. According to one figure, over 200 people were killed in Israeli attacks in the occupied territories in 2022, with nearly 50 of the victims being children. The majority of casualties occurred in the West Bank. Fuelling this violence has been the advance of the far right in Israeli politics; extremist Jewish parties now form a powerful caucus in Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, and bringing peace to the holy land and giving respect and dignity to the Palestinians is not on their agenda. For example, after the Jenin bloodbath, one Israeli lawmaker tweeted “keep killing them” with reference to the Palestinians. With this thinking continuing to gain ground in Israel, the two-state solution has become the stuff of fantasy. However, Palestinian groups should refrain from attacking non-combatants and civilian infrastructure. Such attacks only sully the just Arab struggle and give Israel and its friends ammunition to label the freedom movement ‘terrorism’.
Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2023