The war you don’t see

In 2003, the lofty goals provided for the invasion of Iraq seemed dubious. In 2015, the stated rationale for the Iraq war stands completely invalidated. Nevertheless, Americans hungry for vengeance post-9/11, marched willingly to the tune of the Pied Pipers in Washington. To date, over two million civilians have lost their lives in the war of terror and thousands remain holed up in Gitmo, Bagram and other black sites across the globe. The US’s loss of international prestige as a result of this infringement of human rights cannot be underestimated.

Not so surprisingly, when faced with its own tragedy on December 16, 2014, the government’s reaction in Pakistan has been comparable. It has given force to a plethora of US Patriot Act-type laws. In relation to the new Cyber Crimes Bill that is currently being considered, I A Rehman put it succinctly: “Pakistan’s highest interests will not be served by allowing state functionaries to … deprive the people of their basic rights.” Of course, Pakistan has little, if any prestige to lose.

The broad policy of the government and its supporters in the media and civil society has been to misinform the Pakistani people in a manner that will convince them to willingly surrender many of their basic rights, in much the same way that the Bush Administration did to its citizens post-9/11. The ongoing case of death row inmate Shafqat Hussain provides much insight into this phenomenon. The latest development on the saga is that for the third time in four months, “black warrants” have been issued and he once again faces the rope. Interestingly, this warrant comes while the Islamabad High Court is still considering a petition regarding his case. Just goes to show how badly this government wants to hang him and put the entire matter in the rearview mirror.

Earlier, in order to counter a civil society outcry over the matter of the defendant’s age and confession allegedly extracted under torture, the interior minister recommended a stay on the execution and ordered the FIA to conduct a transparent inquiry into the matter. It seems that transparency is best served by leaking select information to select television anchors, whilst withholding the report from the general public and deliberately avoiding the tough questions that the case raises.

In its report, the FIA first recommends action against Shafqat’s legal team for having attempted a defence of its client. In a country where the poor demonstrably lack access to justice, issuing such an irresponsible statement, with such implied impunity, only serves to discourage competent lawyers from representing the society’s most vulnerable citizens. The Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), the NGO that the FIA is targeting in this instance, exists to fill the massive void left open by a seriously inadequate legal system. Instead of piling the pressure on those seeking access to justice for all, the government would better fulfil its obligations to the citizenry by answering for these gaps and explaining what it is doing to fill them.

Far be it for the FIA to do so, its report further goes on to say that, “If a convict … wishes to avoid the death penalty on account of being less than 18 years of age, then the onus would be on him to prove his minority”. This is particularly shameful, given that according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), Pakistan ranks among the countries with the lowest birth registration levels. As the deputy executive director at Unicef put it back in 2013, “Birth registration is more than just a right”, it guarantees that “children are not forgotten, denied their rights or hidden from the progress of their nations”.

As Shahab Siddiqi, the communications manager at the JPP, puts it, “How can it be acceptable that a citizen is born, lives his life, is sentenced to death and is executed without ever being registered as a citizen with the government?” Sadly, it seems he is missing the point. There is indeed no more ideal candidate to perform the role of cannon fodder than one for whom there is no record. Waiting in the wings are many more alleged juveniles, who have nothing to do with the terrorism we seek to eradicate yet have been convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2004. All so that our leaders can spread false propaganda about how tough they are on terror.

It is important to note that the FIA neither has the competency nor the legal authority to conduct an inquiry into a human rights issue and that the lack of transparency surrounding the inquiry renders it flawed and unreliable. The interior minister would do well to show his sincerity to the people of Pakistan by ordering an investigation into the FIA’s clear abuse of power.

As for our friends in the Fourth Estate, they would do well to pay heed to John Pilger’s words when he said, “It is not enough for journalists to see themselves as mere messengers without understanding the hidden agendas of the message and the myths that surround it.” Parroting words from the FIA report, making unsubstantiated attacks on the JPP team and not seeking its response to alleged allegations is Poor Journalism 101.

That the self-proclaimed custodians of civil liberties should use the media to make personal attacks against the ‘second generation’ of human rights activists is a travesty unto itself. They ought to worry less about maintaining monopolistic control over human rights issues in Pakistan and devote more time to introspection and soul searching. After all, the state of human rights in Pakistan can hardly be a reflection of the work that these new entrants are doing. If these harshly critical custodians engaged with the upcoming lot, instead of remaining ensconced with feudals and robber barons perhaps, the future would be brighter. As it stands, the battle for human rights in Pakistan rests on a precipice. Sabeen Mahmud is its latest casualty.

December 16, 2014, a date that should have united the country in the fight against terrorism, has much like in the US post-9/11, been exploited to achieve very different ends that are much in line with the Empire’s neo-liberal agenda for the world. So let us hope that as a result of Pakistan’s war against its own citizens, the country does not end up like Iraq.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th,  2015.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.