Working at cross purposes again

There are times when Pakistan does itself no favours, either in the eyes of many but by no means all of its populace; and most definitely in the eyes of an ever-sceptical international community. There is a calculated ambivalence on the part of governance to a range of extremist groups in the country, some but not all of which are banned. Those that are banned generally re-emerge within days or weeks rebranded and with the same figures at their head. They operate openly fundraising and organising meetings. Elements of governance question this laissez-faire, and a Senate committee on Tuesday 26^th September expressed its annoyance at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) allowing a banned group’s candidate to contest the by-election in NA-120 (Lahore) constituency. The committee wondered how an election symbol had been allotted to the candidate of a banned organisation.

The limp explanation from the ECP was that the Milli Muslim League (MML) was not registered with it but it had allotted a symbol to an independent candidate that was affiliated to the party. Not good enough, said the committee, pointing out that banners and posters bore images of leaders of a banned group and were widely seen during campaigning.

The group in question is the Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) and they have recently been active in fundraising in the name of helping Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh, using flyers inserted in newspapers. The JuD claims to be assisting 63,000 Rohingyas on the banks of the River Naf. Investigative reporting in Bangladesh finds no trace of the group operating there and given the state of relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh it is highly unlikely that the relevant permissions would be granted to do so. Aid agencies active in relief operations also report no observed activity. Whoever gives money to the JuD Rohingya appeal is in all likelihood the victim of false pretences. Once again a banned group has circumvented what feeble attempts there were to limit its activities. Small wonder that the United States and others view assertions that such groups are being cracked down on with a gelid eye. Working at cross purposes is not sustainable in the long run and there is nobody to blame for this but ourselves.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2017.

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