There can be no doubt, judging by his record, that Malik Ishaq, leader of the banned extremist organisation — the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi — is a man of violence. Released in July this year, he had spent 14 years in jail for his alleged involvement in some 44 cases of terrorist violence which caused around 70 deaths. He has been acquitted in 34 of these cases. But Ishaq is clearly not a reformed soul. His recent diatribe against Shias in Rahimyar Khan has led to him being placed under house arrest by the Punjab government for 10 days. He had also recently been involved in a sectarian clash in Muzaffargarh, which led to several more deaths.
We have before us, then, a dangerous man; it is widely believed that he has played an important role in numerous attacks, including the March 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team and other high-profile cases, even though the courts failed to convict him. He was eventually released after being acquitted in many of the cases and getting bail in the rest, but for that perhaps the police or the judicial system must shoulder some of the responsibility. The question to be asked now is what he has been doing free for over two months and why does his outfit, despite being banned for a period approaching a decade, seems to be able to operate and stage attacks with impunity, as was shown most recently in the attack on Shias at Mastung.
It does not seem that keeping him under house arrest for a temporary period will serve any purpose. Ishaq may, after this brief period, become free to do what he wishes. The problem lies in the police’s inability to prove the charges against him — a factor that has again and again resulted in killers and terrorists walking free — and also in the degree of commitment of the Punjab government in cracking down against the extremists. Another issue also is that the courts often do not convict those against whom sufficient evidence may have been presented, because in many instances, the judges fear for their lives in case they gave a guilty verdict. However, it all boils down to the state’s willingness to go after those who are involved in acts of terrorism. Unless it does that unequivocally, the monster of sectarianism will only grow stronger.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 24th, 2011.
COMMENTS (8)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Man of Peace are George Bush and Tony Blair with blood of thousands of civilians on their hands but our media will never talk about that
It is a travesty that all that Pak can do Malik Ishaq is to put him under house-arrest. So this is what happens to a self-confessed killer of Shias in the so-called "fortress of Islam". Malik's org took responsibility for the killings, and yet the state cannot scrape together enough "ghairat" to arrest or charge him. Where is Pak's precious sovereignity now if it can't enforce human rights for a sect of the majority religion - the minorities have already given up hope from this nation. Pakis should brand Shias as non-Muslims too and be done with this pretence.
@muhammad: Why are you advocating this blood thirsty monster who has already confessed for taking lives of scores of innocent Shias? Remember advocating such blood thirsty animals and keeping silence on their cruel acts means supporting his campaign. If you have firm believe in true teaching of Islam than have courage to condemn these bloodsheds. Don't try to alter the facts which have already become part of the history. This person is like a wild animal and he should be in the cage. But thanks to current Punjab Government who not only fixed stipend for him but also fully supporting their evil deeds for political gain. What a justice system do we have? I am really impressed - if you accidently kill a goat you will rot behind the bars but if you kill hundreds of innocents citizens of this country you will set free and also get financial benefits. God bless “the land of pure”.
Malik Ishaq and akram lahori are two reasons for the legal system of Pakistan to feel helpless and powerless in executing any good judgement. According to the Law of our beloved land, one can not be convicted even if he confesses to his crime before the judge. Moreover, Police witnesses are not allowed either. There is no witness protection program as well. This, in effect allowed both these merciless killers to confess to their crimes in court and mock the judicial system. They even threatened some of the judges, prosecutors and Policemen by publicly reminding them of the school their children studied in or their house address. To rub salt on our wounds, it also came to be known, that the Law Minister himself, has been sending stocks of food and other household necessities to Ishaq's house while he was in prison. When questioned, Rana Sanaullah, blatantly denied buying the stocks of food from his own pocket and claimed that it was bought by the government of Punjab. why doesn't the Honourable CJ saab, who has done a masters in handing out sou motos, call his cousin to explain why was his government involved in financially supporting the leader of a banned organization. Should we expect them to financially support Mullah Umar, Mr. Haqqani and ludianvi as well. If supporting the families of everyone in jail, is the new PML (N) policy, why are they not supporting the rest of the poor folks lieing in prison?If they have the finances to lavishly spend on such criminals, why did they declare themselves bankrupt last year? Its sad to see the two-faced policies of Punjab government. Bottom line is, as long as Ishaq and lahori are around, shias should brace themselves for many more mustung-type incidents. As for the shareef brothers and their cronies - as most political analysts may have noticed, their political career is going nowhere.
this is the the time when the judiciary has shpwn some high spirits in deciding high cases pending for years. Malik Ishaq , wha has been acquitted by the court for not having sufficient proofs against him, so what could the court could do! and another thing is that Malik Ishaq is not presently engaged with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi but with an organisation, Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat Pakistan, that has millions of supporters all over the country and they are not charged in any of the illegal acts. the incident of Muzaffar garh, from news, was indeed a shia attach from the nearby imambara on malik ishaq's welcome rally. so it is heartly requested that please don't distort the facts to add to the aggravated situation of the country.
Useless article