A controversial video

According to the NYTimes, a video shows an alleged shooting to death of suspected militants in Swat by army soldiers.

According to the New York Times, a video shot secretly has emerged showing an alleged shooting to death of suspected militants in Swat by army soldiers. The military has dismissed it as being fabricated but a senior unnamed official of the US government has been quoted as saying that the footage is quite likely real and not made up. The newspaper has also quoted two senior retired military officers of the Pakistan Army, both of whom have concurred that it is unlikely that the video has been fabricated. Of course, one can well understand the circumstances of the surfacing of the video, coming at a time when America is – by all accounts – aggressively pushing for Pakistan to take on the safe haven provided to the Haqqani network in North Waziristan (and also at a time when the head of the CIA was on a visit to Pakistan). In that context, such a video could be seen by some in Pakistan as an attempt to malign the military.

As for the details of the video, it seems to have been shot in an abandoned building and shows men dressed as soldiers shooting dead six men who appear to be civilians, thought to be suspected militants. But the question whether they are militants remains since they have been executed without due process of law. One should also bear in mind that in the months following the military operation in Swat to flush out the Taliban, reputed rights bodies such as the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that there were strong suspicions among many local people that those suspected of being involved in the militancy were being summarily disposed of — an accusation that the government and the military have always denied. However, instead of rejecting this particular video right away, it would be better if it was investigated and if true the culprits should be punished. Otherwise, in the eyes of the locals, the state and its military might as well be no different than the militants.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2010.