Cautious congratulations

The announcement of the names and antecedents of the four men alleged to have carried out a range of atrocities in Karachi over many years merits a cautious rather than ecstatic welcome. A news conference on the evening of May 20 was held by the chief minister, who backtracked on his earlier comments to the effect that the Indian intelligence agency, RAW, may be behind some of the recent atrocities, instead naming four men who were allegedly well-educated and had been engaged in terrorism in some instances for many years.



The announcements were remarkable in a number of ways, and we are cautious in our congratulations as it does appear to be a very convenient coincidence that four men should be arrested within a week of the incident in which as many as 45 Ismailis were killed in an attack on a bus — who also were allegedly responsible for the killing of Sabeen Mahmud, the targeting of American academic Debra Lobo, as well as carrying out multiple attacks on the Bohra community. There are other crimes alleged to have been committed by the four, including grenade attacks on schools and the targeting of Rangers, which, if found conclusively to have been perpetrated by these men, will make them part of a highly prolific terrorist cells.

And then there was the revelation that three of the men named had been educated to university level and were highly literate. They had diverse terrorist skills, including the making of improvised explosive devices — one of them has allegedly had contact with the al Qaeda high command as well as the Taliban — and all appear to have training at various times in their terrorist careers.

For several years it has been recognised that terrorism and extremist mindsets are to be largely witnessed in the ranks of the uneducated, unemployed and underprivileged. Indeed, much to the contrary and as exemplified by the men now in custody, an advanced education seems to be a distinct advantage if a career in terrorism is to be pursued.

It is also illustrative of the pervasiveness of terrorist and extremist mindsets nationally, and that within the universities of Pakistan which are happy hunting grounds for those of an extreme ideology. Every stratum of our society has been permeated, and the divisive and sectarian nature of the national curriculum and some of the textbooks our children learn from does much to prepare the ground for the sowing of extreme paradigms.

In short, Pakistan is reaping as it has sowed for the last 30 or more years, and whilst the activities of external agencies such as RAW cannot be discounted, the real problem is very much at our own doorstep and of our own making — yet another self-inflicted wound.

There are also grounds for further cautious congratulations to the police teams — recently constituted — that have brought these men into custody. Cautious again because it would appear that the suspects may have been previously known to the law-enforcement and intelligence apparatus; and if that is the case, then there are some hard questions to be asked and answered as to why they had not been detained before, with the possible consequence of preventing one or more of the atrocities that have blighted our lives and brought terror to countless millions? The men were arrested three days after the killings at Safoora, which is very fast police work indeed which we can do nothing other than commend — assuming the police have caught the right men and that their confessions have not been produced under duress. We would welcome such a speedy outcome to all future investigations by the Karachi police or any other police force in the country, and we now await the testing of evidence by the courts.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd,  2015.

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