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Cracks in Pakistan's
crackdown
By Muddassir Rizvi
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's renewed crackdown on
Islamic extremism and its peace overtures with India
indicate a change of heart on the part of the
military-backed government, but critics say that these
are just moves to appease the Western audience and are
marred with numerous contradictions.
For
religious parties, the unilateral ceasefire along the
Line of Control (LoC) that divides the disputed state of
Kashmir between India and Pakistan, as announced by
Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali, is
reflective of "defeatism" on part of the government.
"India will use it as a propaganda weapon and proof of
Pakistan's involvement in terrorism and aggression,"
says Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the leader of the right-wing
Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan party.
While Jamali's
address to the nation has raised hopes of normalization
between the two nuclear neighbors, his peace proposals
came at a time when his military-backed government was
already facing criticism for having cracked down on
religious parties and Islamist groups under US pressure.
However, despite disapproval from right-wingers,
the Pakistan government went ahead to announce the
restoration of air links with India, which New Delhi had
suspended after the attack on its parliament in December
2001 that it blamed on Pakistan-based terrorist groups.
The latest moves have also increased the chances of a
meeting between the two countries' prime ministers on
the sidelines of a South Asian summit in Islamabad in
January.
But, according to the religious
parties, the government's recent moves are meant to
please the US and other Western countries, which have
been cornering Pakistan, using the "war on terrorism" as
a pretext. "The ground reality is that India is
continuing a one-sided war against the Kashmiri Muslims,
who are now abandoned by the Pakistan army," said Qazi,
whose party is a part of the influential alliance of six
religious parties, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). The
MMA expressed concern with the steps to curtail the
activities of Islamic groups. "The latest crackdown
against religious groups has come about under pressure
from the Americans," Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a key leader
of the MMA, told IPS.
Although the government
has denied the link, the official announcement of
November 15 banning three Islamic groups for links with
terrorism came a day after the US ambassador cited
resurgence of Islamic extremist groups in the country.
Ambassador Nancy Powell said at a reception in Karachi
that her country was alarmed by the resurgence of
outlawed Islamic terrorist groups, which poses a serious
threat to Pakistan, to the region and to the US.
Powell's remarks were perceived in the official
circles as a "precise" reprimand from Washington
regarding the government's inability to contain and
curtail extremism, which was also cited by India
repeatedly as a reason for not responding to Islamabad's
peace offers in the past. The government moved quickly
as a damage control measure, banning the
Islami-Tehreek-e-Pakistan, the Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan
and the Khuddam-ul-Islam under the country's
Anti-terrorism Act 1997. A few days later, it banned
three more groups - the Hizb-ul-Tehreer, the
Jamaat-al-Furqan and the Jamiat-ul-Ansar.
The
three organizations banned on November 15 previously
existed under the names of Tehrik Jaferia Pakistan
(TJP), the political mouthpiece of Shi'ites, the
extremist Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and the
Jaish-e-Muhammad, which was accused of masterminding the
attack on the Indian parliament. The Pakistani
government had also banned them in January 2002 as part
of its wide-ranging measures to curb extremism. However,
their leaders were never arrested.
Some
pro-independence Kashmiri parties, while seeing a clear
link between the crackdown against extremism and the
melting of ice between India and Pakistan, fear that the
ongoing efforts are meant to divide Kashmir and convert
the LoC into a permanent border. "The Americans and the
European Union are pressuring Pakistan and India to
recognize the ceasefire line as a permanent border,"
said Amanullah Khan, who heads the Jammu and Kashmir
Liberation Front (JKLF).
Talking to IPS, Khan
said that his party has always supported efforts for
Indo-Pakistan peace, but this should not be at the cost
of the Kashmiri people. He said that the JKLF will
resist any plan to divide the state of Kashmir. "We will
not let it happen because the Kashmiri people have
sacrificed their lives for the independence of Kashmir,"
he said.
Although civil society, the business
community and some mainstream political parties have
hailed the government's latest moves, press and analysts
fear that Pakistan's international pledges are contrary
to the government's political compulsions at home. Their
major concern stems from the government's desperation to
strike a political deal with the mullahs over
controversial constitutional amendments enacted by
Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf in October
2002 through the Legal Framework Order (LFO).
Although the MMA has refused to cancel the
membership of the banned Islami-Tehreek-e-Pakistan and
one of its component parties, the Jamaat-i-Islami, has
taken a hardline position over the peace moves, the head
of the ruling party Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has
indicated that the government's deal with the MMA is
being finalized. However, he did not mention any quid
pro quo that may be involved.
Sections of the
press are critical of the way the government is
addressing Islamic extremism. "Banning the banned
parties indicates the problem the government faces with
the likelihood of these outfits repeatedly re-appearing
to keep their organizations intact. It does not involve
much effort to set up a new organization and resume
business," commented the English-language daily The News
in its November 17 editorial. "It is only when the
government receives intelligence reports that it can
again take action, but by then the outfit has succeeded
in conscripting new recruits and propagating their creed
of extremism," it added. The Islami-Tehreek-e-Pakistan
and Tahrir have declared that their parties will
continue functioning.
Clearly, "the government
must synchronize its international and domestic
policies. They want peace with India but they are making
a political deal with parties that have been an
impediment in the way," commented Afsraul Mulk, a leader
of the Pakistan People's Party. He says that the
government should not make any political deal with the
MMA until it publicly announces its support for the
crackdown against extremism and its India policy. Said
Mulk: "These contradictions must be removed to set in
place a sustainable process leading to peace."
(Inter Press Service)
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