Do you think more bombings are expected to hit Pakistan widely, especially after the gunmen in Waziristan broke the deal with the government. thanks
Answer
I think that in Pakistani political context, the storming of the Red Mosque on 10th July may prove to be defining a historical moment. I believe that you are right this "agitation" will spread and become wider in application. Already over the last three days over 75 people have been regrettably killed.
After all, since the creation of Bangladesh, this is the first time that local army has been used against local people of Pakistan resulting in many deaths.
Name
RAHEEL
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Profession
Grant Manager
Question
What is the level of support amongst the general population for conservative shariah law compared to a move towards pluralism and genuine democracy?
Answer
The level of support is not very vast but no one believes in towing the West sponsored thinking either. Musharraf is considered by most of ordinary people of Pakistan to be mere puppet of interests of foreign powers and his propaganda bout "moderation" is not believed by any seriously. I have little doubt that right n the Pakistani gaining General is the most hated man in the country.
If democracy is given a chance, there could be move to a pluralistic society but on & under Islamic guidelines.
Name
Editor
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Profession
Question
Do you think Musharraf's use of force was unjustified? I mean, do you think peaceful ways could have defused the crisis? If yes, what was Musharraf's agenda behind that? Thank you.
Answer
Yes there were not so "hidden" motives for general to so act. Why was the assault action started on July 9? What was the dire necessity at that moment of time that put certain death of hundreds of ordinary citizens at stake? Was there, in the applicable judicial concepts generated by the US Supreme Court, clear and present danger compelling a state response of this nature? No one has asked this question.
No justification was provided. Even with the breakdown of negotiations with Ch Shujaat’s team was there in terms of law and order an imminent danger? After all the “cleric led revolt” had been going on for months! If no clear and present and danger existed on the July 9 then we must probe further.
The Musharraf Government was facing the “drama” of the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in the background of an unprecedented uprising by the ordinary citizenry, led by the popular and recently suspended chief justice of Pakistan. As the sweltering summer of discontent spread across the country, tens of thousands of lawyers poured onto the streets in what is known as the “black coat” protests. Finding no room to maneuver, General Musharraf emulated Ayub Khan, and manufactured a crisis. Then in a diabolical Byzantine move he stepped in to put down the “rebellion” by Islamists holed up inside the Lal Masjid.
The Lal Masjid, according to credible evidence, was a creation of Pakistan’s intelligence services, which as reported in the press used it for past three decades to recruit armed jihadis. It was another “Islamist dictator”, General Zia, who had allowed the Lal Masjid jihadis a free hand in spreading their extreme doctrines under the name of Islam. The Americans must have known this and simply went along. The brothers who purportedly “led” the Lal Masjid rebellion (the one who was arrested trying to escape in a burqa, as well as who died in the fighting) had worked for Pakistan’s intelligence agencies.
Their father, too, was an employee of the government and pursued this mission in the centre of Islamabad until he was, according to the local reports, assassinated. So was this done, as asked many people, to impress the Western backers of Musharraf? If so then was the agent double-crossed by the principal having outlived his utility?
Please see my lengthy article published yesterday in NATION on these issues.
Name
Latif Abdulraheem
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Profession
Question
What do you expect to happen for the next few months? Do you expect that Pakistanis may revolt against musharaf to topple him? And what do you think peopel in Pakistan can do?
Answer
I think Musharraf is "finished" and cannot last long, unless like in the case of creation Bangladesh, military rule is re-imposed.
I think that this possibility remains as General has shown that he considers his personal rule more important than the country's integrity. Already he has proved to be the worst dictator of the country than previous military dictators that preceded him. He has already wreaked havoc with the Judiciary and the Constitution.
Two provinces are particularly hit.. Baluchistan and the NWFP; and in Sindh he has installed the government of MQM control which many believed to be a group of saboteurs in the past.
Name
Editor
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Profession
Question
Some reports today speak about the resurgence of Taliban in Pakistan, what do you say?
And what is the difference between the Taliban that once ruled Afghanistan and the Taliban of Pakistan, in your opinion?
Answer
This is a difficult perspective question. So it is necessary to see contours of the operation against the Red Mosque as it points out the ethos of what you really ask.
Once ‘Operation Silence’ is over, the firing has stopped, the dust settles down and the bodies are counted, there are bound to be many questions raised. Why didn’t the government take action earlier against the clerics because had that been the case so many lives would not have been lost?
Why were the Lal Masjid elements allowed so much leeway that the complex became almost like a state within a state, complete with a moral policing force that acted with impunity enforcing a rigid interpretation of Islam on the city’s residents?
How did so many hardened militants, reportedly some foreigners among them, make their way inside the compound situated in the heart of Islamabad? (Surely this is a disturbing indictment of the failure of the law-enforcement and intelligence agencies to keep track of the movement of such elements).”
On the other hand, Jang had other concerns in mind when it said: “The situation is taking a sensitive turn in North West Frontier Province and tribal areas in reaction to the Lal Masjid operation. It is therefore the duty of the entire nation to work out a strategy in the larger interest of the country and to combat the propaganda of the western media against Islam and Muslims, which would prevent such incidents happening in future.”
The government cannot absolve itself of the tragedy. If it wanted, the matter could have been resolved at the start. But this was not done and, for the first time in the history of Pakistan, our own security forces not only bombarded a mosque and religious seminary, but also brought in armored personnel carriers, tanks and helicopter gun ships in numbers that made you wonder.
The above analysis demonstrates a fundamental reliance on emphasizing the rule by force doctrine used in the past by occupying armies and powers.
As elsewhere in the world, I think the reaction against this Musharraf and the national army action will increase and Talibanism will be helped. I think in there there is not much difference in this application between Afghanistan and or Pakistan.
Name
Muslimah
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Profession
Question
Assalamu Alykum wrwb
is the Pakistani government not responsible to implement Shariah in the country and their failure to do so is causing all the corruption there?
Answer
Good question. Under the Constitution, Pakistan has got "Islmaic State" without which its separation from India in 1947 becomes meaningless. As such this military action raises far reaching Legal questions no one has bothered to ask thus.
Under what provisions of the Constitution this military assault was undertaken by the Federal Government?
» Could the military be called in by the Federal government or was it undertaken on behest of the local Islamabad Administration?
» Under what provisions of law or constitutional authority did the Army actually intervene?
» How did General Musharraf assume control of this operation when under the Constitution, the President has no such powers?
» Who commanded and controlled the operation once it began? Once the army is called into support the civilian Administration under Article 243 to 245 and the dicta in D.M. Arby case, the command must remain with the local civilian authorities; was this the case?
» If constitutionally military cannot be used in the circumstances, or even it could be deployed, was it possible for the State to by pass the guaranteed protection to citizens of due process contained in the Chapter of Fundamental Rights?
» Could the protection of Articles 9, 15 and 16 (life, assembly and movement) be just thrown out by the military commanders who undertook this operation?
These are fundamental questions pertaining to the operations of any government that operates under a written constitution which have not been seriously considered and I invite and encourage the press to do so before it becomes irrelevant by the unfolding events.
The present military regime has often been accused of tolerating elements in the military and the intelligence services who are known to maintain ideological and strategic links with the country’s Islamic militants.
That includes those who were holed up in Islamabad’s Lal Masjid.
So does the final showdown at the mosque mean that this regime is moving decisively against those elements – and if so, what are the consequences? The government wavered for six months as the Lal Masjid-Jamia Hafsa religious students of the mosque-seminary enforced their idea of Islamic justice on video shops, suspected prostitutes and policemen in the capital who got too close to their premises.
But it plunged into action after the students briefly detained some Chinese nationals last month, provoking a strong reaction from Beijing.
Troops have now gone in full throttle to flush out the "militants" as the government call them ( though many think they are "jihadis") from the mosque. At the same time, they have prevented the media from having access to information about the operation and the extent of casualties
One reason may well be that the government is anxious to dampen extremist reaction and retaliatory strikes from elsewhere in the country, mainly in north-western areas where pro-Taliban militants have been flourishing in recent months.
But observers argue that the authorities are also eager to protect those in the security establishment without whose connivance the militants in the mosque could not have stocked up arms with which to fight for almost eight days. One thing is clear though. The government put its foot down and rejected the mosque militants’ demand for safe passage, demand supported by some politicians sympathetic to their cause. This indicates that the government has been able to sideline pro-militant elements in the political and security establishment, at least for the time being.
Internationally, the Musharraf Government has been able to salvage its falling reputation as a bulwark against extremists. This will get it some crucial military and diplomatic support from the West. But domestically Pakistan is seriously in danger of becoming "lawless" in a practical sense. There has to be an elected government in place to resolve the wider question of the way people want the society to be governed.
Name
Raheel
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Profession
Grant Manager
Question
Thank you for your answer. four questions if possible, please:
1- The Islam we are shown on TV in the UK appears quite reactionary; is this the case or are there more liberal and forward looking Islamic parties/individuals who can deliver social justice and economic development?
2- Some right wingers in the USA including among the military speak of bombing Wazirstan to destroy Al Qaeda. is this posible and what impact would it have on Pakistan?
3- How are 'peace' talks with India faring?
4- Is Pakistan involved in any dialogue with Israel, specifically towards diplomatic relations being established?
Answer
Let me start with the second question; You are right that right wing though in the US wants Musharrf and the army to stay. Republican Senator John Warner has hoped Pervez Musharraf will be re-elected as President of Pakistan.
“Pakistan is passing through a critical phase”, Warner said in a television interview. “Musharraf wants to get re-elected and we hope he will be elected again”, influential Republican said. He said the extremist groups are opposing President Musharraf, whereas the United States working jointly with Pakistan.
“We should remember that Pakistan is a nuclear power and I think Musharraf did his best in the war on terrorism”, he added. The question is how is this all an American concern? Lisa Curtis, the head of the South Asia program for the Washington based neo-conservative think tank - Heritage Foundation, has called upon the US that the present situation in Pakistan represents not only a very difficult challenge for Gen Musharraf but also marks a very critical phase in America's relationship with Islamabad.
"The US must [therefore] extend strong political and military support to President Gen Musharraf in his fight against extremism and also encourage the liberal forces in Pakistan who are in the run up to the next polls," Ms Curtis said.
The neoconservative think-tank's call for full US support to Gen Musharraf coincides with President Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley's call to the Musharraf government to regain control of areas bordering Afghanistan - a move seen by many as the US administration stepping up pressure on Pakistan.
Respectfully I disagree with this line of thinking which has been fundamentally bad for REAL US interests in Iraq and Afghanistan
Name
Ahmed
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Profession
Question
Why is Mushsraf more loyal to the US than the Pakistanis? Does the US has the power to remove him if he rejects implementing its agenda in the region? What are the US interests in Afghanistan and Pakistan currently?
Answer
I think Musharraf is only loyal to HIMSELF...he mistakenly feels that US can help him stay in power. Further, I think that the US does have the power to remove him by simply withdrawing their OVERT support to his rule.
The other parts of the question require much more time than I am afraid I now have. Thank you all.
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Editor...
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The session has ended. We would like to thank our renowned guest Prof. Farooq Hassan for taking the time to answer your questions, and all those who participated in this live dialogue.
We apologize for not being able to answer all the questions due to time limitations.
