Strengthening Inclusive Political & Socio-economic Processes in Pakistan

Pakistan was conceived as a people’s welfare state but exponentially became a security state where the welfare of the people was sacrificed at the altar of the military establishment.

The security of people’s constitutional, fundamental and human rights, lives and property, economy and social services, basic responsibility of the state which it has abrogated, was precarious since the inception of Pakistan as an independent and sovereign state with the first Constitution being formulated as late as 1956 and deteriorated especially after 1958 when the first military coup took place and a new constitution was formulated in 1962. Subsequent military regimes further perpetuated the military’s dominance through amendments in the third but consensus Constitution of 1973 and politics to the detriment of political democracy, people’s Socio-economic development, sovereignty and security.

The HDI for Pakistan is 0.551, which gives the country a rank of 136^th out of 177 countries. Pakistan is one of the poorest countries with 66% of the total population living on less than US$ 2 a day. Over 40% of the total population of Pakistan continues to live below the poverty line. The current price hike and inflation, rampant corruption, elected but non-representative political leadership have further adversely affected the situation and worsened peoples’ vulnerabilities, vividly manifested in the good governance vacuum. Based on the historical perspective of Pakistan; underlying causes of poor governance are identified as issues of political instability, consistent military interventions in governance, uneven distribution of resources, poor human resource development, lack of supremacy of law, concentration of power and resources in the hands of a small percentage of population i.e. ruling elite, and the State’s abrogation of its responsibilities to provide services, good governance and social justice.

Foreign, defense, and domestic security policies are dominated by the military establishment’s mindset which undermines any civilian government’s efforts for peace with neighboring countries and within the country. The military’s perception of external and existential threat is India centric due the unresolved Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek issues with a history of 3 wars and the Kargil misadventure. Militarily and economically being the weaker state, Pakistan’s military turned to the US and its allies by signing the SEATO and CENTO treaties while adopting the doctrine of the “Fifth Column” strategy. Created Jihadi militant groups to infiltrate Indian Held Kashmir and conduct guerrilla warfare with the objective of inflicting substantial damage to the Indian military. Pakistan’s military strategists subscribing to outdated doctrines hoped to resolve the issue by proxy wars instead of putting moral pressure through conforming to UN resolutions for a Plebiscite in both Indian and Pakistan held Kashmir by withdrawing its military forces and allowing UN peace keepers to take over AJK. This would have placed the International and UN pressure on India to do the same thus resolving the contentious issue peacefully.

The Pakistani state’s violations of Constitutional, Fundamental and Human Rights of people’s sovereignty and security also needs to be addressed. Balochistan which received provincial status in 1970 has been subjected to state violence since its, legal or illegal is still debated, accession to Pakistan in 1948. It has faced military operations in 1948, 1958, 1962-68, 1973-77 and the ongoing since 2004, only because the Baloch have been demanding Provincial Autonomy with control over their natural resources. The latest is the most brutal with the ISI and Frontier Corp having been given carte blanche police powers to abduct, torture and hold incognito, without recourse to courts, extra judicial murders and dumping of mutilated, tortured, shot in the head at point blank range bodies of reported missing persons in desolate places allegedly through mercenary gangs. The Baloch claim some 1,300 missing persons and over 450 killed.

The intellectually bankrupt and financially corrupt civilian ruling elite along with the civil/military bureaucracy has over the years contributed to abrogation of the state’s responsibilities, bad or at times no governance for their personal vested financial interests, corruption and feudal mindset. This, 5% of the population, autocratic ruling elite has accumulated 85% of the national wealth over the last 65 years and continues to siphon off these monies to banks and investments in Europe, Middle East and the American continent. The energy crisis, railways, steel mills, OGDC, PIA, security of life and property in Karachi, Balochistan, FATA, and Gilgit Baltistan, the Jihadist and terrorist groups are the result of defective regional, political, foreign, defense, fiscal analysis and policies, bad enough during the previous military regime have become worse and close to default under the present civilian government.

While making, some meaningful some not so meaningful, changes in governance the third tier of governance, Local Government; the essence of democratic governance; has been abolished by the provinces reverting back to the colonial local bodies system of the Zia-ul-Haq’s military era under the 18^th Amendment. This perpetuates selective power structures at the district level while safeguarding the feudal interests of the autocratic political parties. No single political party can claim democratic dispensation within its own ranks and are actually two faces of the same coin. Familial hegemony rules all political parties and is based on personality and the pursuance of particular interests instead of showing commitment to collective interests and values.

The military’s ascendency and domination of the political sphere in Pakistan stems from the propagated Indian threat perceptions to the existence of the country in the light of the unfinished agenda of partition mainly the Kashmir issue. Making this the rationale for having such a large military which infringes on socio-economic budgets to the tune of 40% of the annual budgets directly while repayment of international loans taken to purchase expensive weaponry and hardware takes up some 25%. The three pillars of governance, Executive (and its bureaucratic branches), Legislature and Judiciary, have been constantly pitted against each other, institutions weakened, undemocratic governance promoted with the advantage being taken by the military establishment.  Governance in Pakistan is based on arbitrary policy making, unaccountable bureaucracies, unenforced or unjust legal systems, the abuse of executive power, a civil society unengaged in public life, and widespread corruption.

It is also evident that the menace of terrorism having transnational networks and outreach cannot be effectively combated by any country in isolation. It is imperative therefore to develop an effective collective approach at the SAARC level. It is noteworthy to mention that a SAARC Convention on combating terrorism (1987) is in existence and has been ratified by all member states.

Balochistan Province context

Balochistan is in the throes of another military sponsored bloody genocidal civil war since 2004. The Baloch claim over 1,300 missing persons and more than 450 brutally tortured, mutilated, shot at close range bodies of missing persons dumped near roads and towns to instill fear in the Baloch nationalists who were demanding their Constitutional, Fundamental, Human rights and control over natural resources. Break away nationalist forces from the mainstream political parties are now beginning to demand cessation and an independent Balochistan as their experiences of broken promises and agreements, and dismissal of elected governments after resistance wars in 1948, 1958, 1962-68, 1973-77 and the ongoing genocidal war; have hardened their resolve to throw off the yoke of oppression, repression of their legitimate Constitutional, Fundamental and Human rights by the Pakistani security state.

Before Balochistan was able to wrestle provincial status in 1970, it too was ruled under the FCR in a similar manner as FATA. The President and Governor of West Pakistan ruled the Kalat State through political agents just as the British colonial powers did; with an iron hand, denying the Balochistani’s their Constitutional, Fundamental and human rights, control over natural resources or benefits thereof. Baloch nationalist leaders like Nawab Nouroz Khan and six of his sons and nephews (1960), Lavangh Khan Mengal, Safar Khan Zehri, Asad-ullah Mengal, Ahmed Shah Kurd (all between 1973-77), Ghulam Mohammad, Lala Munir, Sher Mohammad, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, Nawabzada Balach Khan Marri, Habib Jalib, Ghulam Mohammad Dashti, (all killed since 2006) have been murdered in extra judicial targeted killings by the security establishment and their proxies. These are just a few names of well known Baloch leaders while there are thousands more political and student activists killed in the wars and most in the present ongoing civil war. Balochistan desperately needs to be stabilized in as short a time as possible by the Pakistani Federation.

Balochistan as a whole is under great political, socio-economic stress due to the law and order situation (civil war) in the province. Human rights violations are an everyday occurrence by state institutions and non state actors. Sectarian and ethnic violence has also been steadily increasing since 2007. The Federal and provincial governments seem to be helpless and without any serious strategy to end the conflict in Balochistan. Mutilated, tortured shot at close range bodies of Baloch nationalist political activists are found nearly every day while non-Baloch settlers in the province are also under constant threat to their lives and property. Civil society organizations in general are unable to work in the province due to restrictions by law enforcement agencies and government. Due to the ongoing conflict in the Bugti and Marri thousands of IDPs have been forced to seek refuge in the adjacent districts of Jafferabad, Naseerabad, Bolan and Sibi. No governmental support has been provided to them and civil society organizations have not been allowed to provide any support either. Jafferabad shares a common border with district Dera Bugti on the Sobatpur and Dera Allahyar tehsils border and are susceptible off and on to militant attacks on gas pipelines, electricity pylons etc.

Definition of Governance           

The concept of “governance” is not new. However, it means different things to different people therefore we have to get our focus right. The actual meaning of the concept depends on the level of governance we are talking about, the goals to be achieved and the approach being followed. The concept has been around in both political and academic discourse for a long time, referring in a generic sense to the task of running a government, or any other appropriate entity for that matter. In this regard the general definition provided by Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1986:982) is of some assistance, indicating only that governance is a synonym for government, or “the act or process of governing, specifically authoritative direction and control”. This interpretation specifically focuses on the effectiveness of the executive branch of government.

The working definition used by the British Council, however, emphasizes that “governance” is a broader notion than government (and for that matter also related concepts like the state, good government and regime), and goes on to state: “Governance involves interaction between the formal institutions and those in civil society. Governance refers to a process whereby elements in society wield power, authority and influence and enact policies and decisions concerning public life and social uplift.” “Governance”, therefore, not only encompasses but transcends the collective meaning of related concepts like the state, government, regime and good government.

Many of the elements and principles underlying “good government” have become an integral part of the meaning of “governance”. John Healey and Mark Robinson define “good government” as follows: “It implies a high level of organizational effectiveness in relation to policy-formulation and the policies actually pursued, especially in the conduct of economic policy and its contribution to growth, stability and popular welfare. Good government also implies accountability, transparency, participation, openness and the rule of law. It does not necessarily presuppose a value judgment, for example, a healthy respect for civil and political liberties, although good government tends to be a prerequisite for political legitimacy”.

The definition of governance provided by the World Bank in ‘Governance: The World Banks Experience’, as it has special relevance for the developing world:

“Good governance is epitomized by predictable, open and enlightened policy-making, a bureaucracy imbued with professional ethos acting in furtherance of the public good, the rule of law, transparent processes, and a strong civil society participating in public affairs. Poor governance (on the other hand) is characterized by arbitrary policy making, unaccountable bureaucracies, unenforced or unjust legal systems, the abuse of executive power, a civil society unengaged in public life, and widespread corruption.”

The World Bank’s focus on governance reflects the worldwide thrust toward political and economic liberalization. Such a governance approach highlights issues of greater state responsiveness and accountability, and the impact of these factors on political stability and economic development. In its 1989 report, From Crisis to Sustainable Growth, the World Bank expressed this notion as follows:

“Efforts to create an enabling environment and to build capacities will be wasted if the political context is not favorable. Ultimately, better governance requires political renewal. This means a concerted attack on corruption from the highest to lowest level. This can be done by setting a good example, by strengthening accountability, by encouraging public debate, and by nurturing a free press. It also means … fostering grassroots and non-governmental organizations such as farmers’ associations, co-operatives, and women’s groups”.

Apart from the World Bank’s emphasis on governance, it is also necessary to refer to academic literature on governance, which mostly originates from scholars working with international development and donor agencies. The majority of these scholars have concentrated almost exclusively on the issue of political legitimacy, which is the dependent variable produced by effective governance. Governance, as defined here, is “the conscious management of regime structures, with a view to enhancing the public realm”.

The contribution of Goran Hyden to bring greater clarity to the concept of governance needs special attention. He elevates governance to an “umbrella concept to define an approach to comparative politics” an approach that fills analytical gaps left by others. Using a governance approach, he emphasizes “the creative potential of politics, especially with the ability of leaders to rise above the existing structure of the ordinary, to change the rules of the game and to inspire others to partake in efforts to move society forward in new and productive directions”. His views boil down to the following:

Governance are conceptual approaches that, when fully elaborated, can frame a comparative analysis of macro-politics. Governance concerns “big” questions of a “constitutional” nature that establish the rules of political conduct. Governance involves creative intervention by political actors to change structures that inhibit the expression of human potential. Governance is a rational concept, emphasizing the nature of interactions between state and social actors, and among social actors themselves. Governance refers to particular types of relationships among political actors: that is, those which are socially sanctioned rather than arbitrary.

It is clear that the concept of governance has over the years gained momentum and a wider meaning. Apart from being an instrument of public affairs management, or a gauge of political development, governance has become a useful mechanism to enhance the legitimacy of the public realm. It has also become an analytical framework or approach to comparative politics. 

Governance institutions in Pakistan have not been allowed to evolve in a democratic framework by the periodic interruptions of the process by military interventions. This has led to weakening state structures, while promoting arbitrary and nepotistic mindset within these structures thus promoting corrupt practices and bad governance. Rationality and common sense have disappeared from the body politic to the extent that the Constitution has been relegated to pieces of paper which can be thrown into the dustbin, not only by the military dictator but also by civilian governments. The rule of law does not exist while rules and procedures for provision of social justice to the people are deliberately skewered towards safeguarding the interests of the ruling elite and thus discriminatory and disenfranchising towards the common person.

Constitution

The fault lies not only in the implementation of the law and policies but in the Constitution itself which in many cases either is silent or weak on transparency, accountability, checks and balance and at the same time some Articles and Clauses are contradictory and exclusionary instead of being inclusive of all peoples and regions. To take an example let us compare Article 1, 246 and 247. The Constitution is applicable to all territories of Pakistan.

Articles 1, 246 and 247 can be seen to be contradictory in terms of democratic governance and violation of the Fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution as 246 and 247 exclude these areas and peoples from Constitutional governance while promoting one man rule, that of the President through the governor and political agent. The 1901 colonial law known as the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) (still in vogue) violates the Fundamental rights of the people of these areas through the “collective responsibility” of the tribe in cases of crimes by individuals. Apart from holding the men, women and children of the criminal person’s tribe are held responsible to bring the criminal to, first the tribal jirga which enforces punishment citing traditional and customary practices like VANI, settlement of dispute through compensation by giving offender’s family girls in marriage to the aggrieved party, secondly re-enforced by the political agent which constitutes Human and Fundamental rights violations. There are many other violations of rights in all spheres of life. The peoples of FATA and PATA are thus denied citizenship rights by this exclusion.

There are many such provisions in the Constitution that need to be repealed or amended like the 8^th Amendment, Law of Evidence, Blasphemy, Qisas and Diyat etc; introduced by military dictators.

The Election Commission

Ostensibly this provision of the Constitution presents a democratic and credible framework for the formation of the Election Commission. Unfortunately, since the election commission is not a permanent body i.e. the Chief Election Commissioner’s and officer’s at the Federal and Provincial level tenures are time bound and thus dependent on Parliament’s and Prime Minister’s pleasure it cannot function independently and invariably comes under political pressure. This situation needs to be rectified and the Election Commissions, both Federal and Provincial, made permanent until resignation or retirement to avoid the political pressures in conformity to International free and fair election commissions and practices.

Parliament

The inclusion of theology, in the shape of Aalim or Ulema, in a representative body through proportional representation from the provincial assemblies brings in the element of non-secularism leading to conflict over laws within the body politic. At the same time proportional representation election of women into parliament is counterproductive for women’s political empowerment. Wives, sisters, daughters and family members, friends of the ruling elite are listed and elected to seats reserved for women. This has a negative effect on the credibility of the women thus elected. At the same time the indirect elections lowers the status and prestige of the Senate especially when the house (supposedly the upper house) has no direct legislative and fiscal powers. Since the Senate has equal representation from all provinces it must be made the final approving house for all legislation and fiscal policies, which can only happen if all members are directly elected. The reserved seats for women, minorities etc in both houses should be continued but instead of proportional representation should be filled through direct elections while increasing these seats to 30% (17% at the moment). This will ensure greater representation and transparency. The house majority thus gained would be democratic while allowing space to candidates other than families of the ruling elite.             

Judiciary

An independent Judiciary is a prerequisite for democratic good governance, checks on the Executive, bureaucracy, administration, while interpreting the Constitution and protecting the fundamental rights of the common people from abuse and violation of their rights by the state. Reforms are needed in the judicial system while ensuring access to justice in a timely, economical manner. The maxim “justice delayed is justice denied” holds true in Pakistan today as cases linger on for years without resolution. The District, Sessions, High and Supreme Courts are over burdened with thousands of case backlog. The system may have to be extended by establishing High Courts at the district level while the SC benches at the provincial level may need more judges. 

The Military establishment must not be allowed to dictate Foreign, Domestic, and Security policy to the Executive and Parliament, which it does to justify its disproportionately large establishment and demands on the exchequer as a political power broker. It has to remain within the parameters defined in the Constitution and the Military Act and not interfere in the realm of governance or policing. The Turkish example must be studied on how Turkey has gradually over the last ten years been able to bring the military under control of the Parliament and the Executive. The Military Act has to be amended to include such laws, rules that restrict the military high command from the adventurism it has indulged in over the past 53 years. This can only happen if the democratic process is allowed to function free of the fear of military coups through empowerment of a truly representative Parliament and Executive with a people’s centered agenda.

As is evident from this Article 245(2), (3), the Supreme and High Courts are barred from protecting the public or questioning the violations of Fundamental, Human Rights by the Armed Forces while acting in aid of civil power.

The fundamental rights are violated by the military, paramilitary, intelligence and law and order agencies (police) nearly every day even in the non-conflict areas. The system comprises of ill trained, corrupt staff operating under constant feudal and political pressures. The police system needs to be reformed with modern forensic and investigative techniques, training and made independent of the politicians.

Local Government

Good governance cannot be ensured if there is delink between the people and the state institutions. In the case of Pakistan many experiments have been done to bring about linkages and representation from the grass-roots but all except one have failed to bridge this gap. The one that could be termed as the nursery for grooming politicians was the system introduced albeit by a military dictator.

The three tier Local Government System

In the execution of this system there were certain systemic and legal gaps and was misused by the ruling elite in as much as getting family members elected and bringing in their own brand of corruption to it. It is noteworthy that this system empowered women, peasants, labor and minorities at the village level for the first time in the political history of Pakistan. To some extent (conceptually) it mimicked the Kerala model institutionalized by India in 1974 upon the Justice Sen report on local governance through the 74^th Amendment. Unfortunately Pakistan did not give constitutional cover to the system and after the 18^th Amendment the subject devolved to the provinces that not only abolished the system but are planning to revert (Sindh has already reverted) to the Commissioner led system of local bodies of another military dictator because that gave a stronger political hold to the Chief Ministers, provincial governments and bureaucracy. This system has always been illegally used to get cronies elected to the provincial assemblies and the National Assembly.

It is, therefore, essential to pressurize the provincial governments to continue with the Local Government System of 2002. Gaps and lacunae can be addressed through amendments and reforms but peoples centered governance can only be delivered through genuine representation and development at the grassroots level.

Conflict and Peace 

Conflicts within the country and regionally have been driven by the military’s interventions in the democratic process and domination of Pakistan’s Foreign, Domestic, Security policy domain. It is difficult to attain good governance practices in such a scenario and therefore there is a need to strengthen democratic processes, Parliament and civilian rule conforming to the constitution, ensuring social justice and fundamental rights of the people and by ensuring the peoples socio-economic and political participation and development in a peaceful environment.

US State Department Report Confirms Human Rights Atrocities in Kashmir

On May 24, 2012, the US State Department issued a voluminous report entitled “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011.”

Although covering many other countries, it is worth noting that the report cites the widespread human rights violations committed by Indian military and paramilitary forces in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir.  The revelations are remarkable and startling in light of the current policy of the Obama administration to maintain a studied silence regarding the atrocities in Kashmir in order to encourage commercial and military arms trade with India.

The report says that the most significant human rights problems were police and security force abuses, including extra-judicial killings, torture, and rape; widespread corruption at all levels of government; and separatist, and societal violence.

Other human rights problems included disappearances, poor prison conditions that were frequently life threatening, arbitrary arrest and detention, and lengthy pretrial detention. Widespread impunity at all levels of government remained a serious problem.

In its section under “Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life” the report cites a number of instances in Kashmir.

On July 2, the Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission submitted an interim report entitled The Enquiry Report of Unmarked Graves in North Kashmir to the state government. This report was leaked to the press last August but was not made public. According to the media, the report documented 2,156 bodies in unmarked graves at 38 different sites in districts that had been at the heart of the insurgency in the 1990s.

Unfortunately, these 2,156 mass graves are in addition to what Mr. Pankaj Mishra, an Indian scholar, wrote in the U.K. based Daily Guardian on August 13, 2010, that “Once known for its extraordinary beauty, the valley of Kashmir now hosts the biggest, bloodiest and also the most obscure military occupation in the world. With more than 80,000 people dead in an anti-India insurgency backed by Pakistan, the killings fields of Kashmir dwarf those of Palestine and Tibet. In addition to the everyday regime of arbitrary arrests, curfews, raids, and checkpoints enforced by nearly 700,000 Indian soldiers, the valley’s 4 million Muslims are exposed to extra-judicial execution, rape and torture, with such barbaric variations as live electric wires inserted into penises.”

The report points out that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) remained in effect in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, and parts of Tripura, and a version of the law was in effect in Jammu and Kashmir. Under the AFSPA the government can declare any state or union territory a “disturbed area,” a declaration that allows security forces to fire on any person to “maintain law and order” and to arrest any person “against whom reasonable suspicion exists” without informing the detainee of the grounds for arrest. The law gives security forces immunity from prosecution for acts under the AFSPA. 

Most encounter killings, in which security forces and police extra-judicially killed alleged criminals or insurgents, occurred in areas in conflict, but the practice reportedly occurred elsewhere in the country as well. For example, on August 8, Special Police Officer (SPO) Abdul Majid and territorial army soldier Noor Hussain took a mentally disabled civilian to Surankot forest in Jammu and Kashmir and then launched an operation with the police and the 25 Rashtriya Rifles unit to eliminate a “dreaded terrorist” in the area. When the bullet-riddled body was found, the SPO said that he wanted to be a constable and the soldier requested a cash reward of 200,000 rupees ($3,790). Both were arrested and charged with murder for the fake encounter. The identity of the victim was not reported.

By comparison, as with the recent brouhaha involving the case of blind activist Chen Guangcheng who took refuge in the American embassy in Beijing and has since been allowed to enter the U.S., to the embarrassment of our most favored financial partner and creditor, this report on Kashmir calls for a more aggressive public posture by the Obama administration that takes India to task for its failure to respond to these charges, which have been ongoing and flagrant for many years.

The State Department report goes on to say that, despite the published recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) investigate all police encounter deaths, many states did not follow these guidelines and continued to conduct internal reviews only at the discretion of senior officers. 

The Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir police killed Nazim Rashid of Sopor, Kashmir, while he was in custody. Rashid died on July 30, while being held in connection with an investigation into the killing of a laborer. 

The National Security Act (NSA) allows police to detain persons considered security risks anywhere in the country, except Jammu and Kashmir, without charge or trial for as long as one year. The law stipulates that family members and lawyers can visit NSA detainees and that authorities must inform a detainee of the grounds for detention within five days (10 to 15 days in exceptional circumstances). In practice these rights sometimes were not enforced. 

The Public Safety Act, which applies only in Jammu and Kashmir, permits state authorities to detain persons without charge or judicial review for as long as two years. During this time family members do not have access to detainees. Detainees are allowed access to a lawyer during interrogation. In practice police in Jammu and Kashmir routinely employed arbitrary detention and denied detainees, particularly the destitute, access to lawyers and medical attention. 

Courts in Jammu and Kashmir often were reluctant to hear cases involving insurgent and terrorist crimes and failed to act expeditiously, if at all, on habeas corpus cases. 

Thousands of habeas corpus cases remain pending in the courts throughout the Kashmir valley. 

On February 6, the army apologized to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir for the fake encounter death of Manzoor Ahmad Magray.  

Estimates of the number of missing persons varies. Human rights organizations stated there were 8,000 to 10,000 persons missing but in custody in Jammu and Kashmir.

These individuals have been reported missing for the past more than 10 years.  Isn’t it time for the State Department to do something about it?  It seems that mass graves discovered in Libya were useful for propaganda purposes when NATO was taking down the Moammar Qadafi regime, but any real concern for the human rights issue involved appears to be irrelevant.

Security forces often searched and question vehicle occupants at checkpoints, mostly in troubled areas in the Kashmir valley, before public events in New Delhi or after major terrorist attacks. The government maintains a 330-mile security fence along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, causing difficulties for residents because the fence cuts through some villages and agricultural lands. 

The government legally may deny a passport to any applicant who it believes may engage in activities outside the country “prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.” 

Citizens from Jammu and Kashmir continue to face extended delays, often as long as two years, before the Ministry of External Affairs would issue or renew their passports. The government subjected applicants born in Jammu and Kashmir–including children born to military officers during their deployment in the state–to additional scrutiny, requests for bribes, and police clearances before issuing them passports. 

Human rights groups alleged that state human rights commissions were limited by local politics and less likely to offer fair judgments than the NHRC. For example, the Jammu and Kashmir commission did not have the authority to investigate alleged human rights violations committed by members of paramilitary security forces.

This report reflects historically the underlying values of America. The public face of American values on human rights has been upheld by all administrations, Republican or Democrat because human rights are not simply American values; everyone universally recognizes them.  Americans as a whole support human rights whenever violations are made public.  However, that conscience does not seem to filter up into the ranks of government beyond token gestures that serve the political aspirations of candidates for office.   It was generous of  President Obama to have spoken out two weeks before being elected about the need for the U.S. to work toward a settlement of the Kashmir issue, but once elected the issue took not just a back seat but ended up in the trunk along with used oil cans and dirty rags.

 

Time to Have Old-Age Homes in Pakistan

I  would  like  to  share  the  following  with  the  wise  members  of  the  group.

While  I  was  doing  my  MBA  i  did  a  project  on Old  aged  people,  I  interviewed  some 100  people above  the  age  of  80. Most  were  in  the  middle  income group. About  60%  were  staying  alone  and  somewhat   able  to  look  after   themselves   and  about  40 %  were staying  with  children.

Those  40%  who  were  staying  with  children were  more  unhappy  then those  staying  alone. Those  staying  alone  were also  also slightly  unhappy  but  the  reasons they gave  for  unhappiness  varied drastically.

Old People  Staying  Alone….were  unhappy  because of:

- Feeling of  Isolation

- Lack  of  maids  or  domestic  help issues.

- Health  problems ( like  how  to  go to doctor  etc)

Old staying with children were  unhappy because of:

-         Lack  of  attention from son/daughter-in-law.

-         Lack of  understanding between the families.

-         Children / grandchildren  misbehaving.

-         Children fritter  away  their  money.

-         Children  going  away  and  telling  them  to  manage  the  house.

-         Lack of  freedom to  do  what  they  want  to  do. Too  many conditions imposed on them.

-         Children  want them  to  be  like  watch dogs.

-         Children  ordering them to  do sundry  work… like  buy  grocery, vegetable, milk

Considering the  above   issues when  I  asked them  if they would  like to stay  in well managed old age  homes. To my  surprise  they  all  agreed. They were  ready  to  pay  50%  of  their  pension…..

How to Find a Permanent Resolution of the Balochistan Situation?

Political History and Conflict

• Baloch tribes migrated from Aleppo region, Iraq/Syria about 800 to 900 years ago
• Kalat State, a loose tribal confederacy established by Nasir Khan I in 1666
• State governance through 2 houses of Parliament Dar-ul-Umra and Dar-ul-Awam
• British Colonialist only administered “British Balochistan” Bugti, Marri, Bolan, Quetta areas (Northern parts of Balochistan)
• Kalat State never a part of British India
• Balochistan at Partition Offered 3 options by British
• Accede to India
• Remain Independent as British Protectorate
• Accede to Pakistan
• First 2 options rejected by Kalat State
• Accession negotiations with Pakistan started
• Negotiation agenda not completed by 11^th Aug 1947
• Standstill agreement signed on 11^th August 1947 between Jinnah and Khan of Kalat
• Pakistan independence announced 14^th August 1947
• Balochistan declared independence 15^th August 1947
• Accession talks to continue between Pakistan and Balochistan
• Khan of Kalat, Ahmed Yar Khan gifts one ton of gold to Jinnah to help in running of new born dominion of Pakistan
• Accession document finally signed by Khan of Kalat, Ahmed Yar Khan, under immense pressure from Jinnah in 1948 without mandate from Kalat Parliament.
• Khan of Kalat imprisoned immediately after signing under pretext of rebellion. Prince Agha Abdul Karim, brother of Khan, took to hills in protest for bifurcating Makran, Kharan from Balochistan. Known as first resistance war.
• Lasted just 3 months or so, surrendered and imprisoned. Both released after 2 years
• Balochistan governed like FATA through a Political Agent from 1948 to 1970 with people without citizens rights as in other parts of Pakistan
• Made part of One Unit to gain population parity with East Pakistan in 1956 but excluded from Constitutional cover
• Gas discovered in Bugti area in 1952 piped all parts of Pakistan except Balochistan. Akbar, Pakistan’s Minister for Defense resigns in protest to overnight legislation on all natural resources above and below ground belonging to God and the State negating 5% share of revenue to locals under 1935 India Mining Act. Bugtis agitate. Burma Shell negotiates land rent deal to pacify Akbar and Bugti tribesmen
• October 1958 Sardar Nauroz Khan with 3 sons and 4 nephews took to the mountains against political/administrative status of Balochistan and in protest against Pak Army invasion of Kalat town, taking Flag down and disbanding Baloch militia imprisoning Khan for 10 years under house arrest in 10 Q, Gulberg, Lahore
• Brig. Tikka Khan negotiated with Nauroz to surrender on oath of Quran & promised to meet their demands
• Nauroz, sons & nephews imprisoned in Hyderabad Jail tried and sentenced to death
• Sons & Nephews on the gallows asked for Quran to be put around their necks so that it could be hung along with them
• Nauroz died at age 90 in 1960 in Sukkur  Jail
• Sher Mohammad Marri took to mountains in 1962
• Led Marri guerrilla force fought against One Unit & for Provincial status till 1968
• Air Marshal Noor Khan, Governor West Pakistan, negotiated cease fire & promised Provincial status
• Balochistan given Provincial status 1970
• NAP (National Awami Party) won simple majority in Elections of 1970 & formed coalition govt. with JUI of Maulana Mufti Mahmood in June 1972
• ZAB dismissed first elected provincial government in February 1973 on insistence of Shah of Iran amid trumped up charges. The Shah financed the war that ensued
• Siege of Marri, Mengal areas enforced where no food allowed into these areas
• Balochistan suffering from 3 years drought
• Marri tribesmen retaliate after 3 months of siege conditions in May 1973
• All Baloch & Pashtoon NAP leaders arrested in August 1973 after Baloch leaders refuse to sign new Constitution over provincial autonomy Clauses and Articles
• Balochistan Peoples Liberation Front formed
• A group of young men from Punjab & Sindh join BPLF
• 4 year civil war ensues
• Baloch civilian/non-combatant casualties 15,000, Baloch guerrilla losses 200, Army casualties estimated between 3,000 to 5,000
• Nearly 10,000 Baloch families take refuge in Afghanistan (70,000 women, men, children) from 1974 till 1992
• General Zia’s coup dislodges PPP government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
• War ends in July 1977
• January 1978 Hyderabad Tribunal trying NAP leaders disbanded, leaders released under a general amnesty by Zia
• Gas delivered to 5 district headquarters in 1985 by Gen. Zia
• From 1977 to 2002-3 Balochistan peaceful with Baloch elected provincial governments with no real fiscal autonomy
• Underlying issue of control over natural resources and provincial autonomy not addressed

The beginnings of current Conflict

• Akbar Bugti takes lead in dealing with Federal Government on control over natural resources, gas royalty, land rent under gas instillations, Gawadar port and provincial autonomy
• 2 negotiating commissions (Chaudary Shujaat/Mushahid & Wasim Sajjad) begin negotiations with Akbar Bugti
• Negotiations breakdown and stalemate due to Musharraf’s intransigence on accepting any of the demands put forward by Akbar on behalf of Baloch nationalists
• Musharraf takes Akbar’s demands as personal affront promising teaching lesson at Zhob public meeting after his copter fired upon and rocket attack at Kohlu by BLA not Akbar
• Dr. Shazia Khalid raped by Capt. Hammad of the FC
• Akbar demands handing over Hammad for trial under Baloch code of honor, sends armed group to capture him unsuccessfully
• Dr. Shazia & husband paid monies and exiled to UK; Hammad whisked away to safety in cover up
• MI plans FC attacks on Dera Bugti nearly killing Akbar with mortar fire; killing 30 people mostly Hindu families living next to Akbar’s House/baithak
• Akbar driven out of Dera Bugti into Marri area
• August 2006, 82 year old Akbar, suffering & dying of carbuncle, killed by missile attack

Army & Intelligences agencies tactics to suppress Baloch

• Turf war between ISI and MI comes to light with IB acting as eyes and ears
• Abductions, arrest without warrant, holding without trial for years, finally dumping tortured, bullet riddled bodies in desolate places reminiscent of the 70’s war when tortured Baloch were dropped from helicopters by (late) Brig. T.M. Shah of the SSG. Nearly 1,300 people allegedly still missing
• Criminal gangs, assassins hired by MI, ISI to target settlers to transform wave of sympathy in Punjab over Akbar’s killing into hatred providing them with service cards and arms
• Destruction of homes suspected of being supporters of the resistance
• Humiliation on the streets of Quetta & all main towns of Baloch women and travelers trying to instill fear
• Torture cells in MI, ISI, FC incarceration safe houses, Kuli Camp etc
• FC personnel overwhelmingly drawn from Pushtuns of KPK giving the conflict ethnic dimensions
• Prior to 2007 sectarian violence targeting Hazara Shias nearly non-existent. LEJ, LET new entrants in to Balochistan’s sectarian divide escalating violence, targeted killings
• Driven to the wall, Baloch young leadership and youth demand secession and independence for Balochistan

Prevailing Political & Military situation, foreign interventions

Balochistan’s Provincial (PPP) government has broken all records of corruption; incompetence and no governance while Baloch areas of the province are in the throes of another military sponsored (legacy of Musharraf) bloody civil war since 2004. These ineffectual members of government are also accused of sponsoring kidnapping for ransom and protecting criminal gangs. To cover up their own incompetence and criminal activity they claim that the MI, ISI, IB and FC are running a parallel government and do not take their orders seriously. That may be the case but how assertive and effective has the provincial government been in governing the province in terms of socio-economic development?

Analysis of Baloch Groupings

Broadly speaking there are three groupings.

A) The Baloch Nationalist Political Parties who are part of the pro federation grouping. The National Party, Balochistan National Party (M) and a grouping of independents are part of this group supported by the BSO. JWP is in disarray after Akbar’s killing and does not really play any role. The ANP and Milli Party are focused in the Pashtun areas of Balochistan and are pro federation. JUI has much more of a vote bank than most other parties while JI hardly any political clout in Balochistan. PPP has been badly discredited in the last four years while the PML-N has gained in terms of popularity given its efforts to bring about conflict resolution. PTI is a new entrant and as yet has to prove itself in Balochistan and Pakistan notwithstanding the large jalsas.

B) This is the militant grouping. BLA is the oldest organization inheritor of the BPLF of the ‘70s. Basically Gazaini Marris form the nucleus of BLA but since 2006 have been able to recruit from other tribes from Sarawan, Jhalawan and Dasht area of Makran. It is the best organized and targets only military forces. The BLA has clashed with the Bijarani Marris (50% of the Marri tribe) after the split witnessed in Afghanistan between Mir Hazar Bijarani and Nawab Khair Baksh Marri who is Gazaini (35% of the Marri tribe) and thus the Bijaranis, who were the backbone of 70’s BPLF guerrilla force, have not taken an anti-Federation stand.

The BRA came into being post Akbar killing. It is manned only by Bugti tribesmen and target military forces through IEDs while they damage the gas and electricity infrastructure more than confrontation with the FC. The BLF is a very small group which is ineffectual.

The third militant group is the BLUF lead by Dr. Allah Nazar. Allah Nazar formed this group after his release from a security agency confinement where he was allegedly tortured badly in response to this treatment by the security agency. Its tactics and philosophy are similar to the BLA’s as they ascribe to Khair Baksh’s political agenda which has hardened after the alleged killing of his son Balach.

C)  This grouping is the general Baloch population which is sitting on the fence waiting to see which side the tide turns. Majority of this group is undecided and more inclined towards the Federation but the picking up of their young activist sons, brothers and fathers who so much as talk about the situation from a point of view of Baloch nationalism, incarcerated for long without recourse to judicial review, dead tortured bodies of their loved ones is turning them into supporters and provides grounds for recruitment for the militant groups.

The Baloch claim over 1,300 missing persons and more than 450 brutally tortured, mutilated, shot at close range bodies of missing persons dumped near roads and towns to instill fear in the Baloch nationalists who were demanding their Constitutional, Fundamental, Human rights and control over natural resources. Break away nationalist forces from the mainstream political parties are now beginning to demand cessation and an independent Balochistan as their experiences of broken promises and agreements after resistance wars in 1948, 1958, 1962-68, 1973-77 and the ongoing civil war; have hardened their resolve to throw off the yoke of oppression, repression and suppression of their legitimate Constitutional, Fundamental and human rights by the Pakistani security state.

Before Balochistan was able to wrestle provincial status in 1970, it too was ruled under the FCR in a similar manner as FATA. The President and Governor of West Pakistan ruled the Kalat State through political agents just as the British colonial powers did; with an iron hand, denying the Balochistani’s their Constitutional, Fundamental and human rights, control over natural resources or benefits thereof. Baloch nationalist leaders like Nawab Nouroz Khan and six of his sons and nephews (1960), Lavangh Khan Mengal, Safar Khan Zehri, Asad-ullah Mengal, Ahmed Shah Kurd (all between 1973-77), Ghulam Mohammad, Lala Munir, Sher Mohammad, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, Nawabzada Balach Khan Marri, Habib Jalib, Ghulam Mohammad Dashti, and recently Senator Bakhtiar Domki’s wife and daughter (Daughter and Granddaughter of Akbar) (all killed since 2006) have been murdered in extra judicial targeted killings by the security establishment and their proxies. These are only a few names of well known Baloch leaders while there are thousands more political and student activists killed in the wars and most in the present ongoing civil war. Balochistan desperately needs to be stabilized in as short a time as possible by the Pakistani Federation.

The menace of terrorism is not confined to FATA and tribal areas alone but has spread its tentacles to Karachi, South Punjab, Pashtun areas of Balochistan and some rural areas of Sindh. As yet these areas have not become militarized to the extent of FATA and the tribal areas but if mitigating measures are not taken immediately to address the sense of marginalization, disenfranchisement, insecurity and abject poverty being perpetuated by bad governance, the stability and unity of Pakistan is in grave danger of balkanization throwing the whole South Asian region into turmoil.

The intelligence agencies have continuously blamed Indian RAW, Mossad, and Afghan agencies as instigators of these rebellions. As of January 2012 the USA has taken an open stand about Balochistan after Senator Rohbacher’s Congressional hearing. Although they portray the resolution and hearing as not the official stand of the US Government but Ambassador Robin Raffial’s presence in Islamabad meeting Baloch sympathizers, students and request for a US Consulate in Quetta belie the US government’s public stance. The so-called US strategic interests in this region are rolling back Pakistan’s nuclear programme, potential Iranian nuclear programme, containing Peoples Republic of China within its own borders, access to and control over the energy resources of Central Asian Countries, Afghanistan and Balochistan along with the strategic port of Gawadar. Why have we, Pakistan, provided our enemies this situation on a platter where they can intervene in our internal affairs using discontent amongst the Baloch for their nefarious Imperialistic designs?

How can this dangerous situation be averted and nuclear armed Pakistan saved from disintegration or a war with the US and their agents? The solution lies in ensuring inclusiveness of all peoples and regions of Pakistan in democratic governance at district, provincial and federal levels; ensuring Constitutional, fundamental and human rights, accountability and transparency, checks and balance, a strong independent Judiciary and Election Commission. If the basic law of the land is flawed, exclusionary and discriminatory there is no way that Peoples Centered Good Governance can be practiced. All institutions of State must function within the parameters set out in the Constitution. Therefore it is imperative that the Constitution is amended, systemic and institutional reforms implemented without which Pakistan cannot avert the disaster.

           

Resolution:

1)      What CBMs are needed to create an environment where the Baloch political and militant leadership agrees to sit around the table to negotiate a permanent political solution for the Balochistan crisis?

2)      Is the GHQ willing to address human rights violations by Intelligence agencies, FC and institute its own military judicial process to convict and punish responsible officers and their proxies?

3)      To what extent is the GHQ in control of the intelligence agencies given the turf war between ISI and MI in Balochistan? What will be the reaction of culpable officers to be tried?

4)      To what extent GHQ and Federal Government are willing to address Baloch grievances with an unbiased, apologetic, big hearted approach?

5)      What are the demands of Baloch political and militant groups?

6)      Who will be the members of the negotiating team? TORs and empowerment?

7)      Who will ensure and what are the Guarantees to any agreement for a permanent solution to repeated Balochistan crisis?

Recommendations

1)      a. A unilateral cease fire and general amnesty announced by the Federal Government and GHQ.

b. Withdrawal of all cases against Baloch leadership and militants.

c. Release of all missing persons in the custody of FC, MI, ISI and IB.

d. Announce and implement sincerely compensations for all missing persons killed and those held.

e. Withdraw FC from interior Balochistan to Pak-Afghan-Iran borders to reduce possibility of conflict and violent incidents.

f. Issue Red Warrants for arrest of Musharraf for trial in the case of Akbar Bugti’s murder and have them implemented seriously. D.G. MI, 2006 and military officers who planned and executed the attacks on Akbar also tried in the case with Musharraf. All civil authorities nominated in FIR arrested and tried. The trial must be held in the Balochistan High Court so as to provide provision of appeals in the Supreme Court under due process of law.

g. All proxy assassination gangs, leaders disarmed withdrawal of their service cards, arrested and tried in the High Courts for atrocities, targeted killings, human rights violations.

h. Return and rehabilitate all displaced families of Bugti and Marri tribes. Allow Civil Society organization to access them and help in return and rehabilitation.

i. Open up Balochistan for independent national Media to report from interior. Allow national coverage to vernacular Media.

j. Create scholarships and allocate at least 50 seats for Baloch students in all government Universities in Punjab, Sindh and KPK to expose them to rest of the country.

k. Allocate at least 30 Federal Government positions including Deputy, Additional and Secretaries levels for Balochistan bureaucrats.

All of these CBMs must be implemented simultaneously

1)      JAG, under the supervision of the GHQ, institutes internal inquiry starting from 2006 indentifying the officers who planned and executed these illegal tactics under the Military Operational Code of Conduct and violated the Constitution. These officers then need to be either tried under Court Martial or retired to stand trial in Civil Courts.

2)      This is a decision for the High Command to take and bring under its control both the MI and ISI ensure and assign their duties under the prescribed mandates.

3)      This too is for the High Command and Federal Government to decide if they are willing to mitigate this dangerous situation which could snow ball into an international conflict and disintegrate Pakistan. The gravity of the situation needs to be understood and instead of misplaced bravado or personal interests; national unity, integration and security are to be ensured.

4)      Complete Provincial Autonomy (self rule as envisaged in the Accession document signed by Jinnah and Khan of Kalat) according to International standards, complete control over the natural resources, more representative political inclusion at the Federal level in policy and decision making, provincially driven socio-economic and political development. No attempts to forcefully change the demographics of Balochistan.

5)      The trust deficit between the Baloch and GHQ precludes any member from the Army in the initial negotiating team though could be added later to provide ownership. The team should include members that the Baloch trust. This could be a formulation of retired and serving judges of the Supreme Court, senior lawyers, senior Media Editors, political leaders and workers from Balochistan, Punjab, KPK and Sindh but not political party heads, members of civil society organizations and senior citizens. The GHQ must then announce blessings to the negotiating team and claim ownership. The Terms of Reference and empowerment would have to be worked out according to how far the GHQ and Federal Government are willing to concede the Constitutional Fundamental Rights to Balochistan and other related issue enunciated above. List would depend on agreement to follow this strategy.

6)      What guarantees the Baloch will accept and what the Federation is willing to extend will depend on the negotiations.

English Conduct a Blast on the Moon

A plume of dust and rock that was predicted to reach up to six miles high  was forecast, but in the end those watching the crash on televisions or on the internet saw little evidence of the impact.

However, Nasa did confirm that at 12.31pm British time an empty rocket plunged  into the Moon’s south pole at 1.6 miles per second. A probe followed  close behind to catch debris kicked up by the impact, before crashing  into the surface itself four minutes later.

Instruments on the probe have been designed to scour the impact for evidence of water or ice spraying up.

It is hoped that the readings taken will confirm the  presence of enough water necessary to supply future visits by astronauts.

Scientists hope that the mission will be able to confirm the theory that water  — a key resource if people are going to go back to the Moon — is hidden below the barren moonscape.

The impact site was a 60-mile-wide hole, which lies just a short distance from the Shackleton crater – the proposed location for Nasa’s manned lunar base, which it hopes to have completed by 2024.

Experts insisted, however, that the lack of the expected fireworks from the crash did not mean that the mission was a failure.

Dr Vincent Eke, from the University of Durham, which helped Nasa pick the spot for the collision, said: “If it turns out to be as dull as it looked, I’d imagine the soil just didn’t respond as was hoped to being hit.”

“It might mean we don’t get sufficient data, which would be a shame.”

Dr Robert Massey, from the Royal Astronomical Society, said: “We shouldn’t think if it as some

 kind of failure because if (the probe) got there and analysed the material than that is what it is supposed to do.”

Discovering a potential water supply has obvious benefits for that scheme, not least providing astronauts with a potential reservoir that they can tap into rather than rely on shipments from Earth.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Indian Chandrayaan satellite appeared to confirm the existence of water in the region – subsequently confirmed by data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the vessel that LCROSS hitched a ride into space alongside.

The Cabeus south polar region was identified as a site with high concentrations of hydrogen – a key component of water.

It is believed water ice could lie at the bottom of dark craters at the Moon’s poles, where temperatures are lower than minus 170C.

 

Dr Eke led a study of data from Nasa’s 1998 Lunar Prospector mission which showed that hydrogen was concentrated in permanently shaded craters at the Moon’s polar regions.

If the hydrogen really is a sign of ice, it implies that the craters could hold a total of 200,000 million litres of water.

New findings from three spacecraft, including India’s Chandrayaan-1 probe, showed that small amounts of water might be chemically bound up with the Moon’s soil. 

Prostitution on Pakistan’s TV Channels

نہ صرف پاکستان بلکہ بیشتر نام نہاد مسلمان ممالک کے مرد حضرات شراب و کباب کے رسیا ہیں اور جو چالاک خواتین مردوں کی ان کمزوریوں سے فائدہ اٹھانا جانتی ہیں وہ شارٹ ٹرم میں تو بلندیوں کی انتہاء تک تو جا پہنچتی ہیں لیکن انجام انکا دردناک رونے دھونے سے بھرپور ہی ہوتا ہے۔

جہاں تک پاکستانی ٹی وی چینلز کا تعلق ہے، انکے پاس کوئی واضح ایجنڈا نہیں ہے اور نہ ہی بین الاقوامی میڈیا کا مقابلہ کرنے کی صلاحیت اور پروفیشنل ٹیم، یہی وجہ ہے کہ انڈین چینلز کو تو اخلاق باختہ قرار دیکر پاکستان میں بین کر دیا گیا لیکن مقامی چینلز کو بے حیائی عام کرنے کا ٹاسک مل گیا جو سنجیدہ ترین موضوع پر بھی اناڑی رپورٹر اور نیوز کاسٹر کی خبرنشر کرتے ہوئے انڈین گانا بیک گراؤنڈ میں بجانا ناظرین کو متوجہ کرنے کیلئے اپنی مجبوری سمجھتے ہیں۔

جہاں تک اس بات کا  تعلق ہے کہ بیشتر ٹی وی چینل جسم فروش خواتین سے متعلق پروگرام کیوں پیش کرتے ہیں، اسکی وجہ سادہ سی ہے کہ الیکٹرانک میڈیا میں داخلے اور ترقی کی چابی ماڈرن جسم فروش خواتین کے پاس ہی ہے جو اپنی اداؤں سے نہ صرف سینئیرز کا دل لبھانا جانتی ہیں بلکہ انہیں سیاستدانوں کی کرپشن کی حرام کی کمائی  میں سے اپنا حصہ لینا بھی بخوبی آتا ہے ۔ ہمیشہ ٹی وی چینلز سے نہائت قابل قابل مرد پروفیشنلز کو نکال باہر کردیا جاتا ہے لیکن یہ خواتین مخصوص ہنریافتہ ہونے کی وجہ سے اپنے آپ کو بچا لیتی ہے، جو خواتین کمپرومائز نہیں کرتی، وہ چاہے لاکھ ٹیلینٹڈ ہوں، قابل ہوں، انکا مقدر  بالآخر ایگزٹ ڈور ہی ہوتا ہے۔

پاکستانی نوجوان نسل کو اخلاقی پستی میں گرنے سے بچانے کیلئے نہایت ضروری ہے کہ انہیں ٹی وی سکرین پر چمکتی دمکتی گلیمرس دنیا کے اداکاراؤں کی ذاتی زندگی سے روشناس کرایا جائے،

آخر وہ کیا وجوہات ہیں کہ وینا ملک دنیا بھر میں اپنے فن کے جھنڈے گاڑنے کے باوجود اپنے لئے ایک ایسے مرد تلاش کرنے میں ناکام ہے جو اسے قبول کرلے، دوسری طرف کترینہ کیف بھی اپنی دو ڈیٹس کی ناکامی کے بعد اپنی ماں سے ارینجڈ میرج کا کہہ کر نیک پروین بی بی ثابت کرنا چاہ رہی ہے، ایسے ہی لوگوں کیلئے کہا گیا ہے کہ نوسو چوہے کھا کر بلی حج کو چلی۔

پاکستانی میڈیا کی نام نہاد معزز خواتین کا بھی ایسا ہی حال ہے جو اپنی قابلیت سے نہیں بلکہ اپنی اداؤں سے میڈیا میں اِن ہیں، شارٹ کٹ کی خاطر اپنے کولیگز سے تعلقات رکھتی ہیں ۔  ٹی وی سکرین پر عوام کو اخلاقی بھاشن دینے والے ٹی وی اینکرز نہ صرف  ان سے خفیہ شادیاں رچاتے ہیں بلکہ درجنوں نو وارد جونئیر خواتین صحافیوں پر دستِ شفقت رکھنا اپنا فرض سمجھتے ہیں۔ جب ایسے پست کیریکٹر کے لوگ میڈیا میں ہونگے تو وہ یہ ثابت کرنے کیلئے حمام میں سب ننگے ہیں، جسم فروش خواتین پر ہی پروگرام پیش کرکے عوام کو گمراہ کرنے کے ساتھ ساتھ اپنی ذاتی زندگی کو بھی جسٹیفائی کرنے کی کوشش کرتے ہیں۔

پاکستانی ٹی وی نے بلا شبہ عوام کو بہت شعور دیا لیکن جو شعور نہیں دے سکے وہ یہ ہے کہ نامحرم سے غیرضروری روابط جسمانی، روحانی، اخلاقی، مذہبی، نفسیاتی، معاشرتی، ہر طرح سے انسان کو کمزور کرتے ہیں اور اسکو بزدل بناتے ہیں، ڈر ڈر کر جینے پر مجبور کرتے ہیں۔ اور پلیز  مذہبی لوگوں کو سعودی اور ایرانی اپپورٹڈ حلوہ کھا کر قیلولہ فرمانے دیجیے، انکے بقول یہ سب تو امریکا کی سازش ہے، بھارت چاہتا ہی پاکستانیوں کو کمزور کرنا ہے اور اسرائیل کا ہاتھ ہے ان سب خرافات میں۔۔

ڈ  بھی اپنے سوئے ہوئے ضمیر کو مزید سلائیے، ٹی وی پر جسم فروشی کے آن ائر اور آف آئر زملاحظہکیجیے اور دنیا فتح تو ہو نہیں سکتی ہم پاکستانیوں سے نہ ہی ترقی یافتہ دنیا کا مقابلہ کرسکتے ہیں،  اپنی ہی ہم مذہب کلمہ گو صنفِ نازک کو مسل کر اپنی مردانگی پر فخر کر لینا چاہیے۔

کل مورخہ 27 جون 2012ء پر ڈان نیوز پر جسم فروش عورتوں کے انٹرویو لائیو دکھائے گئے۔ پروگرام کا عنوان تھا۔ جسم فروشی شوق یا مجبوری۔ اس طرح کے پروگرام آئے روز دیگر چینلوں پر بھی نشر ہوتے رہتے ہیں۔ ان پروگرام کو دیکھ کر ایسا لگتا ہے کہ پاکستانی نجی چینل گھروں میں بیٹھی غریب خواتین کو جسم فروشی کا راستہ دکھا رہے ہیں۔ آخر جسم فروش عورتوں کے انٹرویو اتنے ضروری کیوں ہیں کہ آئے روز کوئی نہ کوئی چینل ان عورتوں کو مظلوم بنا کر پیش کررہا ہے؟ اسلام میں زناء کی سزا شادی شدہ ہونے کی صورت میں سنگسار کرنا جبکہ غیر شادی شدہ ہونے کی صورت میں 100 کوڑے ہیں۔ ان پروگراموں میں خواتین کھلے عام یہ اقرار کرتی ہیں کہ وہ جسم فروشی (زناء) کرتی رہی ہیں۔ کروڑوں لوگ ان پروگرام کو دیکھ رہے ہوتے ہیں۔ جب کوئی بھی مرد و عورت زناء کا اقرار کرلے تو اس پر اسلامی قوانین کے مطابق حد جاری ہو جاتی ہے۔ اور اسلامی قوانین کے تحت جسم فروشی (زناء) کی سزا وہی ہے جو اوپر تحریر کردی گئی ہے۔ ایسے ممالک جہاں اسلامی قوانین نافذ ہیں۔ وہاں جب کوئی جوڑا باہمی رضا مندی سے زناء کرتا ہے اور پکڑا جاتا ہے تو سزا کے خوف سے عموماً خواتین یہ بیان دے دیتی ہیں کہ ہمارے ساتھ زبردستی زناء کیا گیا ہے۔ ہماری رضا اس میں شامل نہیں تھی۔ اس بیان کے بعدمذکورہ خاتون پر حد جاری نہیں کی جاتی۔ بے شک اس نے اپنی مرضی سے ہی زناء کیوں نہ کیا ہو۔ اسلام میں زناء کی سزا دینے کے لئے کم از کم تین متقی، پرہیزگار گواہوں کا ہونا بھی ضروری ہے۔ اور وہ زناء کرنے والے جوڑے کو اس حالت میں دیکھیں کہ جیسے سوئی میں دھاگہ ڈالا گیا ہو۔ یہ بہت سخت شرط ہے۔ اس کو پورا کرنا یقیناًبہت مشکل ہے۔ تاہم پاکستان کے نجی چینلوں پر جسم فروش خواتین کھلے عام زناء کرنے کا اقرار بھی کررہی ہیں۔ اور ایسی خواتین کو مظلوم بنا کر پیش کیا جا رہا ہے۔ جو کہ یقیناًلمحہ فکریہ ہے۔ اس مسئلے میں پاکستان کے مذہبی لوگوں نے بھی خاموشی اختیار کررکھی ہے۔

Pakistan’s Tribal Belt Remains a Hub of Regional &International Militancy

A CIA drone strike in Pakistan’s tribal belt killed Al Qaeda’s deputy leader, Abu Yahya al-Libi, dealing another blow to the group in a lawless area that has long been considered the global headquarters of international terrorism but the importance of which may now be slipping.

The details of his death in Hassu Khel, a village in the North Waziristan tribal agency, remained hazy. And it is not the first report that he has been killed: rumors of his death coursed through jihadi Web sites in December 2009 after a similar strike in South Waziristan that American officials claimed had killed a high-ranking figure in Al Qaeda.

Mr. Libi, who was thought to be in his late 40s, was born in Libya, and during the 1990s he was a member of an Islamist group that sought to overthrow Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

His star rose after he escaped from a United States military detention center at Bagram Air Base outside Kabul in July 2005, picking a lock and dodging the prison guards, along with three other Qaeda operatives.

A year later, Mr. Libi released a 54-minute video mocking his American captors — the first of many that would burnish his reputation as a propagandist.

Soon after Bin Laden’s death, Mr. Libi moved up to become Al Qaeda’s deputy, behind Ayman al-Zawahri.

If his death is borne out this time, it would be a milestone in a covert eight-year airstrike campaign that has infuriated Pakistani officials but that has remained one of the United States’ most effective tools in combating militancy.

Libi’s death would be another dramatic moment for an American covert war in Pakistan that has been particularly active over the past year, starting with the death of the group’s founder, Osama bin Laden, in May 2011 and followed up by drone strikes against several senior lieutenants, including Atiyah Abd al-Rahman.

But that very success could, paradoxically, signal a shifting target: as Al Qaeda’s leadership in the tribal belt has been cornered or killed, new efforts to attack Western targets have been mounted by the group’s affiliates in Yemen and Somalia.

While drone strikes offer an attractive short-term tactic against Qaeda militants, they do not present a complete strategy. Until the West tackles Al Qaeda’s ideology, state support and ability to exploit ungoverned space in countries like Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, you’re not going to defeat the organization.

Mr. Libi’s death also raises questions about the center of gravity of Al Qaeda’s global operations. In 2007, the National Intelligence Estimate, a document produced by 16 American intelligence agencies, declared that the tribal belt had become Al Qaeda’s global headquarters. Yet in recent years, some of the most dangerous plots have come from its affiliate in Yemen.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the young Nigerian who tried to detonate a bomb in his underwear as an airliner approached Detroit in December 2009, was trained in the mountains of Yemen. Last September, an American drone attack 90 miles east of the Yemeni capital, Sana, killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an American preacher and jihadist recruiter, and Samir Khan, an American citizen of Pakistani origin.

Some American officials consider Mr. Awlaki’s death to be at least as significant, in counterterrorism terms, as the killing of Mr. Libi. Even in death, Mr. Awlaki’s archived exhortations for jihad are considered a potent force.

Still, Pakistan’s tribal belt remains a hub of regional and international militancy. Faisal Shahzad, who tried to explode a car bomb in Times Square in May 2010, said he had received explosives training from the Pakistani Taliban. Insurgent fighters based in Waziristan regularly attack NATO and Afghan forces in Afghanistan and have been targeted by C.I.A. drones. And Mr. Zawahri, the Qaeda leader, is widely believed to be in Pakistan.

But the strikes are intensely contentious among Pakistan’s political and military elite. In April, Pakistan’s Parliament passed a resolution demanding that the drone campaign immediately stop, but the tempo of strikes picked up greatly after negotiations to reopen NATO supply lines through Pakistan to Afghanistan bogged down last month.

Practically speaking, the drone strikes are a big success. But strategically they are a huge loss. They create more polarization, more enemies, and are an attack on our sovereignty. We have always told the Americans that if anyone should carry out these strikes, it should be us.

 

“Until we tackle Al Qaeda’s ideology, state support and ability to exploit ungoverned space in countries like Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, you’re not going to defeat the organization.”

BILL ROGGIO, the managing editor of The Long War Journal, on the significance of a drone strike in Pakistan that is said to have killed Abu Yahya al-Libi, Al Qaeda’s deputy leader.

Kamran Khan & Hamid Mir’s Statements in the Supreme Court in the Dr Arslan Ifthikar Case

(Statement of Mr. Kamran Khan, Anchor, Executive Director, Geo News, submitted to the Supreme Court on June 07, 2012)

“I would like to state that my attention was first drawn to this subject in the second week of May [2012] when I received an anonymous phone call claiming that Dr. Arsalan Iftikhar son of the Chief Justice of Pakistan is allegedly using his position to extract money from wealthy people whose cases are pending before the Supreme Court of Pakistan. A separate phone caller, two days later, said that Dr Arsalan Iftikhar had

allegedly blackmailed real estate tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain whose case[s] were pending before the Supreme Court. I was also told that Malik Riaz Hussain has also gathered evidence to prove that he has been targeted for blackmail allegedly by Dr Arsalan Iftikhar….… I contacted Malik Riaz Sb with this explicit intention and met him in Karachi in the third week of May  where he basically confirmed the content of the information and after a lot of persuasion agreed to show me the documentary evidence… At a subsequent meeting Malik Riaz Sb showed me the dossiers that carry documents pertaining to Dr Asalan Iftikhar’s summer vacation trips to London over the past three years. There were tenancy agreements signed by Dr Arsalan Iftikhar for five star accomadations  [sic.] in Central London and receipts / invoices showed that the payments were made from the accounts/ credit cards controlled by Malik Riaz Sb or his family members in London.There were documents that also showed that travel and stay arrangements for Dr Arsalan Iftikhar and a female accomplice ( I don’t remember the name) in Monte Carlo were made from the accounts controlled by Mr Malik Riaz or his family members. According to these documents most payments including those of several shoppings made by Dr  Arsalan Iftikhar and other family members at pricey London stores were also made through credit cards owned by Malik Sb’s daughter and son in London…… My lordships I left that meeting with Malik Riaz Sb with  an impression that either he’s hell of a con, a forger par excellence or God forbid the son of the Chief Justice of Pakistan has sold the name of his great father….”

(Statement of Mr. Hamid Mir, Executive Editor, Geo TV, submitted to the Supreme Court on June 6, 2012) 

“On the eve of 31st May, I called Malik Riaz Sahib on phone and expressed my desire to meet him. [That evening] I met him at his residence in Islamabad, around 9:30 pm. His son Ali was also present… Malik Riaz asked someone to bring in  a file which included a set of documents. All the documents were photocopies. And according to Malik Riaz Sahib, [these documents showed that] Arsalan Iftikhar had taken a lot of money from his son and his son-in-law. Malik Riaz said that he also has a number of [incriminating] videos but he did not show me any such video…”

Nestle Mineral Water Production

How Private Bottling Companies Water-Down Education to Boost Profits

Project WET’s supposed mission is a slap in the face to any community that has had its water muscled away by Nestle.

by Wenonah Hauter

While some of these efforts are more insidious than others, they share a common trait.

In each case, advertisers were trying to hook new consumers early to cultivate a sense of brand loyalty to be exploited for years to come.

With the advent of programs ostensibly designed to teach kids about water issues, bottled water companies are getting in on the action. Their tactics flow through an institution that few kids can escape — the classroom.

The best example of this is Project WET.

This non-profit organization claims to educate children and parents about the importance of preserving global water resources. According to its website, “sustainable water management is crucial to secure social and economic stability, as well as a healthy environment.”

That’s certainly true. But Nestlé Waters North America, the organization’s main sponsor, is the last entity that should be empowered to educate the public about responsible water use.

When you consider the bottled water behemoth ‘s track record of hogging global water supplies and profiting from them, Project WET’s supposed mission is a slap in the face to any community that has had its water muscled away by Nestlé.

By its own admission, Nestlé expends 2.37 gallons of water for every gallon of bottled water it produces. The company used approximately 4 billion gallons of water in 2007. That same year, it reduced the amount of water it used by 1.3 percent, but that was more than cancelled out as it increased the volume of bottled water it produced by 10 percent.

Meanwhile, Nestlé buys community water for as little as$ .000081 per gallon, and sells it back to consumers for at least 127,000 times as much.

Pumping all that water comes at a steep price to consumers and the planet. U.S. bottled water consumption used energy equivalent to 32 to 54 million barrels of oil in 2007, enough to fuel approximately 1.5 million cars over the course of a year.

Moreover, 77 percent of all empty plastic water bottles consumed in the United States end up in landfills.

And yet, Nestlé has the audacity to anoint itself a leader in water education.

With over 1.1 billion people in the world lacking access to clean water and sanitation, it’s more important than ever that children learn the connection between the choices they make as consumers and their greater impact on the world. But Nestlé’s brand of water education only greenwashes the company’s own hand in profiting from an increasingly scarce resource to which all humans have a right, while cultivating a new generation of consumers.

Luckily, the Nestlé-funded Project WET isn’t the only water education program in town. We at Food & Water Watch have developed an innovative initiative to teach students that the simple choice of choosing a water fountain over a bottle of water can make a real difference in preserving our shared water resources.

The Take Back the Tap Curriculum uses English, science, math, and social studies to help students draw the connection between the stuff that comes out of their taps at home and that which their peers across the globe sometimes have to walk miles to procure.

As Americans, it’s easy to take drinking water for granted, but this basic resource is central to a complex web of political and environmental issues. We should teach our kids the importance of protecting it. We can’t abdicate that responsibility to corporations with a vested interest in building demand for bottled water.

 

Arundhati Says Her Existence With Her Mother Like That With Another Nuclear State

The Booker prize-winning novelist on her political activism in India, why she no longer condemns violent resistance – and why it doesn’t matter if she never writes a second novel

This is not an ideal beginning. I bump into Arundhati Roy as we are both heading for the loo in the foyer of the large building that houses her publisher Penguin’s offices. There are some authors, V S Naipaul say, with whom this could be awkward. But not Roy, who makes me feel instantly at ease. A few minutes later, her publicist settles us in a small, bare room. As we take our positions on either side of a narrow desk I liken it to an interrogation suite. But she says that in India, interrogation rooms are a good deal less salubrious than this.

Roy, who is 50 this year, is best known for her 1997 Booker prize-winning novel The God of Small Things, but for the past decade has been an increasingly vocal critic of the Indian state, attacking its policy towards Kashmir, the environmental destruction wrought by rapid development, the country’s nuclear weapons program and corruption. As a prominent opponent of everything connected with globalisation, she is seeking to construct a “new modernity” based on sustainability and a defence of traditional ways of life.

Her new book, Broken Republic, brings together three essays about the Maoist guerrilla movement in the forests of central India that is resisting the government’s attempts to develop and mine land on which tribal people live. The central essay, Walking with the Comrades, is a brilliant piece of reportage, recounting three weeks she spent with the guerrillas in the forest. She must, I suggest, have been in great personal danger. “Everybody’s in great danger there, so you can’t go round feeling you are specially in danger,” she says in her pleasant, high-pitched voice. In any case, she says, the violence of bullets and torture are no greater than the violence of hunger and malnutrition, of vulnerable people feeling they’re under siege.

Her time with the guerrillas made a profound impression. She describes spending nights sleeping on the forest floor in a “thousand-star hotel”, applauds “the ferocity and grandeur of these poor people fighting back”, and says “being in the forest made me feel like there was enough space in my body for all my organs”. She detests glitzy, corporate, growth-obsessed modern Indian, and there in the forest she found a brief peace.

There is intense anger in the book, I say, implying that if she toned it down she might find a readier audience. “The anger is calibrated,” she insists. “It’s less than I actually feel.” But even so, her critics call her shrill. “That word ‘shrill’ is reserved for any expression of feeling. It’s all right for the establishment to be as shrill as it likes about annihilating people.”

Is her political engagement derived from her mother, Mary Roy, who set up a school in Kerala and has a reputation as a women’s rights activist? “She’s not an activist,” says Roy. “I don’t know why people keep saying that. My mother is like a character who escaped from the set of a Fellini film.” She laughs at her own description. “She’s a whole performing universe of her own. Activists would run a mile from her because they could not deal with what she is.”

I want to talk more about Mary Roy – and eventually we do – but there’s one important point to clear up first. Guerrillas use violence, generally directed against the police and army, but sometimes causing injury and death to civilians caught in the crossfire. Does she condemn that violence? “I don’t condemn it any more,” she says. “If you’re an adivasi [tribal Indian] living in a forest village and 800 CRP [Central Reserve Police] come and surround your village and start burning it, what are you supposed to do? Are you supposed to go on hunger strike? Can the hungry go on a hunger strike? Non-violence is a piece of theatre. You need an audience. What can you do when you have no audience? People have the right to resist annihilation.”

Her critics label her a Maoist sympathiser. Is she? “I am a Maoist sympathiser,” she says. “I’m not a Maoist ideologue, because the communist movements in history have been just as destructive as capitalism. But right now, when the assault is on, I feel they are very much part of the resistance that I support.”

Roy talks about the resistance as an “insurrection”; she makes India sound as if it’s ripe for a Chinese or Russian-style revolution. So how come we in the west don’t hear about these mini-wars? “I have been told quite openly by several correspondents of international newspapers,” she says, “that they have instructions – ‘No negative news from India’ – because it’s an investment destination. So you don’t hear about it. But there is an insurrection, and it’s not just a Maoist insurrection. Everywhere in the country, people are fighting.” I find the suggestion that such an injunction exists – or that self-respecting journalists would accept it – ridiculous. Foreign reporting of India might well be lazy or myopic, but I don’t believe it’s corrupt.

She sounds like a member of a religious sect, I say, as if she has seen the light. “It’s a way of life, a way of thinking,” she replies without taking offence. “I know people in India, even the modern young people, understand that here is something that’s alive.” So why not give up the plush home in Delhi and the media appearances, and return to the forest? “I’d be more than happy to if I had to, but I would be a liability to them in the forest. The battles have to be fought in different ways. The military side is just one part of it. What I do is another part of the battle.”

I question her absolutism, her Manichaean view of the world, but I admire her courage. Her home has been pelted with stones; the Indian launch of Broken Republic was interrupted by pro-government demonstrators who stormed the stage; she may be charged with sedition for saying that Kashmiris should be given the right of self-determination. “They are trying to keep me destabilised,” she says. Does she feel threatened? “Anybody who says anything is in danger. Hundreds of people are in jail.”

Roy has likened writing fiction and polemic to the difference between dancing and walking. Does she not want to dance again? “Of course I do.” Is she working on a new novel? “I have been,” she says with a laugh, “but I don’t get much time to do it.” Does it bother her that the followup to The God of Small Things has been so long in coming? “I’m a highly unambitious person,” she says. “What does it matter if there is or isn’t a novel? I really don’t look at it that way. For me, nothing would have been worth not going into that forest.”

It’s hard to judge whether there will be a second novel. The God of Small Things drew so much on her own life – her charismatic but overbearing mother; a drunken tea-planter father whom her mother left when Roy was very young; her own departure from home in her late teens – that it may be a one-off, a book as much lived as written. She gives ambiguous answers about whether she expects a second novel to appear. On the one hand, she says she is engaged with the resistance movement and that it dominates her thoughts. But almost in the same breath she says others have “picked up the baton” and she would like to return to fiction, to dance again.

What is certain is that little of the second novel has so far been written. She prefers not to tell me what it is about; indeed, she says it would not be possible to pinpoint the theme. “I don’t have subjects. It’s not like I’m trying to write an anti-dam novel. Fiction is too beautiful to be about just one thing. It should be about everything.” Has she been blocked by the pressure of having to follow up a Booker winner? “No,” she says. “We’re not children all wanting to come first in class and win prizes. It’s the pleasure of doing it. I don’t know whether it will be a good book, but I’m curious about how and what I will write after these journeys.”

Are her agent and publisher disappointed still to be waiting for the second novel? “They always knew there wasn’t going to be some novel-producing factory,” she says. “I was very clear about that. I don’t see the point. I did something. I enjoyed doing it. I’m doing something now. I’m living to the edges of my fingernails, using everything I have. It’s impossible for me to look at things politically or in any way as a project, to further my career. You’re injected directly into the blood of the places in which you’re living and what’s going on there.”

She has no financial need to write another novel. The God of Small Things, which sold more than 6m copies around the world, set her up for life, even though she has given much of the money away. She even spurned offers for the film rights, because she didn’t want anyone interpreting her book for the screen. “Every reader has a vision of it in their head,” she says, “and I didn’t want it to be one film.” She is strong-willed. Back in 1996, when The God of Small Things was being prepared for publication, she insisted on having control of the cover image because she didn’t want “a jacket with tigers and ladies in saris”. She is her indomitable mother’s daughter.

I insist she tell me more about her Fellini-esque mother. She is, says Roy, like an empress. She has a number of buttons beside her bed which, when you press them, emit different bird calls. Each call signals to one of her retinue what she requires. Has she been the centre of her daughter’s life? “No, she has been the centre of a lot of conflict in my life. She’s an extraordinary woman, and when we are together I feel like we are two nuclear-armed states.” She laughs loudly. “We have to be a bit careful.”

To defuse the family tensions, Roy left home when she was 16 to study architecture in Delhi – even then she wanted to build a new world. She married a fellow student at the age of 17. “He was a very nice guy, but I didn’t take it seriously,” she says. In 1984 she met and married film-maker Pradip Krishen, and helped him bring up his two daughters by an earlier marriage. They now live separately, though she still refers to him as her “sweetheart”. So why separate? “My life is so crazy. There’s so much pressure and idiosyncrasy. I don’t have any establishment. I don’t have anyone to mediate between me and the world. It’s just based on instinct.” I think what she’s saying is that freedom matters more to her than anything else.

She chose not to have children because it would have impinged on that freedom. “For a long time I didn’t have the means to support them,” she says, “and once I did I thought I was too unreliable. So many of the women in India who are fighting these battles don’t have children, because anything can happen. You have to be light on your feet and light in your head. I like to be a mobile republic.”

Roy has in the past described herself as “a natural-born feminist”. What did she mean by that? “Because of my mother and the way I grew up without a father to look after me, you learned early on that rule number one was look out for yourself. Much of what I can do and say now comes from being independent at an early age.” Her mother was born into a wealthy, conservative Christian community in Kerala, but put herself outside the pale by marrying Ranjit Roy, a Hindu from West Bengal. When she returned to her home state after her divorce she had little money and was thus doubly marginalised. The mother eventually triumphed over all these obstacles and made a success of the school she founded, but growing up an outsider has left its mark on her daughter.

Roy says she has always been polemical, and points to her run-in with director Shekhar Kapur in the mid-1990s over his film Bandit Queen – she questioned whether he had the right to portray the rape of a living person on screen without that woman’s consent. It may be that the novel is the exception in a life of agitation, rather than the agitation an odd outcrop in a life of fiction-writing. But has she sacrificed too much for the struggle – the chance to dance, children, perhaps even her second marriage? “I don’t see any of these things as sacrifices,” she says. “They are positive choices. I feel surrounded by love, by excitement. They are not being done in some martyr-like way. When I was walking through the forest with the comrades, we were laughing all the time.”