Contempt for humans
Sultan Shahin
The Hindustan Times
June 22, 1999
Title: Contempt for humans
Author: Sultan Shahin
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: June 22, 1999
Pakistan sending the mutilated bodies of our soldiers has shocked the
nation beyond belief. But it came as no surprise to me, having spent
a month in Pakistan recently and observed how the people in that
god-forsaken country - from the killing fields of Karachi, Laalu Khet
and Orangi town, to the manicured lawns of Islamabad's elegant houses
- live in terror of what they call "agencies", alluding to their
numerous intelligence organisations.
In fact Pakistani establishment had given ample indication of the
contempt in which it holds even its own citizens including the most
respected of media persons only recently. Ale arrest and torture of
Najam Sethi, the editor of Friday Times and the earlier incarceration
of Rahmat Shah Afridi, the editor-in-chief and proprietor of two
dailies, The Frontier Post and Maidan, or the public thrashing of
Mariana Babbar and other journalists protesting the closure of Jang
and The News - all point to the same barbaric nature of the people who
run Pakistan.
There can be no better way of knowing the nature of a state than to
see how it treats its own citizens. Some apologists for Pakistan had
dismissed the massacre of close to a million East Pakistanis in 1971
as an aberration that had been perpetrated under extreme pressure.
But until today no section of the Pakistani society is safe from the
depredations of this murderous force.
It is ironical that the Mohajirs, the Muslim refugees from India who
were in the forefront of the movement for the creation of Pakistan,
live the most miserable life in Pakistan today. I heard harrowing
tales of police and army brutality from several Mohajirs, some of them
highly-placed officials, writers and academics. Scenes of Liaqatabad
streets strewn with hundreds of dead bodies, head-less or with faces
charred beyond recognition, of their relatives and neighbours who had
been picked up by the Army earlier, for weeks on end, during the many
'clean-up' operations since 1993, remain etched in the memory of every
Mohajir in Karachi and Hyderabad.
As for the plight of Christian and Hindu minorities, the less said the
better. I met two Hindu doctors from Quetta in Peshawar. They
narrated stories of the reign of terror unleashed by the Muslim League
supporters, even ministers and members of Mr Nawaz Sharif's family,
who personally led campaigns vandalising temples following the
demolition of Babri masjid in India. Most of these temples are still
to be renovated. Their stories of discrimination in various walks of
life were confirmed by well-meaning Muslims, some of whom had even
tried to stop wrecking of temples at grave personal risks. No Hindu
is at any key position in the government. They are looked upon with
suspicion. Stories of conversion to Islam through the lure of
employment or marriage abound.
A number of International human rights organisations, newspapers, NGOs
and even governments have condemned the massive violations of human
rights in Pakistan. The annual reports of the Human Rights Commission
of Pakistan (HRCP), the US State Department and Amnesty International
speak of a society that is sick at its core. The saddest fact,
however, is that no change is discernible after all these years. This
was clear from the US State Department's report for 1998 released
recently, though the Pakistan Foreign Office lashed out at the report
calling it ,exaggerated' and 'inaccurate'.
The latest report of the HRCP (1998) released by chairperson Asma
Jahangir on March 9, 1999, points out that while the routine
violations of the human rights of women, children, bonded labour,
minorities, prisoners, Press, etc. continued, the government of Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif added to the miserable list new concerns like
concentration of power in his own hands, the degradation of the
judiciary by attempts to set up parallel judicial systems, new
pressures on the Press, mishandling of the economy and the
introduction of an ordinance raj, thus degrading democratic
institutions like the National Assembly, particularly the Senate where
it does not have a majority. Apparently the situation is getting
worse. The report of the HRCP (1997) had concluded: "...no change was
in evidence. The drift seemed only to be advancing and the
distortions hardening." The latest report seems to confirm the
pessimistic conclusion of the 1996 Report: "There are scarcely any
signs yet that the contents of this series of our annual surveys will
change much in the near future."
What makes it infinitely worse is that Pakistan claims to be an
Islamic state. This is something Muslims all over the world should
decry in the strongest terms the way Muslims in India are already
doing. Muslims pride themselves on their religion, Islam, having
virtually invented the concept of human rights, huqooqul ibaad, 14
centuries before it became fashionable. Indeed the Holy Quran places
huqooqul ibaad above huqooqullah, rights of Allah. While in His mercy
and compassion, Allah may forgive any transgressions in our duties
towards Him. He will not be able to intervene in the matters of
violations of human rights. This is perhaps the only power the
Almighty has not given Himself. Only the victims of these violations
will be able to forgive on the Day of Judgement; but, they will not be
able to recognise, much less forgive, even their near and dear ones on
that Day.
This being the theological position of Islam, one would have expected
a Muslim country, particularly one that claims to be Islamic, to
provide a shining example of respect for human rights. Unfortunately,
the situation is just the opposite. Pakistan cannot become an Islamic
country merely by claiming to implement Islamic Shariat laws, that too
under the guardianship of a corrupt, brutal, sadistic and
irresponsible law-enforcement machinery.
The only saving grace is that Pakistan can boast of a strong and
vibrant human rights movement. The presence of many courageous souls
in the Pakistani media who highlight some of the grossest violations
of human rights at grave personal and professional risk is indeed
laudable. It is thanks to these intrepid souls, many of them women,
that we are at least aware of the abysmal state of human rights in
that country. As a religious person, 1 find it most depressing,
however, that the inspiration of most of those people involved in
struggling for human rights, does not come from Islam; their
convictions come mostly from Marxist and Western liberal traditions.
Those who claim to be Islamicists are, by and large, among those who
perpetrate violations of the human rights of virtually every section
of the society.
The first step towards the amelioration of any evil is its exposure.
Evil must be unmasked. Ibis is the highest form of Jihad. Muslims
everywhere should try and help expose the evil deeds of regimes that
claim to be implementing Islamic Shariat.
It is particularly important for Muslims living as minorities, that
they show their utmost solidarity towards the weaker sections,
specially the religious minorities, in Muslim-majority countries.
Whenever a Taslima Nasreen or an Asma Jahangir rises in defence of
Hindu or Christian minorities in Bangladesh or Pakistan, it
strengthens their own case for being treated with respect as a Muslim
minority. What a pity that most of us Indian Muslims do not seem to
realise this!
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