Is there some strange or symbiotic relationship between Operation Zarb-e-Azb and incidents of honour killing? In other words, would the success of an operation against terrorism and violent extremism be in doubt if there are more instances of brutal killings of young women by members of their own families?
Before going further in this rather dubious direction, let me point out that both issues are included in this week’s news bouquet. On Wednesday, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt-Gen Asim Bajwa gave a detailed briefing on gains made by Operation Zarb-e-Azb on the completion of two years of the campaign.
And there was this headline in the Friday issue of this newspaper: “Pregnant woman killed for love marriage”. The details are horrific. This young woman, Muqaddas, had married a man of her choice three years ago against the will of her family and was expecting her second child when her mother and brother met her at the clinic she was visiting and persuaded her to come home with them.
According to reports, when Muqaddas reached her father’s house, in a village near Gujranwala, her father, mother and brother attacked her and cut her throat with a knife. She is said to have died on the spot. This tragedy stands out a bit because last week another young woman was killed by her mother in Lahore for the same ‘crime’. She was beaten and set on fire. On Sunday, a girl was killed by her brother in Sialkot because she was insisting to marry a man of her choice. A number of similar incidents have been reported in recent weeks.
On the second anniversary of the launching of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, the chief of ISPR stated: “Eventually, the objective is a terror-free Pakistan. The state has to target extremism because extremism has a nexus with terrorism. This has to be done”.
The message here is obvious. While the armed forces have made gains in their operation against terrorist networks, particularly in the treacherous locale of North Waziristan, the civilian government has not made much headway with the implementation of the National Action Plan. A specific reference has been made to extremism that manifestly breeds terrorism.
So, if the focus is on the extremist mindset of the Pakistani society, what else would fall within its ambit besides terrorism? We have some indications of the scope of the National Action Plan in its 20 points. We have to remember that while Operation Zarb-e-Azb was prompted by major incidents of terrorism in the country, with the deadly attack on Karachi airport serving as an accelerator, the National Action Plan was framed in the wake of the soul-destroying massacre of the students of Peshawar’s Army Public School on the already ominous date of December 16, six months after the operation was launched.
Thus, the campaign against terrorists enlarged into a comprehensive movement to rid the nation of not just terrorist networks but also of extremism and intolerance. The idea was to cut out the roots of terrorist violence and create social harmony. Gen Bajwa, in his encounter with the media, referred to some clauses of the Plan that related to the revival of a counterterrorism authority, ban on formation of armed militias, restriction on resurfacing of banned organisations and regulation of the coverage of terrorism in the media.
There is a lot more in the plan in the context of suppressing hate speech and material as well as sectarian violence. The criticism that comes from the military quarters against the civilians is that the government has not kept its part of the bargain. This would mean that we are winning the war on one front and not moving ahead on the other front that impacts upon on our social mores and mentality.
Consider now the existence of dark passions that compel traditional families to literally enslave their girls and women. Do these passions not spring from the same roots that also nurture extremism and hatred for the ‘other’? In a sense, the status of women in a society is a good measure of its level of civilisation in the context of tolerance and peace. After the killings in a gay nightclub in Orlando, it has been observed that terrorists usually abuse their women.
We have impressive statistics about what the military missions in different parts of the country have done. A mention is also made of the improved law and order in Karachi. But it is also suggested that Operation Zarb-e-Azb is a work in progress. Its eventual success will depend on the commitment of the civilian rulers to set things right.
Alas, our politicians have little time to attend to this crucial assignment because they are fighting on another front. A deadly confrontation is building up between the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the opposition parties. This new round began with the leaks embedded in the Panama Papers released in early April. Nawaz Sharif is under severe attack and it does not help the ruling party that he had to leave for London for his open heart surgery.
There is bound to be a debate on this somewhat incongruous situation that the prime minister is in London for well over three weeks, inviting comments that it is a government in exile. After a deadlock in the parliamentary committee formed to frame terms of reference for the judicial commission on the Panama leaks, the stage is set for political agitation to, ostensibly, overthrow the present arrangement. For the opposition politicians, this is another work in progress. This time, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the PPP, is also breathing fire.
Yes, the month of Ramazan provides some respite. Imran Khan, who fancies himself as the captain of the opposition team, has again given the government a sort of ultimatum – that it has only until Eid to initiate meaningful negotiations. After Eid, he plans to stage Dharna II, a replay of the show he had put up in 2014. This time, he promises, it will be much bigger. Recently, he had vowed to bring out 10 percent of the citizens out on the streets. It is sad that we absolutely have no sense of numbers.
Look across the entire scene and it is not a pretty sight. Some very urgent matters, including the task of renovating an extremist and obscurantist society, are set aside by our leaders as they wholeheartedly submit themselves to the frivolity of partisan politics. Meanwhile, the military is content with conducting its own operations.
The writer is a senior journalist.
Email: ghazi_salahuddinhotmail.com