Dr Riaz Ahmed and an inclusive Pakistan

Progressive voices who strive to promote critical discourses on politics, democracy and the economy in Pakistan have always been victimised. This has not only occurred under dictatorial regimes but also under so-called democratic and civilian governments.

Sanity and nonconformity to an imposed uniformity has become a sin and those who commit it have always been maligned and considered a threat to national security. Although the constitution guarantees freedom of expression, progressives in Pakistan have been considered pariahs and the space for critical thinking has shrunk over the years. As a result, the narrowly-defined policy narrative of national security has gradually given birth to a centrifugal drift, causing an irreversible loss to nation-building, democratisation and equitable economic development.

For most of us, the devolution of power to provinces was a positive step towards an inclusive mode of governance. But it only formalised disparities and created a decentralised despotism where inept and corrupt provincial governments were given a freehand to persecute genuine voices for democracy and inclusive socioeconomic development.

Unrestrained by any legal and political accountability, the state can pick anyone it deems a threat to national security. The repressive treatment that was once meted out to a Baloch is now a national phenomenon that prevails from Gilgit to Gwadar. This phenomenon of harassment and fear-mongering has become so widespread across Pakistan that even university teachers, journalists and social media activists are not safe anymore.

Dr Riaz Ahmad’s arrest in Karachi on April 1 came as a shock. He was on his way to hold a press conference on the extrajudicial detention of a retired professor of history, Dr Hassan Zafar Arif, and was arrested for alleged association with the MQM-London. Dr Riaz Ahmad’s arrest was so farcical that anyone who happens to know him can only be amused at the allegations levelled against him. Even Dr Riaz’s opponents appreciate his principled stance as one of the most consistent, articulate and ardent critics of the MQM and its fascist tendencies and politics of violence. I was stunned when it was revealed that ‘association’ with the MQM-London was the initial reason for his arrest.

This is arguably the most unbecoming accusation against a progressive political activist who is considered to be one of the bravest dissenting voices against the politics of the MQM and the policies pursued by the establishment. He is perhaps among the sanest of the many voices that have played a pivotal role in helping liberate the Mohajir community of Karachi from fear-mongering by the MQM and repression by the state. Dr Riaz has been among the leading political activists who expose the repressive means employed by traditional political parties to control the city and to distract people from real issues such as poverty, income disparity, unemployment and environmental degradation.

I met Dr Riaz Ahmad for the first time in 1998 when I was a student of international relations at Karachi University and he had just returned from South Korea after completing his postdoctorate in applied chemistry. We had a long association of four years. During this period, I had the opportunity to learn a great deal through his political acumen, analytical depth and intrepidity to challenge the parochial but dominant nationalist and religious groups on campus. He has been a staunch supporter of issue-oriented politics with an international perspective of capitalism as a system of exploitation and underdevelopment. I was impressed by his ability to contextualise the anti-globalisation movements of 1999, which started from Seattle and Davos and sought to achieve economic equality, fair trade, environmental protection and economic protectionism for developing countries like Pakistan.

Dr Riaz laid the foundation for the International Socialist Group at Karachi University. As a student of international politics, I was among those lucky few who had the opportunity to participate in those critical discussions on international relations, politics and the global economy, which underlined the significance of the political struggle for democracy, human rights and freedom of expression. He has been an inspiration for young students who wanted to contribute towards promoting democratic politics on campus. For many of these young students and teachers, he remained an epitome of resistance against corruption, the privatisation of education and the tenure-track system of ad hoc employment at the university.

Dr Riaz has been one of the most vocal advocates of the rights of teachers, students and the oppressed working class of Pakistan. As a man of practice, he demonstrated that a mere interpretation of the abysmal state of affairs does not suffice if it is not backed by a practical struggle against the oppression and exploitation of the excluded and disadvantaged classes of Pakistan. He condemned the MQM and other nationalist groups for reducing genuine political and economic issues to territorial and ethnocentric concerns as well as for their divisive role in dislodging the collective struggle of the working class against political repression and economic exploitation. That is exactly why he has been disliked by the MQM and other nationalist groups alike and equally disliked by the establishment for his courage to speak truth to power.

When it was obvious that his association with the MQM-London could not be established, he was accused of possessing an illegal firearm. He was then handed over to the police to silence those who questioned the inefficiency of the information-sharing system within the security apparatus.

Dr Riaz’s arrest and the allegations that were subsequently levelled against him have two dimensions. First, it reflects the inefficiency in communication and coordination of our security and law-enforcement system. How could incorrect information be provided about Dr Riaz – and thereby serve the basis for his sudden arrest – without being verified by those who issued the order to arrest him as a security threat? If it is a matter of communication and efficiency alone, it may not be such a big deal. That can be improved and one can give the benefit of doubt to security personnel for being a bit clumsy. The second dimension is that if the arrest was a deliberate attempt to keep Dr Riaz and his comrades from raising genuine concerns against the illegal detention of political activists, that is not a good sign for the nascent democracy of Pakistan.

This incident also raised questions over the unwarranted detention of several political activists across Pakistan, including the arrest of young political activists in the Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan in the recent past. These political activists were accused of possessing illegal weapons and sabotaging projects initiated under CPEC. They have not been given a chance to express their views, defend their civic rights and avail legal options as guaranteed under the constitution. These extrajudicial actions will weaken the system of democracy that is gradually taking root in Pakistan.

In order to strengthen democracy in Pakistan, we need to think about broadening our perspectives on national security and accept that progressives like Dr Riaz Ahmad can take us a step forward towards building an inclusive and egalitarian Pakistan. We hope that justice will prevail and the case against Dr Riaz Ahmad is dropped.

The writer is a freelance columnist based in Islamabad.

Email: ahnihal@yahoo.com