Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

By Fazal Mehmood

By B.K. Chum

Ominous signs are again emerging in Punjab. The reference is not to the acute-becoming-chronic financial crisis, declining tax revenue and small savings collections or the fall in the state's growth rate and per capita income, or protests by some sections of employees against non-payment of salaries and poor wages. Nor is the reference to the state's deteriorating . ...more.

Terror theatre
shifts to UP

By Sunita Vakil

The repeated terror strikes in Uttar Pradesh appear to indicate what some intelligence inputs have long been hinting at-that the theatre of Jihadi terror has shifted out of Jammu and Kashmir to the heartland which is fast becoming a happy hunting ground for Islamic terrorists.Tuesday's terror strike on a CRPF training facility in ...more

EDITORIAL

Gone with the wind

The resignation of School Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed has not come a day too early. His dilly-dallying after the disclosure by independent legislator Shoaib Lone that he had paid Rs 40000 as bribe to him has not exactly covered him with glory. Possibly, however, it is not as much this allegation as the police inquiry into a telephonic threat to Mr Lone's mother that seems to have eventually cooked his goose. Mr Lone had stunned the Assembly by asserting that he had greased the Minister's palm: "Who says there is no corruption in the State. Even the Civil Secretariat, which is the seat of the Government, has become a hub of corruption. I was forced to pay Rs 40000 to a special assistant of a Cabinet Minister to get my sister's genuine work done in the Civil Secretariat. The Minister through the special assistant even told me that I had been given 20 per cent rebate for being MLA. Otherwise I had to squeeze out more money to get the job done." The special assistant turns out to be actually a driver in the Board of Secondary Education (BOSE). Mr Lone knew the driver. The latter had worked with his father Ghulam Nabi Lone who was Minister of State for Education when he was assassinated in October 2005. Mr Lone was keen on getting approval for Elementary Teachers Training (ETT) course in Subhana Educational Trust (Baramulla) run by his sister's husband. Having failed to pull the right strings despite being an elected representative he shared his woes with the driver who apparently was well known to his family. The driver told him that the Minister's wife had fixed Rs 50000 as the price for granting ETT courses. He then took upon himself to speak to the Minister and his wife and fixed the deal at a 20 per cent rebate. A visibly hurt Mr Lone poured his heart out in the Assembly but withheld the Minister's identity saying that he would reveal it only to the Chief Minister. He did not realise that he had already rubbed salt into someone's wounds. There was, according to him, a warning to his mother on telephone: "Your son has defamed us. My husband has good connections in New Delhi. Your son will have to face consequences." The intimidatory call had been made from the mobile of the driver who had acted as the conduit between Mr Lone and the Minister. The legislator passed on the mobile number to the Chief Minister who in turn put the police on the hunt. The driver has since been arrested and subjected to close questioning. What has followed is in the domain of public knowledge. Peerzada has tried to take a high moral ground saying that with his resignation he has paved the way for a free and fair inquiry. On the other hand, Mr Lone is not totally satisfied. His argument is that the Minister's wife and not the driver ought to have been booked.

One hopes that the law will take its full course. Normally it is seen that in corruption cases involving the high and the mighty the probes are given up half way through. This is not the first time that Peerzada is in the eye of a storm. Not very long ago his name had figured in the multi-crore panchayat ghar electrification scam. The State Accountability Commission, which was at that time headed by Justice R.P.Sethi (he has since passed away), had initiated inquiry against him. Instead of cooperating Peerzada had approached the Governor seeking the removal of Justice Sethi from the Commission on the ground that he was "biased". Peerzada's unceremonious exit in the beginning of an election year is not good news for the Congress. Skeletons in his cupboard are bound to rattle now. It is not for nothing that all opposition parties in the Assembly have rallied behind young Mr Lone, They know that they have got a big stick with which to beat the ruling coalition in the build-up to the elections. It is therefore, logical to presume that Peerzada is in for another blow. Only the naïve will give him any chance of holding his other important charge as president of the Pradesh Congress at such critical juncture. Peerzada's bid to underline a distinction between the Government and the party in this matter will not convince anyone. It is a matter of time before he gets the boot.

Shakespeare says in Macbeth: "Nothing in his life became him like leaving of it." Often we interpret it these days to hail the members of the political class who quit their offices when faced with a choice between defending their self-respect and facing disgrace. Their manner of bidding good-bye draws wide praise. One wishes that one could say the same about Peerzada. At another level his departure would at best become a talking point. It would not allay public perception about corruption which requires a far more extensive surgery to be uprooted lock, stock and barrel.

Another chapter

By formally joining the Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq-led Hurriyat Conference Democratic Freedom Party supremo Shabir Shah has begun another phase in his turbulent political career. He has justified his decision: "We are at a crucial stage of the freedom movement. We swim together. We sink together." In fairness to him he has always been in favour of unity of separatists. At the same time he has been consistently supportive of dialogue among all regions and sections of the people. Obviously he finds the moderate Hurriyat an appropriate forum for translating his thinking into action. That he has accepted the Mirwaiz as "our chairman" shows that he means well by his new allies. However, it will surprise those who have seen him holding sway over the masses in his own right at one point in time. To say that Mr Shah has returned to the Hurriyat will be wrong. It is not the same conglomeration that he was forced to leave in the 1990s. The Mirwaiz Hurriyat is one of the two factions and both the groups don't include such outfits as the Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and Jamaat-e-islami (JeI). All of them were together in the original formidable version of the Hurriyat. Mr Shah's style of politics is not contentious. He is soft-spoken but unyielding. However, he has not made any breakthrough after forming the DFP. He may have made the latest move to rediscover his relevance.

Future of democracy in Pak

By Fazal Mehmood

The Pakistan Army Chief, General Kayani, is trying to refurbish the image of his men as if they are innocent lambs in the power game, and in no manner in league with either Al Qaida or the Taliban marauders. It is for nothing that the US President, George W. Bush (Junior) has threatened to strike the hideouts of Al Qaida and Taliban enjoying the hospitality of ISI of Pakistan. Contrary to what General Kayani is trying to achieve his predecessor and the former Army Chief, Pervez Musharraf, now a civilian President has shown his anger against George Bush. It is something like abusing the benefactor.

There is a feeling in Islamabad that if Pakistani rulers don't pay heed to what America wants the US forces might take direct action against the Al Qaida elements operating from the tribal region adjoining Afghanistan. The "thinking" on those lines probably drew some inspiration from Parvez Musharraf seeking the assistance of experts from Scotland Yard in investigating the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, but rightly has Islamabad scotched such moves: for two valid reasons.

Permitting American military action on its soil would be a denigrating compromise of national honour and sovereignty, particularly since western forces are ever reluctant to withdraw from what they deem incompetently administered states. On a more practical plane nothing would be more provocative to the jihadis-with or without Al Qaida links-than the entry of the American military into a region that has traditionally been fierce about its own brand of independence. Musharraf (and Benazir Bhutto too) has already paid a price for appearing to jitterbug with the Americans. That US political leaders publicly indicate that their Pakistan-policy is solely dictated by their own narrow interests only adds to their offering what Imran Khan rightly described as the "kiss of death".

The problem, however, is that Musharraf has yet to convince the international community that his commitment to fight terrorism is more than merely verbal. India has ever had reason to doubt his sincerity: he insisted that the militants in Jammu and Kashmir were "freedom fighters" and was either unwilling or unable to snap the ISI's links with the tanzeems unleashing violence on the Indian side of the LoC. Only now, after billions of dollars seem to have gone down the drain, has the west come to realise that things are not radically different regarding terrorists operating to the west of the Khyber Pass. The only terrorists/fundamentalists against whom action has been taken are those who have threatened Musharraf himself. Now that the cover has virtually been blown, Pakistan will have few options but to prove itself to the west. Or find it increasingly difficult to stick to its stance that no foreign troops will operate in its territory.

The real target of President Bush's cleansing should be Pakistan. Unlike its larger eastern neighbour, which cast a spell on outsiders, first as a spiritual haven and subsequently as a breeding ground for clever nerds. Pakistan has spent the major part of its 60-year existence as an afterthought. It lacked the civilisational draw of India and never quite captured the rugged romance of Afghanistan. It existed as an appendage to both the Moghul inheritance and the noble savagery that defined life along the Khyber Pass. Pakistan was perched somewhere in between. It was neither modernist nor secular like Turkey, nor was it defined by medievalism like Saudi Arabia.

Ideally, Pakistan should have either gone to pieces or forced to come to terms with responsible global citizenship after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Afghanistan's descent into tribal and faith-inspired anarchy. Instead, it chose to emerge from the protective shadows of global powers by becoming the covert operations centre of an Islamist resurgence its adherents felt would eventually overwhelm a decadent West.

In the 15-years or so between the time the Soviet Union's defeat in Afghanistan became a waiting game and Osama bin Laden's assault on mainland America on September 11, 2001, Pakistan refashioned itself as the praetorian guard of the Islamic ummah. Americans believed Pakistan was no rogue state acting in splendid isolation. Its undercover nuclear programme was financed by a consortium that comprised unsuspecting American taxpayers, greedy European and South African businessmen, the Chinese military establishment, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Libya. The programme was also undertaken with the tacit approval and logistical facilitation of the authorities in Dubai, Sudan, Syria and Iraq. Its beneficiaries included the worldwide network of jihadis that operated from the strategic depths of Afghanistan.

The Taliban regime that controlled Kabul after 1996 was nothing but an extension of Pakistan's larger strategic design. Kabul's effectiveness in the global jihad would have been minimal had the commitment of its own fighters and the international brigade stationed in the camps not been supplemented by the expertise of Pakistan's military and intelligence wings. It is significant, for example, that the trail of many of the 9/11 bombers invariably led back to Pakistan. It is also noteworthy that Osama bin Laden's dramatic escape from the Tora Bora caves in early 2002 was organized by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the ISI's favourite Afghan warlord. On the face of it, the jihadi trail to Pakistan led to a few theological seminaries, a handful of extremist groups, some dodgy foundations and a handful of retired Pakistan army officers.

The US dream of ushering in a democratic Pakistan is an illusion, and Benazir Bhutto paid the price at the behest of her American mentors to do the job on their behalf. One does not know how many more heads will roll before Pakistan embraces democracy in a true sense. Yes, there can be engineered democracy in future as it was in the past. INAV

Punjab-ominous signs of terror

By B.K. Chum

What are emitting alarming signals are the attempts to generate an atmosphere of fundamentalism and religious extremism like the one generated in the early eighties that had acted as a ground for terrorism and also the reports of ISI-trained militants again becoming active in Punjab. Leave aside the remnant fringe and hitherto virtually isolated elements whose fundamentalist or separatist utterances used to be the voices in the wilderness that never evoked popular responses. The tragedy is that those enjoying patronage of the ruling Akali leadership like the SGPC are now playing a leading role in creating such an atmosphere.

After the suppression of terrorism by the Beant Singh government and restoration of peace in the state, sporadic instances used to be reported of some Sikh religious and even Akali leaders attending the bhog ceremonies of slain terrorists. But these were treated as post-terrorism aberrations. Even after the Parkash Singh Badal-led Akali-BJP government last came to power in 1997, such instances continued to be reported though with lesser frequency. These, however, seldom attracted serious attention mainly for three reasons: the Akali Dal's switching over to a moderate political line, BJP becoming its ruling partner and Akali leaders and religious leaders enjoying their patronage adopting a low-profile on the issue of terrorists' bhog' ceremonies.

However, events of the past few weeks show the situation is changing. Contradictions in the top ruling Akali leadership's professions and actions are contributing to the creation of an atmosphere of religious extremism and fundamentalism. Ironically, all this is being justified under the cover of describing them as being the Sikhs religious issues.

It started with the installation of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's portrait by the SGPC in the Golden Temple Museum and description of Bhindranwale by the SGPC and top Sikh clergy as martyr and "greatest Sikh warrior of the 20th century who sacrificed his life for defending the sanctity of Harmandir Sahib". Mr. Badal refused to comment saying that the decision of installing the portrait pertained to the SGPC, which is his pocket borough.

The controversy over the Bhindranwale portrait that re-activated fringe extremist and fundamentalist elements had hardly died down when the SGPC came out with another statement describing Indira Gandhi's assassins as martyrs of the Sikh religion whom it would commemorate. The SGPC stand invited wide condemnation. Even the BJP decried it saying that it was "completely unacceptable". Against this backdrop come reports about the sale of posters and radical literature of Bhindranwale extolling his fundamentalist and separatist ideology in some parts of the Malwa region.

The emerging scenario needs to be seen in the backdrop of two disturbing developments. One. Punjab DGP's statement that the ISI-trained militants are back in action in Punjab. Ludhiana's Shingaar cinema bomb blast a few weeks ago is claimed to be the handiwork of these militants. Two. Increasing media reports of religious intolerance and some minority religious communities being prevented from holding their religious congregations. These reports speak about Hindu fundamentalist groups stopping Missionaries from holding religious congregations at some places under the pretext that the latter were trying to convert Hindus to Christianity.

On the other hand, there have been reports of permission being denied to Dera Sacha Sauda followers from holding their 'naam charcha' congregations. The denial of permission to the Dera followers is being justified in the background of the controversy over the Dera Guru's imitating Guru Gobind Singh which had hurt the Sikhs religious sentiments and created a serious law and order problem in the Malwa region. For his alleged blasphemous act, the Dera Guru is already facing court cases. Whether the Dera followers should be perpetually deprived of the right to hold their religious congregations is a matter to which the Punjab's Akali-BJP rulers should give a serious thought.

Punjab's emerging scenario raises serious questions about the danger of revival of terrorism and role of SGPC and religion in ensuring peace and stability.

The ruling Akali leadership should not forget the black years of terrorism that proved catastrophic for Punjab, its people and its economy. Both Congress and Akali dal had contributed to the growth of religious fundamentalism and extremism which had encouraged separatist and terrorist forces. They had used state's resources and power to promote their politico-religious interests. Successive Akali leaderships treated it a matter of faith to use religion for politics on the argument that their party treated religion and politics as inseparable.

Time is a great teacher. The experience of the terrorism years and power politics must have made the present Akali leadership realise the consequences of the outdated concept of their "religion and politics inseparable" theory. Compulsions of power politics had forced them to change the party's constitution in 1996 in order to open its doors to non-Sikhs as otherwise it would have become Constitutionally ineligible to fight Assembly and Parliament elections. The change helped it come into national political mainstream and share power with BJP in Punjab and in New Delhi.

A time has come for Mr. Badal to reign in SGPC and his proteges in religious seats of power and stop them from indulging in acts and utterances which may destabilise and divide Punjab and bring back the dark days of religious extremism, terrorism's breeding ground. They should not justify their actions describing them as being Sikhs religious issues. The BJP also needs to introspect. Instead of pressuring their senior ruling partner for spoils of office, they need to use their 19 MLAs power to force the Akali leaders to firmly prevent political and religious elements from encouraging fundamentalism and religious extremism. National interests should be treated above the party's interests. (IPA Service)

Terror theatre shifts to UP

By Sunita Vakil

Tuesday's terror strike on a CRPF training facility in Rampur in Uttar Pradesh where eight persons were killed and many more injured once again airs the apprehension that Jehad is widening its scope and spreading its deadly tentacles into the heartland as is manifest by the establishment of terror modules in almost all the major towns and cities outside J&K.

The pre-dawn attack that was launched within hours of the beginning of a new year was incidently only the second raid by Jehadis on a security forces installation outside the state of J&K, the first one being at the special task force Headquarters in Andhra Pradesh concomita-ntly, this is also the second fidayeen attack after the botched up attempt at Ayodhya's Ram Janam Bhoomi complex on July 2005. The fact that in the last two years there have been countless heinous attacks on courts and religious shrines across UP suggests that the region is high on the agenda of terrorists. Indeed, with large number of madarssas providing the local logistical support, the state has been of late reeling under a fresh spate of attacks making it the worst terrorist affected state almost on par with Jammu and Kashmir. There is a view that Uttar pradesh is becoming the new hub of militant strikes by Islamic ultras. The fact that out of more than a dozen major attacks outside J&K, the state has been targeted at least half the number of times demonstrates this point. So the past few months have witnessed a low intensity in the terror scene in the valley. Infact, this is for the first time that the number of those killed in terror attacks in J&K is quite close to the number of terror deaths outside the state.

The ease with which the attacks were carried out amply demonstrates the UPA's soft approach regar- ding terrorism. Notwithstan- ding the growing support network of terrorists making Uttar Pradesh a fertile ground for Jehadis, the government has remained a mute spect- ator fearing a Muslim back- lash.The Centre's unwilli- ngness to apprehend the accused and crack their support base has only helped the terror outfits to build a formidable network across the state. The outrage in Rampur has showcased big holes in India's preparedness in meeting the exigencies of internal security. Infact, the Rampur attack came close on the heels of the court bombings in Uttar Pradesh in which more than a dozen people lost their lives. During the last two years, the region has been targeted on nearly half a dozen occasions. There have been attacks in Ayod- hya, Varanasi, Jaunpur and more recently the court serial blasts in Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad. With the help of local support from organis- ations like SIMI, the fundame- ntalist outfits, both Pakistan and Bangladesh based, have entrenched themselves deep into the country emboldening them to widen the sphere of their Jehadi activities. The Congress led UPA's inability to deal with this menace has only helped it grow by leaps and bounds with the result that the state of U.P today boasts of having the highest number of busted ISI backed espionage modules. "One can't deny that Jehadis have struck in the state having maximum number of ISI backed modules," a senior Home Ministry official is reported to have said.

It hardly needs reitera- tion that fighting terrorism needs a pro-active approach and an unwavering focus but so far, India's response to terror has been limited to playing the blame game. So predictably, it was only a few hours after the Rampur attack that a blame gave started between the Centre and the state as to who is responsible. While the central intelligence officials maintain that they had passed on the intelligence outputs regarding the impending attack to the state governments, the Mayavati government has shrugged off the responsibility for the lapse in security accusing the Centre for not securing international borders and hence the spurt in terrorist activities. She also laid the blame squarely at the door of CRPF for not thawar- ting the attack despite specific warnings. "There were inputs that there was the possibility of a terror attack and all the information had been passed on to CRPF," chief minister Ms. Mayawati revealed in a press conference. This was follow- ed by Congress hitting back at her for being "preoccupied with travelling around the country to build up her party" and consequently losing focus on the issue of governance of a sensitive state like Uttar Pradesh.

It is quite deplorable that both the State and Central governments have tried to wash their hands off the ghastly affair by passing the buck instead of making joint efforts to combat the scourge of terrorism while the centre believes that its responsibility ends with issuing vague warnings, the state govern ment thinks its job is over with blaming New Delhi for its terror friendly policies. In either case, it is advantage militants as people have to pay the price for the regime's folly which has emboldened the terrorists to gain an upper hand.

Nothing better demon- strates just how ineffectual Congress led UPA's appr- oach to terrorism has been than the latest attack launched in the heart of Uttar Pradesh where terrorists entered a fortified camp taking the advantage of susurprise element. By treating terrorism as another run of the mill law and order problem, the government has indicated a completely lackadaisical approach to combat terrorism. It therefore comes as no surprise that India occupies a pride of place by sheer dint of bearing the brunt of highest number of terrorist attacks in the world. The governmental claims of doing everything to roll back terrorism seem like a farce. This is borne out by the fact that after the repeal of TADA and POTA, the UPA has been in no tearing hurry to put in place any law against terror- ism so as not to hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community.This has also been indicated by the BJP which accuses the Centre as well as State governments of being soft on terrorists. "It is the attitude and intent of the UPA government not only to go soft and slow on terrorism but also display such actions that embolden Jehadi outfits, "BJP spokesperson Mr. Rudy is reported to have said.

The CPM, on the other hand, has also expressed shock over the government inaction.

That even a CRPF camp is not safe from terrorist attack is a clear indication of the fact the they can target anybody or anyplace with impunity. What we need is an action oriented plan to take the terror head on in place of empty rhetoric.