Pakistan: Threat from within

Editorial:DAILY TIMES

Five senior military officers have been convicted by a court martial for having links with a banned outfit, Hizbut Tahrir (HT). They received from five to eighteen months’ rigorous imprisonment. Brigadier Ali Khan, the main protagonist, had been actively pursuing the cause of HT of indoctrinating military personnel to foment a rebellion against the alleged pro-US military and civilian leadership of the country. Following the killing of Osama bin Laden by the US forces in Abottabad in early May last year, Ali Khan expressed his displeasure to the COAS over the failure of the Pakistan army to prevent the killing of OBL. This led to a probe into Khan’s activities by the army’s Special Investigative Branch, and he was finally arrested on May 6, 2011. Though this is not the first time the military has prosecuted officers on disciplinary grounds, the invasion of Islamic extremism into the rank and file of the armed forces makes this case sensitive and a test case for future reference. The state of denial on the involvement of extremist elements in the assassination attempts on Musharraf, the attack on the Mehran naval base in Karachi, and the storming of GHQ in Rawalpindi should end now. HT is not the only Islamist outfit having influence in Pakistan. This is a widespread phenomenon with its tentacles spread over the length and breadth of the country and even into the defence and security services. Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of Governor Salmaan Taseer, is one example, hardened by extremist Islamist views and averse to any other interpretations of Islam. It is about time the government, taking cognizance of the situation, launches an across-the-board crackdown on the extremist elements in our society. One of the major intelligence or tactical failures of Pakistan has been its inability to stop the ‘banned’ organisations from operating in the country. Banned, yet they have been allowed to operate with different names. Unless we cut the umbilical cord, i.e. the operational, financial and tactical alliances of the religious outfits within and without, the ban would remain a farce. The glory of Islam that HT and other Islamic organization are idealising and for which the return to a Caliphate is seen as the only alternative, is an ideology out of touch with present day realities. Therefore any attempt towards that end would end up as a non-starter, given the present state of and divisions in the Muslim world. HT’s bellicose anti-western imagery coupled with promoting anti-state sentiments, especially within the armed forces of Muslim countries, belies its claim of being non-violent. That is why the organisation should not be allowed to disarm opponents by its declarations of non-violence and be dealt with as a dangerous and insidious threat.