Mumbai Massacre

The Nov. 26 terror activity in Mumbai resulted in the gruesome deaths of nearly 200 innocent and unsuspecting people which is lamentable and reprehensible by any account.

For those who live in relative peace and calm, it was a great shock and outrage. However, for most Pakistanis it was just another of those things that happens frequently in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta and almost daily in the tribal areas. In fact, it was a relief that this time it was outside the borders. The Mumbai carnage is different from the Islamabad Marriott terrorism which was the act of a lone truck driver meant to cause wanton death and destruction on the Hotel whose two floors were occupied by an American intelligence agency. In Mumbai there were nearly two dozen John Rambos who struck at 10 different places and majority of them who had return tickets for the ferry by which they came disappeared leaving caches of ammunition and explosives to be discovered later, which can give clues to the investigators.

Ten terrorists took hostages in three buildings, but it is very strange that they also started major fires in the buildings in which they were holding the hostages. They also posed smiling to photographers and did not have any expression of tension or hatred on their faces. It seems that they were just having a bloody picnic. It is even more surprising that they had enough ammunition to hold off the entire Indian security machinery for up to 60 hours. If the terrorists had been surrounded, why wasn’t an attempt made to negotiate the release of the hostages? Much useful information could have been gained in the process and the hostages could have lived a bit longer if nothing else. Equally surprising is the fact that many cameras but no guns were aimed at Ajmal Kassab and he was such a friendly terrorist that he told his whole story to the Mumbai police while the Americans have failed to get any confessions in Guantanamo Bay in years. It is a pity that the Indian media failed to interview the owners and staff of those buildings.

Most intelligence agencies seem to have known in advance that the attack was coming. The reaction of the Indian intelligence in immediately blaming the Pakistani ISI creates the impression that they were expecting a reprisal for some mischief they had made in Pakistan. It is very easy for the Indians to instigate sectarian and ethnic violence in Pakistan as the headquarters of both Barelvi and Deobandi sects are located in India and there is no reason why Indian intelligence agencies would not have infiltrated them and sent misleading messages through American satellites. If a hoax call can be made from the office of the Indian foreign minister to the president of Pakistan, the anything can happen. There is also a strong opinion base in Pakistan that believes that some of the religious fanatics involved in suicide attacks may also be externally motivated. However, there are a number of other possibilities that also need to be eliminated.

The Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, like many other parts of the world is a land of vendettas. In 1971 when Indian troops comprehensively defeated the Pakistan army in what is now Bangladesh, the Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi declared that the battle of Panipat had been avenged. Panipat was the venue of a battle in 1526 when the Moghul emperor Babar from Afghanistan laid the foundation of the Moghul empire in India. The lady was gunned down by her own Sikh bodyguards to avenge the desecration of the Golden Temple by Indian troops. Her son Rajiv Gandhi who had succeeded her as prime minister and avenged the death of mother by allowing thousands of Sikhs to be lynched, was killed in the first suicide attack of its kind by Tamil dissidents who were taking revenge of the Aryan invasion and subjugation in which the Tamils, the original inhabitants of the subcontinent were made untouchables. In 1996 when the Bangladeshi cricket team defeated the Pakistani team in a world-cup match, the Bangladeshi prime minister declared that the age old domination of Bengalis by the Pakistanis had been avenged. There must be hundreds of other scores that remain to be settled. Let us not create new avengeable incidents and hope that some day in future all old scores will be settled and lasting peace will prevail. More than a division of Pakistani army backed by artillery and air force is engaged in fierce fighting to eliminate terrorist movement in the Northern Areas which has 10 legislators in the National Assembly. Many people have a misconception that the Northern Areas are a disputed area between India and Pakistan as the map in Encyclopedia Britannica wrongly shows. According to the UN Security Council’s resolutions no. 38, 39, 47, 51, 80 etc., Jammu and the Vale of Kashmir wrongly shown as a part of India in the encyclopedias are the disputed territories where a referendum is to be held under UN supervision to decide whether it should be a part of India or Pakistan. The world community has already rejected India’s claim and given the choice to the Kashmiris. Sanctions were not imposed on India for noncompliance because on each occasion the Soviet Union vetoed the resolutions against India. It is note-worth that almost every coalition government in India includes the Communist Party. However, conspiring to change maps does not change the reality. One can only hope that the US president-elect Barack Obama has taken the trouble to find the facts and has come to the right conclusions before taking an initiative on Kashmir.

The NATO forces in Afghanistan are somehow not satisfied with what the Pakistan military is doing as they are more interested in eliminating people of certain beliefs on a selective basis. The Europeans are still trying to shake off their genocidal streak which raises its head from time to time. The NATO army wants to enter the Northen Areas and carry out aggressive activity. The Mumbai attack did create a situation in which the Indians could attack the eastern borders of Pakistan forcing Pak army to withdraw from the western borders leaving the field open to the NATO forces. NATO leadership has acted swiftly to dispel any suspicions on that account.

The Russian president was about to visit India a few days later to sign deals for building nuclear reactors and supply of military hardware which the Americans were trying their level best to stop at the eleventh hour as they have already invested heavily in their nuclear cooperation agreement with India. The Mumbai attack forced the Americans to support Pakistan against the wild Indian allegations and wash their hands from the nuclear and military equipment deals. State elections are proceeding and general elections are scheduled in India in a few months’ time and in a national emergency with the threat of war, the ruling party usually benefits as people do not want to change the status quo. A party that can not find an elected legislator good enough to be prime minister would inevitably need to play some tricks. However, if the Indian leaders would admit that they make the noises about a foreign hand in their homegrown terrorist activities in order to avert widespread communal violence, one could have pity on them. Most intelligence agencies have their representatives in most terrorist and criminal organizations. Sometimes even intelligence agents who have broken away from the national organizations join the underworld for their own protection and vice versa and occasionally commonly known terrorist in the offing are hijacked by intelligence agencies and exploited. The criminal gangs based in the Arabian Gulf have often ruined the peace of both Karachi and Mumbai, at times due to their own mutual or internal differences. Why don’t the Indians ask the ruler of Emirates to do something about it? However, the quality and credibility of intelligence agencies is not to be trusted in the light of the WMD hoax created by them prior to the Iraq invasion. The problem is that many political leaderships have no intelligence other than that of the agencies.

No one has so far suggested that Mumbai should be placed under the control of UN troops and a thorough investigation should be held under the auspices of the UN Security Council.

Welcome President Obama

The election of Barack Hussein Obama to USA presidency is indeed a historic event. It shows that the extremists and the racists of USA have taken a back seat at least for now. Let us hope that they stay that way. It is interesting to note that the Republican candidate failed in spite of the incumbent president maintaining a discreet distance from his campaign. Mr. Obama's charisma worked because he remained totally focused and objective during his entire campaign and did not leave himself at the mercy of media advisers.
Well done and welcome president Obama. I hope that you will not be afraid of stopping an ongoing war and would be able to transmit your courage and convictions to your generals who seem to need both. I am sure that your success will inspire many potential leaders among common men all over the world and the examples set by you will be followed by many for a long time to come. Just be yourself and stay focused.

Light Talk

Sir,
Please go to page 31 of New Scientist 1 Nov, 2008, Cover story on Relativity. In the illustration if Frank is moving due east at 50 mph and Kate is moving northeast at 70 mph, it will appear to Frank that Kate's train is pointing northeast but drifting northward at 50 mph. Frank will never see the back of Kate's train. I have tried to read and understand Relativity with commonsense but if I were not averse to hurting many people's feelings I would have called it the theory of illusions. A good scientist must not confuse apparent drift with resultant velocity. We see the same face of the moon throughout the year and in its motion relative to us it does not rotate on its axis, but in so doing it does rotate on its axis in exactly one month in its absolute motion. Einstein's postulates are more compromises than prophecies, far from universal truths. Believe me, there are absolute motions and universal truths.
Regards,
Naseem Mahnavi.

The Endgame

When you are at the top there is no room for error. Once you slip and start going down, there is no stopping. The mistakes of Pakistan's perishing president Musharraf are too obvious. He did not resign from the army at the retirement age, instead he gave the supreme court the authority to change army service rules in his favor by creating an exception. He failed to tell his american friends that he was bound by certain ethics and national idiosyncrasies which he could not violate. He failed to let go of the prime minister when it had become obvious that a brilliant finance minister may not necessarily prove a capable prime minister. He allowed himself to be manipulated by opportunists and men like the Chaudhry brothers, Niazi and the Pirzadas and constantly fiddled with the Constitution. He was dazzled by the knowledge and wisdom of the west, not knowing that I still receive invoices from USA and Europe in Indian rupees and letters addressed "......., Pakistan, India." He failed to realize that in fighting Islamic extremism which was necessary, he was unnecessarily aligning himself with Christian and Jewish extremists. When it became obvious that Benazir was not hurt by either the gun-man or the suicide bomber on her left, he failed to infer that there must have been a third assailant on her right. Above all, he did not keep his words and betrayed his oaths which caused immense pain and grief to the mostly faithful people of his country. He deserves not only a failing grade but also some stick.

However, there is a silver lining to every cloud. MQM, the working class leadership of elite Karachi still believes that Mr. Musharraf's mistakes can be forgiven in consideration of his services to the nation. Although Mr. Musharraf may succeed in mellowing many who have hard feelings against him when he passionately answers the charges against himself, the voting in the parliament would definitely be on partisan lines and he has little chance unless he can find the money to buy nearly a fifth of the delegates. However an impassioned plea might avert any future cruelty against him. On the other hand he can negotiate a favorable secret deal and resign avoiding embarrassment to fellow soldiers.

The prime concern now is how the impossible coalition now ruling Pakistan will work in the months to come. Peoples Party is basically a socialist party now headed by a multi-billionaire habitual gaolbird, while PML(N) is dominated by industrialists and business tycoons. Previous governments of both were dismissed in the past on charges of corruption which were partly true. ANP and MQM have only localized following. All parties suffer from autocratic or elitist top leadership and a tendency to be violent at times. The leaders of all political and religious parties in Pakistan must reform and democratize their organizations and carry out a purge of elements having criminal or fraudulent tendencies. The formation of a new nab and grab team and persecution of opponents would be simply tragic.

Keep Going

Go to the desert and pick up a handful of sand,
And ask it if it can think.
To your surprise and a pleasant one,
It will answer, “Yes, I can.”

I tell you so, because my Son,
I did it once in a desert you know,
And got the answer to my delight,
But I was not the first around.

Some one else had got there first,
And made friends with the grains of sand,
And made transistors, chips, and all,
And put them together in a computer.

There are still places you can go,
And ask questions no one has asked,
And get the answers no one has heard,
And make the things that no one has made.

Do not think of the dormant as dead.
Anything that exists has atomic metabolism.
Even a seashell lying on the beach,
Has memories and a mind of its own.

Renegades in Power

The Pakistani lawyers’ movement for the restoration of the superior court judges who were dismissed on the 3rd of November, 2007 with the imposition of “emergency” by president and general Pervez Musharraf has the support of the majority of people in Pakistan. But unfortunately the case has not been presented by the lawyers in a manner that could be understood by a man of average intelligence. Here is an attempt to do so:

As a member of the Pakistani armed forces General Pervez Musharraf is supposed to have taken the following oath as prescribed in the Constitution of Pakistan:
“I,__________________________, do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan and uphold the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan which embodies the will of the people, that I will not engage myself in any political activities whatsoever and that I will honestly and faithfully serve Pakistan in the Pakistan Army (or Navy or Air Force) as required by and under the law.”
As the president of Pakistan he is supposed to have taken the following oath:
“I,__________________________, do solemnly swear that I am a Muslim and believe in the Unity and Oneness of Almighty Allah, the Books of Allah, the Holy Quran being the last of them, the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the last of the Prophets and that there can be no Prophet after him, the Day of Judgment, and all the requirements and teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah:
That I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan:
That, as President of Pakistan, I will discharge my duties, and perform my functions, honestly, to the best of my ability, faithfully in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law, and always in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, well-being and prosperity of Pakistan:
That I will strive to preserve the Islamic Ideology which is the basis for the creation of Pakistan:
That I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions:
That I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan:
That, in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will:
And that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as President of Pakistan, except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as President.”
On the 3rd Nov, 2007 he signed a proclamation containing the following the folloeing words:
“And whereas the situation has been reviewed in meetings with the Prime Minister, Governors of all four Provinces, and with Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Chiefs of the Armed Forces, Vice Chief of Army Staff and Corps Commanders of the Pakistan Army;
Now, therefore, in pursuance of the deliberations and decisions of the said meetings, I, General Pervez Musharraf, Chief of the Army Staff, proclaim emergency throughout Pakistan.
I hereby order and proclaim that the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan shall remain in abeyance.
This Proclamation shall come into force at once.”

Clause 6 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan states:
“6. High treason.-(1) Any person who abrogates or attempts or conspires to abrogate, subverts or attempts or conspires to subvert the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.
(2) Any person aiding or abetting the acts mentioned in clause (1) shall likewise be guilty of high treason.
(3) 1[Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] shall by law provide for the punishment of persons found guilty of high treason.
It is obvious that on signing of the proclamation of "emergency" Mr. Musharraf and his associates mentioned in it had reneged on their oaths of office to uphold the Contitution and had committed acts which disqualified them from holding any public or military office in Pakistan and they all stood stripped of their ranks and offices.
It follows that the pursuant actions of Mr. Musharraf as either President or Chief of Army Staff were farcical and of no legal consequence. The mutilation of the Constitution carried out in the PCO is too vulgar to be elaborated here. Even if they escape punishment for their actions by guile or threat of violence or the support of aliens, history will not forgive them.

Judges of Supreme and High courts of Pakistan had taken the following oath of office as per the Constitution:
“I,__________________________, do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan:
That, as Chief Justice of Pakistan (or a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan or Chief Justice or a Judge of the High Court for the Province or Provinces of .......................), I will discharge my duties, and perform my functions, honestly, to the best of my ability, and faithfully in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law:
That I will abide by the code of conduct issued by the Supreme Judicial Council:
That I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions:That I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan:
And that, in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will:”
On 3rd November, 2007 and the following days a number of judges of Supreme and high courts took the following oath:
"I_________________, do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan :
That, as Chief Justice of Pakistan or a Judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Chief Justice of the Federal Shariat Court or a Judge of the Federal Shariat Court, or the Chief Justice or a Judge of the High Court for the Province of-----), I will discharge my duties and perform my functions honestly and to the best of my ability and faithfully in accordance with the Proclamation of Emergency of the 3rd day of November, 2007, the Provisional Constitution Order No. 1 of 2007 and the law.
That I will abide by the provisions of the Proclamation of Emergency of the 3rd day of November, 2007, the Provisional Constitution Order No. 1 of 2007, and the Code of Conduct issued by the Supreme Judicial Council :
That I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decision :
And that, in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will".
Quite obviously, these judges had reneged on their oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and become ineligible for judicial duties as they fell under the purview of Article 6 of the Constitution.
The judges who refused to take the new oath obviously are still bound by their original constitutional oaths of office.
If the PCO judges had taken the treacherous oath intentionally, knowing the contents of the documents mentioned in the oath then there is nothing to be said in their favor. But if they were tricked or coerced into taking that oath, they should come clean and find a way to renounce or revoke that oath. I would not venture to guess whether the legal community of Pakistan will accept their apology, but at least they can put their conscience to rest.

The Urdu Revolution

1. It seems that the ruthless onslaught of the army chief as part of his war on justice has damaged Pakistan's Judiciary beyond redemption. It has also exposed the weaknesses of the legal/judicial system which was an extension of the alien monarchical system in which the judge instructs the jury not to give judgment on the accused but to find a culprit from amongst the others who were present on the scene. The demand for the implementation of Islamic jurisprudence in Pakistan is going to gain momentum and the West's dreaded Talibanism may benefit from any delay in restoring a judiciary not subservient to the army.

2. The superior judiciary used to be a beacon of hope for the mostly oppressed and downtrodden people of Pakistan. The desperation resulting from the disappearance of the last ray of hope may have serious repercussions upon the national psyche and more and more people may decide to take the law in their own hands.

3. It seems that the incumbent army chief is being threatened with dismissal if he does not speak up in favor of the extremely unpopular president. In December 2001 when a similar situation had existed, the US diplomats had arranged a terrorist attack on Delhi parliament and the US ambassador to India (who had also been an ambassador to Pakistan) had made public speeches inciting the Indian people to demand military action against Pakistan, finally resulting in the massing of Indian troops on Pak borders and the capitulation of politicians and acceptance of 17th constitutional amendment. This time round, the tactics are different. Will Kiyani's nerves hold?

4. At the moment Pakistan is being run exclusively and single handedly by deceased Benazir's “will power” and the parliament has become less than a rubber stamp. It is true that a confrontation between the real parliament and the artificial judiciary can provide the provisional president an opportunity to exercise the yo-yo of 58-2-B and do the ultimate disservice to the nation, but then what are people for? After all Ayub resigned when he found that everyone in the streets was calling him a dog. Does the “will power” have the charisma to bring the people out into streets? Some pessimists have already started wondering if Pakistan's future depends on the number of signed blank papers Benazir may have left behind.

5. Those who witnessed the spontaneous outburst of violence following the murder of Benazir can well imagine what might happen if the people of Pakistan lose their patience. They have learnt that they can only survive by uniting as a single nation and asserting their democratic rights. With the army, the judiciary and the presidency being recognized as national culprits and a leaderless parliament, the people have to find new leaders and create a new system of their own. If a hand gets in their way it must be broken. It will be an unprecedented carnage which will make the French revolution look like a picnic. The Urdu revolution will be remembered in history for a very long time.

Hail H2O

John 2:1-11
1) On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2) Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. 3) When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4) And Jesus said to her, "What does that have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." 5) His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6) Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7) Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8) He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast." So they took it. 9) When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom 10) and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." 11) This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Moral: Those who always drink wine and have never tasted pure water will appreciate it as an excellent drink when they consume it for the first time.

The Poor Fig Tree

Matthew 21:14-22
14) And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15) But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant; 16) and they said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, `Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast brought perfect praise'?" 17) And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there. 18) In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry. 19) And seeing a fig tree by the wayside he went to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree withered at once. 20) When the disciples saw it they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?" 21) And Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and never doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, `Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will be done. 22) And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."

Moral: Hunger takes away a man’s reason. Even Jesus, the epitome of mercy cursed the fig tree that was unable to satisfy his hunger; rather than commanding it to bear fruit at once.

To Judge or not to Judge

Someone sent me an email from a nonexistent email address inviting me to read the documents that could be downloaded from the url http://const.countpakistan.com

I did download the 111 page document which contained the proclamation of emergency of 3rd November, 2007, the Provisional constitutional order issued by the chief of army staff and the Supreme Court judgment on a number of petitions related to it.

I have the following comments to make:

1. As soon as the constitution was put in abeyance by the chief of army staff and PCO was issued, the presidency also became nonfunctional and he (who also held the office of president) ceased to be the president and will remain a non-president until restored to Office by the Parliament. His recognition by alien governments has no meaning. Similarly the use of a non-president to administer oaths of office to elected representatives does not reinstate him as President.

2. If the non-president became president again on withdrawal of the PCO, then by default all the judges deposed as a consequence of the PCO and other orders issued under it also stood restored to office.

3. The old notion of "the will or word of the sovereign is law" is no longer valid. The present day democratic doctrine is that "a proclaimed law is not a law until accepted by the people through their elected representatives or by a referendum." Any court that bases its judgment on unaccepted law acts against the spirit of justice and the judgment is not even worth the paper on which it is written. It is interesting that the judgment in question quotes in length from judgments and writings of Indian, British and American jurists and authors but does not make any reference to Islamic traditions, nor does it contain a single phrase of original wisdom.

4. The best way to resolve the present constitutional and judicial crisis in Pakistan is to hold a referendum by which the people can endorse or reject the presidential, legal and judicial actions of the intervening period.