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THE Difaa-i-Pakistan Council (DPC) has announced its aim of defending us against the dangers we face today.
But given the fact that the biggest threat to Pakistan comes from the extremist ideology of many of those who constitute the DPC, the question arises whether these holy warriors will confront the militants.
Don’t hold your breath: during a recent DPC rally in Karachi, speaker after speaker made it clear that their real enemies are India and America. This assembled galaxy clearly failed to notice the uncomfortable fact that over the last decade, well over 30,000 innocent civilians and 5,000 security personnel have been killed in terrorist attacks launched by jihadi militants.Such mundane truths often escape our religious brigade. While focusing on American drone attacks, which while controversial, have been the most effective weapon against the militants in the tribal areas, they have conveniently overlooked the real cause of militancy. The moment these realities are pointed out to them, they go on about how these casualties are the result of the American war in Afghanistan.
The composition of the DPC is interesting as it brings together a number of reactionary elements under one umbrella. Some of these, like Sheikh Rasheed and Ijaz ul Haq, have a semblance of respectability. However, this is based on the dubious proposition that cabinet positions, past or present, in Pakistan confer some degree of social acceptability.
On the other side of the DPC spectrum, we have characters like Malik Ishaq, released by the Lahore High Court and accused of committing several murders for the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba, an extreme Sunni outfit.
Hafiz Saeed is one of the stars of the DPC and head of Jamaatud Dawa, a supposedly charitable organisation banned for fronting for the Lashkar-i-Taiba. This terrorist group has been accused of being behind the deadly Mumbai attack of 2008, as well as other atrocities in India.
Qari Yaqub, the darling of admirers of his sermons on YouTube, also spoke at the DPC rally in Karachi where he warned journalists that he would turn the ground where he spoke into “a graveyard for the media” if they did not give the DPC ample coverage. So here I am, writing about the DPC to avoid an early grave.
Sheikh Rasheed, leader of his Awami Muslim League spoke at the rally, as did army dictator Zia’s son, Ijaz ul Haq. Hamid Gul, the retired general who was sacked as head of the ISI by Benazir Bhutto in 1989, also enlivened proceedings with his rant about the bright future ahead without a western presence.
So Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf, felt right at home in this august company as the PTI’s senior vice president Ejaz Chaudhry’s presence showed.
Clearly then, the 40-odd (some would say very odd) members of the DPC at least appear to be on the same page where extremist thought is concerned. The question is what and who brought them together. Pakistan’s history is littered with the bleached bones of right-wing alliances formed and then ditched by their creators. The IJI, the PNA, the IDA, and the MMA spring instantly to mind.
Add to them the various incarnations and iterations of the Muslim League, and you have a veritable alphabet soup of political aspirations: Q, N, Z and Awami are only the current manifestations.
The common thread running through all these parties and coalitions is the past or current connection with our intelligence agencies. Retired general Asad Durrani, another erstwhile ISI chief, has admitted before the Supreme Court that he funnelled millions to anti-PPP candidates during the 1988 elections. This confession emerged years ago as a result of a writ filed by Asghar Khan, but the case has been on the back burner until the Supreme Court resumes hearing it later this month. Watch this space for further developments.
Given the stellar credentials of these stalwart defenders of our country, we can all sleep easy. They have vowed to save us from those nasty Americans and Indians, but before I cancel my life insurance policy, I’m still waiting to hear that they will protect us from the Pakistani Taliban as well.
Seriously, though, what is this circus all about? Why have so many extremist-minded elements and their fellow-travellers suddenly emerged from the woodwork to muddy the political waters? Who’s paying for all these expensive rallies? Actually, scratch that last question: we’re paying for them via whatever shadowy agency that has cobbled this latest alliance together.
And why is Imran Khan’s PTI part of this reactionary group? I know he’s in lockstep with people like Hamid Gul and Maulana Samiul Haq, but why does he need to identify himself with the most violent and unsavoury characters in this coalition? Does he not see that after his recent reinvention as a popular, mainstream politician, he no longer needs to cosy up to the likes of Qari Yaqub and Hafiz Saeed?
I suspect the purpose of this latest agency-inspired coalition is to pressure other political parties to hew close to an anti-West, anti-India agenda. Both Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif have made it clear that they favour peace with our neighbour, and this stance is deeply unpopular with our India-phobic high command.
Through the DPC, our defence establishment appears to be sending out a signal that it won’t accept any softening of its military posture, or any serious peace moves by either of the two major political parties.
Apart from the DPC, Pakistan’s other defenders are the armed forces, and we all know how success- ful they have been in safeguarding us.
The writer is the author of Fatal Faultlines: Pakistan, Islam and the West.
irfan.husain@gmail.com
I am from South India. I think India too has to do the same thing (peace with Pakistan) and cut the defense budget down. The enemity practised baffles me. I have many muslim friends and we work together all the time. I have met a lot of Pakistanis in the US and they are so hospitable and nice and friendly. Then why the hell there are guns trained on each other? Its all about power and money. Both countries should spend more on education and healthcare than on guns and missiles.
I did like this article very much. Well written.
Sir: You have done herculian task and described truthfully the factual position. I pray for your safety.
Mr. Irfan you say that drone attacks are good for Pakistan, then maybe you should live in the areas where drone attacks occur and when your famil becomes collateral damage in those attacks then we'll see what you think about those attacks.
Well written sir! It is a vivid fact that these so called defenders are actually destroyers of the country. The virulent mindset must be eradicated from our soil.
Peace with India is the only reasonable course that can steer us away from the burden of huge budget of armed forces. That is the only way our people will prosper. Otherwise only one prospering now is the officers of these forces.
Mr Husain falls just short of condemning the drone attacks. Neither side bothers to understand the "Real cause" of the insurgency. The antiTaliban seem just as vicious as the pro Taliban. Drones and Army operations are just as indiscriminate and "Effective" as the Taliban killings.
You are wrong. Drones are specifically designed, and targeted against, the same criminals who have murdered over 30,000 Pakistani civilians and over 5,000 Pakistani soldiers. Why is such a simple and obvious fact so hard to understand?
Hats off to mr.Irfan.He is the one who can call a spade a spade.
Just a simple question. Why is it that Pakistani government consider these kind of activities as anti-state, ban these types of rallies and arrest those inciting violence against the state? I just don’t get it.
Because Pakistan govt supports these views but cannot say so directly. so why ban them when they sprwad your views.
an extremely biased and prejudiced article. dear writer while saving yourself from "our defenders" make it sure that you and your home is not tear asunder by your innocent and victim of hafiz saeed's atrocity neighbor "poor india" and would you mind looking at riddled and tormented Baluchistan???? and do consider the role of poor neighbors in attenuating our part of body you will get the answer that from whom actually you have you have to save yourself. and no comments on american role in Balochistan i cannot express my sympathy for poor america how eagerly she wants to break you.
You can wake up someone who is genuinely sleeping.
You can not wake up anyone who is pretending to sleep.
You are most likely neck deep in atrocities in Balochistan and can not bear the truth coming out.
We need more fearless Irfan Hs in Pakistan or else Pakistan is doomed.
this is most objective and rational article.Thanks Irfan saheb.
A brilliant article, written with courage and honesty.
A very well written article indeed. As long as these kind of thinkers exist in Pakistan, there is still hope.
Thank you for the straight talking. If these characters were worth anything at all they would show in the first place:
How much they have contributed to the Pakistan GDP in all of their working lives?
How much they benefitted by the Military Dictators when Dictators were plundering the country while taxpayers were ordered about at the point of the gun. Incidentally all the guns were paid by the same taxpayers or the USA.
I for one , carried the Quaid's flag during and before the 1947, I know of their spiritual fathers who were against the creation of Pakistan.
No thank you. I do not want to be defended by you. Not in my name. Leave us in peace. India and USA are our friends, and long it may be so.
Shafiq
What a wonderful article, another Jewel from Irfan Husain's Golden Pen!
I hope somebody translates his work in Urdu for Pakistani Awam!
But Irfan sahab, please take care of yourself from the 'defenders'.
What a wonderful article, another Jewel from Irfan Husain's Golden Pen!
I hope somebody translates his work in Urdu for Pakistani Awam!
But Irfansahab, pl take care if yourself from the 'defenders' and never cancel your insurance.
I fear for your life in Pakistan. These are very dangerous people you are confronting. Some of them are known criminals and accused of mass murders.
I am fully agreed with the contents of this article.I am happy to see that we people like Irfan Husain among us, who have courage to speak the truth. These so called defenders have ruined our country and nation.These people have isolated us from rest of the world, killed innocent people in the name of God.
Hello Irfran, I am an avid reader of your column and I wish Allah keeps you and your family safe and healthy considering what you write about Hafiz Saeed, Qari Yaqub, ISI and others. Keep writing, we love you.
Media is also not playing his role. We are all talking about Army is like terrorist, Who is making policy in USA as well, What is the importance of Pentagon in US. We all forget about the real issues in pakistan, Like ANP Bloor Ahmed, who destroyed railway network, PIA and all industries in pakistan. Does Army is responsible for all about these things. Media know very well who is corrupt but you people are always calling them on Talk shows and never asked the same. so who is real responsible for all these things. Everybody is corrupt including myself, media politicians bla bla bla bla ….
A thought from a USA friend …
How we in the USA wish our thoughts could be with our Pakistani brothers, sisters, and new generation of children.
We grieve to hear of an extremist's bombing in Pakistan. It draws tears, sighs, and anger.
It is the loss so many innocent men, women and children, and it carries hurt onto the next generations.
Suicide blasts are a religious curse packaged into an evil act. They are beyond humanity, not caring for time or goodness. They happen while society looks on innocently, until those actions injure, kill and hurt a new generation. No 'God' can be satisfied by such savagery.
Each time a Pakistani killing makes the news with several dozen victims … please consider our feelings about 2800 innocent Americans, including children, killed in a single day's attack. We support you in Pakistan. Please support us too.
Together we wish to talk together for a long time. But we must never allow those who hate us to kill us.
Very well said sir.. We need to gear up momentum against re-eruption of extremist forces by unveiling the real picture, bravo! However one alarming thing is role of judiciary,, the way it sets its agenda and defends the 'defenders'…
Thanks for this brave article. Just one more point to add that there were many Yazidi flags but there was no visible Pakistani flag in the crowd of DPC.
May god bless you sir. As an Indian I wish to cry from the rooftop that please come out of your 'existential threat from India' phobia. Trust me, barring a handfull of old guys, we are not interested to grab your mother land. We just want live in peace. Please don't blindly trust these preachers of violence. If we live in peace, these folks are the biggest loosers including your army top brass. God bless you all with peace and prosperity.
It is true that we face a plethora of problems, but it is OK for any Pakistani to focus on any one of them, DPC is just focusing on Pakistan's foreign enemies. Our hordes of self styled liberal intellectuals have come to life as if on a cue to attack Difa-e-Pakistan rallies.
Unfortunately, the self-styled liberals are liberals only in their minds. Those who cannot tolerate others' opinion should keep their own opinion to themselves as well. Pakistan belong to all Pakistanis, and everyone of them has the right to express their opinion; some in print others in field.
well written
The army has a vested interest in following a hard line against India and USA to protect the 17% share of the GDP.
These extremist want to impose their version of Islam on everyone forgeting the command in the Quran "there is no compulsion in religion"
Whenever I see someone say -in the Quran “there is no compulsion in religion”- I always get confused. Then where do words like 'Kafir', 'Jaziya' come into existence.
Good question. "Compulsion in religion" comes not from the Quran but from the likes of these self-proclaimed "Defenders of Pakistan" this article is about.