Swat Truce: A Glimpse into the Abyss
By Anwaar Hussain
Now that the state of Pakistan has effectively rolled over, paws up, at the feet of the beheaders, it is time to get a glimpse into the abyss the state has brought us onto.
But before that glimpse, the lessons first.
The lesson that other militants draw from the state’s capitulation to the Taliban in Swat; the more brutal, the more ruthless, the more insane your actions against the state and the common citizens, the more concessions you can extract. If the Swat Taliban, essentially only a few hundred unruly Pathans, can bring the government of Pakistan down to its wobbly knees, why can’t the same be done in the heart of Punjab by the sons of the soil? Witness the brazen Lahore attacks.
The lesson that common citizens draw from the shameful debacle; the state is simply incapable of protecting their lives and property therefore safety lies in meekly kowtowing to the people who kill in the name of God. Witness the sad happiness of the poor Swatis after the truce with the militants was announced by the provincial government. These are the same people who, just over a year ago in the election of 2008, had comprehensively booted out religious parties in favour of a liberal, secular party to rule them.
The truce is said to be chiefly about Shariah Law, the main feature of which is supposed to be ’speedy justice’ to the people. The words speedy justice have nice sound bites but what must be remembered is that a law is only as speedy and as good as the people who decree it. The Taliban do not exactly inspire that kind of confidence in the common people.
Next, the idea of “speedy justice” cannot be turned into reality in Pakistan for a long time to come. Pakistan simply does not have the wherewithal to provide speedy anything let alone speedy justice to its citizens. A News editorial indeed gave a succinct example to make the point. It noted that although the United Kingdom is three times smaller in population than Pakistan, its judicial network is far larger. In England and Wales (combined population 55 million) there are roughly 30,000 magistrates (Justices of Peace) to dispense justice. They deal with 95 percent of criminal cases and also settle family disputes. The cases are literally decided in hours. One cannot get any speedier than that and that is not Shariah Law.
Not only that, what passes for Shariah Law as seen in some countries gives one the shivers. The rulers in these countries used, and still use it, to enslave women and to turn the death of sometimes innocent individuals into communal display. Public squares of Saudi Arabia and Kabul stadium have become legacies of horrific treatments meted out to ordinary criminals. To put it briefly, the Law has been manipulated, abused, and turned into an instrument of suppression for those who dare to speak out, an excuse to stamp down on women, strangle reformist ideas and choke the sense of inquiry. It has been, more or less, turned into an implement of convenience with which to chop and flog not just body limbs but also the dissenting views, political or modernistic, whenever required.
So much for the ’speedy justice’ under Shariah Law.
But above all in this so called ‘truce’, the most terrible of ironies is an absence of the mention of justice to the victims of the militants’ year long bloody campaign. While thousands, including minors, languish in Pakistan’s jails for offences as trifling as shop lifting, there is not a word in the peace plan about punishment for those who committed all kinds of atrocities for months in Swat. The extent of the depravity of these people is almost unparalleled. From severing their opponents heads in public to digging out dead bodies from graves and hanging them openly to accusing women of being prostitutes, making them dance first and then killing them in full view of bystanders, there is no crime vile enough these men have not committed. If any one would be truly happy on this occasion, it will be none other than these rapists and murderers who can now retreat back to their dark dungeons, smiling all the way.
If the current down-slide of the nation continues as it is, standby next to witness the gloomy joy of the Pakistanis when the whole country listens to the edicts of the Taliban from Radio Pakistan in the not too distant a future. As the God of their Islam doesn’t like females, modernity, music, and clean shaven faces, the entire Taliban agenda, while laser-beaming onto women, generally revolves around these issues.
Whatever little ‘concessions’ the Swat Taliban have presently given in the truce, their ultimate program is well known. They are only biding time for that. Here is what their ideological forefathers ordained for the Afghan citizens when they ruled Afghanistan;
1- Complete ban on women’s work outside the home, which also applied to female teachers, engineers and most professionals. Only a few female doctors and nurses were allowed to work in some hospitals to look after the female patients only.
2- Complete ban on women’s activity outside the home unless accompanied by a ;\’mahram’ (close male relative such as a father, brother or husband).
3- Ban on women dealing with male shopkeepers.
4- Ban on women being treated by male doctors.
5- Ban on women studying at schools, universities or any other educational institution. (The Swat Taliban have already let their distaste for women’s education be known by bombing close to 200 girl’s schools in the past few months.)
6- Requirement that women wear a long veil (Burqa), which covers them from head to toe.
7- Whipping, beating and verbal abuse of women not clothed in accordance with Taliban rules, or of women unaccompanied by a mahram.
8- Whipping of women in public for having non-covered ankles.
9- Public stoning of women (and men) accused of having sex outside marriage. (A number of lovers were stoned to death under this rule).
10- Ban on the use of cosmetics.
11- Ban on women talking or shaking hands with non-mahram males.
12- Ban on women laughing loudly. (No stranger should hear a woman’s voice).
13- Ban on women wearing high heel shoes, which would produce sound while walking. (A man must not hear a woman’s footsteps.)
14- Ban on women riding in a taxi without a mahram.
15- Ban on women’s presence in radio, television or public gatherings of any kind.
16- Ban on women playing sports or entering a sport center or club.
17- Ban on women riding bicycles or motorcycles, even with their mahrams.
18- Ban on women’s wearing brightly colored clothes. In Taliban terms, these are “sexually attracting colors.”
19- Ban on women gathering for festive occasions such as the Eids, or for any recreational purpose.
20- Ban on women washing clothes next to rivers or in a public place.
21- Modification of all place names including the word “women.” For example, “women’s garden” had been renamed “spring garden”.
22- Ban on women appearing on the balconies of their apartments or houses.
23- Compulsory painting of all windows, so women can not be seen from outside their homes.
24- Ban on male tailors taking women’s measurements or sewing women’s clothes.
25- Ban on males and females traveling on the same bus. Public buses were designated “males only” (or “females only”).
26- Ban on the photographing or filming of women.
27- Ban on women’s pictures printed in newspapers and books, or hung on the walls of houses and shops.
Apart from the above restrictions on women, the Afghan Taliban also had:
- Banned listening to music, not only for women but men as well.
- Banned the watching of movies, television and videos, for everyone.(Witness the bombing of audio/video shops in the NWFP Province)
- Ordered that all people with non-Islamic names change them to Islamic ones.
- Forced haircuts upon Afghan youth.
- Ordered that men wear Islamic clothes and a cap.
- Ordered that men not shave or trim their beards, which should grow long enough to protrude from a fist clasped at the point of the chin. (Witness the bombing of barber shops in the NWFP Province)
- Ordered that all people attend prayers in mosques five times daily.(As if obeisance to God could be ordered by dictat)
- Banned the keeping of pigeons and playing with the birds, describing it as un-Islamic. The violators were imprisoned and the birds were killed.
- Ordered all onlookers, while encouraging the sportsmen, to chant Allah-o-Akbar (God is great) and refrain from clapping.
- Ban on certain games including kite flying which was considered “un-Islamic” by the Taliban.
- Anyone who carried ‘objectionable literature’ was liable to be executed.
- Anyone who converts from Islam was liable to be executed.
- All boy students wore turbans. They said “No turban, no education”.
- Non-Muslim minorities wore distinct badge or stitch a yellow cloth onto their dress to be differentiated from the majority Muslim population. (Just like what Nazis did with Jews)
- Banned the use of the internet by both ordinary Afghans and foreigners.
Following is an abridged Ordinance on the Women’s Veil, which is reported to have been issued by a nine-member professional committee of the High Court of the Islamic State of Afghanistan and which reads as follows:
“A denier of veil is an infidel and an unveiled woman is lewd”.
“Conditions of wearing veil”:
1. The veil must cover the whole body.
2. Women’s clothes must not be thin.
3. Women’s clothes must not be decorated and colorful.
4. Women’s clothes must not be narrow and tight to prevent the seditious limbs from being noticed. The veil must not be thin.
5. Women must not perfume themselves. If a perfumed woman passes by a crowd of men, she is considered to be an adulteress.
6. Women’s clothes must not resemble men’s clothes.
7. Muslim women’s clothes must not resemble non-Muslim women’s clothes.
8. Their foot ornaments must not produce sound.
9. They must not wear sound-producing garments.
10. They must not walk in the middle of streets.
11. They must not go out of their houses without their husband’s permission.
12. They must not talk to strange men.
13. If it is necessary to talk, they must talk in a low voice and without laughter.
14. They must not look at strangers.
15. They must not mix with strangers.”
The violators, of course, were provided ’speedy justice’ under the Shariah Law.
Welcome to the wonderland.
~*~*~
Copyrights: Anwaar Hussain
Respected Anwaar Hussain
Many thanks for your honest humane article.
Fascism in the name of god is the worst form of fascism and also blasphemy. Many leaders (religious, political and cultural – not only muslim leaders) have been guilty of this crime and sin for the past many centuries. In my opinion, so long they can trample upon non-muslims, some muslim leaders are all elated and united. When there are no non-muslims around (or left around) to trample upon, then they trample upon other Muslims. That is why taliban, al-qaeda, hamas, hijbollah, LeT, shia-fascist Iran and other narrow-minded tyrants etc. have become the determining representatives of real islam today. Much of muslim suffering today is because of a fossilised interpretation of islam, but most of them are taught never to doubt or question this interpretation of islam. Hence they always blame the non-muslims for their troubles. This painful truth has to be faced now.
There is this turkish saying ‘a friend speaks bitter’. Indeed, the flatterer is never the true friend. Even the god-flatterer is not the true friend of god or human beings. I wish Pakistan remains an independent, prosperous country and society that is proud of being honest and peaceful rather than violent.
G.Vishvas
March 7th, 2009 at 2:34 pmAnwaar, this new version of Islam is Taliban Xp. If allowed to install in country’s hard disk, it will burn it at the kernel level. Computer will fail to process any sensible data. That is its demise. Country will FAIL completely, irreversibly.
Resource management, under this newly created program will be exemplary. 50% of population will be kept out of sight behind thick walls under the edict of Taliban Xp and remainder of population will concentrate on enforcing the essentials of holy decree. Such hard work will guarantee the fruits of paradise hereafter.
The bad news is that installation process of Taliban Xp is well underway in our tribal society with definite danger of forced spill over to so called settled areas. It looks that three finger salute (CNTRL_ALT_DELETE) may be the only way to stop its domino effect. This option terminates any negotiations with installing program, closes its further progress through coercion.
In my opinion your expose hammers a nail at the right place. The solution is not to capitulate but make writers of Taliban Xp capitulate through three pronged strategy; Control (CTRL) further degradation & spill over, Alter (ALT) the general public mind set using media/ education and DELETE the hitherto disastrous effects of Taliban Xp through using superior coercive muscle, resolve.
Thank you for an excellent article.
March 7th, 2009 at 2:42 pmNo mention of the agreed upon truce or the wonderful conditions it imposes in the Western media. Are there provisions for punishment by nailing people to lower case “t”’s?
March 7th, 2009 at 4:46 pmAn excellent article regarding truce bt you only explain swat taliban ’shariah’ regarding women what about other social,comercial activities etc.
March 7th, 2009 at 6:42 pmI shall recomend the same speedy justice’ under Shariah Law’ for swat talibans to bring them under umbrella of justice bcs such a huge number of killings in very short period of time happen in Swat valley.
Anwaar:
I thought your explanation of the Swat Truce and Taliban speedy justice was great. I believe you captured the absurdity of their social speedy justice.
Contrast that to American SLOW justice of recent times:
1. US Supreme Court says that they will not even hear cases whether the President of the US can simply imprison people…….. without charges …….. indefinitely.
Apparently the Supremes need a copy of the Constitution which clearly prohibits the President from acting like a King.
2. The US Supreme Court will not even hear cases involving whether Barack Hussein Obama (known as Barry Sotero for most of his life) is eligible to be serve as President because he may not have been born on US soil. And even if born in Hawaii, would still fail to meet the other Constituional requirements.
The Supreme Court would not hear cases challenging Obama’s election whether such cases were brought by: Governor of a State, Attorney General of a State, Election Officials in a State, and citizens of various states. The reason the Supreme Court gave for not hearing such cases: none of these people had “standing” to file a lawsuit. In otherwords, no one can require that a candidate meet the constituional requirements. If no one has standing to bring a lawsuit on a constitutional matter, then there is no justice on that issue.
3. New York jewish investment bankers have ripped off trillions in US dollars…….. only to be rewarded with more money pumped into the banking, investment banking, and stock brokerage system. To date: not a single indictment or prosecution. Very few crooked executives even lost their jobs. And those that have lost their jobs……. got new ones either working for the US government or as consultants to the “government regulators” to fix the systemic problems that they created. Obama has appointed many of them to his cabinet……. in spite of them being confessed tax cheats. Apparently, if you pay your correct taxes, you are unqualified to serve in the Obama administration.
In addition, while the greatest transfer of wealth in history is now occurring……. transferring trillions of US dollars to New York jewish investment bankers……… One fellow by the name of Bernie Maddoff has admitted he created the largest pyramid scheme in history…… perhaps $50 billion. Yet he sits in his penthouse apartment……. still uncharged!…….. under “house arrest.” This corrupt scheme went on for nearly 20 years……. even though the SEC was repeatedly told of the fraudulent pyramid scheme. Talk about “hands off” justice! Talk about justice delayed is justice denied. In 13 years he had not even bought a single share of stock with investor’s money!
But Maddoff’s big crime was not that he created a $50 billion pyramid scheme…… it is that he ripped off rich and famous jews. This is the primary reason the press criticizes him. Had Maddoff only ripped-off non-jews, he would have probably been allowed to flee to Switzerland or Israel……. as so many financial criminals have been permitted this “self-banishment” to do in the past. Then they can seek a Presidential pardon at a later date. Ever heard of March Rich? The list of crooks is a long one. But wait? Now with a pardons in hand….. their records are wiped clean! They are no longer crooks!
4. President George Bush re-defined “torture” as actions that cause internal organ failure with a high risk of death. Therefore, external organ failure (poking out eyes, burning skin, pulling out finger nails, crushing hands and feet, crushing sexual organs, loud music damaging eardrums………all external organs) was not torture. And the “US does not torture” as Bush-the-pompus proclaimed. Then we find out that over 100 people died while being “strongly interrogated” while in US custody. With victor’s justice……. there were no war crimes…….. there was no torture. Yeah…….right….(wink & a nod)
Conclusion:
So the point is…… no matter whether it is the US, the Taliban in Swat, Mullahs in Tehran…… or your own Musharraff who would not step-aside for over a year after losing a democratic election…….. justice often only applies to the little people in nearly every society. The powerful, the rich, the famous…….. are often given a free pass in following the law.
Overly speedy justice in Swat without all the relevant facts, results in the same justice as US justice delayed for years and years: justice denied!
Sometimes laws in all societies are overly suppressive, sometimes too liberal. But if the ruling class in a society does not have to follow the same law as a common person, there is no justice.
Keep up the good work in exposing the truth…… wherever it can be found.
Doug
March 7th, 2009 at 9:39 pmVery well written. It amazes me how such thugs can make the majority of us feel so helpless. Sometimes I feel that this development could be a blessing in disguise ( like it was towards the end of the Ottomon Empire). What transpired in Turkey afterwards, under the leadership of Ataturk, could transpire in Pakistan. It could be wishful thinking but history cannot be ignored. Communism, fascism, etc. had to run their course before being rooted out. But to root out religious bigotry and fanaticism may require a bloody revolution. So be it. Unfortunately for Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq met his death prematurely. A few more years of him was all that was needed for the cleansing process to start.
- Moonis -
March 7th, 2009 at 9:40 pmGood article. One question: Who is feeding those savages?
March 8th, 2009 at 5:10 amAn unvarnished look into the madness of fascistic religious fanaticism.
Welcome to Wonderland. Hmm, makes you wonder all right — wonder about the fantasies of virtue springing from the depths of hell.
Will
March 8th, 2009 at 8:06 amVery true. Very penetrating.
Dari
March 8th, 2009 at 8:07 amAs laid down in the Koran; “Islam is a complete way of life, not a Sunday religion”; As you have read ISLAM TODAY and I Quote
March 8th, 2009 at 9:20 am“Islam today is in conflict, between western secular culture and traditional Islamic culture. The growth of Islamic Fundamentalism is an attempt to reach back to the glories of Islamic history. Many Fundamentalist (Muslim) ask themselves the question, If Islam is the religion of Allah, why are we being defeated by the West (United States) and Israel. The fundamentalist sees the problem with the failure of Islamic nations to live as the Quran commands. This view of not living the life required by Allah, as specified in the Quran and traditions and therefore being defeated by the West, is the spark of fundamentalism. Today in Islam there is a struggle between moderate and fundamentalist ideology”.
Excellent article Anwaar.
These illiterate Mullahs think the Islam as followed 1400 years ago should be replicated as this is what has been decreed by the Alimighty. Another way is unacceptable. They have picked on those verses from the Qoran which can be interpreted as they want them to be understood by the people so that they can be suppressed and kept under their rule & thumb.
People have to understand that we are not the illiterate, ignorant and savage Bedouins that lived 1400 years ago. We do not need the same doctrine and treatment as they needed in order to be reformed. Religion has always been used to subjugate and exploit and in a feudal society like Pakistan it is very useful to perpetuate their rule. This axis of evil needs to be rooted out.
March 8th, 2009 at 11:00 amRobert, drug money is used to finance the militants’ operations. There is a growing evidence of the link between the Taliban and Afghanistan’s drug trade. In February, for example, it was reported that the Taliban generate between $300m and $400m a year from drug trafficking, a figure that was widely understood to be a gross under-estimate. I think the figure actually runs in to billions.
March 9th, 2009 at 9:07 amHere is a profound essay on “How we Lost Swat” by Nasir Abbas Mirza in Today’s Daily Times. Just an excerpt;
“The loss of Swat is not the end of it. It is just another battle lost by us. This battle, and the many more to come, can only be won with more liberties, more freedom and more rights. And a state with a will to protect these at all costs. That’s the real battlefront of this war against terror and extremism.”
Click to read the full article.
March 9th, 2009 at 9:38 amAnwaar,
A comprehensive commentary on sad and shameful capitulation in Swat. Touting it as peace treaty by the concerned government officials is a conscious effort to lull the populace and transport it into a make-belief world. In fact they have been brow beaten into submission by a handful of self righteous, pseudo religious ruffians.
Regards.
P. Alam
March 10th, 2009 at 3:54 pmAt the time of independence ,the Pashtuns were asked through a referendum to make a choice between India and Pakistan. Their land, their identity and their legacy had not been eroded despite the onslaught of the Mongols, Moguls, Sikhs and the British. Over the millennia, by sticking together through a code of “Pashtunwaliâ€, they have bravely faced off the invading hordes with honour and dignity. Never in doubt about their identity, they overwhelmingly decided to subsume their ancient legacy to a grander vision of the Republic of Pakistan. A vision encapsulated by M A Jinnah, a confident and an enlightened Muslim. Starry eyed, they vowed to be the last man standing for Pakistan. For giving his grand vision of a secure future for the Muslims of the North West, he was promptly called the Kafir -e – Azam by the Deobandi clan.
It seems history has dealt a very bad hand to the Pashtuns of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Never in their history they have been so humiliated and disenfranchised as now. It is not the first time that their Pashtunwali code and their love for Islam has been exploited by outsiders. Let us name a few sponsors of Jihad in the Pashtun belt:
Syed Ahmed of Bareilly, India.
Gen Zia ul Haq of Jullundur, East Punjab, India.
CIA from Langley, Virginia ,USA.
Gen Musharraf of Delhi, India.
Osama Bin Laden of Saudi Arabia.
Pakistani Establishment, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Their Pashtun land is being used to fight forward defensive wars by Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, USA but most callously by the Pakistani establishment in Islamabad. Their subsistence level economy has been turned into a war and drug economy bringing money and power to the warlords on both side of the Durrand line. The Pashtuns have never had the trappings of a modern life only their dignity and now they are being dishonoured because of the little “Great Games“. Millions have died since 1979.
Somehow the Pashtuns are under the illusion that the Pakistani establishment is going to come to their rescue from these Salafi/Wahabi murderers not realising that the same establishment wishes to prolong their agony as much as possible so that a few more dollars can be milked out of the USA. The Pakistani establishment has misused their land ,their poverty and their love for Islam to gain strategic depth against India ostensibly to resolve the Kashmir issue on their terms.
One can only pray for the Kashmiris. Why would the Kashmiri want their womenfolk to be enslaved by the Deobandi /Wahabi Islam of Pakistan. Why would they care to join Islamabad that believes and thrives only on a war economy. Why would they join a state that perpetuates ignorance by letting the mullahs open up 15000 madressahs. A state that has abdicated from its responsibility for educating its young. Why would the Kashmiris join an intellectually corrupt and confused state that perpetuates a notion of a garrisoned Islam , a uniformed Islam. A country where one can be killed because one is a non believer in their version of Islam.
The Pashtun “ Common Defence against Invaders†has been the centuries’ old Pashtunwali code now much maligned by the Pakistani establishment. They call the FATA a lawless region to please their masters in Washington not realising that by doing so they implicate themselves. FATA is not a “Lawless’ region but has its own laws quite different from the poorly administered quasi Anglo-Saxon Law of Pakistan. A law that perpetuates the colonial legacy of control rather than empowerment of its population. The Pashtuns never agreed to the laws of the super British empire than why should they succumb to its poor and corrupt Pakistani version now.
The Pashtuns erroneously believe that Pakistani establishment is against these Deobandi/ Wahabi terrorists, not realising that these very terrorist are a big and a perpetual source of income for Pakistan and the ordinary Pashtuns are just cannon fodder. The state of Pakistan is irrelevant to them even in the best of times.
It is high time for the Pashtuns to call this bluff. The 1.5 billion dollar Biden-Lugar bill for which the Pakistani establishment is salivating will prolong this war for another 10 years. Pashtuns will remain refugees in their own country. The Mantra of three ‘Ds’ is so much Bull. The money will be siphoned off by the hordes of politicians, bureaucrats and generals. US aid to Pakistan is not worth even on a single Pashtuns life.
March 11th, 2009 at 2:24 amHere is an excerpt from an article by Zafar Hilaly in today’s The News;
Click to read in full.
March 11th, 2009 at 2:30 amTo the email by P. Akhtar
I agree with most of what you write. But Pashtuns are not an innocent people either. They too carried out acts of aggression, violence and plunder (also in the name of religion and god) againt non-pashtuns, especially against hindus, and they were (and are) quite proud of it.
This bitter history is not to be used for settling scores (if that is what pashtunwali has been reduced to unfortunately) but to learn and admit one,s own (or ancestors,) sins, crimes and mistakes.
What do you think a hindu feels like when he sees Pashtuns glorifying Ahmed Shah Abdali or when he sees Pakistanis glorifying Mohammad bin Kasim, Mahmuds of Ghazni and Ghori, Aurangzeb, Tipu etc.? He feels insulted and provoked. “My ancestors were all honourable people, and my people today are all innocent” – that attitude is wrong. Putting the blame on Jalandar, Delhi, Bareilly, Virginia alone is unfair. This attitude of “I am the only innocent party and all others are the rogues” will not bring us further.
It has become the general attitude among muslims to consider muslims as the innocent noble guys and the non-muslims as the scoundrels. This attitude is damaging to peace, truth, justice and friendship.
The maltreatment and slander which Pakistan heaped upon Abdul Gaffar Khan (also called Frontier Gandhi) – the person who could have led the pashtuns, Pakistan and Afghanistan to a modern peaceful enlightened way of life – is taking its bitter revenge on Pakistan. That is the law of karma.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:45 pmI’m speechless, scared and dazed. My mind is boggling with the myriad bleak options we’ll be facing in not too far a future. Our country, as usual, is at the brink of destruction and total chaos; thanks to our leadership. The last thing we needed was this cowardly surrender of our government. I guess, our masses are in to get a first hand taste of how it feels like being crushed by a two pronged blitzkrieg; Hail our religious and political leadership.
March 16th, 2009 at 9:55 am