Torture and the Pakistani Army

A new video has emerged, taken from what appears to be a mobile phone, of Pakistani army personnel beating up suspected Taliban militants (who appear to hail from FATA/NWFP, from what one can tell).

Earlier, reports emerged that the Pakistani Army had left alleged Taliban members’ bodies out on the roads of Swat. The Sunday Telegraph cited an 18-year old boy “describing seeing dogs eating the bodies of bombing victims lying in his village before he fled.”

According to a BBC report on the video, DG ISPR Athar Abbas says this is “a very serious accusation.”

“I cannot comment on the video till we have examined it. This will take some time as the army headquarters will have to be involved in the process.”

The video is sickening to watch, but the report doesnt come as a surprise. As I mentioned earlier, reports of the Pakistani Army’s involvement in torture and even war crimes in the battle against the Taliban have been circulating for months now. Whether this video is real or not [and so far, it looks pretty authentic], what one would really like is some honesty from the Pakistani Army.

Update: The first video was removed from YouTube almost an hour after I first saw it, YouTube says the video violates their Terms of Use. Blog post has been updated with new video link.

Musharraf, Meera and mithai.

The opening sentence of this article is so well-crafted I want to make babies with it.

From the sweeping presidential palace of Islamabad to an unassuming three-bedroom flat behind the shisha bars and kebab joints of London’s Arabic quarter – one might have expected Pervez Musharraf to do better.

The article also made me feel quite good about literally having a haleem joint, a milkshake joint and various bakeries literally a stone’s throw away from my flat. Of course, my apartment didn’t cost over £1m and I don’t have private security and Scotland Yard detail following me. Instead, I have a chowkidaar who stays asleep for most of the day, and regularly refuses to wake up when the water tanker arrives or if one ever has guests waiting at the apartment’s main gate.

In other news, I was jolted out of my flu-induced stupor by this image of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, oddly timed to be released around the 9/11 anniversary, which I suggest you show your children (if you have any) if they ask you too many questions. It should shut them up for a while.

Also, If you get invited to the PM’s house anytime soon, remember to take along your own mithai, cos he ain’t serving any. Of course, there is no way of really verifying if this will actually lead to an be enforced, and if other politicians will follow suit, but in any case don’t forget to pack those Toblerones.

And last, but not the least, Meera makes a journalist’s day.

P.S: Those of you who come to this blog looking for Ali Mustafa, please go away. He has a Twitter account, go read his updates instead. I’m going to go take care of my flu.

Exit: Rehman Dakait.

On Saturday, I was sent to cover a peace rally against the Gojra incident by the People’s Aman Committee, headed by Sardar Abdur Rehman Baloch.

The irony of it all, of course, struck me and my fellow colleagues as incredibly hilarious. Sardar Abdul Rehman Baloch is Rehman Dakait’s official name, and the fact that one of Karachi’s most notorious gangsters was heading an organisation called People’s Aman Committee left us giggling all evening.

When you live in a city like Karachi, there is no way you can not hear Rehman Dakait’s name. The rumours were numerous: “Rehman was driving Benazir’s car on 18th October 2008, and drove her to Bilawal House after the bomb blasts on the 19th”, “Rehman was seen in public at Saddar”, “Rehman has turned to a life of peace,” “Rehman’s drug and arms smuggling trade is worth billions”, each rumour more unbelievable and dramatic than the one before it.

This morning, I woke up to the news that Rehman Dakait was dead. Killed in a police encounter by a police force headed none other than by SSP Chaudhry Aslam who had a long and rather colourful history with Rehman. Rehman had been captured by Aslam years ago, and then fled from police custody. Rehman Dakait allegedly carried out an assassination attempt on Aslam as well.

Chaudhry Aslam was later arrested in an extra judicial murder case, and after the charges got dropped, re-entered the police force. In January, plans were announced to start a clean-up operation in Lyari.

Following Rehman’s death, at least five people have been killed in incidents of violence, with life paralyzed in parts of Karachi.

What’s fishy about this whole situation is that Rehman was largely considered to have been an ally of the PPP, with members of Rehman’s gang allegedly being part of Benazir’s, and then Zardari’s private security force. And this is where the questions start: why has Rehman Dakait been killed now? The authorities could have arrested him and/or killed him in a police encounter years ago. And what happens next: will a new war break out in Karachi on who will take Rehman’s place, or will Lyari finally see peace?

Additional Reading/Watching:

Geo TV’s report on Rehman Dakait’s death
Lyari Footballers Turn To Life of Crime
Rehman Dakait on YouTube

P.S: I apologise if there are any factual mistakes in the above blog post. I am only human and am still trying to understand the circumstanes leading to Baitullah Mehsud’s death; Rehman Dakait is another Pandora’s Box, information on the topic is scarce and I have bouts of short-term memory loss.

Gojra Massacre.

Nearly two weeks before we’re set to celebrate yet another Independence Day, and people in this country still can’t learn how to tolerate members of minority religions in the country. Or maybe, in a weird, demented way, they were trying to recreate Partition for us.

Via the BBC:

Six Christians have been killed in religious unrest in Pakistan’s central Punjab, after days of tension sparked by the rumoured desecration of a Koran.

The four women, a man and a child died as Muslim militants set fire to Christian houses in the town of Gojra, officials said.

TV footage showed burning houses and streets strewn with debris as people fired at each other from rooftops.

YouTube doesn’t have any videos yet of the footage that was aired on national news stations today, but having seen the live coverage from Gojra on half a dozen channels, it is not just appalling, but chilling, as to how, to quote Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti, “a mob misled by Muslim extremists” set fire to a Christian-inhabited locality with multiple cameras capturing it on tape. MPA Saleem Khokhar informed me this afternoon that this is the fourth incident against minorities in Punjab in this month alone, and the Punjab police force has yet to provide security to the Christians in the area.

For a history lesson, Wikipedia (yes, I was lazy) has a brief rundown of the major incidents involving persecution of Christians in Pakistan.

I’m going to go cry now.

Pakistan Zindabad!

I don’t know what my favourite moment of the T20 Final is; the Sri Lankan batting order falling apart so quick that I thought I was hallucinating, Afridi’s sensible turn at the bat coupled with the sixers and boundaries in the last few overs, Dil Dil Pakistan playing at Lord’s, the intelligent cricket played by the Pakistani team…all in all, I’m over the moon, what an incredible game this final has been. Seventeen years and one day after we won the World Cup in 1992, Pakistani cricketers have given its countrymen an indescribable sense of elation. Pakistan Zindabad!

[Images courtesy Reuters]

Marriott Blast Victims = Bad Muslims?!

Via Dawn:

Mr Dogar contended that victims of the Islamabad Marriott blast were bad Muslims who consumed alcohol.

So judging by what Mr. Dogar has to say, the 200-odd people who were injured and the 50 or so who died in the Marriott Hotel blast were all bad Muslims, including the security guards who refused to let the truck driver entry into the hotel, the hotel staff, and many of the people inside who were having Iftaar after fasting all day. As far as I know, A.K Dogar’s a lawyer, not an expert on what constitutes a good Muslim. But then again, the self-appointed guardians of our faith never fail to amaze, shock or induce nausea.