We must thank Saudi Arabia for having helped India with a major breakthrough in the probe into the 26/11 Mumbai attacks by facilitating the arrest of Syed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, one of the key plotters of the dastardly attack on Mumbai. Jundal, who had directed Ajmal Kasab and other 26/11 attackers from the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) control room, was picked up by the Saudi police, who put him on a Delhi-bound aircraft after alerting the authorities concerned here. Jundal has made the confession that LeT founder Hafiz Saeed was present in the control room when the masterminds of the 26/11 attacks choreographed the terror. He has also said that the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) of the Pakistan Army was involved in the 26/11 attacks.

Pakistan cannot now pretend, as it has been doing. The facts of the matter are: (1) it is still the Pakistan Army that calls the shots in that country, despite there being a democracy — of sorts; (2) the ISI still remains a state within the state of Pakistan; (3) the Pakistan Army-ISI will not crack down on outfits like the LeT because terrorism, as an instrument of state policy for Pakistan, cannot be compromised; and (4) the US cannot do anything about it because it is the US’ CIA that had conspired with the ISI to groom jihadi terror to oust the erstwhile Soviet Union from Afghanistan and it is the remnants of that terror that are now haunting the Af-Pak region with terrible ramifications for a so-called Hindu India too. These are the facts of life that must be explicitly stated, both by the government and the media in this country.

Pakistan, it seems, will not learn any lessons. Its economy is shambolic. Its democracy has been nascent since its Independence in 1947. Its civilian institutions remain crippled. People there are still fed with jihadi ideologies which a huge majority of them accept merrily. The Army there is mostly into the business of manufacturing high-quality terror so that it can be exported to India. And the Prime Minister of that country has just been dismissed for contempt of court.

Where is the point in even trying to talk to Islamabad? When that country remains intransigent as far as the role of its terrorists in the Mumbai attacks is concerned, and when it has rather embarked on a pitiably defensive course just to impress the international community that it is trying its best to weed out terror as an ally of the US in the so-called war on terror, New Delhi ought to rise to the occasion and tell Pakistan very bluntly that no nonsense will be tolerated. Will the Prime Minister wake up?

There is a vicious circle in the extortion of money from officials involved in rural development works.  Such officers, who do not enjoy any high security and work in adverse conditions, have no option but to pay, the payment made from funds meant for development in backward areas. As a result, these areas continue to remain backward, which is what insurgents-turned-terrorists — who are bereft of any ideology, though they claim they are championing the ‘‘cause’’ of oppressed people, and who are only in the business of expanding the industry of terrorism — precisely want, because they are then able to exploit poverty and backwardness further and draw recruits from among the unemployed and frustrated youth in such areas which will sustain the industry of terrorism.

It was reported that the Paresh Baruah faction of the ULFA had also started demanding money from contractors engaged in development projects in upper Assam, and a foreign company too, engaged in oil exploration, had been served an extortion notice. In the absence of adequate security, officials and contractors working in rural areas are soft targets of militants in the Northeast. Funds meant for rural development — which is a must to contain rebellion — are channelled to the coffers of non-state actors. It will be recalled how an enormous scam, involving allegedly Rs 1,000 crore, had hit the North Cachar Hills district of Assam a couple of years ago, in which politicians from the district acted in tandem with the Jewel Gorlosa faction of the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) — a Dimasa militant outfit of the area — to loot funds meant for the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council. Investigations are on. The other dimension of the problem is the role played by hostile foreign agencies. When, for instance, the ULFA had its base in Bangladesh and was in the grip of the Bangladesh wing of the Pakistan Army’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), this rogue spy agency was believed to have pumped in a lot of money to the outfit in order to destabilize Assam, then the rest of the Northeast, and then the rest of the country via a second proxy route, besides the first one via Kashmir. Until and unless the sources of funding of militant groups in this region are blocked, violence in the name of ‘‘people’s revolution’’ will remain the order of the day. And initiating peace talks with just one faction of an outfit, however sustainable it might seem, will never do. The other factions will continue to terrorize unarmed officials and contractors engaged in rural development works to extract money as they desire.

Holding the string of power by a single institution exists in Pakistan. The eventuality is confrontation among the different bodies. All try to show strength and prove the other weak

Who runs Pakistan? Is it Islamabad administration, Pakistani army, the Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) or the non-state actors operating from its soil? This has been debated over and over again. But it is still hard to reach a definite conclusion. The fact is since Pakistan emerged as a nation, it has been only ruled and not governed. Governance is still a far cry there. Perhaps, this cannot be expected from the radical social order and radical administrative system of Pakistan. Conflicts of all sorts are the realities of this country.

Conflict among power-mongers in Pakistan is also today‘s reality. Pakistanis accepted it as destiny. This is the reason there has been so many coups during the last six decades. Democracy and martial law continued playing hide and seek game. It has restricted Pakistan to evolve as a nation in the true sense. 

All these are familiar facts. But judiciary of Pakistan is still unknown to the outsiders. Recently, judiciary of Pakistan got much-media coverage as it gave verdict to remove Yusuf Raza Gilani from the office.

This increased the apprehension of a judicial coup in Pakistan. But can there be a term like “judicial coup.” Does it not sound ridiculous? Or is it new coinage in text of state affairs? Because spirit of Judiciary and the approach of grasping power forcefully exist in two opposite poles. This is a million dollar question now: is Pakistan heading towards a judicial coup?

Question is not removal of someone from the office. Change of leadership is a common phenomenon, particularly in democracy. Question is the way and the ground on which Gilani has been removed. Gilani perhaps still enjoys support of the majority in the legislature to head the executive. He is not removed through any no-confidence motion. He has been removed as the Pakistani Supreme Court does not want him to remain in power. The PPP has decided not to challenge the ruling of the Supreme Court and to accept its verdict despite its serious reservations over its validity. The Election Commission, apparently with the prior concurrence of Zardari, promptly carried out the directive of the court to declare Gilani disqualified to hold the post of prime minister and to function as a member of the Parliament.

There may be allegations against Gilani. But can the Judiciary direct the legislature to elect someone as its leader to lead the executive body? That is the question. This is related to the concept of Separation of Power. So Gilani‘s removal from the post of Pakistani Prime Minister cannot be just a political confrontation between ruling party and the opposition or mere lobby politics. Reality is beyond these usual happenings and this has given new twist to the affairs related to Pakistan. It legitimizes the need to relook Pakistan through a fresh pair of eyes.   

Judiciary enjoys more authority in Islamic countries. The countries that run the affairs following strict Islamic laws require a powerful judiciary. Executives seem standing folding hands before judiciary where rules are made over the concept of Islamic Shariat. Executives are bound to follow the Sharia act and use the state machinery to implement those. Pakistan ratified Sharia act in some parts of the country dominated by Taliban and other militant organization.

But it is also true that whole Pakistan is not ruled by strict Sharia act. There are people like cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan who occasionally raise voice in favour of secularism and democracy. From Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Benazir Bhutto: they are considered as martyrs for democratic movement in Pakistan despite their stubborn attitude to rule Pakistan as family property. Still then democracy peeped in political horizon of Pakistan due to the contribution of such personalities who mobilized radical Pakistani society to be liberal to some extent. This means democracy existed among a section that prevented Pakistan to be another Afghanistan under Taliban rule. It makes the point clear that despite Sharia act, shaky democracy, Judiciary did not enjoy the status what it does in a radical Islamic state.

Then what is the real strength of Judiciary in Pakistan? How does it play the role of king maker? All these need a serious introspection.

One point that cannot be missed that Judiciary and Pakistani army hardly confronted so far. Martial law was imposed several times there, but martial rulers decided not to intervene in judicial affairs. Judiciary also showered benevolence. Or else how could military rulers get the opportunity to exit at the end of martial law. How persons like Pervez Musharaff, general Kiyani remained safe despite making conspiracy and toppling democratically elected governments again and again?

Another point is whenever army took over Pakistan, question of legitimizing such law arise. For this one needs not go to remote past. Democratically elected Nawaz Shariff government was toppled by General Pervez Musharaff. Surprisingly, trial began over the alleged corruption by Nawaz Shariff and his cabinet colleagues. This means Judiciary ratified the coup done by General Musharaff.

Above all other things, it brings to the fore a serious question. That Judiciary in Pakistan always provided safeguards to the military rulers. Army in Pakistan knows that they enjoy greater privilege from the judiciary which has made them so powerful that democratic institutions can hardly ignore the role of Pakistani army in state affairs.

Another aspect is more serious. There is enough reason to think that it is Judiciary in Pakistan that actually controls the Pakistani army and the ISI. This is the new dimension of Pakistan’s reality.

 The present Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary enjoys not only high authority but high popularity particularly among the people related to legal affairs. The present executive of Pakistan even cannot think of removing this autocratic justice through legislation. Perhaps PPP leaders took lesson what happened in 2007 when General Pervez Musharaff tried to remove justice Chaudhury. It ultimately backfired in the form of “Lawyers Movement” The only body that can remove any of the Supreme Court justices from office, including the Chief Justice, is the country’s Supreme Judicial Council.

 So holding the string of power by a single institution exists in Pakistan. The eventuality is confrontation among the different bodies. All try to show strength and prove the other weak. The concept of Separation of Power is yet to become a reality in Pakistan. The question “who runs Pakistan?” will remain unsolved one. This means power in Pakistan will continue shifting from one quarter to the other. Stability really seems a non-entity for Pakistan.

Shibdas Bhattacharjee

(The writer is a freelancer based in Halakura, Dhubri)