Dawn Editorials with Summary

 

DAWN EDITORIAL

January 7, 2024 (Sunday)

Spoiling Peace

Summary

• Peace efforts in Balochistan have been repeatedly sabotaged by "spoilers" who benefit from the ongoing conflict.
• These spoilers come from a variety of backgrounds, including state institutions, the political and tribal elite, religious clergy, bureaucracy, and contractors.
• They use a variety of tactics to disrupt peace processes, including covert tactics, overt violence, and the construction of an exclusive and dichotomous definition of patriotism.
• The people of Balochistan are demanding an end to enforced disappearances and the holding of free and fair elections.
• The writer suggests that a gesture of empathy from the chief justice of the Supreme Court could have a transformative impact.

Article

What if the doors of Prime Minister House had opened for the Baloch protesters demanding an end to enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, and what if the president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan had given them a chance to share their painful stories?

Wouldn’t this have been a substantial confidence-building measure for a province suffering from insurgency, terrorism, bad governance, and economic crisis for decades?

The victims’ families — currently camped out in the open in the midst of the Islamabad winter — had come for justice and needed empathetic treatment from the state. They were given a brutal reception by the police and heard spiteful remarks from caretakers in the government.

If the caretakers’ response to the protesters is taken as the response of Pakistan’s institutions, it can only be interpreted as a sign that the centre remains unwilling to rethink its strategy for dealing with Balochistan.

If that is the case, how does one interpret the efforts by the security establishment to open a dialogue with Baloch society, especially its youth? Either the state institutions are confused, or they have been trapped by those who seek to spoil peace.

Stedman’s theory of the spoiler problem in peace processes can help shed more light on this situation. The theory is a pillar in conflict studies: it defines spoilers as leaders and parties who believe that an emerging peace threatens their power, interests, and worldview.

Like all ordinary Pakistanis, the Baloch simply yearn for respect.

Each spoiler is a distinct entity, and Stedman identifies four key challenges in managing spoilers: position (inside vs outside), number, goal type (limited, greedy, total), and locus (leadership vs followers). These factors influence how spoilers disrupt peace processes, as ‘inside’ spoilers use covert tactics, while ‘outside’ ones resort to overt violence.

In short, the Stedman theory can be described by thinking of a peace process as a fragile bridge being erected over a chasm of conflict. The spoilers are shadowy players who, driven by various motives, are determined to topple that bridge before it is complete.

The conflict in Balochistan is multifaceted, and the state and society are still struggling to find a strong bond for cohesion. In state policy, the province is considered a special case in all respects — from governance to resource distribution and political empowerment to security; everything has created a class of cronies.

The cronies are from diverse backgrounds, including state institutions, the political and tribal elite, religious clergy, bureaucracy, and contractors. They seek power and money from the crisis: resolving the conflict is never in their interest.

The state’s interest lies in stability, and institutions believe in maintaining the status quo. They see factors and actors challenging their order with suspicion. The state relies on the wisdom of its cronies, and it fears dialogue with actors who do not agree with its worldview and policies. If political compulsions build pressure to widen interactions with other stakeholders, the spoilers from the crony club start sabotaging the process.

The reason is simple: Stedman identified their greed and the fear of losing the advantages they enjoy behind their destructive tendencies. The worst aspect of the process is that they advocate using coercive measures and continue constructing and widening their definition of ‘enemy’.

For spoilers, all those who disagree with their policies, narratives, and worldview fall in the enemy category. This is interesting because the cronies themselves come from varied ethnic, religious, tribal, and social classes. They construct an exclusive and dichotomous definition of patriotism through which only they qualify to be patriots. For example, they portray themselves as modern yet oppose progressive political and social ideas. They claim to be religiously moderate but make alliances with religious fanatics. Stigmatising and labelling adversaries are spoiler tactics to win the support of powerful institutions.

Spoilers not only destroy peace processes, but they also fail their patrons and create hurdles in the way of any effort for reconciliation and cohesion. They articulate the situation in a way that holds the key to peace and stability.

Balochistan’s simmering discontent, fuelled by long-standing grievances, has defied repeated attempts at reconciliation. The state institutions have been experimenting with a host of measures to address the crisis, including giving amnesty. If we look deeper, the spoilers, who have somehow become ‘custodians’ of the peace process, can easily be identified. It is due to them that nothing changes.

They spoilt the Aghaz-i-Haqooq-i-Balochistan package during the Pakistan Peoples Party government (2008-13). The PML-N government (2013-18) followed in the same footsteps after making reconciliation with Baloch insurgent leaders a clause of the National Action Plan, announced in January 2015. The PTI government was no different in its approach. The security institutions also attempted to engage in a broader dialogue with the Baloch people, especially its youth. However, nothing really worked.

The reasons for these failures are also well-known, as is how the spoilers dismantled each of these initiatives. Balochistan demands two crucial things: first, addressing the issue of missing persons, and second, holding free and fair elections in the province. The state institutions seem willing to listen to all other grievances except these two.

Baloch families protesting their loved ones’ disappearances demand nothing but an end to enforced disappearances and the establishment of the rule of law. Different governments have attempted to address these issues through various initiatives and commissions, and even the superior courts have taken notice, but a definitive resolution of these challenges remains elusive.

Security institutions often seek impunity for actions taken during conflicts, but the missing persons issue in Balochistan has become a critical human rights crisis. Spoilers have exacerbated the situation by justifying these acts and politicising a purely human rights matter with inflammatory rhetoric and by manipulating media resources.

Like all ordinary Pakistanis, the Baloch people simply yearn for respect. The current chief justice of the Supreme Court is known for his strong stance on human rights and has a history of visiting persecuted journalists. A single gesture of empathy from him could have a transformative impact.

The Baloch Question

Summary

• The upcoming general elections in Pakistan are scheduled for Feb 8, and there is no justification for postponing them.
• The most important issue that needs to be addressed is how to restore the seriously undermined democratic order in Pakistan.
• This will require returning to the negotiating table and deciding the parameters of influence, authority, and power of each of the major players involved in the country's running.
• The situation in Balochistan is particularly concerning, as the Baloch people have been largely disenfranchised and democracy discredited.
• The security forces have virtually taken over the province, and there have been widespread human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
• It is essential that the new government address the Baloch question and bring peace and empowerment to Balochistan.
• This will be a critical test of the new government's democratic credentials.

Article

Despite constant rumours about the postponement of the general elections slated for Feb 8, there is no logical or legal justification for any such move and there are far more important issues that warrant attention.

Even if a pretext could be found for seeking a poll delay, one can be sure that any attempt to push elections back further would not be approved by the Supreme Court but the media — particularly TV channels — continues to devote time to discussing the topic.

Regardless of who comes into power from among the major political parties contesting the elections, what needs to be actually focused on is what plan each party has to pick up the pieces of the seriously undermined democratic order and restore some essentials to it.

First and foremost is returning to the negotiating table — I almost said drawing board — and deciding the parameters of influence, authority and power of each of the major players involved in the country’s running.

I am despondent that any of our big politicians have what it takes to address this vexing issue.

If this isn’t done, whatever little democracy we have left in three of our four provinces will be no more than a carcass that has had all its flesh picked by the various vultures that have descended on it after it has been slayed by one individual or institution’s adventurism or the other’s.

You’d ask why I refer to three provinces when there are four. Balochistan has seen an ever-increasing footprint of the security services since Nawab Akbar Bugti challenged the military ruler back in 2006 and had to pay the price with his life for that dare.

When the anger at Nawab Bugti’s killing sparked a militant movement, a security crackdown that has seen an untold number of Baloch men becoming victims of enforced disappearance and kill-and-dump policy, also saw the security forces virtually taking over and running the province.

This virtual takeover has seen the Baloch people largely disenfranchised and democracy discredited and a suspect electoral process producing politicians who are touted as being ‘middle class, educated and young’ but are no more than glib surrogates or minions of the security state.

It would be wholly unnecessary to name names as, I am sure, you can rattle of half a dozen at the drop of a hat. These people are bereft of empathy who deny the existence of the enforced disappearance cases and stoop to denigrate their own people, including women activists, pleading to the state for a clue to their missing loved ones.

I am not one to deny a violent movement in the province and the killing of paramilitary and military personnel too, but to somehow justify mass scale and beyond all proportion retribution is patently wrong, dishonest and utterly unhelpful.

The question, however, remains whether the ushering in of an elected leader will let us witness leadership of the sort that is needed to sort out the sordid mess we have created in our biggest province, as per its land mass, and restore the faith of the Baloch in both the federation and the constitutional, democratic order.

So far starting from Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz to Imran Khan and Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari all have, whilst in opposition, expressed great sympathy for our wronged Baloch. One or more of them have stood shoulder to shoulder with relatives of our ‘missing’ Baloch and embraced them before TV cameras and pledged to end their pain.

But when any of them has scented power, let alone acquired it, their sudden disinterest in resolving the matter can only be explained by their fear of upsetting the security institutions that can pave their way to power or erect massive boulders in their path to office.

Talk to anyone in Balochistan, and contrary to what the establishment’s favourite ‘politicians’ say, you will learn that there is considerable anger, disappointment, even despondency, particularly among the Baloch in the coastal districts and their faith in the federation is at its lowest ebb.

If I am honest with you, I am despondent too that any of our big politicians have what it takes to address this vexing issue and bring all those alienated together so their aspirations and expectations of our country are no different than yours or mine.

Allow me to dispense with honesty this one time and let my optimism gallop ahead of me and say that the Baloch question will be addressed, and resolved, and they will truly be able to have their say in matters to do with their resources ie their economic rights side by side with their political rights.

Any more controlled elections that see people with low or no credibility among the Baloch helped along into the assemblies and the Senate just so their puppeteers can pull their strings at will, will only deepen the crisis.

It is incumbent on the most powerful of elements in the ruling structure to see that use of force and surrogates has delivered nothing in the past and will not deliver anything worthwhile in future. One can appeal to their patriotism to acknowledge this fact as it is in the country’s best interest.

For now, the Baloch are at the mercy of the security state and the women and child relatives and supporters of the wronged, the disappeared Baloch at the mercy of a sub-inspector, an SHO, of the Islamabad police who addresses those freezing in the protest camp in language which reminds one of the country’s chief executive’s words.

One earnestly hopes any government formed after the elections will be different. Bringing peace, empowerment to Balochistan is just one of the several critical tests the elected government will have to pass to have its democratic credentials accepted. Any bets on how it will do?

Not a New Normal

Summary

• The pandemic is not over.
• The WHO still considers Covid a global health threat.
• The US is facing its second biggest surge of the pandemic.
• Many people are not taking the pandemic seriously enough.
• Masking has become a divisive issue in the US.
• Governments are not focusing on Covid mitigation strategies.
• There are effective ways to protect ourselves from Covid.
• Masks, air filtration, and proper ventilation work against variants.
• Vaccinations and testing are also important.
• The media needs to do a better job of reporting on the pandemic.
• The media has been focusing on other issues instead of the pandemic.
• This has led to a lack of public awareness about the risks of Covid.
• Governments need to take action to protect their citizens.
• Governments should provide free rapid tests for Covid and other respiratory viruses.
• They should also resume data collection and public guidelines for Covid mitigation.
• Covid is not just a health problem, it is a social one.
• Journalists need to tell the stories of people who have been affected by Covid.
• This will help to raise awareness about the pandemic and the need for action.

Article

I tested positive for Covid on the first day of the new year in New York. It is not an ideal start to the year, or holiday, but the period of isolation so far has brought many reflections.

The most obvious is that the pandemic is not over.

Last Sunday, the technical leader to the World Health Organisation’s Covid-19 response, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, reaffirmed on X that Covid remains a global health threat.

“[This new phase] is marked by reduced impact compared to the peak of Covid 19 a few years ago, but it’s still a global health threat and it’s still a pandemic causing far too many (re)infections, hospitalisations, deaths and long covid when tools exist to prevent them.”

Yet this has not received the media attention it deserves.

At the time of my writing, the United States is facing the second biggest surge of the pandemic according to data from the Centres for Disease Control.

The surge is expected to peak next week with an estimated two million infections per day and estimates that one in three people will get Covid. People must take precautions, especially masking, but masks alone have become a divisive issue here. Many people cite “science” that claims masks are ineffective in preventing the spread.

Pakistan demonstrated a cohesive approach to a health crisis which it will need again.

This is why the media’s role in public messaging is critical right now, yet its focus is on other issues.

Professor Eric Topol’s op-ed in The Los Angeles Times on Thursday should sound alarm bells for policymakers, certainly in the US, who “are still playing make-believe” about the current wave atop of high cases of the flu and respiratory virus.

The current JN.1 variant “has continued its evolution with mutations adapted for infecting or re-infecting us,” writes Topol. But, he offers some good news: the latest booster in the US “provided protection from hospitalisation in the range of about 60 per cent against JN.1 and other recently circulating variants.” Even those who had not gotten this booster were protected from hospitalisations or visits to the ER.

The bad news is that only 19pc of Ameri­cans have received the latest booster, so far. This is the tragic face of health inequities.

The United States isn’t alone in its “state of denialism and general refusal to take simple steps to reduce the risk of infection,” writes Topol. Countries all over the world are not acting on Covid mitigation strategies. There’s a need to resume testing, data collection and public guidelines (like masking) backed by trusted science sources.

We know masks, air filtration and proper ventilation work against variants. When combined with vaccinations and testing, “we have layers of defense that work effectively together, no matter how the virus evolves. The key is to do it all, not rely on only one,” writes molecular biologist Dr Lucky Tran.

In fact, he recently posted an image of a rapid test that checks for SARS-CoV-2, RSV, Adenovirus, M.pneumoniae, and influenza. It isn’t approved in most countries but “imagine if governments provided this for free to the people!”

But governments like Joe Biden’s are more interested in securing a second term and giving their ally Israel a free pass to co­­m­mit more atrocities. “This passivity re­­inf­o­­­rces the illusion that the pandemic is be­­h­i­­nd us when it’s actually raging,” writes Topol.

Since isolating, Topol’s piece is one of the few I’ve come across on a mainstream media outlet about the dangers this wave poses. Friends in Karachi say they’re hearing about a rise in cases there, too. My chacha called a public hospital in Karachi to ask about boosters but was told there are none and no plans afoot to get them either.

It’s back to normal in Pakistan, too.

Pakistan’s role in handling the pandemic and ad­­­­ministering va­­­­­­c­­c­ines was com­­m­e­ndable. It de­­­­monstrated a co­­hesive appr­oa­­ch to a health crisis which it will need again, be­­c­ause we know this virus is not going away.

At least protect the most vulnerable — the elderly, the poor, the immunocompromised. Relaunch the NCOC and resume data collection so it can be used to understand the virus and prepare strategies to combat it.

The journalist Ed Yong, who covered the pandemic in 2020, wrote about watching publications he once respected “become complicit in normalising a level of death once billed as incalculable.”

In a piece for The New York Times last month he wrote: ​​“In this status quo, people are expected to ignore the threat of infection, pay through the nose if they get sick and face stigma and ridicule if they become disabled. Journalism can and should repudiate that bargain.”

Yong reminds us that Covid isn’t just a health problem, it is a social one. Journalists must ensure this story is told and let people feel everyone’s health matters. Until those that matter take note and take action.

Complex Conflict

Summary

• Thousands of Palestinians have been killed in the 3-month war in Gaza, including many children.
• Israel claims it wants to destroy Hamas, but its actions suggest a broader goal of creating a "greater Israel" by driving Palestinians out of the land.
• The roots of the conflict lie in the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which Britain promised to support the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
• The UN proposed a two-state solution in 1947, but Israel has never allowed it to be implemented.
• Israel's actions are a form of apartheid and are illegal under international law.
• The international community is calling for an immediate ceasefire, but the US is blocking any action at the UN.
• The war is costing Israel financially and has led to a halt in the Arab-Israel normalization process.
• The US is losing influence in the Middle East as a result of its support for Israel.
• Pakistan has consistently supported the Palestinians and is unlikely to recognize Israel in the wake of the Gaza war.

Article

Three months into the war in Gaza, thousands of Palestinians, including a large number of children, have been martyred by the Israeli Defence Forces. What is the end goal of Israel for which it has unleashed unprecedented death and destruction? Israel’s stated objective is that it wants to destroy Hamas. This is not credible because Israel is meting out genocide-like collective punishment to all Palestinians, and not just Hamas.

Is Israel’s goal, then, to create a ‘greater Israel’ by forcibly pushing the Palestinians into neighbouring Arab countries or elsewhere? If that be the objective, Israel has certainly overestimated what its brutal force can achieve, and underestimated the resilience of Palestinians, who seem determined not to leave the land on which their ancestors had lived for millennia.

The Palestine-Israel conflict is a complex issue. One land, two claimants: Jews and Palestinians. Both cite history to consolidate their claim to the land. The roots of this conflict lie in the decision of the British in 1917, called Balfour Declaration, to settle the Jews of Europe in Palestine. Once a sufficient number of Jews had reached Palestine and displaced the local Arab population, the British took the matter to the UN in 1947, where it was agreed to have two separate states, Palestine and Israel. However, Israel has never allowed the two-state solution to work. Instead, it has imposed an apartheid-like occupation on the helpless Palestinians.

The issue also has an ideological dimension. The state of Israel was created for the Jews of the world. The name itself comes from Hazrat Yaqoob (Jacob), the son of Haz­rat Ishaq, and grandson of Hazrat Ibra­him. Hazrat Yaqoob was also called Israel, and his descendants as Bani Israel. His successors included Hazrat Daud (David) and his son Hazrat Suleiman, both of whom built large kingdoms in this territory. Prophet Moses rescued the Bani Israel and brought them to this land from Egypt. All these Prophets are equally sacred for Muslims. Add to that the Masjid al-Aqsa, which was the Qibla-i-Awwal. Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) ascended to Heaven (Mairaj) from this mosque. Israel has no right to deny Muslim Palestinians the right to live in the lands which they hold in such holy esteem.

Israel has never allowed the two-state solution to work.

Israel continues to justify its atrocities in the name of “self-defence”. The Hamas action of October 7, 2023 did not take place in a vacuum as the UN secretary general had rightly remarked. The Palestinians are under brutal occupation. The Hamas action was an act of resistance against the occupying force, which is permissible under international law.

Israel’s indiscriminate firing on Palestinian houses, schools, and hospitals has elicited massive protests not only in Arab or Muslim countries, but all across, including in the United States. Yet, Israel is not ready to listen to these voices. One reason for such a ferocious Israeli response could be that there is domestic criticism for not anticipating the Hamas attack. Further, Netanyahu wants to look strong as his domestic popularity is declining. The firm support of the US may have also emboldened the Israeli leadership. Another reason could be that Arabs and Muslims could not display enough unity to take tangible actions against Israel, such as boycotting Israeli products or even cutting off diplomatic ties.

Nevertheless, pressure is now mounting on Israel. The US cannot continue to ignore the loud calls of the international community for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. Some European countries, like the UK, stand with Israel, but their people are agitating against the relentless bombardment of civilians in Gaza. Israel is also suffering a heavy financial cost of the war. Many businesses have closed down in Israel. A major setback for Israel is that the Arab-Israel normalisation process has halted.

The US influence in the Middle East has also received a setback. The Arab world, including the Gulf countries, are now looking ever more inclined to explore other options for their security needs. The US has also been widely criticised for casting its veto, thus paralysing the United Nations from playing a role in stopping the war in Gaza, an objective supported by 153 countries of the world. It is high time for the Biden administration to revisit its unqualified support to Israel.

Given the unwavering resolve of the Palestinians, Netanyahu’s dream of creating a greater Israel is not likely to succeed, but he and his right-wingers are surely destined to go into history books as the most ruthless and heartless regime.

Pakistan has consistently supported the right of Palestinians to self-determination. Pakistan has also not formally recognised the state of Israel. There have been some voices in the country for doing so. However, after the recent war in Gaza, there is even less likelihood that Pakistan would recognise Israel.