Brave Pakistan army

The plan to oust the PML-N led government and topple Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from power is reaching critical mass. The last 48 hours saw the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) anti-government protests morph Islamabad's Red Zone from a concert ground to a bloody battlefield, with at least three people killed and hundreds injured. The deadly confrontation shows little signs of letting up, as both Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri have encouraged their supporters to battle on, while negotiations with the government appear to be going nowhere - despite the Pakistan Army playing the role of 'mediator'.

Javed Hashmi said he was ashamed and said he was sure Imran was too. "Now I'm going to say something and maybe Imran will refute that as well but it would be good if he didn't.""Imran had told the core committee it won't be called a martial law...we will file a petition in the Supreme Court and get a judge of our choosing...and he will say okay...we didn't talk about Bangladesh...that CJ will validate the actions that will be taken eventually...today I have heard that CJ has called all judges...Justice Jilani will retire and the current CJ will become chief justice...and they will get rid [of the government]".

TO understand them, there’s just two dates you need to know: 1971 and 1977. In 1971, the Pakistan Army contrived to lose half of Pakistan. In 1977, the Pakistan Army was back running Pakistan. Six years was all it took. And if 1971-1977 happened, what’s 2008-2014? Nawaz didn’t stand a chance. But Nawaz has also helped write his political obituary. Twice now he’s been called a liar. First, it was the Musharraf promise: the boys let it be known that Nawaz had reneged on his government’s promise to indict and then allow Musharraf to leave the country.

Maybe the Musharraf promise had been made or maybe it hadn’t. What was alarming was that the boys were quietly letting it be known that they thought they had a deal and the PM double-crossed them. In essence, the boys were accusing the PM of being a dishonourable man. That’s a perception — correct or incorrect, right or wrong — that you don’t want the boys to have. It explains what came this week. Briefly, Nawaz himself tried to shift perceptions, to collar Imran and Qadri and stick them in next to the boys.

Immediately, the boys hit back. This time there were no leaks, no background chatter, no carefully sown doubts. Sorry, Prime Minister, you’re a liar — it was direct, it was blunt and it’s devastating. You have to wonder if a third time will be necessary. Why would Nawaz do it? Even if he’s right — he hasn’t lied — and they’re wrong, why would he so casually let such poison flow so freely in so vital a relationship?

Take your pick. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t know better. Or he thinks it will work. None of them really make sense. It also doesn’t matter. The mandate was already dead. Now, Nawaz will survive on sufferance — their sufferance. You don’t make them out to be liars and stay in control of your destiny. The other thing you don’t do is call them out on their lies.

Nawaz knows plenty of their lies. As does anyone who’s dealt with the boys and dealt with people who’ve had to suffer the boys. Stories, apocryphal and true, suffice. Just this term, Nawaz has caught them twice. Once, he was told the Taliban were lying, that there were no non-combatant captives. Then the Achakzai line to Karzai was opened to get the real story from the other side. Nawaz knew he was being dissembled with.

How strong are they? Nawaz knows. He once told the story of the other Pakistan, the one they contrived to lose in 1971. Nawaz went there, some years ago, and met all the big guns, the fearsome political rivals and the boys in charge there. Each one of them complained about interference and those three letters: I.S.I.

Isn’t it extraordinary? Bitter rivals they are over there, opposing camps, fiercely divided — and yet all speak about our boys and all say the same thing.

Playing all sides against each other in faraway Bangladesh? You’d think everyone has forgotten about Bangladesh, or would like to forget. But that’s our boys: they never forget. It doesn’t take much to figure out what they can do with home advantage. So many sides, so many angles, so many games, so many Qadris and Imrans — always one bottom line: they stay strong; everyone else stays weak.

But Nawaz keeps quiet. As did Zardari. As do all the civilians. Because to call them out is to invoke a wrath that can bring all your skeletons tumbling out. And you don’t want your skeletons to come tumbling out.

Where to now? The transition has ruptured. If that wasn’t dismal enough, there’s no one on the horizon who can help put it back on track. So now we have to go big, to look at epochs and what makes them. There’s two that matter so far.

The boys and their system were forged in the first decade of this country’s existence. Ayesha Jalal in The State of Martial Rule has explained it more convincingly and eloquently than anyone else: in the shadow of the Cold War and in combination with regional and domestic factors, the structure of the Pakistani state was forged. That’s the edifice, that’s the system, that’s the boys and what makes the boys the boys. But the boys are in denial. There is a second epoch. Fast forward to the late 1970s. Three events in quick succession, the meaning and combined effects of which the country has yet to figure out: Zia and his Islamisation; the Shia-Sunni schism reignited by revolution just when petro-dollars were coming into their own; and the Soviets wading into Afghanistan.

The civilians haven’t been allowed to grow, but events — blessed, cursed, events — have grown. Everything the boys are contending with, the big changes they have been forced into stem from those events. See, one hundred and seventy five thousand troops in Fata fighting Islamist militants. So change is here, we’re already living it and the boys are struggling to cope. Which means, eventually, either they’ll have to make choices or events will make the choice for them. When the rupture does come though — when things break apart — it may not be the civilians who will get to collect the pieces and put Pakistan back together; it could be something far uglier.

But that’s the risk. Because Zardari failed, Nawaz is failing and Imran is a failure. But, most of all, because the boys think failure is victory. That’s what got them from 1971 to 1977. And that’s what’s got them from 2008 to 2014.

In Pakistan a Mexican standoff is taking place. Opposition politician Imran Khan, who recently called off talks with the elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and populist cleric Tahir ul-Qadri are parked in front of Parliament in Islamabad with both demanding that Sharif quit. A range of accusations have been hurled at Sharif who won a landslide victory in the general elections of May 2013 which were given a clean chit by independent international observers judging them to be free and credible.

Both Khan and Qadri accuse Sharif of rigging the elections and of nepotism and corruption. They have declared that they will not back down until the prime minister steps down. Imran Khan has been the more vocal of the two figures against Sharif. In emotional appeals mixed with cajoling and threats, he has raised the level of opposition by alluding to more extreme measures if any demonstrators are attacked by the police. Khan specifically targeted the police chief of Islamabad warning that if any of his workers were injured, he would chase him to every corner of Pakistan.

While this drama is going on, Nawaz Sharif must be weighing his options and response. After all he is the democratically elected head of the government! It is not an easy state of affairs with rallies being planned across the country, a law and order situation to be dealt with, MQM killers on the loose in Karachi, problems in Baluchistan and a host of external difficulties. Sharif stands alone in the face of a predicament that would tax the nerves of the strongest of men. He has to overcome any fears or indecision and come up with wise solutions and sensible measures to safeguard Pakistan. At present he seems like Marshal Will Kane played by Gary Cooper in the 1952 Western classic High Noon facing his opposition alone in a confrontation that may have a decisive impact on the future of the nation. 

On the other side both Imran Khan and Tahir ul-Qadri are waiting as a third party. Meanwhile, the Pakistani army watches anxiously. Many Pakistanis believe that the army is reluctant to step in. It is already embroiled in fighting terror and guarding the country’s borders. With so much at stake, the economy on a downward trend and with chaos and the fear of uncertainty across the country, the best interests of Pakistan lie in a meaningful dialogue. Imran Khan’s party should behave like a responsible opposition. Nawaz Sharif should look into the genuine grievances of the people, instill reforms, assure transparency and weed out corrupt officials. Tahir ul-Qadri should be packed off to Canada for he has proved to be a publicity-seeking rabble-rouser and demagogue who seems only to be intent on creating chaos and destruction.

Pakistan cannot afford such turmoil especially with the dangerous situations that pose a threat to the country’s borders. The Pakistani people have suffered and endured calamities for decades. What they need is some respite, a reasonable Imran Khan and an accommodating Nawaz Sharif both of whom love their country and can offer much more to serve their nation. Let us hope and pray that they will rise to the occasion putting their country’s interests above all.

 

 

Supporters of fiery anti-government cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, his images seen at background, take part in a protest, in Islamabad, Pakistan. Qadri led rallies  in Pakistan’s capital, demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif step down over alleged fraud in last year’s election in front of  of protesters.

Minhaj-ul-Quran International is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) founded by Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri in 1981 in Lahore, Pakistan.[1] It has a long-term strategic vision to promote religious moderation, effective and sound education, inter-faith dialogue and harmony.[2] It has expanded to 100 countries around the globe.[3] Its emphasis is improving the social, cultural and religious condition, enlightening the masses with the knowledge of their rights and duties and presenting a realistic, rational and scientific picture of Islam.

The headquarters of Minhaj-ul-Quran International was inaugurated in 1987 by Tahir Allauddin Al-Qadri Al-Gillani who is regarded as the organization's spiritual founder.[4] The objective of Minhaj-ul-Quran inEurope and the West in general is to create harmony in societies between different cultural, ethnic and religious communities through social interaction, interfaith dialogue and spreading the messages of toleration, respect for others and the benefits of integration. . It is the first organisation of its kind that has initiated interfaith dialogues with religious minorities.[5] Qadri is the Chairman of the Muslim Christian Dialogue Forum, where Christian bishops and Muslim clerics and scholars work side by side.

The ideology of Minahj-ul-Quran International is multidimensional and relates to the spiritual, moral, educational and social progress of human beings in the light of a modern and moderate interpretation of the Quran and the sunnah of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It promotes religious moderation, peace and interfaith harmony. In the west it has specialised in tackling extremism and radicalism amongst young Muslims in the hope of reducing the evil of terrorism.[12]

Qadri says he felt the need to establish Minhaj-ul-Quran because, after analysing the work and efforts of contemporary Muslim organisations, he concluded that they all were working on very limited level, none of them had a comprehensive global vision and programme and they lacked co-ordination and co-operation. However, the message of the Prophet Muhammad was comprehensive and global and therefore the various outstanding characteristics of Minhaj-ul-Quran International are believed to lead to a revival of the Prophet Muhammad's message.[13] These characteristics include:

Comprehensiveness of the message;

Purity of the message;

Chain of transmission of the message from Prophet Muhammad to its founder;

Modern and scientific interpretation of message;

Emphasis on the revival of spiritual, moral, educational and social values;

Emphasis on revival of the message.

The educational network of Minhaj-ul-Quran is well known in Pakistan. It runs around one thousand educational institutes, including libraries in Pakistan and a university based in Lahore which was chartered in 2005.[14]

It also runs a successful charity, the Minhaj Welfare Foundation (MWF), that has a global network and aims to provide emergency aid, health care, welfare support and education to the poor and those affected by natural disasters.[15] It is a UK registered charity under the Charity Commission.

Minhaj-ul-Quran has continuously aimed to promote the tolerant, inclusive, peaceful and balanced message of Sufism through the modern and scientific interpretation of Islam, and has distributed over 300,000 books of Tahir-ul-Qadri in the last 25 years. It has produced and distributed millions of video cassettes, CDs and DVDs with lectures of its founder on almost every concept of Islam worldwide.[16]

Minhaj-ul-Quran holds one of the largest annual Itikaf gatherings during the month of Ramadan with approximately 37,000 people sitting congregational Itikaf in 2007. It holds the largest Laylat ul Qadr night event on the 27th Ramadan with millions of attendees.[17][18]

Minhaj-ul-Quran also has revived the concept of celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad in the Ummah. The largest annual International Mawlid an-Nabi (Milad un Nabi) event takes place in the grounds of Minar-e-Pakistan, Lahore, on the 12th of Rabi' al-awwal and attracts people from all over Pakistan and aboard. The highlight of the event is the speech by Tahir-ul-Qadri, live via satellite from Canada where he is in self-imposed exile, followed by recitation of salutations upon the Prophet Muhammad.[19] In 2008, due to the limitation of the space at Minar-e-Pakistan, it plans to decentralise the event and will hold events in 5 different cities and broadcast the speech live to all the cities.

On 3 December 2005 Minhaj-ul-Quran established a full-time institution called Gosha-e-Durood where any individual can apply to sit for reciting salutations on the Prophet Muhammad. In the last two years trillions of salutations have been recited. A building dedicated to this purpose with Mawlana Rumi style minarets is under construction.[20]

It also airs the main lectures of its founder on the private international TV channel QTV (ARY), which enables millions of people abroad to listen.[21]

In the past decade Minhaj-ul-Quran International has successfully established various resources to promote the peaceful and balanced message of Islam using the internet.

Minhaj-ul-Quran International is the first organisation of its kind that has initiated interfaith dialogues with religious minorities in Pakistan. Its founder is the Chairman of the 'Muslim Christian Dialogue Forum' to highlight and promote their citizen rights.[22][23][24]

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has formally recognised and granted a 'Special Consultative Status' to Minhaj-ul-Quran International due to its services in promoting peace, tolerance, interfaith harmony and education, tackling extremism and terrorism, engaging with young Muslims for religious moderation, promoting women’s rights, and providing social welfare and promotion of human rights.[25]

In September 2011, Minhaj-ul-Quran organised a major "Peace for Humanity" conference at Wembley Arena in London at which, under the auspices of Tahir-ul-Qadri, its 12,000 attendees announced a global declaration denouncing racism, interfaith intolerance, extremism and terrorism.[26] Minhaj-ul-Quran strategist Joel Hayward[27] wrote the declaration text for Qadri[28] and was its second formal signatory after Qadri himself. Notably, senior Al-Azhar University leaders and dignitaries then signed it before Minhaj-ul-Quran opened it up via the internet for public signing.[29] They aim to get one million signatures within a year.[26] The London Declaration for Global Peace and Resistance against Extremism is intended as an interfaith document which unequivocally condemns all extremism and terrorism, ”because at the heart of all religions is a belief in the sanctity of the lives of the innocent.”[30] The Declaration adds: “The indiscriminate nature of terrorism, which has in recent years killed far more civilians and other non-combatants than it has combatants, is un-Islamic, un-Judaic, un-Christian and it is indeed incompatible with the true teachings of all faiths.”[30] The London Declaration also “unequivocally condemn[s] anti-Semitism (including when sometimes it is disingenuously clothed as anti-Zionism), Islamophobia (including when it is sometimes disingenuously dressed up as patriotism) and all other forms of racism and xenophobia.”[30] Some extremists have already tried to prevent the success of the Declaration via cyber-attacks on the website hosting it.[31]

Minhaj-ul-Quran leader Dr Tahir-ul Qadri announced the largest March in modern times in Pakistan; a march to take place on 14th Jan 2013 at 'Tahrir Square' Islamabad. The agenda of long march is to voice elimination of feudalism, introduction of real democracy, rule of law and implementation of constitution.[32]

Minhaj Welfare Foundation (MWF)

Muslim Youth League (MYL)

Mustafavi Students Movement (MSM)

Minhaj-ul-Quran Women's League

Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT)

Pakistan Awami Lawyers Movement (PALM)

Muslim Christian Dialogue Forum

Farid-e-Millat Research Institute (FMRi)

Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri (born 19 February 1951) is a Pakistani politician, former law professor and SufiIslamic scholar.[3][4] He was a former professor of international constitutional law at the University of the Punjab.[5] Qadri is also the founding chairman of Minhaj-ul-Quran International. 

Qadri learned from a number of classical authorities in Islamic sciences, including Abu al-Barakat Ahmad al-Qadri al-Alwari.[citation needed]

Qadri studied law at the University of the Punjab in Lahore, where he graduated with an LLB in 1974, gaining a Gold Medal for his academic performances.[6] Following a period of legal practice as an advocate, he taught law at the University of the Punjab from 1978 to 1983 and then gained his PhD[7] in Islamic Law (Punishments in Islam, their Classification and Philosophy) in 1986 from the same university. His supervisors were Bashir Ahmad Siddiqui (‘Ulum al-Islamiyya) and Javaid Iqbal.[8][9] He was appointed as aprofessor of law at the University of Punjab, where he taught British, US and Islamic constitutional law.[citation needed]

On 25 May 1989, Qadri founded a political party, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT). This party aims to introduce the culture of democracy, promote economic stability, and improve the state of human rights, justice, and women's roles in Pakistan. The PAT also aims to remove corruption from Pakistani politics. Its official website contains its formal manifesto.[10] In 1990, Qadri participated in the national election. In 1991, PAT and TNFJ (Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Fiqh-e-Jafria A shia political group), now known as Tehreek-e-Jafria,[11] introduced the idea of political working relationship. From 1989 to 1993, Qadri continuously worked as an opposition leader.[12]

He was also elected as a Member of the National Assembly for his constituency. On 29 November 2004, Qadri announced his resignation as a Member of the National Assembly.[13] Qadri views an Islamic state as a Muslim-majority country which respects freedom, the rule of law, global human rights (including religious freedom), social welfare, women's rights and the rights of minorities.[14] He also claims that the Constitution of Medina "declared the state of Madinah as a political unit". He also mentions that the Constitution declared the "indivisible composition of the Muslim nation (Ummah)".[15] With respect to the Constitution of Medina, Qadri says: "This was the constitution, which provided the guarantee of fundamental human rights in our history." He believes that "a constitution is a man-made law and by no means it can be declared superior to a God-made law."[15]

Qadri apparently made contradictory statements regarding his role in the making of Pakistan's blasphemy Law. In an Urdu-language speech he said: "I would like to lift the veil that this blasphemy law ... it was I who had this law made, that no matter who commits blasphemy, whether Muslim or Non-Muslim, man or woman, Christian or Jew, whoever commits blasphemy should be killed like a dog!" Yet in another video he says: "Whatever the Law of blasphemy is, is not applicable on non Muslims, is not applicable on Jews, Christians, and any other non-Muslims. I was never a part of shaping this law in the parliament made by Zia-ul-Haq.".[16][17][18][19][20] After the disclosure of this apparent contradiction in the Danish Media, the Integration and social affairs minister, Karen Hækkerup, pulled out of a conference on religious radicalism after she discovered that Qadri helped to fashion Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy law. She said she would not share a stage with a controversial Muslim scholar who helped to create that law.[21]

In December 2012, after living for seven years in Toronto, Canada, Qadri returned to Pakistan and initiated a political campaign which called for a "democratic revolution"[this quote needs a citation] through electoral reforms. Qadri called for a "million-men" march in Islamabad to protest against the government's corruption.[22] On 14 January 2013, crowds marched down the city's main avenue. Thousands of people pledged to sit-in until their demands were met.[23] When he started the long march from Lahore about 15,000 people were with him.[24] He told the rally in front of parliament: "There is no Parliament; there is a group of looters, thieves and dacoits [bandits] ... Our lawmakers are the lawbreakers."[25] After four days of sit-in, the Government and Qadri signed an agreement called the Islamabad Long March Declaration, which promises electoral reforms and increased political transparency.[26] Although Qadri called for a "million-men" march, the estimated total present for the sit-in in Islamabad was 25,000 according to the government.[24]

Critics have charged that the protests were a ploy by the Pakistan Armed Forces to delay elections and weaken the influence of the civilian government, citing Qadri's close ties to the military, dual nationality and foreign sources of funding.[27][28] Lawyers for the Supreme Court of Pakistan claimed that Qadri's demands are unfeasible because they conflict with the Constitution of Pakistan.[29] The Tribune reported on 17 February 2013, that Qadri seemed to have capitulated on most of his demands in the Islamabad Long March Declaration.[30]