Who is a terrorist?

ONE finds little legal guidance on this knotty question since the international community has yet to develop a legal definition given terrorism’s politically charged nature. Terrorism literally means using terror as a strategy.

This definition would cover psychopaths mutilating hapless victims for immediate pleasure; husbands abusing their wives to exact future compliance; and landlords, criminals and political organisations threatening larger populations in pursuing their divergent goals.

Clearly, this definition is too broad to be useful. These divergent phenomena deserve either different names or at least recognition as sub-types, e.g., psychopathic, family and political terrorisms. Emulating Uncle Sam, I focus here single-mindedly on political terrorism, the most controversial sub-type.

How does one define that sub-type? Unfortunately, even this is not an easy task. My academic peers, as divided as international officials, have generated over a hundred different definitions. Fortunately, most disagreements are over details and semantics. There is some agreement that political terrorism’s core elements include ‘deliberately physically attacking non-combatants in pursuing political goals, even if the goals are just’. This working definition can help in analysing the complexities of political terrorism.

Firstly, are freedom fighters not terrorists? Those deliberately targeting non-combatants would be considered terrorists under this definition. Freedom fighters facing stronger armies often start targeting non-combatants and justify their repugnant means by arguing the justness of their goal. Under this definition though, ends do not justify means. Thus, many resistance movements globally, e.g., in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Colombia, engage in terrorism.

While Uncle Sam may think otherwise, the Mujahideen of the first Afghan war were as much terrorists as those of the second Afghan war since they often targeted non-combatants. However, this is merely a judgment on the means and not the ultimate aims of these groups around the globe. As the ANC’s transformation in South Africa reveals, terrorist groups with worthy goals can win international support by abandoning terrorism. The Arab Spring shows that freedom fighters can dislodge tyrants without not only terrorism but also major violence. Conversely, terrorism has a sorry success rate to date.

Secondly, do states commit terrorism? If they inadvertently kill non-combatants during combat, they do not commit terrorism but they could be guilty of war crimes, an equally serious offence, if they do not follow the international laws for protecting non-combatants during war. Cases where low-level soldiers deliberately target non-combatants would constitute individual terrorism and possibly state war crimes.

State terrorism only occurs when top officials materially support terrorists or order soldiers to deliberately target non-combatants. Thus, the civilian casualties caused inadvertently by the Americans in Iraq during combat cannot be considered terrorism, though some of them may constitute war crimes. However, the torture of prisoners, duly approved by top Bush-era officials, certainly constituted state terrorism as did the Hiroshima bombing, probably the most destructive single terrorist attack ever.

Thirdly, who is responsible for the thousands killed by terrorism in Pakistan? Some people hold the Pakistani and American governments culpable arguing that their policies provoke militants into terrorism. ‘Provocation’ is actually a legal term which can be used to mitigate certain crimes. British women who kill highly abusive husbands while facing further direct trauma can claim provocation in defence, but merely to request a lighter sentence.

Furthermore, they are not given a licence to just kill anyone in retaliation nor can relatives of even murdered women invoke provocation in killing murderer husbands.

Given these stringent requirements, can someone from Fata, even if he or she unfortunately loses a non-combatant relative to American or Pakistani army action, justifiably claim provocation if he or she travels all the way to Islamabad or Karachi to exact revenge on non-combatants instead of taking the shorter journey to the perpetrators and courts? Clearly, from a criminal justice viewpoint, legal culpability lies with those planning, executing and materially supporting terrorism.

True, beyond the realms of criminal justice, there is the question of political responsibility. Viewed so, both governments have indirectly contributed to terrorism. However, that political culpability cannot lessen the legal culpability of terrorists. There are more sensible avenues available for protesting bad government policies, such as peaceful protests and courts.

Thus, it is ironic to see a populist Pakistani politician linking terrorism primarily to drone attacks when he chooses for himself instead the legal (and personally safer!) option of peaceful protests against drone attacks.

There are appropriate responses to inappropriate acts and there are inappropriate ones. Those committing inappropriate responses deserve appropriate punishment, like those committing the original inappropriate act. Thus, the only basis for peace with the TTP should be their unconditional surrender and submission to justice.

Finally, is terrorism linked to particular religions? Biased analysts claim that though not all Muslims are terrorists, almost all terrorists are Muslim. Facts easily disprove this misrepresentation. While Al Qaeda has attracted the most attention since it targets the West, highly egregious terrorism has been committed more frequently by others in recent history. Some even committed it in the name of religion, e.g., the Lord’s Resistance Army in Africa routinely attacks villages, chopping men’s limbs, killing thousands, raping women in front of their families and keeping them as mistresses.

Others were committed in the name of nationalism and ideology, e.g., the Rwandan, ex-Yugoslavian and Cambodian civilian massacres. However, these barbarisms do not reflect the original teachings of those religions or ideologies, just as Al Qaeda’s barbarism does not reflect Islamic teachings. In Islam, whoever kills an innocent person is though as he killed all mankind. Non-combatants were granted amnesty during the 630 AD Mecca conquest. Sick minds, not religions, produce terrorism.

Hence, religious terrorism is an oxymoron which should be discarded.

Thus, an objective analysis of terrorism requires a clear definition, which may not suit major powers. So, under Bush, the American definition degenerated into ‘whoever we consider one’. Second, it must be grounded in facts, not biases. Third, it requires differentiating between immediate and indirect causes. To date, these simple requirements have eluded global policymakers.

The writer is a political economist at the University of California, Berkeley.
murtazaniaz@yahoo.com

Akram offers to coach young Pakistan fast bowlers

Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, has offered his services to the PCB as a part-time bowling coach. Akram said he is 'ready to work for Pakistan', but would not be able to do it full-time because of family commitments.

"Coaching is a very demanding job," Akram told reporters at Lahore airport. "It requires a 24/7 [twenty four hours, seven days a week commitment] that I cannot afford while my personal life is a little unsettled. I have two kids to look after. But if they want my services, I am ready to work, but only in my free time."

In the past Akram has turned down the PCB's offers to coach, citing his responsibilities as a commentator. While he did state that he still doesn't have much free time, he said that whenever he is in Pakistan, he could juggle his routine to have time to coach fast bowlers.

"I have emphasised before that while I am free in Pakistan, give me about 10 to 15 young fast bowlers to coach for a month and I am ready to work. We have outstanding facilities at the National Cricket Academy. Send them to Karachi or I can come to Lahore as well."

When asked about the upcoming series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the UAE, Akram said Sri Lanka are a good side but not good enough to beat Pakistan. He pointed out that the bowling attack has struggled without Muttiah Muralitharan, who was responsible for 40 per cent of the team's wickets during his career.

"Sri Lanka is a good team but without Murali [Muralitharan] and [Lasith] Malinga they can't bowl out Pakistan twice in Test cricket," Akram said. "I don't see Pakistan losing unless they play very bad cricket.

"Pakistan has experience as Younis [Khan], Misbah [ul Haq] are there in the line-up and another veteran (Shoaib) Malik is back in the side. So with all this, we can understand that the team isn't lacking any talent. They just need support and need to play good cricket."

Pakistan will play three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 International in the three Emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, as Pakistan are currently unable to host international cricket amid security concerns since the attack on the Sri Lanka team in 2009. Given the situation, Akram said the PCB should create an alternative home country for the team.

"The idea is to play as much cricket as they can," Akram said. "If teams aren't heading to Pakistan, come up with an alternative hub and a system for Pakistan's home series and give its team more cricket - that will help them to flourish."

Learning from our disasters

For Pakistan, the 2011 floods came at a time when the country was already struggling to recover from last year’s floods. This year however, Sindh turned out to be the worst affected province with 22 of its 24 districts flooded. According to a report released by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), 8,920,631 people were affected by the floods in Sindh. Of these, 599,224 are still in relief camps all across the province.

Dr. Shershah Syed from the Pakistan Medical Association feels that the floods have highlighted a broader dilemma. “We are facing a humanitarian crisis – it is shocking to see the degree of malnutrition in the children at relief camps,” he says.

Dr. Syed was also involved in coordinating flood relief work last year and thinks that “these people are likely getting better access to healthcare in relief camps than in their own villages.” He further added that this is especially true of Sindh, a predominantly feudal province “where poor debt-ridden farmers toil lands not owned by them.”

Pakistan is included in a list of 20 countries which contain 80 per cent of the world’s undernourished children. Maternal and child under-nutrition is the underlying cause of 3.5 million annual deaths globally. The major causes of mortality in Pakistan in children less than the age of five years are diarrhea, acute respiratory infections and sepsis, with chronic malnutrition, an important but indirect cause of child mortality.

“With rising numbers of children suffering from diarrhea secondary to unsanitary water and hygiene we need to optimise access to clean drinking water and sanitation services,” says Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, Chair of the Division of Maternal and Child Health at the Aga Khan University.

Dr. Bhutta, who has done extensive work on how to best combat malnutrition in developing countries, says that rescue efforts in the these areas needs to be more directed to be as nutritionally optimal as possible. “There is little realisation that Sindh has the worst rates of maternal and child undernutrition in the country as exemplified by the nutrition surveys undertaken during the floods last year and confirmed by the recently concluded national nutrition survey. The current floods have just compounded a chronic emergency and underscored the importance of large scale preventive strategies.”

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that nearly three quarters of southern Sindh province crops have been damaged, while two thirds of food stocks have also been hit. Given the scale of the disaster, it is still a long way before relief or rehabilitation comes to the worst affected. In the meanwhile, what we see are millions of hungry people waiting for two square meals a day.

Given the present situation, we need to look hard and critically at our national and local priorities. Pakistan is not a poor country, it is a nation with poor allocation of resources and recently we have had more than our fair share of bad luck. With years of meager investment into health and education, two years of flooding has highlighted issues that have been festering for years particularly that of malnutrition. There is no magic bullet to solve the problem of undernutrition nor can we depend upon emergency responses and donor funding to affect change.

Evidence-based interventions can make a difference to short-term outcomes – these interventions include strategies to improve maternal nutrition before and during pregnancy, early and exclusive breastfeeding, and good-quality complementary feeding for infants and young children, with appropriate micronutrient supplementation. In addition to these nutrition interventions, other health promotion strategies include attention to programs to address unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene.

We also need long-term investments in the role of women as full and equal citizens—through education, economic, social, and political empowerment. To find widespread malnutrition in Pakistan in the midst of plenty is a travesty and points to the huge inequities that exist in Pakistan. Responding to this silent emergency should be a national priority and not a knee jerk response to natural disasters.

The writer is in final year of pediatrics residency at Duke University.

US attack in N. Waziristan unlikely

ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has ruled out the possibility of an immediate unilateral US military offensive in North Waziristan, saying the Americans will have to think 10 times before going for this.

The comments came at a rare briefing held on Tuesday for members of the standing committees on defence of the two houses of parliament at the General Headquarters.

A participant of the meeting told Dawn that the army chief had been asked to comment on the possibility of a US strike in Pakistan for its failure in Afghanistan, like it had attacked Laos and Cambodia before leaving Vietnam.

Gen Kayani did not say what would be Pakistan’s response in such an eventuality, but reminded that it was a nuclear power and must not be compared with Iraq and Afghanistan.

The briefing was mainly given by the Director General of Military Operations, Maj-Gen Ashfaq Nadeem, but the army chief also shared his views with the lawmakers, mainly about fears of US military build-up close to North Waziristan and the possibility of a unilateral attack in the region, and the army’s concern over the weak legal framework hindering trial and prosecution of terrorists.

It was probably for the first time that two parliamentary bodies jointly attended a comprehensive briefing on national security at the GHQ. The briefing was originally scheduled for Oct 13 and an invitation was also extended to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, headed by Mian Raza Rabbani, to attend the meeting. But the committee had decided to boycott the briefing and wanted it to be held at the Parliament House.

Almost all other members of the standing committees on defence attended the GHQ meeting. However, Professor Khurshid Ahmad, who is a member of both the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and the Senate’s Standing Committee on Defence, boycotted the briefing.

Another participant said Gen Kayani had rejected the US allegations that Pakistan was using the Haqqani network for waging a proxy war in Afghanistan and said his country was a part of solution, and not the problem.

He said he had told the Americans that Pakistan would go for a military action in North Waziristan keeping in view the situation and capabilities, and would not do it under any pressure. “If somebody convinces me that military action in North Waziristan will resolve all problems, I am ready to go for it tomorrow,” he said.

He said the problem was within Afghanistan and made it clear that some principles governed relations between states and nobody would be allowed to cross the red line. Gen Kayani rejected a perception that Pakistan wanted to control Afghanistan and said it was evident from history that nobody ever succeeded in doing so.

“When the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union failed to do so how can it be expected of Pakistan? We do not have a magic wand to succeed in doing what others failed,” he added.

The army chief said Pakistan wanted peace and stability in Afghanistan so that it did not face any challenge from its eastern and western borders.

He said Pakistan had handed over its position in black and white to US President Barack Obama and desired to get their position in writing as well. He said Pakistan would never allow its territory to be used for attacks against any other country.

Gen Kayani said the US had been told that Pakistan did not need military aid, adding that he had received a call from Washington asking if he meant it. “My reply was we mean what we say”. He said only 20 per cent of the $1.5 billion aid under the Kerry-Lugar bill had so far been received.

About the allegations of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) having ‘unsavoury characters’, he said the intelligence information came from links and all international intelligence agencies, including Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and MI6, had such contacts. He stressed that these contacts must be positively used.

Gen Kayani said it had been conveyed to the US that Pakistan had a long-term interest in the region and would not like to lose its long-term interest for short-term gains.

He underlined the need for revisiting the legal framework to prosecute those involved in terrorist activities. “The present law does not allow us to detain suspects for more than three months. This was not a sufficient time and terrorists gain out of it.”

The army chief said the weak law on terrorism and counter-insurgency was a problem because presently there was no deterrence. He said the law of evidence was outdated and not in conformity with the present scenario. He said a bill seeking to amend the Anti-Terrorist Act of 1997 had been pending before a Senate committee for almost a year.

Maj-Gen Ashfaq Nadeem informed the legislators that Taliban activity in Afghanistan had increased by 40 per cent, despite 10 years of military presence of 49 countries. He said there were safe havens of Taliban in Kunar and Nuristan in Afghanistan.

“Taliban operate from there (Afghanistan) to launch attacks inside Pakistan.”

Maj-Gen Nadeem said India’s cold start doctrine had added to the threats confronting Pakistan. He said seven out of nine Indian commands and three strike corps were along the border with Pakistan. Eighty-one per cent of forward and main operating bases were positioned against Pakistan.

“We cannot base our strategies on any good intentions, no matter how noble they may be, as intentions can change overnight.

Our strategy has to be based on India’s capability,” he added.

Back to back centuries for Ali waqas ..

Ali waqas, a very talented batsman from sargodha has increased the batting strength of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited. Ali waqas scored a fantastic 175 from 310 balls till the end of first Innings. of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division Two First-Class match season 2011/12.

The match is being played between Karachi Whites and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited at National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex, Karachi. At the end of 1st days play, SNGPL has managed to score 436  all out in 127.2 overs of play.Ali Waqas is the top scorer scoring 175, Usman Arshad 2nd on the list with 80. Naeemuddin scored a nice 50 and a useful contribution of 44 from the captian Umer Akmal.


Check the full Scorecard Below...

In the previous match played between SNGPL and Multan, Contrasting centuries from Umar Akmal and Ali Waqas put Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in command against Multan at the Multan Cricket Stadium. The pair built on a quick start from the openers, with Azeem Ghumman going on to make a brisk 77. Ghumman and Waqas put on 104 for the second wicket to take SNGPL to 156 for 2, but the worst was yet to come for Multan. Umar Akmal clobbered 21 fours and three sixes in an unbeaten 153 that came at better than a run-a-ball and took less than three hours. His pyrotechnics were in contrast to the sedate 104 from Waqas which required nearly five hours.

Ali waqas's brilliant performance is not only good for his own future but also has strengthen the batting lineup of SNGPL. Hope he gets going with the same positive frame of mind and snatch a lot of centuries and double centuries in his way.