The Hindu : MMA poses a threat to civil liberties: report

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 23, 2003

International

International

MMA poses a threat to civil liberties: report

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD MARCH 22. A report on Pakistan says that the emergence of the six-party religious alliance after the October general election posed a threat to civil liberties in the country. Besides, it urges the international community to monitor the cooperation of Pakistani military, paramilitary and intelligence forces in preventing jihadis from moving across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and into Kashmir.

In its report — ``Pakistan: The Mullahs and the Military'' — the International Crisis Group (ICG), a Brussels-based independent organisation involved in analytical reports on conflict zones, has some harsh words on the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and the inaction of the Government in confronting religious zealots.

It warns that the MMA threatens to undermine civil liberties, freedom of expression, legal reforms and religious tolerance.

``The situation of women and minorities is of particular concern,'' said the 43-page report.

Implied in its recommendation to the world community about the movement of the `jihadis' into Afghanistan and Kashmir is the suggestion that the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, is not living up to his pledge to stop cross-border infiltration.

In his January 12, 2002 speech, Gen. Musharraf had promised not to allow anyone to indulge in any illegal activities in the name of Kashmir. In June/July 2002, he had pledged to ``permanently'' end infiltration. Of course, senior managers in the Government had subsequently said that Gen. Musharraf's commitment was subject to resumption of talks by India and it was physically impossible to prevent infiltration.

The conclusions of the report assume significance as the alliance was elected to power in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Baluchistan in October 2002. ``Its leaders vow to Islamise State and society, counter to President Musharraf's pledges to end religious extremism. However, the President or the military is not confronting the MMA's zeal, while the President's recent constitutional amendments have undermined the domestic standing of moderate secular parties — to the benefit of the religious lobby,'' it said.

The ICG's South Asia Project Director, Samina Ahmed, said, ``since the military takeover in 1999, the Government has demonstrated neither the will nor the intent to pursue domestic policies opposed by the mullahs such as madrasa regulation or changes in discriminatory Islamic laws. The perpetual threat of war with India over Kashmir also brings the mullahs and the military close together''.

``While moderate sections of Pakistani society are being marginalised, religious parties and their causes are flourishing. The religious right, jihad and Islamisation are again acceptable currencies in political life.''

It has urged donors to channel funding through the Federal Government to women and minorities in NWFP and Baluchistan.

The ICG Asia Programme Director, Robert Templer, said, ``the Federal Government will have to restrain the MMA provincial governments from inciting jihadi sentiments and encouraging gun culture in the name of local traditions. More pressure from key donors might expedite the disarmament of jihadi groups and ending of their activities''.

The report says that the dangers of inaction are evident. ``The MMA leaders have deferred to the military in setting foreign and security policy but may in the end be unable to curb the anti-American sentiments of their followers. Pakistan could then find itself isolated regionally and a target, as opposed to a partner, in the U.S.-led war against terrorism.''

It said the Jamaat-i-Islami and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, the largest parties in the MMA, have maintained close ties with the military for decades. Gen. Musharraf's aversion to the mainstream political parties, led by the former Prime Ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, and the military's declared intent to keep them out of power presented the MMA with an open political field. As a result, religious parties have gained political clout, and religion is again at the heart of debates on legislation and public policy.

``Aware that foreign and defence policy is the military's preserve, the MMA restricts its opposition to the General to rhetoric. Its goal, in any case, is not to confront the military but to consolidate its political gains.''

The ICG says that by assisting the military's electoral manoeuvres, including formation of suitable governments in the centre and the provinces, the MMA has obtained major concessions, such as the release of party workers from jail and the dropping of several prosecutions. In the NWFP and Baluchistan, Islamisation is now official policy. Initial steps, such as a ban on music in public, attacks on cable television operators, and police action against video shops are signs of what lies ahead as the MMA implements its programme.

``The mullahs' usefulness for the military goes beyond domestic politics. The perpetual threat of war with India over Kashmir, a conflict coloured in religious hues, also brings the MMA and the military together. The more Gen. Musharraf searches for domestic legitimacy, the more he plays up the Indian threat. The mullahs are more than willing to support the military's policies in Kashmir,'' the report said.

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