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The
Pakistan report card
Tebbit's
Taliban test
Fasi Zaka
Norman Tebbit, the conservative
English politician, inadvertently caused controversy when he
suggested the Tebbit, or "Cricket" Test. He thought one could gauge
an immigrant population's loyalty by checking which side they
supported in a game of cricket between England and the British
immigrant's country of origin. Under Tebbit's simple check, if
England is playing against Pakistan and British Pakistanis root for
the Pakistan team then they are not true to their adopted country.
It is a ridiculous assertion that one
can tell if a citizen is a potential traitor simply if he or she
doesn't support the home team. There is some value in it only as far
as maybe using it as a suggestion of the degree of comfortable
assimilation.
But I guess we need a small Tebbit
"Taliban" test. In a country at war with the murderous hordes of the
Taliban where there are numerous apologists for them. A Tebbit
result won't be accurate, but would be indicative.
See, most of the hardliners who are
asked fundamental questions obfuscate by bringing up other issues.
It was a shameful performance of the new amir of the Jamaat-e-Islami
Syed Munawar Hasan when asked on television what he thought of the
video of the girl being flogged in Swat. Rather than answer the
question he went on a rant about the drone attacks and the lack of
media interest in it. There were many others who wouldn't condemn
the flogging because they made elaborate theories of how the video
was supposedly faked.
While Imran Khan
may have written an impressive and eloquent defence of his position
in his article "Where I stand", statistically only five per cent is
spent condemning the Taliban, 48 per cent is spent chastising the
players in the government for not allowing the peace deal to go
through. Smoke and mirrors. Imran Khan's stance makes little sense
especially since he pursues the MQM citing the rule of law and then
makes fluid his position to allow the Taliban their Nizam-e-Adl
through extrajudicial means, effectively justifying their methods.
The MQM says the right things and
then does the shameful by urging restrictions of those tragically
made homeless. The PML-N does the same. The PPP goes even further by
passing a resolution in the assemblies under public threat by the
Taliban, despite their stance against them.
The question here really is, to
paraphrase Norman Tebitt, is just whose team are these people really
supporting? Pakistan's or the Taliban's? And why are they providing
the Taliban excuses, especially when Muslim Khan of the Taliban
believes that his Sharia allows for people to have their throats
slit like animals?
So the loyalty or truth test for the
amir of the Jamaat-e-Islami would be, "If we are certain that the
video is not doctored and the girl is innocent, does the Taliban
have a right to flog her?" Just because the amir is eager to see
flogging as a punishment he allows someone else's daughter to become
a victim to unsanctioned and imperfect justice. Islam is not about
flogging, and one cannot condone what is wrong to see their
revivalist dreams come true.
Imran Khan's Tebbit question would
be, "Should murderers be punished or handed out territory and peace
deals?" The MQM's question would be a slight variant of the original
that spawned this test "Do you support the Pakistani team only if
all the players are Mohajirs?"
The PPP should be asked, "Is your
government in the business of the supremacy of the constitution, or
the ascendency of self-preservation?" And to all of those who
believe in strategic depth by supporting the Taliban for eventual
use in unconventional guerrilla warfare against India, the question
would be, "Does strategic depth mean digging yourself into a deep
hole that undermines you domestically forever?"
The nation, and people like Shahid
Masood, need to realise this is our fourth war. The others we fought
against India, and we must remember that India has far more true
Muslims who have never harmed anyone as a percentage than the
Taliban have. It's time to support the troops and the beleaguered
people of the Swat region, not to fan egos who have bet their
ill-thought-out Islamic ideals on vicious groups.
The New:
Tuesday, June 09, 2009 |
