Tarnishing the Quaid

Threats bigger than Qadri

It was a bloody Thursday when all hell broke loose. Bomb and suicide attacks in Quetta and a powerful explosion in Mingora, the capital of the troubled Swat valley, claimed at least 115 lives.

The same day firing by Indian troops on the LoC killed another Pakistani soldier. This is the fourth such incident in the last five days on the southern border of Azad Kashmir.

As if this was not enough to further demoralise a nation down on its knees, the MQM supremo Altaf Hussain chose the day to generate controversy around the only person revered across the board by everyone, the father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

The Muttahida chief, in his typical demagogic style while giving his two-hour plus telephonic khitab (address) to his ‘mesmerised’ followers, claimed that Jinnah had a British passport. In order to justify his British nationality and Canadian passport of his new-found ally Tahirul Qadri, he declared that the Quaid took oath of allegiance to the British king George VI.

Of course Jinnah had a British passport like everyone else before independence. But to equate it with those fleeing the country voluntarily and holding passports of the countries of their refuge is a travesty – a case of twisting facts to justify the unjustifiable.

Similarly, even to insinuate that he was a British stooge is also very unfortunate. On the contrary, Jinnah vociferously opposed the proposal of having a common governor general for both India and Pakistan, favoured by the last Viceroy of India Lord Mountbatten.

Mountbatten, a personal friend of Nehru, became the first governor general of independent India. Twisting this argument in their favour the MQM leader Farooq Sattar spuriously claimed that Nehru agreed to the proposal of making Mountbatten the governor general of India so as to avoid declaring allegiance to the British Empire. Nehru nonetheless took oath from Mountbatten, a fact conveniently ignored by the MQM stalwart.

At the time of partition, both India and Pakistan were dominions until they had their own respective constitutions. India became a republic in 1949 as soon as it had a constitution. Pakistan owing to shenanigans of its politicians became a republic much later in 1956.

But this did not mean that in the interregnum India and Pakistan were not independent states. The Quaid being a constitutionalist par excellence took the extra caution of getting the words of his oath as governor general altered. The words “allegiance to the British King” were replaced with “allegiance to the constitution of Pakistan”.

Jinnah abhorred Mountbatten for his dubious role in partition, and clear tilt in India’s favour. According to the memoirs penned by Gen Shahid Hamid, Military Secretary to Governor General Jinnah, the Quaid literally told Mountbatten to leave from the reception after his oath taking.

According to Hamid, “I was not far from the Quaid when he called his ADC and told him to tell Mountbatten to go home as he had had enough of him.” Even Jaswant Singh, a cardholder BJP stalwart in his recent political biography of Jinnah, ‘Jinnah: India-Partition- Independence’, has paid glowing tributes to the integrity and steadfastness of the Quaid-e-Azam.

While Don Quixote and his Sancho Panzas are busy demolishing elusive windmills of democracy – in the name of democracy – a lot is unravelling. Is it by design or by sheer coincidence that the militants have chosen to wreak havoc by stepping up their terrorist campaign against the Pakistani state and its people?

At the same time the person who epitomises the raison d’être of Pakistan is being dragged into unnecessary controversy for transient political gains. Indeed this is a sad day for the country.

In the meanwhile, the stakeholders – the government and the military – are virtually helpless spectators wringing their hands in despair. Coalition parties – the MQM and PML-Q inclusive – we are told are supporting the government.

It is indeed a relief for the ruling coalition that the MQM although still supporting the long march has decided not to participate in it. The declared aim of Allama Qadri is to undo the present democratic system. Hence if it had embarked on the march, the MQM would have been perceived as running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.

As for the PML-Q, the Choudharys of Gujrat are miffed in the manner in which Zardari has side-lined them. A trip to Minhajul Quran to meet Allama Qadri has probably helped them to bounce back.

The PML-N on the other hand is naively assuming (or pretending) that the people are so keen to have the Sharifs back with a thumping majority that to them the general elections are a mere formality to install them in power in Islamabad. They assume that the Allama’s long march charade is just to rob them of that triumph.

Obviously, the real issues facing the country are the biggest casualties in the present hullabaloo. No matter how flawed Qadri’s objectives in embarking on a long march, heavens will not fall if the maverick cleric still goes ahead with it. With no political outfit supporting him the wind is already out of his sails.

The democratic system hopefully is not so fragile that it cannot take the heat of a long march with dubious aims declared by a person having no real credibility. We are told that the military is not backing Qadri. Hopefully that is the case.

In the meanwhile, the real issue confronting the country is the spectre of terrorism. Coalition partners as well as the opposition should sit together to formulate a line of action to deal with the menace.

The military has acknowledged the threat in its recently revised Green Book. It considers terrorism as even a bigger threat than the one from India.

Despite the bonhomie being expressed by peaceniks on both sides of the divide, peace with India is still very fragile. Cancellation of leave of Indian military personnel shows that New Delhi is taking the on-going military standoff more seriously than our political and military establishment.

Already isolated, Qadri should follow MQM’s lead and cancel his flawed long march. As for the political elite, they should be seen on the same page on terrorism and India.

President Zardari should instruct his prime minister to hold an APC on this existential threat. The civilians by showing a modicum of unity amongst their ranks can strengthen the hands of the military to walk the talk and effectively deal with the external and internal threats.

The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today