And the bigger fight
Surely there are not many countries where the matter of young Malala Yousafzai would have been handled, by different institutions of state, quite like it has been in our Islamic Republic. First the young campaigner for education – in an area still fighting with dark, obscure forces – was shot in the head because nobody took repeated threats to her life seriously. Then the more the world loved and admired her the more people back home – at least a quite visible number – resented her. And now the trial of her attackers, too, has become a source of controversy.
Since terrorism, especially the state’s response to it, has assumed unprecedented significance since Zarb-e-Azb took off one year ago, all such cases have become that much more important. They become the litmus test for the government’s sincerity. It would have been strange enough, therefore, that the trial was held secretly, in a military internment centre and conducted by a civilian judge, had far stranger things not followed. Ten had been tried and convicted to life in prison, we were told when the trial came to an end. But then, suddenly, it turned out that eight had been cleared and only two were sent to jail. It took the police to sort things out, of course, especially after they had been left out of the loop as the secret trial proceeded. But now they inform us that all are in custody, though the eight who were set free have been detained on other charges, which have nothing to do with Malala.
Not only has this sequence of events been without transparency, it has also compromised Pakistan’s position, once again, in this serious international effort against terrorism. We claim unfailing commitment to this fight, yet one instance after another questions the limit of this commitment. It is appreciated that we have decimated the enemy’s ‘command and control’ centre in Fata. It is even better that the Taliban are on the run. Yet they remain potent enough to strike in the cities. And, far worse, we are not pursuing cases against those that have been caught quite as we should be. And Malala’s is the best example. Those in charge are reminded that cases like these set important precedents and tell, in no small manner, about their own obligation to the bigger fight.
