For the democratic system to work successfully transparency is of essential importance
The witch hunt of Cyril Almaida would be a stain on the PML-N government. Limiting the movements of a person against whom there is no case is a violation of a basic human right.
The senior officials and participants of the meeting could not have revealed the proceedings of a high level moot to Cyril Almeida without a nod from above. The leak was presumably a message to Pakistan’s neighbours and international players that the prime minister is serious about taking action against terrorist networks like the Afghan Taliban, Haqqani network, JuD and JeM. Further, the prime minister desires to conclude at the earliest the Pathankot investigation and restart the stalled Mumbai attacks-related trials.
It is widely understood that Nawaz Sharif is keen, and rightly so, to end the isolation that Pakistan faces by repairing relations with the US, India and Afghanistan. What is more a move in the direction would constitute a much needed assertion of the supremacy of the civilian power over military. Those disillusioned with the government for continuing to surrender its turf to the army were happily surprised to find that the PML-N government had finally confronted the military over its failure to act against all terrorist networks without discrimination.
The choice of the messenger could not have been better. The Dawn, particularly its online edition, is widely read outside Pakistan. Cyril Almeida, a respectable journalist, was provided a scoop which the newspaper released after thorough checking and cross-checking from senior officials and participants of the meeting who had supplied the information. Soon after, portions of the report were reproduced by the international media.
Many thought the government had finally conveyed the message that the prime minister was calling the shots now. There was already a perception in Washington, Kabul and New Delhi that the prime minister wanted indiscriminate action against all terrorist networks and was desirous of peace in the region but was powerless because the army did not share his views. It was concluded therefore that it was futile to rely on his promises. This perception is going to be further strengthened after the denial issued by the government.
Within hours of the publication of Cyril Almaeda’s report, the PML-N government had a panic attack. The government issued a statement which said the story was “fabricated”, had undermined “vital state interests,” and the government vowed “stern action” against those responsible.
One wonders how the story filed by Almeda has ‘risked the vital state interests.” That there are differences between the government and army on a number of issues is no classified information. These had sharpened over treatment meted out to Musharraf during his trial and when the tussle between the ISI and Mir Shakilur Rehman’s media group became acute. Defense Minister Khwaja Asif was treated as a persona non grata at the passing out parade of the Pakistan Military Academy in 2014 and some of the subsequent meetings attended by the army top brass. Among the differences that divide the army and the government now are over relations with the neighbours particularly India and Afghanistan as well as over certain terrorist groups. In May responding to a question from BBCUrdu.com Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah blurted out that action against JuD and JeM is not possible for “how can someone proceed with legal action when state is itself involved?”
The tensions that arise from time to time between the government and the army are a matter of public interest and it is the duty of the media to report on them. Investigative journalism assumes a greater importance in societies where the right to know is denied. The media has carried out its duty in the past and needs to continue to do so in the future. Making an issue out of Cyril Almeida’s report in the name of national security is therefore thoroughly irrational. For the democratic system to work successfully transparency is of essential importance.
Pointing out the mistakes in the working of state institutions, which include the armed forces, contributes to improvement in their working. The stand that this helps the enemy is an attempt to raise a smokescreen to cover up institutional blunders. This can only perpetuate lapses and indiscretions. In democracies pointing out of blunders is not discouraged but welcomed.
Two incidents involving the US army would illustrate the point.
The My Lai massacre took place at the height of confrontation between the American and the Soviet bloc. In March 1968 during the Viet Nam war a company of American soldiers brutally killed as many as 500 people including women, children and the elderly in a hamlet called the My Lai. A soldier in the 11th Brigade, who had heard reports of the massacre began a campaign to bring the events to light, finally giving an interview to Seymour Hersh, an investigative journalist. Hersh broke the story in November 1969. The report of the gruesome massacre was widely used by America’s opponents to highlight the brutalities committed by the US. Hersh was not put on the ECL or sent to jail but awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
During the Iraq War US army and CIA indulged in extreme forms of atrocities in Abu Ghraib prison. The abuses came to public attention with the publication of photographs of the abuse by CBS News in April 2004. None thought of taking action against the media house despite the world wide criticism faced by the US army. This in fact led to a realisation in the armed forces that incidents of the sort should not have been allowed to take place.
The witch hunt of Cyril Almaida would be a stain on the PML-N government. Limiting the movements of a person against whom there is no case is a violation of a basic human right. Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly stipulates that “everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country”.
Ch Nisar let Musharraf escape without any qualm of conscience while the retired general was facing cases that could lead to capital punishment. He has put Cyril Almeida’s name on the ECL who is not wanted by any court.
The narrative of Pakistan’s enemies regarding non-state actors using the country as its launching pad has not been strengthened by Almeida’s report, as is being claimed. It has in fact been strengthened by the government’s lack of action against some of the notorious non-state actors who move around freely in the country, collecting funds and delivering fiery speeches.
