Battle Over a Book

From Jyoti Malhotra in New Delhi

China banned Alice in Wonderland for several years because the animal kingdom was upgraded to human form, England banned D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterly’s Lover until 1960 for its sexually explicit content (E.M. Forster was among those who defended the book at the trial), but India has now gone one step further and allowed the banning of former foreign minister Jaswant Singh’s book Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence in the state of Gujarat.

Turns out that the book is being secretly smuggled into Gujarat from nearby Rajasthan, probably because Gujaratis really want to know what the fuss is about. They’ve watched Jaswant Singh live on television, every muscle and twitch, expressing deep anguish and betrayal at being expelled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – the political party he loved and served ever since it was formed in 1980 – for writing a book on the partition of India in which Mohammed Ali Jinnah plays the lead role.

Singh seeks to right the balance on the pride of place that Jawaharlal Nehru occupies in the Indian pantheon, right there on top along with all the gods, and Jinnah’s somewhat murky positioning as he stormed out of the Hindustani Undivided Family in 1947.

History, which seems to have such a grip on the irony business, records of course that three days before the partition of the subcontinent in which more than a million people died and nearly eight million lost their homes and hearth, Jinnah went to the Constituent Assembly and delivered his now-famous speech on how Pakistan was going to be a secular state, in which Hindus could go back to their temples and Muslims to their mosques and none of it would impact their lives as Pakistani citizens.

But as Stanley Wolpert, Jinnah’s other noted biographer writes, “What was Jinnah thinking of?” Having played a key role in souring and spilling the milk, in splitting the country along communal lines, Jinnah was now turning the other cheek? This is the question that Jaswant Singh seeks to answer in his book.

“It saddens me that I have been expelled on the grounds of writing a book,” Singh told journalists soon after he was told on the phone that the BJP had thrown him out for his attempt at de-demonising Pakistan’s national hero. The party’s attempt at disciplining one of its senior-most members would have been farcical if it wasn’t so serious. By doing what it did, the BJP sent a message to the country that it wasn’t going to brook dissent and allow any deviation from the party line.

But what is the party line? That Sardar Vallabhai Patel, a senior Congress leader and independent India’s first home minister, is a central BJP icon because of his no-nonsense approach towards the country’s Muslims (in opposition to Nehru’s wishy-washy secular nonsense, claims the BJP). But as Jaswant Singh points out, it would be unfair to paint Patel in such colours, not only because he was often “far off the mark” on several occasions, including the division of India, but also because he was first of all a Congress leader and only then a right-wing one.

So when Singh rhetorically asked his now-former party, through the press, what they thought of the fact that it was their beloved Patel, who after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in January 1948, had banned the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) (another banning, this time wholly necessary), the question echoed around the country but found no takers within the RSS family, the mother lode of the BJP.

Clearly, Jaswant Singh’s writing of Jinnah, the banning of the book and the subsequent unrest within the BJP – another ideologue and close confidante of senior leader L.K. Advani, Sudheendra Kulkarni has quit and journalist-turned-BJP member and former telecom minister Arun Shourie has dubbed the party, ‘Alice in Blunderland’ – marks its gravest crisis in years.

It reflects the party’s lack of introspection over its recent debacles and its refusal to ask why it lost India both in the 2004 and the 2009 elections. The obvious answer to that is the party’s unwillingness to find a moderate leader who can represent all of the country, somewhat along the lines of former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Jaswant Singh, with his refusal to become a primary member of the RSS (believing that his stint in the Indian army was good enough to make him a patriot) and his studied lack of hypocrisy (his enjoys his daily evening drink, a mixture of wine and soda), was one such option, even though his refusal to be a fellow-traveller of the RSS ultimately made him a political lightweight.

On the other, the BJP book ban on Jinnah underlines that the debate around the idea of India still continues, 62 years after partition. Is India, then, the largest democracy in the world with its attendant ideals of free speech and expression, or is it an incoherent state that remains unable to fulfill its own promises despite elections every five years?

Considering that it was the BJP under Vajpayee which repeatedly extended its hand of peace to Pakistan – despite Kargil in 1999, the attack against parliament in 2001, the attack against the Kaluchak army camp in 2002 and Operation Parakram in 2003, when both armies were eyeball-to-eyeball for nine months along the border – Jaswant Singh’s long eye on history has fallen on rough soil.

There’s a third irony in this continuing story: the book is doing brisk business, the controversy ultimately helping it to sell even more widely than the author could have hoped. In a few weeks he will wend his way to Pakistan – to more stories on the front pages of newspapers. (Newsline)

More than 25 People killed, several injured in Kohat suicide blast

The death toll in a suicide attack at a market in Kohat town has hit 25 while the casualties were feared to be increased further, a private TV reported. The attack occurred at Kacha Paka bazaar at Hangu road on Friday where a suicide bomber on foot detonated explosives next to a small hotel, leaving at least 25 dead and 35 others wounded. A suicide car bomb tore through a Pakistan market, killing up to 14 people and gutting shops on Friday as families stocked up on supplies for a major religious festival, police said.

The explosion destroyed vehicles and shops near a bus stop in Ustarzai, a small mountain town in the northwest which lies between the garrison city of Kohat and Hangu, another Shiite-dominant town with a history of sectarian violence, police said. The area was packed with shoppers buying food and delicacies for the weekend and the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which Pakistanis expect to start on Monday with the sighting of the new moon after the fasting month of Ramadan. "A suicide bomber blew up a car filled with explosives in the market. Ten people were killed and many wounded," said Ali Hasan, a local police officer on the ground in Ustazai. Police spokesman Fazal Naeem in nearby Kohat said: "We have recovered 14 dead bodies. Many people were wounded.

The suicide bomber was sitting in a car." Police said the attack occurred near a bus stop where passenger buses and coaches arrive and depart from other towns across northwest Pakistan, where the United States has branded Islamist militants an existential threat. Police said the explosion caused heavy damage and officers were frantically organising efforts to rescue the dead and wounded. The attack was the second in two days in Kohat, a rough town in the region bordering Afghanistan with a history of sectarian and other militant violence. A bomb wounded six people Thursday.

Heavy contingent of police arrived at the scene soon after the incident and cordoned off the site. Near 32 shops at the market caved in due to the blast's impact and the rescuers put hard efforts to pull victims from the rubble, a news agency said citing a local police official. The agency quoted local area nazim Syed Mehtabul Hassan as saying that the death have reached 25 while several others were also wounded. He says that 25 bodies have been pulled out of the rubble of the hotel and nearby shops. Emergency was declared in all the major hospitals of the city while the paramedical teams also carried out emergency relief activities at the attack site. Most of the critically injured were rushed to district hospital Kohat. Hangu Road was blockaded by the forces for all kinds of traffic following the attack. Police were collecting the remains of the bomber for DNA test. (Nation)

Osama bin Laden requested meetings with former Pakistan PM

A former official of Pakistan’s intelligence service has claimed former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif met Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden five times.

The claim, which has been hotly denied by Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, was made on the “Eleventh Hour” TV program by Khalid Khwaja, the former ISI official and now chairman of the Defence of Human Rights organisation.

Khwaja told the interviewer he arranged meetings between bin Laden and Nawaz Sharif at bin Laden’s request and would provide solid evidence if necessary, saying he was hopeful Nawaz Sharif would not tell any lies about the meetings.

He told ARY News in Pakistan he had personally met the Al Qaeda chief many times prior to the 9/11 incident, but had not seen him since.

Nawaz Sharif’s political party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, has accused Khwaja of making baseless claims.

Musharraf in London

By Ayesha Ijaz Khan

As a commando, Musharraf was probably taught to act first and think later. And that is precisely what he has done by choosing to make London his interim home. I use the word "interim" because I am sure that had he thought rationally about permanent relocation, he would have opted for one of the Gulf States. The UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia offer fancier lifestyles with villas, well-priced cooks, drivers and maids. Hobnob with the royalty and other favours may also be granted, such as use of private aircraft, a privilege Musharraf is said to have availed of often. For those so inclined, there is also no dearth of music parties, even in Saudi Arabia, where I spent twelve years as a child. Not to mention, in Musharraf's case, far better protection from the law in Pakistan and immunity from trial in general.

In London, by contrast, flats are generally small, house help is paid by the hour, and although at the moment Musharraf is being provided state security, questions are being raised about it in Parliament and efforts made by the likes of Lord Nazir to contact the lawyers who had helped extradite Chile's Pinochet. By all accounts, Musharraf's future in London is bleak and a significant downgrade from what he was accustomed to in Pakistan. Why, then, would he have chosen London?

The only reason that I can think of is that London is politically active. The Gulf states, on the other hand, are comfortable but politically dead. When he left Pakistan, he must have been certain of his return and, moreover, of his political revival. He must not have seriously considered the Supreme Court asking him to appear and explain the actions of Nov 3, 2007.

As someone who criticised Musharraf harshly and continually ever since he deposed the chief justice in March 2007, I find it odd now that he resides about a twenty-minute walk from me. And although I have neither seen him nor met him in London, in spite of the fact that I regularly run errands in and around Edgware Road and often pass by his building, Indian acquaintances claim that they saw him working on his biceps at the local gym. They could very well be pulling my leg.

I have been informed by a well-connected Pakistani visiting London this summer that Musharraf paid 1.4 million pounds sterling for a three-and-a-half bedroom flat off Edgware Road. For those not familiar with the London property market, a half-bedroom is one where a single bed can fit, but not a double bed. If in fact Musharraf did pay that amount, all I can say is that he has been royally ripped off!

The flat in question should have cost no more than a million pounds, and the price being quoted is a third too much. Edgware Road is a decent locality, but by no means the most expensive in London. Had the property been situated in nearby Mayfair or St John's Wood, it could have easily fetched the price being quoted, but on Edgware Road, unless one is selling to a recent immigrant who needs an urgent foothold in London and is unaware of the going rate, values tend to be lower than several other central-London localities.

London does, of course, have its share of Nigerian generals, Thai politicians and Russian intelligence bosses trying to secure their place in exile, although the Russians have far too much money and often gravitate around the more expensive Belgravia. In fact, London's property market is more reliant on foreign money than perhaps any other in the world. The most expensive property in London was purchased two years ago by the Emir of Qatar for a whopping 110 million sounds. His super-posh One Hyde Park address is reputed to have its own private tunnel linking it to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in prestigious Knightsbridge. Sheikh Hamad's 2007 purchase outdid Indian businessman Lakshmi Mittal's 2004 purchase of a Kensington mansion, which he bought for 70 million pounds and allegedly spent another 20 million on refurbishment.

The building identified to me as Musharraf's, on the other hand, is average by London standards, not posh. Far from a palace in Surrey or a mansion in Jeddah, the building in question, along with the one in front of it, are popular with visitors from South Asia and the Arab world. It is also perhaps worth mentioning that several Pakistani politicians and businessmen and/or their children owned flats in those buildings prior to Musharraf's purchase. It may also be noted that the leaders of some of our political parties, including Mian Nawaz Sharif, President Zardari, and Imran Khan's children live in far better localities in London or New York (as the case may be) and in more expensive properties. I am not at all suggesting that owning expensive properties is proof of any wrongdoing, but, if asked, the owner in question should be prepared to explain the source of wealth and present proof of taxes paid commensurate with the value of his\her assets.

The idea of this piece is by no means to present a defence of Musharraf, for I feel strongly that he must face the courts in Pakistan foremost for acting against the judiciary and violating the sanctity of the Constitution. But if we choose to speak of financial corruption, then we must be fair and maintain perspective. That is what justice demands of us. (The News)


The writer is a London-based lawyer-turned-political commentator. Website: www.ayeshaijazkhan.com

Baitullah Mehsud is alive, still holding command of Taliban fighters: Hakimullah Mehsud

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a coalition of various Taliban groups, has refuted the reports about killing of Taliban supremo Baitullah Mehsud in a drone strike. Hakimullah Mehsud, an influential Taliban commander while refuting the reports has said the Taliban will release a video of Baitullah Mehsud. He said Baitullah Mehsud was alive and still holding the command of Taliban fighters. He promised to release a recorded video of Mehsud within two to three days.

Baitullah Mehsud is dead

* Foreign minister says govt pursuing ground verification
* Interior minister says operation will continue until Mehsud’s group is eliminated
* TTP deputy chief says he can neither confirm, nor deny Baitullah’s death * Hakeemullah Mehsud, Waliur Rehman Mehsud, Azmatullah in close race to emerge as new TTP chief

ISLAMABAD: Quoting intelligence reports on Friday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi confirmed that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack in South Waziristan.

“Based on information gleaned from intelligence reports, the news of Baitullah’s death is correct. But we are going for ground verification, and when the information has been confirmed, then we will be 100 percent sure,” he told reporters at a local hotel after addressing the Youth Parliament. He also told BBC Radio that it was “pretty certain” that the Taliban chief was dead, Reuters reported. A Taliban commander and aide to Baitullah Mehsud, meanwhile, told the Associated Press that the TTP chief was killed in the US strike. “I confirm that Baitullah Mehsud and his wife died in the American missile attack in South Waziristan,” Taliban commander Kafayatullah said by telephone. He would not give any further details.

No end in sight: Mehsud was allegedly killed in a drone attack on Wednesday while visiting his father-in-law Maulana Ikramuddin’s house. The attack also resulted in the deaths of one of his wives, Ikramuddin’s daughter, and over half-a-dozen guards. “Information is coming from that area that he is dead,” said Interior Minister Rehman Malik. “I am unable to confirm unless I have solid evidence,” he said. He said the military was determined to finish off the Taliban in Pakistan. “It is a targeted law enforcement action against Baitullah Mehsud’s group and it will continue until Baitullah Mehsud’s group is eliminated forever,” he said.

He urged the Taliban to lay down their arms and urged them to come into the mainstream, saying the new TTP chief would face the same fate as Baitullah. He said the TTP is a banned outfit and there was no possibility of talks with them, the Online news agency reported.

No confirmation: TTP deputy chief Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, meanwhile, told Daily Times he could neither confirm nor deny Baitullah’s killing in the drone attack. “Baitullah Mehsud was killed in the drone attack,” Ikramuddin’s neighbours told Daily Times. Military and intelligence sources told Daily Times the best confirmation would be from the Taliban. “To be frank, the Taliban themselves can confirm their leader’s death. Otherwise, the lack of a proper government in the area prevents us from taking definitive action,” the intelligence officials added.

However, an intelligence officer in South Waziristan told Reuters that Mehsud’s funeral had already taken place. “He was killed with his wife and he was buried in Nargosey,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Online news agency quoted a private TV channel as reporting that the government could make the official announcement with regard to Baitullah’s death within the coming week. It said the Interior Ministry had received a fax from South Waziristan Political Agent Syed Shahab Ali Shah confirming Baitullah’s death.

New TTP chief: Meanwhile, intelligence officials and Taliban sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said that Taliban commanders were meeting in the Tribal Areas on Friday to choose a successor. It was unclear when they might reach a decision.

Three Pakistani intelligence officials said the likeliest successor was Mehsud’s deputy, Hakeemullah, a commander known for recruiting and training suicide bombers. Two other prominent possibilities, the officials said, were Azmatullah and Waliur Rehman, also close associates of Mehsud.

SC orders warrants for Hamesh Khan

The Supreme Court has ordered to issue warrants for the arrest of former president Punjab Bank Hamesh Khan and owner of the Haris Steel Mill Sheikh Afzal.
The three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary while hearing the Haris Steel Mill case also asked the government to use diplomatic channels for bringing these defaulters back home from abroad.
The Supreme Court directed the FIA to issue arrest warrant for Hamesh Khan, in Rs 9 billion Bank of Punjab loan scam. The bench which was also comprised Justice Ch Ijaz Ahmed and Justice Jawwad S Khawaja adjourned the hearing of the case till August 10.
The apex court again directed the three main accused in the case Hamesh Khan, Shaikh Afzal, owner of Haris Steel and his son Haris Afzal to appear before the court and also directed that appearance of the accused was a must as their non-appearance was creating a wrong message.
The Chief Justice directed Director General FIA, Tariq Khosa to use diplomatic channels for the arrest of Hamesh Khan, former President Bank of Punjab.