August 1947 brought freedom from foreigners who ruled India and exploited its resources to enrich the British. Indian politicians insisted they must rule their native land. The British, who built roads, railways, schools and hospitals, left India. Had the British been defeated in 1857 and independence came a few decades earlier, would we still have all that railroad and infrastructure that carried us until now?

Nation-states, that replaced dynastic-empires, went through transformation rather quickly. Two states that separated a culturally homogeneous nation Germany, became one. A state that united multiple nationalities broke into smaller units. The Czechs and Slovaks parted ways and Yugoslavia broke after bitter genocidal wars. Cultural-identity related fault lines decided the fate of some conflicts but the new states desire integration on an international level. Globalization and Internationalism is an irreversible reality that inspires participation or precipitates inclusion.

The two states that British Empire delivered in South Asia, India and Pakistan, imbibed the same desire of nation-building but experiments carried out in each of them were quite different. India adhered to a pluralist democracy despite bitter conflicts between communities. Pakistan ventured on creating one nation. Jinnah prescribed one language. Religious identity had already been the binding force for the movement of secession from India.

Building an army must have been a hot trend. The eternal pacifist, great leader of non-violence Mahatma Gandhi’s views were reported in The Times, on September 27, 1947, under the headline “Mr. Gandhi on ‘war’ with Pakistan”:

“Mr. Gandhi told his prayer meeting to-night that, though he had always opposed all warfare, if there was no other way of securing justice from Pakistan and if Pakistan persistently refused to see its proved error and continued to minimise it, the Indian Union Government would have to go to war against it. No one wanted war, but he could never advise anyone to put up with injustice. If all Hindus were annihilated for a just cause he would not mind. If there was war, the Hindus in Pakistan could not be fifth columnists. If their loyalty lay not with Pakistan they should leave it. Similarly Muslims whose loyalty was with Pakistan should not stay in the Indian Union.”

Soon after its inception in August 1947, Pakistan sent a rag-tag militia into Kashmir. The army became the most important pillar for survival in Pakistan’s ideology, besides Islam and Urdu. Class and ethnic rivalry flared conflicts that were doused by military power. The army became the care-taker, direct-ruler and ultimately the owner of Pakistan.

Democracy never flourished and the majority opted out after a genocidal operation in 1971. The remainder Pakistan kept up with the high cost of maintaining a big army. Impoverished citizens were squeezed and international bidders solicited. Everything else, education, police, infra-structure, rights of smaller provinces and minorities were shelved for keeping the boots of the soldiers shining. The civilian elite helped the army in this exploitation. Urdu gave way to the language best suited for international aid-collection and religion became deceit, thievery, oppression and murder.

Millions of Pakistanis were made destitute by the floods and thousands perished but the international community is reluctant in coming forward to help. The money they give could end up in grooming Islamist militia that strengthens Pakistan’s army in lording over a country of 180 million.

Pakistan has declined into no-governance. A communal anarchy could be seen in the largest city Karachi. Skills of deception and corruption are displayed with pride. Society has fallen apart. Without international-aid this nation-state will perish.

A self-rule, based on global-ethic, at the local level, has become necessary at this time.

Freedom and religion were abused like another false promise of food and shelter in Pakistan.

The following poem by Dr. Shams Hamid glances through some realities of the sub-continent that I tried to explore in my article above.

Every state apparatus requires intelligence agencies, and Pakistan is no different. There are actually three well known intelligence agencies in Pakistan: Intelligence Bureau (IB), Military Intelligence (MI), and ISI. There are 26 intelligence agencies in the US.

Somehow, the ISI and the CIA are the two that are most demonized.

The turmoil in Pakistan’s past has led to censure of the ISI. A visible feature of the ISI’s history that has done great damage to its reputation is the continual deterioration of civilian institutions due to multiple military coups. Despite some improvements in civil-military relations in recent years, the army remains a dominant actor in Pakistan’s political makeup.

Previous abuses of power should put intelligence reform at the top of the agenda for change. Before Pakistan can continue its democratic transition, these changes must be addressed. It seems some corrections to the system have already been made; ISI has recently demonstrated a previously unseen forthrightness with both local and international media.

However, the international community continues to blame the country’s problems on the ISI, but still maintains working relations with the agency. Often, these relations undermine the democratic government and vindicate the very intelligence actors that need to be controlled. This double standard can be avoided by direct involvement with the Pakistani government, rather than going through intelligence services.

Additionally, the integration of former ISI agents into other civilian bodies, particularly the IB, should be limited or stopped. Cross-recruitment prevents organizations from becoming independent.

Pakistan also needs to strengthen the police force. A better-trained and better-equipped police force can do a better job of counter terrorism, which work is currently used by the intelligence agencies to legitimize control over politics in Pakistan.

US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano says that the US government is prepared to help develop Pakistan’s law enforcement infrastructure. From training police to setting up point-of-entries at Pakistan-Afghanistan borders, the US can help Pakistan using its experience regulating the US-Mexico border.

Ignoring the need to establish supremacy over the intelligence community would be a grave mistake on the part of Pakistan’s civilian government. Reducing the role of the military in the intelligence sector will allow the government to consolidate itself domestically, so it should be a top priority. In addition, government control over military and intelligence will cast a positive light on the state of Pakistan’s emerging democracy, and will improve international opinions of Pakistan.

Although reform to intelligence agencies will be difficult, the good news is that with patience, resolve, and international assistance, Pakistan’s government can indeed reassert civilian control over the intelligence community. Luckily for Pakistan, there are predecessors to take notes from. Indonesia and Chile have both undergone transformations in the intelligence arena and have plenty to offer Pakistan by way of example.

Intelligence agencies reform in Indonesia and Chile became a reality after media began exposing the atrocities and, people had the courage to reject authoritarianism. Reform of the murky Indonesian intelligence service, Badan Intelijen Negara (BIN), were spurred by revelations that emerged in the trial of the alleged killer of the country’s top human right activist.

Munir Said Thalib, died from arsenic poisoning while on a flight on Garuda, Indonesia’s national airline, from Jakarta to Amsterdam via Singapore on Sept. 7, 2004. Indonesian media exposed the hands behind Munir’s murder.

Extensive exposure by the mass media of the massive human rights violations and power abuse by the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI), led to the abrupt breakdown in its public image. And, the abolition of “Dwifungsi ABRI” (the dual-function of the military) became a major demand of the pro-democracy movement.

In this same sense, the Pakistani media’s role is necessary to question the functioning of ISI. To cite but one example, there has been no follow-up on Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s accusations of ISI agents, kidnapping her.

In saying all this, though, we must remember not to throw out the baby with the bath water. Like any other state, Pakistan needs a strong defense system. Calling for military and intelligence reform should not be confused with anti-nationalism; we must always remember the sacrifices of those foot soldiers that valiantly put their lives on the line for their nation’s security.

This article was first published here: http://tribune.com.pk/story/19739/transform-muscle-flexing-isi-into-civil-intelligence/

Pakistan army has informed civilian leadership of the country that a military operation in North Waziristan has become inevitable, our sources in Islamabad said Tuesday morning.

On condition of anonymity our sources who have the ears of COAS General Kayani say that military leadership has white boarded the operation and taking adequate measures to manage risk.

“GHQ believes a concerted effort is required to shut down the safe haven in North Waziristan and create an environment where Pakistani people can feel safe and secure,” our source in Islamabad said.

Military leadership will inform the US National Security Adviser, James L. Jones, and CIA Director Leon Panetta who arrive in Islamabad today of their plan and seek their concrete support.

Visiting American officials will meet with top Pakistani government, military and intelligence officials in Islamabad Wednesday.

The Pakistani military has waged a fierce offensive against the Pakistani Talibans who are believed to responsible for several terrorist attacks attacks inside Pakistan.

The operation last fall in South Waziristan has dispersed the group in other areas of the FATA, including North Waziristan, where the Pakistani military is planning to launch operations against the Afghan Taliban network of Jalaluddin Haqqani and al-Qaeda. Pakistani army requires logistical support from their American counterpart as they “are stretched too thin.”

US National Security Adviser, James L. Jones, and CIA Director Leon Panetta are scheduled to meet Wednesday with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari; Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, General Ashfaq Kiyani, and Lt. General. Ahmed Shuja Pasha.

“Pakistani leadership, both civilian and military, will demand expanded American support that goes beyond rhetoric of war against terrorism,” our source said. “Americans need to stop pontificating about our existential threat and provide tangible support and transparent engagements,” he added.

It’s mothers day again, America, 2010. The frenzy for fragrance-free flowers will make for a hectic Sunday morning. Everyone will be a feminist for the day. Mothers will lie in bed and watch the Sunday morning talk shows while fathers juggle kids and kitchens. The TV hosts will convey child-like heart warming messages of love to their mothers followed by mind chilling warnings of terrorists plots threatening to destroy the American way of life; The narratives will be conveniently juxtaposed. Americans will be assured of their essential goodness as the cold and evil nature of the terrorist is described in painstaking detail.

Of course terrorist don’t celebrate mothers day because “others” have no mothers. Where is the mother of Faisal Shazhad? Where is the mother of his children? We will never see or hear from them. They must be kept invisible less we get the impression that he may actually be a human being, birthed by a female of our very own species.

Likewise the American media will never show the images of Aafia Siddiqui’s mother crying as she recalls the last day she saw her daughter. They will never show the images of the children who were deprived of their mother for seven long years. And, we will never be allowed to hear from the mother herself, to explain why she could not recognize her own son.

Motherhood is indeed problematic for the War on Terror. Aafia Siddiqui was completely stripped of her motherhood during her early depiction as Al Qaeda’s number three. When news finally begin to emerge not only of her disappearance but that of her three small children she was suddenly recast from the evil scientist to “terror mom” whose job now was to “have lots of babies” and “raise lots of little jihadis”.

I have no doubt that many would argue; what about the terrorists attempts to take innocent lives depriving our mothers of their children and our children of their mothers? But all the more reason to hear from the mothers of alleged terrorists. Perhaps they can spare us the endless speculation on how and why their kids became terrorists. After all, they raised them?

It’s not just the mother’s of alleged terrorists who disappear, but all the mothers who are victims of the War on Terror often described as Wars of terror. Never in the American media does one see or hear the mothers of children killed or wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Never does one see or hear mothers of any of the U.S. soldiers killed or wounded. The only American mother who tries with monumental will to overcome this silencing, Cindy Sheehan, is marginalized by the mainstream media, as a bereft nut.

And when news of children being hurt or killed does inadvertently makes it’s way to the American media it is again blamed on the cold-hearted terrorists for “using their children as human shields”. In fact U.S. soldiers were shown on a recently leaked video indiscriminately firing on a van filled with unarmed civilians including several children. When the soldiers who were shooting realized that the children had been hit they laughed about it and said “well its their fault for bringing their kids into a battle”.

But this Mother’s Day, 9 years into the War on Terror, is the day to remember all those mothers who have been disappeared. It is also the time to demand to know the whereabouts of the latest mother to disappear the mother of Faisal Shazad’s two children, Huma Mian. Given the allegations of both the ISI as well as CIA’s involvement in the abduction of Aafia Siddiqui and her children; given the U.S. DOD’s own internal reports admitting its willingness to use family members including children in the interrogation of terror suspects; it is urgent that the public, Human Rights Watch, The Red Cross, and Amnesty International verify that Huma Mian and her children are safe and protected.

Motherhood is more than just problematic for the War on terror, it is fundamentally irreconcilable with it. You cannot celebrate mothers day if you tolerate war. Motherhood is about giving life, and war is about taking life.

Watching spectators young and old, men and women who came to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s trial in New York I recognized the rapidly increasing significance of religion as a marker of identity among Muslims in the US.

Judge Richard Berman, by ordering additional security measures for this trial, underscored the ideological profiling of a religious minority that has suffered immense public devaluation and disparagement since the 9/11 attacks.

I must admit that I do not completely understand the complex and diverse reasons for the foregrounding of religion in identities of Muslims in America. But I feel that the post 9/11 policies of the US government, fear mongering by conservative media, have led to increased in-group solidarity and identification on the basis of religion.

I have always argued that identify is fluid and contextual. I am a Pakistani when someone in New York asks me ‘where are your from?’ When the same question is posed in Lahore, I am from Karachi. I am a ‘man’ when around women- I am a ‘straight man’ around gays and an ‘old man’ around young kids.

But here is the sticky point – whether I practice religion or not, I am a Muslim because of my name, place of origin, and possibly because of clothes that I wear.

Faced with ideological profiling, discrimination, devaluation,and disparagement, religious identity has become the key marker for young Muslim men and women. I met several young Pakistani women who were born and raised in New York who not only cover their faces in hijab completely but also do not show picture IDs to male security guards.

I asked a young woman behind veil where she was from – she said “Brooklyn.” No, she didn’t say Pakistan. She was born in Coney Island Hospital to parents from Pakistan. Her father who used to be a lecturer in Pakistan has driven a cab for the past twenty years on the streets of New York. She has lived on the intersection of Coney Island Avenue and Newkirk Avenue all her life. From Kindergarten to college – she attended the public education system.

Let me not exaggerate- even among Muslims in America she is an anomaly. The majority of Muslim women dress modestly, some wear scarves, and plenty dress in ways that are consistent with their American peers.

But my sweet little Pakistani-Americans with faces covered in hijab are growing in numbers. I completely respect their right to cover themselves – and also understand the anxieties of those who fear what maybe behind the veil.

I can see how religious discourse can play a vital role in negotiating and resisting parental and community restrictions. A family friend recently told me that she knows several young Pakistani girls who cover themselves so they don’t have to worry about what clothes they must wear to school – or whether they have a boy friend or not. “It simply relieves them of all sorts of peer pressure,” our friend said. And, yes it is plausible.

But I feel it is more than not having brand name jeans with matching socks and bra-straps that force these bright and immensely intelligent women to wear hijab. For many it is a sign of dissent- a sign of courage- a sign of protest and yes of course for many it is their religious duty. These young women use the discourse of religion and identity for personal empowerment.

And, of course there were some young Muslim men at the trial with beards flying all over their faces and prayer beads in hand. There was one who had a ‘miswak’ (a piece of dried stem used 1400 years ago to brush teeth). The Marshal who had searched his bag was puzzled to see this ‘miswak’ and asked what do you do with it?

And, yes this young man was born in Queens. He has lived in New York – studied in several American schools and colleges. Like thousands of other young Muslim American, he also feels his religious identity provides a positive role model, compared to his parents’ under-employment and as an alternative to the street and drug cultures in his neighborhoods.

Parents of these young men and women are ecstatic that their off-spring are following religious and cultural values and are “keeping away from danger”. But the search for identity makes these impressionable young men and women vulnerable to radicalization as well.

The search for identity is part of the process of defining one’s relationship with the world that usually takes place without necessarily leading to ‘radicalization’. One would argue that ‘radicalization’ requires an interpersonal interaction with other actors who stimulate and influence the process. And, this is where the rub lies. Devaluation, disparagement and ideological profiling, lack of equal opportunities for career advancement and integration with mainstream society are those factors that can stimulate and influence the process of radicalization.

By ordering additional security for Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s trial Judge Richard Berman inadvertently became that external actor.

Let’s face it – Muslims today are facing a crisis that has few parallels in history. They are caught between the forces of extremism from within and the crushing onslaught of the West. Many Muslims find previous explanations of injustices (rich and poor) class based economic systems inadequate to explain their current experience. For Muslims living in the US this experience is compounded by religious discrimination, ideological profiling, and a lack of confidence in the government.

These young men and women I met during the trial simply seek to construct a sense of what it means to be Muslim in the US today. However, they are in danger of radicalization because traditional Islamic institutions are failing to connect with them to address their challenges. Many young men and women who grew up on the streets of New York and have found Islam empowering are not in a position
to objectively evaluate whether extremist interpretations represent an accurate understanding of Islam.

I found a young Pakistani-American who was born in Harlem Hospital and grew up in Bronx recently argue that Islam abolished slavery and that is why there are more blacks embracing Islam than whites. And, there was a young Pakistani girl who argued Islam emancipated women because before the advent of Islam girls were buried as soon as they were born. She got agitated when I suggested that it was1400 years ago and asked what progress has been made to further emancipate women. “Quran is final,” she said and no progress, changes can be expected in the lives of pious Muslim men and women.

I can’t blame Judge Richard Berman for a less than rational worldview of these young men and women. But more ideological profiling will create more disenfranchised, alienated, marginalized and angry individuals.

But, those of us who cherish the secular tradition of the US have a responsibility. We need to define what Islam means to our children born and raised in this society. We must define what it means to practice religion in a secular country. We must open doors for young men and women to integrate religion with local traditions. We must encourage them to allow American influences into their lives and ideology. We must encourage them to fully participate in the society and political system. We must encourage public service.

Simply put- it is our responsibility and only we can defeat Islamic extremism; not soldiers with M4 rifles, not pilotless drones and robots. And, we can do that by accepting and acknowledging the ground realities- we should be able to explain that context will not erode the core of Islam. That Islam will potentially benefit from some localization.

After the guilty verdict in the high profile trial of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui in New York, defense attorney Elaine Sharp- the only member of the defense team that Dr. Siddiqui has any relations with said: “Dr. Siddiqui told us that she was picked-up by Pakistani men in two black cars. These were people of Pakistani intelligence. You know- she said ISI.”

Following guilty verdict several popular TV Talk Show hosts in Pakistan also questioned ISI’s role in her alleged abduction in 2003. Common sentiments were that the ‘daughter of the nation’ was arrested and handed over to the Americans.

Mention of ISI evokes several conflicting emotions – and fear for Pakistanis. Just as mentioning CIA occasionally evokes images of global conspiracy and the KGB calls gulags to mind, the ISI has come to represent political deceit in Pakistan. And, during General Pervez Musharraf’s rule as more and more Pakistanis started to disappear in thin air, ISI became more enigmatic.

But current sentiments in Pakistan are an excellent opportunity for the democratic government to restructure ISI. The turmoil in Pakistan’s past has led to censure of the ISI.

A visible feature of the ISI’s history that has done great damage to its reputation is the continual deterioration of civilian institutions due to multiple military coups. Despite some improvements in civil-military relations in recent years, the army remains a dominant actor in Pakistan’s political makeup.

Disappearance of hundreds and previous abuses of power has stigmatized ISI to point that business as usual means leading the country into absolute abyss.

Although reforming ISI will be difficult, the good news is that with patience, resolve, and international assistance, Pakistan’s government can indeed reassert civilian control over the intelligence community.

Luckily for Pakistan, there are predecessors to take notes from. Indonesia and Chile have both undergone transformations in the intelligence arena and have plenty to offer Pakistan by way of example.

Pakistan’s government must reinforce the separation between civilian and military intelligence agencies. The integration of former ISI agents into other civilian bodies, particularly the IB, should be limited or stopped. Cross-recruitment prevents organizations from becoming independent.

Pakistan also needs to strengthen the police force. A better-trained and better-equipped police force can do a better job of counterterrorism, which work is currently exploited by the intelligence agencies to legitimize their control over politics in Pakistan.

Ignoring the urgent need to establish supremacy over the intelligence community would be a grave mistake on the part of Pakistan’s civilian government. Reducing the role of the military in the intelligence sector will allow the government to consolidate itself domestically, so it should be a top priority.

In addition, government control over military and intelligence will cast a positive light on the state of Pakistan’s emerging democracy, and will improve international opinion of Pakistan.

If Pakistanis honestly consider Dr. Aafia Siddiqui “daughter of the nation,” they must demand structural changes in how ISI operates and demand their government to demonstrate political will to trace all the disappeared.

With an independent judiciary and a democratic government, Pakistan has opportunity that does not come too often. It is encouraging that the Supreme Court has resumed hearings of disappearance cases but the democratically elected government has the responsibility to immediately reveal details hundreds of missing people, and hold to account those responsible — including the country’s security and intelligence agencies.

According to the Defense of Human Rights, a Pakistani organization that campaigns on behalf of the relatives of the disappeared, out of 416 enforced disappearance cases filed in the Supreme Court since 2005, 195 cases remain pending since 3 November 2007.

It is not sufficient to vent anger against the United States alone- Pakistan must clean house first. All those responsible for selling men, women, and children like slaves must be exposed. Otherwise, this outburst of anger, national pride and bravado – statements like “we will go bring the daughter of nation back,” are meaningless, insincere and belong only on soap operas or lollywood movies.

And, the international community has a vital role to play here too. On one hand they blame Pakistan’s problems on the ISI, but still maintain close relations with the agency. Often, these relations undermine the democratic government and vindicate the very intelligence actors that need to be controlled.

This double standard must be avoided by direct involvement with the Pakistani government, rather than going through intelligence services.