I am trying to work out which one is the greater challenge.
That there are Taliban in Swat or that the police and judiciary fall short of minimum standards.
To say that a militia of a few thousand fighters at best, is likely to run over a 600,000 strong Pakistan Army stretches creduility. Even the mighty Rustum feared taking on such odds in his own legends. That Taliban can run over Pakistan is similar to chicken little’s hue and cry about the sky losing altitude. However, absence of consequences for criminals CAN plunge the country into lawlessness.
In fact it already has and that is the clear and present danger.
Defense from external threats has always been on top of national agenda without exceptions. However, it appears that defense from internal threats, or law and order has been relegated to use in slang.
The per capita expenditure on law enforcement in District Rawalpindi, one of most well policed district, is Rs350 per person per year, with one police person for every 800 people. I don’t believe a scholarly effort is required to prove that this department of the state is badly dysfunctional.
The Lahore high court has 36 judges that adjudicate the disputes of about 90 million people. That is less than one Judge per 2.5 million people. No wonder LHC and its lower courts have 1.3 million cases pending as of April 2009
Peshawar High court has 13 judges that mind the disputes of 21 million people. That is one judge for every 1.6 million people. PHC and lower courts had 200,000 pending cases as of 1 April 2009
We need to fight the battle in NWFP. However, fighting a battle without a strategy for winning the war is another fanciful enterprise. That containing the Taliban will somehow cause the people of Pakistan to be more satisfied with their grievious lot is silly. To expect that if someone’s daughter is raped and there is no justice in court, they will sit tight and not pick up a gun or an axe and go for walk, is rather optimistic.
One in ten registered FIRs make it to court. That coupled with 1.6 million pending cases in the court system of Pakistan, says we are sitting on dynamite, getting dryer by the day, and starting to crackle.
Taliban is not the core issue. The core issue is effective policing and dispensation of justice.
It is not a tall order to appoint another 1,000 judges countrywide. Such a measure may re-motivate people to respect the law. That is a priceless dividend for a cost which is slender in comparison. Yet, the police is far from effective and the judiciary remains crippled.
Such neglect may be deliberate on the part of the government, but it seems there is a lot more that certain organized segments of the society, particularly the media, and civil society can do to motivate the government to focus on this issue. If a thousand militants, in an ex-tourist resort, armed with guns, can literally grip the attention of the world, what can a million organized voices armed with pens do.
Just to clarify, I am all for a social revolution which changes the power structure in our society, but sorry no speedy justice, this kind of quick fix does not work.
I abhore the idea of extra vigilant policing and the so called speedy justice. I am sure this speedy justice which our society dreams of is nothing else than another name of Talibani style Sharia with a softer name.
On an off topic check this link about Hoodbhoy and the speedy justice he was just about to recieve.
http://iaoj.wordpress.com/2009/05/10/pervez-hoodhb hoy-attacked-by-taliban-khan-imran-khan/
The writer makes a good point about the police and law and order. The suggestion of appointing 1000 judges is also a good one. However, I disagree with the way he is saying that Taliban are not the core issue and the lack of policing and access to justice are. Both are very important issues of different nature, so putting them together is like comparing apples and oranges.
The lack of a working law and order system is a problem in many developing countries, but that doesn’t automatically create the Taliban. Secondly, the supposedly small number of the Taliban should not be a reason to underestimate the threat. If it were a regular army fighting our 600 thousand troops, then indeed, it wouldn’t stand a chance. But this is a gorilla war and the numbers are less important. Moreover, I think the Taliban usually try to take over gradually. They first trickle in slowly, and there are always ready recrutes from the madrassas. Their tactics include intimidating ordinary people by issuing threats. But I do agree with the comments that having an effective police is the best way to deal with them, because the military is not trained for crime fighting; its training is to fight regular wars.
Great analysis. I wish somebody in government realize this and act upon to correct the police force and judicial system.
I am a strong believer of having the police force from the same neigbourhood, not only same city. All of us who read this blogg should use their resources to promote this idea.
Obaid, indeed that is not fiction. However, the notion that that islam is in danger or ever was is indeed fiction. And that fiction was used as a pretext to victimize groups by vested interests. The BBC documentary I am referring to treats the subject of neo-conservative ideology and Taliban ideology both creating fiction to advance their agendas. What the mullahs did in Pakistan the neo-cons are doing in US. Pakistan is the proverbial ahmedis they are going after, on the pretext that it is threatening their way of life, i.e., their islam is in danger.
Fascinating viewing. I am quite certain you will like it.
Hmmm. Lack of an effective legal system breeds people who publicly behead people, ban use of polio vaccines, and disallow women to go outside of the house without extreme restrictions….
I think not. There are plenty, plenty of countries where the legal system is in bad shape. Perhaps even worse than that of Pakistan. But I don’t see such pockets of Dark Age in those societies. Pakistanis may be more or less Sufi-oriented ‘moderate’ Muslims in vast majority but parts of Pakistan–especially the tribal/mountain regions have been very conservative. And now these regions are infected with Wahabi ideologies from the Arab countries. That was like adding oil to the fire.
Pakistan will continue to pay price for Zia ul Haq–the West’s Benevolent Dictator–misrule unless the whole society wakes up to the threat.
X0, “Islam is in danger” theme was coined very early on in Pakistan’s history and Ahmadis were its first victim. Further on other entities; liberals, shias, non-Muslims and women were brought in and took the brunt to some extent. This is no fiction.
Obaid, I suggest you see the BBC documentary pointed out in my earlier comment below (with the relevent links). You may be able to gain some insight into why certain vested interests in Washington may be very keen to advance that fiction.