STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan
A niece of mine, who was pregnant and married to an army officer, was murdered by their batman in 1970 in East Pakistan. The brute sliced her throat and cut open her stomach. He left a note “Sala Punzabi” on the lifeless body. One shudders to look back at those frenzied times when thousands of innocent people were killed on both sides. It was tragic, senseless and so totally unnecessary. Yet as a nation we have always been in denial, fed lies and we refuse to reflect. A nation that does not confront its demons continues to suffer at their hands.
Justice Hamood Ur Rehman’s in–depth report was one of those rare occasions in our history when causes and effects of East Pakistan’s debacles were sized up. Truth was too hot and uncomfortable for the Generals and their political beneficiaries. Thus, the report was buried till it leaked through Indian media. While major chunks of the report are available on social media, it is still considered“forbidden fruit” by our Establishment. Any mention of it triggers accusations of treachery and “traitor” as in case of recent PTI post on social media. How long will we continue to bury our head in sand and refuse to acknowledge the real truth?
The same mistakes are being repeated in the erroneous belief that it will lead to different results. The Generals continue to manage and manipulate the political process in order to impose their remotely controlled lackeys. The will of the people is being suffocated like it was done in 1970. What caused the Bengalis rebellion? Denial of their rights, their fair share in the economic pie and their disdainful treatment as a subservient colony. East Pakistanis were the flag bearers of our independence movement. Yet as a result of Army Dictator Ayub Khan’spolicies and actions their dissent grew into resentment. Without appropriate redressal it grew into resistance.
After winning a clear electoral victory giving Awami League a majority in 1970 elections, another dictator, Yahya Khan refused to hand over power. It was facilitated by Bhutto who threatened to “break the legs” of anyparliamentarian joining the opening session of National Assembly. Instead, the military generals unleashed a brutal military action to subdue the will of the voters. One thing led to the other. After huge bloodletting and a shameful defeat, General Niazi signed Pakistan’s surrender in Palton maidan. An unforgettable moment of national disgrace. Five decades later our Generals are following the same disastrous path of subjugation of voters’ rights in what remains of Pakistan now.
While the techniques and tactics deployed by the Generals and their lackeys remain the same as 1970, the world has transitioned. I recollect in those days the only source of information for Pakistanis was the strictly controlled print media and one official TV channel. BBC’s Urdu program “sairbeen” on radio was a limited whiff of fresh air. As head of largest students’ union, I, like most of West Pakistanis, naively believed the false and planted stories of gallant victories achieved by our valiant soldiers against “miscreants” in East Pakistan. Lies by self-serving Generals and political leadership finally popped on the day of surrender.
This time around the generals have learnt from their misadventures. Rather than direct rule, they decided to run the country through their puppets in politics. General Bajwa and Nawaz Sharif laid their deck cleverly. There are no troops patrolling the streets. The execution machinery is led by ISI. Internal Wing Chief Faisal Nasir heads the dirty tricks squad. They have completely emasculated the media into subservience. Their kidnappings, beatings, jailing, destruction of property and businesses of PTI workers and leaders was only partially successful. ISI’s bullying and intimidation of judiciary worked for a while, till some honorable judges reached their breaking point and called them out.
All this brutal suppression may have worked in 1970, but in 2024 the generals’ designs were frustrated by the unbelievable levels of awareness of the masses. It was achieved through developments in technology creating social media. It has led to a national consensus rejecting the corrupt and compromised politicians and cemented support for IK.
February 8th elections were a watershed event in our history. Despite all roadblocks, the voters gave an overwhelming verdict in favor of PTI. The main cog in this devilish scheme is ECP Raja Sikander Sultan. This wicked and wily character did everything to dismantle PTI pre-Feb elections. After that failure, he engineered fake results to install crooks in power. This manipulation is facing severe challenges in various courts. ECP’s 1st line of defense is a “sledge hammer” Chief Justice SC who is out to defend his illegalities at all costs, including ruining his own reputation.
The battle is on. Now there is new entrant in the arena; global condemnation by those who matter of these stolen elections. IK has become a “prisoner of conscience” languishing in jail coming at par with Nelson Mandela. Pakistan is not sparsely populated remote island in the Pacific. It is a nuclear-powered nation of 250 million situated strategically. Its gasping and failing economy puts it at the mercy of its lenders. Let us see how long can these ambitious generals, led by Asim Munir, handle this pressure. The latest crippling budget is likely to be the last straw on the camel’s back. Coming few months can prove to be decisive, if masses turn out to protest this desecration of a nation by its own protectors.
