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Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa chosen as new army chief

After weeks of intense speculation and rumours, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has finalised the selection of two senior army officers as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCSC), reported DawnNews.

A career infantry officer belonging to the Baloch Regiment, Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has been appointed as the new COAS, while Lt Gen Zubair Hayat has been appointed the CJCSC.

Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Lt Gen Zubair Hayat will be promoted to the rank of four-star generals.

Both generals would take up their new posts from Tuesday, the day the current army chief Raheel Sharif retires.

Others in contention for the post of army chief were Bahawalpur Corps Commander Lt Gen Javed Iqbal Ramday and Multan Corps Commander Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem.
All four generals are from the PMA’s 62nd long course, but have had different career trajectories.

The formal process for nomination starts with the General Headquarters sending a list of the senior-most generals to the prime minister via the defence ministry, but without making any formal recommendations.

The PM then holds informal consultations with the outgoing army chief before announcing his decision.

Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa

Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa was something of a dark horse in this race for the post of COAS.

He is currently serving at the GHQ as Inspector General of Training and Evaluation — the position Gen Sharif held before becoming army chief — he has commanded the 10 Corps, the army’s largest, which is responsible for the area along the Line of Control (LoC).

Lt Gen Bajwa has extensive experience of handling affairs in Kashmir and the northern areas of the country. As a major general, he led the Force Command Northern Areas. He also served in the 10 Corps as lieutenant colonel, where he was GSO.

Despite his extensive involvement with Kashmir and northern areas, he is said to consider extremism a bigger threat for the country than India.

Lt Gen Bajwa has served with a UN mission in Congo as a brigade commander alongside former Indian army chief Gen Bikram Singh, who was also there as a division commander.
He has previously also remained the commandant of the Infantry School in Quetta.
His military colleagues say he is not attention-seeking and remains well-connected with his troops.

“He is extremely professional, but very easy-going and full of compassion,” an officer who had served under him said, adding that he was not protocol-minded either. Gen Bajwa is also said to be an apolitical person without any biases.

He is from the infantry’s Baloch Regiment, which has given three officers to the post of army chief — Gen Yahya Khan, Gen Aslam Beg and Gen Kayani.

Lt Gen Zubair Hayat
Lt Gen Zubair Hayat is from the artillery and the serving Chief of General Staff (CGS).

As a three-star general, he was previously posted as director general of the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), which is the secretariat of the NCA; and corps commander Bahawalpur. This makes him an ideal choice for the post of CJCSC, who has an almost exclusive jurisdiction over nuclear forces and assets.

His postings as CGS and DG SPD afforded him an opportunity to work very closely with PM Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

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Pakistan Army Chief Raheel Sharif Starts Retirement Tour

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Pakistan’s army chief began a farewell tour ahead of his scheduled retirement, indicating he will become the first army chief in two decades to step down on time in a country usually fraught with tensions over the role of the powerful military.

Gen. Raheel Sharif, 60 years old, is credited with leading counterterrorism operations that significantly reduced militant activity across Pakistan during his three-year tenure. He is also seen as a driving force behind a crackdown on the militant wings of political parties in Karachi, which helped stabilize the country’s largest city and economic hub.

Gen. Sharif’s two predecessors both received term extensions. Some opposition politicians and media commentators in Pakistan had questioned whether Gen. Sharif would serve beyond his retirement date of Nov. 29. However, Pakistan’s military said as early as January that the general would retire on schedule.

The start of Gen. Sharif’s retirement tour on Monday, which the military spokesman announced, was taken as further evidence he intended to step down on time. Departing military chiefs traditionally tour bases across the country and hold farewell meetings with other officials.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who appointed the general to his post in 2013, sees a timely transition at the end of Gen. Sharif’s term as an important test of civilian rule in Pakistan’s long-running tug of war between elected officials and the military, according to the prime minister’s aides. The two Sharifs aren’t related.

Gen. Sharif’s successor is expected to be named in the coming days. The prime minister will choose from a list of candidates after consulting with Gen. Sharif and cabinet members, said defense minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who is a senior member of the ruling party.

The position of army chief is one of the most powerful offices in Pakistan. The country has a history of tensions between civilian governments and the military, including long periods of military rule. Gen. Sharif strengthened the military’s role in foreign and security matters during his term.

Hasan Askari Rizvi, an independent political analyst, said Gen. Sharif was probably looking to leave on a high note and avoid the turmoil that has plagued successors who sought term extensions. “He didn’t want to compromise his success in counterterrorism,” Mr. Rizvi said.
Ruling party aides said a punctual transition between army chiefs would mark a milestone for democracy in Pakistan.

“No other military in the world has achieved the kind of victories against terrorism like our army has under Gen. Sharif’s command,” said Mr. Asif, the defense minister. “Gen. Sharif is leaving behind a legacy that he and the armed forces can be proud of.”

“Accomplishment of peace and stability [is] no ordinary task. Our sacrifices and joint national resolve helped us in offsetting all odds against [the] country,” Gen. Sharif said during a farewell visit to soldiers in the eastern city of Lahore, according to military spokesman Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa.

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Imran Khan abandons Islamabad protest after inquiry into PM granted

Imran Khan has abandoned plans to bring Islamabad to a standstill after Pakistan’s highest court agreed to his petition to launch an inquiry into corruption allegations against the prime minister.

Khan, the leader of the Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), had vowed to “lock down” Pakistan’s capital on Wednesday as part of his campaign against Nawaz Sharif after the leaking of the Panama Papers.

He says the prime minister must explain how his children became owners or trustees of offshore companies that own expensive London property.

The cricket star turned politician hopes the tax leaks will be the downfall of Pakistan’s prime minister. As he battles elitism, what does he make of his former brother-in-law Zac Goldsmith’s campaign to be London mayor?

With thousands of Khan’s supporters bearing down on the capital on Tuesday, the supreme court offered a way out of the crisis, saying the PTI and the governing Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) had until Thursday to agree terms of reference for the judge-led inquiry or the court would decide them.

Sharif and his children deny any wrongdoing, but Khan has suggested that the family’s offshore companies may have been used to hide “ill-gotten wealth” or avoid tax.

The imposing supreme court building was surrounded by heavy security for a hearing that attracted leading politicians from the government and the opposition.

Islamabad had been braced for the arrival of thousands of Khan’s supporters, in a repeat of the PTI’s 2014 street protests that lasted four months.

Fearing violent confrontations in the heart of the capital, the government had taken extraordinary steps to head off the protests, including placing shipping containers across some of the access roads into Islamabad and using colonial-era legislation to ban gatherings of more than four people in Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province.

The precautions led Amnesty International to say the government was using “unnecessary and excessive force”.

The PTI initially said that two of its supporters had died because of “excessive use of expired teargas shells” by police, but later withdrew the claim.

Speaking from his hilltop mansion on the outskirts of Islamabad, which has been surrounded by police and PTI supporters in recent days, Khan said the court decision was a victory “for the downtrodden classes of Pakistan”.

“This is what we wanted in Pakistan, to hold the powerful accountable, which has never happened in the history of our country,” he said.

Instead of a protest, he said his party would stage a “thanksgiving rally” on an officially designated parade ground some way from the sensitive government quarter that was the focus of the 2014 protests.

In response, the government ordered the removal of barricades blocking roads into the capital and began releasing detained PTI workers.

The impending protest had created a sense of crisis in Islamabad, where Sharif is embroiled in a poisonous row with Pakistan’s military, a powerful institution he had hoped to curb when he came to power in 2013.

Some of the prime minister’s aides feared violent clashes between government-controlled police and PTI workers would have provided a pretext for the army to force Sharif from power.

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The right to protest: PTI challenges Section 144 in capital

ISLAMABAD, Nov 1: Prominent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) legislator Asad Umar filed a petition before the Islamabad High Court, challenging the imposition of Section 144 and the ban on loudspeakers in the federal capital. Simultaneously, he requested the court to remove police stationed outside the residence of Imran Khan.

He has made the federation a respondent through the Ministry of Interior, Islamabad Police inspector general, chief commissioner and deputy commissioner.

Umar said the respondents are forcing people to yield to government force and give up rights guaranteed by the Constitution. He said this was not only “illegal, but deprives citizens of the right to a free democracy and independent judiciary”.

He alleged notifications, just a few days prior to the protest, provided clear evidence of the politicisation of the respondents. Umar said that after government orders, the IGP passed verbal orders for the illegal arrest and detention of PTI workers, voters and supporters.

On October 27, the district magistrate issued two notifications, while exercising his powers under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, thereby imposing a prohibition on the gathering of five people or more. Also banned within the federal capital for two months was the use of loudspeakers within the federal capital.

Umer stated in the petition that under the guise of the impugned notifications and orders of respondents, the capital’s police started harassing and illegally arresting and detaining workers, members, affiliates and leadership of the PTI.

Umar stated hundreds of workers, members and affiliates of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf are currently in police custody following the notifications. He claimed fake FIRs were registered against them under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code and other provisions of the law.

The PTI leader, through his counsel, maintained that a huge contingent of police and Frontier Constabulary were deployed at the residence of PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s residence in Bani Gala. He claimed Imran had been put under an unannounced and illegal ‘house arrest’, which was a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

He said the respondents are not dealing with the petitioner, party members and PTI leadership according to Article 4 (right of individuals to be dealt with in accordance with law) of the Constitution.

“Respondents are acting in excess of their lawful authority and causing unjustified, unreasonable agony to petitioner, workers, members, affiliates and leadership of the petitioner’s party,” he stated. He added these notifications were issued for politically-motivated purposes and the discretion afforded to the deputy commissioner was exercised wrongfully. He added workers, voters and supporters of PTI were being deliberately targeted and arrested from their homes, restaurants, hotels or while travelling to and from the PTI protest.

“In the present case, the attempt to arrest, harass and restrain [party] workers from attending the PTI protest amounts to the violation of the Constitution,” the petition read.

He asked the court to declare the notifications illegal and pass an order to quash all FIRs registered against the workers and others. Further, he requested the court to issue directions to remove the contingent of law enforcers from outside Imran’s residence.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2016.

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Rangers arrest MQM London leaders Dr Hasan Zafar Arif and Khalid Younus

Sindh Rangers on Saturday took Professor Dr Hasan Zafar Arif and Kunwar Khalid Yunus of the London-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement into custody from outside the Karachi Press Club, where they were due to address a press conference.

Before MQM London leaders arrived at the press club’s premises, large number of Rangers personnel had taken positions in the surrounding area and were checking the vehicles that were passing by.
Dr Arif was taken into custody before he could enter the press club. He was taken in a Rangers mobile van to an undisclosed location.

Kunwar Khalid Yunus was also taken into custody on his way to Karachi Press Club and shifted to an undisclosed location.

Following the arrests of the leaders, the London-based party decided to cancel the press conference.
In a tweet, MQM London’s Wasay Jalil said coordination committee members Dr. Arif and Kunwar Khalid Yunus were detained by members of the paramilitary force.

Both arrested are members of the new coordination committee which was constituted by the London-based MQM.
Later in the evening, Rangers also arrested newly joined MQM London leader Amjad Ullah from outside Karachi Press Club.

The 12-member interim coordination committee was formed by MQM’s London-based leadership in an attempt to regain organisational control of the party which it almost lost following the August 22 incendiary speech of party founder Altaf Hussain.

Dr Arif had recently joined the party along with four other members — Advocate Ishaq, former president of the National Students Federation Momin Khan Momin, Amjadullah Khan and Advocate Idrees Alvi — of the new coordination committee. He is a former faculty member of Karachi University’s philosophy department.

Today’s development comes a week after he addressed a press conference at the Karachi Press Club during which he demanded that the ongoing “anti-MQM” operation be called off forthwith.

The Oct 15 press conference was the first show of strength by Altaf Hussain against Dr Farooq Sattar-led MQM-Pakistan, which had sidelined and disowned him following his Aug 22 speech.

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Govt Removes Cyril Almeida’s Name from ECL

The government on Friday removed the name of Dawn staffer Cyril Almeida from the Exit Control List (ECL), confirmed a notification issued from the Ministry of Interior.

Earlier today, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan assured the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) and the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) that Dawn staffer Cyril Almeida’s name would be removed from the ECL.
The interior minister provided the assurance during a meeting with APNS and CPNE officials in Islamabad.

However, he told participants that removal of the name would in no way affect the ongoing inquiry into the the matter and the inquiry would continue till its logical conclusion.

The interior minister reiterated during the meeting that the independent media must play its role not only towards safeguarding national interests and security but also counter negative propaganda by enemies of the state.

Almeida’s name was added to the Exit Control List – preventing travel abroad – on Monday after he wrote the news report “Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military”. The Prime Minister’s Office rejected the story thrice since it was published on October 6.

In an Editor’s note, Dawn clarified its position and stated on the record that the story “was verified, cross-checked and fact-checked.”

The note further stated that “Many at the helm of affairs are aware of the senior officials, and participants of the meeting who were contacted by the newspaper for collecting information. Therefore, the elected government and state institutions should refrain from targeting the messenger, and scape-goating the country’s most respected newspaper in a malicious campaign.”

In the wake of the travel ban on Almeida, human rights and journalists’ organisations including the HRCP, PFUJ and CPNE protested and rallied in his support. Most TV news channels also ran reports and conducted programs criticising the government’s decision.

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Corps commanders view leak from high-level meeting as breach of national security: ISPR

Participants of a Corps Commanders meeting at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Friday expressed serious concern over what they said was a leak from a security meeting which was reported by Dawn earlier this month.

In a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), participants of the meeting expressed serious concern over “feeding of false and fabricated story of an important security meeting held at PM House and viewed it as breach of national security.”

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif presided over the meeting which was attended by all corps commanders and principal staff officers.

Almeida’s name was added to the Exit Control List – preventing travel abroad – on Monday after he wrote the news report “Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military”. The Prime Minister Office rejected the story thrice since it was published on October 6.

In an Editor’s note, Dawn clarified its position and stated on the record that the story “was verified, cross-checked and fact-checked.”

The note further stated: “Many at the helm of affairs are aware of the senior officials, and participants of the meeting who were contacted by the newspaper for collecting information. Therefore, the elected government and state institutions should refrain from targeting the messenger, and scape-goating the country’s most respected newspaper in a malicious campaign.”

In the wake of the travel ban on Almeida, human rights and journalists’ organisations including the HRCP, PFUJ and CPNE protested and rallied in his support. Most TV news channels also ran reports and conducted programmes criticising the government’s decision.

The participants held a comprehensive review of the internal and external security situation with a particular focus on prevailing environment at the Line of Control (LoC) and the operational preparedness of the Pakistan Army.

Participants rejected the Indian claims of ‘hoax’ surgical strikes as an attempt to divert the world’s attention away from brutalities being committed by the Indian Army against Kashmiris in held Kashmir, ISPR said.

The forum resolved that any attempt of misadventurism and irresponsible act will be met with the most befitting response.
While expressing complete satisfaction over the operational preparedness of troops, the COAS reiterated the army’s resolve to defend Pakistan against a full spectrum of threat.

Recounting the successes of Operation Zarb-i-Azb and the resultant stability achieved, the COAS reiterated the need for sustained efforts on internal security to defeat all hostile attempts to reverse gains made.

The participants resolved to continue sustained and focused combing and intelligence-based operations across the length and breadth of the country to uproot terrorism, harmonising it with implementation of the National Action Plan to address extremism and other causes of terrorism, the ISPR said.

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Dawn’s senior columnist Cyril Almeida put on Exit Control List for ‘misleading’ story on national security

ISLAMABAD, Oct 11 – Senior columnist of Dawn Cyril Almeida has been put on Exit Control List after his ‘misleading’ story regarding purported deliberations in a meeting on the security issues stirred controversy.

The writer announced Government’s latest move against the controversial story on Twitter.

Dawn’s editor Zaffar Abbas defiantly replied after the Government placed its staffer Cyril Almeida on the Exit Control List.
The writer created a buzz in Pakistan and India by reporting on October 6 that the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had delivered a “blunt” warning to the powerful military that the country facing growing international isolation if it failed to tackle terror.

The ECL is a system of border control maintained by the Government of Pakistan under the Exit from Pakistan (Control) Ordinance. Persons on the list are prohibited from leaving Pakistan.

The PM Office had strongly rejected the story, terming it not only speculative but misleading and factually incorrect. “The fact that the report itself states that none of the attributed statements were confirmed by the individuals mentioned in the story clearly makes it an example of irresponsible reporting”, he said in a statement issued on Thursday.

Earlier today, the civil-military leadership expressed concern over the publication of a fabricated news story in Daily Dawn pertaining to security issues purportedly discussed in a meeting of National Security Committee in the last week.

Also, the participants of meeting were unanimous that the published story was clearly violative of universally acknowledged principles of reporting on national security issues and has risked the vital state interests through inclusion of inaccurate and misleading contents which had no relevance to actual discussion and facts.

The participants felt that it was imperative that the print and electronic media refrained itself from speculative reporting and issues of national security and interests of the state.

PM Nawaz took serious notice of the violation and directed that those responsible should be identified for stern action.

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PPP Thunders in Parliament: `Why has the Govt been Unable to Defend Pakistan?’

ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) played the role of a vibrant opposition party today when it asked the government some tough question about its handling of the Kashmir issue.

On the third day of the joint session of Parliament today when a resolution was passed on Kashmir, PPP lawmakers systematically criticised what they said was the government’s inability to make a strong case for Pakistan on the international stage.

“The day Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says the name of Kulbushan Jadhav, I will donate Rs50,000 to the blind association,” said Senator Aitzaz Ahsan. He was referring to PM Nawaz’s UNGA speech, where he failed to mention the Indian spy caught by military officials months earlier.

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman slammed Pakistan’s foreign policy, asking “Why are we not able to mount a serious, sustained, protracted defence of the federation of Pakistan?”

“Kashmir is one of the most important issues for us regarding our foreign policy… You cannot build your foreign policy through one speech,” Rehman said, referring to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s UNGA speech.

Rehman echoed Aitzaz’s address to the joint session a day earlier, during which the premier failed to mention the Indian spy caught by military officials months earlier.

Aitzaz Ahsan also had something to say about Jadhav during today’s session: “The day Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says the name of Kulbushan Jadhav, I will donate Rs50,000 to the blind association.”

The Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval said if there was another terrorist attack in India, Pakistan would lose Balochistan, Rehman said. “Who is the NSA of India to say this?” she questioned. “How dare any Indian speak about the federation of Pakistan?”

“One-seventh of India is constantly under insurgency. That is their internal matter. Why did you not bring this matter up?” the PPP lawmaker said, addressing the prime minister who was not present at today’s session.

India has made us appear responsible for terrorism before the whole world, the lawmaker lamented. “The US is already their ally. They have already started making bases there. Afghanistan is already blaming us,” she continued. “You have no interests in common with the super powers,” she said.

“Who is defending Pakistan? Our parliament is doing it. Our Army is fighting the largest inland war against terrorism in the world today and nobody knows about it,” she said. “This is a failure of your diplomacy,” she added to applause from the PPP benches.

“The military should always be the last line of defence. The first line is the foreign ministry, the foreign minister and its ambassadors.

“The military’s job is to be standing there in the trenches. Do not make them do your job for you,” she warned the government, “Because that’s what they are being forced to do.”

“They have to give speeches, they have to take positions, they have to take journalists to the Line of Control for briefings. What have you done?” she asked the government.

“You held a traditional ‘All Parties Conference’. You didn’t even do a DGMO briefing. What are you afraid of? What will happen? Where is a vacuum, someone always fills it,” she warned.

Rehman also touched upon Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to suspend Indus Waters Commission talks after the Uri attack.

“On the Indus Waters Treaty, India touched that which hadn’t been touched in three wars. And this treaty is not a fair or just treaty with Pakistan. India has built dam upon dam.

“India has weaponised water. What answer did you give?” she asked.

Senator Rehman Malik also addressed the session, terming Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “chief terrorist”, held India responsible for “exporting terrorism to Pakistan”.

Rehman Malik urged lawmakers not to isolate the Kashmir issue from CPEC. “What is happening right now is because of CPEC ─ certain world powers don’t want it to be successful,” he claimed.

Resolution on Kashmir
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz presented a resolution on Kashmir in the assembly which was unanimously endorsed by lawmakers in attendance.

The resolution highlighted Indian atrocities in Kashmir, calling for implementation of UNSC resolutions, rejected Indian accusations of Pakistani involvement in the Uri attack and condemned Indian sponsorship of subversive activity in Pakistan. It also took notice of India’s efforts to isolate Pakistan diplomatically.

Senator Taj Haider addressing parliament earlier had said, “We should not move back even one millimetre from our point of view.”

He added, “We have to voice very clearly that plebiscite in Kashmir is the only solution. We have to find a method to hold free and fair plebiscite without any pressure on Kashmir.”

The senator raised concerns of smaller provinces over the CPEC, echoing the stance PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan took during yesterday’s joint session.

Fata MNA Dr G.G. Jamal pointed out that a large number of the armed forces were deployed to the western border for Operation Zarb-i-Azb.

“The world should know that India, indirectly, does not want Zarb-i-Azb to finish. Indirectly, they don’t want terrorism to end, they are helping it,” he claimed.

Jamal said that India is diverting the world’s attention towards war so that state terrorism in Kashmir is forgotten.

Senator Kamil Ali Agha, during the session said: “We have to see that the UN resolutions are in place, the Kashmiris are sacrificing so where are we lacking? Why is the world not paying attention?”

Agha also raised questions about CPEC. “Why has Gilgit-Baltistan been left out of CPEC?” and asserted that GB carries the potential to generate electricity.

“The corridor cannot be completed without investment in Gilgit-Baltistan,” he maintained.

During yesterday’s session, PPP and PML-N lawmakers clashed over Panamagate and allegations of corruption in the house just days after political leaders announced they were united on the Kashmir issue following an ‘All Parties Conference’.

The upper and lower houses together also unanimously approved the anti-honour killing and anti-rape bills during Thursday’s session.

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Case of the missing news

WE grew up with our grandmother often making references to the ‘Sulaimani topi’ , the proverbial cap that made the wearer magically disappear from view. Much, much later, the concept came into play in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books in which Harry used the ‘cloak of invisibility’.

In both instances, the disappearing act was pure fiction. Tragically, in Pakistan today 24/7 news channels and all media houses (the honourable exception being just that) seem to be making increasing use of the Sulaimani topi.

This week the Akhtar Mengal-led Balochistan National Party held a public meeting in Quetta which, going by the photos/clips on social media, was one of the biggest public gatherings in the provincial capital in a long time.

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What the Baloch see as a burning issue ie disappearances, has more or less been ‘disappeared’ from the media thanks to the cloak of invisibility.
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As I scanned the various news channels and newspapers, I struggled to find even a small mention of it. Sardar Akhtar Mengal and his party contested the 2013 general election and do not fall in the ‘separatist-terrorist’ category by any stretch of the imagination.
But in an environment where a suicide bombing that wiped out an entire generation of lawyers — many of whom were staunch believers in human rights and were forever striving to further that cause — was blamed on the enemies of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor rather than the religious extremists who claimed responsibility for it, the patriotic media prefers to err on the side of caution.

After all, Sardar Akhtar Mengal and his party talk of the rights of the Baloch people. Such politicians and activists, in the eyes of the patriotic media, are walking a very, very thin line that divides the ‘acceptable’ from the treasonous. So why should they take chances? Better to use a collective Sulaimani topi — and bingo! The thousands-strong gathering disappears from view.

In any case, what the Baloch see as a burning issue ie disappearances, has more or less been ‘disappeared’ from the media thanks to the cloak of invisibility. In late July, a Karachi social worker Comrade Wahid Baloch was returning home on a coach after a visit to interior Sindh when, on the outskirts of the city, plainclothesmen took him away after stopping the vehicle.

Four weeks later, the media continues to hold a Sulaimani topi over his head, with hints coming from unnamed official sources that some ‘separatists’ may have met Wahid Baloch in Digri where he had gone to condole the passing of a friend. Someone has also advised those making inquiries about the missing man to wait as he might return one of these days after he has been debriefed.

Then, there is the case of MQM worker Aftab Ahmed who was tortured to death (as the autopsy established) in custody in early May this year. After the army chief ordered an inquiry into the incident, the Rangers said the personnel involved had been suspended and would be proceeded against. Four months on, we await the details of action against them.

Where the authorities, followed by the media, have the capacity to ‘disappear’ people and issues, the Sindh Rangers have also been able to do the reverse. As news reports of a Senate sub-committee proceedings have told us, there now exists a ‘Human Rights Commission South Asia’ which, a Rangers submission to the Senate said, has given it a clean bill of health in terms of its record in Karachi.

Apart from an obscure website, nobody can find this organisation or any of its functionaries especially after one of the two men cited as its representatives in Pakistan has disavowed any association with it. In fact, he says he has not even heard of the body. The other rep is not reachable using his contact information provided on the site.

This report was wholly unnecessary simply because ask anyone in Karachi and they will tell you that the Rangers and police have done a great job in clipping the wings of the various parties’, most notably the MQM’s, militant cadres.

This is remarkable indeed in a city which resembled a lawless jungle with various armed groups holding sway over its different parts. These ruthless armed groups also appeared to be at liberty to indulge in land-grabbing and extortion, and carry out targeted killings, till the start of the Rangers-led operation a mere three years back. Now most of their networks have been smashed and trades shut down.

It is only fair to the bulk of the Rangers in Karachi and their khaki counterparts in the terrorist-infested areas in the north-western reaches of the country, who have offered blood sacrifices and fought back the existential threat to Pakistan that where some of their colleagues stray from the lawful path these are also mentioned for the purpose of course correction.

When some of us cry ourselves hoarse over the free rein that certain religious militant groups enjoy, leading to confusion about the direction of the operation against terrorism, I am not using the words of Sushma Swaraj and John Kerry as some in the media have taken to alleging. How could I?

I remember well Ms Swaraj was the person who briefed the press on behalf of the Indian hardliners and thwarted the only sane course for her country to extricate itself from the Kashmir quagmire when Pervez Musharraf and Atal Behari Vajpayee were nearing agreement at Agra in 2001.

Given the popular, indigenous (yes, indigenous) uprising in India-held Kashmir and the repressive measures being used to crush the renewed azadi movement, as we speak, frankly makes me livid even after all these years at the pain Ms Swaraj and her political stablemates have caused.

Such views, and that too across the whole range of issues, don’t make someone a super-patriot or whatever is the exact opposite. Saying what is right and what is wrong is something some of us, no matter how few, are not prepared to give up. The ultrapatriotic critics are welcome to have a go. That is their right.

The writer is a former editor of Dawn.