Sui Incident: A PR Disaster

bibi aap kis duniya maiN rehti haiN?

kya aapkO pata nahiN her kaam Allah ki marzi say hota hay?

maaf kijia`aye ghalti hogaee...allah ki jagah fauj likh diji`aye

Can we blindly trust the narration of Mr. Akbar Bugti?


Why the heck not? You do it when you quote unproven allegations by the likes of Geelain against the Indian army in Kashmir?

(insert sauce goose cliche here)...

Mr. temporal #1: I think sir that this article deserves something more than a cynical remark from you. It is well written and makes a good point. And, despite your obvious implication to the contrary, it is not the Law of God that there should be no accountability in Pakistan. And so the author makes a very good point in comparing Pakistan with the way governments of more civilized countries react to such abominations. Pakistanis who stand up for some standards of accountability in the country, like the author of this article, are the true heroes of our country. They deserve encouragement, not cynical remarks.

tahmed32 #

sirji, thank you for affording this opportunity to explain what was left unsaid;)

this writer has the firm and unshakeable conviction that as long as the the country is army occupied no long range good can ever evolve...it is simply not in their interest!

at the bare minimum a country needs some institutions that are totally independent and do not shake and blow at the whim of some dandawala ... the prolonged army occupation has shaken...nay ruined the very institutions that are necessary for nation building and nation-function...

as an exercise i might ask a simple query...can we name one institution there that is left intact and we can be proud of?

rgds

t

ps: bibi if my comments hurt, pls. ignore...humari nayyat saaf thee

This is the umpteenth article on the case.

You compared it to a Swedish case. This is Why there are long queues outside their embassies and people risk lives and fortunes to end up in the West.

Articles like these won`t shame the Pakis (rulers and their chamchas) into being better humans. They are thick skinned pigs. Their frustration stems from the `interfernce` of the western media that doesn`t allow them to dismiss such cases with the earlier non chalance.

Mukhtaran bibi`s attackers have been freed and have gone back to the village.

#4 temporal

how about Pakistan Postal Service? Is anybody proud of them? How have they
done over the years?

Riffat,

You have nailed it on the head, for you the educated pakistani, Sui rape is a Pr disaster, reaffirming the belief that all that pakistan needs is better PR. This is the real tragedy of pakistan, the outcome of the k for kafir education. There is indo-israeli conspiracy in this, there is no PR issue in this, there is only truth.
IN pakistan rape is legal under the jirga system. Riffat, if you have any corrage of conviction, write on chowk why the sharia court has not struck down the honour killing laws, why killing of a woman is not a crime against the state. Police is bound to act only when the ``wali`` the owner of the woman complains. The owners of the women are father till she is married and husband after she is married and it is this legal system of pakistan that supports honour killing. tell the world that the only crime against the state in pakistan is blasphemy.

Riffat learn to tell the truth, there is PR distater in pakistan, it is only that the truth is finally coming out, despite the efforts of YLH, tahmed and temporal to hide it by attacking the meassenger.

# 7:

mr jay (origami) thackeray

read # 4

and if you are comprehension challeged go back to an h for hotel school;)

rgds

t

I can understand the PR thing- the State has to APPEAR as being Just- but this misplaced emphasis upon the PR thing downplays the other important maxim of the Rule of Law that - the State HAS to be Just as well.
The elites have always tried to work on this APPEARANCE- but the current technology has ensured that there is enough information on the REALITY as it exists.
Let us face the reality that there CANNOT be any substitute to democratic institutions, Civil Liberties and supremacy of the Original Constitution over the Generals and their LFO-s!!!
Let us admit that the General is NOT better than the democratic order that has been murdered so often in Pakistan and no amount of pretense by these Generals can hide this reality! Only then Pakistan can think of moving ahead in the 21st Century!!

From the author

I may clarify

Originally, I intended to scribe just a short protest-note with reference to this tragic, shameful and horrible incident. Once I started writing, it became impossible to stop. The anger simply overwhelmed me and the result is in front of you.

Please, pardon me for submitting such a voluminous piece.

As a version of this letter was posted to several generals by ordinary mail as well, emphasis on the PR aspect was deliberate. Because, those perching on the top by the virtue of raw force alone may not care about legal or moral niceties, they still are quite concerned about their public image. Unfortunately, to a great extent Pak Army enjoys legal immunity in Pakistan. Reading them Constitutional provisions serves no purpose. These different comparisons and so on are thus meant to hit where it hurts not at all to belittle the subject matter.

Thanks for reading and writing your comments,

Riffat

Riffat, long but nonetheless a really nice article. Thanks.

Probably, Pakistan`s best journlaist, Najam Sethi has the following to say about this issue:

Khakis & civilians: us versus them?
Najam Sethi’s E d i t o r i a l
TFT
Feb 18-24, 2005

Dr Shazia Khalid was raped on the premises of the Sui hospital where she worked. Her civilian colleagues and employer, no less than the military security institution tasked with site-protection, all actively connived to conceal the crime. The media was barred from talking to her. The local police was obstructed from investigation. The main accused, an army officer, was not detained and interrogated. Far from it. He was actually protected by his institution until the situation became untenable. Even now, the official military spokesman is mealy mouthed about the detention and interrogation of the accused.

Why wasn’t a thorough and transparent inquiry ordered swiftly at the highest level to establish guilt or innocence? If a civilian had been charged instead of an army officer, rightly or wrongly, the law would surely have taken its quick toll. But that’s not the way it works in our “democracy”. The military is innocent unless proven guilty and civilians are guilty unless proven innocent. Ask any wretched cop who has as much as dared to challenge a khaki on the road, and he will tell you that he got a black eye and a suspension from service for his efforts, thank you very much.

The issue, of course, is not about culpability or righteousness. It is about accountability. To be sure, the military is deadly serious about accountability and indiscipline within its ranks. But it is not prepared to submit to the rules of accountability by civilians in a democracy. Of all the specific accountability or ehtesaab laws framed in this country by civilian or military-controlled parliaments since 1995, every one explicitly excludes senior military officers from its ambit. The military insists its internal accountability mechanisms are sufficiently daunting for the purpose. This is true. But the same argument could be flogged for civil servants whose service rules are equally uncompromising. Yet the latter are fair game and the former are not for the National Accountability Bureau. And that is not just because NAB is a civilian outfit governed by civilian laws but headed by a military man. It’s because that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

The same sort of attitude is apparent in other areas of governance. When a civilian senator recently rose in the House to ask why the government had only now woken up to a violation of the Indus Waters Treaty by India over the Baglihar Dam when construction on the dam started way back in 2000, another senator, a military general and former DG-ISI to boot, castigated his colleague by accusing civilian governments of negligence while India had been engaged in constructing a couple of other controversial dams in the past. One might have thought that such a matter of national consequence should have been resolved without resorting to finger pointing, but no, Pakistan must be one of the unlucky few countries in the world where the “us versus them” civil-military syndrome is alive and kicking.

It is unfortunate that a national tragedy triggered by the collapsing dams in Balochistan in which hundreds of lives have been lost has not occasioned a ruthless accountability of the construction companies and engineers who built the dams as part of the federal government’s plans to open up the coastline and lay down the infrastructure of Gwadar. Surely it shouldn’t matter whether civilian contractor and military companies designed and built the dams. What matters is that they should be held publicly accountable for willful criminality. But nothing of the sort has been ordered. Instead, the president of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, has deemed fit to accuse the media of unnecessarily “playing up” the devastation in Balochistan and feeding its sense of deprivation. Of course, the allegation is totally misplaced. The media has in equal measure front paged the heroic efforts of the jawans and officers of the armed forces in shouldering the relief campaign, no less than the personal anguish and concern of the military president and civilian prime minister of Pakistan.

temporal:

some questions for you:

1) is jay`s last name really thackeray?

2) have noticed that you have been commenting on his remarks with as much sarcasm and dare i say disdain as perhaps i and a few people do with echoboom. the question i put to you is why don`t you just ignore the *#&^? what has happened to change that previous attitude of yours? and if you are battling ignorance as quixote battled windmills, then why is that not directed to more people on chowk, who are also ``deserving`` of it?

just curious. it`s not a defense of jay by any means. or angrily directed your way. but why just restrict your wit and aankheN maarna to those on whom little effect is made? khair the other side is that little effect is made on practically everyone here, including myself.

--ana

``#12 by ana on March 17, 2005 6:29am PT
temporal:

some questions for you:

1) is jay`s last name really thackeray?

2) have noticed that you have been commenting on his remarks with as much sarcasm and dare i say disdain as perhaps i and a few people do with echoboom. the question i put to you is why don`t you just ignore the *#&^? what has happened to change that previous attitude of yours? and if you are battling ignorance as quixote battled windmills, then why is that not directed to more people on chowk, who are also ``deserving`` of it?

just curious. it`s not a defense of jay by any means. or angrily directed your way. but why just restrict your wit and aankheN maarna to those on whom little effect is made? khair the other side is that little effect is made on practically everyone here, including myself.

--ana ``

NO. t is what he is doing. Balancing act. When something becomes un-defencible he must act as patriot.

Jay will show him a face he does not want to see. For example Sui.. Dr.. Jirga.. Mai..Koran.

Jay will show him.. You can go and not only rape but get away with well...I for Islam is ok with it. Who is this stupid woman complaining ... Let us talk /K for../M for..
Then he talk about H for well... Hotel???

What else he can say??

As a Person I think t... is a very decent person born in wrong religion. One that says my way or highway. I do not think he would do what every pakistani army high up think his birth right. Rape and get away.

I think you should stick to blaming Jay, and well.... right choice. Here he goes again and again... and again (I mean Jay)

BTW do you ever think FV, URS or the motely combi of this pures will ever think good of you. t.. can do nothing. He has already escaped.

Do not reply unless you get it... either way

Yogiraj

SOME OLD BOOKS WITH NEW TITLE COVERS


OF MICE AND (WO)MEN




GODS & MONSTERS




MASTERS OF LEGALIZED CONFUSION AND THEIR PUPPETS

ana:

1: it is jay prakash

2: jay prakash aka mr. know-it-all, jay thackeray, a few other knee-jerkers and farangi, hamzadafaqui, chusni, echoboom and two or three recent avatars of him are the abdul hates that crawl on this site...it is fun (and a jihad like obligation) to expose their my-way-or-the-highway silliness for the unwary and unsuspecting chowkies

lve

t

ps: yogiraj bhai i have to go back to the infamous k for...school to comprehend your post

temporal:

i think jay prakash`s attitudes and hate are visible enough without referring to him as thackeray don`t you? one doesn`t need to be a bal thackeray to hate. one could easily remain a jay prakash. and the same goes for those who refer to all muslims as abdul and christians as bible-thumpers. just an observation. you are entitled to do whatever satisfies you, as does everyone here.

and perhaps some credit should be given to the intelligence of chowkies, although i do get your point.

as for the recent avatars of echobum, you mean those two cross-gender nicks are also his?! hai hai!

--ana

````As a bare minimum Mr. Musharraf should have come on the national TV in his uniform and said something like: “Being father of a daughter myself, I can understand, very well, the unbearable agony the victim and his family must be going through. At the moment, I am not in position to have an opinion about the culpability of my officer. I can neither guarantee the innocence of the accused nor am I aware of the grade of his involvement. The crime is however so serious that there is absolutely no room for any leniency. We have taken the person in question in custody. He will remain there until and unless we can either prove him guilty or absolve him of any wrongdoing beyond every reasonable doubt. We will leave no stone unturned to deliver justice – no matter who the perpetrators are. Trust me - I will not let you down. ”

No, no, nothing of the sort, either from the Army House or the Presidency. Gentleman residing over there is perhaps too busy making and breaking political alliances. ‘Unity of command’ and uniform seemingly failed to incite ‘patriotism’ or stimulate ‘conscience’ when it needs. Actually, what really perturbs me is my deep-held belief that Mr. Musharraf as an individual is a benevolent and compassionate guy. He did take proper and personal notice of the gory incident in Meerwala. This time around, his indifference, his silence is perplexing. ````

why musharaf cant come in front of media and say all above things.....
the reason is he himself has taken adopted an illegal way to take hold of the governement ...
general saab talks about enlightened, democaratic and moderate pakistan.. and women of the nation are raped and and the accused are not even taken into police custody...
Mr. President please set an example....

#14-Good book covers Urstruly!
This belongs here as well. A warning of the times ahead for munaafiques , Zanees , sharaabees, Haraamkhores, and rishvatkhores of Pakistan. It really doesn`t matter if they are in uniform or out of uniform.

---

No wonder then Mukhtar Mai & Shazia cases happen in Paki-land.


In Pakistan Zaanis [adulterers], and zanabiljabrees[rapists],Sharaabees (drinkers), Haraamkaars(corrupt),rishvatkhores(bribe-takers) and such `moderate` and `enlightened` typesget support from cantonements & civil-lines.
Hence the westernised scum will continue their baighairat andbayhayaa lifestyle and delude themselves into believing that they aresomewhat `educated``.

``If you do it in english, it must be great``--the totaa mainaas conclude.


And then there is IRAN!Where Islamic justice, Sharia justice is dispensed to such vile creatures.


Iran`s `desert vampire` executed




The condemned collapsed twice during the pre-execution flogging

An Iranian serial killer who murdered at least 20 children has been executed in front a large crowd of spectators.
Mohammad Bijeh, 22, dubbed ``the Tehran desert vampire`` by Iran`s press, was flogged 100 times before being hanged.

A brother of one of his young victims stabbed him as
he was being punished. The mother of another victim was asked to putthe noose around his neck.

The execution took place in Pakdasht south of Tehran, near where Bijeh`s year-long killing spree took place.

The killer was hoisted about 10 metres into the air by a crane and slowly throttled to death in front of the baying crowd.

Hanging by a crane - a common form of execution in Iran
- does not involve a swift death as the condemned prisoner`s neck is not broken.

Calm and silent

ana:

see what have you done? abdul hate is frothing;)

yogiraj,

A woman is raped in Sui, no one is arrested, the president of the country says that the military is not invoved, he also says that the culprit should be hung. A very educated person, the author of this article says that the events point to a PR failure for the govt. All of the other pakistanis, like temporal agrees with this as indicated by his silence.

I point to this retrograde mindset that prevents any improvement in pak society. Well I have no hate, I am indignant. To me education means something, it means an ability to see through the sharade, a kind of a commitment to be objective, and to point out this fundamental meaning of education to the elites of pakistan.

May be you also agree that the issue in pakistan is one of PR failure, not that of the rule of law. Well you also belong to the species, homo erectus pakistanicus. Be temporals guest.

jay:

spoken like a true tunnel-visioned brother abdul-hate

coming to tea on sunday? bring brother echoboom too

rgds

t

Dear Readers, let me tell you people an un-biased truth on the basis of empirical evidence and long personal experience, once again.

It is rare rather extremely rare that a crime like gang-rape is condoned in Pak army. Even rarer still is for it to be encouraged or pardoned. Misdemeanour of this enormity simply doesn’t go unpunished - severely.

Sans celestial reasons, it is totally impossible that an ordinary captain would have shielded in this manner by the army whatever the merit of case might have been. In normal circumstances, a mere accusation would have been more than enough for the top brass to make the rascal weep for the rest of his life. I would rather claim that it is not probable that in analogous circumstances the army would have taken long to take even a brigadier - without extra-ordinary contacts at the top - to task let alone a petty captain.

Taking the pretty junior rank in account, ruling out any reasonable possibility of the captain sitting atop highly confidential information with devastating consequences for the upper strata if revealed, the only explanation left is that this abominable captain is a three-to-four star beta. To put it in colloquial language: for getting your Miranda rights read out on national TV, unprecedented VVIP treatment one must be a son of some senior general, preferably a serving one, and son-in-law of yet another three to four-star officer.

This implies the proud father and the worthy father-in-law working in concert blocking all punitive steps against their evil sapoot and pathetically deflecting the ever-increasing demands for justice. And to save the four-star family in question, the top command is forced to put the entire country on fire.

You know, in normal conditions, despite umpteen shortcomings of the generals, it is highly unlikely that they would have jeopardized the very existence of Pakistan as a nation state and with that their own lucrative fiscal interests. Our generals can be anything but not poor businessmen - by any standard.

I mean, if not patriotism, it is a question of self-interest and self-preservation for them to sort this nasty mess out at the earliest. In the absence of some very compelling reasons generals would have not allowed a captain to further sully the already badly battered image of their institution.

Inconceivable then that not even a single general have thus far resisted the mishandling of the gory incident. So we are stuck for the time being with the disgrace of Sui, which will forever be a stain on the history of Pakistan, like the East Pakistan tragedy, referendums and accountability drives.

At some point the whole shameful tale of this exercise in extreme human degradation must be told. The true face of the main accused, his family lineage and the real reasons behind this massive cover-up must be exposed - NOW.

Hence, I would request all reporters, journalists and readers to dig out the exact bio-data of this captain and make it public. It would be a true jihad fi sabilillah. Anyone who knows something about him and his family must come forward and share it with the nation. If wrong, this theory ought to be refuted by the quarters concerned.

Thanks,

subedar,

That is precisely what I am talking about, a little bit parethetical. There is no law in pakistan, as you say, if a woman is raped the military will deal with it. There is no public legal process, the military will deal with it. This is unique to pakistan, in every other country, there is a legal process, carried out by the law enforcrmrnt agencies.

I knew one pakistani, his relative was shot dead by a major in pak army, no police will even register a case.

What I get annoyed by the ilks of temporal is that he pretends and strut around like a moderate educated pakistani, but when I point out that sui rape is not a PR disater, it is an exposure of the fundamental lawlessness of pak society he personally attacks me.

This is no different from the general approach of the educated. It is the hard core laskers who are attacking the kashmiris, they are jihadists who want to talibanise kashmir, introduce hoododd in kashmir, but the temporals of pakistan, struggle in kashmir is a human rights issue. They cover the jihadis with the human rights glow.

By attacking me, temporal supports the author and asserts that sui rape is a PR issue, not an issue of rotting core of pak society.

The mishandling of the Sui incident by military authorities was, to use the phrase that Napoleon`s foreign minister Talleyrand is often credited with coining, ``worse than a crime; it was a blunder.``

And it was so casually mishandled because of just one painful fact: for the time being unavailability of viable instruments to take army to task.
I have definitely no love lost for any lousy BLA but one thing they must try to do. Direct their rockets exclusively to generals’ palaces. Attacking and killing poor foot soldiers serve no purpose. These miskeens are as hapless, oppressed and subjugated as rest of 80 % Pakistanis. BLA should target only the exploiting layer: generals, top politicians, and their families. Why killing and maiming each other and ordinary souls.

Re: # 7
``Riffat learn to tell the truth, there is PR distater in pakistan, it is only that the truth is finally coming out, despite the efforts of YLH, tahmed and temporal to hide it by attacking the meassenger.``

The denial mode is still on.....just like in the casting couch story of the Indian Film and TV Industry!!!

jay sahib:

you say in #23:

...There is no law in Pakistan.... There is no public legal process,…sui rape is … an exposure of the fundamental lawlessness of pak society… he personally attacks me.

i continuously expose your single issue hatred … i do not attack you for saying above… if you were not so blinded by your hatred you would have noticed long time ago i have been saying sterner things about absence of law and order in Pakistan…why do you think you are labeled jay thackeray?

and

… the temporals of pakistan, struggle in kashmir is a human rights issue. They cover the jihadis with the human rights glow. By attacking me, temporal supports the author and asserts that sui rape is a PR issue, not an issue of rotting core of pak society.

this is another one of your umpteenth case of twisted logic…your origami is paper thin my friend...you are frothing around the mouth just like your twin echoboom in his many avatars...

rgds

t

The Friday Times is sadly no more free and required a paid subscription. Therefore, I am posting an in-detail and very fresh news item in full on this topic.

Shazia case: the mystery deepens
Hasan Mansoor
Almost two months after the rape, the press and the public know as little about the case as when the investigations had first begun

TFT
March 18 - 24, 2005

A report submitted by a judicial commission headed by a Balochistan High Court judge has failed to provide any new insights into the mystery surrounding Dr Shazia’s rape case. In fact, according to several independent observers in Balochistan and Sindh, the report may have been influenced by General Pervez Musharraf’s statement in which he declared innocent the army captain accused of rape.

“The fact that General Musharraf issued a statement declaring Captain Hammad of the Defence Security Guards (DSG) innocent before the judicial commission’s report was released shows that he was attempting to influence the inquiry,” a Quetta-based analyst told TFT.

“After such an intervention, the inquiry itself has become controversial. What I don’t understand is why the entire state machinery is struggling so hard to protect the culprits. There is definitely a huge, complex cover-up taking place,” he added.

Observers consider that the most glaring flaw of the judicial report is its failure to expose or give any indication of the culprit(s) involved in the rape. “Instead, most of the findings of the report as well as statements made by officials seem to indicate that the authorities want to punish the victim instead of the culprit,” Amanullah Kandrani, spokesman of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), headed by Akbar Bugti, told TFT. “I think the report has no credibility because it is influenced by Islamabad.”

Analysts claim that some revelations of the commission’s report have actually led to doubts about the authenticity of what the report holds as “facts”. One of the most controversial and significant findings of the report is the discovery of “dried condoms” in the doctor’s house. Some officials of the Balochistan police told TFT they have received instructions from the top to investigate the presence of the condoms in the doctor’s house and find out evidence to substantiate the discovery.

“It is confusing that on the one hand the government refuses to provide any clear answers [regarding the case] itself or allow Dr Shazia to talk to the press and give her own answers while on the other hand it has publicly disclosed such controversial and leading information,” said an observer. “Clearly, this information [about the dried-condoms] can only harm Shazia and not help her case. Perhaps that is the establishment’s objective.”

Balochistan’s Inspector General Police Chaudhry Yaqub’s statement just before the official release of the commission’s report is also significant. Yaqub told reporters that Dr Shazia was unable to identify any suspects during an identity parade before a judicial magistrate where 11 suspects, including Captain Hammad, were brought to the line-up and asked to speak one by one. The doctor also failed to identify the voice of the rapist.

Observers believe that Yaqub’s statement was a precursor to the 17-page report of the judicial commission. “The drift can be seen in all official statements including those made by the Balochistan police chief. Everyone within and linked to the establishment is trying to defend the culprits, whoever they may be, and not the victim,” human rights activist Saeed Baloch told TFT.

Even the Balochistan governor’s premature statement that Dr Shazia’s gang-rape case “was false, its facts were concocted, and that it was being used by certain elements in Balochistan to undo the ongoing political dialogue” suggested irresponsible handling of the case.

According to Governor Owais Ghani, the report of the tribunal asked to probe the case was “revealing” and established three important facts: firstly, that the case was not one of gang rape because only one person was involved; secondly, the DNA tests of fresh and old condoms found in Dr Shazia’s house were identical; finally, the inner locks of the three entry gates including the outer gate to the doctor’s house were not broken but instead found intact.

“These facts make one wonder why Dr Shazia declined to register a case and failed to report the matter to police,” Ghani told reporters. “The government kept quiet and held investigations silently so that it would be able to reach conclusive facts. However, just because it [the government] was trying to remain impartial and keep its cool, it has received a great amount of negative publicity.”

Analysts feel that Ghani’s statement questioning the doctor for not getting the case registered with the police herself is provocative and uncalled for considering the sensitivity of the issue of rape. “Before trying to absolve the establishment by shifting the blame to the victim, the attitude of the government and the management of the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) should also be questioned,” said an analyst.

“The circumstances in which Dr Shazia was shifted from Sui to Karachi are shrouded in mystery and definitely show that the PPL administration was trying to cover-up the incident. In fact, PPL officials did not help the police contact the victim immediately after the incident either to examine her or to record her statement. Instead, Shazia was shifted to Karachi against police advice,” says an observer. He adds: “How does the establishment explain this?”

The commission’s report does not attempt to answer these and several other questions, including why Shazia was shifted from Sui to a psychiatry hospital in Karachi immediately after the rape. However, it does blame the PPL, the police and even Shazia for fudging facts and delaying registering of the correct report.

“Shazia was shifted to the Karachi hospital as an ‘acutely depressed and traumatised’ person for the treatment of a mental illness,” said an observer. “PPL officials who escorted her to the hospital tried to provide an incorrect medical history of the patient to the hospital. What motivated them to do this? Were they ordered to sweep the matter under the carpet, and if yes, who was calling the shots?”

In the absence of any conclusive information from the government, many rumours have begun to circulate about the culprits of the rape case. A recent report published in the right-wing Karachi-based newspaper Ummat claimed that the doctor was raped by some activists of the shadowy Balochistan National Army with the objective of exasperating the Pakistani government. “The absurdity of this statement is unquestionable,” said an observer. “However, considering the lack of information about the case, it is only natural that people have begun to speculate and such ludicrous rumours are doing the rounds.”

However, several reports released by independent groups have helped clarify aspects of the case that the government has failed to comment on so far. One such fact is that of the impossibility of outsiders walking into Shazia’s house inside the guarded PPL territory. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in a report said: “The HRCP inquirers discovered that the PPL compound was fully guarded and secured. There was no possibility of outsiders entering the compound without being noticed by the security guards.”

With observers already wondering why Shazia was afraid to speak the truth while in Sui, after it was pointed out that it was almost impossible for an outsider to enter the housing compound where Shazia lived, another question the analysts have raised is whether Shazia’s rapist could actually be a PPL official and not someone from the armed forced.

The HRCP and Aurat Foundation have also criticised PPL authorities for trying to absolve themselves by shifting the blame to Shazia by giving statements criticising her delayed reporting of the rape. “All facts belie this claim,” said a joint statement of the HRCP and the Aurat Foundation. “None of the PPL employees rushed to the residence of Dr Shazia; on the contrary, with great difficulty, the victim dragged herself and went to knock at the doors of a nursing hostel close to her quarter. It is also on record that Dr Shazia informed another lady doctor, employed by the PPL, that she was raped,” read the statement.

“It is quite natural and normal in any society that a rape victim will disclose the crime in a discreet manner. The physical state, torn, stained clothes and bruises on Shazia’s body spoke for themselves and it took no time for PPL personnel present on the spot to realise that she had been raped. So obvious was her condition that she was asked to replace her torn and stained clothes with another set of clothes offered by the PPL officials, a move carried out in order to destroy evidence,” read the statement.

Another aspect of the case that observers have repeatedly questioned is why Shazia has been kept so far away from the press and the public. “The heavy security outside her apartment in Clifton, Karachi, clearly shows that she is not being allowed access to the outside world,” said an analyst. “Even the Balochistan High Court judge who recorded her statement did so at an undisclosed location and then returned to Quetta without many people finding out about the affair. Then Shazia herself was also taken to Quetta for the identification parade and the press was kept strictly out of the business.”

Sources say that Dr Shazia is no longer in Karachi and has been shifted to Islamabad where she is being kept at an undisclosed location. Family members of the rape victim told TFT that Shazia had agreed to leave for Canada and was waiting for a visa from the Canadian High Commission.

“It is surprising that the government should not insist that Shazia stay put at least until the case is solved,” said an observer. “The only reason that can explain the eagerness to see her leave is that it [government] plans to cold-storage the case after her departure. With Shazia out of the picture, the pressure would be off and everyone could live happily thereafter. Shazia’s departure from Pakistan will certainly make it easier for the government to hush-up the matter and perhaps even close the case entirely,” added an observer.

However, considering that the government seems unwilling to grant Shazia justice and that a jirga has declared her a kari and is trying to hunt her down, several observers also believe that it might just be better that Shazia make an exit from Pakistan. “Leaving Pakistan will save her dignity,” the secretary general of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Dr Shershah Syed, told TFT. “But whether she leaves or stays put, she must be granted the justice she deserves.”

In fact, Shazia herself told an international news agency in a recent interview that living “freely” in Pakistan after the incident and being “accepted by society after what had happened” was not possible. “Even though I will not forget the incident for the rest of my life, maybe I can begin a new life abroad,” she said.

We all have heard the story of some one... who cut the same branch on which he was sitting.....

....I fail to understand...Why isn`t Military Government doing anything to...counter the.
numerous.....Allegations agains the very Insititution to which they belong...
Times and again we have seen the drastic results of US vs Them Syndrom ....(if the Fall of Bangladesh is any pointer)
There are insituations.... They Now Protect alleged rapist because he is one of them..
( The current issue...)
They are now turning into one of the Biggest Commercial Organization ....Fauji foundation
Taking All ( land, contracts, Bussinessess....Productions, etc...etc.etc......obviously because of its clout )
They give too hoots.... Even some of their Puppets... from the Civilian Ranks.... seems to be out growing his boots....
( the recent Arbab -- Sheikh tusstle or the Amir Liaqat Ali `s Fake Degree scandal )
The Wana and now Baluchistan Fiasco....0

... there are too many of such... incidents....and when such incidents... start appearing in the media... then it points to only One thing....... Water has crossed the Danger Mark....
and its now a RED alert situation...

....I don`t know.... about the real intention of the publisher...But South Asia Tribunes`s
Internet Editions have too many such stories....to be listed seperately... So I am just giving their URL to look for the Other and All stories...

www.satribute.com

THANK YOU UNCLE SAM

After years of wars and aggression by neo-colonial powers finally Afghans are free, democratized, liberal and moderate. Most of all they all now have wholesome square meals everyday. This revolutionary diet has one core benefit that your eye sight never weakens. After all I have never seen horses and donkeys wearing glasses. Isn`t that proof enough.


Afghans eating bread made of oats and grass. yummy.

temporal,

you asked, ``as an exercise i might ask a simple query...can we name one institution there that is left intact and we can be proud of? ``

....... not that it offers a lot of consolation, but it seems that the institutions of marasis, hijraas and band-bajay walas is doing just fine ............ as a matter of fact the band-bajay walas dressed in yellow kurtas, brocade wiastcoats and orange turbans can be seen on the footpath with their dhols and bajas at every major intersection on muree road ........... and the hijras seem to be doing business as usual too although they have adopted the fashions coming out of bollywood ............... just goes to show that even the military cannot ruin the things that are deeply rooted in our culture ..........

........... as for jay, what can i say?.........we have our echobooms too .........

Bohat Khoob Riffat Jahan Sahiba!
I bow before you.
Finally an article on chowk to be reckoned with. The future of the Pakistan lies in the minds of women like you.
I loved the plain matter of fact writing style.
Aap ka Khadim
Asim

Riffat Jahan Sahiba:
Wa Iza Qayila Lahum La Tufsido Fi Al Ard
Qaaloo, Inama Nahnu Muslihoon
Alaaa, Ina Hum ul Mufsidoona Wa la kin la Yash-a-Roon

When It is said to them, Why do you make mischief on Earth
They say, We only make Peace
Nay, it is they who make mischief and
Yet they know it not
Al Baqarah

Re: # 32
Correction:

When it is said to them, Dont make Mischief on Earth
La Tufsidoo means Dont make Mischief and not what I translated in post #31

``#20 by jay on March 17, 2005 1:30pm PT
yogiraj,

A woman is raped in Sui, no one is arrested, the president of the country says that the military is not invoved, he also says that the culprit should be hung. A very educated person, the author of this article says that the events point to a PR failure for the govt. All of the other pakistanis, like temporal agrees with this as indicated by his silence.

I point to this retrograde mindset that prevents any improvement in pak society. Well I have no hate, I am indignant. To me education means something, it means an ability to see through the sharade, a kind of a commitment to be objective, and to point out this fundamental meaning of education to the elites of pakistan.

May be you also agree that the issue in pakistan is one of PR failure, not that of the rule of law. Well you also belong to the species, homo erectus pakistanicus. Be temporals guest.
``

Jay

Agreed and accepted with some resevations sir. I am not that well educated though.

I asked a very simple question to the most ``balanced`` Pakistani called something as T 123 or 789. Honestly I do not want remember the numbers. The guy simply ducked. Said good question...and well ducked.

May be it can be asked also to urs and ylh, echo and mallik with some number.. and Big T with some number again, though the guy will duck..again.

And also to amit, ralph, arjun, sadna, dost, stuka and all the works if ``you`` get it. Not to FV though, because the question is definitely anti muslim. She will never anwer.


Before Islam was delivered by G...well.. a woman, actually a widow, used to run a business. She could hire men as her employees and they ``served`` her. She actually married one. She actually resided in what is called now (collectively) M&M (Mecca and Medina). Her husband never had ego issue about it. Actually they were happily married

What happened after that ... well neither T 123 or whatever.. wanted to answer in any way. Forget FV she will never answer anti islam questions. But well.. she (FV) is our own. Islam happened.

Actually they ``progressed``. When I ask FV to write an article how a woman can now get a driving licen.. in M&M well.. Real progress. You will get killed in pakistan if you ask this question. Well some one was killed when one such silly but honest question was asked. Was he not?. Do you want to know the name?. eh?

I do differ with you however on somethings.

I do ``think`` the small t (``imagine`` could be a better word). is a very decent human being. I do think YLH is not a bigot. YLH is a zealious, an idiot, a dreamer who could be riled up very easily with one alpha called (do you want to know the alpha is? funny all pun intended). ``J``. But he is no bigot.

Second disagreement sir

Pakistanies absolutely do NOT have a PR failure. Honesty failure yes. Woman (Human for us?) failure yes. They are doing best PR.

Could you read your own answer (copied above) again sir... A woman was raped... Blah. Sir, a woman was raped in front of whole village. What happened do you know? Just this week the alle culprits got free. You know why? The raped woman got lot of money after rape. From Canada I think. The money must have not been enough. The lease seems to be over. So pay more Canada or else..

By the way has any one offered lot of $$ or euroes for for sui victim??? If not ..then why should Pakistan relent on such a small issue??

Jay ... they actually are better at PR. When money is required they never shy away from openly begging or selling their ... Well...They do get all the money to sustain them. We should not be jealious about it, because we simply are incapable of doing it.

Third disagreement sir

I do not think, however, we should brand Islam as a problem. M&M yes. Pakistan yes. But not Islam. Please read how many shias were simply murdered in M&M (all Iranians) when ... well read Thomas Freedman`s ...

Sirjee... We should use your expertize ... For betterment of India. Forget Pakistan. They are beyond hope because they simply do not believe in humans. Anyone who is not musalman (by their definition) is not human. Moreover, even if you are ``M`` if you are ``WOE``man well... A great nation to ``FLY`` with.

Let me with due humilty and also honesty say sir, what happened in Sui happens in India, my/your country, too. Let us never ..ever..ever.. accept it. Never accept and make India M&M.. Where a woman will never get a driving licen... To start lett`s be very persistant and plod and plod and plod and see we have lesser and lesser Sui`s in India, my and your country. I know you must have tried your best to make that happen. But, honestly, yours and mine too, efforts were/are not good enough yet.

Forget Pakistan sir. Our hands will still be more than full with that.

Well I completely agree if they (pakistan) keep on creating trouble to us any more...well all bets are off and we too must have stick to beat up. But if they do not. Heck.. what is P...

Yogiraj

Nice article Riffat... Few comments from my side.

You said:

``If memory serves me right, it was in early 90s, a group of junior army officers stationed at Risalpur manhandled a local bus conductor and driver in Nowshera. Within a couple of days, the then army chief, General Asif Nawaz was out in the media personally apologizing to the public and the victims for the misbehaviour of army officers and promising the sternest possible punishment to the culprits. Later on, General Asif Nawaz was equally swift and steadfast when a Major murdered Sindhi peasants.``

That was the time when army had not taken the 100 or so U-Turns that it has since Musharraf Messiah came in. Neither had General Asif given away air-bases to Americans, unconditionally, with no questions asked. Neither had the nuclear scientist AQ Khan been humiliated the way has has been under this enlightened regime. Neither did General Asif hold a fake referendum to declare himself the all in all. Simply put, army had been away from the political scene for a while and they still held respect of the people. They knew they will be praised-not critiqued- if they take their own people to the task.

Not anymore. The good will balance of the army within the people of Pakistan has shrunk to its lowest level (since probably the defeat of 1971). You just need to compare the attitude of people towards the army and how drastically it has changed in the last 5 years.

I believe what this current regime thinks is that it cannot take the chance of even having a proper investigation done for the rape - even if the said Captain is innocent - because they think they just cannot afford more bad PR. They are probably thinking.. hey what if after the investigation the captain really comes out to be guilty... what then? we (army) can`t afford another humiliation. One constable Nazir Dogar was enough.

That`s why from day one the emphasis has been on wanting to hush up the case. Army just doen`t want another public humiliation, and it will do anything to stop that from happening. Although, in the process it has probably accumulated even more humiliation than it would have if it had handled the matter properly!

You say:

``The ability of individual officers to act with near impunity as regularly reported by the print media is frightening. Here they are, army officers to demonstrate and impress the civilians with professional integrity and they are among them who ought to be investigated and locked up.``

Exactly. In Pakistan all that matters is who carries the bigger gun. So, when Pakistan Army`s Corps Commanders feel like taking over the country. they go ahead. No law, no regulation, no constitution, not even their own oath has ever held the treacherous lot back. Why then should not a piddly Major General also follow suit and have a cop beaten up and chained because he dared ask tinted paper to be removed from the general`s car. And why shouldn`t the junior officers also follow suit? Why should they not beat up a cop who dares ask them to produce a valid driving license or tries to give them a ticket for violating the red light? And why shouldn`t the Baluch tribes also follow suit? Why shouldn`t they attack convoys, kill FC men and lodge rockets into Sui installations, if they can? What moral right do the Generals have to ask Bugti, or the NWFP tribals to obey the so called law? Which law? Which law did Pak Army ever adhere to? Or what law does Pakistan Army adhere to? What law should the rest of Pakistanis adhere to? Why should anyone else obey any law when the army doesn`t?

In Pakistan you can go ahead and do whatever well mighty pleases you if you can get away with it. And you can get away with anything as long as you have the guns on your side. That is the only law that holds true in Pakistan. And if the military can make use of it, why not the bugtis, why not the NWFP tribals, and why not anyone else who can?

You say:

``Can we blindly trust the narration of Mr. Akbar Bugti? We shouldn’t.``

I agree with you.. We shouldn`t...

But there is one group of people who should not have any qualms in readily accepting Bugti`s accusations... Musharraf supporters.

If Musharraf supporters can keep on believing a compulsive liar who has gone back on almost everything that he promised in the last 5 years - and that also promised on live prime time TV- then what`s wrong with believing Bugti`s assertions? At least this group should have nooooooooo problems whatsoever in accepting Bugti`s word. They`ve been happily accepting every lie from a much more treacherous and compulsive liar. Bugti`s an angel in front of Musharraf and his Goebblesique ISPR.

``Actually, what really perturbs me is my deep-held belief that Mr. Musharraf as an individual is a benevolent and compassionate guy.``

Actually.. I remember exactly the same thing being said about Zia.. that he was personally a very humble, down-to-earth, honest kinda` guy.. and paanch waqt ka nimazi also, mind you. He would serve you curry & rice himself if you ever had lunch with him.

The thing is all these personal qualities don`t matter much without any proper system of accountability, checks & balances..and also doen`t say anything about the competence of a person to administer and rule a country. Zia managed to royally screw the country even with his humbleness & down-to-earthness.. and Musharraf is doing the same.. even with his benevolence & compassion.

``He did take proper and personal notice of the gory incident in Meerwala. This time around, his indifference, his silence is perplexing.``

Yeah.... and the answer to his ``perplexing`` behaviour is preyty obvious. And that is what you have already stated: PR.

Meerwala case did not involve any army personnel.. just local feudals & goondas. Hey, nice opportunity for Musharraf to jump in and look like an enlightened & moderated ruler. So he jumps right in, has the ``accused`` guys arrested, and his government wins accolades from NGOs & western governments. A lot of pats on the back for a job well done.

Fast foward the time about a year or so, an ``army`` captain gets ``accused`` (note that Meerwala guys were also ``accused``, but were put in jail straight away). But is the captain arrested? Noooo.. he comes on TV for interviews.. pleads that he has nothing to do with the incident. And Musharraf himself says that he`s seen the investigation results and he`s sure the captain `aint guilty.

The only & obvious difference between the two cases is the involvement of army personnel in the second case.

What if a civilian (let`s say maybe an engineer-or a technician- working at Sui`s plant) had been accused of rape? Would he have been given the same royal treatment by the generals like the captain has been given? Would he have been able to get his voice all across Pakistan by getting interviewed by GEO? Would Musharraf have ever said that he`s seen the investigation results and the engineer/technician is not guilty? You can bet that would never have happened.

I believe that what the army thinks is proving a captain guilty would be bad PR in the current environment of the country (because of the already depleted respect that they have left with the people of Pakistan) so they try to hush up the matter as much as possible. But arresting the accused in Meerwala case is good PR, so they went ahead and did that.

I can bet if the accused in Meerwala had been a few captains & lieutenants, this same enlightened General and his ISPR machinery would have done everything in their power to malign the victim and protect their wardi-walas.