(که سپوره وي که پوره وي نو په شریکه به وي (باچاخان)

Is Sharia the Answer?

[18.Feb.2009 - 11:46]
Wednesday, 18 February 2009 Tuesday, 17 Feb, 2009 - Dawn;THE deafening sound of bombing and shelling drowns the voices of the muezzin calling the faithful to prayers. It drowns the heart-wrenching cries of children imploring their war-weary mothers to give them a sip of water, a bite from a hard, stale piece of dodai.
Frightened birds stopped singing many moons ago and the subtle music of the cool breeze whispering among the leaves of the majestic chinar trees has been silenced. But hark there! We hear that our masters have met to deliberate on our destinies. Sitting far away amid the luxuries of the presidential palace, a smug president and a beaming prime minister announce that the Pakistan Army would remain on the offensive until the last militant was routed. Soon after, breaking news states that huddled away in Timergara, a five-point peace accord has been struck between the NWFP government and Sufi Mohammad. For those Pakistanis sitting in more peaceful towns and cities, thousands of miles away from Swat and Malakand, please note that Sufi Mohammad is the person who held the state of Pakistan hostage via his ‘tor patki’ black turban movement in 1994 demanding promulgation of Sharia in the region. The government dithered and swayed but soon caved in. A couple of bureaucrats in the NWFP government, drafted the Nizam-i-Adl Regulation. Under this framework, courts and names of judges were ‘Islamised’, a judge was a designated qazi etc. and an adviser was assigned to each qazi to administer justice according to the Sharia. Miraculously, this was where the demand for Sharia began and ended. A new parallel judicial system was instituted where litigants had a choice in that they could opt for the ‘law of Pakistan’ or the Sharia. As may be evidenced from the case load to date, it is usually women seeking inheritance rights from their male family members who invoke the Sharia; the male Muslim Swati appears content with ‘Pakistani law’. Surprisingly, and not so surprisingly after all, no one either in government or outside, thought of giving some serious thought to critical and fundamental questions such as: is there a groundswell of opinion in the Malakand region for Sharia? If so, what are its perceived contours? Who is Sufi Mohammad and where did he draw his political grooming and power from? Why did Sufi Mohammad emerge as the principal articulator of the demand for Sharia overshadowing existing religious political parties? Why was his demand so narrowly framed as to be satisfied with the insertion of a few short sections of law and a few advisers to the court? More importantly, how was the Sharia law perceived at the level of communities, in towns and villages across the Malakand region? Did it satisfy the urge of the people at the grassroots? What about other areas of governance including honesty of service by government functionaries, provision of quality services of health and education and so on? Did these not fall within the remit of the Sharia? And, was the demand for Sharia, as presented by Sufi Mohammad, mirrored in the understanding of what it means to have Sharia among the local population? Whilst these questions and issues simmered on the back burner, 9/11 happened, followed by the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Once again, Sufi Mohammad stole the limelight, this time, leading about 10,000 young men into battle against the allied forces. Routed by horrendous carpet bombing of the allied forces leaving thousands dead and dying and others injured and maimed for life, Sufi Mohammad returned to face the harsh question of how teenagers with no prior military training were expected to go into battle against one of the most powerful military machines in the world. Fearing intense backlash, he was ‘arrested’ by the government at his own request. Now, once again the spectre of Sufi Mohammad rises over the mountains of Timergara wooed by the NWFP government as the vehicle for peace in Swat and the region of Malakand. A few basic questions demand answers. Are the people of Swat and Malakand a different breed of Muslims to the rest of the province and the country? One hopes not. If we are all God-fearing Muslims and if Sharia as defined by Sufi Mohammad et al, is the only way forward for peace and prosperity, then ought we not, as a country, embrace it? Why try it out only in Malakand; why not simultaneously in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Multan? Democracy and the will of the people carries no meaning if gun-toting individuals can legitimately take over a population. Members of the national and provincial assemblies are of no further relevance in Swat and Malakand and must resign from office forthwith. After all, the NWFP government has found its counterparts in power and governance in non-state actors who apparently represent the will of the people. That the people of Swat out-voted members of religious parties and voted in the ANP appears to be lost on the government of the ANP itself. Is it that desperate to hold on to some power and believes that running some sort of government is better than none at all? What is the five-point agreement between the government and Sufi Mohammad that will bring Sharia and peace to Swat but not beyond? Last time, it was Nizam-i-Adl; a bit of grammar juggling and legal terms and we were up and running. What is the bait this time round? Finally, if one were, as a peace-loving citizen, to bow to what our elected government has agreed to, may we ask for how long this peace accord is due to last and at what cost? Last year, a similar accord was signed. What is so different this time? If the government is serious about making this accord work, then instead of the camp office in Nathiagali, can we please move all government operations to Swat? If democracy means the will of the people, then the will of the people of Swat is the following: the government and its functionaries should be right there beside them, in Mingora, in Saidu; our elected representatives ought to be at our side and not tucked away in Islamabad and Peshawar. What a soul-lifting message it would send to the people of Swat. But perhaps that is wishing for the moon! The writer is a professor of law at the University of Warwick, UK. [email protected] د پښتنو قامی سنګر- Shaheen Sardar Ali
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