When the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) raided the offices of the Tehreek-e-Jadid in Rabwah earlier this week, arresting nine men, it claimed to have done so in order to stop the publication and propagation of hate speech. The Punjab Government barred Tehreek-e-Jadid from producing any literature in 2014, following a recommendation from the Muttahida Ulema Board, the official body charged with determining what does or does not constitute hate material. This was the basis upon which the CTD chose to take action, displaying a degree of alacrity that is usually missing from most campaigns against terror in the province.

Of course, the situation is not quite as clear-cut as the official narrative of the raid would suggest. Tehreek-i-Jadid is an Ahmadiyya organisation, and the ‘hate speech’ it is accused of producing amounts to little more than literature related to the ideas and activities of their community. As such, it could be argued that the CTD’s actions this week were yet another ignominious chapter in the state’s long campaign of Ahmadi persecution, with the government using a raft of anti-Ahmadi laws to continue harassing that community.

It is important to highlight this incident because it stands in stark contrast with the state’s conduct in the broader fight against terror and hate speech. Two weeks ago, Masroor Nawaz Jhangvi, a known sectarian activist and possible terrorist with his name on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, was allowed to campaign for, and eventually win, an election that saw him become the newest member of the Punjab Assembly. It is not difficult to find video footage of Jhangvi inciting people to violence, openly using extremely inflammatory language to target Shias, amongst others, as apostates. This merchant of hate and purveyor of extremist violence is treated with all manner of deference and respect; he has been feted by television anchors since winning his election, and will undoubtedly use his new position to further his poisonous agenda openly and with impunity.

Why, one might reasonably ask, does the state move so effectively against a small, non-violent Ahmadi organisation, but refuses to take any action whatsoever against a malcontent like Masroor Jhangvi? There are several possible answers; perhaps the state fears a backlash from his supporters and lacks the stomach and/or capacity for a fight, or maybe this is simply reflective of how the state continues to play double-games with the people of Pakistan, nurturing and tolerating extremism for ideological and strategic reasons? Perhaps the deliberately targets the weak and marginalised as part of a systematic campaign to appease religious militants, hoping that doing so will prevent them from unleashing their murderous rage upon the rest of the country? Atlee believed the same about Hitler. Whatever the reason, it is clear that there are double-standards at work in Pakistan’s ‘fight’ against extremism, and that much more needs to be done to hold the state accountable for its lack of action against militant organisations operating in the country without compunction.

READ MORE HERE:

http://nation.com.pk/columns/12-Dec-2016/double-standards-in-fighting-terror