Man of the moment

The Nizam-e-Adl Regulation is not a new concept in Pakistan, and it is not the first time it has been proposed for the Pakhtoon belt. The first leader to propose it was none other than the liberal secular Benazir Bhutto. The then right-wing Nawaz Sharif followed suit in suggesting the same solution for the beleaguered people of NWFP. Time has come full circle for the PPP as they have proposed it once again in Swat this time, but Sharif’s vociferous condemnation of the idea he once nurtured comes as a surprise. He not only lambasted the government for going ahead with a seemingly retrograde formula for peace but also suggested an alternative route to reach their destination. Daily Times on April 22 carried an interview the former PM gave to USA Today in which he feared the Taliban were imposing “their version of Shariah”. The interview stated: “They are now threatening to take other areas. We’ve got to avoid that situation.” He supported dialogue with “relatively moderate Islamist groups.” The remedy to the lawlessness in the area, he said, was “sufficient economic development.” The News on April 23 hailed Sharif in a congratulatory editorial: “The disquiet expressed by Nawaz Sharif over aspects of the Swat peace deal marks a significant break with his past public posture on the Taliban and offers a glimmer of hope for those seeking a united front to tackle the growing threat of militancy. The former PM was more critical than normal of the Taliban. He stated unequivocally any deal with the militants must not allow democracy to be derailed or the writ of the government to be challenged. This marks an important shift for a leader who has long been accused of being soft on the Taliban and displaying an unacceptable degree of ambivalence in his public stance on the threat the militants pose.” 

Singing the dark times

If Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz was the voice of rebellion against the Zia regime in 1980s Pakistan, singer Iqbal Bano was the sound. Together, they sowed the seeds of rebellion in the common Pakistani. Bano became synonymous with Faiz’s masterful ‘Hum Dekhenge’. Bano’s demise has not only reminded her fans of her own soulful renditions, but also of Faiz. Faiz’s daughter Salima Hashmi was quoted by Dawn on April 21: “Iqbal Bano will always have a special place in the hearts and minds of our family. She was one of the greatest means of support and inspiration during General Zia’s dictatorship.”