The Economist - UK (2022-04-30)

The Economist April 30th 2022 Asia 47

An insurgencyrekindled

Bad neighbours

P

akistan’s dapper spy  chief  was  all

smiles  when  he  swanned  into  Kabul,

the  Afghan  capital,  three  weeks  after  the

Taliban regained power. During his visit in

September  Faiz  Hameed  (who  has  since

stepped down) tried to reassure a nervous

world  that  Afghanistan’s  future  would  be

rosy. America and its allies had departed in

ignoble  fashion,  handing  the  government

to an Islamist militia. But Lieutenant­Gen­

eral Hameed was upbeat. “Everything will

be okay,” he said.

At the time many in Pakistan’s army and

security  services  shared  this  optimism.

The  Afghan  government  that  was  toppled

by the Taliban was frequently at odds with

its  neighbour,  and  sympathetic  towards

India to boot. The new regime, in contrast,

was old friends with Pakistan’s serpentine

security  services.  Pakistan  had  helped  the

militants  since  their  early  years.  Taliban

leaders  had  lived  in  Pakistan  throughout

their long insurgency.

How  things  have  changed.  In  the  mid­

dle of April 45 people died in their beds as a

result of air strikes launched on villages in

the Afghan border provinces of Kunar and

Khost. The Taliban said Pakistani helicop­

ters  were  responsible.  They  summoned

Pakistan’s ambassador for an ear­bashing.

Pakistan has not admitted carrying out

the  strikes.  But  it  is  plainly  fuming  at  the

Taliban’s tolerance of Pakistani insurgents

who  have  been  attacking  Pakistan’s  bor­

derlands from havens inside Afghanistan.

These militants, the Tehrik­i­Taliban Paki­

stan (ttp), want to oust the Pakistani gov­

ernment and impose sharia (Islamic law).

They share many ties with the Afghan Tali­

ban  and  swear  allegiance  to  the  Taliban’s

supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhunzada.

Over the past decade the Pakistani army

had  gradually  driven  them  out  of  Paki­

stan’s  territory  and  across  the  border.  But

the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan seems

to  have  buoyed  the  gunmen,  not  least  by

giving  them  hope  that  they  can  repeat  a

similar  feat  in  Pakistan. The  hard­won

peace in Pakistan’s border districts is start­

ing to look fragile as a result. Two Pakistani

soldiers  were  shot  dead  in  South  Waziri­

stan on April 26th; three died a few days be­

fore. The Afghan villages that were recently

destroyed  by  air  strikes  were  said  to  have

housed families of fighters who had previ­

ously killed Pakistani soldiers and police­

men in ambushes.

Talks  between  Pakistan  and  the  ttp,

I SLAMABAD

Pakistan is losing patience with

the Taliban

India

Policing, fast

and slow

W

henindiansthinkofhowthelaw
works,speedisnotwhatcomesto
mind.Anaveragecaseinthelowercourts
takesfiveyearstosettle.Three­quartersof
prisoninmatesarenotsentencedoffend­
ers,butawaitingtrial.Yetrepeatedlyinre­
centweeksIndianjusticehasmovedwith
remarkableswiftness.
AskJigneshMevani,amemberofthe
Gujaratstateassembly.OnApril18thMr
Mevaniposteda tweethintingthatNaren­
draModi,theprimeminister,approvesof
Hindu­nationalistviolence.Thisannoyed
a readerinAssam,a stateasfarfromGuja­
ratasUkraineisfromEngland,somuch
thathecomplainedathislocalpolicesta­
tion.Within 48 hoursa teamfromAssam’s
policehadflowntoGujarat,nabbedMrMe­
vaniandhustledhimacrossIndia.Whena
judgethengrantedtheprisonerbail,the
AssampoliceinstantlyrearrestedMrMe­
vaniforallegedlyassaultingoneoftheoffi­
cerswhohadhelpedtransporthimacross
thecountry.
Or ask residents of Jahangirpuri, a
working­classpartofDelhi,India’scapital.
Inmid­Aprila riotbrokeoutinitsnarrow
lanesafterHinduyouthscarryingswords,
gunsandclubsonwhattheycalleda reli­
gious procession stopped outside a
mosquetoinsultthefastingworshippers
inside.Noonewasbadlyhurtintheensu­
ingstone­throwing,butthree dayslater
authorities, citing building violations,
sentindiggerstosmashpropertybelong­
ingtosuspectedtroublemakers(affected
residentsarepictured).
Such “bulldozer justice” isbecoming
increasinglycommon.Inrecentmonths
religiousprocessionsstrikinglysimilarto
theoneinJahangirpurihavesparkedmini­
riotsin townsandvillages across eight
northIndianstates.Alltoooften,instant
punishmenthasfallenintheformofprop­
ertydemolitions.Innumerousinstances
ownerssaytheyhadnotimetogatherpos­
sessions,ortopresentperfectlyvalidlegal
documents,ortoexplainthattheirhouse
stoodmilesfromwheretheriothappened.
Thereisasubtexttothislegalimpa­
tience.ThegovernmentsofGujaratandAs­
sam,aswellaslocalauthoritiesoptingfor
summarydemolitions,areallcontrolled
bytherulingBharatiyaJanataparty(bjp).
Itshard­corefans,manyofwhombelong
toHindu­supremacistgroups,chorusout­
rageagainstcriticsofMrModi.Theyloudly
decryanyinfringementofwhattheyseeas

the  right  of  majority  Hindus  to  practise

their faith. It is just this mix of Modi­mania

and pumped­up Hindu pride that has won

the bjpelection after election.

Exalting  one  thing  seems  to  entail  de­

monising its opposite. Mr Mevani does not

just represent an  opposition  party  in  a

statethatisMrModi’s own home turf and

whichisheaded for elections in December.

Heisalsoa Dalit.  By  drawing  attention  to

thecontinuedrepression  of  these  former

“untouchables”, Mr Mevani challenges the

bjp’s narrativeof Hindu unity. 

Asforthoseat the wrong end of govern­

mentbulldozers, the stark fact is that near­

ly allareMuslims.  Although  India’s  15%

Muslimminority  suffers  most  from  com­

munalviolence, it is Muslims who are tar­

getedforcollective  punishment.  On  April

10thriotersinthe town of Khargone in the

stateofMadhya  Pradesh  vandalised  Mus­

lim­owned property  and  burned  down

houses.Yetaday  later  government  bull­

dozerswrecked 29 Muslim­owned houses

and 16 shops.Narottam Mishra, the state’s

homeminister,  made  the  objective  clear:

“Thehousefrom  whence  stones  came  we

willmakeintoa pile of stones.”

Theintentbehind the sudden accelera­

tionofjusticefor some cases is exposed by

theploddingslowness of others. Hindu ag­

itators,including  one  who  recently  called

overa loudspeaker for the rape of Muslim

women,aregetting soft treatment. But nu­

merous Muslims  remain  in  jail,  often

chargedunderanti­terror  statutes,  for  far

milderstatements. Indian justice is not al­

wayssopartial. Granting bail to three Mus­

limstudentswho had been jailed for sedi­

tion,a judgedeclared, “The unity of India

isnotmadeof  bamboo  reeds  which  will

bendtopassing  winds.”  But  he  made  no

mentionofwhat  had  cost  the  youthsfive

months of freedom:  tweeting  cheers to

Pakistanforwinning a cricket match.n

D ELHI
Justice is growing ever more partisan

Please stop