Every sovereign country in the world needs a stringent system of intelligence to keep a vigilant eye and a stern check on various state organs to ensure their smooth functioning, which in turn ensures progress and protection of the people and the state at large. These intelligence agencies play a significant role to thwart the nefarious designs of the enemies, which at times use the local media men, intelligentsia, politicians, or other influential personnel (even in forces) to further and implement their agendas in the country.
Moreover, these intelligence agencies work silently at international fronts to protect and promote the interests of the state and preempt and foil the ploys spun against the state by hostile agencies. It is pertinent to mention here that these agencies, governments, and other state institutions harbor mutual respect and trust, knowing that their ultimate goal is the good of the state. Very significantly, the people of the state also trust such organizations, believing that they work for their good and fight against external adversaries only. World top-notch agencies, i.e. The American CIA, British MI6, Russian KGB, Israeli Mossad, Pakistani ISI, and Indian RAW, all are engaged to defend their national and international interests. While these agencies have internal mechanisms to eliminate their enemies abroad, they do not lose the trust of their people who have this unwavering faith that such forces do not harm their own them and the state.
However, history is a witness to the incidents when such organizations have been used against their people, intimidating and coercing them to change their point of view. For instance, KHAD was a premier intelligence and security agency of Afghanistan that served the interest of the Afghan government during the reign of Dr. Najeebullah in the 80s. Before coming to power, Dr. Najeebullah had headed the spy agency and practiced all crafts of controlling the people. KHAD also functioned as secret police to protect and promote the interest of the president and his acolytes. It is believed that during that era, KHAD had such deep penetration into the public that they would secretly question the common people about their views about President Najibullah. If they expressed any negative views about the president, they would be lifted, maltreated, and subjected to severe custodial torture; and in certain cases, they were silenced.
Even the school-going children were interrogated that if their families and parents listened to the news and speeches of president Najibullah on the radio or national TV. Those children, innocent and straightforward, would respond that their families would switch off the radios and TVs, whenever there was any message from the president or his speech was telecast. After having traced the addresses of the respective families, the agents of KHAD would unleash all cruel tactics to coerce them to appreciate and listen to Dr. Najeebullah, not realizing that the common folks in Afghanistan deeply detested their president, being a communist and a facilitator of a Russian invasion.
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Similarly, in Iran, during the reign of the shah of Iran, history witnessed a brutal rule of the king and its secret police, SAVAK, which operated from 1957 to 1979. SAVAK used to censor media and hunt down dissidents and political opponents. The secret police would also meet the common people including women, children, and old folks, and question them about the rule of the king.
Deeply annoyed and frustrated, the people would chant. Marg Ba Shah, Marg Ba America. (Death to the King, Death to America), because the majority of Iranians believed that the Shah of Iran was a puppet of America who was oppressing and subjugating his people.
Against this backdrop, it might startle the common readers and the enthusiasts of history that during the reign of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a Nath Force was established. That was an infamous force comprising ladies who, with the help of police would manhandle and torture ladies of the opposing political parties or those who expressed dissident views to Bhutto and his political party. It was the same force that broke the arms of both daughters of Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi, father of Chaudhry Shujaat and uncle of Pervez Elahi. Moreover, the same force brutally tortured Amna Asghar Khan, wife of Air Marshal Asghar Khan, who was hospitalized owing to acute injuries. Later, thanks to the women’s wing of JI, Nath’s force was neutralized.
In the same context, the students of politics and history might recall the establishment of the Federal Security Force (FSF) by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1972. The force in question, FSF would torture, imprison and silence the political opponents and even his closest associates who dissented from Bhutto’s policies, ensuring his protection and continuation of his rule. Later, that infamously brutal force was disbanded by General Zia –ul- Haq in 1977. But Zia erroneously recruited some of the members of the Airport Security Force, who later facilitated Abdulsalam Tipu, highjack a PIA plane and force it to Kabul. Raja Anwar in The Terrorist Prince has mapped all the grisly details.
History has not forgotten the scandalous manhandling of Ameer of Jamat e Islami by the secret police of Bhutto. Later, a naked prostitute was sent to jail to further humiliate and disgrace the old, Moulana Tufail. It was the same force that shot Dr. Nazir Ahmed, an MNA of Jamat e Islami in from Dera Ghazi Khan, in front of his clinic. The same force (FSF) also eliminated Nawab Muhammad Ahmed Khan Kasuri and Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi. Besides, it was allegedly involved in the disappearance of hundreds of political nonconformists of Bhutto.
The Sharif family is no different in this regard. They have their own Gullu Butts in plain clothes who break laws attack the security forces and the blames is thrown at the leadership of opponent political parties. For instance, in October 2014, a Gullu Butt was shown by national and global media, vandalizing the cars of political workers in Lahore with impunity. Such Gullu Butts is also engaged in smearing campaigns to video the opponents and later blackmail and malign the political opponents and even people serving in the judiciary, media, and establishment. Pakistan Muslim League supremo, Maryam Safder would openly and proudly claim that her party has videos of people who would be released to show their true colors to the common public. This proclamation amply underscores the approach and mindset of the party head and her party. At present Pakistan is passing through the most tumultuous phase of its history. The country is worst hit by inflation and potentially looming threat of default because IMF and other friendly countries are acutely reluctant to lend financial assistance amidst such political chaos, blanketing the media blackout of a political party (PTI), the largest political party representing the federation, having firm roots in entire Pakistan. However, international media and social media activists in Pakistan are continuously flashing images of gross violations of fundamental human rights and rights to differ, protest, and freedom of expression. Even the quarters of the UN, Amnesty International, and other human rights organizations have voiced serious concerns over these illegal curbs and gross violations of human rights.
In this situation, Pakistan is fast plunging into a constitutional, economic, political, and law and order quagmire. Mysteriously, all state institutions seem to have chosen indifference or tactical support to the forces which seemingly are determined to weaken and ultimately destroy Pakistan.
In this backdrop, the much-needed trust amongst people, the state institutions, and its agencies has eroded. Sadly, this chaos has deepened when The Great Game is raging in GB, Waziristan, and Baluchistan and even the bitterest rivals, i.e., Saudi and Iran have joined hands. Are there any saner souls in judiciary establishment, political parties, media, or other relevant powerful quarters who can resolve the crises? Can eighty-some million young, tech-savvy and well-informed, be coerced to chant Badshah Zindabad, Long Live the King?
