STRAIGHT TALKS
The recent events in Pakistan and the case of the missing Malaysian Airline Flight MH 370, with 239 passengers on board, which is missing without a trace for over three weeks, indicates that the government of Pakistan is not the only country that is clueless about the events taking place under its watch.
In Pakistan’s case, the issue is bad governance, the lack of good leadership and non-enforcement of laws for over five decades. Due to this sorry state of affairs, hundreds of persons have gone missing without a trace or have been killed, without the killers being brought to justice.
The victims’ families have been demanding justice and have been waiting anxiously for years, without any positive news about their loved ones. Bad governance is also a major reason for the spreading of the Taliban factor.
In our case, the ‘Clueless Saga’ started with the assassination of our first PM, Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951, followed by (in alphabetic order), Hakim Muhammad Saeed, Former Governor Sindh, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Murtaza Bhutto, Parveen Rehman, Director, Orangi Pilot Project, Shahbaz Bhatti, Shahnawaz Bhutto, Shahid Hamid, MD-KESC, Shaukat Raza Mirza, MD, PSO and the most recent, Zahra Shahid Hussain, an active member of PTI, just to name a few.
Governments, both civil and military have come and gone, but all have remained clueless about who killed them. The authorities have given the least attention to these assassination and the identities of the killers of these VIPs persons is still a mystery and the killers have literally got away with murder and still walk the streets. The government also claims that they were even clueless about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, the most wanted terrorists in the world, who was responsible for the 9/11 incident, which resulted in the deaths of over 3000 citizens.
However, the New York Times reported that Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, including Gen. Pervez Musharraf knew where the world’s most wanted terrorist was hiding in the backyard of the Kakul Military Academy, for over three years,
The report also states that crucial information leading to the May 2 Abbottabad raid by the well trained US Navy Seals, was provided to the Americans by a senior ISI official. The Military establishment has of course strongly refuted the report and described it as a pack of “white lies”.
In the case of the missing flight MH 370, the tragedy has taken top priority and over 20 countries have launched a joint massive sea and air search operation, covering thousands of square miles of the Indian Ocean and are yet clueless about its fate. Even after three weeks, the search continues, thanks to the electronic and print media and the mounting pressure from the families of the missing passengers.
What has been amazing and incredible is that, with all the high-tech equipment, the searchers have been clueless and have been unable to locate the Boeing 777 plane or its wreckage. The plane seems to have simply disappeared without a trace into thin air and from the face of the earth. After more than three agonizing weeks of waiting, the Prime Minister of Malaysia appeared on TV and informed the families of the passengers, that the missing plane had crashed into a remote corner of the Indian Ocean, far from any possible landing site.
''It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean and all lives are lost.''
An sms message was also sent to the grieving families to their mobile phones. This sadly shows the lack of sensitivity on the part of the Malaysian Government and its airline. But then, Malaysian Airlines does not have a ‘Passenger Friendly’ track-record, which I discovered when I was stranded with over 200 Chinese passengers at Taipei Airport some years back. We were travelling from KL to LA and were stranded without food and water for over 24 hours in the Departure Lounge of Taipei Airport and only after aggressive protests, transferred to a hotel.
I had captured the noisy protests in the on my mobile phone and had tried to file a petition and sue Malaysian Airline for compensation, but due to lack of resources and shortage of time, we were not able to do so.
However, I did manage to force the airline to accept responsibility and compensate me and after a year of correspondence, they provided me a free Business Class Karachi – LA return ticket. There have been many wild and bizarre conspiracy theories and speculation as to what really happened, ranging from a suicide pact between the pilot and the co-pilot, shooting down of the plane for some sinister reason, to even kidnapping by an UFO.
Even now, after three weeks, the searchers have not found any other parts of the plane, including the all important Black Box, which could pinpoint what actually happened to the plane. But even then, it might never be known as to the reasons why and as to who was responsible for the tragedy. No doubt, the families need ‘hard evidence’ for closure, but the harsh reality, that there can be no survivors, has to be faced in time to come. The truth is out there, hidden in the cold depths of the Indian Ocean and perhaps Scully and Mulder of the well- known TV series, The X-Files, should be brought in and be part of the investigation and establish as to exactly where the truth lies, because for a Boeing 777 aircraft, with over 200 passengers to disappear without a trace, in this day and age, seems uncanny and unbelievable. We were being told by the authorities that it was like looking for a needle in a haystack, by now we are being informed, after over 3 weeks, that the search parties were looking in the wrong haystack. So much for the state of the art technology. Regarding Gen. Musharraf’s trial, the big question is, will the Great Dodger once again dodge his Day of Judgment on 31st March or will he be arrested if he fails to appear in court, as ordered by the Special Court?
If the Court fails to enforce its orders, for whatever reasons, then it will be a sad day for our system of justice and a mockery of our judiciary
n email: trust@helplinetrust.org.pk.