Call a man a dog and hang him

Daily Times, April 10, 2006
POSTCARD USA: Call a man a dog and hang him —Khalid Hasan

Abbas, whose book on Pakistan published last year displeased many in the establishment because it had exposed certain linkages between shadowy groups and those who are supposed to root them out, has since been dismissed from service and if he goes to Pakistan, there is little doubt as to what kind of official reception awaits him

IH Burney, the George Orwell of Pakistani journalism, once said that one thing he would never do is to question anyone’s patriotism. He was troubled by the ease and frequency with which it was done in Pakistan all the time. You don’t like someone. Fine. No problem. Call him a traitor. Call him anti-Pakistan. Call him anti-Islam. Even better, call him an Indian agent. And if that is a bit heavy, the all-purpose, evergreen “CIA agent” epithet will do nicely.

Several years ago, when Russia was still the USSR, a friend of mine was told that he had been called an Indian, a Soviet and an American agent, all at the same time. “Take your pick”, he was told, “Such opportunities do not come everyday.” My friend chose to be a Soviet agent because he liked Russian women shot-putters. There is no accounting for taste in such matters.

I am reminded of these incidents because of what happened here the other day. Some years ago, the FBI or another cloak and dagger agency, decided or was told that there was an active terrorist-support cell in the small town of Lodi in California. A sting operation was mounted and ultimately a father and son, both American citizens of Pakistani origin, were netted in and accused of having Al Qaeda links. The son was said to have gone to Pakistan to receive training at one of those camps that our country is supposed to be dotted with, while the father was said to have financed the jihadi enterprise of his offspring. A Pakistani was used to trap the men.

When the case went to trial in a California court, a Pakistani academic Hassan Abbas, a former police officer who is in the black book of several of our gallant intelligence agencies, was approached by the court to act as an expert. He was told that the testimony would take 20 or 30 hours of work. (It took 130 hours). Abbas, whose book on Pakistan published last year displeased many in the establishment because it had exposed certain linkages between shadowy groups and those who are supposed to root them out, has since been dismissed from service and if he goes to Pakistan, there is little doubt as to what kind of official reception awaits him. As per standard operating procedure, Abbas’ family back in the home country has also been pressured.

Perhaps Abbas should have passed the invitation and not agreed to act as an adviser to the court, not the prosecution, but the court. But he did not. Given his extensive knowledge of the phenomenon of terrorism and how it has been allowed to grow in our backyard under the care and supervision of the very outfits and agencies that are supposedly fighting the scourge, Abbas was able to provide the court with competent advice. He says he answered the questions asked of him honestly, truthfully and in the interest of justice.

On March 26, Pakistan’s largest Urdu newspaper carried a highly tendentious report by its special correspondent (based God knows where) who called Abbas a “sultani gawah” or crown witness for the prosecution. The report also said that the government had called for a report. It was obviously a planted story and who its authors were is quite obvious. Such character assassination is deplorable. Unfortunately, it takes place every minute of the day, in the press and in people’s living rooms in Pakistan. In our country we may have a shortage of many things, but not of ill-wishers and character assassins. I recall that when I appeared in a BBC programme in 1980 on Pakistan’s nuclear programme, I was called an “Israeli agent”. Poor Israelis! I wonder how they manage to pay so many of their agents.

But to return to the Hassan Abbas affair, this is what he said in answer to my question as to what exactly he had done to be denounced in the mother country. He said he was not provided any information by the US government about the case; rather he was asked not to look up any recent news reports that may have appeared about the matter. The prosecution, he says, was very particular about the rules and regarding strict adherence to the due process of law. He says at times he wondered whose side the prosecution was on.

He told me, “They knew little about Pakistan and I was asked to first teach them everything about Pakistan — especially about religious political parties, their emergence and growth, the Afghan war and the rise of jihadi groups. I was given some books by the prosecution — all written by Maulana Masood Azhar (it was a painful exercise to read those books, give as they did an utterly distorted version of Islam.) Later, I was given a scrapbook maintained by one of the accused on the activities of the jihadi groups. I testified that I neither knew these people nor did I have any bias against them. The court was told that I had previously acted as an expert witness for defence, having testified in support of a couple of Pakistanis seeking political asylum. What I told the court was absolutely true and according to my conscience and understanding.”

The newspaper report in Pakistan also said that Hassan Abbas had written “anti-Pakistan” books and given “anti-Pakistan” lectures. All I can do is to ask Abbas to read Faiz. Banay hain ahl-e-havas muddai bhi munsif bhi: Kisay vakeel karain kis se munsafi chahain.

Khalid Hasan is Daily Times’ US-based correspondent. His e-mail is khasan2@cox.net