Headlines:

• Democracy is the Root Cause of Rising Crime
• Cheating and False Promises Are Part and Parcel of Democracy
• Indian Involvement in Subversive Activities Will be Stamped Out by the Khilafah

 

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Democracy is the Root cause of Rising Crime Rate in Pakistan

The people of Punjab in recent years have been subjected to a surge in criminal activities and face a serious law and order situation. The Punjab government’s claims of caring for the people and providing them with adequate security is nothing but an eye-wash, as around twenty-one thousand criminal cases were registered this year alone. Referring to Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab, alone, Express Tribune dated 30^th November 2016 reported that “Billions of rupees have been pumped into the provincial police budget, but the rate of crime shows no signs of decreasing. When compared to 2015, extortion cases have increased by a whopping 43% as have car snatchings and kidnappings, which are up 29% and 13%, respectively, in the first 11 months of 2016.” The situation in the rest of the country, including urban centers such as Karachi, is no different either. As reported in the  Express Tribune dated 26 November 2016, “Between 2010 and 2012, 70,771 vehicles – 14,275 four-wheelers and 56,496 two-wheelers – were stolen, while in the three years from 2013 to today, following the start of the operation, 102,593 cases of vehicle theft, 12,006 four-wheelers and 90,587 two-wheelers – were reported in Karachi.” These are only the reported cases, whereas in reality most of the street crimes usually do not get registered in Pakistan. The Corrupt “Thana (police station) Culture” and overly bureaucratic procedures deter citizens from even registering crime. These chronic problems haunt the entire country, whilst the current rulers limit themselves to harsh statements, announcements of fund allocation, photo-ops and all else but the security that is direly needed. The rulers move with publicly funded security details, whilst the public is denied security.

As to why the rulers fail to deliver security, the criminals themselves are either from the ruling or opposition parties and it is often found that major cases have political backing of some sort. The bigger the crime and the criminal, the greater are the chances that they will go unpunished. Nawaz Sharif, the current prime minister and leader of PML-N, is known for his tax evasion frauds whilst Asif Zardari, the former president and leader of PPP, is known for black-money and corruption. Both have risen-up to the highest of posts in Democracy, encouraging other criminals. Democracy gives them the right of legislation through which they seek protection and so it rewards criminals. Moreover, under Democracy, the President of Pakistan, Prime Minister are granted immunity from prosecution and through control of legislation, they can amend anything which they deem against their interests, whether it be avoiding criminal charges or promoting their business interests. As if this were not enough, Democracy does not address economic hardships which push some to crime, such as rising inflation, costly utility charges, slowing economic activity, reduced employment and business opportunities. Small scale offenders often engage in crime as they lack legal means to feed their families. The Capitalist system focuses on production, examining variable such as GDP, whilst neglecting the distribution of wealth.

In the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) upon the Method of Prophethood, the right of legislation rests with Allah سبحانه وتعالى alone, thereby closing the doors of legislation through which rulers may benefit themselves and avoid criminal cases. Also, there is a separate court to deal with the cases of state officials, none of whom are immune for prosecution, known as the Court of Unjust Acts. Moreover it has been obliged by Allah سبحانه وتعالى upon the Khaleefah to ensure that the basic needs of every of its inhabitants are fulfilled, so preventing the deprivation of basic needs as a justification for seeking Rizq through unlawful means.

 

Cheating and False Promises are Part and Parcel of Democracy

As reported in Dawn on 30 November 2016, “Pakistan cannot have bullet trains, even though this was one of the ruling party’s election promises, Khawaja Saad Rafique told the National Assembly on Tuesday. “When we asked the Chinese about it, they laughed at us. We should consider the 160kmph train under CPEC as a bullet train. We can’t afford an actual bullet train, there’s no market for it,” the railway minister said.” The bullet train is a high speed train traveling at speeds of at least 200km/hr. The bullet train is a sophisticated system which requires railway tracks, electronic regulatory systems and processes of research and development. Such new technologies are part of everyday life in developed countries. However, even when they are introduced by the rulers in Pakistan, they merely buy new products from foreign firms, with no vision or forward planning, making Pakistan reliant on foreign firms for operation, maintenance and R&D. Successive regimes have ensured that despite its immense potential, Pakistan remains an under-developed country, with heavy reliance on foreign companies. So not only is Pakistan prevented from becoming a technologically independent state, continued reliance on foreign companies makes the economy vulnerable to the dictates of the colonialist nations, who will use the threat of sanctions to leverage demands.

The ruling party’s pre-election rhetoric of bullet trains was only cheating and false promise. Cheating and false promises are part and parcel of democracy. Consider the pre-election promise of Imran Khan of ending corruption in 19 days and “terrorism” in 90 days. However, Chief Minister, Pervaiz Khattak, the Secretary General of Imran’s party, said in an interview that it is impossible to resolve these issues in even five years. Pre-election campaigns and promises to the public, in Democracy are nothing but deceptions to lure the public into voting. In Democracy, it is the norm that parties in pre-election campaigns promise heaven and earth, but once elected, distance themselves from those promises as if they were never made. Consider that in the United States, President-elect, Donald Trump, has already begun reneging on key pre-election promises, even before assuming office!

In contrast, Islam has made looking after the affairs of the Ummah an obligation. The rulers are obliged to rule by what has been decreed by Allah سبحانه وتعالى, instead of their whims or desires. The rulers are not allowed to cheat and lie to the people as they have been made accountable to their Creator سبحانه وتعالى. It is only the ruling system of the Khilafah (Caliphate) upon the Method of Prophethood in which all rulers are accountable in accordance to the Quran and the Sunnah. RasulAllah ﷺ said,«مَا مِنْ وَالٍ يَلِي رَعِيَّةً مِنْ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فَيَمُوتُ وَهُوَ غَاشٌّ لَهُمْ إِلَّا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ» “There is no Wali who takes charge of Muslims and dies cheating them, except that Allah prohibits him paradise.” [Bukhari]. As part of looking after the affairs, the Khilafah (Caliphate) upon the Method of Prophethood will ensure leaps and bounds in industry, technology and military strength. It will undertake planning and investment in heavy industry, including military grade manufacturing, not merely bullet trains. Only then, not only will the Muslim World have fulfillment of its high-end value product demands, which it currently imports, it will also be in a position to export to other nations with high returns.

 

Indian Involvement in Subversive Activities Will be Stamped Out by the Khilafah

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on 7 December 2016 kicked up a controversy by stating in the Senate that government could not finalise a dossier on captured Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav because of inadequate evidence provided so far. “It is not that material has been provided and it’s lacking in English and we are overcoming it. The [provided] material, in our view, was insufficient,” Mr Aziz told a meeting of the Senate Committee of the Whole House, in Urdu. The adviser was responding to Senator Mushahid Hussain’s criticism over a delay in finalisation of the planned dossier for mobilising international opinion on Indian involvement in subversive activities in Pakistan. The delay, Mr Hussain said, was causing embarrassment for the country. Jadhav’s capture from Balochistan was announced in March and was flaunted by military as a “proof of Indian interference and state sponsored terrorism”. Mr Aziz said that the material provided to the Foreign Office on Yadav’s activities was mere statements. Intelligence agencies have been investigating Yadav’s role in sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan and his local connections for close to nine months now. The intelligence agencies have been told to strengthen the evidence with a view to making it water tight and convincing for the international community.

The involvement of foreign agencies on Pakistani soil is well-established, regardless of Kulbhushan Jadhav situation. And who is the so-called international community that it should be worthy of convincing, made up as it is of major powers that are foremost in aggression against Muslims? As Muslims, the matter that requires urgent attention is that this involvement is the direct consequence of the foreign policy of the regime. Instead of treating hostile nations on a war footing, it has nurtured economic and political ties and even military and intelligence co-ordination and co-operations. Inevitably, hostile nations see such ties as an opportunity to further their plans to undermine Pakistan’s security.

The Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of the Prophethood alone will end the foreign backed subversive activities on Paksitan’s soil. It will treat hostile non-Muslim states on a war stance. These are nations who have occupied Muslim Land or other acts of similar aggression. As Hizb ut Tahrir has adopted in its “Introduction to the Constitution,” in Article 189, “States with whom we do not have treaties, and the actual imperialist states, such as Britain, America and France, and those states that have designs on the State, such as Russia, are legally considered to be belligerent states. All precautions must be taken towards them and it would be wrong to establish diplomatic relations with them.”  And in the same article’s Clause 4 it has stated, “States that are actually belligerent states, such as Israel for example, a state of war must be taken as the basis for all dealings with them. They must be dealt with as if a real war existed between us – irrespective of whether an armistice exists between us or not – and all their subjects are prevented from entering the State.”