Letter from Lahore: Stadium security takes many by surprise

The deployment of literally thousands of paramilitary troops and policemen around the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday, as South Africa took on Pakistan in the first One Day International contest of their tour, left many in the city astonished.

Cars were prevented from moving along roads near the stadium, spectators who made the mistake of bringing matches, cigarette lighters, cameras, mineral water bottles or walkmans to the ground were summarily evicted for this misdemeanor and an almost identical state of near hysterical security hype was in place around the hotel in the centre of town where the visiting team was staying.

To many in the city, the whole situation seemed ludicrous. Indeed, most citizens, as they struggled to find a way to move from one part of the city to the next, maintained that the security threat to the South Africans had been blown way out of proportion.

The official explanation that the shoot-out in South Waziristan on Thursday, which led to 12 Al Qaida operatives being killed, had led to a decision to up the level of security made little sense to many. The events unfolding in the remote mountain areas bordering Afghanistan seem far removed to most people from day to day life amidst the urban sprawl of Lahore, and even experienced political analysts doubted that these would present any increased danger to the South Africans.

But, the fact that experts on security accompanied the South Africans everywhere in the city, that some among the touring party refused to leave their hotel rooms if anyone with a beard was present in the lobby area and that even bellboys and groundsmen were vetted for possible militant links indicated the perceptions about Pakistan that exist elsewhere in the world.

Certainly this was brought starkly home to people in Lahore over the last week, as the touring cricket side landed in the city, having already called off the entire tour once.

Inevitably, the kind of security cover thrown over the city brought to the forefront questions about militancy that rarely surface otherwise. While most residents of the city see militancy as only a distant reality, on deeper thought they do also accept that the potential threat it presents lurks somewhere within view. While at present the vast majority has no sympathy for extremist organisations and their views, this could change in the very near future.

Factors

The cropping up of more and more seminary schools across the Punjab, some extremely well equipped and run on donations made by rich businessman; the failure of mainstream political parties to offer a credible leadership to people and the inroads made by religious parties into the vacuum left as a result of this and the heightened frustration among young people caused by the demoralising impact of unemployment are all factors in this.

One of the outcomes is that today, in many parts of the Punjab, militant organisations are the only groups recruiting people. The jobs they offer promise excitement and adventure – and a place in paradise. In some cases, colourful brochures advertise these attractions, while perks come in the shape of kalashnikovs, crisp camouflage uniforms and travel to exotic destinations both near and far from home. For jobless school leavers, who in some cases at the age of 17 have been searching for any kind of work for months or even years, the offer often seems irresistible.

It is this reality which could mean that in time, militancy does not become a mere perception in the minds of those in other countries, but a part of life for every citizen. The violence it could unleash within society, the increased dichotomy it would create, is already a matter that has come under debate.

And it is clear if a future where rows of armed security guards standing at public places, where body searches of people attending sporting events and where drastic diversions of traffic to ensure security are not to become a regular feature, holistic policies must be put in place now. These policies must address issues of education and employment, among other matters, and must assess which direction society is headed in. If this does not happen swiftly, and if more verbal pledges without action on the ground continue, there is danger that militancy will become a threat to every citizen and put at genuine jeopardy integrity and social harmony within the country.

Kamila Hyat is with Pakistan's Human Rights Commission