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Activist seeks drastic cut in defence budget
Akhter puts his life on the line with a hunger strike
By Naveed Ahmad, Correspondent
Published: 00:00 September 10, 2011
Islamabad: If the lack of an anti-corruption law bothers Indian activist Anna Hazare, 69-year-old Raja Jehangir Akhter is putting his life on the line for a drastic cut in Pakistan's military budget.
"Unless we take a U-turn, Pakistan won't be able to escape a blind street," he said, summing up his rationale to divert funds from defence to development.
The former Pakistan Army gunner and veteran of the 1971 war with India, Akhter is a true-blue labour unionist with a primary-level formal education. The father of three has gone on hunger strikes six times, with 22 days being the longest period of merely living on water.
"Always, except once, I could get the desired objectives behind the hunger strike," the grey-haired, clean shaven left-leaning businessman told Gulf News.
This fast unto death will be the hardest of all.
"I am going to challenge the political, military and bureaucratic elite of the country in the most pacifist manner," he said.
Since Akhter is not sure how many will join him in solidarity with the cause, he sees the upcoming hunger strike a real test of his mental and physical strength.
He was imprisoned twice during the Movement for Restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry in 2007. Akhter staged a six-day hunger strike at the Ministers' Enclave for release of the CJ's children and wife as Musharraf had put them under house arrest after the Nov-ember 3 coup.
"Musharraf had to free the family of Chaudhry in less than a week of my fast," he said.
Placards bearing slogans for peace with India, lower military posture and elimination of corruption cover the walls of Akhter's 12-square foot office in Islamabad's Super Market.
In an exclusive interview, he candidly answered a series of questions:
Gulf News: You are known for your passion for hunger strikes, but do you owe the fresh initiative to Indian icon Anna Hazare?
Raja Jehangir Akhter: I first heard about Anna Hazare when he went on a hunger strike and forced the parliament to initiate the legislative process for an anti-corruption bill. However, he did not ignite the fire in me. My struggle against Pakistan's security mindset has a long history, spanning decades. However, in July, an Urdu newspaper columnist wrote that the Americans nuked Hiroshima as it was the military headquarters of the Japanese troops in the Second World War. I glanced at our map and found all our military installations were in the populated cities. A military accident or escalation may take a massive toll on human lives around the cantonments. Sky-rocketing inflation, swelling foreign loans and massive defence expenditures looked to me symptoms of a vulnerable Pakistan. So I announced an abrupt, emotional decision to stage a hunger strike from July 21 which I had to alter due to cultural sensitivities of Ramadan.
I had forgotten to realise that drinking water during the hunger strike in the holy month may hurt religious-cultural sensitivities here. So I rescheduled it for September 12.
Many people have pledged to join me but hunger strikes have never been a fashion here.
Though I always idealise activists who opt for hunger strikes, I believe more than Anna Hazare, the media has played a significant role in shaking the government regardless of the movement's success or failure. I salute his courage and commitment that he inspired the people and media on the one hand, and shook the Indian government on the other. I have observed six hunger strikes during the past three decades but the people here have never liked the action. Hazare's action may prove catalytic for the Pakistanis this time. People are longing for one like him. I hope Pakistanis will react favourably on September 12. While we stage our protest for slashing the military budget, our government should replicate the Indian bill and we should benefit from their deliberations and homework.
What is your hope for Pakistan?
This country is heading towards more anarchy and chaos. For the next few years, I see the writ of the law diminishing further, inflation soaring and corruption becoming a norm. Industrialists are leaving the country. We need to change the system as merely a democratically-elected government can't deliver. The PPP has failed and the Muslim League has no programme for reforms. Imran Khan talks about the challenges confronting the country and has an elaborate agenda for change. We need consensus within the political leadership to reduce the size of the military and automatically its budget. The struggle for Kashmir is ruining our economy.
What about insecurity on borders, especially the eastern one?
I don't accept the very basis of Pakistan's insecurity. My plea is if India is a threat then why was there no war during 1947 to 1965. The answer is very simple: the Pakistani economy was very strong. Our one rupee was equal to 1.50 of India's. Malaysian economic advisers used to frequently consult Pakistan for development policies and strategies. In fact, the 1965 war changed our course with the launch of Operation Gibraltar (General Ayub ordered Army commandos into Indian-administered Kashmir) and security replaced economic development as the prime goal. We gave India an opportunity to take revenge by opening a front of its choice. On the other hand, East Pakistanis had very little security while the war was waged by West Pakistan. Bengalis felt left alone and insecure, thus deciding to take their own course in future. I appreciate their decision. Today Bangladesh is doing better than us. Ironically, our industrialists are investing there.
What you do in public life has implications for them too. How do they react to your activism?
I have two wives, two sons and a daughter. One son is a lawyer and the other one is completing his MBA while my daughter is married. Neither my wife nor my children interfere in my public life and nobody has this right. Sometimes they don't come to see me in jail which I don't mind. In normal situations, they would deliver food and clothes in jail as if I am in another home. None of the children agrees with my politics.
Have you consider contesting for a public office?
I am not qualified enough for the National Assembly or Senate seat owing to my little formal education. I believe that only those should join who deserve it or are eligible for it.
Another goddamn RAW agent asking for reforms in Pakistan ; Why doesn't he understand that he's ruining Pakistan's credibility by asking for the impossible ? Wish he minds his own business
.
Akhter puts his life on the line with a hunger strike
By Naveed Ahmad, Correspondent
Published: 00:00 September 10, 2011
Islamabad: If the lack of an anti-corruption law bothers Indian activist Anna Hazare, 69-year-old Raja Jehangir Akhter is putting his life on the line for a drastic cut in Pakistan's military budget.
"Unless we take a U-turn, Pakistan won't be able to escape a blind street," he said, summing up his rationale to divert funds from defence to development.
The former Pakistan Army gunner and veteran of the 1971 war with India, Akhter is a true-blue labour unionist with a primary-level formal education. The father of three has gone on hunger strikes six times, with 22 days being the longest period of merely living on water.
"Always, except once, I could get the desired objectives behind the hunger strike," the grey-haired, clean shaven left-leaning businessman told Gulf News.
This fast unto death will be the hardest of all.
"I am going to challenge the political, military and bureaucratic elite of the country in the most pacifist manner," he said.
Since Akhter is not sure how many will join him in solidarity with the cause, he sees the upcoming hunger strike a real test of his mental and physical strength.
He was imprisoned twice during the Movement for Restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry in 2007. Akhter staged a six-day hunger strike at the Ministers' Enclave for release of the CJ's children and wife as Musharraf had put them under house arrest after the Nov-ember 3 coup.
"Musharraf had to free the family of Chaudhry in less than a week of my fast," he said.
Placards bearing slogans for peace with India, lower military posture and elimination of corruption cover the walls of Akhter's 12-square foot office in Islamabad's Super Market.
In an exclusive interview, he candidly answered a series of questions:
Gulf News: You are known for your passion for hunger strikes, but do you owe the fresh initiative to Indian icon Anna Hazare?
Raja Jehangir Akhter: I first heard about Anna Hazare when he went on a hunger strike and forced the parliament to initiate the legislative process for an anti-corruption bill. However, he did not ignite the fire in me. My struggle against Pakistan's security mindset has a long history, spanning decades. However, in July, an Urdu newspaper columnist wrote that the Americans nuked Hiroshima as it was the military headquarters of the Japanese troops in the Second World War. I glanced at our map and found all our military installations were in the populated cities. A military accident or escalation may take a massive toll on human lives around the cantonments. Sky-rocketing inflation, swelling foreign loans and massive defence expenditures looked to me symptoms of a vulnerable Pakistan. So I announced an abrupt, emotional decision to stage a hunger strike from July 21 which I had to alter due to cultural sensitivities of Ramadan.
I had forgotten to realise that drinking water during the hunger strike in the holy month may hurt religious-cultural sensitivities here. So I rescheduled it for September 12.
Many people have pledged to join me but hunger strikes have never been a fashion here.
Though I always idealise activists who opt for hunger strikes, I believe more than Anna Hazare, the media has played a significant role in shaking the government regardless of the movement's success or failure. I salute his courage and commitment that he inspired the people and media on the one hand, and shook the Indian government on the other. I have observed six hunger strikes during the past three decades but the people here have never liked the action. Hazare's action may prove catalytic for the Pakistanis this time. People are longing for one like him. I hope Pakistanis will react favourably on September 12. While we stage our protest for slashing the military budget, our government should replicate the Indian bill and we should benefit from their deliberations and homework.
What is your hope for Pakistan?
This country is heading towards more anarchy and chaos. For the next few years, I see the writ of the law diminishing further, inflation soaring and corruption becoming a norm. Industrialists are leaving the country. We need to change the system as merely a democratically-elected government can't deliver. The PPP has failed and the Muslim League has no programme for reforms. Imran Khan talks about the challenges confronting the country and has an elaborate agenda for change. We need consensus within the political leadership to reduce the size of the military and automatically its budget. The struggle for Kashmir is ruining our economy.
What about insecurity on borders, especially the eastern one?
I don't accept the very basis of Pakistan's insecurity. My plea is if India is a threat then why was there no war during 1947 to 1965. The answer is very simple: the Pakistani economy was very strong. Our one rupee was equal to 1.50 of India's. Malaysian economic advisers used to frequently consult Pakistan for development policies and strategies. In fact, the 1965 war changed our course with the launch of Operation Gibraltar (General Ayub ordered Army commandos into Indian-administered Kashmir) and security replaced economic development as the prime goal. We gave India an opportunity to take revenge by opening a front of its choice. On the other hand, East Pakistanis had very little security while the war was waged by West Pakistan. Bengalis felt left alone and insecure, thus deciding to take their own course in future. I appreciate their decision. Today Bangladesh is doing better than us. Ironically, our industrialists are investing there.
What you do in public life has implications for them too. How do they react to your activism?
I have two wives, two sons and a daughter. One son is a lawyer and the other one is completing his MBA while my daughter is married. Neither my wife nor my children interfere in my public life and nobody has this right. Sometimes they don't come to see me in jail which I don't mind. In normal situations, they would deliver food and clothes in jail as if I am in another home. None of the children agrees with my politics.
Have you consider contesting for a public office?
I am not qualified enough for the National Assembly or Senate seat owing to my little formal education. I believe that only those should join who deserve it or are eligible for it.
Another goddamn RAW agent asking for reforms in Pakistan ; Why doesn't he understand that he's ruining Pakistan's credibility by asking for the impossible ? Wish he minds his own business
.
