By Bronwyn Curran
Published in TheNews on Saturday, April 30, 2011

As the author of a 2006 book on the Mukhtaran Mai case and a former Islamabad-based Western female news correspondent, I must raise a voice of dissent amidst the shrill reaction to the Supreme Court’s acquittal of 13 of 14 men accused in Mukhtaran Mai’s case.

In 2005-2006, after many months painstakingly poring through every police statement, medical record, witness testimony, and cross-examination transcript in this case, coupled with multiple visits to Mirwala, Jatoi and Dera Ghazi Khan for extensive interviews with members of both sides of this case, I reached the same conclusion as the Supreme Court has in 2011. The Lahore High Court reached the same conclusion in 2005. Indeed, I would challenge anyone who has the opportunity to pore through all such records and interview members and associates of all sides in this case to come up with any conclusion other than that 13 of the 14 accused are innocent.

May I stress that fundamental to that conclusion (shared by myself, the Supreme Court and the Lahore High Court) is that Ms Mai is indeed a victim of a heinous crime. The question is: of what? The Supreme Court and Lahore High Court find that Ms Mai is a victim of rape, hence their maintenance of Abdul Khaliq’s conviction for rape.

It is my belief that Ms Mai is a victim of two heinous crimes here. One is sexual assault: the kind of sexual assault experienced by women forced to marry against their will, and by women handed over by their men folk as compensatory chattel to settle a feud.

Which leads me to what I believe is the paramount crime here: Vani. Under current laws, Ms Mai’s men folk would be convicted for handing her over to the Mastoi family to atone for her teenage brother’s alleged misbehaviour with a teenage Mastoi girl. The tradition of handing women over to atone for their male relatives’ wrongdoing, known also as Swara, was outlawed by the Pakistan government in January 2005.

The police and court records shows that both the prosecution and the Mastoi family agree that it was Ms Mai’s men folk who presented her to the Mastoi family after many hours negotiating, via a local cleric, to resolve a feud. The feud had erupted earlier that day when Mukhtaran’s brother Shakoor was seen with the Mastoi girl Salma in the sugarcane field between the two families’ homes.

The prosecution’s version of what happened next is well-known. There is also a little-credited defence version; the other side of the story. For what it’s worth, the defence version fits the pattern of many a feud and its resolution in rural Punjab and Sindh: to settle the feud, the perpetrator’s family hands over a female to the victim’s family to be married off to one of their men.

I have met the women of the Mastoi family and heard their vivid accounts of what happened that night. They showed me the shoddy room in their home where, they say, they saw Abdul Khaliq bring Mukhtaran Mai to spend the night with him after a ‘sharai nikah’, an on-the-spot marriage without a certificate. For what it’s worth, they recall Ms Mai being thrown out one or more days later and sent back to her family, in a state of disgrace.

What happened to Ms Mai was outrageous, unsolicited, and must be punished. But the evidence, cross-referenced with my own protracted field research and interviews, suggests that what happened is considerably different from what is alleged by the prosecution.

I would beseech anyone who is concerned with justice and human rights to examine this case in real detail, retrace its genesis and comb through the records, and ask themselves whether a dangerous miscarriage of justice lies beneath the famous Mukhtaran Mai story.

I urge the detractors of the Supreme Court’s brave decision to objectively examine whether the 13 acquitted men, who have each spent between six and nine years in jail despite earlier acquittals, have been wrongly accused and imprisoned.

Perhaps the most obvious wrongful imprisonment is of the eight men accused of being part of an alleged panchayat. These men, who lived 3.5 hours travel from Ms Mai’s village on the other side of the Indus, were acquitted in the original 2002 trial for want of evidence. It is worth reading what the original trial judge had to say about how those men came to be arrested and why he released them without charge. This is the same judge who convicted four others of gang-rape and two of aiding and abetment. Astonishingly, these eight acquitted men were re-arrested two and a half years later in reaction to the storms of outrage that followed the Lahore High Court’s 2005 acquittal of five out of six convicted men. They have been in jail for the six years since 2005, without charge. Where are the human rights advocates standing up for them?

Apart from a wealth of inconsistencies in statements to police and witness testimonies, the paucity of evidence affects many celebrated aspects of the prosecution story. The allegation that Shakoor was molested by three Mastoi males is pure fabrication and easily revealed as such on any study of the case. The claim of Ms Mai being paraded naked before hordes of people was thrown out in the original 2002 trial, yet nevertheless has embedded itself in many re-tellings by media and rights groups. The presentation of the Mastoi tribe as wealthier and more powerful than Ms Mai’s clan was discounted in the original 2002 trial, when police admitted under cross-examination that Ms Mai’s family owned more land and had more powerful connections than the Mastoi family, well before this story began.

It is also my belief that Ms Mai is a victim of characters around her who have used her, her family, the local police and courts for their own purposes. Talk to any lawyer in southern Punjab and they will tell you how often false cases are filed between enemies. It’s my belief that Ms Mai was shamefully taken advantage of and had little control over events once the charges, filed not by her or her family but by two unrelated men, went public.

The charge of gang-rape was brought to the police by the cleric Abdul Razzaq and a local journalist-cum-rights monitor who had heard rumours after Razzaq made claims in a Friday sermon. Ms Mai was not involved in the lodging of charges. Some hours later, she was hauled into the police station unceremoniously in the back of a police truck. There she found a statement already written by the cleric in her name. She was told to attest it with a thumbprint. As is well-known, at that time she could neither read the statement, nor write her name. How was she to know what she was attesting with her thumb?

The next day the charge was in a local newspaper, the following day in national and international press, and just three days later Ms Mai had a cheque for 500,000 rupees in her hand from President Pervez Musharraf. No investigation had taken place, and Ms Mai was already both an international heroine and wealthier than any illiterate villager from a wretched Indus backwater could have ever dreamed.

The writer is a former AFP news editor

TheNews Link :

http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?IDD406&Cat9&dt4%2F30%2F2011

By Dr Ghayur Ayub
On the map of Pakistan, the Kurram agency resembles the closed beak of a bird pecking its way into Afghanistan. The Himalaya mountains close off the valley from the north, south, and west, leaving an opening at the east for the Tal-Parachinar road to run through the picturesque meadows alongside the tortuous Mar Toi (the dead river), linking Tal with Parachinar-the residing town of the top political and military administrations. During the British Raj, the valley was used as a buffer zone to counter Afghanistan interference into what was then undivided India. Without disturbing the tribal culture, the British government through the political agent, ruled the region by combining the western judicial system with the local Jirga system. In this way, the PA made good use of his authority (which was brutal at times in the shape of FCR) and kept the tribal society in check. After the partition of India, the Kurram valley became part of Pakistan as a tribal belt inheriting all the original traditions, including the style of governance. The system worked satisfactorily for decades despite sectarian divide between Sunni and Shia. Pakhtunwaly played a harmonising role abating hate reaching its crescendo during the infrequent skirmishes between the sects. Two major charters of tribal culture helped calm down sentiments in such clashes; the Tiga and the Lokhai systems. A truce was maintained through the Tiga system which was enforced by Jirga; and individual social and business interests were preserved in enemy territory through Lokhai system during the skirmishes. There were no road blocks, beheadings, kidnappings for ransom or random killings seen in recent upsurge of Taliban.

The change started when the pro-American and pro-Israeli royal family of Iran was deposed through a religious revolution, threatening western interests in the region. They saw an observable tilt in the new regime’s policies towards Palestine. The rousing welcome given to Yaser Arafat on his first official visit to Tehran was seen with great concern. The Arab royalties on other hand, saw themselves next in line to losing their thrones through identical revolutions in their countries. This became a common factor of interest between them. For them the Iranian revolution needed curtailment and the best way to do that was to give it a sectarian shape. Thus Khumeni’s Islamic revolution was propagated as Shia revolution and Saudi Arabia influenced by Wahabism became the launching pad to counter its spread. The events including the Iran-Iraq war, propaganda against Khumeini, and the emergence of a sectarian hate in neighbouring countries such as Pakistan was all part of the policy. Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was used as a stone to kill two birds; the expansion of Soviet Union and export of Iranian revolution. Jihad led by the Wahabi zealots was successful on both accounts- it disintegrated the Soviet Union and ignited a fire between the two major sects of Islam. Its fall out on the tribal belt of Pakistan was beyond comprehension especially in areas where Shia presence was prominent. The fire spread rapidly when general Babar’s sponsored Taliban took over Afghanistan, adversely effecting the life of the Shias in Kurram and Aurakzai Agencies.

The Shias in these two agencies have been increasingly targeted by the surging Taliban ever since. The sane elements in the Turi-Bangash tribes in Kurram agency and Ali Khel, Stori Khel and Feroz Khel tribes in Aurakzai agency want honourable peace with the Taliban. In return, they expect the Taliban to tolerate other sects. But the Taliban accept peace on their terms according to the strict sectarian edict they follow. Two other factors encourage the Taliban in their aims; first, the weak policies and poor governance of the government of Pakistan; second, the trickled down sectarian zeal introduced by general Zia in some army ranks, files and its agencies. The Taliban’ intentions were seen recently in a failed peace deal between the Turi Tribes of Kurram and Haqqani Network of North Waziristan brokered by Rehman Malik under the close scrutiny of ISI. The aim of the deal was to give safe passage to Haqqani group through Shaheedano Dand and Ahmadi Shama posts in Lower Kurram into Zazi Maidan of Paktia and Muqbal areas of Khost in Afghanistan. It is important to note that these routes are already under partial control of Taliban. It is the routes passing through Shia dominated areas of the Upper Kurram, namely Borki, Kharlachi and Tari Mangal which Taliban wish to have access to. By having control over these posts, the Taliban want to make Kurram Agency a logistically useful sanctuary, thus opening new routes leading from North Waziristan to Afghanistan. This would be like a death sentence for the Kurmi Shias as they know that the Taliban would rather see them annihilated than survive as a result of peaceful negotiations.

They were proved right within two months of the deal as on March 25, 2011, three minibuses carrying Shias from Peshawar to Parachinar were attacked by the Taliban at Bagan in lower Kurram killing 15 and injuring 37. They then hijacked the two remaining minibuses with 45 passengers, including women and children on board. According to a news story, they were taken to North Waziristan. In another incident a few months earlier, a Jirga of both Shia and Sunni was convened by the Commandant of the Kurram Militia in which he invited Javed Ibrahim Paracha from Kohat- who is known for his pro-Taliban and anti-Shia sentiments, and hated by the Shias. They blame him for the frequent attacks on Shias passengers at Doaba and Japanese Tunnel near Kohat on the Tal Peshawar road. The Shia Maliks in Jirga doubted the Commandant’s intentions shown by his action.

Similarly, in January a convoy of 24 trucks carrying food supplies and medicines to Upper Kurram was looted and then torched at the village of Durrani near Sadda in Lower Kurram. The Shias held colonel Sajjad responsible for the attack as the convoy was under the protection of the Kurram militia. They linked the attack with the camps at Pir Qayyum, Sateen and Shasho in Lower Kurram which are operated by the Haqqanis and the Taliban. Their worries don’t stop there; they fear that with the help of the army and the unconcerned government officials, these elements would extend their influence to their bases in Tari Mangal, Mata Sangar, Makhrani, Wacha Darra and Spina Shaga in Upper Kurram. Spina Shaga is supposed to be a common platform of Gulbadin Hikmetyar and the Haqqani networks and Mata Sangar is a possible hideout of Siraj Haqqani. In another case a few weeks earlier, armed men from North Waziristan kidnapped 20 Shia residents of Kurram, whose whereabouts is still unknown.

The Kurmi Shias feel embattled on the face of these linkages. They find themselves trapped and insecure both from the Taliban on one side and the unconcerned civilian and army administrations on the other. To make the things worse, they find their MNA Sajid Hussain Turi shrugging his shoulders of responsibility because of his weak personality and lack of political vision. He is known for his feeble nerves and bad reputation making him prone to even weak pressures. So they are stuck between the careless civilian and military officials having no hold on the Taliban and the aggressive Taliban spreading their wings in their backyard. For them, it is a question of survival in their homeland where death has become as easy and cheap as sipping water from a stream.

They find their beautiful valley is burning in a fire lit by the successive poor policies of zealous Zia and moderate Musharaf; a fire which is different from the one seen in rest of the tribal areas. A fire based on emotions against Taliban and disgust about the indifferent attitude of the government. The sad part of it is that a large number of known politicians and intellectuals consider the Taliban as saviour of Islam. They look at the anti Taliban Muslims as Zionists and American sympathisers and if they have a Shia background than they are labelled as Iranian agents. In short, the Kurmi Shias are in a precarious position landlocked by fanatic Taliban and their sympathisers making their life a living hell, burning in emotions full of anxiety and hostility. There is a Persian proverb for people like them which states ‘Tang Amad Ba Jang Amad’. After getting disappointed from continuous failure by the government, in desperation, they have started looking for alternate venues to safeguards their families and maintain their livelihood. In pursuance of an optimum survival they are turning to Afghan government, NATO, and even Hezbollah. This is a bizarre situation, the likes of which was once seen in early 20th century when a prominent Shia Turi Tribe Chief, Noor Khan (alias Dur Khan) sought British help when he found Shias under siege in identical circumstances. How unfortunate it is that both the Taliban and the government are pushing the peace loving Kurmi Shias to the brink where they might take law in their own hands and follow the example of certain tribes in Baluchistan.

The end

By Yvonne Ridley in Benghazi
Just a few weeks ago I stood on a public platform and vigorously slammed proposals for Western military intervention in Libya.
The hasty scramble by the Americans, French and Brits lacked strategy and a clear goal.
To me it appeared to be yet another oil-fuelled, reckless act by gung-ho leaders who would end up being sucked in to a long military campaign as futile as the Bush-Blair adventures into Iraq and Afghanistan that we are still paying for in terms of wasted lives.
“Here we go again,” I said. “Another imperialistic adventure with the long-term aim of getting our grubby hands on other peoples’ oil.”
To those few Libyans present, I warned they would live to regret this pact with the West that I likened to jumping into bed with the Devil.
Being very conscious of the fact I’m not a Libyan and desperate at not wanting to be seen as another opinionated Westerner sticking my nose into matters I didn’t understand, I sought the views of many Libyan friends and contacts.
Their reaction was mixed, but more often than not I was told that without outside help the Libyan people would be slaughtered by Gaddafi who himself described those who opposed him as cockroaches that needed to be crushed.
To justify my stand I reasoned that all revolutions are bloody and that the heroic people of Tunisia and Egypt had paid the blood price in their hundreds to win freedom.
I even recounted Malcolm X telling people that if they were not prepared to die for it they should remove the word freedom from their vocabulary.
Of course making grand statements from platforms in central London is one thing but going to see for myself what was happening on the ground was something else.
My few days in Libya proved to be extremely humbling, illuminating and provided me with a reality check.
I was wrong about opposing military intervention. No if, buts or maybe – I was wrong, wrong, wrong.
The people of Libya would have been brutally crushed without mercy if the West had not responded to their cries for help.
Perhaps the greatest shame is that Arab leaders stood by emotionless as the Libyan people begged everyone and anyone for help to bring down Gaddafi.
Some of those Arab leaders had no such hesitation in answering cries for help from the oppressive royal regime in Bahrain … obviously the Saudis and rest of the GCC cabal felt uncomfortable helping to bring down an evil, brutal, dictator who routinely abused and oppressed his people while happily propping up another.
It could have been an opportunity for the rising regional power Turkey to step in to the breach but to the massive disappointment of the Libyan people Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to become embroiled.
So in the end the West did intervene and although the blood of innocents is still flowing in the streets at least it is not a torrent.
And maybe this is a war led by no one, with no particular aim but the enforcement of the No Fly Zone has prevented a massacre.
That is the view held by one of Libya’s spiritual leaders Sheikh Mohammed Bosidra who told me: “We had no choice. It was either make a pact with NATO or be crushed. It was a matter of survival, as simple as that.”
However many have already paid the ultimate blood price. Each town and city has a special place for its martyrs, and there are many. Faces of young men stared back at me from family portraits proudly hung in the central square Benghazi and what struck me was how young they were.
In Derna, more portraits of the sons of Omar Al-Mukhtar hung in the town centre and some of the bodies have been buried in a cemetery next to the tombs of three Sahaba and 70 other martyrs who fought against Roman and Byzantine forces in 692AD.
“We have a very fine tradition of producing martyrs in Derna and that is why Gaddafi hates the people of Derna more than anywhere else in Libya,” one woman told me.
And then she pointed to a French Tricolore and a Union Jack whispering: “Thankyou, we will never forget what you have done for us.”
I admit I felt uncomfortable, even a fraud, on several different levels by accepting her thanks. Usually I end up apologizing for the deeds of various British governments and Empire so this was something new for me.
We are still not clear what is the endgame of the NATO-led force, but the Libyan people are crystal clear in one thing: Gaddafi must go.
Only then can they begin to work out the next move, and it won’t be easy.
The Transitional National Council, says it is committed to liberate every part of Libya from Aamsaad in the east to Raas Ajdair in the west, and from Sirte in the north to Gatrun in the south.
But from what I could see the mission is unstable and unpredictable, chaotic, disorganised and confused.
However, what is undeniable is the bravery and courage of the Libyan people who we in the media routinely refer to as rebels … these people are not rebels. They are shopkeepers, students, doctors, businessmen and mechanics who have never owned a gun or wanted to pick one up in anger, until now.
And yet there they are, tens of thousands, prepared to die for freedoms and liberties they’ve never known in Gaddafi’s 41-year rule.
I was moved to tears by a regiment of young men who marched, rallied and chanted demanding to be sent to the front lines in Misrata to help their brothers in arms.
Their personally-delivered message in Benghazi was to the members of the interim government and they were extremely critical of some elements of the TNC who they said were more interested in parading around with bodyguards intoxicated with the little power they had than making real decisions.
The criticism of the leadership was stinging but reassuring that these young men were not blind to the shortcomings of their own. Too often in the Middle East people are blind and unquestioning in their loyalty to their leaders.
It is clear to me that once Gaddafi is gone – and he will go – that the Libyan people will not replace him with another tyrant or a Western puppet. Whatever government and constitution they choose will be one of their own making.
But first we in the West must give them all the help and support they need to accomplish the removal of Gaddafi until it is time for NATO to go in a dignified exit.
And who knows, for once, Western intervention might just be regarded as a force for good.
* British journalist Yvonne Ridley is European President of the International Muslim Women’s Union.

By Yvonne Ridley
Welcome to Tora Land, declares the headline on a magazine rack which caught my eye as I was swept along in the rush hour inside Cairo’s chaotic train station.
The bold declaration on the glossy front page confirms two things. The first is that Egyptians have a great sense of humour and the second is that the Peoples’ Revolution continues to have a seismic impact on the country’s political landscape.
Tora is the name for a notorious prison complex on the outskirts of Cairo and since most of the former government – including Hosni Mubarak’s two sons – are now resident there you can begin to understand the tongue-in-cheek headline.
Everyday there are new arrests, new charges among the corrupt elite and it seems no one is immune from the Egyptian prosecutors.
This has, for many, turned in to a revolving door revolution as those once in prison for daring to stand up to Mubarak and his iron rule are now on the outside while their tormentors are replacing them behind bars.
It is indeed poetic justice … but sadly not for all; it seems there are some buried so deep inside the brutal prison system that they’ve been all but forgotten.
As the Egyptian Revolution hurtles breathlessly towards its 100th day there is still a group of prisoners who appear to have been abandoned in all of the excitement heralded by the arrival of the Arab Spring.
The forgotten few number just over 100 residents of Al’aqrab that, an Arab word which means the Scorpion.
It’s an apt name for a prison buried away in the desert sands that once concealed the treasures of Tutankhamun. Now those grains hide even more secrets that mask the real depth of wickedness and depravity plumbed by Egypt’s Last Pharaoh Hosni Mubarak.
The Scorpion Prison is a hellish institution that former prisoners told me became the blueprint for Guantanamo, the world’s most notorious jail.
In fact this is Egypt’s own version of Guantanamo.
The high security super max is two kilometres from the main entrance to the official Tora cluster of prisons where former government ministers now reside in comparative comfort.
Some of the monsters who served Mubarak will even have signed off on the torture endured by the Scorpion inmates whose day-to-day existence is quite different to those which house the Mubarak sons.
Many of the detainees have been held for years without trial or charge for simply expressing an opinion vocally or in written articles critical of Mubarak’s regime. Other were convicted of trying to overthrow Mubarak … the irony is that they did far less than those who rallied bravely in Tahrir Square just a few weeks back.
But while the revolutionaries are rewarded for heroic deeds and derring do with hard won freedoms and liberties, the 100 or so languishing behind the high walls of The Scorpion fear the have been completely forgotten.
Their voices remain unheard in the forboding complex hidden behind an imposing seven metre high wall that is protected by heavily fortified, armour-plated gates.
According to the Ikhwan website Al’aqrab was the brainchild of a group of officers who spent five years training in the US under the FBI.
On their return the Scorpion and its H blocks were built and opened by May 30 in 1993.
Prison staff have the power to cut off water, light and electricity and close individual windows at the flick of a switch as punishment. Twenty other cells are used purely for solitary confinement.
It seems the ‘American idea’ worked so well that the Scorpion model was replicated in the spring of 2002 at the US military base Guantanamo Bay in Occupied Cuba.
As I relayed the description of its interior to Moazzam Begg, Director of the London-based NGO Cageprisoners, he winced in recognition. The layout was, indeed, familiar to the former ex-Guantanamo detainee who spent three years in the American version of The Scorpion.
Mubarak’s Ministry of Interior moved detainees from Liman, Istekbal Tora and Abu Zaabal to the new supermax jail and it is thought at one point around 20,000 so-called enemies of the state were being held without trial or charge.
But there could be other political prisoners held elsewhere in the prison system in Egypt – at this stage, we simply don’t know.
But rumours abound of what has gone on behind the high walls of The Scorpion even today and include harrowing tales of torture, abuse and years of solitary confinement without sunlight.
While all of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political prisoners have now been released from across Egypt the agony continues for the inmates of The Scorpion Prison that is so well hidden from the nearby Cairo-Alexandria desert highway and is about 20 kilometres south of the Egyptian capital.
Most of the men belong to the now defunct group Talae al-Fatah, Jihad, al-Gama’h Al Islamia and other Islamic groups and although the majority signed so-called “adoption of repentance papers” years ago they are still held with little or no prospect of a trial.
Some have gone years without family visits, whipping, flogging and electric shock treatments as well as collective punishment has defined the “Scorpion Experience”. Of the 20,000 or so who have passed through its gates around 15 per cent are believed to have died.
The secretive and sinister Ministry of Interior has succeeded in hiding these men from the outside world in all that time but even today it seems justice is as elusive as ever. Let’s hope they will soon be able to join in and enjoy the Arab Spring and celebrate the 100th day of the Egyptian Peoples’ Revolution – if justice is going to be one of the cornerstones then the sooner these men are set free or put on trial the better.
* British journalist Yvonne Ridley is a patron of Cageprisoners – it’s website is http://www.cageprisoners.com

by Dr. moeed Pirzada

Tragedy in New York & in Lahore?

We have just heard that a Pakistani consular officer in New York has shot and killed two US citizens. This happened at the junction of Amsterdam Ave and West 123rd, almost close to Harlem. Police thinks that the two boys he killed, one Latino and one Afro-American might have been trying to rob him, and a pistol has also been found at the site, but they are not sure. What they know however is that a security van that rushed to help him from the Pakistani Consulate in New York over ran an old lady who was trying to juggle her way at a zebra crossing next to a red light. This lady died after reaching the hospital. Some sources are reporting that this Pakistani consular person, Mohammad Omar Khan, was actually an ISI officer under the cover of diplomatic status, he had also served in Waziristan, this might help explain how he shot 14 times from his hand held automatic gun without missing once, it looks like he was trained to shoot. On the net someone has found his picture shaking hands with Gen. Hameed Gul…Oh my God! what will happen now?..I am surfing the screens of Fox, CBS, CNN America (from Atlanta & not from London), NYPD is coming under pressure, Prof David Shapioro, from Harvard Law School just explained that diplomatic immunity does not hold in this case, it has never been tested to that level, no diplomat ever murdered in this country, and is never that strong for Consular or Technical staff anyway, Tom Friedman and Steve Cohen furiously told an anchor person that this proves what they always feared: Al Qaeda connection with ISI, Farid Zakria also accepted that he always under-estimated the risk from Pakistan. Indian Foreign minister who was on a prior engagement in Washington DC is about to hold a press briefing at the Indian Embassy in DC…..he is probably going to speak about Mumbai & 26/11…some investment bankers and gold traders are also advising that poster boy, David Cameron, to issue some kind of statement that can benefit British commercial interests in South Asia…
 
Don’t worry! Fortunately this has’nt happened, only the reverse has happened, a US Consular Officer in Lahore, Raymond Davis, has shot 14 times and killed two motorcyclists and a Consular vehicle that came to rescue him later killed another pedestrian. Police believes Raymond is telling the truth and only truth, how could they not? foreign office babus disclosed that Raymond will be exported away by the US Embassy in a day or two, there is no other option, this is how it works. Don’t worry! this is no big shit, we are all safe. And this is where we are wrong. Unless we understand the dynamics of mass politics we get more unsafe with every incident that exposes these double standards. We are facing a different kind of wrath, because the country we live, an ocean of humanity of 180 million watches, hears, breathes into this contradiction day in and day out and this makes them angry, and their anger causes instability. They think we the liberals, ruling politicians, civil military bureaucracy, the columnists in English papers are all pieces of shameless shit, devoid of self-respect. They end up connecting events like Aafiya Siddiqi, Drone Attacks, Aimal Kansi, Black Water, Denuclearization of Pakistan, Bhutto hanging and what not, event that are obviously not connected…and should not be, but this is how public collective mind and narrative works, unfortunately it also works the same way in the US and rest of the world…
 
Many American friends have often wondered why there is so much anti-Americanism in Pakistan? though I think the term anti-Americanism is over blown, an exaggeration, a misnomer, and whatever it represents is almost similar to the kind of feeling US print and media generates about Pakistanis within the US itself and you don’t have to do much to feel that; just read New York Times for a few days…but lets accept for a moment that what Pakistanis suffer is an anti-Americanism..I will argue that this so called anti-Americanism is directly proportionate to the stooge mentality of the ruling civil military bureaucracy and the ruling elites in Islamabad, this is a result of the asymmetrical relationship between the US and Pakistan in which the Pakistani public sees that its governing elites are never able to orchestrate and echo what they feel; in a globalizing world where geographical sovereignty increasingly amounts to little this feeling of helplessness is akin to the subjugation people felt in the days of colonization, the post colonial Indian intellectuals and political class fashioned an elevated rhetoric and practiced policies that helped them to grow beyond that helplessness, for Pakistani public, with its servile civil military bureaucracy, it never ended…today this lingering saga is the single biggest cause of anti-west and anti-American feelings…
 
And many who pose as liberals, fail both Pakistanis and the Americans when they hesitate in speaking the truth, friendship exists only when one can explain and contribute to better understanding. This is one such moment, a difficult moment, for Pakistani governments,ruling politicians and their allies, media and off-course for the US Consulate in Lahore and for the embassy in Islamabad. They need to understand that every action helps create a consciousness. Death of two common citizens may not be much of an event, for accidents and tragedies abound, but for the symbolism involved and its effects on collective psyche they need to tread carefully. It is quite possible that Raymond Davis is speaking the truth, and the two boys in Lahore- Faizan and Faheem – were indeed robbers who were making threatening gestures, and it is true that diplomatic immunity if insisted by a state has no limits, yet in the larger interest of US-Pakistan relations, trust and stability in this region, it is important that facts be diligently checked and counter checked. Does self defense justifies shooting 14 times? why all or most shots have penetrated from the back? Had these boys doing such acts before? were they really returning from a court proceeding and carrying a gun because of family feud as their families claim? Could Raymond have erred in his judgment? could he have panicked because of the impressions in his own mind? What kinds of weapons US diplomats carry inside Pakistani cities? What was Raymond’s exact role in Pakistan,since this James Bond style shooter hardly fits the description of a standard State Dept diplomat? …could the security of US diplomats be improved through better coordination with Pakistani security agencies rather than arming them like Rambos on Pakistani streets? with a double license to kill? these are difficult and painful questions but important especially since many of us have raised them in the past, and I have posted clips of interviews when Hamid Mir asked Hillary Clinton and earlier I asked Anne Patterson similar question on the same issues, to this day Pakistani government and the US Embassy has failed to clarify but now it may be the time to take stock of this situation…and the larger risks….
 
Due Process is an essential part of American value system, it must be respected here; it will look ugly, unbearable and politically expensive, if two weeks down the time line Raymond Davis is found relaxing with his girl friend on the coast of Florida or selling his bravado story to Rolling Stone…”How American marine stared in the eyes of the death & shot his way out?”…let us write a new chapter in US-Pakistan relations that can inspire trust for future and stability…I hope so! I am a dreamer!

Dr.Moeed Pirzada

Director World Affairs
Dunya News, Pakistan
Ph: +9251-2821345

By Afshan Bangash

The bitter truth of Pakistan today is not just about a battle between religious extremists and moderates but also about a terrifying hidden conflict between ‘haves’ and ‘havenots’ or rather ‘have-nothings’ and ‘have-everythings’.
 
Affluence often breeds liberal temperaments. Deprivation and poverty always breeds extremism. The brutal class-divides in Pakistani society have gradually prompted large sections of general public to embrace religion as an exclusive means of attaining any authority, if at all, against the feudal lords and wealthy elite who receive prizes of government positions to rule over people. Apart from the flamboyant wealth of these feudal lords and elite, their disrespect for the public values is a constant source of resentment among the suffering masses.
 
So what really killed Salman Taseer? Extravagance of his lavish Western life-style, or his utter dismissal of the values and beliefs of the poverty stricken-Pakistani  masses, the multimillionaire political leaders rule down on? When Taseer’s opponents mounted a campaign against him by releasing family pictures to the media, in which the family appeared partying, they not only successfully aimed at exposing Taseer’s ‘waywardness’ and ‘un-Islamic’ ways but also managed to fiercely enrage the sentiments of millions.
 
Pakistan’s elite have learnt through a number of incidents in the near past, that armed guards can be even more dangerous than any outside predator. The “have-nothings” in the uniforms and armed with modern weapons, being close witnesses to the extravagant, high-priced lifestyles of the “have-everythings” may become extremely envious and resentful and seek to find the justification of such emotions in the interpretations of religious teachings.  This also explains why even a section of the middle-class educated elite is unwilling to blatantly oppose the controversial aspects of blasphemy law which is evident from the showering of rose petals by a section of lawyers, when Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of Salman Taseer, was brought to the court. There is a thin line between the emotion of envy and rage and religious extremism is sometimes the only way out for the deprived when these two emotions merge.
So who really killed Taseer?  The creators of Pakistan’s first Constitution 1956, who declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic deviating from Quide-e-Azam’s vision of Pakistan reflected in his address to the constituent Assembly August 11, 1947. Or the democratic Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who, for his own political gain, went further, declaring Islam as the state religion under 1973 constitution and making it illegal for Ahmedis to describe themselves as Muslims. Or the Aamir e Aazam Zia-ul-Haq, who mandated harsh punishments for blasphemous individuals putting the vulnerable sections of society such as women and religious minorities at risk of abuse.  Or the twice elected PM Nawaz Shareef, who proved himself and his party to be the last nail in the coffin of religious tolerance and sanity by strengthening a law which is wide open to abuse where hearsay can be conveniently used to get some one convicted.
 
Another contributor appears to be the Pakisatni media. As the demon of hatred and extremism eats away on the conscience of Pakistani society, the media is showing a clear tilt toward the Right. Certain Media sections aired declaratory edicts inciting murder and mayhem and gave significant coverage to the so-called religious leaders, publicly offering suparis to murder the allegedly blasphemous Aasia Bibi. By doing so, these media sections made themselves a party to the culpability of mullahs. The champions of truth in news media were heard condoning Taseer’s murder in the name of religion. 
 
It is worrisome to see how the ultra-conservative Deoband leadership, collaborated by the Barelvi clerics were able to bring tens and thousands of people on to the streets during the months of December 2010 and January 2011, getting disproportionate coverage on almost all the TV channels.
 
The prime contributor in Taseer’s killing remains the PPP led government is the dealt with the threats made to kill their own Governor in Punjab with criminal negligence. Mr Babar Awan, the Federal Minister for Justice, stated on an occassion that he did not have any intention to support any amendments to the Blasphemy laws, the cause his colleague Taseer stood up for.  Just a few days before his ghastly murder, Taseer had to complain that the government was “not willing to face the religious fanaticism head on.”  The voices like Atta-ur-Rehman, the minister of tourism, got stronger who was heard last month describing the Taliban as “true followers of Islamic ideology.”
 
Although the ecstasy of power Pakistani elite experience is understandable but it must not be displayed in vulgar ways.  The high-priced lifestyles often dismiss the religious and moral values shared by the people of this war-poverty-flood-hunger-disease-stricken bankrupt nation.  Refraining from dismissal of those values publicly was, certainly, not a very heavy a price for attaining governorship of the country’s biggest province.     Expenditures of Presidency, the PM house, the alleged £2m Harrods furnishings, the Bruno Magli suits, chartered plane for a diner with Angelina Jolie, the imported-and-later-disapproved Siberian leopards, or the 27, 000$ dollar Atlantis Palm Jameirah wedding bills did not provoke a Qadri to gun-down a leader.  Qadri needed a religious excuse, the singular authority he believed he still had against the ruling elite living an enviably lavish and resentfully ‘un-Islamic’ life.
Pakistani media should think about giving a proportionate coverage to the enlightened and moderate sections of society instead of cashing on the disproportionate coverage of the hate-mongers announcing head-moneys and issuing fatwas of death. 

 
Most importantly, the practice of using religion for political gain prevalent in the country since 1956 must end now. Pakistani authorities, present as well as for the years to come will have to realise that no amount of security will work, when the extremist mindsets and factors that nurture them continue to be tolerated. Until the state takes firm action against the hate campaigns, many more Qadris will spring up to kill anyone who dares to tread the path of agreeing to disagree, saying what must be said and doing what must be done.

By Afshan Bangash
 
The bitter truth of Pakistan today is not just about a battle between religious extremists and moderates but also about a terrifying conflict between ‘have-nothings’ and ‘have-everythings’. So what really killed Salman Taseer? Extravagance of his lavish Western life-style, or his utter dismissal of the values and beliefs of the poverty stricken-Pakistani  masses, the multimillionaire political leaders rule down on?
 
Affluence often breeds liberal temperaments. Deprivation and poverty always breeds extremism. The brutal class-divides in Pakistani society have gradually prompted large sections of general public to embrace religion as an exclusive means of attaining any authority, if at all, against the feudal lords and wealthy elite who receive prizes of government positions to rule over people. Apart from the flamboyant wealth of these feudal lords and elite, their disrespect for the public values is a constant source of resentment among the suffering masses. When Taseer’s opponents mounted a campaign against him by releasing family pictures to the media, in which the family appeared partying, they not only successfully aimed at exposing Taseer’s ‘waywardness’ and ‘un-Islamic’ ways but also managed to fiercely enrage the sentiments of millions.
 
Pakistan’s elite have learnt through a number of incidents in the near past, that armed guards can be even more dangerous than any outside predator. The “have-nothings” in the uniforms and armed with modern weapons, being close witnesses to the extravagant, high-priced lifestyles of the “have-everythings” may become extremely envious and resentful and seek to find the justification of such emotions in the interpretations of religious teachings.  This also explains why even a section of the middle-class educated elite is unwilling to blatantly oppose the controversial aspects of blasphemy law which is evident from the showering of rose petals by a section of lawyers, when Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of Salman Taseer, was brought to the court. There is a thin line between the emotion of envy and rage and religious extremism is sometimes the only way out for the deprived when these two emotions merge.
So who really killed Taseer?  The creators of Pakistan’s first Constitution 1956, who declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic deviating from Quide-e-Azam’s vision of Pakistan reflected in his address to the constituent Assembly August 11, 1947. Or the democratic Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who, for his own political gain, went further, declaring Islam as the state religion under 1973 constitution and making it illegal for Ahmedis to describe themselves as Muslims. Or the Aamir e Aazam Zia-ul-Haq, who mandated harsh punishments for blasphemous individuals putting the vulnerable sections of society such as women and religious minorities at risk of abuse.  Or the twice elected PM Nawaz Shareef, who proved himself and his party to be the last nail in the coffin of religious tolerance and sanity by strengthening a law which is wide open to abuse where hearsay can be conveniently used to get some one convicted.

 
Another contributor appears to be the Pakisatni media. As the demon of hatred and extremism eats away on the conscience of Pakistani society, the media is showing a clear tilt toward the Right. Certain Media sections aired declaratory edicts inciting murder and mayhem and gave significant coverage to the so-called religious leaders, publicly offering suparis to murder the allegedly blasphemous Aasia Bibi. By doing so, these media sections made themselves a party to the culpability of mullahs. The champions of truth in news media were heard condoning Taseer’s murder in the name of religion. 
 
It is worrisome to see how the ultra-conservative Deoband leadership, collaborated by the Barelvi clerics were able to bring tens and thousands of people on to the streets during the months of December 2010 and January 2011, getting disproportionate coverage on almost all the TV channels.
 
The prime contributor in Taseer’s killing remains the PPP led government is the dealt with the threats made to kill their own Governor in Punjab with criminal negligence. Mr Babar Awan, the Federal Minister for Justice, refused amendments to the Blasphemy laws, his colleague Taseer stood up for.  Just a few days before his ghastly murder, Taseer had to complain that the government was “not willing to face the religious fanaticism head on.”  The voices like Atta-ur-Rehman, the minister of tourism, got stronger who was heard last month describing the Taliban as “true followers of Islamic ideology.”
 
Although the ecstasy of power Pakistani elite experience is understandable but it must not be displayed in vulgar ways.  The high-priced lifestyles often dismiss the religious and moral values shared by the people of this war-poverty-flood-hunger-disease-stricken bankrupt nation.  Refraining from dismissal of those values publicly was, certainly, not a very heavy a price for attaining governorship of the country’s biggest province.     Expenditures of Presidency, the PM house, the alleged £2m Harrods furnishings, the Bruno Magli suits, chartered plane for a diner with Angelina Jolie, the imported-and-later-disapproved Siberian leopards, or the 27, 000$ dollar Atlantis Palm Jameirah wedding bills did not provoke a Qadri to gun-down a leader.  Qadri needed a religious excuse, the singular authority he believed he still had against the ruling elite living an enviably lavish and resentfully ‘un-Islamic’ life.
Pakistani media should think about giving a proportionate coverage to the enlightened and moderate sections of society instead of cashing on the disproportionate coverage of the hate-mongers announcing head-moneys and issuing fatwas of death. 

 
Most importantly, the practice of using religion for political gain prevalent in the country since 1956 must end now. Pakistani authorities, present as well as for the years to come will have to realise that no amount of security will work, when the extremist mindsets and factors that nurture them continue to be tolerated. Until the state takes firm action against the hate campaigns, many more Qadris will spring up to kill anyone who dares to tread the path of agreeing to disagree, saying what must be said and doing what must be done.
 
The End

Seminar – The Assassination of the Governor Punjab and the Context of Blasphemy Law. Date: 12th Jan 2011 (Wednesday) Time: 7pm Location: Room G3, Russell Square Building, SOAS School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London Thornhaugh Street, London WC1H 0XG Note: This event is free and open to all. After the recent barbaric assassination of Salman Taseer, the Governor of Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab – Pakistan is again standing at a crossroad. Salman Taseer’s crime: To show support to Aasia Bibi – a victim of the Blasphemy law. He was in support of efforts to get her pardoned by the President of Pakistan, whilst also supporting/suggested changes in the implementation of the law, which at times has been used for the wrongful victimisation of religious minorities. SOAS Pakistan Society is holding a talk/seminar in the wake of this tragic event and we are honoured to have the following panel. SPEAKERS: Dr. Tahir Kamran Iqbal Chair, University of Cambridge Former Head of History Department, Government College Lahore. He has worked on extremism and terrorism. Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed Jinnah Chair, University of Oxford An academic and prolific writer on security issues in South Asia and politics of the Muslim world. Dr Tahir Wasti PhD in Law, SOAS He worked on Islamic law in his PhD. The development of Islamic law and its application in the Muslim world. Prof. Asad Ali Social Anthropology, Harvard University He covered blasphemy issue in his PhD at Chicago University Title: ‘Adjudicating Muslims: Law, Religion and the State in Colonial India & Post-Colonial Pakistan.’

Contact: Sheharyar Khan (President) 07403167905

Amir Ali Khan (General Secretary) 07888756837 Email: soaspaksoc2010@gmail.com

by Faarigh Jazbati

ایک اہم پہلو جو عام طور پر نظر انداز اور فراموش کر دیا جاتا ہے وہ فوجیوں کی عوامی، سیاسی، خارجہ،  تزویراتی اور قومی سلامتی کے معاملات میں ان کی خاموش مداخلت کو قبول کرنا ہے . یہ خاموش مداخلت کئی طریقوں سے ہوتی ہے ، کچھ توبراہ راست فوج کی طرف سے ہوتی ہے ، کچھ سیاسی حلقوں کی غیر ارادی دعوت کی وجہ سے ہوتی ہے اور کچھ ٹی وی کے سیاسی پروگراموں کے میزبانوں کی نا سمجھی ، بے عقلی اور سیاسی بھولپن کی وجہ سے ہے.
آج میرا موضوع سیاسی پروگراموں کے میزبانوں کے سیاسی نا پختہ پن کی بات کرنا ہے. آیا یہ جان بوجھ کر ہے، بھولپن کی وجہ سے ہے یا یوسف کے پردے میں زلیخا بول  رہی ہے اسکا فیصلہ میں آپ سب پر چھوڑتا ہوں.

چلیں اور کیا پہیلیاں بھجوانا ، میرا مدعا آج سیاسی پروگراموں میں ریٹایرڈ فوجی جرنیلوں کی بطور مہمان تبصرہ نگار کے بلانے سے ہے . ہر دوسرے پروگرام میں ان چلے ہوئے کارتوسوں کو تبصرے اور راۓ دینے کیلئے بلا لیا جاتا ہے. پروگرام چاہے خارجہ امور پر ہو یا انٹللجینس معاملات پر، غیر ملکی مداخلت پر ہو یا دہشت گردی پر، قومی سلامتی کے امور پر ہو یا ریاستی اداروں کے آپسی تعلقات پر، تزویراتی معاملات ہوں یا عدالتی معاملات  ، یہ نام نہاد فوجی ماہرین اپنی گھسی پٹی راۓ اور تبصرہ دینے کیلئے ہر پروگرام میں موجود ہوتے ہیں. خاص طور پر وہ ماہرین جن کے تجربات اور خیالوں کی پرواز ہی اس حالت اور مشکلات  میں پھنسنے کی وجہ تسمیہ ہے. ہمیں کب ماضی میں ان کے تجربات سے فائدہ پہنچا ہے جو اب ان سے مستفید ہوں .
اگر ہم بی بی سی ، سی این این ، سکائی نیوز ، فوکس نیوز وغیرہ کا مشاہدہ کریں تو معلوم ہو گا کہ ان ٹی وی چینلز نے خارجہ امور، قومی سلامتی، انٹلیجنس ، تزویراتی معاملات اور حتیٰ کہ خالص فوجی معاملات پر بھی غیر فوجی ماہرین کو بھرتی کیا ہوا ہے، یہ یا تو ان کے اپنے ماہرین  ہوتے ہیں یا  مختلف تھنک ٹینک سے منسلک ماہرین ہوتے ہیں اور اپنے اپنے حلقہ عمل کے ماہر ہوتے ہے  .مثال کے طور پر اگر بی بی سی کے نیوز نائٹ پروگرام کو دیکھیں تومیزبان  جرمی پکسمین سفارتی اور خارجہ امور پر عمومَا مارک اربن کوراۓ دینے کیلئے بلاتا ہے جو کہ خود  بی بی سی نیوز کا ملازم ہے.  ضرورت پڑنے پر ان ماہرین سے راۓ لی جاتی ہے اور ریٹایرڈ فوجی حضرات کوصرف اشد ضرورت پڑنے پر ہی بلایا جاتا ہے . ٹی وی چینلز کے اپنے ماہرین ضرورت پڑنے پرنا صرف ان معاملات میں قومی راھنمائی کا فریضہ انجام دیتے ہیں اور راۓ عامہ کو ریاستی حکمت عملی سے ہم آہنگ کرتے ہیں بلکہ مشکل حالات میں ریاستی کارروائی نامے کو آگے بھی بڑھاتے ہیں. یہ ریاستی اداروں کو بیجا تنقید اور غیر ضروری دباؤ سے بھی بچاتے ہیں اور ایک بفر کا کام کرتے ہیں. یہ غیر فوجی لوگ عوام الناس  کو اطمینان تسلّی اور اعتماد بھی بخشتے ہیں کہ ان کے معاملات اور ریاستی امور خالص پیشہ وارانہ ، قابل، اہل اور عوامی لوگوں کے ہاتھ میں ہیں اور وہ عمدہ اور صحیح طور پر ان سے عھدہ براہ بھی ہو سکتے ہیں اور ہو رہے ہیں.

اس سلسلے میں سب سے اہم ذمہ داری سیاسی جماعتوں  پر عائد ہوتی ہے کہ ہر وقت فوجی مداخلت فوجی مداخلت کا رونا پیٹنا چھوڑ کر کچھ عملی کام بھی کریں . سیاسی جماعتوں کو چاہیے کہ ان تمام حکومتی اور ریاستی امور پر تھنک ٹینک قائم کریں اور اپنے اراکین اسمبلی اور عام سیاسی کارکنوں کی ان امور پر تربیت کریں تا کہ وہ بھی ان معاملات کو سمجھیں اور ان کے بارے میں راۓ قائم کر سکیں اور راۓ دے سکیں . یہ بات ہییت مقتدرہ کے اس پروپیگنڈہ کا بھی مونہہ توڑ جواب ہو گا کہ عوام اور سیاسی قیادت ان امور سے نا واقف، نابلد اور نااہل ہے اور ان پر ان معاملات میں بھروسہ نہیں کیا جا سکتا.

آخر میں ایک گزارش اور استدعا ٹی وی چنلز سے عمومی طور پر اور پروگرام میزبانوں سے خصوصی طور پر کہ وہ سیاسی جماعتوں کے اوپر بھی پروگرام کریں اور ان سے یہ سوالات کریں کہ وہ عوام کی سیاسی اور ان امور پر تربیت کرنے کیلئے کیا کچھ کر رہی ہیں ، ان مختلف معاملات پر ان کے پاس کون کون سے ماہرین ہیں ،ان کا ماہرانہ پس منظر کیا ہے تا کہ عوام کو بھی تو پتہ چلے کے کون سی سیاسی جماعت کتنے پانی  میں ہے. اور سب سے اہم بات،  جب ان امور پر بات کرنی ہو تو سیاسی جماعتوں سے اصرارکریں کہ کسی ایرے غیرے کو بھی بات کرنے کیلئےبھیجنے کی بجاۓ  اس  شعبے کا ماہر بھیجیں اور اس کا  تعارف اس شعبے کے ماہر  کے طور پر کروائیں اور عوام کو پتا چلے کہ یہ سیاسی جماعت ان امور سے کتنی واقف ہے اور ان کا وسعت علم کتنا ہے اور ان کی فکری گہرائی کتنی ہے

.  سیاسی جماعتوں کو مجبور کریں کہ ان مختلف امور ( یعنی  خارجہ، تزویراتی، قومی سلامتی، سفارتی، انٹلیجنس، اقتصادیت ، دہشت گردی ،غیر ملکی مداخلت وغیرہم  ) پر علیحدہ علیحدہ  لوگ مقرر کریں اور جو  جماعتیں ایسا نا کریں ان کو کھل کر بےنقاب کریں اور عوام کو بتائیں کہ یہ نا اہل لوگ ہیں اور ان کا مقصد صرف لوٹ مار اور عوام کو بے وقوف بنانا ہے .

فوجی حضرات کو ٹی وی کی سکرین سے چلتا کریں اور ہم بھی تو دیکھیں ان کے بغیر ٹی وی کے پروگرام کتنے اچھے لگتے ہیں.

by Faarigh Jazbati

Iftekhar A. Khan
The US is surreptitiously seeking Saudi help to negotiate with the ‘good’ Taliban in Afghanistan. After eight years, $243 billion sunk (John Kerry’s estimate), thousands of Afghans massacred, and hundreds of US-led NATO troops killed, where does the war stand? What is the compelling need to change the strategy when Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda cohorts have been neither captured nor liquidated which was the sole objective to invade the sovereign state. Many among the ‘coalition of the willing’ battling in Afghanistan have either withdrawn their troops or given deadlines to pull out of the black hole. Despite this, the western governments have been deluding their populations into believing that the Taliban would target them, if their troops withdrew. It’s far from the truth. Afghans are an insular nation; they have always lived within their own boundaries and pursued their centuries old lifestyle. Neither do they interfere with their neighbours not to talk of targeting the West thousands of miles apart.
Having suffered hugely in men and taxpayers’ dollars, one of the options US now contemplates is to negotiate with the Taliban instead of sending more troops, as demanded by General Stanley McChrystal. Certainly, the dilemma of the military generals is that they don’t want to live with the stigma of defeat. And when they anticipate one coming, they always quote shortage of either troops or equipment. However, often there is no dearth of either; what is lacking is the willingness to take human losses – the body bags. United Kingdom has despatched only 500 more troops, while France has refused to send any. “Will not send one more soldier,” said French President Sarkozy, yet insisting that the war must go on. If the Afghan war is for a good cause, why not send more soldiers, Mr President? Zibignew Brensisky, former US national security adviser, has suggested hiring “native forces instead of deploying own troops.” Mind you, “native forces” to kill the natives – a ploy frequently employed by the white world.

While bullish military generals demand for more troops, their civilian counterparts advise against it. Even the hawkish Defence Secretary, Roberts Gates, is weighing the strategy of compromise with the Taliban. Conceivably, the US is on the verge of losing the war in Afghanistan, hence the furtive moves to negotiate with the ‘good’ Taliban. However, the problem is how to distinguish between the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ Taliban, as both share the common goal of ridding their country of the occupation forces.
Anyway, when the US considers negotiating with the Taliban, it will exert immense pressure on us (Pakistan) against making peace agreements with the tribesmen in FATA. But what is good for the imperialist power may not be good for us. Undoubtedly, we are bearing the brunt of the war in the tribal areas as elucidated by an editorial published in this newspaper on November 14: “Destabilising of the country is progressing as designed by our external detractors and their local supporters which must be a matter of serious concern for the nation.” Who are the external detractors and who are their local supporters is the question that needs to be answered.
The US-led NATO forces might quit Afghanistan without facing long-term consequences because western powers neither share common boundaries nor religious ties with the Afghan people. But our situation is different. We share common heritage and religion with the tribesmen in FATA who have been part and parcel of the nation. What would be the point to change policy, which we will have to, after we had suffered death and destruction? Therefore, shift in policy as advised is the only way out.
The writer is a freelance columnist. Email:pinecity@gmail.com