US presence in Pakistan – reality and myth

Recently, there’s been a lot of US involvement into the region, particularly ever since Pakistan’s recent chapter on counter-insurgency started. There have been rumors of US presence, not only of officials but security personnel too, but it had been denied vehemently by the Pakistan government.

However, as time elapses, several of these rumors are starting to find ground, both at home and abroad. This is rather bad since this only affirms that there’s a lot going on behind the scenes which the government is either not ready to confide the masses with or simply lacks the courage to do so.

The blackwater issue is one example for that case. The Pakistani officials and US embassy both have been actively and explicitly denying the presence of this private security company in Pakistan ever since the rumors surfaced. In fact, the famed Rehman Malik went as far as to saying that he’d resign if such a claim is substantiated. However, a piece in ‘The Nation’ done by Jeremy Scahill pretty much changed things as he provided solid citations to Blackwater’s presence in Pakistan. Although there’s no official admission on the issue as of yet, the army has defended this move with apologetic tones, albeit subtle in actually accepting the charge.

Another thing that has been bugging me is that there’s been a lot of movement of US embassy personnel and vehicles in many major cities. While few of such movements have been intercepted by the police and the army, one can only wonder how much of it goes unnoticed. What’s strikingly similar in nearly all of these interceptions is that the ‘foreigners’ in these vehicles either carry fake identities or drive in cars with fake registration numbers and are nearly always rescued quickly by the embassy officials.

In the most recent of such happening, the embassy personnel were intercepted in Lahore where they were driving in a car with fake registration number.

“Police sources said the vehicle had a fake registration number of Karachi. However, US Consulate officials again intervened and took the vehicle and its occupants with them, without letting the security personnel search them, they added.”

Which also means that whatever it is, the US embassy is totally into it and won’t allow it’s personnel or vehicles be searched. The pieces of news further says:

“It was third incident in a week in the city when security agencies intercepted vehicles owned by US Consulate.”

What is disturbing is that the serious media outlets have not yet taken to issue rather seriously and are, for now, giving it only a passing importance in the bigger picture. However, considering the times we live in, it certainly can’t be ruled out as a mere co-incidence and investigations must look into the exact intent or plans of US embassy in Pakistan.

And so must be done before our internal peace is expended on the chess board of international interests.

Media – a false hope?

Democracy has been without much luck in Pakistan ever since the Partition. So often has it been derailed and resumed over time that a major faction even doubts it to be viable enough a solution for this nation of some seventeen million mortals. And perhaps not without reason.

A lot has already been said and read over the contributing factors to such democratic anarchy that has marred the hopes of this ‘land of pure.’ For long, the verdict has rested upon external influences on or interferences into the political setup, primarily that of the army. And of course, white house signals often concluding the democratic battles here also make a fine issue for public debate, not quite without logic and historical evidence to it.

However, such theories, prophecies and proclamations regarding the failure to sustain a democratic political outfit have been as diverse as they can be – and as dissenting. And one may not be surprised if an obdurate despondency is expressed as to the fate of democracy in Pakistan. Nevertheless, there’s been hope of late and that hope came from none but the two solid pillars that constitute the state – judiciary and the media.

To use a frank flavor, the judiciary rather arose out of a notorious anonymity when Mr. Musharraf stroke at the heart of it – the moment was decisive in that it paved the future, or the immediate future, of the power of judiciary in national affairs and the role it was to play in them. A fine final settlement, of course, with the eventual restoration of the deposed Chief Justice, thus surrendering to the will of the masses and black coats.  For now, it seems that judiciary is at least playing a far better role that our national history has formerly assumed to it. And one can only hope that this state of affairs improves with time.

Coming to the other column, I feel bit too overwhelmed. Such has been the bumpy ride of the national media that one is quite appalled at a first glance. Back in the days of PTV supremacy, things were as simple as they could have been, with the only channel being a spokesperson of the government. It simply was a tool to propagate the official policies and the viewers were doomed to an hourly ‘hakomat-nama.’ However, amid other things, media freedom and a gift of many new channels and FM stations, we do owe to Mr. Musharraf.

The inception of such freedom of air waves remarked an entire new era in the journalism of Pakistan. Hopes were high and the change was a grand one in that it allowed viewers to have a different taste of things, apart from the official flavor. This, consequently, ingrained more realism and less officially-spewed idealism into the minds of common masses. Things started to clear and facts really were brought to light.

However, ever since the inception of this new medium, the new-found freedom media had gained also contained a darker side. And that of course was the notorious use of this liberty of expression. Well was it put to use during the movement to reinstall CJ and the entailing lawyers’ movement. And the civil mobility only triggered further by watching displays of activism through private TV channels’ coverage. In a post-Musharraf era, things really have change a lot. Both media and judiciary emerged triumphant and to both, was finally given the power to do what they were to.

Sadly though, it is unfortunate to note that media went on to misuse this power greatly. While ideological alignment is one thing and none can deny that right to a media outlet. A newspaper or a media outlet me be leftist, rightist, centrist or liberal, whatever it chooses to be. However, at the same time, this shouldn’t rip that particular organization of reporting the truth and giving rational analysis. Being rightist, then, doesn’t mean to look from all the vile acts of the right-wing organizations and being left doesn’t mean the same for the left. In fact, media is a tool of the society to reprimand those who cross the line and if that doesn’t help, instigate the public to take a stand against them – but even in that, the media is bound to base everything upon facts and facts alone.

When we look to the TV channels at home, we’re rather astounded to find the regular straying from this doctrine. Conspiracy theories are the most popular notion to capture the audiences with and facts barely find any space in the prevalent media culture. It’s all the more sad since this gives birth to many different views, all based in empty air and none on solid ground, and some of them being capable of resulting in drastic consequences.

Take, for instance, the Lal Masjid episode. While before the operation against the LM brigade, media kept insisting for such an operation. Even when knowing the stats and having done its arithmetic on number of students within that facility, media persuaded the government for such an operation. And when the inevitable, both in the form of the operation and bloodshed, happened, media was all cries. Is it not a clear hypocrisy on the part of the media?

Same stands true for the recent saga of terrorism who’s reign is stretched all across our nation. Watch as many channels you may, you barely ever hear a categorical declaration of the fact that Talibans are the ones doing it all. Media anchors, the guest that are called to a show and the final verdict, all are heavily clouded with conspiracy theories, with no evidence or sane logic to it. And the result, as is obvious, is that the public too largely dwells in this mood of pretension and denial. While media would have been a very effective tool in making people realize their mistake in the sympathies they formerly extended to Taliban, it’s playing a diametrically opposite role.

While that’s on issue, media also has recently earned notoriety for taking things personal against certain personnel. For now, it’s the President against whom a channel has simply launched a campaign. I am no fan of Mr. Zardari and my sympathies certainly go to better fellow but the fact is, without any proof, the leveling of so extensive an opposition against the president is simply the result of his criticism of this very channel, which in itself is famous for media maneuvers and has a rather well-bred brigade of conspiracy theorists.

What remains for us to wonder, then, is that who is to stop them? It’s also a simple, calculated fact that money, resources or political will or all three could affect both the policy and reporting of a private TV channel. And that should be a state concern since a private channel having it’s bearing upon a considerable number of viewers is something to be looked to. This then brings us down to the media ordinance which drew a lot of debate through all media watchdogs and opposition from nearly all of them. The saner outlets favored such an ordinance only when it really did a watching over without barring the freedom of expression or speech in any way. And that’s exactly what we need today.

We need such media regulations which may watch out for any political-motivated or monetary influence exerted upon any media channel to direct its energies in a certain direction. Of course that can’t be implemented without the judiciary and it has to be an active aid in this regard. Moreover, the media also need be reminded that it’s a fact-finding machine of the society, not one which may shape people’s opinions through its own ‘expert analysis.’ That, in itself, is a violation of media’s duties – more so when based entirely  upon assumptions and theories.

Revising our counter-insurgency strategy

As the fire moves to our homes, nearer with each passing day, I see that we are all starting to view things rather differntly. It’s different to see a bomb blast news on tv and hear it shake your very abode by going off in a nearby locality. The today’s hell was Multan where my sister and toddler nephews were rattled in their houses as the blast on an army building, (which I am told happens also to contain ISI offices) in Multan cantt took place. Twelve people lost their lives, including a majority of the civilians with eighteen wounded.

The question that resurfaces now is that is the operation alone the solution? And for that case, even a viable one? If we are able to handle a part, even a majority (since eliminating them all is virtually impossible) of Talibans at the cost of turning a larger part of Pakistan’s metropolis to rubbles, is this cause worth this price??? And well….it seems absurd to me that Taliban can take on such well-organized attacks within ultra-high-security zones. The current, prevalent explanations and analysis are starting to fall short and incomplete – we need new answers and sounder analysis to continue to chase this ghost of Taliban and need to devise a strategy in their light.

With each passing day, I feel the conviction that we are winning wavering – in fact, the recent happenings even put to question the former opinion I firmly adhered to, namely that we can really win war merely through a military solution. It rather seems impractical to me to claim the possibility of eliminating such terrorists who hide among all throughout the country and where our intelligence has totally failed to counter them effectively enough.

It’s about time we thought over a two-pronged strategy. If this hell could be put an end to, by simply stopping the operation, it sure is worth it. It indeed the conviction to end them is true, they would surely end in time. The masses, me and you and everyone out there really has learned a lesson. We have learned that few false mistakes breed such Frankensteins which then bath us in days of blood and death. And surely, very surely, we’d be far more careful with breeding such militans in the coming years.

The bottom line is: gaining peace with none alive to cherish it is barely a cause worth! And so, the current policy of countering this insurgency needs to be revised.

The reign of terror



Despite all the security measures, the terrorists have attacked yet again killing some 40 people, including 5 senior army officers and 10 innocent kids and wounding some 80. Among the dead army officers, there’s a major general, a brigadier, 2 Lt-colonels and a major. Former vice chief of army staff, General Yousaf is also among the critically injured.

This particular attack seems far more sophisticated than previous one in that  the terrorists, defying the security at the main entrance, sought entrance by scaling the walls of the mosque and landing in the middle of praying people. They then launched the attack with grenades and guns, leashing death on the worshiping men.

The attack comes after government’s upping of security measures in nearly all military sites and sneers in the face of such measures.

The most disturbing phenomenon is the express denial cited by a majority of Pakistanis – they simply refuse to accept the fact that it’s the same Taliban killing their innocents, who were orchestrated as ‘good’ some time back as an official policy and which our mainstream media people have been very reluctant to criticize. And well…even now, the ‘pop’ news channels have quite failed to assume a responsible role over the issue. The conspiracy theorizing continues unabated and criticism of Taliban is little and if any, well coupled with anti-India, anti-Israel and anti-US rhetoric.

It is of course natural that we need here is an immediate opinion shift and that we are unable to achieve, considering the government propagation machine expended for years to convince us of the goodness of these very barbarians.

Such arrogant ignorance on the part of an average Pakistani is all the more dangerous when punjabi jihadi militants have joined ranks with Taliban and are apparently operating in collaboration with them. As Kalsoom Lakhani well cites it in her related post, so far no effective strategy has been devised by the government to tackle the Punjabi off-shoots of this saga of militancy. These off-shoots are the same factions which formerly were allowed, under the license of Jihad, to operate freely and even be funded and trained by the government. Seems like the two brethern, of Frankensteins, have joined hands. And while those in the distant lands are being looked to by the army, those at arm’s length continue with their saga of blood and terror quite successfully.

This is reinforced by the fact that such an organized attack, defying all security measures, would have been literally impossible without either an insider’s approach or someone very well aware with the local topography and security details. Considering the former close alliance between intelligence and punjabi jihadi factions, one can easily say that the latter would have an edge over the frontier brethren when it comes to circumventing security.

The most disinteresting, and rather disgusting part, is that of Rehman Malik. From giving empty statements against Taliban, he has suddenly switched the canons and now it’s India to be blamed. Of course, this is directly connected to the fact that government has evidently failed to counter the Taliban insurgency effectively and perhaps to grab public’s sympathies, which it certainly has lost in recent times, it has recurred back to the anti-India rhetoric. It’s sad to see Mr. Malik lamenting such claims without any proof cited so far to anyone since such pathetic attempts would further deteriorate the relations between the two neighboring nations, a bond which is very much needed to effectively thwart the Taliban factor. And which is essential for a peaceful future of both countries.

It also is needed for the government to give up the meaningless gibberish and concentrate on the actual foe which is at home and which’s well taking a grand toll off the lives of innocent Pakistanis.

The state-of-denial rhetoric

I’ve been following certain blogs and media outlets of late over the state of denial that currently prevails within Pakistan. And I must say that they are very right in citing over and over again that Pakistanis yet have to come all out and united against Taliban that are posing an imminent threat to their lives and homeland and that they ought to stop blaming the recent surge of terrorism upon conjured conspiracy theories proposing Indian/American/Israeli/etc involvement in everything that’s happening in Pakistan.

However, I strongly disagree with those blaming the masses entirely for this denial and buying all the crap NYT and similar papers write out there. While doing so, we totally forget the fact that the prevailing social mindset has been shaped over the decades, sometimes even with governmental backings and being an important part of official policy. And not to forget that the popular media has only reinforced the wrong perception of events, never really taking up the courage of going astray of their course of viewership-bumping policy, showing only what people want to see and not what the facts really are.

So, honestly, do we really think this would change overnight? The ‘labor’ of decades, can it really be washed away by a few vent-out columns and awareness-aimed documentaries? Barely so! It may well be a fantasy but the reality would be farthest from it.

It might be sad and unfortunate to note and know, but it’s true that there is simply NO short-term solution to Taliban’s terrorism. We may be able to drown the recent surge temporarily with military cleansing operations, but it’s sure to resurface in time unless we make long-term policies in combating this fundamentalism in our society. And those would be towards achieving better educational structure, more literacy rate and policies towards improving economic and educational conditions here. Unless we induce these changes into our highly polarized society, sadly heavily towards religious zealotry, we may well keep writing these notes and telling the world we are a bunch of idiots denying what’s killing our brethren but that would barely make a difference. Moving towards a workable, pragmatic solution may, however, bring a change and make some difference.

Making long-term investments for Pakistan

Before you start reading the post, I’d like you to view the literacy statistics at this page, http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=121&IF_Language=eng&BR_Country=5860

Over the decades and through the endless ordeals we have faced over time, our nation has steadily developed a last-minute quick-fix psychology. We breed us the most complicated problems over a hard work of years and just when it get to the zenith, getting the worst and bringing to our understanding the extreme bad of its consequences, we realize it’s time to end the game – and we resort to the hunt for miracle solutions. Rather, if I may put it more accurately, we do come up with many of them, making so much noise that the real problem and it’s possible solution are buried somewhere deep beneath – and the result is that we never really get to resolve the issue fine enough.

However, much though I regret to confess, we can’t afford to take such a chance with the Pakistan of today. As things stay from worst to worst and the endless series of suicide attacks continue their trail, most of the intellectuals that are to show us the way out sit on TV shows or write incessantly through their columns about the easy-go way of dealing with this entire saga of brutality and the issue of terrorism at who’s heart such off springs breed. Only, their solutions may be papyrus-selling, hope-evoking and lot more but pragmatic and workable. Their call to ‘unite’ and fight this war together, the urge to ‘give up former alignments’ and the hope that the populace may actually do so is nothing but, pardon me for swishing away all optimism, hogwash. And much to my dismay, I see the line of thought being rephrased over and over by the smartest of our writers, never really realizing the futility of their choice of options, contemplating the alternative which is a dysfunctional by default.

I believe I may have earned the wrath of most of my reader by now – however, I stand the right to be given an opportunity to explain myself. And so I shall. I must say its lot easier to sway with the journalistic wind and stay with the current. And had I done so, I’d have been conveniently telling of the reasons why we need to unite at the moment and that how exactly we may do so. Simple and perfect – optimistic, happy-ending and very inspiring. And yet I can’t stop myself from disagreeing with what I know is not really something valid enough to feed the readers with.

Getting to the point, and being plain crude, there is no immediate solution to terrorism in Pakistan. The military cleansing, high-alerts, mild civilian activism and a lot of noise from the media will only result in a slight toning down of the turmoil or perhaps even a temporary halt to that. We may all develop a hatred for the faction we know as Taliban eventually, even the religious ones may move over to the anti-Taliban camp. However, even with the extinction of the current breed of Taliban, and I hope the claim won’t be too startling, the issue barely would have been concluded.

The whole trouble, according to me, resides deep in two acute circumstances that prevail in our homeland: poverty and illiteracy. To the first, I may have rendered it alone the culprit for it all. However, a slight analysis wouldn’t permit me the liberty. To quote a quick piece of fact, world’s 50 or so poorest countries witness barely a fraction of the violence we see at hand. What’s more is that the modern-world equipment that needs be expended to terrorist ends has to be funded by larger fishes – and these are the rich guys with big pockets and deep sympathy to a cause which, according to the, the group they’re funding pursues. An example is the alleged aid from Arab Sheikhs for the ‘jihad’ happening around here and their past monetary aids for Kashmir jihad.

Therefore, it would be safe to state that though poverty does have a significant role in tending individuals within a society to extremist tendencies, this cause alone certainly doesn’t suffice to substantiate the creation of fanatic clans of suicide bombers who kill all and sundry and call everyone an enemy. And therein comes in the factor of education. It’s quite obvious that in a land where mainstream concepts are based on obsolete dogmas and even educated personnel are quite reluctant to let go of them, those with no education are quite vulnerable to a lot of dangerous things. A gradual transition towards radical opinions may be one of the many such and considering that the prevalent culture does nothing to prohibit it openly, there’s every chance of such ‘ideological brainwashing.’ I certainly don’t claim that education can solve all problems. However, a gradual alleviation of living conditions, economic prosperity for the masses and education, together, may well be able to contain such radical traces within a society. And we have the phenomenon well manifest in western countries.

It’s about time we stopped spending hefty billions upon weaponry and took a timely policy-shift to address this issue. Operation may well be effective but at a very limited scale. Even with it’s success, the same elements may very expectedly sprout times and again at different place. For now, most of the talk has been over the short-term quick-solutions. However, what we need now is the long-term strategy by making long-term investments in education and economy. That may be the key to a better Pakistan in the coming days.

In the land of confusion

Amid all the confusion that has resulted as an outcome to the terrorists assaults recently, there’s another confusion that’s breeding within the hearts of Pakistanis. That of a failure or uncertainty in observing the reality or being conveyed it in a verifiable form. The chief source of this confusion, perhaps, is the fact that the mainstream media, both newspapers and TV channels, are still covering the entire saga of terrorism in a very immature manner feeding their audiences only that what’s ‘spicy’ enough to attract a better viewership and always switching their stances to either side, depending on the public’s mood. (Examples are the prominent instances of Lal Masjid saga, swat operation and media’s take on these issues, before and after their concluding episodes.)

A connotation to this is that the masses are totally unsure as to what version of truth, if there’s one at all, they are to stick to. This, together with the ideological alienations of majority of the masses which has recently put them upon a line of hard choices – that between continuing their support for the Islamist factions, now allegedly the militant terrorists or to shun the stance in favor of the military operation to cleanse them – has created a situation where most of them, still, are unable to vouch for a definite side. In fact, this is furthered by the fact that even the two sides are shrouded in indistinctness, both because of the pre-conceived biased views and the continuous rhetoric from the religious leaders and unqualified politicians.

Another contributing factor is the media, print media in particular and certain quarters of electronic media too, that always adds a parallel, deeply-right-oriented and always anti-liberalist perspective to the more realistic view of things. Much less tolerant and more readily offended by the slightest take against the right itself, this cluster of media entities always succeeds in catering to, and gathering the sympathies of, the popular religious sentiment of Pakistan masses. Although the facts presented are as less exact as those from the opposite camp, rather at times, more so, the rhetoric that establishes the basic premise of this side of argumentation usually compensates well for it. For the audience largely consists of members of religious parties, madressah students or teachers and the likes.

All this has wrapped the common man in the confusion he lurks in currently. With such diverse perspectives and the bulk of convincing material from both camps, the sheer volume of which well makes up for the lack of substantial validation in either, it is hard even for a fairly reasonable and astute person to form a definite stance over the issue of terrorism and the actual culprits. Although there’s been a U-turn in the pose of many media outlets ever since the commencement of recent series of suicide attacks, the populace is not going to take to it so silently this time, since a large number of them have deep affiliation with religion. And to favor a military sweep against a group of people who call themselves Muslims, albeit only proclaimedly, stops them short on an awkward reluctance.

The anti-US feeling, too, has a strong impact upon the general mindset of the lot. The usual US-is-responsible scheme is deployed by this lot to all that happens around them and provides them a good excuse to stand off the segregating choice. They tend not to blame either of the camps, and do away with a slight admonishing of both though in the end, always placing the final verdict upon American intervention in our lands, even when knowing the fact that the said claim, too, lacks any solid confirmation.

What we are witnessing here, is the transition from one vox populi to another – a shift that’s shaking deep-rooted opinions of a majority of population who, naturally, is quite reluctant to let go of them. From supporting the Talibans militarily to officially to unofficially and eventually, not at all on the governmental level, we have come a long way in our policy maneuvers. The public follow-up, of course, is not to be so easily accommodated and swiftly customized as the foreign office’s adaptation to external pressures, both from our ‘mentors’ and the international community.

The obvious outcome is that amid social disintegrations, not only have the divisions between the ‘left’ and the ‘right’ grown acuter, many intermediate factions have also mushroom-grown, each of them not very extreme in its ideology or disposition yet always never belonging to the either camp and hence, playing a futile role in the shaping of a definite national take on any issue. The fragility and inactivity of such groups, which constitutes a considerable number of our people, also is one reason why a handful of militants have garnered strength here. What is a dangerous part of this posed neutral alignment is that, at any instant in time, such beings may drift to either side of the tide – and provided the already deep-trenched religious sentiment, the chance that they may drift off to the militant’s camp are much more than their taking a position otherwise.

Hence the government faces a two-edged sword right now. At one side, the feasible time bound is fast approaching beyond which, continuing the operation in Waziristan would be tantamount to strategically committing suicide. The weather change and the growing winters would render it absolutely impossible for the army to carry on an effective assault. The remaining lapse for the vocation is something between four to five weeks, according to security analysts.

While that remains the operational constraints, the public ratings are not very good, though on a slight rise ever since the series of blasts. The youth, particularly, has claimed an open opposition to the killings and extended its full vocal support to the army’s operation. However, the government still has been severely criticized, this time for its utter inability in tackling the security concerns – the closing of educational institutes has only added to the public resentment, proving that government is trying to snatch off a temporary respite without taking a serious step in putting to hold the bomb blasts.

The social transition that seems manifest in our society and the societal polarizations that are happening as a result of this is a clear indication of the fact that we are still far from having achieved a national solidarity over a vital issue which has put the very existence of Pakistan at risk. It also proves that we have a long way to go and a dire need for a well-chosen leadership that can define the right orientation for the masses and steer them out of the eye of the storm.

Here’s to the Kerry Lugar Bill – a reality check!

There has been a lot of ranting, lately, over the famed Kerry Lugar Bill passed by the US congress about the aid package to Pakistan. As usual, Pakistani politicians and masses took to protest and retaliations over the bill, because of the usual silly argument of the bill being from US. Most of those ranting loud claims of the bill’s connotations and it’s inevitable implications are the ones who haven’t yet even read the bill in it’s totality – and well….that makes about 90 percent of the total opponents of this bill.

It’s a commonly observable phenomenon in this society of ours that the top 10 percent that’s bestowed with the bite in the governmental cake, even when entirely undeserving of being a parliamentarian or a senator, usually are entirely incapable of intellectual dealing with issues of vital national and international importance. This becomes manifest times and over again at several instances when these suit-clad ignorants try to play their usual rhetoric towards something which totally lacks the capacity to contain such a dimension – and the result is that they form opinions and make decisions without the slightest trace of conscience of the issue at hand and this ignorance persists throughout the tackling of it – even after it’s being implemented.

And what to say of the masses. They are the rest of the 80 percent deaf and dumb beings who are played with by the earlier cited 20 percent. They are like a disoriented group of humans each of whom clings to what seems the most attractive on the surface – some move on to the Shareef group, impressed by Shahbaz’s rhetoric and his short-term, ill-planned reforms. Other take to JI’s stance, fooled like always through the popular religious sentiment which JI has been cashing in since ever.

Coming over the issue at hand, namely Kerry Lugar Bill, it all stands pretty true. The latest in the series is JI’s so-called referendum against the bill. After Juma prayers, I was able to snatch a peek at the poll JI had installed in front of the mosque for the purpose. And not surprisingly, it were only the turban-clad, bearded madressah students voting a ‘namanzoor (unaccepted)’ for the bill. And one can be pretty sure not a single one of them would have actually read the bill. Let them alone, the higher-ups of JI, ranting incessantly against the bill’s anti-Pakistani undertones seem barely to have read the bill(from the nature of their objections). Even our parliamentarians are quite unaware of the exact clauses of the bill, hunching wildly in favor or against it – and that pretty much hints at their methods of opining and decision-making.

Now here’s to some popular myths about the bill, as received through frequent msgs on my mobile for the last few days:

1 – Army will not interfere in politics:

Well…that’s true – the bill asks for a mechanism to keep army at bay – at barracks, to be exact. But is that not exactly what we want? I am quite unable to grasp why would a sane being even object to it!

2 – Army’s major postings will be approved by US:

BULLSHIT! I wonder what sort of idiotic morons make those rumors – but then again, in a nation where Christian towns are burnt to ashes over a tiny, false rumor, it is understandable why people give space to such lameness. Well…..as a matter of fact, there’s no such clause in the whole bill. The bill only asks for the army postings to be done by the civilian government, as is done in all democracies around the globe and as is very desirable in our country too.

3 – There will be no restrictions to US citizens(black water) in Pakistan.

Again, nonsense. There’s absolutely no clause in the bill that asks for such a thing. All anti-terrorism operations within Pakistan are not even to be co-ordinated together with any US force or personnel. Within Pakistan, Pak army is to tackle all security issues.

4 – There will be access of US to any person related to nuclear energy. (A Q Khan)

The bill, in it’s connotations, only implies that US will keep an eye out for the possible occurrence of a nuclear proliferation from our end and if so happens, will cut short the aid package, stopping the immediate next installment.

5 – Aid will be given to persons, not Pakistani government.

Persons is an intended replacement for non-governmental organizations that the actual aid package talks about.

“PREFERENCE FOR BUILDING LOCAL CAPACITY— The President is encouraged, as appropriate, to utilize Pakistani firms and community and local nongovernmental organizations in Pakistan, including through host country contacts, and to work with local leaders to provide assistance under this section”

That’s precisely the original statement. However, the aid is still to be doled out to the government when it’d have been far better off in the hands of standard, well-reputed NGOs working here, considering the corrupt reputation of the current government. Nevertheless, the myth is a mere rumor, albeit sadly so.

6 – ISI will be under American joint of chief staff.

Now that’s the most hilarious one. I am, literally, quite baffled at the creativity of the original creators of these rumors.

Having done with that, I’d say that there’s nothing wrong with the bill, really, when considering it in it’s entirety. True, the language of the bill is somewhat commanding and hence rude, but then again, it’s us who need the money – and beggars don’t complain. Those whining over the language actually need to complain against accepting aids and taking yet another temporary opium injection for our crumbling economy, for that’s what all the recent aid had been. No long-term planning is done through this aid package and it’s one half vanishes with the governmental affairs and accounts (no wonder – we boast of having, afterall, the largest cabinet) and the other half never makes it to the actual reforms it is intended for.

The only thing about the bill that’s unacceptable to our masses is that it’s straight-forward. There are two ways of saying ‘aid us in Afghanistan’ – one is by asking Pakistan for being an ally in Afghan fiasco- and the other is to  ask Pak army to protect US operations in Afghanistan by taking care of this side of the border. That’s what the bill does and that’s where our false patriotisms are stirred. So much for this pretense!

Therefore, the sentimental gibberish of the so-called patriots with their falsely-inflated patriotism which’s actually a miscolored ignorance over the bill-issue, needs to rest! They have absolutely no idea about what they are talking about, and unless they do, to engage in a debate with them is nothing but like stooping to the level of a stupid to prove him wrong – which, in turn, only results in one being defied for they are far more experts at being stupid.

PREFERENCE FOR BUILDING LOCAL CAPAC23

ITY.—The President is encouraged, as appropriate, to uti24

lize Pakistani firms and community and local nongovern25

mental organizations in Pakistan, including through host

17

O:\DAV\DAV09287.xml S.L.C.

1 country contacts, and to work with local leaders to provide

2 assistance under this section

What’s more, without accepting this aid package, we are left in an economic crisis where we have yet again to get a hefty loan from IMF which, obviously, we then have to return with the interest – which means another strain on our economy for the decades to come. I guess accepting this aid package, then, wins out to be a far better package especially when it doesn’t ask of the government to increase electricity charges and petrol charges, as opposed to IMF’s conditions.

Foreign Dictations, shut up please!

I was just going through Dawn’s blog and there I hit upon this post which precisely summed my sentiments.

Our armymen have died and are now fighting their lives off for a war which’s as important and much more crucial to us than the rest of the world. And while US, India and the rest point their fingers at us, they only enrage the masses which then pick up the perception of this war as being fought at the whim of these foreign dictations.

It is about time India and US shut their moronic laments up and let Pakistan do what it is doing to stabilize this state. They ought rather look to their affairs and their side of the deal than tell Pakistan what to do – and that becomes all the more important for them considering the Nato weaponry recovered from the Talibans in Swat and the recent bombings in Islamabad being linked to India by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Even when not substantiated with a proof, one is left wondering where on Earth are these Talibans getting all their weaponry from. Surely someone is supplying them an ample amount to keep them going with their tonnes of explosive materials.

These foreign dictations need to rest for now! Pakistan is in a pressure enough and while all our forces are engaged and society on a sort of siege with us losing the top brass of military personnel, US officials need to shut the hell up for the moment.

It is also time for our whine-baby PM and President to get the hell out of their safe abodes, stop being the coward cows and come on the screen rather than put the very-mysterious, very-suspicious Rehman Malik over every issue that’s coming up.They need to address this nation and devise some well-defined policies rather than say the bullshit rhetoric over and over again.

National security breach

We ought not to feel any reluctance in rendering our state as a security breach in all. Perhaps it’s just about time we abandoned our falsely held notions of being still-stable or a safe state by any measures. With the most secure-considered building at GHQ breached and our Army Chief being at a few paces’ distance from the terrorists’ bullets when the incident happened, it’s pretty much clear that Pakistan is NO LONGER safe. The attacks in Lahore, the blasts in Peshawar and the assault at Kohat right after the GHQ incident are standing testimonies to it.

It all melts down to the same root cause – national denial. We love to stay in a state of denial as a nation. The religious extremists we had fed in the past with our overt religiousness, some with the token of approval for sectarian violence, others with a bid to promote a so-called Jihad which was nothing but a failed collaboration for a covert existence in Kashmir and through governmental policies to gratify the fundos of Zia’s regime, we have shaped a nation which is held hostage by these elements which have matured into nightmares that haunt the existence of this very nation.

Religious sentiment has always been catered to, without a proper purpose or an orientation. Ever since Quaid’s days, the debate over Islam’s role in Pakistan has raged. And whether or not that’s decided yet, the fact remains that meanwhile, the popular religious sentiment which did have an element of tolerance in the earlier days was gradually shaped by the religious pundits into such a force which would tolerate nothing and stop at nothing. From discriminating against Ahmedis to launching attacks on Shias through the terrorist SS and later, LJ, religion had been manipulated as a tool to shape fundamentalist who’d play into the hands of distorted ideologies and ambitious manipulators.

The circumstances at the moment ask of us, as a nation, to accept openly of having done all these acts in the past. This very fundamentalism that surges at home now and results in the killings of innocent lives in our homeland is nothing but the outcome of our very deeds.  Just look at the number of religious organizations that have been created in the past years, been called ‘jihadis’ in the days of their creation and currently have the terrorist outfits.

To rid it, we need to outrightly reject ALL forms of religious extremism. It’s about time that we clearly drew a line to the extent we’d go in accomplishing our religious ambitions which obviously shan’t cross the sane limits. And to condemn all forms of such terrorism on the name of religion by this breed of terrorists. Unless we do so, unless we admit our mistakes and wholeheartedly intend to defeat the very notion that bred this outcome on a social level, this menace is on no stopping.