DURING her post-Osama bin Laden visit to Pakistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Pakistan should shed anti-Americanism and conspiracy theories.
Clintons comment isnt uncalled for.
Many Pakistanis still believe that Sept. 11 was an inside job.
Another conspiracy theory popular in Pakistan says 3,000 Jews who worked in the World Trade Center didnt show up Sept. 11 because they knew in advance the planes would crash into the towers.
Pakistans intelligence agencies are accused of abducting, torturing and killing fellow citizens every day. Therefore, the conspiracy crowd thinks it would be normal for the CIA, as well, to sacrifice American lives to achieve its goals.
Pakistanis give credibility to anything that fits the us against them model of world politics. That behavior is rooted in our national paranoia. We believe that the whole world is conspiring against us.
But why would anyone conspire against us?
Why doesnt the United States conspire against India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka or Burkina Faso?
Why does it have to do propaganda against the ISI, Pakistans premier spy agency, while sparing the intelligence agencies of other countries?
Is it because Pakistan poses any economic threat to the United States? Is it because Pakistan is an oil-rich country? Or is it because Pakistan poses a strategic threat to the United States?
A typical Pakistani response to Why the ISI? would be Because its the intelligence agency of a Muslim country that is also a nuclear power.
But Pakistan isnt the only nuclear power, and religion per se plays little role in the formation of U.S. foreign policy.
In reality, the West is concerned about Pakistan mainly because it exports terrorism.
Few people would be talking about Pakistan today had its crisis been limited to its geographic boundaries. Wed be receiving as much international attention as any African country facing internal strife and civil war.
But thats not the case.
Today, Pakistan is Britains biggest aid recipient. It has received U.S. aid amounting to $18 billion since Sept. 11. The largest number of Fulbright scholars in the United States, including myself, are from Pakistan.
The West isnt concerned about Pakistan for altruistic reasons. Its concerned because a heavily populated, nuclear-armed country with millions of poor, under-educated young men, who are inclined toward militant fundamentalism, isnt good for world peace.
We, ordinary Pakistanis, let alone our leadership, simply refuse to acknowledge that our country contributes a fair share in spreading terrorism globally.
Worse, we dont even accept that Pakistan is also a victim of terrorism. Weve lost more than 30,000 Pakistanis in terrorist attacks since Sept. 11. Yet, online polls suggest an overwhelming majority of Facebook users from Pakistan consider the United States a bigger threat than the Taliban.
We live in denial, and the Kool-Aid of conspiracy theories strengthens our false sense of pride and rightness. This, in turn, makes us hostile toward other countries.
Conspiracy theories abound in Pakistan « Kazim Alam
