dabong1
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Dr Masooda Bano
The government having ordered the Lal Masjid operation and the section of the intelligentsia that supported the operations need to explain to the rest of the public as to how the strategy of using force to crush the so called Islamic militancy is paying off. As predicted, the ruthless operation at the Lal Masjid, where state used weapons so lethal against its own citizens that the victims could not be identified, has led to a reactionary sentiment among the religious groups that is shaking the very foundation of this country. Pakistan is in headline news in western papers every other day. At Oxford, no day goes by without an academic or a student asking with concern about the country and about ones family. It is clear to all that Pakistan is heading nowhere. Yet, the countrys rulers are adamant on repeating the same mistakes.
The attack on a vehicle carrying trainee flying officers in Sarghoda is the latest in the row of suicide attacks. At a time when the army gunship helicopters are attacking followers of Maulana Fazalullah in Swat, Pakistan Air Force seems a likely target for registering resistance. The suicide attacks on the military targets since the Lal Masjid operation have not only become very frequent, they have also become very lethal in most cases resulting in high military death toll. Now that the government is trying to repeat the same operation in Swat, the question is what is it aiming to achieve? It is clear that the military operations are increasing rather than decreasing militancy. There is a clear chain establishing the reactionary nature of this resistance.
Those who engaged with Abdul Rashid Ghazi know that while the secular sections could only see him as a bigoted mullah keen to impose Sharia, he and his students did link their resistance to operations in the tribal areas. Ghazi himself had strong networks within the tribal areas and many girls at the Jamia Hafsa were from there and NWFP. The resistance of Lal Masjid was a reaction to the operations in the tribal areas. The current resistance of Maulana Fazlullah and his followers in Swat is a reaction to the Lal Masjid operation and so are the increased numbers of suicide attacks on the military targets. And meanwhile, the resistance within the tribal belt is in full bloom under Baitullah Mehsud. It is not difficult to image what would be the end result of current military operations in Swat.
The recent post-September rise of militancy in Pakistan is a clear sign that the use of force by Pakistani army against its own people is not going to check militancy. The people who are today being called militants have grown up in this country and were part of it prior to September 11 too. But, we did not have the problem of suicide bombing before General Musharraf agreed to participate in the US-led war on terror. Clearly, the military operations have preceded the militancy. If the Pakistani government had not sworn allegiance to the US, and had not deployed military troops in the tribal belt, the militancy that is dominating Pakistan today would not have come to rise. People can be religious, they can be pro-Taliban. But, that in itself does not mean that they can be killed.
It is strange how the terms pro-Talibans and Pakistani Taliban are nowadays used for any one resisting the military operations and once the label is given it is assumed that these people deserve to die. Who were the Taliban? And what was their crime? If they imposed strict version of Sharia then does it mean they can be killed. There have to be other means to negotiate a middle ground between those who want to live under Sharia and those who want a liberal lifestyle. To think that the solution rests in whipping out anyone wanting to live by Islamic code of life through gunship helicopters can only lead to the chaos that currently epitomizes Pakistan.
There is urgent need to shift the emphasis from use of force to dialogue, diplomacy, and better intelligence gathering. It is important to remember that it is no longer purely a religious resistance either. Pushtoon society is known for its emphasis on honour and revenge. If the military carries on such indiscriminate attacks, which result in many civilian casualties, the retaliation will harden. It has become critical that rather than unquestioningly following American demands for carrying out these operations, the government actually focuses on developing an international diplomatic strategy to convince the west that making Pakistani military operate against its own people wont resolve militancy in the country. After all, the west cannot be blamed for making these demands if there is no resistance registered from the Pakistani government side.
End military operations
The government having ordered the Lal Masjid operation and the section of the intelligentsia that supported the operations need to explain to the rest of the public as to how the strategy of using force to crush the so called Islamic militancy is paying off. As predicted, the ruthless operation at the Lal Masjid, where state used weapons so lethal against its own citizens that the victims could not be identified, has led to a reactionary sentiment among the religious groups that is shaking the very foundation of this country. Pakistan is in headline news in western papers every other day. At Oxford, no day goes by without an academic or a student asking with concern about the country and about ones family. It is clear to all that Pakistan is heading nowhere. Yet, the countrys rulers are adamant on repeating the same mistakes.
The attack on a vehicle carrying trainee flying officers in Sarghoda is the latest in the row of suicide attacks. At a time when the army gunship helicopters are attacking followers of Maulana Fazalullah in Swat, Pakistan Air Force seems a likely target for registering resistance. The suicide attacks on the military targets since the Lal Masjid operation have not only become very frequent, they have also become very lethal in most cases resulting in high military death toll. Now that the government is trying to repeat the same operation in Swat, the question is what is it aiming to achieve? It is clear that the military operations are increasing rather than decreasing militancy. There is a clear chain establishing the reactionary nature of this resistance.
Those who engaged with Abdul Rashid Ghazi know that while the secular sections could only see him as a bigoted mullah keen to impose Sharia, he and his students did link their resistance to operations in the tribal areas. Ghazi himself had strong networks within the tribal areas and many girls at the Jamia Hafsa were from there and NWFP. The resistance of Lal Masjid was a reaction to the operations in the tribal areas. The current resistance of Maulana Fazlullah and his followers in Swat is a reaction to the Lal Masjid operation and so are the increased numbers of suicide attacks on the military targets. And meanwhile, the resistance within the tribal belt is in full bloom under Baitullah Mehsud. It is not difficult to image what would be the end result of current military operations in Swat.
The recent post-September rise of militancy in Pakistan is a clear sign that the use of force by Pakistani army against its own people is not going to check militancy. The people who are today being called militants have grown up in this country and were part of it prior to September 11 too. But, we did not have the problem of suicide bombing before General Musharraf agreed to participate in the US-led war on terror. Clearly, the military operations have preceded the militancy. If the Pakistani government had not sworn allegiance to the US, and had not deployed military troops in the tribal belt, the militancy that is dominating Pakistan today would not have come to rise. People can be religious, they can be pro-Taliban. But, that in itself does not mean that they can be killed.
It is strange how the terms pro-Talibans and Pakistani Taliban are nowadays used for any one resisting the military operations and once the label is given it is assumed that these people deserve to die. Who were the Taliban? And what was their crime? If they imposed strict version of Sharia then does it mean they can be killed. There have to be other means to negotiate a middle ground between those who want to live under Sharia and those who want a liberal lifestyle. To think that the solution rests in whipping out anyone wanting to live by Islamic code of life through gunship helicopters can only lead to the chaos that currently epitomizes Pakistan.
There is urgent need to shift the emphasis from use of force to dialogue, diplomacy, and better intelligence gathering. It is important to remember that it is no longer purely a religious resistance either. Pushtoon society is known for its emphasis on honour and revenge. If the military carries on such indiscriminate attacks, which result in many civilian casualties, the retaliation will harden. It has become critical that rather than unquestioningly following American demands for carrying out these operations, the government actually focuses on developing an international diplomatic strategy to convince the west that making Pakistani military operate against its own people wont resolve militancy in the country. After all, the west cannot be blamed for making these demands if there is no resistance registered from the Pakistani government side.
End military operations
