Pakistan- A country of extremists, and the Malala Issue

[truthseer]

Pakistan covers an incredibly gifted geographical area, blessed with oil, gas, coal, minerals and many precious metals. It also includes various ethnicities, Punjabis, Sindhis, Pashtuns and Balochis being the main ones, but with many smaller ones like Siraikis, Hazaras, Memon, etc as well. It is a unique piece of land, and it's history is nothing short of amazing. From the Indus Valley Civilization to the conquest of Bin Qasim, it is a magical history, and one that shows the resilience of the people of the area. However, it seems that extremists are now bent on destroying this history, and rewriting a revisionist version of it.

There are two different sets of extremists with very different goals, and different methods. One seek to bring in an Arab Culture. Note, this does not mean Islamic culture, but Arab culture, with things prevalent that are actually banned in Islam. Another set of extremists, meanwhile, wants to bring in Western Culture and wipe out the local, indigenous culture. Today, we see both sides using the media to indulge in propaganda and accuse the other side of trying to wipe out Pakistani culture. Ironically, neither side seems to care that much about our culture at all.

Let's look at what our culture actually is. It's a unique mix of Islam and sub-continental culture, that is difficult to find anywhere else is the word. One of the earliest civilisations that lived in this area, the Indus Valley Civilization has left their marks on the culture of this country, which was later influenced by various invasions. However, the next major change to this culture came from the invasion of Muhammad Bin Qasim who conquered parts of Sindh and Punjab. Due to his tolerant rule, the population converted to Islam.

Our culture is not the traditional Arab culture, where woman are given little rights, some countries going so far as to not even let them drive. In fact, the Pakistan area was a lot more liberal than most parts of the sub-continent. This shouldn't come as a surprise, yet it will to most reading this. The truth is that we are taught a revisionist version of the history written by people who seek to glorify Arab Culture. In doing so, they forget that Islam isn't "Arab Culture" but that it actually challenged a lot of what Arab Culture was about. This is lost to many.

On the flip side, we have the "liberals". Truly, they do not deserve to be called this, as they are more fascist than many of our conservatives, preferring to shut down any debate through character assasination. They too do not appreciate the subtleties of our culture and seek to impose a Western Culture on us. While these "liberals" complain about the terrorism of the many extremists, they also take every opportunity to glorify English and the West and downplay the local culture as "barbaric". When it suits them, they will remind us of how the other side of the coin, religious extremists, are destroying our ancient culture. Their hypocricy is startling.

Nowhere is this hypocricy shown more than in the Malala issue. Both sides compare this to the "drone attacks". They manage to polarise society in doing so, and cause further resentment and divisions. Neither side seem to be capable of realising that Malala and drones are separate issues. Their focus on the drone Issue is in complete contrast to what Malala stands for, education. However, both sides will ignore the education issue and instead shall seek to promote their views on drones.

One side calls her a hero, the other calls her a CIA agent, but both sides ignore her main viewpoint which is education.

Any sensible observer can see that drones are a violation of Pakistan's sovereignity. Yet, the "liberals" can not. Any one can see that Malala was shot by the Taliban (Who admitted it by the way). The extremists make up the worst conspiracy theories to either deny it or justify it, both sides refusing to back down, both diametrically opposed to each other.


In the end, both sides have been successful in their plans. They have gotten support. Sadly, it also seems that both sides are taking us closer and closer to the Stone Age. They have brainwashed people to think one way or the other, to think in black and white, never appreciating that sometimes, some issues are not black or white but different hues of grey.

 

[livingdead]

link please.. unless you wrote it yourself..

 

[truthseer]

link please.. unless you wrote it yourself..

Lols, wrote it myself

 

[SYED KAMRAN ALI SHAH]

Your post is full of information but the word you used "BARBARIC" Do you know the history of that word is also imposed on muslim and now we muslim use this word for "Atrocity", "cruleness". now i tell you the history.
MUSA BIN NOSAIR AND TARIQ BIN ZYAD The conquerors of spain ( "jabraltor" is on the name of Tariq bin zyad where he first landed to came in spain). TARIQ BIN ZAYAD belonged to the BERBER tribe, they two went spain to fought against Goths.The Christians by Tariq was irresistible and the Goths were completely routed with terrible losses. King Roderick was drowned in the river. This was a great loss for chirsitan and Goths.The conquest of Spain by Muslims opened a new era for the Peninsula. After this they started a term "BARBARIC"(means CRUEL) regarded to TARIQ BIN ZAYAD from BARBAR tribe.
Now we muslims use this term because due to incognizance from our History.

 

[Cherokee]

Malala is a CIA Agent

Taliban is a CIA Agent

Therefore ,

One CIA Agent is trying to kill another CIA agent .

Rest in peace Logic .

Your post is full of information but the word you used "BARBARIC" Do you know the history of that word is also imposed on muslim and now we muslim use this word for "Atrocity", "cruleness". now i tell you the history.
MUSA BIN NOSAIR AND TARIQ BIN ZYAD The conquerors of spain ( "jabraltor" is on the name of Tariq bin zyad where he first landed to came in spain). TARIQ BIN ZAYAD belonged to the BERBER tribe, they two went spain to fought against Goths.The Christians by Tariq was irresistible and the Goths were completely routed with terrible losses. King Roderick was drowned in the river. This was a great loss for chirsitan and Goths.The conquest of Spain by Muslims opened a new era for the Peninsula. After this they started a term "BARBARIC"(means CRUEL) regarded to TARIQ BIN ZAYAD from BARBAR tribe.
Now we muslims use this term because due to incognizance from our History.

So much for Verbal Diarrhea

The term "barbarian" refers to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage. In idiomatic or figurative usage, a "barbarian" may also be an individual reference to a brutal, cruel, warlike, insensitive person.[1]

The term originates from the ancient Greek word βάρβαρος (barbaros). Hence the Greek idiom "πᾶς μὴ Ἕλλην βάρβαρος" (pas mē Hellēn barbaros) which literally means "whoever is not Greek is a barbarian". In ancient times, Greeks used it for the people of different cultures but also to deride other Greek tribes and states; in the early modern period and sometimes later, they used it for the Turks, in a clearly pejorative way.[2][3] Comparable notions are found in non-European civilizations. In the Roman empire, Romans used the word barbarian for the Germans, Celts, Carthaginians, Iberians, Thracians, Persians and in some respects the Greeks themselves.

 

[niaz]

Pakistan covers an incredibly gifted geographical area, blessed with oil, gas, coal, minerals and many precious metals. It also includes various ethnicities, Punjabis, Sindhis, Pashtuns and Balochis being the main ones, but with many smaller ones like Siraikis, Hazaras, Memon, etc as well. It is a unique piece of land, and it's history is nothing short of amazing. From the Indus Valley Civilization to the conquest of Bin Qasim, it is a magical history, and one that shows the resilience of the people of the area. However, it seems that extremists are now bent on destroying this history, and rewriting a revisionist version of it.

There are two different sets of extremists with very different goals, and different methods. One seek to bring in an Arab Culture. Note, this does not mean Islamic culture, but Arab culture, with things prevalent that are actually banned in Islam. Another set of extremists, meanwhile, wants to bring in Western Culture and wipe out the local, indigenous culture. Today, we see both sides using the media to indulge in propaganda and accuse the other side of trying to wipe out Pakistani culture. Ironically, neither side seems to care that much about our culture at all.

Let's look at what our culture actually is. It's a unique mix of Islam and sub-continental culture, that is difficult to find anywhere else is the word. One of the earliest civilisations that lived in this area, the Indus Valley Civilization has left their marks on the culture of this country, which was later influenced by various invasions. However, the next major change to this culture came from the invasion of Muhammad Bin Qasim who conquered parts of Sindh and Punjab. Due to his tolerant rule, the population converted to Islam.

Our culture is not the traditional Arab culture, where woman are given little rights, some countries going so far as to not even let them drive. In fact, the Pakistan area was a lot more liberal than most parts of the sub-continent. This shouldn't come as a surprise, yet it will to most reading this. The truth is that we are taught a revisionist version of the history written by people who seek to glorify Arab Culture. In doing so, they forget that Islam isn't "Arab Culture" but that it actually challenged a lot of what Arab Culture was about. This is lost to many.

On the flip side, we have the "liberals". Truly, they do not deserve to be called this, as they are more fascist than many of our conservatives, preferring to shut down any debate through character assasination. They too do not appreciate the subtleties of our culture and seek to impose a Western Culture on us. While these "liberals" complain about the terrorism of the many extremists, they also take every opportunity to glorify English and the West and downplay the local culture as "barbaric". When it suits them, they will remind us of how the other side of the coin, religious extremists, are destroying our ancient culture. Their hypocricy is startling.

Nowhere is this hypocricy shown more than in the Malala issue. Both sides compare this to the "drone attacks". They manage to polarise society in doing so, and cause further resentment and divisions. Neither side seem to be capable of realising that Malala and drones are separate issues. Their focus on the drone Issue is in complete contrast to what Malala stands for, education. However, both sides will ignore the education issue and instead shall seek to promote their views on drones.

One side calls her a hero, the other calls her a CIA agent, but both sides ignore her main viewpoint which is education.

Any sensible observer can see that drones are a violation of Pakistan's sovereignity. Yet, the "liberals" can not. Any one can see that Malala was shot by the Taliban (Who admitted it by the way). The extremists make up the worst conspiracy theories to either deny it or justify it, both sides refusing to back down, both diametrically opposed to each other.


In the end, both sides have been successful in their plans. They have gotten support. Sadly, it also seems that both sides are taking us closer and closer to the Stone Age. They have brainwashed people to think one way or the other, to think in black and white, never appreciating that sometimes, some issues are not black or white but different hues of grey.

Despite being essentially a factual article, the author assumes everything in Black & White. In fact there are many shades of grey and it is wrong to generalize the way author has done. There is a polarization of the society but not quite as clear cut as the author portrays.

No doubt some political parties and leaders are out and out pro TTP & extremism such as Jamaat Islami under the bigot Munawwar Hassan. Other parties may have extremist sympathizers such CM of KPK (PTI), Rana Sana Ullah ( PML-N) and many members of JUI.

There are also people who think that US drones are doing a good job, but all are not liberals; to classify hawks such as Ahmad Shuja Pasha of ISI who favours drones as a liberal would be stretching the definition of liberal a bit too far.

I am a ‘Liberal’ but I don’t agree with drone attacks and I consider these a breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty. However, I don’t think that continued drone attacks are the root cause of extremism and that stopping drone attacks will stop terrorist bombings in Pakistan. PTI leader Imran Khan links extremism to drone attacks but he is for female education and condemns sectarian killings.

In my humble opinion the main problem is that many Pakistanis consider themselves Muslims first, Pashtun/Punjabi/Baluchi/Sindhi/Mohajir/Hazara etc. second and Pakistani the last. Most liberals such I, consider themselves human being first, Pakistani second, Muslim third, and Pashtun/Punjabi/Baluchi/Sindhi/Mohajir the last.

Extremist sympathisers in their naivety find it difficult to condemn TTP/Sectarian attacks outright because they consider killing of a human being and of a Pakistani of little consequence as long as it is done using the garb of Islam. They even look for excuses to malign brave little girls such as Malala Yusufzai because she stood up against their beloved TTP; this despite the fact that attacking unarmed females goes directly against the Pashtun tradition of bravery.

A good article is quoted here for member’s perusal.


Malala of Pakistan


S Iftikhar Murshed
Sunday, July 21, 2013
From Print Edition

Malala of Pakistan

Malala Yousufzai told her transfixed audience at the UN on July 12, "The extremists are afraid of books and pens. The power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women. The power of the voice of women frightens them. One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first!” These were the words with which the 16-year-old child concluded her speech and was given a standing ovation – an honour no other person from her country has ever received.

She informed the world that her miraculous recovery after being shot in the head last October by the Taliban had reinforced her belief in the righteousness of her cause, “...nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage were born. I am the same Malala. My hopes are the same. My dreams are the same.”

Her crime had been that she had sought education which, she was convinced, was much more than merely her birthright – it was a sacred duty because the commandment of God was “Read – for thy Sustainer is the Most Bountiful One who has taught man the use of the pen – taught man what he did not know.” These were the first verses of the Quran that were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in a remote mountain cave near Mecca more than 1400 years ago.

The significance of the revelation is that of all the living beings it is only the human race that is gifted with the ability to read and write. This has enabled man to preserve his experiences, observations, thoughts and insights as written records that are transmitted from individual to individual, from civilisation to civilisation, and from generation to generation. It is knowledge thus acquired that is the driving force in the story of the ascent of man and is encapsulated in the Latin phrase quo non ascendam – ‘to what heights can we not ascend’.

But Muslims have not heeded the injunctions of their religion and have been left far behind. A recent survey shows that in the entire Islamic world there are only 57 universities of international standing while India alone has as many as 8,460. In Pakistan the startling reality is that 25 million children are out of school, 12 million have been compelled by circumstances to join the labour force and no less than 618 infants die every single day. These gruesome statistics were confirmed in the report ‘The State of Pakistan’s Children 2012’, released by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child.

An overwhelming majority of Pakistanis live in the voiceless world of pain. Their sunless existence is spent in fetid hovels as they struggle to put bread on the table for their families. Many take their own lives, others become vulnerable to the poisonous extremist ideology and join violent outfits such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

It was this ideology – based as it is on distortions of Islamic tenets – that Malala was targeting when she said “the power of education frightens them.” The implication was that the extremist mindset can only be overcome through the acquisition of knowledge. Millions worldwide listened with rapt attention to the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize and enthusiastically endorsed all that she had to say. Her only critics were in her own country.

On social media she was referred to as ‘Malala Dramazai’ and the assassination attempt on her was brushed aside as contrived and orchestrated by the west. On Facebook and Twitter the 16-year-old child was pilloried for not condemning drone strikes. Posters of Malala and Mukhtaran Mai with crosses on their faces were circulated and both were accused of publicising their hideous ordeals for no higher a motive than to acquire vast fortunes, fame and asylum abroad.

Malala’s critics may only be an insignificant segment of society consisting of those in the habit of uttering inane moral platitudes, but the damage they have done to the image of the country is huge. Such people are the unwitting ideologues of violent extremist outfits. The problem, however, is much deeper because several mainstream political parties either want to placate the TTP and its affiliates or, even worse, are sympathetic to their cause.

In the context of Malala’s UN address, the best that the chief minister of Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif could do was to grudgingly concede on Twitter, “Good speech by Malala! Could have been better – seemed to be written for global consumption.” But the chief minister’s own statement a few months back was neither fit for domestic nor “global consumption” when he publicly appealed to the TTP to spare Punjab from suicide bombings and other forms of terrorist violence because the basic objectives of the PML-N and the outlawed group were one and the same.

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which has now formed government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is even more marred by false ideals. On June 21 when a suicide bomber killed 14 people at a Shia imambargah in Peshawar, the PTI provincial information minister callously described the carnage as “just a bomb blast and not the end of the world”. His colleague, the finance minister, chimed in that everyone between the ages of 18 and 35 should undergo military training for jihad. The entire party seems to have been infected by the virus of extremist ideology and this was again on display last month when a PTI member of the National Assembly, called for the “immediate” release of Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer.

After Malala was shot, Imran Khan repeated his usual refrain that all such acts of violence were prompted by drone strikes. This is not corroborated by verifiable evidence. The drone operations began in June 2004 but there were only ten attacks till 2007. It was in 2008 that the number of Predator missions increased significantly, whereas terrorist outrages commenced more than two decades earlier. Some of the major incidents include the devastating bomb explosion in Karachi’s Bohri Bazaar in 1987 which killed more than 200 people; the FIA Centre in the same city was blasted in 1991, the US Consulate was bombed in February 2002 followed by the Karachi Sheraton a month later.

In the north, Maulana Sufi Mohammad started his attacks in Swat way back in 1994 and by 2003 the district was occupied by his son-in-law Mullah Fazlullah, which triggered military action the following year. But “the Taliban came right back in Swat, after one of the many misconceived ‘peace’ deals”, said an analyst who writes a weekly column for a Lahore-based newspaper. The situation was no different in the tribal areas where Mangal Bagh overran the Khyber Agency and then launched a spate of vicious attacks on Peshawar in early 2004 – months before the first drone strike.

In the 43 days from June 5 when Nawaz Sharif was sworn in as prime minister till July 18 there have been 39 terrorist incidents. June was a particularly blood-drenched month. It ended with the ruthless massacre of 28 Shia men, women and children in Quetta accompanied by the slaughter of 18 people near Peshawar. The dreadful tempo of violence has continued unabated.

Despite this, Nawaz Sharif is determined to initiate talks with the TTP and will soon convene an all-parties conference which is expected to establish a working group for this purpose. Such APCs have been held before and the recommendations of these high-profile events have invariably been built around initiatives aimed at reconciliation with those who refused to be reconciled.

A Russian friend phoned from Moscow and said that in the global fight against terrorism “Malala of Pakistan represents the inimitable power of the human spirit to overcome the forces of nihilism and darkness.” He explained that these were not his own words but were taken from an article that had appeared in one of the Pakistani newspapers earlier in the week.

The writer is the publisher of Criterion Quarterly: Email: iftimurshed ***********

Malala of Pakistan - S Iftikhar Murshed

 

[Umair Nawaz]

Pakistan covers an incredibly gifted geographical area, blessed with oil, gas, coal, minerals and many precious metals. It also includes various ethnicities, Punjabis, Sindhis, Pashtuns and Balochis being the main ones, but with many smaller ones like Siraikis, Hazaras, Memon, etc as well. It is a unique piece of land, and it's history is nothing short of amazing. From the Indus Valley Civilization to the conquest of Bin Qasim, it is a magical history, and one that shows the resilience of the people of the area. However, it seems that extremists are now bent on destroying this history, and rewriting a revisionist version of it.

There are two different sets of extremists with very different goals, and different methods. One seek to bring in an Arab Culture. Note, this does not mean Islamic culture, but Arab culture, with things prevalent that are actually banned in Islam. Another set of extremists, meanwhile, wants to bring in Western Culture and wipe out the local, indigenous culture. Today, we see both sides using the media to indulge in propaganda and accuse the other side of trying to wipe out Pakistani culture. Ironically, neither side seems to care that much about our culture at all.

Let's look at what our culture actually is. It's a unique mix of Islam and sub-continental culture, that is difficult to find anywhere else is the word. One of the earliest civilisations that lived in this area, the Indus Valley Civilization has left their marks on the culture of this country, which was later influenced by various invasions. However, the next major change to this culture came from the invasion of Muhammad Bin Qasim who conquered parts of Sindh and Punjab. Due to his tolerant rule, the population converted to Islam.

Our culture is not the traditional Arab culture, where woman are given little rights, some countries going so far as to not even let them drive. In fact, the Pakistan area was a lot more liberal than most parts of the sub-continent. This shouldn't come as a surprise, yet it will to most reading this. The truth is that we are taught a revisionist version of the history written by people who seek to glorify Arab Culture. In doing so, they forget that Islam isn't "Arab Culture" but that it actually challenged a lot of what Arab Culture was about. This is lost to many.

On the flip side, we have the "liberals". Truly, they do not deserve to be called this, as they are more fascist than many of our conservatives, preferring to shut down any debate through character assasination. They too do not appreciate the subtleties of our culture and seek to impose a Western Culture on us. While these "liberals" complain about the terrorism of the many extremists, they also take every opportunity to glorify English and the West and downplay the local culture as "barbaric". When it suits them, they will remind us of how the other side of the coin, religious extremists, are destroying our ancient culture. Their hypocricy is startling.

Nowhere is this hypocricy shown more than in the Malala issue. Both sides compare this to the "drone attacks". They manage to polarise society in doing so, and cause further resentment and divisions. Neither side seem to be capable of realising that Malala and drones are separate issues. Their focus on the drone Issue is in complete contrast to what Malala stands for, education. However, both sides will ignore the education issue and instead shall seek to promote their views on drones.

One side calls her a hero, the other calls her a CIA agent, but both sides ignore her main viewpoint which is education.

Any sensible observer can see that drones are a violation of Pakistan's sovereignity. Yet, the "liberals" can not. Any one can see that Malala was shot by the Taliban (Who admitted it by the way). The extremists make up the worst conspiracy theories to either deny it or justify it, both sides refusing to back down, both diametrically opposed to each other.


In the end, both sides have been successful in their plans. They have gotten support. Sadly, it also seems that both sides are taking us closer and closer to the Stone Age. They have brainwashed people to think one way or the other, to think in black and white, never appreciating that sometimes, some issues are not black or white but different hues of grey.

LOL

The propaganda and conspiracy theories will never end.

 

[truthseer]

Despite being essentially a factual article, the author assumes everything in Black & White. In fact there are many shades of grey and it is wrong to generalize the way author has done. There is a polarization of the society but not quite as clear cut as the author portrays.

No doubt some political parties and leaders are out and out pro TTP & extremism such as Jamaat Islami under the bigot Munawwar Hassan. Other parties may have extremist sympathizers such CM of KPK (PTI), Rana Sana Ullah ( PML-N) and many members of JUI.

There are also people who think that US drones are doing a good job, but all are not liberals; to classify hawks such as Ahmad Shuja Pasha of ISI who favours drones as a liberal would be stretching the definition of liberal a bit too far.

I am a ‘Liberal’ but I don’t agree with drone attacks and I consider these a breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty. However, I don’t think that continued drone attacks are the root cause of extremism and that stopping drone attacks will stop terrorist bombings in Pakistan. PTI leader Imran Khan links extremism to drone attacks but he is for female education and condemns sectarian killings.

In my humble opinion the main problem is that many Pakistanis consider themselves Muslims first, Pashtun/Punjabi/Baluchi/Sindhi/Mohajir/Hazara etc. second and Pakistani the last. Most liberals such I, consider themselves human being first, Pakistani second, Muslim third, and Pashtun/Punjabi/Baluchi/Sindhi/Mohajir the last.

Extremist sympathisers in their naivety find it difficult to condemn TTP/Sectarian attacks outright because they consider killing of a human being and of a Pakistani of little consequence as long as it is done using the garb of Islam. They even look for excuses to malign brave little girls such as Malala Yusufzai because she stood up against their beloved TTP; this despite the fact that attacking unarmed females goes directly against the Pashtun tradition of bravery.

Sorry for the late reply and thanks for the article. I agree with all of which you say and particularly that it is not as black and white as I have implied. I also agree with the main crux of your argument that we should be humans first! However, I disagree about the placement of Muslims and Pakistanis as I believe that fighting other Muslims on the orders of foreign powers is wrong, but that's just a slight disagreement. Other than that, thank you for your insightful post, it really broadened my view of things

 

[niaz]

Sorry for the late reply and thanks for the article. I agree with all of which you say and particularly that it is not as black and white as I have implied. I also agree with the main crux of your argument that we should be humans first! However, I disagree about the placement of Muslims and Pakistanis as I believe that fighting other Muslims on the orders of foreign powers is wrong, but that's just a slight disagreement. Other than that, thank you for your insightful post, it really broadened my view of things

It is not that I consider being a Muslim is less important in my personal life. My reasoning is that historically Muslims have fought and killed each other each other innumerable times for sake of political power. For example Saljuqis kicked Ghaznavids out of Afghanistan, Ottoman Turks captured Egypt from the Mamlukes around 1517. Tamerlane slaughtered millions of other Muslims during his campaigns, Uzbeks kicked out Timurids from their native land and Ferghana is now in Uzbekistan. In recent times Wahhabi Najdis killed Hejazi Hashemite’s for the control of Saudi Arabia. In 1971 East Pakistani Muslims killed west Pakistanis & Beharis and vice versa. Saddam Hussein attacked Kuwait for no apparent reason. Majority of these were Sunni Muslims so the question that one party did not consider other party Muslim does not arise.

I consider Pakistan first because ‘if’ there is war between say Pakistan & Afghanistan, Christian (and now even Sikh) Pakistan soldier will fight by my side against an Afghan Muslim. Thus I would give precedence to a fellow Pakistani, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, over a non-Pakistani. However I respect your opinion.

I totally agree with you that fighting other Muslims on the order of foreign powers is wrong. But how do you define foreign power? Do you limit it to US only or include any foreign country?
Ahmad Shah Masood was a Sunni Muslim Afghan. Pakistan is a foreign power; how would you justify Pakistan Army supporting Taliban against Northern Alliance? Both the parties were Muslims.

Fact is that “Realpolitik” is a complicated science. There are so many shades of grey that it is almost impossible to tell what is right or what is morally wrong. Since I give precedence to Pakistan, I would support whatever is in the greater interest of Pakistan State, whether it is morally & ethically correct or not. I think this is the point where we differ.

However we are both educated and rational persons, let us agree to disagree.

In case you may have missed, please peruse the following as a “Food for thought”.

An inability to think


Ghazi Salahuddin
Sunday, July 28, 2013
From Print Edition

An inability to think

An abiding sorrow it is that in the midst of all these nerve-shattering events that almost threaten the very survival of the country, there is little evidence of a serious intellectual effort to understand the present situation. In fact, the very capacity of our educated people to think has apparently been impaired by an environment that discourages learning and rational debate.

The big question, of course, is: what has gone wrong with Pakistan? We are reminded of this virtually on a daily basis. On Friday, nearly 50 persons were killed in twin blasts in Parachinar about two hours before Iftar. These were suicide bombings targeting two markets. More than 100 persons were injured, many of them seriously. Most of the victims belonged to the Turi and Bangash tribes. The fact that this was another instance of sectarian violence has not been highlighted in news reports.

But this was just more of the same. When we look back at what we have lived through, it becomes difficult to believe that we have suffered these atrocities again and again without making any decisive change in our policies or way of thinking. It’s as if, by some magic, we have been deprived of the ability to think and feel and act. All we are able to do is mourn for our losses. And we do that without coming together to foster a sense of community. As though we have fallen in a trance.

The need to wake up and do something has been urgent for a long time. Even one of the scores of atrocities that we have suffered would have hurt any self-respecting people into some form of action. One recent example of this, among many more, is how a court judgement in the United States in the case of the fatal shooting of a black youth by a white neighbourhood watch volunteer created a nation-wide stir. Large protests were held after George Zimmerman, who had shot unarmed Trayvon Martin in Florida, was acquitted.

President Barack Obama had to take notice and he said that the nation needed to do some “soul searching”. He posed the pertinent question: “How do we learn some lessons from this and move in a positive direction?” Soul searching is what we are not able to do. We do not have sufficient intellectual and political resources to conduct this exercise in a proper manner.

There certainly is a long history of how race relations in the US have evolved. However, we know how it led to the election of Obama as the president. Essentially, this was a battle of ideas and ideals, involving a large number of creative individuals, writers as well as politicians. Remember Martin Luther King Jr, who had a dream?

Consider now the nature of sectarian killings that have continued in Pakistan. There is ample evidence here to show that we are not moving ahead in a positive direction. Instead, we are regressing to a primitive wilderness. Our rulers must have seen it coming. They should have understood the consequences of their inaction in this context. The sectarian terrorists could not have been invisible. Indeed, some of these outfits were seen to have been nurtured by our own national security policies.

Be that as it may, the present situation is fraught with unspeakable hazards. The intensity with which sectarian violence has risen – and the Hazara community in Quetta has been a major target – is astounding and its ramifications across the country, including in our national institutions, cannot be ignored. Still, ignoring it is what the rulers appear to be doing. At best, they tend to camouflage the issue by not confronting it openly.

At one level, the entire Muslim world is touched by this conflict. There is the example of Iraq, and the civil war in Syria also has sectarian dimensions. Nevertheless, Muslims in South Asia have their own history of sectarian harmony, as certified by the freedom movement and the creation of Pakistan. In any case, we need to tackle this menace against the present backdrop of terrorist violence motivated by the ****** spirit of the Taliban and their allies.

Meanwhile, violent disorder is getting out of control on some other fronts too. The situation in Balochistan remains hazy – as it is in Karachi. Social equilibrium, on the whole, is in a very poor state. The energy crisis is a major distraction for the new government. And the political temperature has suddenly risen with the PPP’s boycott of the presidential election. A new phase of confrontation is about to begin.

One should not be surprised that all these rumblings are taking place during the holy month of Ramazan. Yes, the rhythm of our lives has changed and there is a very visible and rather boisterous surge in religiosity. At the same time, deviant behaviour has also become more intense. The blasts in Parachinar have momentarily pushed other isolated acts of terror into the background.

It was just over two months ago that we were cheered by that silver lining on the political horizon and a number of initial moves made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had inspired some hope in the destiny of Pakistan. The government does deserve some more time to put its act together but the popular mood is changing.

As I said at the outset, we are still not able to understand the crisis of Pakistan and the intelligentsia, irrespective of its intellectual competence, is not consciously engaged in any attempt to decipher the problems that we must resolve. If only as an aside, I must reiterate my regret that our collective mind is averse to thinking as such. We cannot even debate the role that religion has played in defining our present state of affairs.

Perhaps our intellectual and academic community could initiate a project similar to what some Arab intellectuals had undertaken to draft the first Arab Human Development Report (in 2002). Sponsored by the Arab League, it was published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It shocked the entire Arab world and many observers see it as the seed of the Arab spring of 2011.

The report had highlighted three deficits of the Arab world with reference to freedom, knowledge and the status of women. One main assumption of the report was that poverty is not merely a matter of income, considering that a number of Arab countries have oil. For instance, a person who has no access to knowledge is poor.

Let me conclude with one specific revelation of the report: in the 1,000 years since the reign of Caliph Mamoun, the Arabs have translated as many books as Spain translates in one year. Can we, in Pakistan, even begin to comprehend this reality?

The writer is a staff member. Email: ghazi_salahuddin@hotmail. com

An inability to think - Ghazi Salahuddin