Pakistan inequality fueling Taliban support

[Thomas]

Pakistan inequality fueling Taliban support
BBC News - Newsnight - Pakistan inequality fuelling Taliban support

Swat in Pakistan used be called the Switzerland of Asia, a remote mountain kingdom run by a traditional ruling family, which was peaceful and known for its trout fishing - a place for honeymooners and tourists.

More recently however, Swat has been a war zone, the scene of fighting between Pakistan's army and the Taliban, who campaigned for Islamic law there, imposing their ideas with extreme violence.

Before the conflict Swat's lack of economic development was part of its charm.

But poverty and lack of infrastructure, combined with the failure of the Pakistani government to provide education or an adequate justice system, were key ingredients which led some Pakistanis to wonder if the Taliban could do better.

In the town of Mardan I spoke to a typical Taliban recruit - a young man whose family have been trapped in poverty for generations, and for whom the Islamist extremists offered escape:

"The Taliban wanted to get the landholders property and to snatch their homes, they wanted to kill the landowners, then everything would be with us. We could have sold the land and got the money, under Islamic law everything would be with us," he said.

The 20-year-old was a Taliban fighter in the remote Swat Valley which the Taliban controlled for about a year before they were cleared out by the 2009 army offensive.

He said he had personally beheaded eight people for the Taliban, people he described as "two teachers, DVD shopkeepers, army spies and a police man".

Beheadings

He told me how the victims were interviewed by the Taliban leaders in a separate room then brought to him in the night to be killed, with groups of machine gun carrying militants looking on:

"Their mouths were gagged so they could not talk. I just said 'God is Great' and killed them. They were lying on the floor as if they were sleeping.

"After the interview they gave them an injection to make them drowsy and so they would not feel anything. Then they brought them in."

He has been identified by other captured Taliban fighters and in turn has given information which has led the army to make further arrests.

His case will shortly go to an anti-terrorist court, but he is confident that he will be acquitted - and he may well be right.

In Pakistan's dysfunctional legal system even the most heinous crimes go unpunished because witnesses are afraid, the courts intimidated and the police apparently incapable of following correct procedures.

"The fear of the terrorists looms large in the hearts of the witnesses," Rana Maqbool, the chief prosecutor in Lahore, said. "They have been able to kill a few senior police officers as well."

Rural despair

Khalid Aziz, a retired senior official from North West Pakistan, explained why nonetheless the Taliban's message still resonates with some in Pakistan:

"The Taliban is a romantic movement. They are groups of Robin Hoods," he said. "Their message is there is a lot of injustice and we will give you land, we will look after you, we will be the empowered future - join us and be part of the future."

This message, along with the anti-Americanism resulting from the invasion of Afghanistan, fuels the Taliban's popularity, particularly among the dispossessed.

There is now speculation that the Taliban might make a concerted effort to win control of the country's most powerful province, Punjab.

The Taliban can see opportunities there - Punjab may be the country's richest state, but many Punjabis do not know where their next meal is coming from and in rural areas there is real despair.

Almost every day the newspapers carry reports of fathers committing suicide because they are unable to feed their families.

I met the family of Nawaz Mohammed, a 30-year-old with seven children who decided there was no way he could repay money he had borrowed from his employer.

He gathered his last few rupees, sent his children to buy some sweets from the market and whilst they were away hanged himself.

"My son could not cope with the poverty," his father explained. "He didn't say anything to me or his family. He just killed himself. He was fed up because he could not get his creditors off his back and he could to pay them either."

Concerns of the rich

While the deprived complain, the wealthy worry.

The leading farming families in Pakistan are generally described as feudals. The Taliban denounce the feudals as exploiters of the common man.

"The mullahs say 'those big bad feudals, what did they give you, what did they do for you? You are poor and we'll give you land, we'll give you water, and milk and honey will flow through the rivers. You will inherit paradise on earth, and if your kid blows himself up he will go straight to heaven', it is a land grab," Abida Hussain, a member of one of Punjab's feudals, said.

The government, which has thousands of troops tied down fighting the Taliban in the North West, feels unable to open a new front in Punjab.

Conservative religious groups have built thousands of mosques and madrassas in Punjab, which some see as a network which could at some point be used to organise an insurgency in the Pakistani heartland.

Sufi resistance

But Taliban also faces problems in Punjab where most people are adherents of Sufi Islam.

They visit shrines and, with the air thick with cannabis smoke, reaching a state of religious ecstasy as they dance to the beat of drums.

It is far removed from the Taliban's puritanism.

The Taliban also suffers from having failed to deliver when it has won power.

In the Swat Valley, the Taliban told the poor and dispossessed that they would get land. And they did attack leading landholders - some of whom held senior political positions as well.

But once the Taliban commanders took over estates in Swat they decided they would hang on to them for their own families. They turned out to be venal as well as violent.

If the Taliban kept their promises, they would be a far more formidable force.

Owen Bennett-Jones' full report is broadcast on Newsnight on Thursday 13 May 2010 at 2230 on BBC Two, and is then available on the BBC iPlayer and Newsnight website.

You can hear his radio report on Crossing Continents on Monday 17 May 2010 on Radio 4, or afterwards on the BBC iPlayer.

 

[Thomas]

I would be interested to hear from those that live or have lived in Swat or Punjab. How accurate do you think this article is?

 

[Zulfiqar]

Sufi resistance

But Taliban also faces problems in Punjab where most people are adherents of Sufi Islam.

They visit shrines and, with the air thick with cannabis smoke, reaching a state of religious ecstasy as they dance to the beat of drums.

Now that is BS. Real tasawwuf does not involve smoking weed or anything like that. The author is clearly misinformed.


About the article yes, there is injustice here and economically we are not doing good but the main reason young foot soldiers joined TTP was not ideoligy. The main reason that the youngsters in swat joined taliban was that the taliban was paying around 120$-180$ to an otherwise unemployed person. Other than money the youngsters also had the opportunity to act as gangsters because they had the power.

 

[EjazR]

Completely wrong definition of what Sufism is in Islam. These are deviations not what sufism or more correctly tasawuf represents.

Here is a link that clarifies this.
What is Tasawwuf - Tasawwuf.org


And yes there may be inequality and that is only one of the contributing factors among many others. It should not be considered as the ONLY factor. Tackling these issues on all these fronts although difficult is what is needed.

 

[EyelessInGaza]

I would be interested to hear from those that live or have lived in Swat or Punjab. How accurate do you think this article is?

I do not have any reason to believe that the story is untrue - that part that equates poverty and deprivation to violence.

But my opinion is hardly breaking news.

It's the oldest story ion the world isn't it? Pick up a weapon if the state offers you no route to better yourself, doesn't care, indeed puts you down.

It is exactly the problem that India is facing in it's Maoist hit regions, with some variations but the underlying theme is the same.

 

[kidwaibhai]

These are just excuses by these people. there are plenty of people in Sindh and Punjab that are oppressed but we dont see this happening in those areas. The main reason why the taliban gained in KP is because of the out dated colonial system that is functioning there. What needs to be done is that these places need to be brought into the mainstream and the FCR needs to be abolished right away.

 

[TaimiKhan]

Inequality does plays a role in such situations, but in our case, it is not the main factor.

The main factor is the US arrival in Afghanistan and the hatred created among the Muslims as well as locals, seeing the US as an occupying force. Fueling up this situation further was the thousands of the veterans of the Afghan war, who made good use of this.

We had been living in poverty for decades, but did not saw any support for such movements.

Plus, one has to see what has the taliban given to the people under its control to come out of poverty ?? Nothing. So once they have given nothing to people to make them break the barriers of living in poverty, why would the people support them. Rather wherever they have come, they brought more destruction and poverty compared to previous times.

Look at SW & NW, look at Swat, Mohmand, Bajaur etc etc. Have they set up industries, commercial centers, or what. Rather they destroyed whatever was standing and people had to leave due to their barbarism or live under fear.

Did taliban brought happiness in their rule of Afghanistan or more poverty ??

That is a simple logic to answer this question.

Real issue of their support from people is the hatred shown for the occupation of Afghanistan, while in case of Pakistan, the support being provided to an occupational force.

 

[Creder]

Poverty was the main reason behind all this true, no question mark there.. But not directly, poverty was indirectly exploited.. You see these specific areas had always been semi-autonomous and GoP lacked the political insight to bring these areas under it's control.. As a result of lack of attention from GoP these tribes like the mehsuds who weren't too happy to be a part of Pakistan to begin with, didn't too much economic or any other forms of development.. Poverty and Afghanistan establishment's refusal to accept the Durrand line allowed these people to align themselves more closely with the Taliban during the soviet invasion

US's war on terror and then Musharraf's blundering policies of attacking these areas when the Taliban there 'didn't' threaten Pakistan gave the Taliban in these areas even more support among the masses.. Let there e no doubt, Pakistani Army in Musharraf's days had become extremely unpopular because people thought of army as American puppets for waging a war on there own people (This is a defence forum, I don't expect people here to acknowledge this fact, however unfortunately Army had hit an all time low in those days)..Taliban exploited this to the maximum and using poverty and ethnic issues and above all portraying Army as US puppets ( which they very much seemed like ) Taliban gained massive support and that is the reason why Pakistan Army mission failed during Musharrafs time.. It wasn't due to poor training or other excuses, it was just that the talibs had local support

Now major turn, Musharraf loses it tries to rule like a General/dictator, jeopardizes Pakistan's Judiciary.. Benazir assassinated, Musharraf goes down .. A crook like zardari steps in.. Nation is thrown to dogs, an ugly coalition between political parties.. Things take a turn for worse in Afghanistan, even more Taliban come into Pakistan, India is upto it's neck supporting them with munitions and whatnot..Bombs start going off on a daily basis, People dying everywhere

now at this point talibs had took control over these northern waziristan areas and military had made no gains and was infuriating public, so the new government offered a truce and whatnot. This helped increase the government image slightly and now that kayani had taken the Army back to barracks, goernment thought that they could negotiate with these terrorists.. But they were wrong Taliban kept advancing and in all areas they took control over they imposed there laws

now this here is a very Important point, as I mentioned earlier people welcomed these talibs with open arms before in northern areas because they thought the talibs would relieve them of they're misery.. Before the talibs were fighting musharraf they didn't have time to impose there laws and whatnot in an effective way, now that the government was willing to allow the talibs to enforce their sharia laws in these specific areas, Taliban went ahead and enforced them.. It was through these laws people realized the true brutal nature of these talibs. You see that's where the difference comes, Afghans might have liked or welcomed this kinda thing but not Pakistanis... Pakistanis may had been used to livig in poverty, but getting ur head chopped off over being a bad Muslims having seen the Girls school burnt down..Pakistanis weren't used to that kind of rule. These people realized the true menace these talibs really were and then the discord between governments started, Alarm bells went off when Taliban approached Bunir

Army had no other choice, but this time they had local support from these areas.. Next what happened was the most painful chapter in recent Pakistan history; the suiide bombings.. These were the cause of uniting Pakistan against this menace and throwing their full support behnd the Army.. By this time through Kayani's able leadership Army had recovered from it's low ratings and now was ready to fight back.. Then what happened over the course of last nine months is infront of you

One man who is behind all this success is Kayani, if Musharraf was a nightmare then Kayani proved to be his exact opposite.. Being the ISI chief he understands the situation in this region better than any other man right now.. There is a reason why US commanders are visiting here on such frequent basis.. He is an insightful man and his policy has earned him deep admiration from the same tribals who welcomed Taliban, he is more attentive to their needs than any other person in Pakistan tight now.. Read the very recent incident in Hunza lake which was totally unrelated to WoT and was governments responsibilty to avert the crisis instead hededicated Army resources to help them out.. He has pushed the government to launch developmental programs in these areas and has advocated the need to bring prosperity and development to these areas on all occasions and platforms

To this date, I haven't heard a single word of criticism about this man from anyone.. But yes on-topic I hope you can see that poverty was merely one of the tools and in the end people in Pakistan realized that there can be bigger discomforts than poverty .. Hoever the truth as it stands lies in the fact that terrorism can only be rooted out from these areas through economical and social development

I heard someone say once that the reason there are so many religious people in Third wod countries is because of little control they have over there lives.. So they seek the only solution that is free and there are more than enough people willing to exploit that to their own ****** needs

Also poverty is a common cause in all problems of this subcontinent, look at the maoists in India.

 

[mehru]

I would be interested to hear from those that live or have lived in Swat or Punjab. How accurate do you think this article is?

Inequality, lack of education, sense of deprivation and low life standards have no doubt contributed to militancy in Pakistan but the major reason is the US presence in Afghanistan as according to taliban, Non Muslims have occupied Muslim land and it is the duty of every Muslim to fight them. Taliban consider Pakistani civilians and army infidels as well because they are not fighting American forces with them.

 

[Patriot]

I live in Punjab and i've visited areas where people are very poor but they don't take weapons against state.They're very peaceful people.The insurgency in NWFP is largely due to Zia's Legacy and in Southern Punjab due to some overzealous Generals after Zia's death.

 

[waraich66]

I think poverty is not major issue , real issue is Pushtoon tribes of NWFP wanted justice , Lal mosque event( majority of student girls killed in operation were from Swat) , operation in waziristan durig Musharaf era, US invasion in Afghanistan and drone attackes played important role for continous insurgency in NWFP (Pushtonkawa Khyber)

 

[Musafar]

I would be interested to hear from those that live or have lived in Swat or Punjab. How accurate do you think this article is?

Of course poverty/inequality is probably the main factor alongside wholesale corruption. You only have to see the lack of funding, the level of education the basic infrastructure and the social mobility available in places such as Khyber-Pukhtunkwa (NWFP) compared to the rest of Pakistans' provinces.

Having visited punjab and other areas of Pakistan such as Azad Kashmir for my friends weddings (as I have a lot of friends in that region) I saw the citizens living in houses that were comparably better than those in the poshest parts of England. Seriously it was not strange to see 5 story houses for miles upon miles. My friends family had at least 3 house servants too. Everyone looked well off. My friend told me it was down to a lot of influential people in Pakistan settling around the area. My friend whose family introduced me to an ex-army general who had annexed huge swathes of land in his village and had through his "contacts" ensured the area was receiving a steady stream of funds for development projects.

Now compare this to where my family reside near Peshawar. We are well off, but if i drive 2 miles down the road it won't be strange for me to see 5 year old kids who live in a mud huts carrying 10kg mango boxes ALL DAY on their backs to your car in the blazing heat for a mere 10 rupees.

Then we look in horror at ourselves as to why the area is such a recalcitrant one.

 

[fatman17]

havnt read others comments - this is a very complex issue - when i was of school-going age in the 60's, everything worked - catholic schools, govt schools (and they were many good ones) and there were very few madrassas. i thought i got a good education living in a 3rd world country. then came the 'nationalization' of the basically everything by Mr. Bhutto and his islamic socialism - one of the great tradegies of this country - the education system started going downhill and now-a-days except for a 'few' govt schools (which are operating by the sheer will of their teachers), it is non-existent. a survey carried out in 2000, estimated 40,000 ghost schools in Sindh province alone and if the military govt of the day had carried out this survey in Punjab, it would have given the same results.

enter the 'madrassas' bouyed by huge charitable 'donations' from s/arabia and uae, started offering 'free' education including room and board (sic) to the lower and middle classes of the country and the parents who wished that their kids were educated, got a god-given opportunity - the govt saw this and decided they dont have to do anything for education and so the madrassas started teaching 'militant islam' to their students. mind you there are many 'excellent' madrassas teaching a 'wordly' cirruculum so that the graduates can find jobs once they graduate - there are now nearly 38,000 madrassas and only about 5% are registered with the govt (to teach govt syallabus) - the rest only god knows what they teach besides reading the holy book - 'hate all non-muslims' i guess.

in the cities private schools flourish and those families who can pay the high tuition fees get a 'good' education for their kids.

the army, navy and airforce have their own cadet colleges so that they can 'ensure' that 'proper' candidates are trained to join the armed forces (this is esp true for the airforce) - so its akin to a minor league system as they churn out students who have only one aim - join the armed forces!!!

this is where 'inequality' starts and creates the mess we are in.

the last military govt also started the HEC system, setting up 'technical' colleges and universities so that students get the requiste skills to work in the tech industry. - students were also sent to foreign countries to get higher education and this segment was working very well until the new 'democratic' govt cut the funding (leaving many kids high and dry in foreign countries).

"over the years our political leadership had driven home the idea that there is nothing to be gained from being well educated. they have made it amply clear that their success is contingent on who you are" ....and therefore why educate the common man.

---------- Post added at 07:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:27 PM ----------

havnt read others comments - this is a very complex issue - when i was of school-going age in the 60's, everything worked - catholic schools, govt schools (and they were many good ones) and there were very few madrassas. i thought i got a good education living in a 3rd world country. then came the 'nationalization' of the basically everything by Mr. Bhutto and his islamic socialism - one of the great tradegies of this country - the education system started going downhill and now-a-days except for a 'few' govt schools (which are operating by the sheer will of their teachers), it is non-existent. a survey carried out in 2000, estimated 40,000 ghost schools in Sindh province alone and if the military govt of the day had carried out this survey in Punjab, it would have given the same results.

enter the 'madrassas' bouyed by huge charitable 'donations' from s/arabia and uae, started offering 'free' education including room and board (sic) to the lower and middle classes of the country and the parents who wished that their kids were educated, got a god-given opportunity - the govt saw this and decided they dont have to do anything for education and so the madrassas started teaching 'militant islam' to their students. mind you there are many 'excellent' madrassas teaching a 'wordly' cirruculum so that the graduates can find jobs once they graduate - there are now nearly 38,000 madrassas and only about 5% are registered with the govt (to teach govt syallabus) - the rest only god knows what they teach besides reading the holy book - 'hate all non-muslims' i guess.

in the cities private schools flourish and those families who can pay the high tuition fees get a 'good' education for their kids.

the army, navy and airforce have their own cadet colleges so that they can 'ensure' that 'proper' candidates are trained to join the armed forces (this is esp true for the airforce) - so its akin to a minor league system as they churn out students who have only one aim - join the armed forces!!!

this is where 'inequality' starts and creates the mess we are in.

the last military govt also started the HEC system, setting up 'technical' colleges and universities so that students get the requiste skills to work in the tech industry. - students were also sent to foreign countries to get higher education and this segment was working very well until the new 'democratic' govt cut the funding (leaving many kids high and dry in foreign countries).

"over the years our political leadership had driven home the idea that there is nothing to be gained from being well educated. they have made it amply clear that their success is contingent on who you are" ....and therefore why educate the common man.

 

[fatman17]

The madressah

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Ikram Sehgal

Established at first as an institution of higher studies, a madressah (Arabic plural "madaris") initially taught law, Islamic sciences and philosophy. During the 11th and 12th centuries, madaris specialised in law and jurisprudence. Today's madressah is an Islamic religious school (seminary) where students, as young as nine or ten, at times even younger, learn religious education, schooled first of all in reading and then in religious studies. Initially a part of a mosque, madaris only later became separate institutions. With the introduction of Western education under colonial rule their curriculum underwent a change.

A madressah is not a Quranic school, or maktab, a place where Muslim children only read and recite the Quran at a very elementary level. Madaris offer a more organised institutional structure and different academic levels of religious studies. Most Pakistani madaris are affiliated with one of the five Islamic school boards, or Wafaq: three Sunni Madressah Boards (Deobandi, Barelvi and Ahl-e-Hadith), one for the Jamaat-e-Islami and one for Shias. This entire system, mostly belonging to the Sunni sect because Pakistan is predominantly Sunni, is supported largely by the private sector and communities through trusts, endowments, donations and zakat (religious tithes) contributions.

A madressah is mostly registered with the government as a charitable corporate body with acquired tax exemption. Among the Sunnis, the majority are Barelvi, a moderate group who seek to be inclusive of local rituals and customs, the seminaries run by the Jamaat-e-Islami are non-sectarian but politically very active. In the context of extremism, the remaining two streams of madaris are considered most important. The Deobandi school of thought (originating in the Indian town of Deoband, near Delhi), have long sought to purify Islam by rejecting "un-Islamic" accretions to the faith and returning to the models established in the Holy Quran. The Ahle-Hadith (followers of the way of the Prophet) have a similar emphasis on "purifying" the faith, but follow the Salafi fiqh (religious jurisprudence), as opposed to the Hanafi fiqh used by the Deobandis.

No comprehensive and/or credible census of madaris exists in Pakistan. A 2004 Congressional Research Service report, "Terrorism in South Asia," puts the number at 10,000-20,000, the seminaries extending along the borders of Afghanistan, from Karachi to Balochistan and continuing into the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA). In April 2002 Pakistan's ministry of religious affairs estimated the number of madaris to be approximately 10,000, with 1.7 million students (including about 448 women-only madaris). The figure is probably closer to 12,000 with about two million students, by conservative estimates.

Seminaries mushroomed during the regime of military ruler Ziaul Haq. His Islamisation policies were meant mainly to establish his own legitimacy. Other factors include the Iranian revolution, the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan and the subsequent Afghan "jihad" against Soviet troops, and Pakistan's involvement in the Afghan war. Students in these madaris also come from other countries, especially Afghanistan.

For the poor, a madressah offers free boarding and food for their children, an opportunity to gain literacy and employment, an irresistible option of hope when compared to the bleak future availing from crumbling or non-existent government-funded secular schools. Successive Pakistani governments have tacitly encouraged this to avoid spending much on education. Only 7,000 Pakistani children attended madaris 30 years ago, compared to the two million today. Functioning as shelters and orphanages for many young children, runaways and refugees where the state apparatus is lacking, madaris have come forward as a parallel system of education that is more viable for the impoverished.

Stretching from Jhang to Bahawalpur, southern Punjab is an educational battleground, dotted with the most aggressive and militant of all madaris, dominated by feudal lords with large landholdings. The cities and towns of this region are teeming with the poor masses, both controlled by jihadi groups. Private citizens from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, thinking they are spreading the message of Islam through petrodollars, fund them generously.

This led to a sustained spurt in Deobandi madaris, not only in the Pakhtun areas of Pakistan near the Afghan border but also in Karachi, as well as inrural Punjab. This money also encouraged a Wahhabi jihad-centred curriculum. Almost the entire Taliban leadership are graduates from the Haqqania, including Mullah Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban, while the Binori madressah, whose leader Mufti Shamzai was assassinated, was once suspected to be a possible hiding place of Osama bin Laden. Reportedly this is where bin Laden met Mullah Omar to form the Al-Qaeda-Taliban partnership.

A March 2009 report found that about 18 per cent of the madaris were affiliated with sectarian outfits such as Sipah-e-Sahaba, Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Islamist texts advocating violent jihad against other religious sects form part of the curricula in some madaris. Militant pamphlets or magazines circulate in certain madaris, especially those openly aligned with a particular militant group. Research about the connection between Pakistani madaris and Islamic extremism finds a disturbing relationship between religious seminaries and sectarian violence. However, contrary to perceptions, a vast majority of madaris, almost 80 per cent, do not subscribe to this virulent hate. While they may be far from rendering adequate education, it is wrong to condemn them outright as all supporting jihadis.

After the September 11 attacks, madaris were widely associated with violence, even though all the 9/11 perpetrators were university educated, some in the US, and with no connection to any madressah. Pakistan was quickly assumed as being a culprit because Osama bin Laden was believed to be hiding in the maintains straddling the Durand Line.

The US government put severe pressure on the Pervez Musharraf government. In 2002 he made key pledges regarding madressah reforms. The government promised: (1) the registration of all madaris to know which groups were running which religious schools; (2) regulation of the curriculum so that all madaris would adopt a common government curriculum by the end of 2002; (3) adoption of measures to stop the use of madaris and mosques as centres for the spread of political and religious inflammatory statements and publications; and (4) establishment of model madaris providing useful modern education.

Despite all the good talk, none of Musharraf's 2002 promises to reform madaris have been fulfilled, or even come close to it. Only three model madaris have been set up – one each in Karachi, Sukkur and Islamabad, with a total of 300 students. Compared to the estimated two million students in the more than 12,000 madaris in Pakistan this number is ridiculous. The curriculum of these model madrassas includes English, mathematics, computer science, economics, political science, law and Pakistan studies. These institutions were not welcomed by the ulema (religious scholars), because no real effort was made to involve them. Only a very small minority has supported the government in the modernisation of religious institutions.

There is a dire need for the fulfilment of the promises made by the Musharraf regime in 2002. More important is the need to implement alternatives to the madressah, to reduce the dependence of the poor and impoverished on it.

(This is the first of two articles on the madressah system and a viable alternative to madaris.)



The writer is a defence and political analyst. Email: isehgal@pathfinder9.com