ramu
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THE relentless march of Islamist and tribal zealots in Pakistan is deeply worrisome. Pakistan's military has deployed troops, helicopter gunships and fighter jets to tackle extremists on the border with Afghanistan, and regularly boasts the number of militants it has killed. At least 54 was the claim last week following a strike in the tribal lands. And still they come.
Pakistan is losing the wider battle; to show competent government, respect the rights of minorities, give the chance of education to all its people and manage a successful economy. Most critically, Pakistan's government is losing ground to the preachers of extremist Islam, who hold out the illusion of easy answers to life's problems cloaked in the language of hate, segregation and violence. President Asif Ali Zardari appears hapless when promising to fight ''militants to the finish'' and having ''no other option except to win''. The more terrifying prospect is that his government will lose.
Pakistan - or more accurately, its nefarious intelligence agencies - found it convenient in the past to foster a rabid breed of Islamist ideology to unleash upon its longtime rival and neighbour India, particularly in the disputed territory of Kashmir. This was also the spur for the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Yet vast numbers of those same fighters have now turned against the Pakistani state and it remains unclear how much support they enjoy from elements within Pakistan's security and intelligence agencies.
The capital Islamabad has felt the brunt of attacks from Tehrik-e-Taliban - the so-called Pakistani Taliban. Zardari's wife, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated in 2007 in the southern commercial capital of Karachi and, in effect, a civil war has been fought out since.
The danger is less that an organised extremist force will seize power, but rather that the incipient rise of fanaticism within Pakistan will take creeping control of the state. The country has only ever managed a tenuous commitment to democracy, with the military willing to take control under the pretence of acting in the nation's best interest. When not driven by the naked self-interest of a particular general, the military often appears to suffer a hangover of colonial distrust of local politicians. But with the ideology of extremism on the march, the fear is Pakistan's rulers will seek to accommodate the fanatics and, as a consequence, fundamentally change the character of the state.
The stakes in Pakistan are far higher than in any other country threatened by violent Islamist forces, such as Yemen or Somalia. Pakistan has nuclear weapons. Many safeguards are in place on the nuclear arsenal and it is important not to be alarmist about the threat. But it is just as important not to be complacent. With all the attention given to Iran and the accompanying fear of nuclear weapons in the hands of fanatics, the far greater and more immediate danger may well be in Pakistan.
For the rest of the world, helping Pakistan is first a matter of following through with past promises. Pledges of aid are yet to reach those still suffering the effect of the devastating floods in Pakistan last year, leaving many people easy prey to extremist groups that are offering assistance.
But it is not merely another case of the world failing to help after images of disaster fade: the international neglect of Pakistan's wider problems is habitual. A group of countries, including Australia, founded the ''Friends of Democratic Pakistan'' meeting in 2008 with some fanfare. But despite talk of action to strengthen local governance, that forum appears moribund. The demand instead is that Pakistan do more alone to fight militants.
International antipathy of this sort only contributes to a sense of frustration and anger inside Pakistan. The country is too important to be left to founder.
---------- Post added at 03:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:43 AM ----------
Source: Pakistan stumbles deeper into the badlands
Pakistan is losing the wider battle; to show competent government, respect the rights of minorities, give the chance of education to all its people and manage a successful economy. Most critically, Pakistan's government is losing ground to the preachers of extremist Islam, who hold out the illusion of easy answers to life's problems cloaked in the language of hate, segregation and violence. President Asif Ali Zardari appears hapless when promising to fight ''militants to the finish'' and having ''no other option except to win''. The more terrifying prospect is that his government will lose.
Pakistan - or more accurately, its nefarious intelligence agencies - found it convenient in the past to foster a rabid breed of Islamist ideology to unleash upon its longtime rival and neighbour India, particularly in the disputed territory of Kashmir. This was also the spur for the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Yet vast numbers of those same fighters have now turned against the Pakistani state and it remains unclear how much support they enjoy from elements within Pakistan's security and intelligence agencies.
The capital Islamabad has felt the brunt of attacks from Tehrik-e-Taliban - the so-called Pakistani Taliban. Zardari's wife, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated in 2007 in the southern commercial capital of Karachi and, in effect, a civil war has been fought out since.
The danger is less that an organised extremist force will seize power, but rather that the incipient rise of fanaticism within Pakistan will take creeping control of the state. The country has only ever managed a tenuous commitment to democracy, with the military willing to take control under the pretence of acting in the nation's best interest. When not driven by the naked self-interest of a particular general, the military often appears to suffer a hangover of colonial distrust of local politicians. But with the ideology of extremism on the march, the fear is Pakistan's rulers will seek to accommodate the fanatics and, as a consequence, fundamentally change the character of the state.
The stakes in Pakistan are far higher than in any other country threatened by violent Islamist forces, such as Yemen or Somalia. Pakistan has nuclear weapons. Many safeguards are in place on the nuclear arsenal and it is important not to be alarmist about the threat. But it is just as important not to be complacent. With all the attention given to Iran and the accompanying fear of nuclear weapons in the hands of fanatics, the far greater and more immediate danger may well be in Pakistan.
For the rest of the world, helping Pakistan is first a matter of following through with past promises. Pledges of aid are yet to reach those still suffering the effect of the devastating floods in Pakistan last year, leaving many people easy prey to extremist groups that are offering assistance.
But it is not merely another case of the world failing to help after images of disaster fade: the international neglect of Pakistan's wider problems is habitual. A group of countries, including Australia, founded the ''Friends of Democratic Pakistan'' meeting in 2008 with some fanfare. But despite talk of action to strengthen local governance, that forum appears moribund. The demand instead is that Pakistan do more alone to fight militants.
International antipathy of this sort only contributes to a sense of frustration and anger inside Pakistan. The country is too important to be left to founder.
---------- Post added at 03:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:43 AM ----------
Source: Pakistan stumbles deeper into the badlands
